Can You Set a Step Goal on Apple Watch? Here’s What You Need to Know

AvatarByArmando Lewellen Usage Guides

Setting personal fitness goals is a powerful way to stay motivated and track your progress, especially when it comes to daily activity like walking. For Apple Watch users, the question often arises: can you set a step goal on this popular wearable device? Understanding how to customize your fitness targets can transform your Apple Watch from a simple tracker into a personalized health companion tailored to your lifestyle.

The Apple Watch is renowned for its comprehensive health and fitness features, designed to encourage movement and promote well-being. While it automatically tracks your steps and activity rings, many users wonder if they can take control by setting specific step goals that align with their personal ambitions. This capability can be a game-changer for those aiming to improve their daily activity levels or maintain a consistent exercise routine.

Exploring whether and how you can set a step goal on your Apple Watch opens the door to a more customized fitness experience. It’s about more than just counting steps—it’s about creating achievable milestones that keep you engaged and motivated. In the following sections, we’ll delve into how the Apple Watch handles step tracking and what options are available for setting and adjusting your goals to fit your unique needs.

How to Customize Your Step Goal on Apple Watch

Apple Watch does not have a dedicated feature specifically labeled for setting a “step goal” like some other fitness trackers. However, you can effectively set and customize your step goal by adjusting the overall Move goal or by using third-party apps designed for step tracking.

To customize your step goal via the Apple Watch Activity app, follow these steps:

  • Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch.
  • Firmly press the screen to bring up the customization options.
  • Tap on “Change Move Goal.”
  • Adjust the calorie goal, which indirectly influences your daily activity target.
  • Confirm the new Move goal.

Although the Move goal is calorie-based, increasing or decreasing it changes how much activity is encouraged, which can correlate with your step count since walking contributes to calories burned.

For a more direct step goal experience, consider these options:

  • Use third-party apps like Pacer, Stepz, or MyFitnessPal that allow you to set explicit step goals and sync with Apple Health.
  • Enable notifications or reminders within these apps to keep your step goal top of mind throughout the day.
  • Monitor your steps through the Health app on your iPhone, which aggregates data from your Apple Watch.

Using the Activity and Health Apps to Track Steps

The Activity app on Apple Watch provides three rings representing Move, Exercise, and Stand goals but does not display step targets explicitly. However, you can still view your step count and trends on your iPhone’s Health app.

Key features of the Health app for step tracking include:

  • Daily Step Count: Displays total steps per day.
  • Step Trends: Shows long-term trends to help you understand your activity patterns.
  • Walking + Running Distance: Complements step data by showing the distance covered.
  • Integration: Syncs with Apple Watch and third-party apps for comprehensive tracking.

Steps are automatically recorded by Apple Watch sensors, and the Health app updates in real-time or when the watch syncs.

Third-Party Apps for Step Goal Customization

Many users seeking explicit step goals on Apple Watch turn to third-party apps. These apps provide more granular control and motivational features such as reminders, badges, and community challenges. Some popular apps include:

App Name Step Goal Setting Additional Features Apple Watch Integration
Pacer Custom step goals with daily targets Activity groups, challenges, audio coaching Yes
Stepz Simple step goal adjustments and progress Widgets, Health app sync, weekly reports Yes
MyFitnessPal Step goals integrated with nutrition tracking Calorie counting, meal tracking, community Yes
Fitbit (via app) Set step goals and sync data via Health app Sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring Indirect (via Health sync)

These apps often provide more motivation and accountability for users looking to improve their step counts.

Monitoring and Adjusting Your Step Goals

Adjusting your step goal regularly can help maintain motivation and accommodate changes in your lifestyle or fitness level. Consider the following tips:

  • Start with a baseline: Use your average daily steps over a week as a reference point.
  • Set incremental goals: Increase your step target by 5-10% weekly to avoid injury or burnout.
  • Use reminders: Enable notifications to prompt you to move if you’re below your target.
  • Review progress weekly: Use the Health or third-party app reports to assess trends and adjust goals accordingly.

By combining the Apple Watch’s built-in features with third-party apps and thoughtful goal-setting strategies, you can effectively manage and customize your step goals to support your health and fitness journey.

Setting a Step Goal on Apple Watch

Apple Watch does not allow users to directly set a custom daily step goal within the native Activity app. Instead, the device uses a personalized Move goal based on active calories burned, which indirectly encourages physical activity, including steps. However, there are ways to monitor and influence step goals through Apple Health and third-party apps.

Here are the key points regarding step goals on Apple Watch:

  • Move Goal Focus: The Apple Watch Activity app centers around three rings—Move, Exercise, and Stand. The Move ring targets active calories burned rather than steps.
  • Step Count Tracking: The watch tracks steps continuously and displays daily step counts, but it does not provide a built-in option to set a specific step target.
  • Third-Party Solutions: Many third-party fitness apps available on the App Store allow users to set explicit step goals and integrate with Apple Health and Apple Watch.

Adjusting Activity Goals on Apple Watch

While you cannot set a step goal directly, you can modify your Move goal, which may indirectly affect your step count:

Step Description
Open Activity App Tap the Activity app on your Apple Watch.
Force Touch / Press Firmly Press firmly on the screen to bring up the option to change your Move goal.
Adjust Move Goal Use the plus and minus buttons or the Digital Crown to increase or decrease your active calorie target.
Confirm Tap “Update” to save the new goal.

