Articles in this section

How Is Global Ranking Calculated in Pacer Global Challenges?

Pacer Support
  • Updated

In Pacer Global Challenges, your global rank is determined by your challenge score, which depends on the challenge type (Steps, Distance, Pace, or Daily Step Goal) and the rules/limits set for that specific challenge. Rankings update as Pacer receives and processes your recorded (and synced) activity data.

 

1) Step 1 — Identify the Challenge Type (This Determines the Scoring Metric)

Open the Global Challenge → Rules/Details and confirm which type it is:

 

A) Step Challenge (Most Steps Wins)

Ranking metric: total steps counted toward the challenge score within the challenge time window.

 

Key rule: Daily step limit (cap)

Only steps up to the challenge’s daily cap count toward your score (default can be 30,000/day). Once you hit the cap, extra steps may still show on your Home screen, but won’t increase the challenge score.

 

B) Distance Challenge (Farthest Distance Wins)

Ranking metric: total distance counted toward the challenge score within the challenge window.

 

Key rules:

  • Daily distance limit (cap): default ~20 km/day.
  • GPS-only option (optional): if enabled, only GPS-tracked activities count (normal 24/7 pedometer steps won’t count).

 

C) Pace Challenge (Best Pace Wins)

Ranking metric: your best pace from a qualifying GPS activity (e.g., 5K/10K), subject to the minimum qualifying distance set for the challenge.

 

D) Daily Step Goal Challenge (Most “Goal Days” Wins)

Ranking metric: points, where you get 1 point per day if you meet or exceed the daily goal (max 1 point/day).

 

Important: after you earn today’s point, extra steps won’t increase today’s score. 

 

2) Step 2 — Confirm What Data Counts (and What Doesn’t)

Most Global Challenges only count activity recorded/synced through supported sources and often exclude manual entries. Many challenge pages explicitly say “No manually input activities.”

 

Also, if your steps come from a third-party source:

  • Google Fit (Android): manually logged activities can sync into Pacer, but are deducted from group/challenge rankings.
  • Fitbit (Android): manually logged Fitbit activities sync, but are deducted from Pacer’s social features (including global challenges and group rankings).

 

3) Step 3 — Understand When Your “Day” Starts/Ends (Time Window Rules)

For in-app public challenges (many Global Challenges):

  • Start/end time may be based on the creator’s time zone, meaning your “today” on the Home screen may not match the challenge’s scoring day.
  • Challenges end at 11:59:59 PM on the end date (inclusive).

 

For enterprise (Pacer for Teams) global challenges:

Activity is measured midnight-to-midnight in each participant’s local calendar day, and there may be a 12-hour sync buffer after the end date.

 

4) Step 4 — How Rankings Update (Why You Sometimes See Delays)

Rankings update when Pacer receives and processes your latest activity data. Updates may be fast but are not always instant, especially when:

  • your phone restricts background refresh 
  • your data comes from Apple Health / Google Fit / wearables (sync delay) 
  • the challenge is large/global (processing delays)

 

5) Tie-Breakers (When Two People Have the Same Score)

If two participants have the same score, Pacer may apply tie-breakers depending on challenge type. The Help Center describes:

 

Steps / Distance / Daily Step Goal tie-breakers

  1. GPS-tracked activity first (GPS walk/run/hike steps or distance) 
  2. If still tied, total Likes (hearts) from your competition ranking + posts 
  3. Posts may be limited (commonly 1 post per competition per day)

 

Note: Some challenges also apply caps to the tie-breaker GPS component (example: GPS steps counted for tie-breaker up to 10,000/day in certain step-goal challenges). Always follow the specific Rules/Details of that challenge.

 

FAQ

Why does my Home screen show more steps than my challenge score?

 

Common reasons:

  • you hit the daily cap (extra steps no longer increase score) 
  • the challenge is Daily Step Goal (max 1 point/day) 
  • the challenge is GPS-only (normal pedometer steps won’t count) 
  • syncing delay from Apple Health / Google Fit / wearables

 

Why can’t I see the full global leaderboard?

 

Some global challenge leaderboard views prioritize showing people you follow and participants near your position rather than listing everyone from #1 downward.

 

Still Not Matching What You Expect?

Before contacting support, collect:

  • challenge name + type 
  • screenshots of Home steps and the challenge page 
  • approximate time you walked / recorded the activity

 

Then contact support in-app: Settings → Help & Support.