Best Walking App to Get Moving: 8 Options to Try in 2024
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Are you trying to get your 10,000 steps in a day? Tracking your walking is an excellent way to improve fitness and overall health. We review the top walking apps to get the most out of your workouts.
Are you trying to boost your walking workouts?
Increased physical activity has many health benefits for people of all ages, shapes, and lifestyles. 10,000 steps a day can help you lose weight, improve mental well-being, and boost energy levels. Moreover, walking is an excellent low-impact way to get your blood pumping.
Tracking your steps, walking routes, and calories burned can help you reach your goals. Yet, you don’t need a fancy Apple watch or Fitbit. There are many free and premium walking apps available.
We’ve helped narrow down the best walking app. Read our review to discover the best app to boost your walking workouts.
8 Best Walking Apps to Try in 2024
Thirty minutes of walking per day can burn 150 calories. Yet, there is much more to walking apps than just tracking calories. Many walking GPS apps also help you discover existing routes or offer training plans, helping you stick to your walking routine. Here are our top walking apps to help you in your fitness journey.
#1 Walking.Diet – best overall
If you want to get fit with the best walking apps, Walking.Diet provides easy-to-follow weight loss through walking plans. Answer a few questions to get a personalized walking plan and diet. The app has expert nutritionists and coaches to offer the best advice to get you in shape.
The easiest way to improve your walking fitness levels is to start a balanced and healthy diet. If you have any health conditions (such as diabetes, asthma, joint pain, or other conditions), Walking.Diet creates training goals to suit your level. Your subscription will provide access to walking routines, recipe books, and educational guides.
The program is suitable for everybody of all fitness levels.
- Perfect for beginners
- Gets you eating healthy
- Helps you lose weight
- Keeps you motivated
- Educates
- Workouts for general health
- Offers a private consultation
MapMyWalk shows the time spent walking, distance, pace, elevation gain, and calories burned. Your route is visible in red on your map so that you won’t get lost. Either select a pre-built course or create your own walking routes. Once you have completed a walk, you can upload your workout data to view within the app or on the website.
This app provides easy-to-read metrics to compare your performance against previous walks. The social element of MapMyWalk allows you to share a saved route or workout with others. Encouragement might help you reach your fitness goals.
MapMyWalk connects with the Fitbit app, Garmin watches, and other apps. The premium paid-for version allows you to connect Smart Trainers for detailed data.
#3 StepsApp – best for basic stats
If you’re not interested in complex data or sharing routes, StepsApp might be for you. With a sleek, fuss-free interface, StepsApp will track workouts without distractions. StepsApp motivates you with awards and badges when you achieve goals.
The walking app tracks steps and shows basic statistics in an easy-to-digest format. It also allows you to adjust stride length for more accurate step data and distance walked. You can also track your daily calories and store active calories.
The best part of StepsApp is its inclusivity. It will even track arm pushes for wheelchair users.
#4 Runkeeper – best for integrations
Runkeeper is an excellent tool for walkers and runners. It’s beneficial for walkers of all fitness levels. Runkeeper uses a map to track steps and distance. You can set personalized goals to push your walking workout further or follow guided activities. Push yourself to run further or more frequently.
The app also tracks the average pace, total time walking, and how many calories are burned.
It’s simple to set up. To get started, download the walking app and answer questions about your goals. The app has audio cues to make your walking workout easier to follow.
#5 Charity Miles – best to support a cause
Charity Miles gives your walking workout a purpose. Such apps, available for Android, iPhone, or iPad access, donate to charities on your behalf. Open the app, choose a charity, and start your brisk walking, running, or biking. For every mile completed, you earn a donation to your chosen charity.
Walking and running miles earn 25 cents, while cycling makes 10 cents. You can view your exercise time following the phone’s GPS as you walk.
After completing the walk, you must share the workout on Facebook or Twitter to donate to your charity. Also, the app encourages social interaction as you can form walking groups to raise money together.
#6 Footpath – best for route planning
Do you struggle to create walking routes that avoid busy roads? The Footpath app helps you map out routes along well-trodden trails that make it easier to walk a few hours each day.
Trace your route with your finger, and Footpath will show all available trails and roads. The app also shows the distance and elevation gain, then either save your route or begin walking and use your phone’s GPS to track your location as you move.
#7 Walkmeter – best for hiking
The Walkmeter app has fun features to track fitness goals, like speed and distance. Moreover, it has advanced features, like interval training, splits, zones, and more. The walking app uses your phone’s GPS to measure the distance walked. Plus, it has audio and voice integration to update you on stats and let you reply to friends on social media as you move.
Like other walking apps with online maps, you can plan routes and view time, speed, distance, and pace as you move. Walkmeter also has many free training features. You can race against yourself or your friends when repeating routes. The app shares live updates on your progress.
You can design your route and sync it with your mobile phone or fitness watch.
It offers advanced features like tracking daily steps, cadence coaching, and treadmill support.
- Receive encouragement from friends while walking
- Improve walking form with cadence coaching
#8 Pacer – best for walking groups
Pacer offers many chances to meet others if you’re looking for a group of fellow walkers to motivate you. With groups and challenges to join, you can connect with friends or meet new people. Pacer is more accurate than other free walking apps. It uses phone sensors and GPS to track walking and other activities.
