Health and everyday life7 picks
The best fitness and health apps for iPhone and Apple Watch
Gentler Streak is the fitness app most Apple Watch owners should try, and Pedometer++ is the best free step counter.
Gentler StreakPick it if your Apple Watch rings make you feel guilty about rest days and you want a kinder target.Free to startGentler Streak tracks your Apple Watch workouts and tells you when to rest, keeping your streak alive through sick days, free with Premium at $39.99 a year. Pedometer++ is the best free step counter, with goals and widgets. Athletes who want recovery scores should look at Athlytic or Bevel, and WorkOutDoors puts trail maps on your wrist for $8.99 once.
How we chose
- 1Rest days that don't break your streak
- 2Recovery scores from overnight Watch data
- 3One-time price or subscription
Compare at a glance
Tap a name to jump to its write-up.
| App | Price | How you pay | Mac | iPhone | iPad | Watch | App Store | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gentler Streak | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.7 | |||||
 Pedometer++ | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.8 | |||||
 Athlytic | From $4.99 | Subscription | 4.8 | |||||
 Bevel | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.8 | |||||
 WorkOutDoors | $8.99 once | Pay once | 4.7 | |||||
 AutoSleep | $9.99 once | Pay once | 4.7 | |||||
 WaterMinder | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.7 |
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The picks, in order
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Pick it if your Apple Watch rings make you feel guilty about rest days and you want a kinder target.
Apple's Activity rings treat a sick day the same as a lazy one, and one broken streak can undo months of motivation. Gentler Streak reads your sleep, heart rate and recent workouts to suggest rest or a hard session, and you can pause for illness or travel without losing progress. Your data stays on your iPhone, but Premium is $8.99 a month, so take the $39.99 yearly plan if you stay.
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Pick this if your goal is a daily step count you can see on your Lock Screen and watch face.
If you chase a daily step goal and like seeing it on your Lock Screen or watch face, this iPhone and Apple Watch counter shows far more than the Health app, with badges, stair counts and widgets. It also plans hiking routes and imports GPX files. The free version has ads, and Premium at $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year adds offline maps and Expedition Mode, which stretches Apple Watch battery on long hikes.
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Pick it if you train most days and want a morning score that says when to push and when to rest.
Apple's Health app records your overnight heart rate variability and resting heart rate, then leaves you to work out what they mean. Athlytic turns them into a recovery score each morning and a target for how hard to train, scores your sleep and sends structured workouts to your watch, all processed on your iPhone with no account. There is no free tier: after the 7-day trial it costs $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year.
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Pick this if you want Whoop-style recovery scores and a strength log from an Apple Watch or Oura ring.
Get recovery, sleep, strain and stress scores from the Apple Watch, Oura or Garmin you already wear, without buying a Whoop band. Those scores, the strength log with over 700 exercises and food logging are all free since version 2.4.0 in December 2025. Pro, at $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, adds the Bevel Intelligence AI coach, health records, biological age and training plans.
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Pick it if you hike or run trails and want real maps and navigation on your Apple Watch.
Over 800 data fields can go on your Apple Watch screens in WorkOutDoors, next to a zoomable map that shows trails and ski runs while you run, ride or hike. It follows routes you import with turn-by-turn directions and keeps maps on the watch, so the iPhone can stay home. It needs a Series 4 or later, and Apple's Workout app is enough if you never leave the road or the gym.
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Pick this if sleep is the health number you care about most and you wear your Watch to bed.
If you wear your Apple Watch to bed, AutoSleep tracks the night without you pressing anything, and it still logs your time in bed on nights the Watch stays on the charger. Each morning you get a sleep rating and rings for deep sleep, REM and heart rate, plus blood oxygen, breathing rate and wrist temperature. It costs $9.99 once and collects no data, where Athlytic charges $29.99 a year for its sleep scores.
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Pick it if you want a wrist tap reminding you to drink water, logged to Apple Health.
If you reach late afternoon and realize you have had 1 glass of water all day, WaterMinder sets a goal from your weight, activity and the weather and nudges you until you hit it. You log drinks from your iPhone, the standalone Apple Watch app or Siri Shortcuts, and it all lands in Apple Health. The free tier covers only basic tracking, and Premium is $14.99 a year or $29.99 once on the Mac.
Head to head
Stuck between 2 of these? Each comparison lines up price, devices and who should pick which.
- Gentler Streak vs Pedometer++Pick this if your goal is a daily step count you can see on your Lock Screen and watch face.
- Gentler Streak vs AthlyticPick it if you train most days and want a morning score that says when to push and when to rest.
- Gentler Streak vs BevelPick this if you want Whoop-style recovery scores and a strength log from an Apple Watch or Oura ring.
- Pedometer++ vs AthlyticPick it if you train most days and want a morning score that says when to push and when to rest.
