Comparison

Pebbles vs Stark

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

Head to head
About

Pebbles

Visualize your progress towards fitness and personal goals with a dynamic widget. It syncs with Apple Health to fill virtual pebbles, showing your standing against set targets without pressure.

Highlights
  • Visualize goals as filling pebbles
  • Syncs with Apple Health
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • Pace line for progress tracking
  • Customizable goal lengths and types
  • Private by design, no account needed
Features
Read full description

Set a goal. Watch it fill up. Pebbles turns any sports goal into a pebble you fill. 1,000 km of running in a year. 10,000 steps a day. 12 workouts a month. 500 km up to race day. Apple Health fills your pebble on its own, and the widget on your Home Screen shows where you stand. THE PACE LINE A dashed line shows where you should be today. Above it, you're ahead. Under it, Pebbles calmly shows where you're heading. No red, no streaks, no guilt. ANY GOAL, ANY LENGTH • A year, a month, or your own dates, like a marathon block or a summer • Running, walking + running distance, steps a day, workouts, cycling, swimming, hiking and exercise minutes, straight from Apple Health • Goals that start again every year or every month • Count anything else with +1: books, trips, concerts THE WIDGET IS THE APP • Home Screen widgets with one, two or four pebbles • Lock Screen widgets • StandBy Glance at your phone, see the number, get on with your day. NUMBERS THAT HELP • What fills it from here: "16.5 km a week fills it" • This week, every month, your best day and your longest run • A forecast whenever you're under the line • Compare with last time • A look back when a pebble ends, to save and share PRIVATE BY DESIGN Pebbles only reads Apple Health and never writes to it. No account, no server. Nothing you track leaves your iPhone. TWO LITTLE NOTES A Sunday check-in and a note when a pebble fills. That's all. FREE AND PRO Free: one Apple Health pebble of any length, the small widget and the Lock Screen widgets. Pebbles Pro is a single payment, no subscription: unlimited pebbles, counters, repeating pebbles, every widget size and style, compare with last time, and look-back cards to share. Health Pulse is now Pebbles.

About

Stark

This app tracks your daily steps, distance, and calories burned by connecting to Apple Health. Set custom goals, monitor your progress with streaks, and visualize your consistency. Unlock advanced analytics and personalized records with a Pro subscription.

Highlights
  • Real-time step count tracking
  • Daily step goal setting
  • Streak tracking for consistency
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • Efficiency analytics
  • Personal best records
Features
Read full description

STARK is the definitive step goal tracker for high-performance living. Built for people who move with intention, Stark cuts through the noise and keeps you focused on one thing: hitting your daily step goal. TRACK YOUR STEPS Stark connects directly to Apple Health to deliver your real-time step count, estimated distance, and calories burned on a clean, no-fuss dashboard that loads instantly every time you open the app. SET YOUR GOAL Choose from pre-set daily goals (3,000, 5,000, 8,000, or 10,000 steps), or go Pro and set your own custom target. Your goal, your standard. STAY CONSISTENT Stark tracks your daily streak so you can build and protect your momentum. See your current week at a glance, visualize consistency, and get a haptic reward when you crush the day. HOME SCREEN WIDGET Keep your step count visible without opening the app. Add the Stark widget to your Home Screen or Lock Screen for a live view of your progress against your daily goal. UNLOCK STARK PRO Upgrade to Stark Pro for unlimited access to: • Custom step goal • Efficiency Analytics (today vs. average) • Weekly summary (total steps, distance, active time) • Daily breakdown chart with goal visualization • Personal records (best day, best week, best month, longest streak) PRIVACY-FIRST Stark reads step data from Apple Health and does not sell your data. Stark is designed for simplicity, speed, and daily use. No bloat. No distractions. Just you and your steps. Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/tofu-stark/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://sites.google.com/view/tofu-stark/terms Subscription terms: • Subscription: Stark Pro (Auto-renewable) • Length: 1 year • Price: $29.99/year (USD; may vary by region) Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your App Store account settings.

Screenshots

Pebbles4 screens
Stark4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Stark at every 2 weeks against Pebbles's every 8 months. Stark also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Pebbles's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.2). 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. Pebbles sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Stark sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pebbles ships an update every 8 months, Stark every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Pebbles versus Stark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPebblesStark
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLeon GrimmeisenRalph Olazo

Customer experience

Pebbles

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Stark

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pebbles

One-time1
  • Pebbles Pro$3.99
3 purchases

Stark

Subscriptions2
  • Stark Pro Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Stark Pro Annual3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Stark Pro Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Pebbles free?
Pebbles is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stark free?
Stark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pebbles or Stark?
Pebbles and Stark are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Pebbles or Stark have ads?
Neither Pebbles nor Stark shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pebbles or Stark?
Pebbles ships an update every 8 months, and Stark every 2 weeks. Most recently, Pebbles was updated on November 8, 2026 and Stark on November 9, 2026.

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