Best Apps That Pay You to Lose Weight [2024]: Get Fit and Cash in

We like being active, and among the apps that we recommend to stay motivated are HealthyWage, DietBet, and WayBetter. These apps allow you to bet on your ability to lose weight by adopting healthy habits. The potential to earn cash rewards can be a powerful motivator, especially when you consider the support and accountability these platforms provide.

We also like Evidation and Sweatcoin since they don't require you to pay an upfront fee or bet money. Instead, these two apps simply reward you for your healthy habits.

Let’s explore how these apps and more work and also cover additional ways to make extra money while you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Key takeaways

7 of the best apps that pay to lose weight

There are many different apps that pay you to lose weight, which can help you learn how to make money on the side. These apps include:

1. HealthyWage
2. DietBet
3. WayBetter
4. Competish
5. Evidation
6. Sweatcoin
7. stickK

Compare the best weight-loss apps that pay cash rewards

App	Best for	Activity type	Time commitment
HealthyWage	People who want to bet on their ability to stick to their body weight goals or who want to lose weight with a team	Individual, within a group, or as a part of a team	One to 18 months
DietBet	People who want to bet on 4% or 10% weight-loss goals	Individual	Four weeks to six months
WayBetter	People who want to adopt healthy habits such as walking more or eating better	Individual	One week
Competish	People who want to compete in weight loss against other friends or family members	Within a group	Four to 12 weeks
Evidation	People who want to be get paid for healthy habits by participating in surveys and research — without paying an upfront fee to an app	Individual	Varies by survey or research
Sweatcoin	People who want to be rewarded for walking without needing to bet money	Individual	No time commitment
stickK	People who want to set weight-loss targets or other goals and put money on the line if they don't achieve them	Individual	One week to one year

1. HealthyWage

HealthyWage motivates you to lose weight by offering cash prizes through weight-loss challenges.

For instance, by creating a HealthyWager, you can place a bet on your weight-loss goals. Enter your current and target weight into the prize calculator and specify the amount of money you want to bet every month to achieve your goals. The calculator will show you the amount of cash you may win after answering questions about your past dieting behavior.

Apart from individual weight-loss challenges, HealthyWage also provides Step Challenges, perfect for people aiming to increase their daily steps. Additionally, participants can create or enter team or jackpot challenges that add bets into prize pools. Anyone who achieves the challenge's goal can receive a portion of the prize money.

HealthyWage can be a good option if you're willing to put your money on the line and bet on succeeding in your weight-loss goals.

If you want to lose weight with friends or coworkers, you can make your own group challenges. The support that you get from other contestants can also help you stay motivated.

However, you might lose your money if you don't stick to your goals. And your HealthyWager guaranteed prize is lower if you're more conservative in your weight-loss goals. There are no refunds, although you can pause your challenge if you become pregnant while participating in the challenge.

visit HealthyWage...

...Or read our HealthyWage review.

2. DietBet

DietBet allows you to join existing weight-loss challenges or start your own. The platform has two programs:

• Kickstarter program: For those who want to lose 4% of their weight in four weeks.
• Transformer program: For those who want to lose 10% of their weight in six months.

To join a challenge, you must place money into the prize pot. Then, you can submit weigh-ins via photo following specific instructions to verify your weight. You can also receive weight-loss tips from other DietBet contestants.

At the end of each challenge, participants who met their target goal receive a portion of the pooled funds, minus DietBet's fees.

Joining DietBet is simple since you don't have to set weight loss goals. You can participate in either a Kickstarter or Transformer challenge and win a share of pooled funds as long as you lose either 4% or 10%, respectively. However, this means you can't personalize your goals.

Your payout depends on how many people in your challenge reach their weight-loss target since each person wins a share of the pooled prize money. The good news is that DietBet’s no-lose guarantee ensures that if you win, you will at least get back the money you contributed, even when there are many winners in your challenge.

3. WayBetter

WayBetter positions itself as more than a weight-loss app by offering ways to help you adopt healthy habits. The app accomplishes this by offering various challenges related to nutrition and exercise goals.

Finding challenges to participate in is easy with WayBetter. Simply take a quiz to get started. The challenges span different periods, have different bet requirements, and focus on various healthy habits. Examples include walking for 30 minutes or more four times a week or completing 20 minutes of cardio four times a week.

WayBetter makes it easy for you to find challenges that fit your needs based on a quick quiz. Some challenges may be easier to win, while others can be more challenging. Unlike other apps focusing solely on weight loss, WayBetter aims to help you develop healthy habits, such as reducing alcohol intake or eating healthier meals.

You can use the app for free and only pay an $11.99 fee plus a bet amount for each challenge you join. Alternatively, you can pay a $69 membership fee to get a customized weight-loss plan along with access to the WayBetter challenges. Keep in mind that you’d still need to bet money on the prize-based challenges you join.

4. Competish

Competish is a platform where you can create a weight-loss challenge group and invite friends and family to join. You can set the challenge's duration and the entry fee amount, with a minimum of $25 to enter.

After creating a group, Competish will pair you with a weekly matchup, and you will compete to see who can lose the most weight each week. You will also compete to see who can lose the most weight over the entire challenge period.

Competish tracks your weight-loss progress with daily weigh-ins and provides access to a group chat so you can communicate with your fellow competitors.

Competish enables you to compete against people you know, which means you'll need to form a group to use the app. This could be more motivating since you know the other contestants, but having to find or form your own group could be a downside for some people.

While the minimum $25 buy-in is higher than some other platforms, you get to compete for weekly prizes and a final prize at the end of each challenge. Furthermore, a group chat and a real-time chart of your weight-loss progress can help you stay on track.

