the best step counter app for iPhone, by what you need
There is no single best one, because the count itself doesn't differ — every app that reads Apple Health shows the same number. What differs is everything around it. By the App Store's own figures: the most-rated are StepsApp (291,037 ratings, 4.8) and Pedometer++ (180,123, 4.8); free with nothing to buy and a lock screen widget, Steps — Simple Pedometer; nothing to buy at all, Pedometer α; walking as a game, Pikmin Bloom. Nine picks, one need each, and our own app labeled in the last row.
Nine picks, one need each
| app | best for | ratingsaverage | widgetper its description | lock screenper its description | purchaseslisted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StepsApp Pedometer | the most-rated step counter on iPhone | 291,0374.8 | yes | yes | $0.99 – $19.99 |
| Pedometer++ | the runner-up by ratings, with Apple Watch | 180,1234.8 | yes | yes | $1.99 – $39.99 |
| Steps — Simple Pedometer | free with nothing to buy, and a lock screen widget | 5,3094.7 | yes | yes | nothing to buy |
| Pedometer α | nothing to buy at all, if you don't need a widget | 167,5984.9 | no | no | nothing to buy |
| Steps — Activity Tracker | one listed price instead of a range | 131,7214.8 | yes | yes | $3.99 |
| Pikmin Bloom | walking as a game | 66,9564.8 | no | no | — |
| Habbie | cute, with a lock screen widget | 2394.4 | yes | yes | — |
| GAIT — Minimal Step Widgets | widgets first, almost nothing else | 25.0 | yes | yes | — |
| Angel Step | ours: one number on a living sky | 0 | yes | yes | $8.99 – $88.99 |
All but GAIT ($1.99) are free to download. Figures from the US App Store, checked ; "widget" and "lock screen" mean the app's own description mentions one, not that we installed it.
How these were picked
Each row comes from the same survey we publish as open data: nineteen iPhone step counters read off their own App Store pages — rating count, average, whether the description mentions a widget and a lock screen widget, and what the app sells. "Best for" is read off those columns, not off a month of living with each app. The most-rated pick is the one with the most ratings; the free pick is the one that lists nothing to buy and still mentions a lock screen widget; and so on down the table.
That method has a limit worth saying plainly: it can't tell you which one you'll like. It can tell you which ones fit a need before you install anything, which is the part most lists skip.
The most-rated: StepsApp and Pedometer++
Two apps carry most of the category's ratings: StepsApp with 291,037 at 4.8 and Pedometer++ with 180,123 at 4.8. Both read Apple Health, both mention home screen and lock screen widgets, and both sell optional extras — StepsApp lists $0.99 – $19.99, Pedometer++ $1.99 – $39.99. Pedometer++ also has an Apple Watch app. If you want the choice most people already made, it is one of these two.
Free, with nothing to buy
"Free" on the App Store means free to download; almost everything qualifies. Listing no in-app purchases at all is rarer. Steps — Simple Pedometer lists none and its description mentions both widgets (5,309 ratings, 4.7). Pedometer α lists none either and has the highest average of the large apps, 4.9 from 167,598 ratings — but its description mentions no widget. What every price actually is, app by app, is on what step counters actually cost.
On the lock screen
If the point is seeing your steps without unlocking, the column that matters is the lock screen one. Seven of the nine picks mention a lock screen widget; Pedometer α and Pikmin Bloom don't. Putting one there takes about forty seconds — the steps are on how to show steps on the iPhone lock screen.
Cute, or a game
Pikmin Bloom (66,956 ratings) is a walking game rather than a counter — you walk for it, you don't glance at it. If you want something cute that still sits on the lock screen, Habbie mentions one, though it was last updated in Sep 2025. The full cute field, nine of them, is on cute step counter apps.
Where we stand
Full disclosure: we make the last row. Angel Step shows today's steps as one number on a sky that changes as you walk, with a home screen and a lock screen widget that read Apple Health themselves. It was read off its own App Store page on the day it went on sale, with the same columns as every other row — including the unflattering one, no ratings yet. It is free to download, with no ads and no account; the widgets are free, and the optional purchases ($8.99 – $88.99) add extras such as sky themes. It is last here because it has no ratings, and a list ordered by need gives it no better place than its numbers.
Sources
- Rating counts, averages, widget and lock screen mentions, purchases: each app's US App Store page, checked ; Angel Step on . The whole survey is open data (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0).
- Pedometer++ on Apple Watch: its App Store page — "Available on the iPhone and Apple Watch" — Pedometer++ on the App Store.
- Why every app that reads Apple Health shows the same number: why your step counts don't match.
Updated