Best walking apps 2026
Walking apps come in two kinds. Some record your walks: the route on a map, the distance, the pace, the steps. Others give your walks a reason: a creature to hatch, a trail to finish, a medal in the post. The two kinds work well together: one counts the walk, the other makes you want to take it.
We make reTrek, one of the apps below. It sits in the list in alphabetical order like everyone else, and the last section says why we built it.
Apps that track your walks
Map My Walk
A GPS walk tracker. It maps your route as you go, counts your steps, and reads out your pace, distance, time and calories while you walk. It has route discovery, personal goals, and walking challenges with badges and leaderboards, and it syncs with Apple Health and smartwatches. Free, with a premium tier called MVP that adds training plans, live tracking for friends and family, and heart-rate analysis. iPhone and Android. mapmywalk.com
Pacer
A pedometer first. Pacer counts steps with your phone’s own sensors in the background, so no watch is needed, and adds GPS for outdoor walks, step challenges, walking clubs, walking plans and a park and trail finder. It connects to Apple Health, Google Fit, Fitbit, Garmin and Samsung Health. Free, with a premium membership for extra challenges and insights. iPhone and Android. mypacer.com
Strava
Best known for running and cycling, Strava records walks too: GPS map, distance, time, and how you improve over weeks. It has a route planner, a safety feature that shares your live location, clubs and challenges, and the social side Strava is known for, where friends follow your walks and give kudos. Recording, sharing, clubs and challenges are free, and a subscription adds custom goals, route discovery and segment leaderboards. iPhone and Android, and it syncs with Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung and others. strava.com
Apps that give your walks a goal
Pikmin Bloom
From the makers of Pokémon GO and Nintendo’s Pikmin series. Your steps grow small plant creatures called Pikmin that follow you around, and as you walk you plant flowers along your path, so the day’s walk becomes a trail on the map. You can host group walks, join weekly challenges with friends, and team up against giant mushrooms. Steps count in the background. Free to play, with optional purchases. iPhone and Android. pikminbloom.com
Pokémon GO
Launched in 2016 and still going. You catch Pokémon at real places on a map, visit PokéStops and Gyms, and join raids with other players. Walking hatches Eggs and earns Candy for your Buddy Pokémon, and with Adventure Sync switched on it counts your distance through Apple Health or Google Fit even when the game is closed. Free to play, with optional purchases. iPhone and Android. pokemongo.com
reTrek
Your daily steps move you along real routes: Everest Base Camp, the Inca Trail, the Camino de Santiago, the Nakasendo and others, with a short film about the place waiting at each milestone. There are also quests, branching stories where you walk to unlock each chapter and make the choices that decide the ending. You can walk a route with friends and pool your steps, or race them. Steps come from Apple Health or Health Connect. Free for one route and one quest, with no trial. A PRO subscription opens every route and quest. iPhone and Android. retrek.me
The Conqueror Challenges
Virtual challenges along famous routes and places. Every walk, run, ride or other activity moves you along the challenge route, from synced trackers or entered by hand, and when you finish, a real medal arrives in the post. Along the way there are digital postcards, and trees are planted for each challenge completed. The app is free. You pay per challenge, with the medal included, or buy challenges in bundles. iPhone and Android. theconqueror.events
Walk the Distance
Your everyday steps move you along real long-distance trails on a map: the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, the John Muir Trail, the Camino de Santiago, plus marathons, city walks and national park routes. Waypoints unlock as you go, friends can walk the same trail, and it tells you when someone passes you. It syncs with Apple Health, Samsung Health, Fitbit and Garmin. Free trails in every category, and more trails one at a time or with a premium membership. iPhone and Android. walkthedistance.com
Side by side
| App | What it is | Counts your walking with | Free? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Map My Walk | GPS walk tracker | GPS, steps, Apple Health, watches | Yes, premium tier available |
| Pacer | Pedometer with challenges and clubs | Phone sensors, health apps, watches | Yes, premium tier available |
| Strava | GPS tracker with a social feed | GPS, watches | Yes, subscription available |
| Pikmin Bloom | Walking game, flowers and Pikmin | Steps in the background | Free to play, optional purchases |
| Pokémon GO | Map game at real places | GPS, Adventure Sync via health apps | Free to play, optional purchases |
| reTrek | Steps along real routes, story quests | Apple Health, Health Connect | One route and one quest free |
| The Conqueror | Virtual challenges with a real medal | Synced trackers or manual entry | App free, challenges paid |
| Walk the Distance | Steps along real long-distance trails | Apple Health, Samsung Health, watches | Free trails, premium available |
All eight are on iPhone and Android.
Is there a good free walking app?
Every app on this list can be used for free. Map My Walk, Pacer and Strava record walks at no cost, and their paid tiers add plans and analysis rather than the basics. Pokémon GO and Pikmin Bloom are free to play. Walk the Distance has free trails in every category, and reTrek has one route and one quest free for good. The Conqueror is the exception that charges per challenge, because each one comes with a medal posted to you.
If what you need is a record of your walks, any of the three trackers does it for free. If what you need is a reason to go, that is what the second group is for.
Why we built reTrek
We built reTrek because walking every day is easy to start and hard to keep. The walk itself is simple. The tenth evening of the same loop is not. What keeps people going, in the research and in what walkers tell us, is something to look forward to, progress you can see, and someone who notices. So in reTrek your ordinary walks become distance on a real trail, every milestone has a short film waiting, and you can bring friends along to walk with you or race you there. Everest Base Camp is free, so the easiest way to see whether it works for you is to walk the first stretch.