Stomped has one idea: clear fog off a map by walking somewhere new. It is a good idea. It is also one of Simply Step's modes. Simply Step's Tiles map gives you the same hexagon-by-hexagon exploration, then surrounds it with everything a walking app actually needs: a live step counter, a 3D character walking to 21 real cities, coins and a shop, 54 achievements, groups and leaderboards, GPS workouts, and a dedicated Apple Watch app. This one is not close.
Simply Step vs Stomped at a glance
Stomped is a single-purpose exploration tracker. Simply Step is a complete walking companion that includes the same exploration mechanic as one of its modes.
| Simply Step | Stomped | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; optional Pro (free trial) | Free |
| Platforms | iPhone and Apple Watch | iPhone only |
| Fog-of-war map | Yes: Tiles mode, hexagon grid, real city boundaries | Yes (the whole app) |
| Step counting | Live count, goals, streaks, charts | No step count |
| City journeys | 21 real cities with a 3D character | None |
| Workouts | Walk and run, GPS routes, replay and video export | No workout tracking |
| Achievements | 54 across four tiers, 6 for tiles alone | Milestone confetti |
| Social | Friends, groups of 20, leaderboards, People Seen | Coverage numbers with friends |
| Apple Watch | Full app, workouts, complications | None |
| Best for | Everything below | Only the map |
What is Stomped?
Stomped is a fog-of-war walking app for iPhone. The map starts dark and moving through the real world clears it, one small hexagon at a time:
- Walk, run, or ride through a tile and it is cleared forever, building a permanent record of everywhere you have been.
- A live percentage tracks how much of your neighborhood or city you have covered, with confetti at milestones.
- A heat map warms your repeated routes, and friends can compare coverage numbers.
- Location is stored as coarse anonymized tiles rather than precise GPS, which is a thoughtful privacy design.
And that is the entire app. There is no step count, no daily goal, no distance or calories, no workouts, no Apple Watch app, no achievements to hunt, nothing to unlock, and no reason to open it on the days you walk your usual route. Stomped is a map, and once the map around your home is cleared, it goes quiet.
What is Simply Step?
Simply Step is a walking game built on a real pedometer. Four pages: Steps, Workout, Activity, and Passport. The live count is always front and center, with daily goals, streaks (including a streak restore so one missed day does not wipe months of work), and weekly, monthly, and yearly charts.
Tiles: the fog-of-war map, included
- The map starts hidden and walking reveals it: the streets you cover light up and stay lit, for good.
- Real city boundaries and neighborhood names, per-tile first-visit dates, and stats for tile count, ground coverage, and countries visited.
- Six dedicated tile achievements (from First Tile to Border Crosser) and Tiles leaderboards, global or friends, total or by city.
- The app can tell walking from driving, so only real walks fill in the map.
- Your tile map is exportable and shareable.
Every step goes somewhere
- In Adventure mode your steps carry a 3D character to 21 real cities, from Venice and Amsterdam through Paris, Seoul, and Tokyo to a 100,000-step Los Angeles, collecting passport stamps along the way.
- Coins accumulate as you walk and are spent on a 369-item shop across 15 categories, from hats and glasses to full costumes.
- 54 achievements across Bronze to Platinum tiers, including hidden ones like Midnight Walker and a 42,195-step Marathon day.
- My Room, an upgradeable 3D home with 68 furniture pieces, expandable rooms, and a mailbox where friends leave letters.
- Walking groups of up to 20 with group streaks and badges, friend codes, four leaderboard periods, and People Seen encounters with real walkers on your path.
A real fitness backbone
- Steps from Apple Health, the iPhone pedometer, AirPods motion, and Apple Watch.
- Walking and running workouts with GPS route tracking, auto-pause, live heart rate and calories, a 3D track view, and animated route replay with video export.
- A full Apple Watch app (steps, history, journey progress, and workouts on the wrist) plus iPhone widgets and five Watch complications.
- Four themes, seven languages, and a privacy stance to match Stomped's: health data stays on device, and only aggregated counts sync for leaderboards.
You can read the full walkthrough in our Simply Step review.
So how do they compare?
The map
This used to be Stomped's whole pitch, and Simply Step simply includes it. Hexagon tiles, fog of war, permanent claims, coverage stats, friends comparison: Tiles mode covers all of it, and adds what Stomped does not have, real city boundaries with per-city leaderboards, tile achievements, walk-versus-drive detection, and a shareable map. If the fog-of-war idea is what drew you to Stomped, it is already waiting inside Simply Step.
The everyday walk
Fog-of-war only pays out on new ground. The walk you actually take most, the loop from your own front door, stops earning anything in a map-only app within a couple of weeks. Simply Step never devalues a step: the same loop still moves your character toward the next city, still earns coins, still protects your streak, and still counts toward achievements. That is the difference between an app you open in a new city and an app you open every day.
The numbers
Stomped shows no step count at all. Simply Step is a real pedometer first: live count, goals, streaks, charts, distance, calories, and heart rate, synced across iPhone, Apple Watch, and even AirPods. You cannot build a walking habit around a number the app refuses to show you.
The game
Stomped has one loop: clear more tiles. Simply Step layers loops: tiles to claim, cities to reach, stamps to collect, a character to dress from a 369-item shop, a room to furnish, 54 achievements to hunt, and friends, groups, and leaderboards to keep pace with. There is always a next thing your steps are buying.
Which should you pick?
Simply Step. This is not a case of two apps with different strengths. Stomped does one thing, and Simply Step does that thing as one mode among many, with more depth: real city boundaries, tile leaderboards, tile achievements, and drive detection. Then it adds the step counter, the goals and streaks, the 21 city journeys, the character, the room, the workouts, and the Apple Watch app that a daily walking habit actually runs on. Install one walking app and make it the one that rewards every step you take.
The bottom line
Stomped answers "where have I been?" Simply Step answers that too, in Tiles mode, and then answers the question that keeps you walking: "what are my steps worth today?" A live count you trust, a Watch on your wrist, workouts with real GPS, a map that fills in as you explore, and a world where every step, new ground or old, carries you somewhere. Download Simply Step and give your steps a destination.
Frequently asked questions
Does Simply Step have map exploration like Stomped?
Yes. Simply Step's Tiles mode is a full fog-of-war exploration map: the map starts hidden and your walks light it up, street by street, for good. Watch your neighborhood and city fill in with real boundaries, see how much ground you have covered and which countries you have walked in, and compete on explorer leaderboards with friends and the world. It can even tell walking from driving, so only real walks fill in the map.
Is Simply Step a good Stomped alternative?
Yes. Everything Stomped does, Simply Step does as one of its modes, and then it adds the rest of a complete walking app: a live step counter with goals and streaks, a 3D character that walks to 21 real cities, 54 achievements, coins and a 369-item shop, walking groups and leaderboards, GPS workouts, and a dedicated Apple Watch app.
Does Stomped count steps?
No. Stomped tracks map tiles you pass through and shows coverage percentages, but there is no step count, daily goal, distance, calories, or workout tracking. Simply Step is a real pedometer first, reading from Apple Health, the iPhone pedometer, AirPods motion, and Apple Watch.
Which app is better for daily walking motivation?
Simply Step. Fog-of-war exploration only rewards new ground, so a map-only app stops paying out on the routes you walk most. Simply Step rewards every step: your daily loop still moves your character toward the next city, earns coins, protects your streak, and counts toward achievements, while the Tiles map is there whenever you explore somewhere new.