Ascend vs Step Counter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ascend
This app visually tracks your daily stair climbing by using your Apple Health data. Set goals, monitor your progress with dynamic charts, and earn achievements for your efforts. It offers personalized themes to customize your experience.
- Integrates with Apple Health
- Dynamic tracking charts and graphs
- Daily, weekly, monthly, and lifetime tracking
- Personal record tracking
- Real-life equivalent achievements
- Personalized themes and icons
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Ascend is a visually dynamic way to track the stairs you climb each day. By interpreting your Apple Health data, Ascend helps you set goals and track progress. With this app, you’ll see just how high your steps can take you; even all the way to the moon. Features: · Integrates with Apple Health · Dynamic tracking charts and graphs · Daily, weekly, monthly, and lifetime tracking · Personal record tracking · Real life equivalent achievements · Personalized themes and icons
Step Counter
Track your daily steps and physical activity with this iPhone-based pedometer. Set daily goals and monitor your progress with a simple interface and icon badge updates. Review your weekly history to stay motivated on your fitness journey.
- Automatic step detection
- Daily progress tracking
- Icon badge step count
- Weekly history review
- Customizable interface
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Think you can achieve 10,000 steps a day? Challenge yourself! Seamlessly use your iPhone as a step counter. Learn more about your physical activity and get fit by reaching your daily goal. Simple interface makes your life easy with just the information you need at your fingertips FEATURES: -Automatic step detection - Set it once and the app does the rest recording your step for each day -Super simple interface shows your daily progress. -Easily check your step count just by looking at the app's icon badge. -Check your history and see how you're doing for the week. -Change the look and feel to match your mood.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Step Counter at none against Ascend's 6. Step Counter also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 78%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). Ascend's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.2 vs 4.0). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Ascend sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Step Counter asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ascend holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 78% of Ascend's written reviews are positive against 100% of Step Counter's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Ascend ships an update every 5 months, Step Counter every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ascend | Step Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (14 ratings) — better | 4.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Eddie Koranek | WALABOK LLC |
Customer experience
Ascend
Step Counter
In-app purchases
Ascend
- Small Tip$0.99
- Feature Unlock$1.99
- Coffee sized tip$2.99
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- Feature Unlock$2.99
- Feature Unlock$3.99
- Lunch sized tip$4.99
Step Counter
No in-app purchases
