StepUp Alternatives 2026: 6 Step Challenge Apps Worth Switching To

StepUp is a good app: it's free, it handles groups of up to 15,000 people, and it has more than 145,000 App Store ratings averaging 4.8. People still outgrow it. The usual reasons, from StepUp's own FAQ and recent reviews:

• Only one kind of competition. Most steps in a period. StepUp's FAQ says it doesn't do group-vs-group leaderboards, and there are no shared-goal, elimination or team challenges.
• Cheating. StepUp blocks manually added steps but publishes no protection against phone-shaking or double-counted steps, and users report both.
• Wearable sync. Garmin and Fitbit users often report counts lagging or not matching their watch.
• Ads. The free version shows them, and some reviewers find them intrusive.

Here are the alternatives, and what each one fixes. We make Outstep, which is first on the list; facts about the others come from their official pages and store listings, checked October 19, 2026.

StepUp alternatives at a glance

1. Outstep: best for team challenges and fair competitions

Outstep keeps StepUp's daily, weekly and monthly leaderboards and adds what StepUp doesn't have:

• Live pass alerts: both people get a notification the moment the lead changes, and a "closest battle" alert when you're within 500 steps.
• More formats: Group target (pool steps toward one goal) and Race to X (first to a total) are free. Group Premium adds Survivor (a rising daily bar with lives), Step Up (scored against your own baseline) and team challenges with 2 to 6 teams.
• Cheat protection: manually entered steps never count. Group Premium adds Strict mode, which only counts steps recorded by the phone or watch itself, and an hour-by-hour Step audit that flags impossible hours.
• No ads, on any plan.

The trade-off: Outstep's free groups hold 8 people, against StepUp's 15,000. Group Premium ($6.99/month or $49.99/year) raises that to 50, with 100-, 250- and 500-member plans above it. If you have a huge group and no budget, StepUp is still the better fit.

See the full Outstep vs StepUp comparison.

2. Stridekick: best for programs that score more than steps

Stridekick scores steps, distance, active minutes or a custom activity, connects directly to Garmin, Withings, Oura and Polar, and has formats StepUp lacks: Streak, Target and Virtual Race. Its Unlimited plan adds team modes, an admin dashboard and an account manager.

The trade-off: it isn't free in the way StepUp is. Free challenges are public (anyone can join), capped at 10 people and 7 days. Private challenges need Pro, from $12.99/month for 10 people up to $49.99/month for 50. Team modes need the custom-quoted Unlimited plan.

3. Pacer: best for free challenges with a step cap

Pacer (4.9 on the App Store from about 335,000 ratings) lets you create step, distance or virtual-race challenges for free, for friends on any phone. Organizers can set a daily step cap per person, which blunts both cheating and one-off huge days.

The trade-off: Pacer doesn't publish a group size limit or document overtake alerts, and the free version shows ads.

4. StepsApp: best simple leaderboard with overtake alerts

If you like StepUp's simplicity but want to know when you've been passed, StepsApp documents exactly that: notifications "whenever you overtake a friend in step count or when a friend overtakes you". It's a polished step counter with groups and leaderboards on iPhone and Android, and it syncs with Garmin, Oura, Fitbit, WHOOP and Polar.

The trade-off: no challenge formats beyond the leaderboard; free with ads.

5. Garmin Connect: best if everyone wears a Garmin

If your StepUp group's main complaint is Garmin steps not matching, and everyone owns a Garmin, use Garmin's own challenges. You can challenge connections over a day, weekend, week or custom range, for free.

The trade-off: it's Garmin-only in practice, and you can't set a custom step target for a connection challenge.

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

Apple's built-in competitions are free and need no extra app. They're one-on-one, last 7 days, and score ring percentages rather than steps.

The trade-off: no groups, no Android, and a lower Move goal makes winning easier.

Which StepUp alternative should you pick?

• "We want teams and more than one kind of challenge." Outstep.
• "Someone keeps cheating." Outstep (Strict mode, Step audit) or Pacer (daily cap).
• "I want to know when I've been passed." Outstep or StepsApp.
• "We track cycling and active minutes too." Stridekick.
• "We're 2,000 people and have no budget." Stay on StepUp.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to StepUp?

For a small group, Outstep is free for up to 3 groups of 8 people, with no ads and three challenge formats. Pacer is free with ads and lets you create challenges with a daily step cap. StepsApp is free with ads and alerts you when you're overtaken.

Is there a StepUp alternative with team challenges?

Yes. Outstep's Group Premium runs team challenges with 2 to 6 teams in one group, balanced automatically by recent steps. Stridekick has team modes on its Unlimited plan, which is priced by quote.

Which StepUp alternative is best for a work challenge?

For teams of up to 500 with team challenges and cheat protection at a published price, Outstep Group Premium. For a managed program with an account manager, Stridekick Unlimited. See our workplace step challenge guide.

Why does StepUp show different steps from my watch?

StepUp reads Apple Health or Health Connect, and its FAQ asks users to reorder their data sources there if wearable steps don't show up. Background reading also stops if the app is killed or in low-power mode. Any app that reads Apple Health or Health Connect depends on your watch's app writing to it.

Sources

• StepUp website and FAQ (StepUp)
• StepUp on the App Store (Apple App Store)
• Stridekick pricing (Stridekick)
• Pacer group steps challenge (Pacer)
• StepsApp: notifications for competitions (StepsApp)
• Garmin Connect challenges (Garmin)
• Apple Watch User Guide: share your activity (Apple)
• Steps challenge at work, r/walking (Reddit)