Comparison

StepMax vs Pacely Step

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

Head to head
About

StepMax

This app transforms walking into a game with characters, achievements, and leaderboards. It tracks steps, calories, and distance, offering detailed reports and motivating users to build consistent walking habits. Compete with friends and collect unique characters to enhance your fitness journey.

Highlights
  • Gamified step tracking
  • Collect and evolve characters
  • Achievements and daily streaks
  • Leaderboards and friend challenges
  • Walk timer with pace tracking
  • Detailed progress reports
  • Offline functionality
Read full description

A step counter that actually makes you want to walk. StepMax counts your steps, tracks calories and distance, and turns every walk into a game with companions, badges, achievements and leaderboards. STAY MOTIVATED → 172 achievements across 9 categories → Daily badges that climb from Starter to Mythic → Daily streaks that build real walking habits → Endless levels to climb → 30+ companions to collect and evolve → A weekly recap of how your week went → Set a daily step goal and crush it COMPETE WORLDWIDE → Daily, weekly, monthly and all-time leaderboards → Rank among friends, your country, your continent or the whole world → 1v1 step challenges with friends → Invite friends to earn VIP time and exclusive companions STEP TRACKING → Automatic step counting with your iPhone's motion sensor – no GPS needed, easy on the battery → Brings in your walking history from Apple Health → Calories, distance in km or miles, and CO₂ saved → Walk timer with time, pace and steps for every walk → Measure your real step length with GPS → Home Screen widgets with your companion, streak and hourly steps, plus Lock Screen widgets DETAILED STATISTICS → Hourly, weekly, monthly, yearly and custom range charts → Tap any bar to see the exact steps → Personal records and your full step history → Custom goals for any period MAP YOUR WALKS (VIP) → Record every walk with GPS and see your route on the map → Follow your walk live on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island → Share your route as a picture STEPMAX VIP → Walk map with GPS routes and the live Lock Screen tracker → No ads → Permanent 2x XP → Exclusive VIP companions Monthly or yearly subscription. It renews automatically; cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. YOUR DATA, YOUR WAY → No account needed to get started → Sign in with Apple to back up and compete with friends → Back up to iCloud or your StepMax account, so you never lose your progress → Step counting works offline ALSO → Dark and light mode → Available in 8 languages: English, Slovak, Czech, Polish, German, Spanish, French and Portuguese Whether you want a simple pedometer, a daily activity tracker or a walking game with companions and achievements, StepMax has you covered. Download now and start walking. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://cinderhound.com/privacy/stepmax

About

Pacely Step

Read full description

Every step becomes a journey. Your daily walking distance carries you around Tokyo's Yamanote Loop, one stop at a time, and every flight of stairs adds up to a real landmark. A calm, beautifully simple pedometer and step counter. ■ What Pacely Step does - Steps, distance, calories and stairs — tracked automatically Reads your iPhone's Motion & Fitness data to log daily steps, walking distance, pace, and floors climbed. - Journey: walk your way along real routes Your walking distance moves you around the Yamanote Loop (about 34.5 km). "1.3 km to the next stop" and "4 stops reached today" give every walk somewhere to go. - Climb to world landmarks Your height climbed is measured in Eiffel Towers, Mt. Fuji, the Empire State Building and more. "1.5× Eiffel Tower this month" turns the stairs into a small adventure. - Calorie estimates that reflect how you walk Estimates use your walking speed and stair activity with MET-based calculations. - A calendar that keeps your progress Goal days are marked in vermillion. See your streak, best steps day, best height day and monthly progress at a glance. ■ Who it's for - Anyone who found step counts alone weren't enough to keep walking - Daily walkers and commuters who want a reason to go one stop further - People who prefer a quiet, minimal design over busy fitness apps - Anyone tired of subscriptions and looking for a one-time purchase - Anyone who wants a reason to take the stairs ■ Privacy - No account required - Your step records stay on your iPhone and are never sent anywhere - No access to HealthKit or your location - No advertising identifier (IDFA), no third-party ads or tracking - To show our other apps, the app may fetch public App Store information (app names and icons) Distances, calories and heights are estimates based on your iPhone's measurements.

Screenshots

StepMax4 screens
Pacely Step4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pacely Step at none against StepMax's shown. Pacely Step also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). StepMax's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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. StepMax sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month and Pacely Step sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StepMax ships an update every 6 days, Pacely Step every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
StepMax versus Pacely Step: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStepMaxPacely Step
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB2 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperIvan Mlynektorankirite

In-app purchases

2 purchases

StepMax

Subscriptions2
  • StepMax VIP$2.491 Month
  • StepMax VIP$11.991 Year
1 purchases

Pacely Step

One-time1
  • Premium$3.99

Questions

Is StepMax free?
StepMax is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pacely Step free?
Pacely Step is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StepMax or Pacely Step have ads?
StepMax shows ads; Pacely Step does not.
Which is updated more often, StepMax or Pacely Step?
StepMax ships an update every 6 days, and Pacely Step every 2 months. Most recently, StepMax was updated on October 15, 2026 and Pacely Step on October 14, 2026.

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