Comparison

Step Sergeant vs Ironbook

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

Head to head
About

Step Sergeant

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Your steps have been unsupervised long enough. Step Sergeant turns everyday walking into a mission. Track your steps, climb the ranks, complete Smart Missions, earn trophies, and get the kind of motivation only a Sergeant can provide. YOUR DAILY STEPS. YOUR NEW MISSION. Whether you're just getting off the couch or chasing your next personal best, Step Sergeant is here to keep you moving, motivated, and occasionally questioning your life choices. YOUR ORDERS INCLUDE: • SMART MISSIONS — Personalized daily challenges that adapt to your activity and keep you pushing forward. • SERGEANT MOTIVATION — Timely reminders, accountability, and a little attitude when your shoes have been collecting dust. • RANK PROGRESSION — Every step counts toward your next promotion. Earn your stripes one walk at a time. • TROPHY CHALLENGES — Unlock achievements for milestones, consistency, streaks, and personal victories. • PERSONAL BEST PURSUITS — Beat your records and give the Sergeant something worth celebrating. • APPLE HEALTH INTEGRATION — Track your steps using Apple Health without carrying your phone everywhere. CHOOSE YOUR SERGEANT. Encouraging — Motivation without the verbal casualties. Full Sergeant — For recruits who apparently require stronger supervision. ONE PURCHASE. FULL ACCESS. NO SUBSCRIPTIONS. Every mission, rank, trophy, and motivational feature is included. No free trials. No locked features. No in-app purchases. Just you, your steps, and a Sergeant who refuses to accept your couch as a permanent residence. Walk more. Build momentum. Rank up. Your excuses have been noted.

About

Ironbook

Features
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Ironbook is a workout log with the look of a gym blackboard: chalk on iron, tape, gold for records. The whole point of a training log is knowing what you did last time while you stand at the bar. Ironbook puts that number next to every set, runs your rest timer on the Lock Screen, and draws the line going up. FREE, FOREVER • Unlimited workouts, templates and history • Every set shows last session's weight and reps; tick a set and it copies them if you left them blank • Rest timer on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, with a buzz when it's time • A new challenge every month, with a gold medal when you finish it • Warm-up sets worked out for you: empty bar, 40, 60 and 80 percent • 1RM calculator with every percentage worked out, and plate maths with the bar drawn per side, in kg or lb • Notes on any lift, and last time's note shown when you do it again • A weekly goal, a week streak, and one free streak shield every month • A finish screen that calls out every PR • Your top three records, the small week widget, Lock Screen widgets and a Control Center button • Siri and Shortcuts: "Start my workout in Ironbook", "How is my week in Ironbook" IRONBOOK PRO, A ONE-TIME UNLOCK • Progress: estimated one-rep max over time, PR sessions in gold, heaviest set per session, weekly volume • The whole records wall, and every session of every lift • Program library: 5x5, push pull legs, upper lower, three-day full body and dumbbells only • Save workouts to Apple Health • The bigger week widget with your latest PR and what's next • CSV export of every set IRONBOOK PLUS, MONTHLY OR YEARLY Everything in Pro, and: • Muscle balance: working sets per muscle each week against the 10 to 20 set guide, and the lifts climbing fastest • A monthly refill on the 1st: 1 Next Block, 3 PR posters and 2 Week Shields • Every tape colour and PR Fireworks, while you subscribe • iCloud backup of your whole log, so a new phone picks up where you left off • A shareable poster for every challenge medal Already own Pro? You keep it. Plus only adds the monthly extras on top. LITTLE EXTRAS • Next Block: four weeks of a template with a target on every lift, worked out from your own best numbers. Volume, build, heavy, deload • PR Posters: a gold chalkboard poster of a new PR, three to a pack • Week Shield and Shield Pack: keep your streak after a short week • Tape colours, each with a matching app icon: Cobalt, Volt, Rose and Bone • PR Fireworks over every new best PRICES AND SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Logging is free. Pro is $4.99 once. Ironbook Plus is $2.99 a month or $14.99 a year, and the yearly plan starts with a 1-week free trial for new subscribers. Extras are $0.99 (Shield Pack $1.99). Prices are in US dollars and may differ in your country. Payment is charged to your Apple ID when you confirm the purchase, or when a free trial ends. A subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for the renewal within the 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings > your name > Subscriptions. Any unused part of a free trial ends when you buy a subscription. Bought Ironbook before it went free? Pro is already yours. kg or lb. No account, no ads, no tracking. Your log stays on your phone (and in your own iCloud, with Plus). Terms of Use (Apple standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tensorust.com/apps/ironbook/privacy/

Screenshots

Step Sergeant4 screens
Ironbook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Ironbook at Free against Step Sergeant's $2.99. Ironbook also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 11 days). Step Sergeant's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Ironbook is free to download; Step Sergeant costs $2.99 up front. Ironbook sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Step Sergeant asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Step Sergeant ships an update every 11 days, Ironbook every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Ā· 2 level
Step Sergeant versus Ironbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStep SergeantIronbook
Price$2.99Free — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB3 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperDANIEL TYLER STANLEYMatthew Busel

In-app purchases

None

Step Sergeant

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Ironbook

Subscriptions2
  • Ironbook Plus Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Ironbook Plus Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time8
  • PR Posters x3$0.99
  • Cobalt Tape$0.99
  • Week Shield$0.99
Show 5 more
  • Volt Tape$0.99
  • Rose Tape$0.99
  • Bone Tape$0.99
  • PR Fireworks$0.99
  • Shield Pack x3$1.99

Questions

Is Step Sergeant free?
Step Sergeant costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ironbook free?
Ironbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Step Sergeant or Ironbook have ads?
Neither Step Sergeant nor Ironbook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Step Sergeant or Ironbook?
Step Sergeant ships an update every 11 days, and Ironbook every 5 days. Most recently, Step Sergeant was updated on November 6, 2026 and Ironbook on October 31, 2026.

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