Comparison

PaceBoard vs StepNova

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

Head to head
About

PaceBoard

Features
Read full description

PaceBoard turns your Apple Health data into a clean, glanceable dashboard for running, walking, and step tracking. No account required — your data stays on your device. See your distance, pace, heart rate zones, and streaks — all in one place. Set daily, weekly, and monthly goals, then watch your progress update across your Home Screen widgets, Lock Screen, and Apple Watch. DASHBOARD Your activity at a glance. Switch between running, walking, and steps. View stats by day, week, month, or year. See your recent workouts, current goals, and today's training plan workout — all from one screen. WORKOUT RECORDING Start a run or walk directly from your iPhone or Apple Watch. See live distance, pace, heart rate with zone tracking, elevation gain, and calories. Your route is mapped via GPS and saved to Apple Health. DISCOVERY MAP Explore your city street by street. A fog-of-war map reveals every road you've run or walked, with a coverage percentage to motivate you to discover more. HISTORY & STREAKS Browse your full activity history with daily, weekly, and monthly views. Track your current streak, best day, and recent momentum. Compare year over year to see your progress. ACHIEVEMENTS Earn medals for single-run records, daily step milestones, and lifetime distance totals. Follow your Road to Marathon journey from 1K to 42.2K. Share your medals with friends. TRAINING PLANS Follow structured programs from Couch to 5K through Marathon. Each plan includes week-by-week schedules, coach notes, and workout types like tempo runs, intervals, and long runs. SHOE TRACKING Log your shoes, track their mileage, and get notified when they're worn out. Select which shoe to wear before each workout. See how far each pair has carried you. WIDGETS & APPLE WATCH Beautiful Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets show your daily and weekly progress at a glance. Apple Watch app with full dashboard, workout recording, and shoe management. SHARING Create and share workout cards, weekly summaries, Year Wrapped visuals, and medal achievements with your friends and running community. PACEBOARD PLUS Unlock monthly timeframes on widgets, dynamic widget backgrounds, unlimited shoe pairs, mid-workout shoe switching, and Apple Watch complications. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

StepNova

Track your daily movement with GPS, map routes, and receive coaching for intervals. Set personal records, follow training plans, and stay motivated with achievements and streaks. Share your live location for safety and log your post-activity feelings.

Highlights
  • GPS route tracking
  • Interval training programs
  • Personal records and route bests
  • Structured training plans
  • Live location sharing
  • Home and lock screen widgets
  • Post-activity journal
Features
Read full description

StepNova is a focused activity tracker for everyday movement. Whether you're walking, running, cycling, or hiking — StepNova counts every step, maps your route, coaches you through intervals, and celebrates every personal record along the way. SMART ACTIVITY TRACKING Automatic step, distance, calorie, and pace tracking using your iPhone's built-in sensors. Supports walking, running, cycling, hiking, and elliptical — indoors or out. PERSONAL RECORDS & ROUTE BESTS StepNova tracks your all-time bests for steps, distance, calories, and pace. Save your favorite routes and StepNova will tell you every time you beat your personal record on them — with a full-screen celebration to mark the moment. INTERVAL TRAINING Choose from 5 guided interval programs — Walk-to-Run, C25K Week 1, HIIT 40/20, Tabata, and Active Recovery — or build your own with StepNova Pro. Voice prompts guide you through every work and rest phase automatically. WALK WINDOWS See the best upcoming hours to head outside based on real-time weather — AQI, temperature, UV index, wind, and rain chance, all ranked so the ideal window is always visible on your dashboard. LIVE MAPS & PERFORMANCE GRAPHS GPS route tracing with pace, elevation, and speed graphs. Review your splits, see your elevation profile, replay your exact path, and share your route after every activity. INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD DRILL-DOWNS Your dashboard is built for exploration. Tap cards, charts, and key stats to open deeper breakdowns, trends, and detailed views across your activity data. STREAKS & ACHIEVEMENTS Build daily streaks, unlock 50 achievement badges across Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiers, and compete with friends on a weekly step leaderboard. TRAINING PLANS Follow structured multi-week training plans — beginner, endurance, or race-ready — with daily targets and CloudKit sync across all your devices. A shareable completion card marks every milestone. SAFE WALK Share your live location with a trusted contact while you walk solo. They see your real-time position and path for peace of mind — yours and theirs. POST-WALK JOURNAL Log notes, mood, and photos after each activity to track how you feel over time. HOME SCREEN & LOCK SCREEN WIDGETS Glanceable step count, daily goal progress, and streaks — right on your home screen or lock screen without opening the app. VOICE COACHING Milestone announcements and interval cues spoken in your device's language. StepNova keeps you informed without you ever having to look at your phone. Your health, location, and activity data stays on your device and in your private iCloud account — never sold, never shared. ——— StepNova Pro Unlock the full StepNova experience: • Custom interval program creation • Unlimited saved routes • Unlimited friends on leaderboard • 25 more achievements to unlock • All training plans & structured challenges • Safe Walk live location sharing • Custom app themes Try StepNova Pro free for 30 days (available for eligible new subscribers). After the trial, your subscription automatically renews at $9.99/year unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the trial period. Monthly plan available at $1.99/month (no trial). Lifetime access available as a one-time purchase. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PaceBoard4 screens
StepNova4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: StepNova at 18.0 against PaceBoard's 26.2. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. PaceBoard sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and StepNova sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
PaceBoard versus StepNova: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaceBoardStepNova
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.9 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—8 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.218.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaul Carlos Petru PetrutaNAVEEN CHOWDARY PUTHUMBHAKU

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PaceBoard

Subscriptions2
  • PaceBoard: Run & Walk Tracker7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Plus Year7 Days trial$49.991 Year
6 purchases

StepNova

Subscriptions2
  • StepNova Pro — Monthly$1.991 Month
  • StepNova Pro — Annual1 Month trial$9.991 Year
One-time4
  • Keep StepNova Free$0.99
  • Fund New Features$2.99
  • Power Future Updates$6.99
Show 1 more
  • StepNova Pro — Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is PaceBoard free?
PaceBoard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StepNova free?
StepNova is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PaceBoard or StepNova have ads?
Neither PaceBoard nor StepNova shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PaceBoard or StepNova?
PaceBoard ships an update every 5 days, and StepNova every 5 days. Most recently, PaceBoard was updated on September 12, 2026 and StepNova on September 23, 2026.

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