As you know, there are thousands of awesome ways to make money with your phone, but the latest one that I’ve taken a deep dive into is getting paid to walk. If you didn’t already know, there are dozens of apps that pay you to walk, simply tracking your activity and giving you rewards for the steps that you take. As with anything, some of these walking apps are legit and some are simply not worth the time.
I have downloaded about 15 different apps and used them for the past six to nine months to determine which are the best apps that pay you to walk. I’ve narrowed the list down to 7, though I would much more highly recommend StepBet, RunBet, and Achievement as the three best. I’ll get into the details below, but the bottom line is this:
You won’t get rich by getting paid to walk. You can, however, make an extra $5-$50 per month for installing a few apps and simply doing the walking or running that you would normally do. Who knows? It might even get you to take a few hundred extra steps each day or increase your fitness just a little bit. In my book, that’s worth it. Let’s get to the apps…
StepBet
In my opinion, StepBet is the most legitimate way to make money by walking. Here’s how it works: you put up a bet (usually $40) to join a StepBet game, which typically lasts 4-8 weeks. The entry fees of all of the people who join go into the pot for that game. Weekly goals are automatically generated for you based on your step history (with a FitBit, Apple Watch, Garmin, or health app on your phone). If you hit your goals for the entire period of the game, you will win your share of the pot. You can make a profit from StepBet because people who do not complete their goals drop out, leaving their entry fee in the pot for winners to split. StepBet takes a cut of the pot, but you will not ever lose money if you reach your goals. The typical win for a game is between $5 and $20, although I have seen it go higher.
You are putting your own money at risk, so there is a chance you can lose, but the earning potential with StepBet is much higher than other apps to make up for this risk. It’s an extremely well built app with an easy user interface that actually encourages a lot of community sharing, so it’s genuinely fun to join a game. To sign up, go to https://waybetter.com/stepbet and download the app.
RunBet
Like StepBet, RunBet is created by WayBetter and pays you to place bets on yourself for physical activity. Everything is pretty much the same as StepBet, but it requires that you run for a certain time or distance at a pace that is considered “running.” Don’t get too intimidated…most of the paces are 15 – 18 minutes per mile, which is an easy to brisk walk for most people. RunBet tracks slightly differently than StepBet, using a running app on your phone, smart watch, or GPS watch, then verifies that you completed your run.
I’ve found a very inspiring community on RunBet that includes everyone from Ultramarathoners to people who have never run before just trying to get started. It’s typically 2-4 runs per week and about a 30 minute run each time. It’s a great way to start a running habit and make $10-40 per month. You won’t get rich, but you can get fit and make a little money on the side while you’re doing it. To sign up, go to https://waybetter.com/runbet and download the app.
Achievement
Achievement is the easiest way to make money from walking. There is no submitting steps, tracking anything daily, or challenges that you have to join. You simply sign up, install the app, then walk or run and you will earn points. It accepts activity from multiple apps (even on the same day), which it converts into points that you can redeem for gift cards. It does not cost anything to participate and I make about $10 every few months (with zero effort). If you sign up with this link, you will get 250 points for free.
Sweatcoin
Sweatcoin is one of the more techy apps that will pay you to walk and it’s a pretty slick user experience. It converts your outdoor steps into their own “cryptocurrency” called Sweatcoins, which you can then use to donate to charity, get discounts for online shopping, or make purchases. It’s an easy app to use, as nearly all of the tracking happens automatically in the background. The downside? Only outdoor steps count and most of their more attainable rewards are just discounts on other products. To get to their “marathon offers” of cash or an iPhone, you will need nearly 20,000 Sweatcoins, which will take quite some time. The best way to use Sweatcoin is to install it in conjunction with other higher-earning walking apps and wait for the eventual payoff. If you want to sign up, you can get a bonus of 5 Sweatcoins using this link.
Walgreens Balance Rewards
The Walgreens Balance Rewards app allows you to take on challenges to make healthier lifestyle choices and earn rewards points in return. Once you have downloaded the app and joined the Walgreens rewards program, you can join 4-week challenges that include stretching, taking a certain number of steps, and more. For each of these challenges that you complete, you earn rewards points that convert at about 1,000 points to a dollar that you can spend in-store. This is great to use with other apps to add a little more earning potential, however, it’s not as beneficial if you are not a Walgreens shopper. To sign up, click this link and download the app.
Lympo
Lympo is a pretty fun app to use, but requires a little more manual effort on your part. Points through Lympo, their own cryptocurrency called LYM, are earned by completing walking challenges of various distances. These can be as short as 0.1 mile or as long as 4-5 miles. Each challenge is live for a certain amount of time and you can track your activity or convert steps from your device into challenge distance. Once you complete a challenge, LYM currency is added to your wallet. You can use this to buy gear, discounts on products or electronics. They currently don’t offer gift cards, but have a section for that, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they add that in the future. It takes a while to earn any meaningful rewards, but again, if you are using this with other apps, it’s probably worth the effort. You can join for free and get a bonus by using this link.
PK Coin
PK Coin takes more effort than other apps that pay you to walk, but if you stick with it, you can earn gift cards or other prizes that can be worthwhile. PK Coin gives you points for your activity based on effort level and duration. You have to manually start the app when you are walking or running, then it will record your activity until you stop it. It rewards you with points, or PK Coins, for that activity, which can be exchanged for discounts at online merchants, or gift cards including Amazon, REI and Southwest Airlines. The biggest drawback is that it takes a lot of activity to earn rewards and your earnings are capped each day, unless you pay for a day with unlimited PK Coin earnings. If you choose to make that type of purchase, you can make it to a $20 Amazon gift card or other prizes fairly quickly. The app is free, but offers a subscription that allows you to earn faster if you are interested. You can get your account started with a signup bonus by using this link.
Getting paid to walk
As you can see, some apps are more beneficial than others in terms of paying you to walk, but overall, you can make some decent side money by using these apps. The best strategy is to stack multiple apps, so you’re getting paid multiple times for the same steps. For instance, in a given month, with the same amount of walking that you already do, you could earn:
- $10-$40 from StepBet
- $10-$40 from RunBet
- $1 from Walgreens Balance Rewards
- $1-$5 from Achievement
I’m not counting PK Coin, Sweatcoin or Lympo, since those don’t have as clear of a path to immediate cash or gift cards. So are apps that pay you to walk worth it? You won’t get rich or even create a passive income stream to speak of, but having them on your phone, with minimal effort can put an extra $5-$50 in your pocket each month. Given that you are already going to be walking anyway, it’s probably worth giving it a shot. Some of these apps also offer referral bonuses, which can increase how quickly you get to your rewards goals through the app. Lastly, there is the added benefit that competing in challenges or games that require you to walk or run a certain amount will most likely lead you to a more active lifestyle, which is a huge win that makes it all the more worthwhile.