Comparison

Step Social vs HexStride

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

Head to head
About

Step Social

Features
Read full description

Walk. Jog. Run. Step Social turns everyday movement into competition. Connect Apple Health, compete for podium positions, climb step and run leaderboards, create groups, join events, earn coins and unlock available rewards. This is not just another step tracker. Step Social is built for people who want their movement to count, their rankings to matter and their progress to be seen. WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR FREE - Connect to Apple Health (Google Health Coming Soon) - Compete for the podium on Step Leaderboards - Compete for the podium and best PBs on Run Leaderboards across 1K, 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Full Marathons - Rank against friends, your region and your country - Chase daily, weekly, monthly and all-time step rankings - Join groups and events and take part in step and run challenges - Automatically plan walk routes to help complete your step goal - Set personal daily step goals - View your dashboard, rank progress and recent performance - Earn coins by completing movement goals and unlock available rewards, offers and in-app perks STEP LEADERBOARDS Turn your daily movement into competition by climbing step rankings against friends, your region, your country and the world across daily, weekly, monthly and all-time leaderboards. RUN LEADERBOARDS Compete for podium positions across 1K, 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Full Marathon distances by recording your fastest verified run times and personal bests. EARN COINS AND UNLOCK REWARDS Complete verified movement goals to earn coins in Step Social. Coins can be used to unlock available rewards, offers and in-app perks. Reward availability may vary by location, eligibility, partner, stock and campaign terms. WORKS WITH Step Social connects with Apple Health. Google Health connection is coming soon. Devices that sync with Apple Health include: - Apple Watch - Garmin - Oura Ring - Fitbit - Whoop - Hume Band - Other compatible fitness watches, rings and trackers Availability may depend on your device, connected app, health permissions, data-sharing settings and successful syncing with Apple Health. FREE PLAN The Free Plan unlocks: - Step Leaderboard Tracking - Run Leaderboard PB's - Add and Compete with Friends - Earn Coins for Rewards - Join any Group and Event - Region and Country Leaderboards PRO SUBSCRIPTION The Pro subscription is available for £0.99 per month or £9.99 per year and unlocks: - Everything in Free - Worldwide Leaderboard - The ability to create 1 Group and 1 Event ELITE SUBSCRIPTION The Elite subscription is available for £1.99 per month or £19.99 per year and unlocks everything in Pro and: - Worldwide Leaderboards - Unlimited Groups - Unlimited Events - Priority Support - Future Elite Perks GENERAL INFO Step Social is free to download and use. Step Social Pro and Step Social Elite are optional auto-renewable subscriptions. Prices may vary by region. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://stepsocial.app/privacy

About

HexStride

This app transforms your real-world walks and runs into a game where you claim hexagonal territories on a map. Earn ground by physically moving, defend your claims by walking them again, and compete with others for the largest territories. It offers a unique way to gamify exercise and explore your surroundings.

Highlights
  • Claim hexagonal territories by walking
  • Defend claimed ground by re-walking
  • Compete for largest territories
  • Integrates with Apple Health for runs
  • No account required, private by design
  • Live Activities and widgets
  • Share walks and progress
Features
Read full description

Where you walk becomes yours. HexStride turns the streets you already walk into a board of hexagons, twenty-seven metres across. Walk a street and the hexagons under your feet are yours. Close a loop and everything inside it is yours too. Walk through a rival's ground and you take it, one layer at a time. The biggest patch leads, and the board never resets. EARNED ON FOOT Every hexagon on the map was walked by somebody. Claims count walking or running, and a walk at vehicle speed, or one your phone's step counter says you didn't walk, claims nothing. No clock ever holds ground for anyone: what defends a hexagon is walking it again, which hardens it, and a rival needs one walk to crack a layer and another to take it. How claims are checked is public at hexstride.app/fair-play. A GAME THAT STAYS KIND Your score only goes up. Losing ground stops it climbing, never subtracts. Two rest days a week are free, and a short week is never called a failure. One nudge a day at your usual hour, nothing between ten at night and eight in the morning, no red badges. WALK. RUN. LOOP. Start counts you down and follows you through real 3D streets. During the walk the hexagons you'd claim light up as outlines; tap End and they sweep in along your route. Runs count too and are saved to Apple Health as runs. THE BOARD A board for every district, city, region and country, with a podium at the top and your own row pinned wherever it falls. Tap any patch to see who holds it: their name, their photo and how much ground they hold against yours. Send a wave. Invite a friend to the same streets. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account and no sign-up. Your routes never leave your phone; only the hexagons you claimed do. Nobody, including us, can see where you walked. No ads, no analytics that track you, no data sale. Delete everything from inside the app, any time. ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN A Live Activity for the walk in progress, and widgets for the week's days out and the ground you hold. Share a walk as a story or a post, or send it to Strava. A city with nobody in it is yours for the taking. Bring a friend and it's a rivalry.

Screenshots

Step Social4 screens
HexStride4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Step Social at 3 against HexStride's 1. 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. Step Social sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and HexStride sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Step Social ships an update every 3 days, HexStride every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Step Social versus HexStride: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStep SocialHexStride
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB30 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperEat Lebo Franchasing LimitedBEN DUSHNITZKY

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Step Social

Subscriptions4
  • Pro Monthly Subscription$0.991 Month
  • Elite Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly Subscription$9.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Elite Yearly Subscription$19.991 Year
3 purchases

HexStride

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly14 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Annual14 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Step Social free?
Step Social is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HexStride free?
HexStride is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Step Social or HexStride have ads?
Neither Step Social nor HexStride shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Step Social or HexStride?
Step Social ships an update every 3 days, and HexStride every 5 days. Most recently, Step Social was updated on October 25, 2026 and HexStride on October 31, 2026.

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