Comparison

StepDog vs Handwashtimer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

StepDog

This app combines step tracking with a virtual pet experience. Your daily steps keep a virtual dog healthy and happy, turning fitness into a rewarding game. It's designed to motivate you to build a consistent walking habit.

Highlights
  • Automatic step tracking via HealthKit
  • Virtual dog care and happiness meter
  • Apple Watch complications and watch face integration
  • Gamified fitness with goals and rewards
  • Unlockable dog breeds and animations
  • Premium weather and home screen widgets
Features
Read full description

StepDog: Your Step Counter & Your Cute Virtual Dog Step Up. Look After Your Dog. Stay Fit. StepDog is more than just a step counter. It’s a simple way to make daily walking fun and rewarding, by giving you a virtual dog that lives on your iPhone and Apple Watch. Every step keeps your dog healthy, happy, and by your side. HOW IT WORKS * Track steps automatically: StepDog connects with Apple HealthKit to read your daily step count in real time. * Care for your dog: Walk enough each day and your virtual dog will eat, sit, play, and finally curl up to sleep. * Turn fitness into a habit: Think of it as a gamified pedometer. By walking, you take care of your dog. That's how you stay motivated! BUILT FOR APPLE WATCH * See steps at a glance: Keep your step count and goal progress visible on your watch face all day. * Designed for modern faces: Use StepDog with the Infograph Modular watch face (Series 4 and above). Earlier modular faces show your daily ring too. * Add complications: Make your step tracker always accessible with a glance, no extra taps needed. * Stay motivated from your wrist: Your dog goes where you go. NEW WAY TO STAY ACTIVE & MOTIVATED * Regular step trackers get boring. StepDog makes daily walking feel like a game you actually want to win. * Skip excuses: your dog depends on your steps, you’re walking for you and for them. * Compete on local leaderboards (Premium) to see who’s getting the most steps. * Earn medals and small rewards for reaching goals to build a daily habit that sticks. YOUR OWN VIRTUAL PET * Pick your favourite dog breed and watch your puppy walk, sit, bark, eat, and sleep. * Unlock more breeds and animations with upgrades. * Treat your virtual dog well by staying active. It’s a small, daily commitment that makes you smile. WEATHER & EXTRA FEATURES * Premium members unlock widget for Home Screen, live weather backgrounds for your dog, plus daily forecasts to plan your walks. * Local leaderboards turn solo walking into a friendly competition. * Stay motivated, rain or shine. FITNESS TAMAGOCHI StepDog brings back the nostalgic joy of virtual pets, but this time it gets you moving. If you miss a goal, your dog might get restless. So get up, get outside, and hit your steps! KEY BENEFITS * Automatic step tracking with Apple HealthKit. * A virtual dog you feed with your steps. * Apple Watch complications to keep goals visible. * Local leaderboards and medals to push you further. * Pick your favourite virtual dog and unlock new breeds. * Live weather and daily forecasts to stay on track. * Works seamlessly with Apple Watch. JOIN THE PACK StepDog keeps you active every day. Walk more. Care more. Stay fit. & keep your virtual dog happy. Whether you’re looking for a simple daily habit or a cute companion to boost motivation, StepDog makes every step count. Download StepDog free today and start walking with your dog by your side. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Note: Full watch face support requires Apple Watch Series 4 and above. Older modular faces show progress rings. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Unlock premium features like extra dog breeds, live weather, and leaderboards with StepDog Premium. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage your subscription anytime in your settings. Privacy Policy: https://stepdogapp.azurewebsites.net/Privacy Terms of Use: https://stepdogapp.azurewebsites.net/Terms HealthKit: StepDog uses HealthKit to read your step data and keep your dog’s daily progress up to date.

About

Handwashtimer

This app helps you remember to wash your hands by setting customizable notifications. It also includes a 20-second timer with watch vibration to ensure proper handwashing duration.

Highlights
  • Customizable notification intervals
  • 20-second handwashing timer
  • Watch vibration alerts
  • Simple one-tap start for timer
Read full description

Let this app help you to remember to wash your hands. This app allows you to set up notifications in between a time window of your choosing. The app will then notify you and tell you to wash your hands. The app also features a big button you can tap when you start to wash your hands. This triggers a timer for 20seconds, and your watch will vibrate or notify you when those 20seconds have gone by.

Screenshots

StepDog4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: StepDog at 48% against Handwashtimer's 0%. StepDog also leads on rating (4.3 vs 1.6) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 14). Handwashtimer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. StepDog sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Handwashtimer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StepDog holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StepDog has 1.3K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of StepDog's written reviews are positive against 0% of Handwashtimer's.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
StepDog versus Handwashtimer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStepDogHandwashtimer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (1.3K ratings) — better1.6 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews48.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.3K — better14
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size122 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYingchi WangBror Brurberg

Customer experience

StepDog

All ratings1,267 ratings
Positive78.9%
Neutral8.4%
Negative12.7%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive48.4%
Neutral10.2%
Negative41.4%

Handwashtimer

All ratings13 ratings
Positive7.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative92.3%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

StepDog

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Dog not showing up on watch face
  • Step count not updating correctly
  • App crashes or won't open
  • Incompatibility with certain Apple Watch models

Requested features

6 requests
  • More dog breed options (Bernese mountain dog, Dachshund, Schnauzer, etc.)
  • Add cat option
  • Ability to use own pet photo
  • Leaderboard with friends
  • History of previous step data
Show 1 more
  • Improved animation and interactivity for the dog

Handwashtimer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

StepDog

Subscriptions2
  • Premium pack7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Premium Pack Annual7 Days trial$17.991 Year
One-time2
  • Set of all dogs$1.99
  • Accessories for your dog$1.99
None

Handwashtimer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is StepDog free?
StepDog is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Handwashtimer free?
Handwashtimer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, StepDog or Handwashtimer?
StepDog is rated higher. StepDog averages 4.3 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while Handwashtimer averages 1.6 from 14 ratings.
Do StepDog or Handwashtimer have ads?
Neither StepDog nor Handwashtimer shows ads.

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