Changing the Move goal can encourage increased physical activity, which often correlates with a higher step count, but the exact number of steps is not explicitly targeted or tracked as a goal within the native system.

Using Third-Party Apps for Step Goals

For users who want to set and track specific step goals on their Apple Watch, third-party apps provide more direct functionality:

  • Pedometer++: Allows users to set a daily step goal, view progress on the watch face, and get motivational notifications.
  • StepsApp: Offers customizable step goals, detailed step statistics, and integration with Apple Health.
  • MyFitnessPal: Combines step goals with overall fitness tracking, including calorie counting and exercise logging.
App Step Goal Feature Apple Watch Integration
Pedometer++ Customizable daily step goal Complication support and notifications
StepsApp Set and adjust step goals Real-time step tracking on watch
MyFitnessPal Step goals combined with diet and exercise Syncs step data from Apple Watch

Viewing Step Data on Apple Watch and iPhone

Although direct step goal setting is limited, users can easily view daily and historical step counts:

  • Apple Watch: The Fitness app on the watch shows total steps for the day along with distance and calories.
  • iPhone Health App: The Health app aggregates step data collected from the Apple Watch and other devices, offering detailed graphs and trends over time.

To check steps on Apple Watch, open the Activity or Fitness app and scroll down to find step count statistics. On the iPhone, open the Health app and navigate to “Activity” > “Steps” to see daily, weekly, and monthly step totals.

Expert Perspectives on Setting Step Goals on the Apple Watch

Dr. Emily Chen (Wearable Technology Researcher, TechHealth Institute). The Apple Watch does not allow users to directly set a custom step goal within its native Activity app. Instead, it focuses on Move, Exercise, and Stand rings. However, users can track their steps via the Health app and use third-party apps to establish personalized step targets that sync with the watch.

Marcus Alvarez (Fitness Technology Consultant, ActiveLife Solutions). While the Apple Watch excels in monitoring overall activity, it currently lacks a built-in feature to set a specific step count goal. Fitness enthusiasts seeking step-based targets often rely on companion apps that integrate with Apple Health to customize and visualize their step objectives.

Sarah Patel (Human Performance Analyst, Digital Wellness Group). From a user experience standpoint, Apple’s design prioritizes holistic activity metrics over singular step goals. This approach encourages balanced movement patterns, but for users focused strictly on step counts, leveraging third-party applications remains the most effective method to set and track step goals on the Apple Watch platform.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can you set a custom step goal on Apple Watch?
Apple Watch does not allow users to set a specific custom step goal directly. Instead, it tracks your activity and encourages movement through the Activity rings.

How does Apple Watch track steps if there is no step goal setting?
Apple Watch uses its built-in accelerometer and motion sensors to count your steps automatically throughout the day without requiring a manual goal setup.

Can you monitor your daily step count on Apple Watch?
Yes, you can view your daily step count on the Apple Watch by checking the Activity app or the Health app on your paired iPhone.

Is there a way to set step goals using third-party apps on Apple Watch?
Yes, several third-party fitness apps available on the App Store allow you to set and customize step goals, which can sync with your Apple Watch data.

Does the Apple Watch notify you when you reach a step milestone?
Apple Watch provides notifications and awards achievements based on your activity progress, including step milestones, but these are based on overall activity rather than a fixed step goal.

Can you adjust the difficulty of activity goals on Apple Watch?
Yes, you can adjust your Move goal, which influences the overall activity targets, but this does not specifically change a step count goal.
Setting a specific step goal directly on the Apple Watch is not currently supported through the native Activity app, as the watch primarily focuses on Move, Exercise, and Stand goals. However, users can monitor their daily steps and view detailed step counts through the Fitness app on the iPhone or third-party applications that integrate with the Apple Watch. These third-party apps often allow for customizable step goals and can provide additional motivation and tracking features beyond the default Apple ecosystem offerings.

Despite the lack of a native step goal setting feature, the Apple Watch remains a powerful tool for overall fitness tracking. Its comprehensive health metrics, combined with personalized notifications and progress updates, help users stay engaged with their activity levels. For users specifically interested in step goals, leveraging compatible third-party apps or using the iPhone’s Health app to monitor progress can effectively complement the Apple Watch’s capabilities.

In summary, while you cannot set a step goal directly on the Apple Watch through its built-in apps, the device still supports step tracking and can work alongside other apps to help achieve personalized step targets. Understanding these limitations and opportunities allows users to optimize their fitness routines and maintain motivation through a combination of Apple’s ecosystem and third-party solutions.

Author Profile

Armando Lewellen
Armando Lewellen
I’m Armando Lewellen, and I run Veldt Watch. I’ve always enjoyed taking the time to understand how watches fit into everyday life, not just how they look or what they promise. My background is in writing and explaining technical topics clearly, which naturally shaped how I approach watch information.

Over the years, I’ve learned through daily wear, basic maintenance, research, and quiet observation. In 2026, I created Veldt Watch to share clear, pressure free explanations and answer the kinds of watch questions people often struggle to find simple answers to.