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Apps That Pay You to Exercise

It is a no-brainer that exercise is good for the human form. Many people understand the importance of exercising but have problems starting. However, most people are often motivated to carry out grueling tasks, such as exercising often, if financial incentives are available. Thus, to get more people to take their health and exercise seriously, various exercise apps give cash rewards to those who exercise on their apps.

The exact modalities the workout apps take differ from one to the other. For some, you get to play games, while for others you join challenges with specific goals such as reaching a target weight. Also, you earn cash for some, while others get rewarded with fitness gear or earn bonus points. The bottom line is, these apps reward you if you sign up, exercise, and perhaps even lose weight through the experience.

That’s right, next time you’re feeling unmotivated, think about the extra cash you could be missing out on. Now you have your health and your wallet to feel guilty about if you skip a workout (or three). There are few better incentives than the promise of easy money. The only problem is, some make it much easier than others. 

Read on to find out the best apps that pay you to exercise

Best Fitness Apps (To Lose Weight and Make Your One Money)

Below are some of our favorite apps.

HealthyWage 

HealthyWage App

Among coin-chasing exercisers, HealthyWage is a huge fan favorite. It’s fun, easy to use, and encourages a bit of healthy competition. Once you register, you’ll set your goal(s) in the app, weigh yourself (verified by video), and start exercising – very simple! You’ll be given a certain timeframe to meet your goal in, and if you make it, you’ll win money. Of course, you do have to bet your own money in the beginning, but the journey is entirely in your hands, so there’s really no risk, and the prizes you can win are significantly more than what you’re putting in. 

You can choose to bet on yourself or get a friend or two in on it with you. The team weight loss challenge allows you to earn a bigger jackpot, so there’s an extra level of motivation added in when you bring your support system along for the ride. The team challenge grand prize is currently $10,000, but this changes regularly, so check back on the website or in the app before you get started for a more accurate answer. 

You can also read success stories on their website, see before and after pictures, and calculate the prize you could win when entering as an individual. Their handy HealthyWage calculator lets you enter your details to see your prize range in just a few minutes. The grand prize should be all the motivation you need to get started, and the stories and camaraderie will be enough to keep you going. This particular program is best for anyone who wants the results to rely entirely on their efforts and anyone who could benefit from a community of people trying to reach similar goals. 

Walgreens Balance Rewards

The Walgreens Balance Rewards is one of the ways to earn free money while losing weight at the same time. This is a typical win-win situation. Not to worry, it does not take a lot to start. You just have to sign up for Walgreens’ 4-week challenge.

You can either join the health goals where you engage in activities such as running, taking daily steps, or even cycling. If physical exertion is not your thing, you could even decide to join the lifestyle goals. Challenges here include eating more healthy food like vegetables, meditating more, and so on. Whichever option you take up, the great thing is that you earn rewards. Of course, how much money you make depends on how committed you are to the challenges. Thus, you may want to take the whole thing seriously.

You will need to open a Walgreens account to get started and earn points. Once you do so, connect your app to a fitness tracker to get started. However, you will need to log the details yourself for the lifestyle challenges. Of course, that means no cheating. You get $0.25 Walgreens cash for each week you complete a challenge.

Your personal finance ideology cannot be built solely on Walgreen’s challenges. Certainly, you do not get to make a lot of money. Technically, Walgreens does not “pay” you to workout. However, the app gives you an easy way to commit to a healthier lifestyle than you were ordinarily used to. So, you may want to take your eyes off of the extra money and get started.

Apple Health

The Apple Health app is not strictly included in fitness apps, and you may not earn extra money using it. However, it can be a means to live a healthy lifestyle and even lose weight. At the moment, basically, every young person (and older people, too) has an iOS device. So yes, your iPhone can do more than keep up with social media, take calls and awesome pictures; you can also maintain healthy habits using it.

You can download the Apple health app and set up a health profile. Here, you will provide details like your weight, height, and age. You can then integrate it with your Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch tracks your steps, heart rate, and other physical activities. It informs you, amongst other things, of how many calories you have burned and can push you to lose weight.

Step Younger App

Step Younger App is a pedometer app that tracks your steps. At the same time, you get to solve puzzles on the free app to earn rewards points. You will find mobile apps for Android devices and iOS. In addition, the Step Younger App rewards users with free Amazon cards that can save money for enthusiastic users.

This is a great app you can use if you are interested in making money online and staying healthy at the same time.

Lympo

Lympo is a fitness app that sets challenges for those looking to eat healthier, lose weight or exercise more. In addition, businesses can also set challenges on the app and have users complete these challenges and earn some cool money. It is easy to use, fast, and very reliable.

Lympo rewards users with LYM tokens. You can then use these tokens on online fitness stores affiliated with Lympo. However, you should also be aware that Lympo collates users’ data. It does this so that it can better target these users with ads. If you are uncomfortable sharing your data with third parties and data-mining companies, then perhaps Lympo is not the best app for you.

Achievement 

Achievement App

Achievement is another popular fitness app, but this one is more point-based than competitive. There are no bets to make or weigh-ins to record, so this one is a bit easier. But there is a trade-off: the points probably won’t accumulate as quickly as you’d like them to. In a perfect world, we’d walk down one flight of stairs to the car, check our phones, and find that we’ve earned enough points to cash out for a gift card. But, unfortunately, that’s not the reality. 

