Thru vs StepBattle
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Thru
Conquer legendary hiking trails virtually by tracking your real-world steps. Progress through illustrated landscapes, collect badges, and check in at landmarks on an interactive map. Every mile walked brings your virtual hiker closer to the finish line.
- Virtual thru-hiking expeditions
- Real-world step tracking integration
- Interactive progress map
- Illustrated landscape representations
- Trail badge collection
- Landmark check-ins
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Ever dreamed of completing a legendary thru hike? Now you can conquer epic trails like the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, Grand Tour des Alpes, and more using nothing but your daily steps! Thru connects your real-world activity to a breathtaking virtual expedition. Whether you're walking the dog, running a marathon, or simply pacing around the office, every single mile moves your hiker further along the virtual trail. See your progress unfold on a beautifully designed, interactive map. As you clock the miles, you'll pass through illustrated representations of iconic landscapes. Stay motivated by collecting unique trail badges, checking in at landmarks, and watching your virtual self complete the journey.
StepBattle
Compete with friends and others by tracking your steps. Sync with Apple Health to climb leaderboards, join challenges, and earn medals. See live updates on matches and races.
- Live Apple Health sync
- Live leaderboards
- Step battles (1v1, group, regional)
- Earn medals
- Match feed
- Invite friends
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StepBattle turns walking into a real competition. Sync steps from Apple Health, climb live leaderboards, start challenges, earn medals, and see who’s winning in the feed — all in one competitive step-tracking app. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Track today’s steps with live Apple Health sync • Climb leaderboards for friends, gender, state, and country • Start 1v1, group, and regional step battles • Earn medals for milestones, streaks, and big days • Follow matches and close races in the feed • Invite friends and compete together STEPBATTLE MEMBERSHIP Unlock advanced challenge formats, scheduled start times, and priority leaderboard highlights with StepBattle Membership ($4.99/month). Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID subscriptions. Privacy Policy: https://steprival-invite.web.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://steprival-invite.web.app/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Thru at none against StepBattle's 1. Thru also leads on ratings volume (110 vs 1). StepBattle's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 8 days) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. StepBattle sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Thru asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Thru against 5.0 for StepBattle. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thru has 110 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of Thru's written reviews are positive against 100% of StepBattle's.
Thru ships an update every 8 days, StepBattle every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Thru | StepBattle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (110 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 92.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 110 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Aaron La Lau | StepBattle LLC |
Customer experience
Thru
StepBattle
In-app purchases
Thru
No in-app purchases
StepBattle
- StepBattle Membership$4.991 Month
