Comparison

Pathlings vs Gloam

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

Head to head
About

Pathlings

This app transforms your daily steps into a gentle adventure with a virtual companion. Nurture your unique buddy, unlock new stages of growth, and complete daily quests to build a consistent routine. Goals are customizable to fit your lifestyle, making fitness fun and private.

Highlights
  • Virtual companion with unique personalities
  • Daily step-based adventures and quests
  • Unlockable growth stages and rewards
  • Customizable step goals
  • Collect in-game items
  • Private and ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

Meet the walking companion that makes reaching your daily step goal fun. Pathlings is a step tracker and walking game that transforms the steps already recorded on your iPhone into a rewarding adventure. Instead of simply watching numbers increase, you’ll raise adorable virtual companions, complete quests, unlock new evolutions, and build a walking habit you’ll actually want to maintain. Whether you’re trying to walk more, stay active, or build a healthier routine, Pathlings turns every step into meaningful progress. RAISE YOUR OWN PATHLING Choose from Sprout, Ember, or Bubble, three unique companions with their own personalities, habitats, and evolution paths. Walk every day to earn XP, help your Pathling evolve through five growth stages, and build a growing family of companions. TURN EVERY WALK INTO A GAME Every step recorded through Apple Health moves your Pathling forward. • Complete daily quests • Earn XP • Collect Rubies • Unlock rewards • Reach your daily step goal Instead of a traditional pedometer, Pathlings makes walking feel like an adventure. EXPLORE BEAUTIFUL TRAILS Send your Pathling on Trail Runs through unique environments filled with checkpoints and rewards. Each habitat offers its own atmosphere, collectibles, and surprises to discover. DECORATE YOUR HABITAT Customize your companion’s home with: • Plants • Toys • Snacks • Decorations • Structures • Lighting Watch your Pathlings play, explore, and relax inside the habitat you’ve created. BUILD A FAMILY OF COMPANIONS Once your first Pathling reaches its final evolution, adopt another. Your fully evolved companions remain in your habitat, allowing you to build a collection of adorable walking buddies. STAY MOTIVATED EVERY DAY Choose a daily step goal that fits your lifestyle. Whether you’re aiming for 5,000 steps or 15,000, Pathlings rewards consistency instead of perfection. Build streaks, earn bonus rewards, and use Rest Day Tokens to protect your progress when life gets busy. DESIGNED FOR PRIVACY • Uses your Apple Health step data • Your health data stays on your device • No subscriptions • No ads • No account required Whether you’re looking for a walking app, step tracker, walking motivation app, virtual pet, habit tracker, or a fun new way to stay active, Pathlings transforms every walk into an adventure.

About

Gloam

Features
Read full description

Gloam is the screen-time app that's actually fun. Most screen-time tools nag, shame, or bore you into deleting them. Gloam does the opposite. It turns cutting back into a game you actually want to play, with a currency to manage, a creature to keep happy, and friends to beat. HOW IT WORKS Every day you get Elixir, your right to screen time. The apps you are trying to avoid cost Elixir to open. The apps that are good for you cost nothing, and can even earn a little back. Watch the balance and you finally see what mindless scrolling really costs, in a way that feels tangible instead of preachy. Sort your apps into three tiers. Green apps are free. Amber apps cost a little. Red apps, the endless-scroll ones, cost more the longer you stay. Run out of Elixir and those apps rest until tomorrow. It is a gentle nudge, never a hard lockout. MEET YOUR CREATURE At the heart of Gloam is a companion that thrives when you do. Bank your leftover Elixir and it grows, glows, and evolves. Blow your budget and it droops, but it never dies and it never shames you. Give it a name, feed it in the Den, and watch it react to your day. EARN YOUR TIME BACK Go for a walk, finish a workout, solve a quick puzzle, or take a mindful minute. Gloam turns your steps and activity into Elixir, so time off your phone quietly buys you a little more when you want it. BEAT YOUR FRIENDS Add friends and climb a fair leaderboard that compares how well each of you sticks to your own goals, not raw hours. Go head to head in matchups, chase group goals together, and send a friend some Elixir when they are running low. TRACK, DON'T ENFORCE Gloam is built on one idea. Make the cost of scrolling visible and a little bit fun, and you spend less without feeling deprived. It cheers you on. It never locks you out of your life. Your solo world works fully offline. Add friends when you want the social side. MEMBERSHIP Gloam is an auto-renewing subscription. Try it free for 7 days, then continue with the plan you choose. Elixir is never sold for money. It is only earned, topped up daily, or gifted between friends. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Your subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://api.gloam.works/terms Privacy Policy: https://api.gloam.works/privacy

Screenshots

Pathlings4 screens
Gloam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pathlings at none against Gloam's 3. On price, update cadence, ads 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. Gloam sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Pathlings asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pathlings ships an update weekly, Gloam every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Pathlings versus Gloam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPathlingsGloam
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size142 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDave MohanKeshav Nautiyal

In-app purchases

None

Pathlings

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Gloam

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$7.997 Days
  • Monthly$12.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$89.991 Year

Questions

Is Pathlings free?
Pathlings is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Gloam free?
Gloam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pathlings or Gloam have ads?
Neither Pathlings nor Gloam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pathlings or Gloam?
Pathlings ships an update weekly, and Gloam every 3 days. Most recently, Pathlings was updated on October 7, 2026 and Gloam on October 14, 2026.

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