Step challenge apps with friends: free ways to compete and team up

Kinds of step challenges you can do with friends

Step challenges differ in what they cost, what you get and who can join. Here are the main options:

If your group also wants to get paid for steps, a free rewards app gives you both: a challenge with friends and points for the walking you do anyway. If you mainly want a contest and everyone already wears an Apple Watch, its built-in competitions are a simple free option.

How AHEALTH's friend features work

AHEALTH counts your steps with your phone, so nobody in your group needs to buy a wearable. New U.S. accounts earn 1 point for every 100 steps, up to 10,000 steps a day, plus bonus step coins, and in the Gift Shop, 1,000 points = $1. On top of that, recent versions of the app add a few ways to walk with friends:

• Friends Ranking. See where you and your friends stand on today's steps, with a second view for streaks.
• Team Walk. Each day, you and the 4 friends who walk the most that day form your team, and your steps are added together. When the team total passes a milestone, you can claim bonus points that day. The first one unlocks as soon as a friend is on your team, then every 10,000 combined steps up to 50,000. You need at least one friend to earn Team Walk rewards.
• Poke. If a teammate has gone quiet, you can poke them for a friendly nudge.
• Squat Wars. Compete with friends on daily squats, counted by your phone's motion sensor.
• Adding friends. Send an invite link, search for a username, enter a friend's code or, if you choose to share them, match your phone contacts.

These features are in recent versions of the app for U.S. accounts, and features, milestones and rewards can change and vary by account. AHEALTH is free to download and is supported by in-app advertising, so claiming a Team Walk bonus can come with a short ad. See how AHEALTH rewards work for how points turn into gift cards.

Compete or team up? What research says

Friendly competition isn't just a gimmick. In the STEP UP trial, 602 adults with overweight or obesity from 40 U.S. states tracked their steps and were assigned to a control group or to a 24-week game built around support, collaboration or competition. Every participant picked a step goal above their own starting average.

• Competition worked best. Compared with the control group, the competition arm walked about 920 more steps a day during the game.
• Support and teamwork helped too. The support arm added about 689 steps a day and the collaboration arm about 637.
• Competition lasted longest. In the 12 weeks after the game ended, only the competition arm still walked significantly more than the control group, about 569 steps a day.
• Families can do it together. In the BE FIT trial, families who played a step game together increased their daily steps by about 953 more than the control group during the 12-week game, and part of the gain lasted after it ended.

These trials used research-grade programs, not any one app, so your results will depend on your group. The CDC gives similar advice for staying motivated: invite friends and family to be active with you, and put regular walks with a friend on both of your calendars.

How to start a step challenge with friends

1. Pick one app everyone can use. If your group mixes iPhone and Android, choose an app that runs on both. Apple Watch competitions work only between Apple Watch owners.
2. Add each other. Send invites before the start date so nobody misses the first day.
3. Choose the format. A daily ranking suits people who like to race. A shared team goal suits groups with very different step counts.
4. Make it fair. Instead of raw steps, you can score each person against their own usual average, the way the STEP UP game did. Beating your own number by 1,000 steps counts the same for everyone.
5. Keep your phone with you. Steps your phone doesn't see don't count. In AHEALTH version 2.8 and later, you can also connect Apple Health on iPhone or Health Connect on Android, and if they record more steps than your phone, for example from a watch that syncs to them, the app uses the higher count.
6. Check in once a day. Collect your points, look at the ranking and cheer on whoever is behind.
7. Set an end date. A one- or two-week challenge is easier to finish. Then start a new round with a fresh goal.

Before you join a pay-to-join step challenge

Some step challenges ask each player to put in money, and the people who hit the goal split the pot. That can be motivating, but read the rules first:

• What counts as a step. Find out which devices and apps are accepted and how steps are checked.
• What happens on a missed day. Ask what happens if your phone dies, you're sick or your watch doesn't sync.
• Fees. Check whether the organizer keeps part of the pot.
• Payouts. Find out when and how winnings are paid, and whether you can quit early.
• How much you could lose. Only put in money you would be fine losing if you miss the goal.

If you'd rather keep money out of it, a free challenge with friends still gives you the push of a scoreboard, and a rewards app adds small gift card rewards for the steps you take.

Keep the challenge healthy

The point of a step challenge is to move more, not to win at any cost. The CDC recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, such as brisk walking, each week, and says some activity is better than none.

• Start slow. Build up to longer or faster walks gradually, as the CDC suggests, instead of doubling your steps on day one.
• Warm up and cool down. It helps prevent injury, especially on longer walks.
• Rest when you need to. Don't push through pain to stay on top of the ranking.

If you have a health condition or haven't been active for a while, talk with your doctor before you start a new exercise routine.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Get paid to walkHow to get paid to walk with the phone you already have, what apps that pay you to walk really pay and how to tell a legit one from a waste of time.
• Best rewards app for seniorsWhat makes a health app easy for older adults, what the CDC recommends for people 65 and older and how to set gentle goals that earn small rewards.
• Step counter without a smartwatchHow your iPhone or Android phone counts steps on its own, how accurate it is compared with wearables and how to make sure your walks show up in your total.

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