Best Step Challenge Apps 2026: Compete With Friends on iPhone and Android

A step challenge is the simplest competition there is: whoever walks the most wins. The app you run it in decides whether it stays fun past day three. Does everyone's phone sync? Do you find out when your brother overtakes you? Can someone win by strapping their phone to a ceiling fan?

We make Outstep, and it's first on this list because it's the app we built for exactly this. We've been honest about where the others are better. Prices and limits come from each app's own pricing page, help center or store listing, checked October 19, 2026.

The best step challenge apps at a glance

What makes a good step challenge app?

Before the picks, here's what we looked for, in order of how much it matters:

1. Everyone can join. Your group has iPhones, Androids, Apple Watches, Fitbits and Garmins. The app has to read Apple Health on iPhone and Health Connect on Android, or someone gets left out.
2. The numbers move. A leaderboard you only check at the end of the week is a spreadsheet. The best apps tell you when the lead changes.
3. More than one kind of challenge. "Most steps wins" favours whoever already walks the most. Team challenges, shared goals and improvement-based scoring keep slower walkers in it.
4. It's fair. Manually typed-in steps, phone-shaking and double-counted phone-plus-watch steps ruin a challenge fast. See how to stop cheating in a step challenge.
5. It's private. Your challenge shouldn't be open to strangers.

1. Outstep: best for a real competition

Outstep is built around one moment: finding out the second someone passes you. Your group shares daily, weekly (Monday to Sunday) and monthly leaderboards, and when the lead changes, both people get a notification. Get within 500 steps of someone and you'll hear about that too.

Challenge formats:

• Leaderboard: most steps over the challenge wins. Free.
• Group target: everyone pools steps toward one shared goal. Free.
• Race to X: first to a step total wins. Free.
• Survivor: a daily bar rises every day; miss it and you lose a life, then you're out. Group Premium.
• Step Up: each day is scored against your own 30-day baseline, so the biggest improver wins, not the biggest walker. Group Premium.
• Teams: 2 to 6 teams for Leaderboard or Race to X, balanced automatically by recent steps. Group Premium.

Fair play: manually entered steps never count, on any plan. Group Premium adds Strict mode (only steps recorded by the phone or watch itself) and Step audit (hour-by-hour steps per person, with flags for impossible hours and suspiciously steady patterns).

Also included free: streaks, badges, 8-week seasons with points, reactions, and a city, region and country leaderboard. No ads.

Price: free for up to 3 groups of 8 people and challenges up to 30 days. Group Premium is $6.99/month or $49.99/year for groups of 50, with unlimited groups, every format, challenges up to 365 days and as many at once as you like. 100-, 250- and 500-member plans are available, and one member backing a group gives everyone in it the perks.

Not ideal if: your group is hundreds of people with no budget (StepUp is free at that size), or you want to score cycling and swimming alongside steps (Stridekick).

2. StepUp: best free app for very large groups

StepUp has been around since 2015 and has more than 145,000 App Store ratings averaging 4.8. Groups hold up to 15,000 people for free, with daily, weekly and monthly leaderboards, a custom date range, group chat, and a "Mystery Mode" that hides counts until the next day. There's no subscription; it's free with ads, and a one-time purchase removes them.

Limits: there's one competition type (most steps in a period), and StepUp's FAQ says it doesn't do team-vs-team leaderboards. Manual step entry is blocked, but it doesn't publish any protection against phone-shaking, and reviewers frequently mention Garmin and Fitbit sync lag. Overtake alerts aren't documented.

More detail: Outstep vs StepUp and StepUp alternatives.

3. Pacer: best for free structured challenges

Pacer is one of the most-rated step apps on the App Store (4.9 from about 335,000 ratings). You can create a step, distance or virtual-race challenge for free, invite people on any phone, and set a daily step cap per person, which stops one huge day from deciding the result. It also has walking groups and GPS workouts. Premium is optional.

Limits: Pacer doesn't publish a group size cap, and we couldn't confirm whether it sends overtake alerts.

4. Stridekick: best for paid programs that score more than steps

Stridekick became the default for former Fitbit challengers after Fitbit removed challenges in 2023. It scores steps, distance, active minutes or a custom activity, connects directly to Garmin, Withings, Oura and Polar, and has formats like Streak, Target and Virtual Race.

Limits: since 2025, free challenges are public, capped at 10 people and 7 days. Private challenges need Pro: $12.99/month for 10 people, $24.99 for 20 and $49.99 for 50, with challenges up to 45 days. Team modes are only on the custom-quoted Unlimited plan. Users must be 18 or older.

More detail: Outstep vs Stridekick and Stridekick alternatives.

