# Pacer vs Strive

The clearest difference is rating: Strive at 4.8 against Pacer's 3.8. Strive also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (3K vs 4). Pacer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14) and review sentiment (100% vs 71%). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Strive sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Pacer asks for nothing beyond the download.

Strive holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Strive has 3K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Pacer's written reviews are positive against 71% of Strive's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Pacer ships an update every 2 months, Strive every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pacer | Strive |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pacer/id897740836/reviews) | **[4.8 (3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/strive-walking-tracker-app/id1538884989/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 4 | **3K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 71.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Subscription |
| Size | 5 MB | 101 MB |
| Requires iOS | **7.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Jason Whelan](https://appshunter.io/developer/897740839) | [Strive Competitions LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1538884991) |

## What reviewers say

### Pacer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pacer/id897740836)

Track your runs with detailed metrics like time, pace, and distance. Keep a record of your past workouts for future review and progress monitoring.

**Highlights:** Calculate time, pace, and distance, Save run history, Track progress, Workout reference

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Strive

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/strive-walking-tracker-app/id1538884989)

Compete in fitness challenges with friends using various metrics like weight loss, steps, and body fat. Track your progress with integrated health data and visualize your journey with insightful charts and graphs.

**Highlights:** Interactive leaderboards, 7 competition types, Health App integration, Smart Scale integration, Charts and graphs, Weight loss challenges, Step tracking

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (14)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $0.99 | per month |
| Strive Monthly | $1.49 | per month |
| Strive Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| 6 Months | $3.99 | per 6 months |
| Strive Yearly | $4.99 | per year |
| Annual | $5.99 | per year |
| Monthly with FREE 7-Day Trial | $5.99 | per month |
| Strive Yearly | $9.99 | per year |
| Yearly with FREE 7-Day Trial | $24.99 | per year |
| 10 Users | $39.99 | per month |
| 10 Users | $50.00 | per year |
| 25 Users | $100.00 | per year |
| 100 Users | $300.00 | per year |
| Public Challenges | $5.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great customer service
- 🚀 Amazing app for friendly competitions
- 💡 Fun and motivating
- 👍 Measuring goals
- 🚀 Fantastic extrinsic motivator

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Subscription changed significantly
- 🐛 Glitch
- 🐛 Support nonexistent
- 🐛 Doesn't work
- 🐛 $ to connect to Fitbit , do deleting

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when trying to read chat
- Frustrating loss of steps
- Waste of Money

**Requested features**

- Relative goals for challenges like apple fitness
- Weekend challenges


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pacer free?

Pacer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Strive free?

Strive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Pacer or Strive?

Strive is rated higher. Pacer averages 3.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Strive averages 4.8 from 3K ratings.

### Do Pacer or Strive have ads?

Neither Pacer nor Strive shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pacer or Strive?

Pacer ships an update every 2 months, and Strive every 9 days. Most recently, Pacer was updated on October 24, 2026 and Strive on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*