Comparison

Steps vs Physical

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

Head to head
About

Steps

This app offers a beautiful and comprehensive way to track your daily steps, distance, calories, and active minutes. It provides detailed charts, goal setting, and motivational features to keep you moving. You can also track outdoor workouts with GPS and compete with friends.

Highlights
  • Live step count with progress ring
  • GPS outdoor workout tracking
  • Streaks, goals, and personal bests
  • Weekly and monthly trend charts
  • Social leaderboards and challenges
  • Customizable themes and widgets
  • Apple Health and Apple Watch integration
Features
Read full description

Steps is the cleanest, most beautiful step tracker for iPhone. Whether you're working toward 10,000 steps a day or training for a marathon, Steps keeps you motivated with real-time data, stunning charts, and social competition. DAILY TRACKING • Live step count with animated progress ring • Distance, calories, active minutes & floors climbed • Hourly breakdown chart — see exactly when you were active • Automatic sync with Apple Health STREAKS & GOALS • Set your own daily step goal • Build and protect day streaks • Personal best detection with confetti celebration • Motivational messages that adapt to your progress TRENDS & HISTORY • Weekly and monthly charts with goal markers • Full calendar history — tap any day for hourly detail • Monthly and weekly recap cards GPS WORKOUTS • Track outdoor walks, runs, cycling, hiking & trail runs • Live route map with pace, splits & elevation • Auto-pause, voice coach & detailed post-workout summary FRIENDS & CHALLENGES • Leaderboard — compare steps with friends daily, weekly or monthly • Send challenges and nudges to keep each other moving • XP levels and achievement badges BEAUTIFUL & CUSTOMISABLE • 5 accent colour themes • Light, dark & automatic appearance • Home screen and Lock Screen widgets • Apple Watch companion app Steps respects your privacy. All health data stays on your device and is only shared with Apple Health.

About

Physical

This app tracks your weekly aerobic minutes and strength training days based on national guidelines, personalized to your profile. It integrates with Apple Health to automatically log workouts and provides visual progress through simple rings. Features include live heart-rate zones, workout goals, and voice commands via Siri.

Highlights
  • Guideline-based weekly targets
  • Live heart-rate zones
  • Workout goals with progress alerts
  • Siri and Shortcuts integration
  • Outdoor GPS tracking
  • Strength logging with muscle groups
  • Widget and Live Activity display
Features
Read full description

Most fitness apps chase step counts. Physical tracks what actually moves your health: the weekly aerobic minutes and strength days from national physical activity guidelines, personalized to you. Your dashboard shows two simple rings, aerobic and strength, tailored to your age and profile. Every walk, run, and lift you log in Apple Health counts automatically. WHAT YOU GET - Guideline-based targets. Weekly goals from the 2018 U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines, not a generic 10k steps. - Live heart-rate zones. Color-coded intensity on iPhone and Apple Watch, so you know when you are working hard enough. - Workout goals. Aim for a time, calorie, or distance target, with a wrist buzz at the halfway point and the finish. - Start with Siri. Say "Hey Siri, let's get Physical" to begin a workout or a saved routine by voice, plus Shortcuts and Spotlight support. - Start fast. Long-press the app icon for Home Screen quick actions to jump into a run, walk, or strength session. - Outdoor GPS. Live distance, pace, and route mapping for outdoor walks, runs, hikes, and rides on Apple Watch. - Music controls. Play, pause, and skip right from the workout screen, without leaving the app. - Strength logging. Log sessions on iPhone or Apple Watch with muscle-group coverage, and save your own routines. - Widget and complication. Your rings at a glance on the Home Screen and watch face. - Live Activity. Heart rate and intensity on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island during a workout. - Share your week. Turn your two rings into an image you can post anywhere. - Export your data. Send your logged workouts to CSV anytime from Settings. - Nothing slips by. Get a heads-up when a workout you logged in another app counts toward your week. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Physical collects nothing. No account, no analytics, no ads, no network calls. Your health data stays in Apple Health, and your saved routines back up to your own iCloud. Nothing is ever sent to us. HOW IT WORKS Set your profile once, then just live your week. Workouts you log in Apple Health count automatically, and Physical shows how close you are with reminders that adapt as your rings fill. Try everything free for 7 days, then continue with a subscription or a one-time lifetime unlock. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ryansan2001-source.github.io/physical-privacy/ Questions? developer.ryan.mcgee@icloud.com

Screenshots

Steps4 screens
Physical4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Steps at none against Physical's 3. Steps also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Physical's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 6 weeks). 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. Physical sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Steps asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Steps ships an update every 6 weeks, Physical every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Steps versus Physical: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStepsPhysical
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDejvi KacolljaRyan McGee

In-app purchases

None

Steps

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Physical

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Access7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Annual Access7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock Physical$49.99

Questions

Is Steps free?
Steps is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Physical free?
Physical is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Steps or Physical?
Steps and Physical are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Steps or Physical have ads?
Neither Steps nor Physical shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Steps or Physical?
Steps ships an update every 6 weeks, and Physical every 4 days. Most recently, Steps was updated on October 7, 2026 and Physical on October 14, 2026.

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