Stepa, in straight answers.

What is Stepa?

Stepa is a free walking app for iPhone and Android, made in the UK. It counts your steps from Apple Health or Health Connect and puts them next to the people you actually know. You can race your mates in the weekly Mates race, duel them, and get walking loops that start and end at your front door.

What’s a good walking app for walking with friends in the UK?

If you want to walk with people you know rather than strangers, Stepa is built for exactly that. Your leaderboard is your mates and family, you can nudge or duel them, and every week you race each other along one real route. It’s free, made in the UK, and rated 4.6★ from 22 UK App Store ratings.

Can I walk with friends who live somewhere else?

Yes. In the weekly Mates race everyone walks the same real route, each from wherever they are, and your steps move you along it. Duels run for 24 hours, 48 hours or 7 days. When you’re in the same place, a group walk sends everyone one link with the loop, the time and the meeting point.

Is Stepa a step challenge app?

Yes, a friendly one. A new Mates race starts every Monday and ends on Sunday. Duels put two people head to head for 24 hours, 48 hours or 7 days. No mates yet? You race Stepa pace. For workplaces, Stepa for Companies runs a step challenge for a whole team.

Can Stepa find walking routes near me?

Yes. Choose how far you want to go and Stepa draws a walking loop on paths and pavements that starts and ends at your door. Ready-made loops near you and three loops of your own a month are free. Stepa Pro makes them unlimited and lets you pick the terrain or start from a dropped pin.

Is there a free pedometer app for iPhone in the UK?

Stepa is free on iPhone and counts your steps without a watch, reading them from Apple Health, which your iPhone fills in on its own. You see today’s steps, your streak and how your mates are doing, with no ads and no calorie targets. It’s on Android too, through Health Connect.

Does Stepa work on Android?

Yes. Stepa is on Google Play for Android and on the App Store for iPhone, with the same features and prices on both. On Android it reads your steps from Health Connect; on iPhone from Apple Health. It needs Android 8 or later, or iOS 15.1 or later.

How many steps should I walk a day?

There’s no magic number, and 10,000 isn’t a medical target. A 2025 review of 57 studies in The Lancet Public Health found that about 7,000 steps a day was linked to a 47% lower risk of death from any cause than 2,000 steps, with gains levelling off from about 5,000 to 7,000 for several outcomes. Any extra walking helps.

How many steps are in a kilometre or a mile?

About 1,300 steps per kilometre and about 2,100 per mile, for an average stride of 76 cm. Taller walkers take fewer steps, shorter walkers more. Stepa uses that stride when it sizes a loop, so a 7,000-step loop is about 5.3 km, a little over an hour at 5 km/h.

Is Stepa good for students?

It’s free, which suits a student budget, and it works best with a group: add your flatmates or course mates and you race each other every week. Loops from your door are an easy way to learn a new town on foot. We met Reading freshers at their fair in September 2026.

Do I need a smartwatch?

No. Your phone counts your steps on its own. If you wear a watch or fitness tracker that syncs to Apple Health or Health Connect, those steps count in Stepa too.

What is a Focus walk?

A Focus walk is a short walk with one rule: the phone stays in your pocket. Pick 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes and Stepa buzzes when you’re done. It doesn’t lock your apps; it keeps time so you don’t have to look. Do one every day and your Focus streak grows. Focus walks are free.

How much is Stepa Pro?

Stepa Pro costs £4.99 a month or £39.99 a year, and you can cancel any time in the App Store or Google Play. It adds unlimited loops to your exact steps and terrain, hosted group walks, offline loops and streak insurance. Everything else is free.

Who makes Stepa?

Stepa is made by Harry, Seb and Ollie, three mates from Bournemouth and Reading. It’s run by SocialClimb Marketing Ltd, registered in England and Wales. Email hello@getstepa.com and one of the three of us replies.