Comparison

Step Pals vs Arius

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

Head to head
About

Step Pals

This app gamifies your daily step count by linking your progress to the survival of a virtual pet. It provides motivation through emotional attachment and accountability, encouraging consistent movement and habit building.

Highlights
  • Virtual pet survival linked to step goals
  • Daily step tracking
  • Goal setting
  • Habit building
  • Emotional motivation
  • No login required
Features
Read full description

Struggle to hit your step goals? StepPals makes you care. It's a step tracker — with stakes. Your digital companion survives only if you hit your daily steps. It's nostalgic, emotional, and weirdly motivating. Why StepPals Works: StepPals gives you a reason to walk — every single day. It’s not just about fitness data. It’s about accountability, habit-building, and keeping your tiny friend alive. - **Track daily steps easily** - **Set goals that challenge you** - **Build healthy routines that stick** - **Feel *emotionally attached* to the outcome** How It Works: - Set your daily **step goal** - Walk to keep your **StepPal** alive - Miss a day? Their health drops - Miss too many? They're gone - Start again with a new Pal — and a new streak StepPals turns basic movement into something you actually look forward to. Whether you’re walking for weight loss, energy, or mental clarity — your Pal is counting on you. Real Motivation. Real Results. This isn’t your average step counter. StepPals makes walking **fun**, **emotional**, and **satisfying**. No login required. No ads. No complicated dashboards. Just you, your steps, and a little buddy that needs you. Download StepPals if You: - Want to walk more consistently - Need real accountability to move - Are motivated by goals *and guilt trips* - Miss the fun of old-school digital pets - Are tired of boring health apps Subscription Information: All subscriptions include a 3-day free trial. StepPals Yearly – $29.99/year StepPals Monthly – $9.99/month StepPals Weekly – $2.99/week Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial will be forfeited when a subscription is purchased. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://steppals.co/

About

Arius

Embark on a fantasy fitness journey to become a skilled Assassin. This app offers personalized training schedules, progress tracking, and community challenges. Access a library of books and join live discussions to enhance your learning and development.

Highlights
  • Personalized training schedules
  • Training journal and progress tracking
  • Monthly fantasy-themed challenges
  • Book discovery, rating, and tracking
  • Live book club discussions
  • Expert guidance and community support
Features
Read full description

Step into an immersive fantasy world where your mission is to become an Assassin of Arius. Through structured training and community support it's time to hone yourself into the weapon you were always meant to be. IMPORTANT: Arius is a subscription app. An active paid Arius Membership is required to access the training, community and library features described below. There is no free version and no free tier. You can create an account and view the introduction without paying; everything else unlocks with a membership. WHAT YOUR MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES All of the following require an active paid subscription: • Personalized Training Schedule — a training arc built around your goal and your starting point • Training Journal — log your sessions and track your progress over time • Monthly Fantasy Themed Challenges — compete, earn rewards and climb the ranks • Rate & Review Books — discover books, rate them and track your reading • Live Book Clubs — join live, scheduled discussions with the community • Expert Guidance & Support — help from the people who built the programme THE WORLD The Academy — train your strength, flexibility, mobility and assassin skills. You set the goal; we give you a personalized training arc to get there, no matter where you're starting. The Archives — discover and rate books, track your reading progress, and join discussions and book clubs. The Keep — connect with a thriving community, join discussions and take part in monthly themed challenges. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS • Arius Membership is an auto-renewing subscription. • Available as a monthly plan and an annual plan. The exact price of each plan in your local currency is shown in the app before you buy. • Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. • Your subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period, at the price of the plan you chose. • You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your Apple ID Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.enterarius.com/arius-app-terms Privacy Policy: https://www.enterarius.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Step Pals4 screens
Arius4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Arius at 100% against Step Pals's 55%. Arius also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 4 days vs weekly). Step Pals's advantage is ratings volume (118 vs 13). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Step Pals sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Arius sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $39.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Arius holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Step Pals has 118 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Step Pals's written reviews are positive against 100% of Arius's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Step Pals ships an update weekly, Arius every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Step Pals versus Arius: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStep PalsArius
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (118 ratings)5.0 (13 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings118 — better13
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size100 MB156 MB
Age rating+412+
DeveloperBen Leavitt Internation IncHEY IT'S TAYLOR J, LLC

Customer experience

Step Pals

All ratings118 ratings
Positive80.5%
Neutral2.5%
Negative16.9%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive54.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative41.9%

Arius

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Step Pals

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Pet keeps getting sick even with step goals met
  • App not working as expected

Requested features

2 requests
  • Option to manually log steps
  • Ability to sync with other fitness trackers

Arius

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Step Pals

Subscriptions6
  • Weekly Plan3 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • StepPals Weekly3 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Monthly Plan3 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • StepPals Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Annual Plan3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • StepPals Yearly3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Revive pet$4.99
  • Steppals Lifetime$54.99
2 purchases

Arius

Subscriptions2
  • Arius monthly Membership$39.991 Month
  • Arius annual Membership$359.991 Year

Questions

Is Step Pals free?
Step Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Arius free?
Arius is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Step Pals or Arius?
Arius is rated higher. Step Pals averages 4.3 out of 5 from 118 ratings, while Arius averages 5.0 from 13 ratings.
Do Step Pals or Arius have ads?
Neither Step Pals nor Arius shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Step Pals or Arius?
Step Pals ships an update weekly, and Arius every 4 days. Most recently, Step Pals was updated on November 8, 2026 and Arius on November 10, 2026.

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