Quick picks
Large office, or a mix of iPhone and Android
StepUp or Pacer. Both are free to start a challenge and both run on iPhone and Android. StepUp's listing also says group admins can export step reports and that it syncs with Fitbit, Garmin, Oura, WHOOP and other wearables (App Store listing, checked 8 Nov 2026).
Company that wants an organized program with admin tools
Look at a workplace product such as Pacer for Teams. We did not find public prices for it, so ask for a quote and compare.
Small iPhone team where not everyone walks
Stride: Fitness Challenge (we make it). Workouts of 20 minutes or more score points alongside steps, teams are ranked by average points so a bigger team doesn't win just by being bigger, and nobody signs up with an email. Free for up to 15 people; a company plan covers up to 50 people for $199 a month after a 14-day free trial.
Everyone already wears a Fitbit or uses Google Health
The Google Health app's friend leaderboards rank friends by weekly steps or cardio load. You add each coworker as a friend by name or email, and there are no challenges or groups (Google Health Help, what changed, checked 8 Nov 2026).
What actually matters in a workplace challenge
1. Everyone's phone has to work
The fastest way to lose half the office is picking an app that only runs on one platform. If your team is mixed, rule out iPhone-only apps first. Stride: Fitness Challenge is currently on the App Store for iPhone only.
2. Fair scoring
Raw step totals reward people with long commutes, dogs and standing desks, and they leave out anyone who cycles, swims, lifts or uses a wheelchair. Options that help: score days when someone hits a goal rather than total steps, let workouts count, and rank teams by average rather than total so team size doesn't decide the winner. Ask whichever app you choose how it handles each of these.
3. Privacy between colleagues
Coworkers don't need to see each other's heart rate, weight or location. Check what each app shares with the group and whether people must sign up with a work email. In Stride, step and workout details stay on the phone and the board only shows a display name and weekly points.
4. A realistic goal
10,000 steps a day is a convention, not a threshold. A 2022 meta-analysis of 15 cohorts found the drop in mortality risk levelled off at about 6,000–8,000 steps a day in adults 60 and older and 8,000–10,000 in younger adults (Paluch et al., Lancet Public Health 2022). That is observational data, so it shows an association, not proof that steps alone cause the difference. For a mixed office, a goal most people can reach on a normal day keeps more of them playing.
5. Who runs it, and for how long
Someone has to set dates, nudge people and announce results. Pacer's own guide suggests sending invites about a week before the start and running for one to four weeks (Pacer, checked 8 Nov 2026). Weekly rounds with a fresh start each week give people who fall behind a reason to keep going.
Side by side
From each product's own listing or help pages, checked 8 November 2026. Nobody paid to be included.
| App | Phones | Price to run a challenge | What counts | Group size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StepUp | iPhone, Android, many wearables | Free; optional Free; optional tips in the appquot;Support StepUpFree; optional tips in the appquot; in-app purchases | Steps | Up to 15,000 people |
| Pacer | iPhone, Android | Free; optional Premium subscription; Pacer for Teams for workplaces | Steps (also tracks distance and calories) | Not stated |
| Google Health (formerly Fitbit) | Google Health app | Free leaderboards | Weekly steps or cardio load | Friends you add one by one; no challenges or groups |
| Stride: Fitness Challenge (ours) | iPhone | Free up to 15 people; $199/month up to 50 | Steps, workouts, or both | 15 free, 50 on the company plan |
For more detail, including what each app does better than Stride, see Fitbit, Pacer, StepUp and Stride compared.