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MoveTogether and the Apple Health app can show different step and activity numbers for the same day. This is expected, and it does not mean either one is broken. They are answering two different questions.

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The short version

MoveTogether shows the numbers from one device, your primary tracker. If you wear an Apple Watch, that is your watch. The Apple Health app shows a combined total across every app and device you have connected, so it usually reads higher. To check that MoveTogether is correct, compare it against your Apple Watch, not against the Health app.

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Why MoveTogether counts one device

Competitions, leagues, and challenges are scored on your activity, so the same movement must never count twice. Many people wear more than one tracker at once. Any two trackers worn on the same walk both record it, and both can feed the Health app. If MoveTogether added every source together, that single walk would count two, three, or more times, and your score would climb just because you own more devices. That is not fair to everyone competing against you. MoveTogether is strict about this. Your activity comes from one source, and that source outranks everything else. It is never a blend of several sources added together. When you wear two trackers at once, the second one is not needed, because both are recording the same movement. You get credit for that movement once, which is what actually happened. You can still connect more than one tracker, and you can choose which one counts. See choose your primary activity source. MoveTogether just uses that one source for your totals, rather than combining them.

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Why the two apps differ

MoveTogether chooses one source’s record as a whole. It does not add the steps from every device together, and it does not combine one device’s steps with another device’s calories. Choosing a single source keeps your rings consistent and avoids counting the same walk more than once.

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How to check your steps

  1. Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch, or check the step count on the watch itself.
  2. Compare that number to the same day in MoveTogether.
  3. They should match.
If your MoveTogether steps match your Apple Watch but not the Apple Health app, everything is working as intended.

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Why the Health app usually shows more

The Health app fills in your iPhone’s steps for the times your watch was not on your wrist, such as when it is charging, and it also adds steps from any other apps or trackers you have connected. Those extra sources are why the Health app total is often higher than your watch alone. If you wear your watch all day, the two numbers are usually the same, because there are no gaps for the Health app to fill.

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If you switch between your watch and your phone

MoveTogether follows your Apple Watch. Steps you take with only your iPhone while the watch is off or charging count toward your Health app total, but not toward your watch’s total, so they will not appear in MoveTogether for that day. If your watch was off for part of a day, expect MoveTogether to read lower than the Apple Health app for that day.

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Still looks wrong?

If MoveTogether does not match your Apple Watch for a given day, that is worth a closer look.
  • Let your watch finish syncing to the iPhone Health app first, then pull to refresh in MoveTogether.
  • Compare the same date and the same metric. Active calories are different from total calories, and Exercise minutes are different from total workout time.
  • See fitness data not syncing and manage and troubleshoot data sources.
  • If it still does not match your watch, contact Marco support with the date, the metric, your device, and your app version.
If you connect more than one provider, you can also tell MoveTogether which one to prefer. See choose your primary activity source.