Pupstep vs Walking Buddy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pupstep
This app motivates you to walk by letting you care for a virtual dog. Track your steps, dress your pup, and collect memories as you reach your daily goals. Your virtual companion stays with you on your iPhone and Apple Watch.
- Virtual dog companion
- Step and distance tracking
- Customizable dog outfits
- Daily goal rewards and memories
- Walk journal and postcard sharing
- Home Screen and Watch face widgets
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A little dog. A little reason to walk. Pupstep turns your everyday steps into time with a virtual companion. Start with a free Corgi, give them a name, and keep your pup nearby on your iPhone and Apple Watch. • Track your steps and walking distance with Apple Health. • Tap your pup for a hello and celebrate reaching your daily goal. • Dress your dog and collect a memory each day you reach your goal. • Keep a journal of your walks and share your favorite postcards. • See your dog and progress on your Home Screen, Lock Screen, Watch face or Smart Stack. On Apple Watch, check today’s activity and remaining goal at a glance. After the first sync, your Watch can read activity locally while your iPhone is away. Setup, outfit selection, purchases, memories and rewards stay on iPhone. Requires watchOS 26 or later. Each breed has its own daily goal. Missed goals can make your pup chubbier; reaching your goal helps them get back in shape. Your bond stays. French Bulldog, Jack Russell and extra accessories are optional one-time purchases. No subscriptions, ads or account. Your data stays on your devices. Sharing is your choice.
Walking Buddy
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Reminders that say how many steps to take and keep you moving through the day instead of one long walk in the morning or evening. Walking Buddy reads your steps from Apple Health, learns your usual pace, and nudges you when the day starts to slip. No account, no ads. STEPS THAT ADD UP See today's count from Apple Health on a ring with your goal, how far you are ahead of or behind pace, and where the steps landed hour by hour. REMINDERS SIZED TO YOUR DAY Instead of "walk more", each nudge tells you how many steps to take right now to stay on pace, and stops once the goal is done. Choose your active hours and days. Snooze a nudge or mark the day done straight from the notification. YOUR USUAL PACE Walking Buddy learns your typical day from the past four weeks and tells you whether today is ahead, on track or behind, with a projection of where the day will land. HISTORY THAT MEANS SOMETHING Week, month and year views, goal-met days, streaks with rest days that do not break them, and a Steps Log calendar back to your first recorded step. A weekly recap arrives every Sunday evening. ON YOUR APPLE WATCH Today's ring, steps to go and your pace on your wrist, with complications for the watch face and the Smart Stack. The watch app works on its own: it reads steps from the watch, keeps your goal, and lets you change the daily target with the Digital Crown. With the iPhone app installed, the goal stays the same on both. WALKING BUDDY PRO - Reminders on your schedule: every hour, twice an hour, fixed intervals, or your own times - Keep the nudges coming after the goal - Custom reminder messages - Streak protection: one missed day a week does not break your streak - Trends and All Time: four-week trend, this week, month and year against the last, the year as a heat map, typical day with weekday and weekend averages, and every year since your first step - Apple Watch: pace and steps to go on the watch face (rectangular and corner complications), your usual pace and the day by hour PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no ads, no analytics. Step data is read from Apple Health and stays on your iPhone and Apple Watch. Goals are stored locally. Walking Buddy is a pedometer built on Apple Health: it works with iPhone step counting and with Apple Watch data that syncs to Apple Health. Pro is a subscription, monthly or yearly with a 7-day free trial, charged to your Apple ID and renewed unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage it in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Walking Buddy at daily against Pupstep's every 2 weeks. Walking Buddy also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. Pupstep sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Walking Buddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pupstep ships an update every 2 weeks, Walking Buddy daily. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pupstep | Walking Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Predrag Samardzic | Raphael Koebraam |
In-app purchases
Pupstep
- Blue Bandana$0.99
- Sleepy Bandana$0.99
- Cozy Scarf$0.99
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- Party Hat$0.99
- Gold Chain$0.99
- Agility Bandana$0.99
- Striped Sweater$0.99
- Red Ball$0.99
- Trail Harness$0.99
- Jack Russell Pack$1.99
Walking Buddy
- Pro Monthly: Reminders, Trends$1.991 Month
- Pro Yearly: Reminders, Trends7 Days trial$19.991 Year









