Comparison

StepHive vs Walking Buddy

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

Head to head
About

StepHive

Features
Read full description

StepHive turns your daily walk into something social, motivating, and a little bit joyful. Track your steps, map your routes, get friendly AI feedback on every walk, and stay connected with the friends who keep you moving — on your iPhone and Apple Watch. Whether you're chasing a step goal, getting back in shape, or simply love a good walk, StepHive helps you show up every day — together with your hive. WALK & TRACK • See today's steps, calories, weather, and weekly, monthly, and yearly progress at a glance • Map every walk with live GPS — distance, time, pace, elevation, and heart rate • Pause your walk to chat with a neighbor without hurting your time or pace • Follow your walk live on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island • Snap geotagged photos along the way — they pin to your route map and save to your Photos • Walk a favorite route again and compare your time and pace ON YOUR WRIST • Check your step ring and start a walk right from your Apple Watch • Track a whole walk on the watch — route, distance, time, heart rate, and calories • Leave your phone at home; your walk syncs back to your iPhone when you're reunited SMART & PERSONAL • Get warm, personalized feedback on each walk — your pace, effort, and progress — with AI powered by Apple Intelligence, right on your iPhone and completely private • See how your walking pace compares for people your age • Track your weight over time with a simple trend chart WALK WITH FRIENDS • Add friends with a simple invite code • See yourself ranked alongside them on a friendly daily leaderboard • Cheer each other on with quick, personal messages • Watch friends' live walks on the map with Friends on the Move STAY MOTIVATED • Build a daily-goal streak and earn achievement badges — from your first walk to a full year — with a little confetti when you hit your goal • Gentle daily reminders to get your steps in — rotating, never naggy • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets showing your steps and goal progress • Set your own step goal and personal goals MADE FOR WALKERS • A free Music tab — pick a favorite album, a playlist, or your most-played songs from a card and tap to play • Friendly guidance on pace and healthy walking by age • Fully available in English and Spanish WALK SAFER • Choose safety contacts and share your location with one tap if you ever need help • (StepHive is not a replacement for your phone's Emergency SOS) FREE TO WALK StepHive is free to download and use — steps, friends, leaderboard, streaks, music, AI walk analysis, weight tracking, the Apple Watch app, reminders, and widgets are all free. Unlock GPS route mapping — track and map your walks, see your pace, save your history, and add photo waypoints — with a single one-time purchase. YOUR DATA, YOUR CALL StepHive only reads the health data you allow, and never shares it without you. Location is used solely to map your walks while you're walking. AI walk analysis runs privately on your device. Lace up, invite a friend, and join the hive.

About

Walking Buddy

Features
Read full description

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

StepHive4 screens
Walking Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Walking Buddy at daily against StepHive's fortnightly. 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. StepHive sells 1 one-off in-app purchase 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StepHive ships an update fortnightly, Walking Buddy daily. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
StepHive versus Walking Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStepHiveWalking Buddy
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid RamerRaphael Koebraam

In-app purchases

1 purchases

StepHive

One-time1
  • Unlock GPS Routes$2.99
2 purchases

Walking Buddy

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly: Reminders, Trends$1.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly: Reminders, Trends7 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is StepHive free?
StepHive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Walking Buddy free?
Walking Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StepHive or Walking Buddy have ads?
Neither StepHive nor Walking Buddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StepHive or Walking Buddy?
StepHive ships an update fortnightly, and Walking Buddy daily. Most recently, StepHive was updated on October 7, 2026 and Walking Buddy on October 6, 2026.

Other comparisons