Stompers app alternatives: 6 ways to walk with friends
Stompers made step counting a group sport: a daily race in your friend group, items you throw at each other, a widget for the standings. If you like the idea and not the execution, or your friends are on Android, or you want something gentler than a daily race, here are six apps that keep the friends and change the rest.
Disclosure: Walk with Mo is our app, and it is the last entry. Facts about the other apps come from the US App Store and Google Play listings and the developers' pages, checked in October 2026. This page is about the Stompers walking app, not the shoes.
What Stompers is, in October 2026
Stompers (Stompers, LLC) launched in May 2024 and reached the top of the US Health & Fitness chart in October 2026. It has 4.8 stars from about 12,000 US ratings. The loop: build an avatar, add your group chat, and compete on steps every day. Power-up items mess with a friend's count, a widget shows your standing, and there is a business version for office challenges. It is free to play; Super Stompers costs $4.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $39.99 to $59.99 a year, plus coin packs.
Two things people ask about it. Is Stompers on Android? Yes, since mid-2026, so older posts that call it iPhone-only are out of date. Can you play alone? You can, but the game is the group; without one there is little left.
The alternatives at a glance
| App | Kind of competition | Group size | Solo play | Platforms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StepUp | Leaderboards, challenges, bots | 2 to 15,000 | Good | iPhone, Android, Watch | Free, tip jar |
| Steps Club | Shared feed, cheers, goals | Small clubs | Thin | iPhone, Android | Free |
| Pacer | Groups and challenges | Any | Full pedometer | iPhone, Android, Watch | Free, Premium sub |
| Pikmin Bloom | Co-op, weekly team goal | Friends list | Good | iPhone, Android | Free, IAP |
| Fantasy Hike | Race on a route | Friends list | Good | iPhone, Android | Free, Premium sub |
| Walk with Mo | Weekly crown in a crew | 2 to a handful | Good | iPhone | Free to play |
StepUp: the free one your whole office can use
StepUp (Pratik Stephen, since 2015) is the most-rated app in this list: 4.8 stars from 143,000 US ratings. It is fully free, with a tip jar instead of a subscription. You get daily, weekly and monthly leaderboards, private groups from a few friends up to 15,000 people, group chat, a Mystery Mode that hides today's counts until tomorrow, and bots to race when your friends are quiet. It syncs with Apple Health and most wearables, has an Apple Watch app, and works across iPhone and Android.
What it is not: a game. There are no avatars, items or worlds. It is a pedometer with a social layer, and a good one. The pain in reviews is sync after iOS updates and time-zone unfairness in challenges.
Steps Club: a group chat that counts steps
Steps Club (Nicholas Cernera, since January 2026) is the closest in spirit to Stompers' "walk with your real friends" idea with the edge filed off. You create a club for your friend group or family, see everyone's steps in one feed, react to walks and cheer goals. The developer's own line is that it feels like a group chat rather than a fitness app. It is free, on iPhone and Android, and syncs with Apple Health.
What it is not: competitive or deep. There are no items, no daily winner, and about a hundred ratings so far. Pick it if the daily race was the part you disliked.
Pacer: groups inside a serious pedometer
Pacer (since 2013, 4.9 stars from 334,000 US ratings) is a full step tracker with routes, plans and coaching, and it has groups and challenges built in. Reviews skew older and health-focused: weight loss, 70-year-olds walking every day. Free with a Premium subscription from $3.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with an Apple Watch app, on iPhone and Android.
What it is not: playful. If Stompers was too much game for you, Pacer is the opposite end.
Pikmin Bloom: friends without the race
Pikmin Bloom keeps friends in the picture without anyone losing. You fight mushrooms together, share a weekly team step goal and collect postcards from each other's walks. Free, with coin and storage purchases, on iPhone and Android. The cost is GPS: planting flowers needs the screen on and location running, and the map part needs real outdoor walks. More in our Pikmin Bloom alternatives.
Fantasy Hike: race your friends to a mountain
Fantasy Hike puts you and your friends on the same fantasy route and lets your distance decide who reaches Mount Fire first. Several reviews describe parents racing their kids to the mountain. No GPS, Apple Health and Watch supported, on iPhone and Android. The free tier caps distance per day; Premium is $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year. It is a race with a finish line rather than a daily one, which makes it kinder on slow days.
Walk with Mo: a small crew and a weekly crown
Walk with Mo is ours, so read this part knowing that. Mo is a small buddy who walks through one real city a month, Paris first, moved by your Apple Health steps. Friends join by a link and walk the same street. The competition is one weekly crown: most steps from Monday to Sunday, and the winner's buddy wears it the next week. Crews get a shared scarf, and you can see where a friend is on the street at any time.
What it keeps from Stompers: your real friends, a race, a character to customise. What it changes: the race is weekly, not daily, so one bad day does not decide anything. There is no item that takes a friend's steps away. And the game works alone too, because the city, the postcards and the gift boxes are yours whether or not anyone joins. What you lose: Android.
Walk Paris with your crew
Walk Paris with your crew. Free on iPhone.
How to choose
- Your friends are on Android: StepUp, Steps Club, Pacer, Pikmin Bloom or Fantasy Hike. Stompers works there too now.
- You want a daily race: stay with Stompers, or use StepUp with bots when the group goes quiet.
- You want the group without the race: Steps Club or Pikmin Bloom.
- You want a race that forgives a bad day: Fantasy Hike (a route) or Walk with Mo (a week).
- You want a game, not a tracker: Pikmin Bloom, Fantasy Hike or Walk with Mo.
Questions
Is Stompers on Android?
Yes. Stompers launched on Google Play in 2026 and the store page lists both platforms. Earlier comparison articles that call it iPhone-only are out of date.
What is the best free app for a group step challenge?
StepUp. It is fully free, supports groups from a couple of friends to thousands, and works across iPhone, Android and most wearables. Steps Club is also free and better for a small, friendly club.
Can you use Stompers alone?
You can install it and count steps, but the game is the daily race with friends. For a solo-friendly game with an optional crew, look at Fantasy Hike or Walk with Mo.
Which walking app lets friends sabotage each other?
Stompers is the one built around items that hit a friend's step count. The apps above either have no items or keep the competition to standings and a weekly result.