Walking and Step Challenge Apps

The easiest way to run a step challenge for a club, an office or the family. StepUp is free with no subscription and no features held back behind a paywall, and a private group can be as small as a few friends or as large as 15,000 people. Groups get daily, weekly and monthly leaderboards that update by themselves, and by default nobody but you can see your steps. It suits a mixed group because it works on any iPhone or Android phone carried in a pocket, while anyone with an Apple Watch or Fitbit can sync through Apple Health or Android Health Connect. Nobody has to buy a gadget to join in.

A dependable all-around choice for walkers who want a daily step count and the occasional challenge in one place. Setting up a challenge takes about a minute: you create it, send a shared link to friends, family or coworkers, and everyone follows the same leaderboard. No wearable is needed, though Pacer also connects to Apple Watch, Fitbit and Garmin. The step counting and challenges are free on iPhone and Android; Pacer Premium is an optional paid extra for further features and content, so it is worth ignoring the upgrade prompts until you know you want more.

Together step challenges Owners of a Samsung Galaxy phone may already have a good step challenge app. The Together tab in Samsung Health offers two simple formats: Get there first, a race to a step target, and Go the farthest, the most steps in a set time, either as individuals or in teams. You can invite friends directly or send a link, and set who sees your step count and who may challenge you. The catch is the phone. Together is built around Galaxy phones, and Samsung's own help pages disagree about whether it works in the iPhone version of Samsung Health, so a group with iPhone users is better served by StepUp or Pacer.

For walkers motivated by a destination and something to hang on the wall. Each Conqueror challenge turns a famous route, such as the 637 km Roman Empire, into a distance you cover at your own pace, with your progress shown on a virtual map and Google Street View along the way. Finish and a real medal is sent to you; team entrants each get their own. You pick a goal of anything from a week to two years and can change it later. Distance can be typed in by hand or synced from Apple Health, Google Fit, Fitbit, Garmin, Strava or Map My Walk. The app is free, but each challenge is a paid entry, so check the price before committing to a set.

The pick for walkers who care where they went as much as how far. Map My Walk is built around recording each walk with GPS, drawing the route on a map with spoken updates on distance, pace and time, and its Routes feature lets you find new paths or save favorite loops to repeat. Regular walking challenges and a large community add some motivation, and walks can count toward Conqueror challenges too. The free version covers tracking but carries ads; the paid MVP tier adds personalized plans, deeper insights and live tracking so family can follow your walk. Because it runs GPS while recording, start it for a proper walk rather than leaving it on all day.

A gentle game for walkers who find leaderboards more stressful than fun. Pikmin Bloom, built on Nintendo's Pikmin characters, turns each walk into a collection: you grow little Pikmin creatures, gather petals and plant trails of flowers along your route, and come across Mushrooms of all sizes on the way. There is no pressure to beat anyone, which makes it a good choice for families who walk together or anyone who simply wants a reason to wander. The game is free to download on iPhone and Android, with optional paid coins and storage upgrades. It is now run by Scopely, which completed its purchase of Niantic's games business in 2025.

For walkers who would rather their miles helped someone else. Charity Miles is a free app that turns walks, runs and bike rides into money for a charity you choose, funded by corporate sponsors, and it has raised nearly $3 million since 2012. The newer route is your own pledge page, where friends and family can sponsor your everyday walking without you entering a race, with donations going through your charity's PayPal Giving page. It runs on iPhone and Android and can take walks recorded on a Garmin or Fitbit through Apple Health or Strava. Sponsor rates are not fixed, so treat each walk as a modest contribution.

The best known of the apps that pay you a little to walk. WeWard counts steps with your phone and turns them into rewards that can be cashed out through PayPal or Venmo, swapped for gifts and deals from partner brands or given to charity, and the company puts its users in the tens of millions. Set expectations low: rewards build slowly, and WeWard does not publish its exchange rates or minimum cash-out plainly, so check them in the app before counting on a payout. It is free on iPhone and Android, with an optional Premium subscription, and works best as a small bonus on walks you were taking anyway, not as the app for a group challenge.

Rewards in kind rather than cash. Sweatcoin pays your steps in its own currency, sweatcoins, which you spend in its marketplace on gadgets, digital subscriptions, travel vouchers and discounts. Badges for daily goals and step-streak contests with friends give it a light social side. It is free on iPhone and Android and claims to run in the background without draining the battery. The marketplace and its offers are the whole point, so walkers who dislike being sold to will be happier with a plain step counter such as StepUp.