Points are given for activities like counted steps, tracked heart rate, and exercises that are registered by your phone or connected fitness device. Of course, it helps to sync a Fitbit or another device with it for extra points, but it’ll work with most built-in fitness apps on your phone, like Samsung Health.

The more activities it records, the more points you’ll earn. They may build up slowly, but you’ll still earn points (money!) for things you’re already doing, like getting the mail, walking the dog, and buying groceries. This app is great for passive point collecting or testing out the idea of exchanging sweat for cash. 

To earn extra points, you can refer a friend, log meals, or answer short surveys that pop up in the app. The referral program currently boasts an impressive 100 bonus points, but this gets updated fairly regularly and may be more or less when you sign up. The more you walk, track, and participate the more points you earn, and the faster you’ll get to your gift card. You can cash out once you reach 10,000 points ($10) and start earning points all over again. 

StepBet 

StepBet App

This one is similar to HealthyWage in that you can earn money by placing bets on yourself, as the name suggests. Fitness challenges typically last about six weeks, and the pay-in/bet is usually about $40. However, it differs from HealthyWage because it requires you to meet weekly goals to stay in the contest. If you make it to the end, the pool is split between you and the other remaining players, and you’re given the option to move on to another challenge. 

With the weekly goals and variety of targets, StepBet is great for serious people about consistently exercising. The different tiers also make it more fun and exciting, so it’s one of the best available for people who have trouble staying motivated. While most individuals choose to participate in one challenge at a time, you can also purchase a membership for $50 annually and participate in two or three at a time. 

DietBet

DietBet is one of the betting apps that gets you started on your weight loss journey. DietBet does not pay you to workout but rewards you when you lose a certain amount of weight when you use the mobile app. It has some similarities with StepBet, although a key difference is that DietBet is targeted specifically at those looking to lose weight. If you just want to exercise more often, then StepBet is a better option.

You can join the Kickstarter game where you lose a little or the Transformer challenge, where you commit to losing all of your body weight. You can even decide to create your own game or health challenge and invite family and friends to get on the journey with you. The feeling of community will definitely spur you when you get fed up with the process.

The app tracks your weight loss journey. You will have to submit photos of yourself on a scale, showing your weight when you sign up. DietBet referees will confirm the authenticity of the photos you send.

You will then have to submit more photos or even videos at the end of the period. There is a general pot where all the money collated is put in. If you are successful, you and all the other winners share the money. Cool, yes?

One of the beautiful things about DietBet is that you actually get some money instead of free gift cards or travel rewards. Instead, you get actual monetary rewards for your efforts.

Sweatcoin 

Sweatcoin App

Sweatcoin is one of the most unique apps on the list because it pays you in Bitcoin and relies completely on tracked steps. Unlike some other apps, there are no bets or challenges, surveys, or points for tracking other fitness-related activities.

All you have to do is step. This app pairs up with the most popular smart devices and fitness trackers, so it’s integrative and easy to use. This is an ideal choice for anyone trying to start out simple or for people who already walk a lot each day (nurses, people with small children, dog walkers, etc.) 

But even if you don’t walk a lot already, the app will encourage you to pick up the pace. Each step you take earns you SweatCoins that can eventually be exchanged for gift cards, fitness classes, coupons, charity donations, and more. The only downside to this app is that they cap you at 20 Sweatcoins per day, so it may take a while to rack up enough points if you choose to approach this process alone. 

Luckily, you can sign up as a team instead and pool your coins with your significant other or a fellow fitness-seeking friend to get you there faster. Having someone else in on it with you might also help you stay accountable and motivated. In addition, some helpful freebies and discounts are available in the app, which makes the daily cap easier to swallow if you’re doing this alone. 

Charity Miles

Charity Miles App

Last but not least on the list is Charity Miles, a different kind of fitness app. As the name suggests, you earn money for exercising, but instead of collecting it for yourself, it gets donated to the charity of your choice. You can choose from dozens of different charities and feel good about getting healthy and giving back.

When you walk or run, you can turn your miles into money that will go to people who need it. You can choose to earn alone or gather a few friends or relatives to fundraise on the move and turn it into a fun game or competition. Although it doesn’t directly earn you money, it earns someone money, and you could also use it to save money if you use it to replace the charitable donations you’ve been struggling to set aside regularly. It can be used with another app that earns you money for exercising, so there’s nothing to lose in trying it out. 

Final Thoughts

There, you have it. We have collated the best apps that pay you to exercise. Now, you have no excuse for why you have not started on the journey to lose weight. Do not consider this a fad. How much weight you get to lose depends on how committed you are to the experience. Also, even though the apps pay you to walk or exercise, you will need to be determined to finish. Else, you will be wasting your time.

Anjana Paul

Anjana Paul is a financial writer with extensive education and experience in the financial industry. She received a Marketing and Management degree from Kansas State University and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Baker University. Anjana also holds a Business Analytics Certificate from the Wharton School. Throughout her career, Anjana has worked in multiple roles within the financial industry. She has worked in banking, finance, student loans, consumer credit cards, and tech. Anjana's experience and education allow her to bring a credible, well-informed perspective to the content she writes at Wealth Pursuits, where her primary areas of focus include investing, credit, and personal finance.

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