PRODUCT DESIGN / WALKING

Can a walking app motivate without leaderboards?

Yes. Leaderboards are one motivation tool, not the only one. In a large trial, competition raised daily steps the most, but support and collaboration also beat no game at all. For people who dislike being ranked, personal goals, visible progress, kind streaks and optional friends can carry motivation instead. StepIsland is built that way: your goal first, friends optional.

By the Upmoat studio · Published September 25, 2026 · Last updated October 3, 2026

Key takeaways

In the STEP UP trial, competition added about 920 daily steps versus control, support about 689 and collaboration about 637 (Patel et al., 2019).
Only the competition group stayed significantly more active than control after the game ended.
Streak research suggests how setbacks are shown matters: self-blame makes broken streaks more discouraging (Silverman and Barasch, 2023).
Non-competitive motivators include personal goals, visible progress, if-then plans and optional social support.
The best design depends on who the app is for; competition suits some people and puts others off.

Do leaderboards actually make people walk more?

They can, and it is worth being honest about that.

The STEP UP randomised trial followed 602 adults who tracked steps with a wearable (Patel et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 2019). Three groups played a 24-week game with points and levels, built around support, collaboration or competition; a control group only got feedback from their device. All three game designs increased daily steps compared with control, and competition did best.

STEP UP trial: extra daily steps versus control during the 24-week game
Game design	Adjusted difference vs control	Still higher than control at follow-up?
Competition	About 920 steps a day	Yes, about 569 steps
Support	About 689 steps a day	Not significant
Collaboration	About 637 steps a day	Not significant

Two lessons come out of this. First, social and game mechanics do move behaviour. Second, the non-competitive designs worked as well, just less strongly, which matters for anyone who would rather not be ranked at all.

Why might a leaderboard put some people off?

A ranking has winners and everyone else. That is motivating if you are near the top or love a contest, and less so if you are just starting, recovering or walking on a busy week. Research on streaks points the same way: when a record highlights a failure and people blame themselves for it, they engage less afterwards (Silverman and Barasch, Journal of Consumer Research, 2023). A leaderboard that keeps showing you in last place is a constant version of that signal.

This is our design reasoning, not a study result: we wanted an app that works on a person’s worst week as well as their best one.

What can motivate walking instead of a leaderboard?

Motivators that do not need a ranking
Motivator	How it works	Evidence or rationale
Personal goal	You compete with your own baseline	Walking studies typically raise steps by 2,000–2,500 a day from baseline (Tudor-Locke et al., 2011)
Visible progress	A ring, a journey or a world that changes as you walk	Feedback you can see makes progress concrete
Kind streaks	A record of consistency that can survive a missed day	Repairable streaks soften the drop after a break (Silverman and Barasch, 2023)
If-then plans	“After lunch, I walk for 15 minutes”	Medium-to-large effect on goal attainment (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006)
Optional friends	Encouragement from people you choose	Support also raised steps in STEP UP (Patel et al., 2019)

Habits take time to form: in a UCL study it took a median of about 66 days for a daily behaviour to become automatic (Lally et al., 2010). Motivation that survives a bad week matters more than one big spike. We cover this in do step streaks help you build a walking habit?

How does StepIsland motivate without a public leaderboard?

StepIsland treats walking as something that grows a small illustrated world. According to its page:

You pick a companion who reacts to your steps and cheers you on as your day adds up.
Your island blooms as you walk, across six worlds you can switch between.
Streaks, personal bests and a view of your week show progress, framed as “gentle progress, never guilt”.
Friends are optional: you can add friends with a code and cheer each other on. Friends need a free Upmoat account, and friend challenges are part of StepIsland Plus.

There is no public ranking of strangers. The default is you, your goal and your island.

When should a walking app use competition?

Know the audience. Teams, workplaces and already-active users often enjoy a contest; beginners often do not.
Make it opt-in. Let people choose to compete rather than ranking them by default.
Compare with peers, not strangers. Small groups of friends are kinder than global boards.
Keep personal progress visible. Even someone in last place should see that they improved.
Plan for the end. In STEP UP, activity fell in every group once the game stopped. Build habits that outlast the contest.

Frequently asked questions

Do step challenges and leaderboards work?

They can. In the 2019 STEP UP trial, a competition-based game raised daily steps by about 920 compared with a control group, more than support or collaboration designs, which also helped.

What is the best way to stay motivated to walk without competing?

Set a personal goal a little above your current average, tie walks to daily cues with if-then plans, track visible progress and use streaks that allow for a missed day.

Does StepIsland have leaderboards?

StepIsland has no public leaderboard. You can optionally add friends with a code and cheer each other on, which needs a free Upmoat account. Friend challenges are part of StepIsland Plus.

Are non-competitive fitness apps less effective?

Not necessarily. In the STEP UP trial, support and collaboration designs also increased steps compared with no game, though competition had the largest effect.

Why do I lose motivation when I fall behind on a leaderboard?

Research on streaks found that highlighting a failure, especially one people blame on themselves, reduces later engagement. Focusing on your own progress can help.

From the studio behind this journal

Your goal, your companion, your island.

StepIsland is Upmoat’s walking app and step counter for iPhone and Apple Watch. Pick a companion, set a goal and watch an illustrated world grow with your Apple Health steps, live on your Lock Screen, Dynamic Island, widgets and Apple Watch.

Explore StepIsland

Sources