Comparison

Ascend vs Sync Stairs

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

Head to head
About

Ascend

This app transforms your stair stepper workouts by adding a competitive element and automatically logging your progress. Track steps, time, and pace, compete on leaderboards, and virtually climb famous landmarks. Guided workouts and personal best tracking help you stay motivated.

Highlights
  • Real-time competition with other climbers
  • Automatic step, time, and pace logging
  • Detailed climb analysis
  • Personal best tracking
  • Global and filtered leaderboards
  • Virtual climbs of famous towers
  • Guided workout routines
Features
Read full description

Never bored. Always logged. Finally consistent. Ascend turns your stair stepper into a climb with other climbers beside you and every step counted for you. No staring at the console. No forgetting to log. Just climb. COMPETE WITH OTHER CLIMBERS Every climb puts other climbers on the stairs beside you, each on their best attempt. See who's just ahead, pass them, and watch your rank change as you climb. YOUR CLIMBS LOG THEMSELVES Just wear your headphones. Motion sensors in compatible AirPods or Beats count every step on the machine, in real time. When you step off, the climb is already saved: steps, time and pace. Nothing to remember, nothing to type. ANALYZE EVERY CLIMB See your steps, time, pace and splits for every session. Pair a Bluetooth chest strap or connect Apple Health to add heart rate and effort. BEAT YOUR BEST Best Efforts turns your climbs into a record book only you can break: most steps, longest climb, fastest pace and more, each tied to the climb that set it. JOIN A GROWING COMMUNITY Weekly, monthly and all-time leaderboards. Filter by age, weight and location to see where you stand. Reach the podium, then defend it. CLIMB FAMOUS TOWERS Take on the real step counts of the Empire State Building, Taipei 101, the Eiffel Tower, Burj Khalifa and more. Each one has its own leaderboard and one permanent prize: the First Ascent. The first climber to finish keeps it forever, even after someone posts a faster time. FOLLOW GUIDED WORKOUTS Guided routines build intervals and changing intensity into your session. Or skip the structure and climb at your own pace, with a step goal if you want one. Every session lands in the same history. SHARE EVERY CLIMB Turn any climb into a share card for your story, with the result you earned. WHAT YOU NEED • A stair stepper • Compatible AirPods or Beats headphones (they count your steps) • Optional: Apple Health for heart rate and active calories, and a Bluetooth heart-rate monitor Every climb in Ascend comes from a session you do in Ascend. SUBSCRIPTION An auto-renewing subscription is required after onboarding. Plans, billing terms and any eligible trial are shown before purchase. Manage your subscription in your Apple Account settings; eligible purchases can be restored in Ascend. Ascend is not a medical device and does not provide medical advice. Terms of Use: https://ascendstepper.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://ascendstepper.com/privacy

About

Sync Stairs

Track your stair climbing workouts with real-time metrics, detailed analytics, and personal best achievements. Integrates seamlessly with Apple Health and Apple Watch for comprehensive fitness tracking. Offers smart features like live activities and widgets to keep you motivated.

Highlights
  • Real-time climb tracking
  • Comprehensive workout analytics
  • Apple Watch support
  • Apple Health integration
  • Live Activity and widgets
  • Automatic personal best detection
Features
Read full description

Transform your STEPR workouts with Sync Stairs - the fitness companion built for stair climbing. Connect to your machine over Bluetooth and unlock live metrics, comprehensive analytics, and personal best achievements, on iPhone and on Apple Watch. REAL-TIME CLIMB TRACKING • Live metrics including floors, steps, steps per minute, speed level, elevation gain, calories, and heart rate • Metric tiles you can drag to reorder, with your layout remembered • Automatic personal best detection and celebration • Pause and resume, with a confirmation before a climb ends COMPREHENSIVE ANALYTICS • Climb history grouped by month, with medal badges on records • Best, total, and average for every metric, filtered by week, month, quarter, year, or all time • Streak tracking for consecutive days climbed • Charts for climbs over time, steps over time, any metric's trend with a trend line, and heart rate against step rate • Per-climb detail with full-resolution step, speed, and heart rate charts APPLE WATCH SUPPORT • Record a climb entirely from your wrist - the watch connects to the machine itself • The same metric grid as the phone, sized for the watch • Keeps the heart rate sensor on and the workout running once your wrist drops • Saves straight to Health, so a watch climb shows up on your iPhone • Works with your iPhone nearby or left in the locker HEALTH & FITNESS INTEGRATION • Every climb saves as a Stair Climbing workout in Health • Floors and steps written at full resolution, second by second • Reads heart rate, energy, and effort score back from Health for your climb • Closes your activity rings like any other workout • Health is the only store - no account, no cloud, nothing to sign into SMART FEATURES • Lock Screen and Dynamic Island Live Activity with your climb in progress • A 7x7 heat map widget of the last seven weeks • A Control Center button to start a climb • Start a climb with Siri, Shortcuts, or Spotlight • Share a climb summary as an image • Metric or Imperial units, defaulting to your region DESIGNED FOR STEPR • Bluetooth connection to your STEPR • Scans for your machine and connects when you start a climb - nothing to pair first COMPATIBILITY Sync Stairs has only been tested on the 2026 STEPR Pro Classic. Other STEPR models, and other stair climbers may work but are untested. If yours does not connect properly, get in touch through the feedback link in Settings and it can be looked at. SYNC STAIRS PRO The app is free to use, and every climb you record is yours to keep. Sync Stairs Pro is an optional subscription that unlocks unlimited workouts, the Apple Watch app and the full Insights screen - all charts, all statistics, and streaks. Whether you climb twice a week or every morning, Sync Stairs gives you the tools to track progress, chase records, and stay motivated. Start tracking your climbing today. Privacy Policy: https://www.rspoon3.com/sync-stairs/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

Ascend4 screens
Sync Stairs4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Sync Stairs at freemium against Ascend's subscription. Ascend's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 4 weeks) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Ascend sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Sync Stairs sells 2 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 Ascend against 5.0 for Sync Stairs. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ascend has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ascend ships an update every 4 days, Sync Stairs every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Ascend versus Sync Stairs: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAscendSync Stairs
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size122 MB38 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTyler PavayRichard Witherspoon

Customer experience

Ascend

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Sync Stairs

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Ascend

Subscriptions2
  • Ascend Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Ascend Yearly1 Month trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$49.99
2 purchases

Sync Stairs

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly Subscription$4.997 Days
  • Annual Subscription$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Ascend free?
Ascend is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sync Stairs free?
Sync Stairs is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ascend or Sync Stairs?
Ascend and Sync Stairs are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Ascend or Sync Stairs have ads?
Neither Ascend nor Sync Stairs shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ascend or Sync Stairs?
Ascend ships an update every 4 days, and Sync Stairs every 4 weeks. Most recently, Ascend was updated on November 9, 2026 and Sync Stairs on October 31, 2026.

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