If you are searching for the best Pacer alternative for iPhone, this post is for you. Pacer is a capable, hugely popular step counter app. People look elsewhere for different reasons: the app feels crowded, they want more customized fitness plans, or they need to feel even more motivated to move. I built StepGoals for all of those people.
Of course this is the StepGoals website, but this comparison is based on real information. Pacer is a really solid app, but StepGoals was made to fill the gaps.
What Pacer Does Well
Pacer tracks steps, distance, calories, flights climbed and active time, and syncs with Apple Health and Apple Watch. Its biggest strength is the community layer: walking groups, friendly challenges and real-time progress sharing. It also offers GPS route mapping, BMI tracking, and guided workouts for weight loss and fitness. If group accountability is what you want, Pacer delivers it.
Why Some iPhone Users Look for a Pacer Alternative
Pacer packs a lot into one app, and many of its features sit several taps deep. That breadth suits some people and overwhelms others. Premium adds more on top, so check exactly what your plan includes before you commit.
The deeper issue, for many walkers, is motivation. Leaderboards work when other people are active. On a quiet week, when your group goes silent, a social app has less to say to you. I wanted to build the opposite: a step counter that motivates you on your own, hour by hour.
How StepGoals Works as a Walking Motivation App
The Motivation Box sits on the main screen and shows two live targets: the next milestone in your daily goal progression, and a target drawn from your own step history. Each comes with an estimated time to reach it, and the message below shifts with the time of day, your progress and your streak. The idea is simple. Instead of staring at a distant 10,000, you always have a next target close enough to feel doable.
Around that sit the habit tools. Streaks track consecutive days of hitting your goal, and Pro adds streak protection for the occasional missed day. Awards give you milestones to collect, and daily and monthly challenges give you more fun targets to aim for. The psychology of walking streaks explains why a chain you do not want to break works so well.
StepGoals also includes GPS Sessions and workout plans for intentional walks and runs, a Journal for mood, notes and photos, home screen widgets, and an Apple Watch app.
Insights turn your history into patterns. The Solar Step Wheel shows your average steps per day across a week, month or year, and Day of Week plots every day from the last 90 days, so you can see which days you walk the most and which ones need a push.
StepGoals vs Pacer at a Glance
| Feature | StepGoals | Pacer |
|---|---|---|
| Steps, distance and calories | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Health and Apple Watch | Yes | Yes |
| GPS route tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Motivational micro targets | Yes | No |
| Journal with mood, notes and photos | Yes | Not listed |
| Walking groups | Yes | Yes |
| Guided workouts and weight loss plans | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Free, with optional Pro | Free, with optional Premium |
Who Should Switch, and Who Should Stay
Stay with Pacer if group challenges are the main reason you use it. Switch to StepGoals if you want a step counter app that coaches you through the day, a streak worth protecting, awards to collect and a journal to go with your numbers, all in a more focused app.
Switching is low risk, so just try it out first. StepGoals reads your step data from Apple Health, so if Pacer has been syncing there, your history is already waiting. Not sure what daily target to start with? The step goal picker suggests one based on your situation, and my roundup of the best step tracking apps for motivation compares more options.
Download StepGoals free and see if live daily targets keep you walking more than a leaderboard does.
