WalkPace Pro vs Walking Buddy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WalkPace Pro
This app guides you through interval walking workouts based on scientific research. It uses audio cues to tell you when to speed up and slow down, improving fitness and cardiovascular health without the need to run. Workouts can be done with music or podcasts playing and sync with HealthKit.
- Interval walking timer
- Audio cues for speed changes
- Works over music/podcasts
- HealthKit integration
- Apple Watch support
- Siri Shortcuts
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Get more from every walk — backed by research from the Mayo Clinic. WalkPace Pro is a simple interval walking timer based on the science of alternating fast and slow walking. Studies show this method — sometimes called Japanese walking — delivers better fitness, strength, and cardiovascular results than walking at a steady pace, even when total exercise time is the same. Just set your time, press start, and follow the audio cues. That's it. HOW IT WORKS • Set your total workout time (5–120 minutes) • Choose your fast and recovery interval lengths (1–10 minutes each) • Press Start and walk Clear audio cues tell you when to speed up and slow down — gently interrupting your music or podcast so you never miss a transition. Lock your phone and keep walking. WHY INTERVAL WALKING? Research published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that alternating 3 minutes of brisk walking with 3 minutes of easy walking significantly outperformed continuous moderate walking. Participants saw improvements in aerobic fitness, leg strength, blood pressure, and blood sugar control. A separate study found peak aerobic capacity increased 27% in sedentary adults after just 3 months. The protocol is simple, the science is strong, and you don't need to run. FEATURES • Audio cues that play over your music and podcasts • Works on iPhone and Apple Watch (standalone or synced) • Haptic feedback on Apple Watch • HealthKit integration — workouts saved automatically • Siri Shortcuts support • Background operation — lock your phone and keep walking • No account required, no ads, no tracking PERFECT FOR • Walkers who want better results from the time they already spend walking • Adults over 40 looking for a science-backed fitness routine • Anyone returning to exercise who wants something gentle but effective • People who find steady cardio boring and want more structure • Fans of the Japanese walking method who want a purpose-built timer No subscriptions. No complexity. Pay once, use forever.
Walking Buddy
This app provides personalized step count reminders throughout the day to help you reach your fitness goals. It learns your pace and offers flexible goal setting, with detailed history and Apple Watch integration. It prioritizes user privacy with no ads or analytics.
- Personalized step reminders
- Apple Health integration
- Customizable daily goals
- Pace learning and projection
- Detailed step history
- Apple Watch app and complications
- Privacy-focused design
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Reminders that say how many steps to take and keep you moving through the day instead of one long walk in the morning or evening. Walking Buddy reads your steps from Apple Health, learns your usual pace, and nudges you when the day starts to slip. No account, no ads. STEPS THAT ADD UP See today's count from Apple Health on a ring with your goal, how far you are ahead of or behind pace, and where the steps landed hour by hour. REMINDERS SIZED TO YOUR DAY Instead of "walk more", each nudge tells you how many steps to take right now to stay on pace, and stops once the goal is done. Choose your active hours and days. Snooze a nudge or mark the day done straight from the notification. YOUR USUAL PACE Walking Buddy learns your typical day from the past four weeks and tells you whether today is ahead, on track or behind, with a projection of where the day will land. GOALS FOR EVERY KIND OF DAY Keep more than one goal active, each on its own days: 10,000 steps on weekdays and 6,000 at the weekend. A day without a goal is a rest day: no reminders, and your streak is safe. HISTORY THAT MEANS SOMETHING Week, month and year views, goal-met days, streaks with rest days that do not break them, and a Steps Log calendar back to your first recorded step. A weekly recap arrives every Sunday evening. ON YOUR APPLE WATCH Today's ring, steps to go and your pace on your wrist, with complications for the watch face and the Smart Stack. The watch app works on its own: it reads steps from the watch, keeps your goal, and lets you change the daily target with the Digital Crown. With the iPhone app installed, the goal stays the same on both. WALKING BUDDY PRO - Reminders on your schedule: every hour, twice an hour, fixed intervals, or your own times - Keep the nudges coming after the goal - Custom reminder messages - Vacation mode: plan the days you are away, with no reminders and your streak safe - Streak protection: one missed day a week does not break your streak - Trends and All Time: four-week trend, this week, month and year against the last, the year as a heat map, typical day with weekday and weekend averages, and every year since your first step - Apple Watch: pace and steps to go on the watch face (rectangular and corner complications), your usual pace and the day by hour PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no ads, no analytics. Step data is read from Apple Health and stays on your iPhone and Apple Watch. Goals are stored locally. Walking Buddy is a pedometer built on Apple Health: it works with iPhone step counting and with Apple Watch data that syncs to Apple Health. Pro is a subscription, monthly or yearly with a 7-day free trial, charged to your Apple ID and renewed unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage it in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Walking Buddy at every 2 days against WalkPace Pro's every 4 months. WalkPace Pro's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium). 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
Both are free to download. WalkPace Pro sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Walking Buddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for WalkPace Pro against 5.0 for Walking Buddy. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
WalkPace Pro ships an update every 4 months, Walking Buddy every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WalkPace Pro | Walking Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | David Fish | Raphael Koebraam |
Customer experience
WalkPace Pro
Walking Buddy
In-app purchases
WalkPace Pro
- WalkPace Pro$2.49
Walking Buddy
- Pro Monthly: Reminders, Trends$1.991 Month
- Pro Yearly: Reminders, Trends7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Questions
Is WalkPace Pro free?
Is Walking Buddy free?
Which has better reviews, WalkPace Pro or Walking Buddy?
Do WalkPace Pro or Walking Buddy have ads?
Which is updated more often, WalkPace Pro or Walking Buddy?
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