Comparison

RunOn vs StepKeep

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

Head to head
About

RunOn

Features
Read full description

Run On is a minimal running log: real map routes, live pace, and a route card or video after every run. No ads, no subscription, no sign-up. BEFORE YOU RUN — A CLEAR ANSWER Live weather and air quality feed a daily Run Index that answers two things in one line: should you run today, and what should you wear. No squinting at humidity, wind speed and PM2.5 to decide. WHILE YOU RUN — EVERYTHING AT A GLANCE Real map route, live pace, distance, duration, calories and heart rate, read from Apple Watch via HealthKit rather than estimated. Pedometer calibration keeps distance honest. Take photos mid-run, pause any time, and lock the screen to stop accidental taps — a Live Activity keeps your progress visible on the Lock Screen while the route keeps recording. AFTER YOU RUN — A CARD AND A SHARE Your real route is drawn automatically with kilometre markers and photo pins. Pick a map template (frosted glass, minimal, midnight) and export a card in one tap — or turn the whole route into a video replay with music. Share straight to WeChat, Moments and Xiaohongshu. YOUR MILEAGE BUILDS ITSELF Total distance, run count, calories, weekly chart, weekly goal progress, full history and a badge wall. Milestone badges and personal-best tiers unlock as you go (1K under 9:00 / 7:00 / 5:00 / 4:00 / 3:00, and 3K / 5K / 10K / half marathon / marathon across five tiers). IT CLOSES THE LOOP Every finished run is written to Apple Health — distance, duration, calories and heart rate count toward your Fitness rings, with no manual entry. IPHONE + APPLE WATCH Apple Watch can record a run on its own and sync it back to your phone. A home screen widget shows whether you have run today. WHY PEOPLE SWITCH - No splash ads, no pop-ups - No subscription, no in-app purchase - No social feed to distract you - No account required; data stays on your device - Dark, full-screen interface built for one thing PRIVACY No account, no upload of workout data, no ads, no third-party analytics SDK, no profiling or tracking. Location and workout data are stored on your iPhone and Apple Watch by default; with iCloud sync on, they live in your own private Apple cloud space, which we cannot access. Policy: https://murphy-zhu.github.io/runlog-privacy/ Support: https://github.com/Murphy-zhu

About

StepKeep

This app synchronizes with Apple Health to provide an accurate, verifiable step count. It displays real-time data, offers historical trends, and includes features like goal setting and challenges. It prioritizes privacy by not uploading data or requiring an account.

Highlights
  • Accurate step count synced with Apple Health
  • Timestamped data for verification
  • History restoration and streak preservation
  • Goal setting, streaks, and rest days
  • Weekly, monthly, and yearly trends
  • Challenges and badges
  • Heart rate estimation (for reference)
  • Apple Watch app and complications
Features
Read full description

Most step counters show you a number you cannot check. Open the Health app and it says something different, and nobody tells you which one is right. StepKeep shows the number Health shows. Every day, on every screen, next to the time it was last updated. Why the number holds up: • One authoritative total, read straight from Apple Health and deduplicated across iPhone and Apple Watch. Never re-counted, never estimated from your weight or your stride. • Steps still waiting to sync get their own line, so the big number never runs ahead of Health. • Every screen is timestamped. If the data is more than two hours old, StepKeep says so instead of pretending it is live. • A source breakdown shows which device contributed what, and how many duplicate steps were removed. Key Features: • History restored: the first launch brings your past days back from Health, so your record and your streak survive a new phone. • Goals, streaks and rest days: set a daily goal, build a streak, and spend a rest day when life gets in the way. The streak stays alive. • Trends: week, month and year, with a calendar heat map and your best day. • Insights that admit what they do not know: how today compares with your usual pace, how this period compares with the last, and the hours you are most active. Too little data, and StepKeep says so rather than inventing a number. • Challenges and badges: daily, weekly, monthly, or your own target and length. Finish it and the badge is yours. • Calories, distance, floors and exercise minutes, all read from Health so they match too. • Heart rate: your Health heart rate and resting rate in one chart, plus a quick estimate with the rear camera. For reference only, not a medical device. • Apple Watch app and complication: today, the last 7 days and your goal on your wrist, and it works offline. • Widgets and Live Activity: Home Screen, Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. • Manual entry: treadmill, stroller, phone left on the table. Add those steps yourself; they stay on this device. • Wheelchair mode: counts pushes and wheelchair distance, read from Health like everything else. • Reminders: a nudge when you are close, a word when you hit the goal. Works with your devices StepKeep reads from Apple Health, so it already includes Apple Watch, Garmin, Oura, Whoop, Polar, Amazfit and Withings. Anything that writes to Health is already counted. No extra setup, no extra account. Private by design No ads. No third-party SDKs. No account to create. Your steps never leave your iPhone: nothing is uploaded to a server, and nothing goes to iCloud. Free forever: today's steps, the 7-day chart, week trends, goals, streaks, rest days, challenges, badges, every widget, the Live Activity and the Watch complication. StepKeep Plus adds month and year trends, camera heart rate measurement, and CSV export of your whole history. Fully usable with VoiceOver and Dynamic Type. Available in 15 languages. Terms of Use: https://sites.google.com/view/stepkeep-terms Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/stepkeep-privacy

Screenshots

RunOn4 screens
StepKeep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RunOn at none against StepKeep's 4. 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. StepKeep sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. RunOn asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RunOn ships an update every 4 days, StepKeep every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
RunOn versus StepKeep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRunOnStepKeep
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer玉秋 朱月梅 孙

In-app purchases

None

RunOn

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

StepKeep

Subscriptions3
  • StepKeep Plus Monthly$6.991 Month
  • StepKeep Plus Yearly Offer$14.991 Year
  • StepKeep Plus Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • StepKeep Plus Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is RunOn free?
RunOn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is StepKeep free?
StepKeep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do RunOn or StepKeep have ads?
Neither RunOn nor StepKeep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RunOn or StepKeep?
RunOn ships an update every 4 days, and StepKeep every 5 days. Most recently, RunOn was updated on November 10, 2026 and StepKeep on November 6, 2026.

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