Get Paid To Lose Weight: 16 Apps & Websites That Pay

When trying to achieve fitness goals, the possibility of earning money while doing so can be a good motivator. There are several apps and programs available that offer this — you log your activity or complete fitness challenges, and you’re rewarded with prizes like cash, gift cards, products, or coupons and discounts.

The rewards structures for most fitness apps fall into one of two categories:

1.  The app is completely free to use, and you can earn small rewards that are funded through things like advertising revenue and corporate sponsorships.
2. Participants contribute to a pot for challenges they wish to join, and prizes are distributed to winners from the amount in the pot.

For apps that are funded through a prize pot, only the winners (or those who complete the challenge) receive rewards. The rewards can be more substantial than those offered by the apps that are completely free, but there is also a chance that you can lose your money if you don’t complete the challenge.

Below, we provide information about the apps that will pay you to lose weight, as well as a few other ways to get paid for making healthy lifestyle choices.

What We Recommend

Achievement is compatible with the most fitness apps and trackers, offers the most opportunities to earn, allows users to cash out with PayPal, and is free to use. For these reasons, it tops our list. 

For a slightly different experience, PK Rewards’ app technology measures your effort when exercising, and you can earn non-cash rewards like gift cards. It is also free to use. 

If you prefer an approach that adds a level of competition, apps like HealthyWage and DietBet require you to pay into a pot, then complete fitness challenges to win the payout. 

Keep in mind that your ability to earn through most of these apps is not tied to your actual weight or weight loss. Most simply reward you for engaging in healthy activities, such as walking, logging your activity/workouts, or tracking your nutrition.

Comparison Table

See the table below for a quick comparison of the apps and websites that pay you to log steps, workouts, and other healthy activities. Click any app or scroll for more details; you can also sort any column by clicking the arrows at the top of each column.

The List

Below, we list the fitness apps and websites that pay, starting with the best overall options in terms of payouts and opportunities to earn.

1. Achievement

• Free to use? Yes^[1]
• Ways to earn: Connect 20+ fitness apps on your smartphone (including Fitbit and MyFitnessPal) and earn points for tracked activities.^[2] You can also earn by participating in studies, surveys, and special offers.^[3]
• Rewards: Earn $10 for every 10,000 points, which you can redeem via PayPal, direct deposit, or charitable donation.^[4] You can earn nearly 90 points per day.^[3]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

2. PK Rewards

• Free to use? Yes^[5]
• Ways to earn: Logging activity and workouts in your smartphone’s activity tracker — the app tracks “effort,” not just steps, weight, workout length, etc.^[6][7]
• Rewards: Earn bank points that you can redeem for gift cards and other prizes (no cash payouts); earn up to 20 points per day.^[8] Users report earning rewards worth several dollars per week.
• Download the app for iOS or Android

3. HealthyWage

• Free to use? No — challenges have registration fees that are paid to winners^[9][10]
• Ways to earn: Complete fitness challenges and/or make bets (“HealthyWagers”) about your own fitness goals.^[10]
• Rewards: If you win the challenge/wager, you’ll be paid via PayPal or check (minus processing fees). Earnings depend on your individual wager and the number of people participating in the challenge.^[11]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

4. DietBet

• Free to use? No — each game requires you to put money into the pot^[12]
• Ways to earn: Weight loss (tracked through weigh-ins and submitting photos)^[12]
• Rewards: The pot is divided among the winners, who can put their points toward future games or choose a payout via PayPal or check.^[13]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

5. StepBet

• Free to use? No — you must contribute your bet to the pot to participate in a challenge^[14]
• Ways to earn: Walking, tracked through your activity tracker app or device (participants bet on personal step goals)^[14]
• Rewards: The pot is divided among those who meet their step goals for the duration of the challenge. Most bets are $40 for a six-week challenge; redeem points for future bets or request a payout via PayPal or check.^[15]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

6. Sweatcoin

• Free to use? Yes, for the basic membership^[16]
• Ways to earn: Walking (outdoor steps, tracked using your smartphone’s GPS and accelerometer) and daily bonuses ^[17]
• Rewards: Earn Sweatcoins that you can redeem in the app’s marketplace for goods, services, and discounts (no cash rewards);^[18] 1,000 steps equal 0.95 Sweatcoins, and prizes cost anywhere from 10 Sweatcoins to several thousand. Note that customers report that it can take a long time to accumulate enough tracked steps to redeem Sweatcoins for any meaningful prizes.
• Download the app for iOS or Android

