Comparison

Steps vs Apex Trace

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

Head to head
About

Steps

Features
Read full description

Steps is a clean, Watch-first step counter for daily goals, weekly goals, and streaks. See today's total on your Apple Watch face, Home Screen, Lock Screen, and in a focused iPhone app โ€” no account or sign-up required. โ€ข Watch complications for circular, corner, and rectangular faces โ€ข Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for daily and weekly progress โ€ข Daily goals and stretch targets for stronger days โ€ข A weekly goal that shows what today needs to stay on track โ€ข Apple Watch app views for today, this week, and streaks โ€ข Streaks, history, and a month-by-month calendar Set a weekly goal and one low day does not have to throw off the week. Steps spreads the gap across the days you have left, so you can see what today needs and keep building the habit. Steps reads from Apple Health, so your count can include your iPhone, Apple Watch, and compatible rings, fitness bands, apps, and devices that write step data to Health. Steps does not write Health data. Full Access is available with a subscription or one-time lifetime purchase. It unlocks Watch complications, iPhone widgets, stretch targets, weekly goals, helpful reminders, streaks, and history. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Apex Trace

Features
Read full description

Your Fitbit data, beautifully visualized โ€” and entirely on your phone. Apex Trace turns the health data you already track into a dark, animated dashboard worth opening every morning. It reads your data through the Google Health API and renders it as ring gauges, real hypnograms, activity heatmaps, and long-term trends. No flat charts. No monthly bill. PRIVATE BY DESIGN โ€” NOT BY PROMISE Most health apps ask you to trust their servers. Apex Trace doesn't have any. โ€ข No backend. Your health data never leaves your device โ€” there's nowhere for it to go. โ€ข No account, no tracking, no ads. Nothing to sign up for, nothing following you around. โ€ข Limited Use. Apex Trace's use of Google data follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements: your data powers only the features you see โ€” never advertising, never sold, never used to train AI. โ€ข Optional crash reports are off by default, and never contain health data. Disconnect anytime and Apex Trace revokes its access and wipes every cached byte from your device. WHAT YOU GET โ€ข Today โ€” your whole day at a glance, with animated ring gauges and an at-a-glance readiness estimate computed from your own data. โ€ข Sleep โ€” a real hypnogram showing stages, timing, and how last night compares to your baseline. Finally readable. โ€ข Fitness โ€” activity heatmaps and heart-rate zones that show effort and consistency over time, not just a single number. โ€ข Trends โ€” long-term patterns across your metrics, so you can spot what's actually changing week over week and month over month. PAY ONCE. $6.99. No subscription. No in-app purchases. No ads. Buy it, own it. Get premium-style daily estimates without the premium-style monthly bill. TRY IT BEFORE YOU CONNECT Apex Trace ships with a full sample mode, so you can explore the entire dashboard with example data before you buy or connect anything. WHAT YOU'LL NEED (companion app) Apex Trace reads your data through the Google Health API, so it needs: โ€ข The Google Health app installed, and โ€ข A connected account syncing into it (a Fitbit account is the most common source). Apex Trace does not connect to Fitbit directly, and there's no account to create with us. A NOTE ON THE NUMBERS Apex Trace's readiness, sleep, and cardio-load figures are its own estimates, computed on your device to help you spot patterns. They are not medical advice, and not any other product's official scores. Fitbit and Google Health are trademarks of Google LLC. Apex Trace is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google LLC.

Screenshots

Steps4 screens
Apex Trace4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Apex Trace at 14.0 against Steps's 18.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Steps sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Apex Trace sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Steps versus Apex Trace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStepsApex Trace
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyโ€”Every 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS18.014.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size89 MB27 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperDevan KoshalMatteo Ferraroni

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Steps

Subscriptions4
  • Steps Full Access Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Steps Full Access Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Steps Full Access Annual7 Days trial$14.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Steps Full Access Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time2
  • Steps Full Access Lifetime$29.99
  • Steps Full Access Lifetime$39.99
4 purchases

Apex Trace

Subscriptions3
  • Supporter$2.991 Month
  • Supporter+$9.991 Month
  • Supporter Pro$19.991 Month
One-time1
  • Unlock the sync with Google Health$6.99

Questions

Is Steps free?
Steps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Apex Trace free?
Apex Trace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Steps or Apex Trace have ads?
Neither Steps nor Apex Trace shows ads.

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