Runtime vs StepStar
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Runtime
Track your runs, walks, hikes, and jogs with detailed statistics including route, time, speed, pace, and altitude. Supports Apple Watch, widgets, and shoe mileage tracking. Visualize your progress with 3D maps and share your workouts.
- Route, time, speed, pace, and altitude tracking
- Apple Watch integration
- Stopwatch widget and Notification Center control
- Shoe mileage tracking
- 3D map visualization of routes
- Pedometer functionality
- Exportable KML and GPX files
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**New in Runtime 2.3** watchOS 2, iOS 9, and 3D Touch Support! **New in Runtime 2.2** Apple Watch and Split Times! **New in Runtime 2.1** Shoe Tracking and HealthKit! **New in Runtime 2.0** Stopwatch Widget, Detailed Running Statistics, Live Running Map View Runtime is a simple run tracking app that takes advantage of the latest features in iOS 8, the iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 6. Use Runtime to track your route, time, speed, pace, and altitude everywhere you go for a run/walk/hike/jog/jaunt etc. Runtime supports Apple Watch for controlling your run right from your wrist. Use Apple Watch to start a run, view stats on your progress while you're on the go, including pace, distance, time, location, and split times and a complete elevation profile. Runtime for Apple Watch is an incredibly advanced stopwatch right on your wrist. You can also control your workout without the stopwatch widget. Quickly start a new run from Notification Center, pause a run without launching the app, and view your time, distance, and steps all from the convenience of the Today screen. Keep track of the mileage on your shoes with the new Shoe Closet feature to add your shoes to Runtime and automatically log the distance you run on each shoe. Visualize your content. Organize your routes and times into places and view rich 3D map images of each run. View pace and elevation details for each run. Runtime supports the M7 motion co-processor, which allows you to use Runtime as a pedometer. Open the menu to view how many steps you've taken today and this week. Runtime will also use the M7 to show you when and where you stopped to rest on the trail. Time spent walking is highlighted yellow, while normal activity is highlighted orange. Share your workouts with friends and other apps. Runtime can export KML and GPX files that you can use with other apps. GPX files can be used for geotagging your photos, or for location simulation in Xcode! **New in Runtime 2.0** Runtime is now FREE! Track your runs in the app and in HealthKit, start new runs with the stopwatch widget, and view a detailed map of your route, all for free. You can also upgrade to Runtime’s Advanced Features, which include: - Track the distance run on each of your shoes. - Adding multiple places that you want to track workouts. - Create custom workouts. Use the Interval Timer to configure high and low intensity alerts with custom alert tones for a rich custom workout experience! - Use the cutting edge Flyover feature to get a cinematic tour of your tracked routes! - View detailed stats for every place you run to track your trends over time. Additional features include: - State Restoration - Backup data with Dropbox import/export* - Add notes to each run - AirDrop or email your route to friends - Share your run on Twitter and Facebook - Deferred Location updates can help save battery power on long runs (iPhone 5 and up) * Dropbox import/export requires a Dropbox account. Learn more about Dropbox at dropbox.com. Disclaimer: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Learn more about Runtime at conradstoll.com/runtime
StepStar
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Take more steps than you did yesterday! StepStar tracks your steps, calculates your personal daily goal, and shows you your progress — simple, minimalist, and motivating. Why StepStar? StepStar adapts to you — not the other way around. Your step goal is recalculated daily based on your recent performance. This way, you get better step by step without overwhelming yourself. Features - Dynamic step goal — automatically adjusts to your performance every day - Fixed step goal — if you prefer consistency - Live tracking — monitor your steps in real time while walking or running - Rest day — pause the calculation when you need a break - Graphs & charts - Daily & monthly overview - Minimalist design Be better than yesterday! StepStar’s goal is to help you get a little better every day. Don’t compare yourself to others — compare yourself to yourself.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: StepStar at none against Runtime's 1. Runtime's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.1). 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
Both are free to download. Runtime sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. StepStar asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Runtime | StepStar |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.3 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 64.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Conrad Stoll | Andreas Peters |
In-app purchases
Runtime
- Runtime Advanced Features$4.99
StepStar
No in-app purchases