7. LifeCoin

• Free to use? Yes, for the basic membership^[19]
• Ways to earn: Walking (tracked using your smartphone’s GPS) and daily bonuses, as well as a referral program^[19]
• Rewards: Earn LifeCoins that you can redeem for products and gift cards (no cash rewards); 1,000 steps equals 0.95 LifeCoins.^[19] Note that participants report that LifeCoin has a weak rewards structure, and it can take a long time to earn enough LifeCoins to get any meaningful rewards.
• Download the app for iOS or Android

8. Lympo

• Free to use? Yes^[20]
• Ways to earn: Completing daily health tasks and fitness challenges, as well as referring others^[20]
• Rewards: Earn tokens that you can redeem for products, gift cards, and coupons; reward amounts vary by task.^[21]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

9. Runtopia

• Free to use? Yes, unless you choose to upgrade to a Premium membership^[22]
• Ways to earn: Walking, running, and completing other tasks^[22]
• Rewards: Earn SPC (Runtopia’s digital currency) to use toward products, services, coupon codes, and PayPal cash prizes; earn up to 50 SPC per day.^[22]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

10. Earthmiles

• Free to use? Yes^[23]
• Ways to earn: Logging activity and workouts in your smartphone’s activity tracker^[23]
• Rewards: Earn earthmiles that you can redeem for discounts and coupons (no cash rewards or physical prizes).^[24]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

11. Step Younger+

• Free to use? Yes^[25]
• Ways to earn: Logging steps and workouts (logged in the app)^[26]
• Rewards: Exchange steps for prizes like gift cards.^[25]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

12. Fit Crown

• Free to use? No — you must contribute to the prize pot to participate in challenges^[27]
• Ways to earn: Logging steps and exercise through an approved fitness tracking app^[28]
• Rewards: Complete the individual or team challenge and earn a portion of the pot, credited to your account (you can cash out with PayPal).^[28]
• Sign up online

13. FitPotato

• Free to use? No — you must contribute to the prize pot to participate in challenges^[29]
• Ways to earn: Walking, running, or dog walking challenges (tracked through your iPhone’s activity tracker and GPS)^[30][31]
• Rewards: Complete the required challenges and receive the reward as account credits, which you can then withdraw.^[32]
• Download the app (iOS only)

14. Miles

Note: Miles does not reward users exclusively for exercising, but you can earn any way you commute, including walking and biking.

• Free to use? Yes^[33]
• Ways to earn: Earn miles for every commute type (including, walking, biking, driving, and public transportation).^[33]
• Rewards: Redeem miles for products, services, and discounts.^[33]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

15. DICK’S Sporting Goods

• Free to use? Yes^[34]
• Ways to earn: Logging activity through your phone’s fitness tracker^[34]
• Rewards: Meet fitness goals and earn ScoreCard points that you can put toward future purchases at DICK’S Sporting Goods.^[34]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

16. Charity Miles

• Free to use? Yes^[35]
• Ways to earn: Activity and workouts logged through your phone’s activity tracker and GPS; you can also log exercise directly in the app^[36]
• Rewards: Convert activity to money sent directly to a participating charity (funded by corporate sponsorships, employers, and donations from friends and family).^[37]
• Download the app for iOS or Android

Other Ways To Earn or Save by Getting in Shape

In addition to apps and programs that directly offer rewards and money for healthy activities, there are a few other ways you can earn or save money by making healthy choices. First, your overall health affects your health insurance premiums. Insurance companies want to determine, as accurately as possible, the likelihood that you’ll seek medical care (and thus use your coverage). A person who is generally healthy and does not have certain risk factors like smoking or obesity will, on average, need less medical care, and cost the insurance company less money. 

Insurance companies are not allowed to charge people more for those with preexisting conditions,^[38] but they can offer discounts for good health. Many do this by establishing programs through partnering employers. 

Additionally, you can earn small amounts of money by participating in fitness/health research studies. Various companies and research groups conduct studies about everything from diet habits to exercise to sleeping patterns. The time frame and commitment required for each study will vary, as will the payout. You can find such studies by searching online or even in newspaper classifieds. It’s best to research the company or organization conducting the study to ensure it is reputable, and the research is legitimate before participating.