Get healthy? Do more exercise. That’s as simple as it could be. But regardless of how effective is an exercise regime, if you cannot keep up, it is futile exercise! So one of the best way to keep healthy, is to use the simplest solution available to you, and that is, to walk! Walk in your home, in your office, the mall, in the park, wherever. Just keep moving!
And how do you how much you have to walk? General guidelines vary but most are in the range of 7,000 to 13,000 steps. And many agree that 10,000 steps, usually equivalent to an hour’s walk, is a good amount for healthy adults.
Now all you need is a step-counting app (no other hardware required), a.k.a. step counter, or pedometer, to track your steps, and here we will share with you some of what we think is good for the job.
Pacer Pedometer & Step Tracker

Review date: 4th Sept 2023
One of the best-selling pedometer apps to view your daily steps, as well as daily active time, estimated distance, calories, etc.
This is an extremely feature packed walking and health coaching app, and Pacer stated it is a “walking buddy and health coach”. It also able to track your walk on a map using GPS.
And if you want to find group walking, Pacer does offer lots of walking groups to join and challenges to participate in too.
Paid subscription to access most features.
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https://www.mypacer.com/
Please note in the Apple App Store there is another app named “Pacer Walking Tracker & Health” by the app developer “Pedometer” which most likely has nothing to do with this Pacer app.
THIS IS FOR YOU IF YOU
- Need comprehensive full features.
- Enjoy walking groups and challenges to join.
- Want to subscribe to fitness plans with guided audio and workouts.
THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU
- Hate advertisement (paid plan remove ads).
- Don’t like to take time to learn the many features it provides.
- Don’t like that most features are locked and subscription popup when you “accidentally” click on it (unless you are on a subscription).
StepsApp Pedometer

Review date: 4th Sept 2023
Another popular, and simple-to-use pedometer. Basically, if you need only step counting and step history, it will do the job well!
On the free plan, you only get steps but with a subscription, you will get calories, distances, insights, and trends, plus a few color themes (otherwise, you are struck with the cool blue theme).
You will get some occasion subscription popups now and then.
Paid subscription to access most features.
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https://steps.app/
THIS IS FOR YOU IF YOU
- Love clean and simple-to-use interface.
- Only want to view your steps, calories, distance, and active time, and no more.
- Prefer dark interface.
THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU
- Want a full-feature super fitness app
- Don’t want to dismiss its daily subscription popup.
- Dislike advertisements (paid plan remove ads), especially occasional full page pop up ads.
Apple Health

Review date: 4th Sept 2023
If you have an iPhone you already have Apple Health. And you get lots of walking data, plus activity, mobility, sleep, and a lot of other information, whether you need it or not!
If you have spinal or walking concerns, I want to highlight that Apple Health app will show your double support time (how long both feet are on the ground), walking speed, walking step length, and walking asymmetry.
No advertisement, no popup.
https://www.apple.com/my/ios/health/
THIS IS FOR YOU IF YOU
- Don’t want to install anything just to track your steps.
- Need highly specialized step data like double support time, especially if you have spinal or relevant health issues.
- Love tons of history and insights.
THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU
- Are looking for a simple and less complicated step counter.
- Need fitness plan (but you can try Apple Fitness+).
- Want some social elements to share and do challenges with friends and strangers (you can “securely” share data with close friends, family, and doctors).
Google Fit: Activity Tracker

Review date: 4th Sept 2023
A fully free fitness app that does more than track steps, but steps, and Heart Points, are the main and center theme of the app.
You can easily see your steps and activity history, and with its clean and clear interface, it is very simple to find it, even it can track much more than steps, such as sports activities, body vital signs, nutrition, sleeps, and menstrual cycle.
An interesting concept from the Fit App is the Heart Points. It is earned based on the intensity of the exercise or activity the user does.
No advertisement, no popup.
https://www.google.com/fit/
THIS IS FOR YOU IF YOU
- Like clean and simple interface.
- Need more than steps tracking, such as activity tracking etc..
- Prefer fully free app.
THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU
- Need fitness and workouts plan.
- Like to personalize your interface.
- Want the social and community aspect.
Joy Steps: Pedometer & Tracker

Review date: 4th Sept 2023
From the user interface, you can see it is a totally different type of step counter. In addition to step counting, Joy Steps let you personalize your background image, colors, and fonts, so that when you share your steps to your friends or social network, it could look really cool and unique (or whatever you want it to look like).
It is a simple, basic, functional step counter that displays only steps and steps history.
In addition, it has a quote at the top (can be turned off) for inspiration.
No advertisement, no popup.
https://pentecode.com/joysteps
Note: The author is also the app developer of Joy Steps
THIS IS FOR YOU IF YOU
- Need a simple step counter with a personalizable interface and your own photo.
- Like to share uniquely yours and fun “steps-shot” photos with your friends and social network.
- Hate advertisements and popups.
THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU
- Need more than steps and steps history.
- Want a fitness or workout plan.
- Like to join walking group or challenges.
So, which one will you choose? But most importantly, walk, jump, run, stay active, keep moving!
All apps are reviewed in person by cu from pentecode_
Featured post image (hand-in-hand walking) courtesy from photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash