Comparison

HKStepMonitor vs Cadence

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

Head to head
About

HKStepMonitor

This utility app displays daily and weekly step counts tracked by your iPhone and Apple Watch. It presents your step data in a clear graph format, making it easy to monitor your activity over the past seven days.

Highlights
  • Displays step counts from Apple HealthKit
  • Tracks steps from iPhone and Apple Watch
  • Shows daily and weekly step totals
  • Presents data in a graph format
  • Monitors activity for the past 7 days
Features
Read full description

Simple utility for iPhone that uses Apple HealthKit to display the number of steps that were measured by the iPhone and Apple Watch. Displays steps measured for the past 7 days with a total for the week and daily totals in a graph format. Please enjoy this simple and handy tool to easily find and monitor your steps for the week and the day.

About

Cadence

Track your daily steps, distance, floors climbed, and calories burned with a focus on simplicity and privacy. Set custom weekday and weekend goals and visualize your activity patterns with interactive heatmaps. Integrates seamlessly with Apple Watch.

Highlights
  • Daily step, distance, floors, and calorie tracking
  • Customizable weekday and weekend goals
  • Interactive hour-by-hour heatmaps
  • Apple Watch app and complications
  • Private by design, no account required
  • Automatic iCloud history restore
Features
Read full description

Step tracking that stays out of your way Cadence helps you build a consistent walking habit without the usual noise. No social feed. No gamification. No upsells. Just an honest, clear picture of how you move every day. Weekday and Weekend Goals Most days aren't the same, so your goals shouldn't be either. Set separate targets for weekdays and weekends. Cadence automatically applies the right goal each day, and your history always reflects the target that was active on that specific day. Past records are never rewritten. Changed your mind about a goal? You can apply any update retroactively across your entire history with a single tap. Heatmaps You Can Actually Explore See your walking rhythm hour by hour. Scrub through today's heatmap to pinpoint exactly when you were most active, or zoom out to spot long-term patterns across weeks, months, and years. Beautifully color-coded and easy to understand. No chart reading required. Steps, Distance, Floors, and Calories Every day shows your full activity picture — steps, walking distance, flights climbed, and active calories. See how your week is shaping up with a projected end-of-week step total based on your current daily pace. Apple Watch and Complications A native three-page Apple Watch app gives you today's steps and progress, your full week chart, and goal settings directly on your wrist. Eight thoughtfully designed complications work beautifully on any watch face. Goals sync instantly between iPhone and Watch in both directions. Private by Design No account. No sign-up. No ads. Your health data stays on your device and syncs privately through your own iCloud. No analytics. No tracking. Your History, Restored Install Cadence on a new device signed into the same iCloud account and your complete history restores automatically — goals included. No exports or manual backups needed. Core step tracking, the Apple Watch app, and all complications are completely free and will always remain free. There's an optional tip jar if you'd like to support ongoing development.

Screenshots

HKStepMonitor4 screens
Cadence4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HKStepMonitor at none against Cadence's 5. Cadence's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 21 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Cadence sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. HKStepMonitor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for HKStepMonitor against 5.0 for Cadence. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HKStepMonitor ships an update every 21 months, Cadence fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 3, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
HKStepMonitor versus Cadence: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHKStepMonitorCadence
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 21 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRichard ArmstrongVlad Gankin

In-app purchases

None

HKStepMonitor

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Cadence

One-time5
  • Small Coffee$0.99
  • Medium Coffee$1.99
  • Large Coffee$2.99
Show 2 more
  • Coffee & Muffin$3.99
  • You're too kind$4.99

Questions

Is HKStepMonitor free?
HKStepMonitor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cadence free?
Cadence is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HKStepMonitor or Cadence?
HKStepMonitor and Cadence are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do HKStepMonitor or Cadence have ads?
Neither HKStepMonitor nor Cadence shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HKStepMonitor or Cadence?
HKStepMonitor ships an update every 21 months, and Cadence fortnightly. Most recently, HKStepMonitor was updated on October 3, 2026 and Cadence on October 3, 2026.

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