StepPup vs Walkr: which walking game app should you play?

Pick StepPup if you want a completely free walking game, with no in-app purchases, an Apple Watch app, and a virtual dog whose happiness follows your real steps. Pick Walkr if you want a big, long-running space collection game (100+ planets and 30+ missions) that also runs on Android and has more than a decade of updates behind it. Walkr is free to download with ads and in-app purchases, including a SPARKFUL subscription at $7.99 a month.

Walkr's details come from Walkr's App Store page, its Google Play listing and sparkful.app/walkr, checked on September 26, 2026.

StepPup vs Walkr: the quick answer

Both games turn your real steps into progress. Walkr turns them into fuel for a spaceship exploring a galaxy of planets. StepPup turns them into happiness and XP for a dog you adopt and bond with. Walkr is bigger and older, with 4.5 stars from about 8,000 US ratings. StepPup is small and new, with 4.2 stars from 5 US ratings, and costs nothing at all.

What is Walkr?

Walkr is a space adventure powered by your pedometer. It comes from Fourdesire, a Taiwanese studio that now publishes as SPARKFUL (the Android app still carries the package name com.fourdesire.spacewalk). It has been on the App Store since July 2014 and was last updated on September 16, 2026.

Your daily steps are recorded automatically and converted into energy that fuels your spaceship. You can start a booster when you begin walking to earn extra fuel. Along the way you:

• Discover and collect 100+ planets, plus spacefoods and rare elements.
• Take on 30+ missions helping creatures from across the galaxy find their way home.
• Invite friends as co-pilots for extra fuel, join a fleet, share fuel in the Planet Lab, and compete in leagues from Comet to Galaxy.
• Track calories and get recommended daily goals.

Walkr has a strong track record. Its App Store listing cites App Store Best of 2014, Best of 2015 for Apple Watch apps, a TGS 2015 Indie Game Award and an Indie Prize 2015 Best Game Audio award, and says it has more than 3 million iOS players. On Google Play it is an Editors' Choice with more than 1 million downloads and 4.2 stars from about 77,000 reviews.

The costs are worth knowing. The App Store page lists ads and a set of in-app purchases: a $1.99 Super Pilot purchase, Cubes (the premium currency) from $1.99 to $99.99, a $1.99 Ads Remover, a $0.99 Time Machine, and a SPARKFUL subscription at $7.99 a month or $69.99 a year, which unlocks all SPARKFUL apps and starts with a 7-day free trial. Although Walkr once won a Best of 2015 award for Apple Watch, its current App Store page lists iPhone only, with no Watch app.

What is StepPup, and how is it different?

I built StepPup around one simple loop: walk, and your dog is happier. You adopt a virtual pup from 9 breeds (Beagle, Golden Retriever, Husky, Shiba Inu, Frenchie, Great Dane, Corgi, Dalmatian and German Shepherd), and its happiness follows your real steps. As you walk, you earn XP, build your bond level, and dress your dog up with cosmetics.

• Apple Watch app and widget, so you can check in without opening your phone.
• 50+ achievements and daily challenges.
• Friends: add friends by code, compare on a friends leaderboard, and climb Game Center leaderboards and weekly community challenges.
• AR Photo Mode, where you can pet your dog with hand gestures and take a photo together.
• iCloud backup for your progress.

It is completely free: no in-app purchases, no currency to buy, no subscription. The full walkthrough is in my StepPup review, and the StepPup app page has the details.

Where Walkr wins

• Depth of content. 100+ planets and 30+ missions give collectors years of goals.
• Android. Walkr runs on Google Play; StepPup is iPhone and Apple Watch only.
• Track record. More than a decade of updates, awards, and thousands of ratings on both stores.
• Team play. Fleets, co-pilots and leagues are richer than StepPup's friends leaderboard.
• Languages. Walkr is available in five languages, including Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

Who should pick which?

Choose Walkr if you love collecting and exploring, you want a big sci-fi game to grow into, you play with friends on Android, or you want to team up in fleets. It is fine to play for free, but expect ads and offers.

Choose StepPup if a companion is what gets you out the door, you want an Apple Watch app, or you want a walking game that never asks you to pay. Caring for a dog is an easy motivation to understand, and "my pup is happier because I walked" holds up on the days you would rather stay in. For more small nudges like this, see how to trick yourself into walking more.

The bottom line

Walkr is a polished, proven space game with far more content, and it is the right pick for collectors and Android users. StepPup is the simpler, warmer choice for iPhone and Apple Watch users who want a companion rather than a universe, and it costs nothing. If you want a step counter with more game systems, I also make Simply Step.

Frequently asked questions

First published June 2, 2026. Updated September 26, 2026: expanded the Walkr section with facts checked against its App Store page, Google Play listing and website, added where Walkr wins, and corrected StepPup's price (completely free, no in-app purchases) and breed list.