5. StepsApp: best simple leaderboard with pass alerts

StepsApp is primarily a clean step counter, but it has groups with leaderboards, and its support pages say it notifies you "whenever you overtake a friend in step count or when a friend overtakes you". It works on iPhone and Android and syncs with Garmin, Oura, Fitbit, WHOOP and Polar. Free with ads; PRO removes them.

Limits: no challenge formats beyond the leaderboard.

6. Apple Watch Activity competitions: best for two Apple Watch owners

If you and one friend both wear an Apple Watch, you already have a step challenge app, sort of. An Activity competition lasts 7 days, one-on-one, and you earn a point for every percent you close your rings (up to 600 a day). You can share activity with up to 40 friends.

Limits: it scores rings, not steps, so whoever sets a lower Move goal has an advantage. There's no group competition, and Android users can't join because Apple Watch only pairs with iPhone.

7. Garmin Connect: best when everyone wears a Garmin

Garmin Connect lets you challenge your connections over a day, a weekend, a week or a custom range, and Garmin runs monthly badge challenges. The core app is free; Connect+ ($6.99/month) adds extra badge challenges.

Limits: your steps come from your Garmin device, so friends without one can't really take part. Leaderboards show zero steps if your privacy settings don't allow connections to see them.

8. Samsung Health Together: best when everyone has a Galaxy

Samsung Health's Together challenges let you invite up to 9 friends to race to a step target or see who walks the most in a set time, individually or in two teams. It's free.

Limits: it's built for Galaxy phones. Samsung's own support pages contradict each other on iPhone support, and recent App Store reviews report that iPhone-to-Android friend sync doesn't work.

What happened to Fitbit challenges?

Fitbit removed Challenges, Adventures and open groups on March 27, 2023. In May 2026 the Fitbit app became Google Health, which also removed groups, the community feed and messages. What's left is a weekly friends leaderboard for steps or Cardio Load, with no challenges. Many former Fitbit groups moved to Stridekick, StepUp or Outstep.

Strava isn't a step challenge app

Strava has Group Challenges, but only subscribers ($11.99/month or $79.99/year) can create or join them, and they score GPS activities like distance and time, not your all-day steps. It's great for runners; it's not what you want for a family step challenge.

How to start a step challenge with friends

1. Pick an app everyone can use. If your group mixes iPhone and Android, rule out Apple's and Samsung's built-in options.
2. Choose a format that fits the group. If one person always wins, try a team challenge, a shared Group target, or an improvement-based format like Outstep's Step Up.
3. Set the length. A week is a sprint; a month builds a habit. Start with 7 or 14 days.
4. Agree on the rules up front. Which steps count? Does a treadmill count? (It does; steps are steps.) What happens if someone's phone dies?
5. Turn on notifications. The alerts are half the fun.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free step challenge app?

For a small group that wants a real competition, Outstep is free for up to 3 groups of 8 people, with three challenge formats and no ads. For a very large group, StepUp is free with ads for up to 15,000 people. Pacer lets you create free challenges with a daily step cap.

Can iPhone and Android users do a step challenge together?

Yes, in apps that read both Apple Health and Health Connect: Outstep, StepUp, Pacer, Stridekick and StepsApp all work across both. Apple Watch competitions are iPhone-only, and Samsung Health Together is built for Galaxy phones.

Can you do a group step challenge on Apple Watch?

Not natively. Apple's Activity competitions are one-on-one, last 7 days and score ring percentages, not steps. For a group, use an app that reads Apple Health, such as Outstep or StepUp.

Does the Fitbit app still have challenges?

No. Fitbit removed challenges in 2023, and the app became Google Health in May 2026, which removed groups and messaging too. It keeps a weekly friends leaderboard only.

How do you stop people cheating in a step challenge?

Use an app that ignores manually entered steps, cap daily steps or flag impossible days, and count only steps recorded by a phone or watch. Outstep's Strict mode and Step audit do this; Pacer lets organizers set a daily step cap. Our cheating guide covers the common tricks.

How long should a step challenge last?

One to four weeks works for most groups. A 7-day challenge keeps the energy high; a 30-day challenge builds a habit. Outstep's free plan runs challenges up to 30 days, and Group Premium up to a year.

Sources

• StepUp website and FAQ (StepUp)
• Pacer group steps challenge (Pacer)
• Stridekick pricing (Stridekick)
• How do I run a team mode challenge with Stridekick Pro? (Stridekick Help Center)
• StepsApp: notifications for competitions (StepsApp)
• Apple Watch User Guide: share your activity (Apple)
• Add friends to share activity (Apple)
• Garmin Connect+ announcement (Garmin)
• Samsung Health group challenges (Samsung)
• The Fitbit app is becoming Google Health (Google)
• Fitbit removes Challenges and Open Groups (9to5Google)
• How do Group Challenges work on Strava? (Strava Support)