5. Evidation

Evidation is a fitness app that enables you to participate in healthy activities and receive rewards. Instead of competing against others, you earn points for various activities such as walking, weighing in, completing health-based surveys, or checking your blood pressure.

This method may encourage you to establish and maintain healthy habits. Every 10,000 points you earn can be redeemed for $10. Evidation also partners with different brands that provide exclusive discounts and rewards for the platform’s users.

Joining Evidation is free and requires little time commitment. By linking your smartwatch or fitness tracker to Evidation, you can earn points for activities you're already doing, such as walking or recording your weight and blood pressure.

However, it can take some time to accumulate 10,000 points, which is the minimum redemption requirement equaling $10. Additionally, your points may expire if you don't complete an offer (such as taking a survey) at least once per year.

Lastly, while Evidation promotes healthy habits, it doesn't offer direct rewards for weight loss. If your primary goal is losing weight, you may prefer a different program.

6. Sweatcoin

Sweatcoin is a mobile app that tracks your steps and converts them into digital currency. Each time you take 1,000 steps, you earn 0.95 sweatcoins, which can then be redeemed with one or more of Sweatcoin's 600 partners.

These partners range from health and fitness brands to fashion, entertainment, and technology brands. For instance, you can use your sweatcoins to purchase a yoga mat, a new pair of sneakers, or even a gaming console.

Sweatcoin also offers community challenges and races, which provide users with a fun way to stay motivated and earn bonus sweatcoins:

• Community challenges: These challenges involve competing with other Sweatcoin users to reach a common goal, such as walking a certain number of steps within a specific timeframe.
• Races: These are virtual events that allow users to compete with other Sweatcoin users from around the world.

Unlike some other apps, Sweatcoin does not offer specific prizes or rewards for weight loss. Instead, its goal is to encourage you to be more active. If you want to bet on achieving a weight-loss goal or earn rewards for reducing your weight, a different app would be a better fit for you.

That said, Sweatcoin can still motivate you to be more active by participating in races or community challenges. Although it may take some time to earn enough points to redeem with partners, the app is free, and there is little downside to using it over time to accumulate points.

Read our Sweatcoin review.

7. stickK

stickK is different from other weight-loss apps because you don't win money if you succeed. Instead, you motivate yourself by putting money on the line, and you can keep this money in your pocket by reaching your goal.

When you sign up, you can create a commitment contract with yourself. You can also define stakes, which establish financial accountability. If you don't fulfill your commitment, the money you pledged could go to a friend or foe, a charity, or an anti-charity which is an organization with beliefs opposite to yours.

You can also invite people such as your friends or family to help you track and accomplish your goal.

If you're hoping to make extra cash in addition to the money you bet on losing weight, stickK isn't the app for you. However, it's a free app that can aid you in achieving your goal by putting your money on the line and potentially incurring a monetary penalty if you fail to meet it.

If you're willing to put your money on the line to ensure you follow through with your commitments and are looking for a support system or accountability partner to help you stay on track at no cost to you, stickK could be a good option for you.

4 more ways to make money and earn rewards for your healthy habits

1. Earn money while lightly exercising with InboxDollars

InboxDollars is a rewards platform that pays you for completing short tasks like watching videos, taking surveys, and playing games. You can easily multitask and earn a bit of extra money while getting some light exercise in, like walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike.

You can sign up for InboxDollars for free. Then, you can start earning money for the tasks you complete. The earnings may be small per task, but they can add up over time, especially if you make it a habit while exercising.

2. Receive free samples from PINCHme

PINCHme doesn't pay cash directly, but it allows you to receive free samples of health, beauty, household, and other consumer products in exchange for your opinion. Getting these free samples can be a great way to test out new products that support your healthy lifestyle without having to actually purchase them first.

To get started, sign up for a PINCHme account and share details about your household and product interests. PINCHme will then show you samples based on that profile. Apply for the samples you’d like to try and provide your opinion about them once you test them.

3. Save money or earn rewards with Capital One Shopping

Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension and mobile app that can help you save money when shopping online for fitness gear, activewear, health foods, and more. Simply download Capital One Shopping, and it will apply any coupon codes that are available to your cart at checkout across thousands of online retailers.

You can also earn Capital One Shopping rewards for shopping at many online retailers. You can redeem these rewards for gift cards. The extension also compares prices at other popular stores while you shop to find any better deals, including factoring in details like taxes and shipping fees.

4. Earn rewards on fitness-related costs with a cash back credit card

Using a cash back credit card for gym memberships, fitness equipment purchases, and other health-related expenses is an easy way to get more benefits back from those costs.

Some cash back credit cards offer bonus rewards for certain purchases. For example, the Discover it^® Cash Back has a $0 annual fee and helps you earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically.

Explore more options in our list of the best cash back credit cards.

How to choose a weight-loss challenge app

Weight-loss challenge apps can be a great way to motivate yourself while potentially earning some money. To choose the right app for you, consider these factors:

• Your preference between competing against others and betting on yourself
• The amount of money you want to invest or put on the line
• The theme of your goals, such as adopting healthy habits, accomplishing weight-loss goals, or more
• The length of time you want to commit for

You should also make sure to review the weight verification process of the app you choose. Several apps use a form of video or photo weigh-in to confirm your progress.

Weight-loss challenge apps FAQ

Weight-loss challenge apps: bottom line

Weight-loss apps aim to motivate you to make healthy choices and stick to your weight goals. One unique feature of some weight-loss apps is the option to put money on the line to help encourage you to stick to your plans.

These betting apps may help you by using a financial penalty for not meeting your goal. This may motivate you to stay on track with your weight and health goals.

If you're looking for an extra boost of motivation, consider using one or more of these weight-loss apps. You can also check out our list of the best side hustles or learn about more ways to make extra money.