You can manually add some sports, such as canoeing or yoga, but the app won’t provide metrics. Other benefits of Pacer include tracking your weight and blood pressure.
It’s easy to set up. Just download the app and begin tracking steps with your phone in your pocket. Pacer includes free video workouts, and the premium version offers guided workout programs and advanced performance data.
- Receive encouragement from walking groups and friends
- Supplement your fitness journey with video workouts
Comparing the 8 Best Walking Apps
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Provides fitness plans, healthy recipes, and expert advice from nutritionists and coaches.
Offers personalized goals based on your fitness levels and goals.
Easy-to-follow routes marked in red on your map.
Key performance data, including GPS-tracked pace, distance walked, calories burned, and elevation gain.
Connects with smartwatches, like Fitbits and Garmins, as well as “Smart Shoes” for more accurate data.
A simple pedometer app tracking steps and basic performance data.
Tracks arm pushes for wheelchair users.
Rewards achievements with badges and awards.
Easy-to-set-up walking app to track various sporting activities.
Guided workouts available and live tracking on the premium version.
Adjust goals to suit your fitness level.
Earn donations toward your chosen charity for every mile you walk, run, or cycle.
Form walking teams to raise money together.
Completely free walking app.
Allows you to trace a route with your finger and shows all the available trails and roads to complete your walk.
Gives directions and tracks your walk in real time.
Different map features, like terrain, street view, and more.
An all-around fitness app, Walkmeter is good for walkers, runners, and hikers.
Offers training plans and competitive features to beat your past performance.
View performance metrics while moving.
Join walking groups or team up with friends through the app.
Track walking performance, including distance, pace, speed, and calories burned.
Free workout videos to follow along.
Provides fitness plans, healthy recipes, and expert advice from nutritionists and coaches.
Offers personalized goals based on your fitness levels and goals.
Easy-to-follow routes marked in red on your map.
Key performance data, including GPS-tracked pace, distance walked, calories burned, and elevation gain.
Connects with smartwatches, like Fitbits and Garmins, as well as “Smart Shoes” for more accurate data.
A simple pedometer app tracking steps and basic performance data.
Tracks arm pushes for wheelchair users.
Rewards achievements with badges and awards.
Easy-to-set-up walking app to track various sporting activities.
Guided workouts available and live tracking on the premium version.
Adjust goals to suit your fitness level.
Earn donations toward your chosen charity for every mile you walk, run, or cycle.
Form walking teams to raise money together.
Completely free walking app.
Allows you to trace a route with your finger and shows all the available trails and roads to complete your walk.
Gives directions and tracks your walk in real time.
Different map features, like terrain, street view, and more.
An all-around fitness app, Walkmeter is good for walkers, runners, and hikers.
Offers training plans and competitive features to beat your past performance.
View performance metrics while moving.
Join walking groups or team up with friends through the app.
Track walking performance, including distance, pace, speed, and calories burned.
Free workout videos to follow along.
How We Tested
How did we find the best walking app in the world? Our top picks are diverse and dynamic walking apps that help people of all fitness levels begin their walking journey. We chose the best walking apps based on quality, effectiveness, price, and brand reputation. Each app offers something different to get you moving.
Quality
You don’t need a fancy fitness watch to track your walking data. We chose apps with free and advanced features to help you find a suitable workout tracker. Each top pick tracks basic metrics with GPS maps and coaching. Walking.Diet is the clear winner as it offers top-quality nutrition plans and educational information.
Effectiveness
Most people begin walking to get fit. People who start and stick to an exercise program have a 23% lower risk of death. Our app choices are highly effective in encouraging users to stick with their exercise routine.
Walking.Diet is an all-around lifestyle app with additional materials to support your fitness journey. Each of our top walking apps promotes goals and rewards you for your achievements.
Price
While not all of our top walking apps are free, they all have competitive pricing plans. Most of our choices offer free versions with premium upgrades, while you must pay for others up front.
However, many take walking as their preferred exercise because it’s cheaper than going to the gym. Therefore, none of our top choices – paid and free walking apps – will break the bank.
Brand reputation
Finally, we considered brand reputation. We checked out reviews and customer feedback to ensure that each of these walking apps had good customer service and support.
A Word From a Personal Trainer
Walking is an excellent way to get healthy. It’s free, quick and suitable for people of all fitness levels. One of the biggest challenges facing would-be walkers is not knowing where or when to walk. With the help of fitness apps, you can plan your route ahead of time and receive motivational data as you move.
Moreover, many apps allow you to connect with fellow walkers. Compete with yourself or others to improve your performance and meet fitness goals.
Walking for a few hours daily will significantly improve your energy levels and overall health. You might find yourself eager to try more adventurous sports as you get more fit. Many apps offer coaching plans to support your fitness journey.
Conclusion
With so many fitness apps to choose from, it’s easy to begin meeting goals and winning challenges. Our top pick was Walking.Diet as it enables you to improve your health in every aspect of your life – from nutrition to exercise. However, our other app choices offer the right tools to get you moving.
Edibel Quintero is a medical doctor who graduated in 2013 from the University of Zulia and has been working in her profession since then. She specializes in obesity and nutrition, physical rehabilitation, sports massage and post-operative rehabilitation. Edibel's goal is to help people live healthier lives by educating them about food, exercise, mental wellness and other lifestyle choices that can improve their quality of life.
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