StepNova vs StepKey
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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StepNova is a step counter and pedometer 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. APPLE WATCH APP Start, pause, and finish a walk from your wrist. Live steps, pace, distance, and elapsed time on the watch, a seven-day chart, and a watch face complication for today's progress. Start on the wrist and your iPhone picks the walk up while it is still running. LIVE ACTIVITY & DYNAMIC ISLAND Your walk stays on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island — live timer and stats, with pause and resume, without ever opening the app. SIRI & CONTROL CENTER "Start my StepNova activity." "How many steps today?" Ask Siri hands-free, or start an activity from Control Center with one tap. Saved routes appear in iOS search. 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. 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. 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. 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. It is never sold. StepNova uses anonymous usage statistics to improve the app; see the privacy policy for details. ——— 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/
StepKey
Transform your daily steps into valuable screen time. This app encourages healthier habits by rewarding your physical activity with extended phone access. Achieve your step goals to unlock unlimited usage for the remainder of the day.
- Block distracting apps
- Earn screen time for steps
- Sync with Apple Health
- Track distance and calories
- Build daily streaks
- Home screen widget
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Turn your steps into screen time. Spending too much time on your phone? StepKey helps you build healthier habits by turning your daily steps into screen time. The more you walk, the more you earn. Hit your daily goal and enjoy unlimited access for the rest of the day. It's simple: just move more, scroll less. What you get: - Block distracting apps until you walk - Earn bonus screen time for every 1,000 steps - Real-time step sync with Apple Health - Track distance, calories & floors climbed - Build daily streaks & unlock achievements - Home screen widget to track progress - View stats by day, week & month How it works: 1. Choose which apps to lock 2. Set your daily step goal 3. Get free base screen time every day 4. Earn bonus minutes for every 1,000 steps 5. Reach your goal → Unlimited screen time unlocked (All values are fully customizable) *All features described above require a subscription.* Terms of Service: https://stepkey.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://stepkey.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: StepNova at freemium against StepKey's subscription. StepNova also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. StepNova sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and StepKey sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for StepNova against 4.8 for StepKey. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 5 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
StepNova ships an update every 5 days, StepKey weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | StepNova | StepKey |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (9 ratings) — better | 4.8 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 53 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NAVEEN CHOWDARY PUTHUMBHAKU | Andreas Losing |
Customer experience
StepNova
StepKey
In-app purchases
StepNova
- StepNova Pro — Monthly$1.991 Month
- StepNova Pro — Annual1 Month trial$9.991 Year
- Keep StepNova Free$0.99
- Fund New Features$2.99
- Power Future Updates$6.99
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- StepNova Pro — Lifetime$29.99
StepKey
- Pro$4.997 Days
- Pro3 Days trial$29.991 Year









