Sweatcoin Review: Is it Legit or a Scam?

Our Sweatcoin review has one simple aim: to show you the pros and cons of this app, as well as why we believe it’s definitely legit.

It’s been said before but it’s definitely worth repeating that one of the best ways to make money is by doing something that doesn’t require any extra effort.

This is why earning passive income through your phone is so good – including with Sweatcoin.

That is, you don’t have to be running daily marathons to make money with Sweatcoin. Instead, your usual step count just going about your daily life will be more than enough to make extra money with this app.

And when you combine this with the fact that it’s a great way to make you exercise more, you’ll see that Sweatcoin is worth it.

What is Sweatcoin?

Sweatcoin is an app where you earn in-app currency – or “Sweatcoins” – based on the number of steps you take.

In fact, it’s one of the most well known apps out there for letting you get paid to walk, with its number of users now reaching around 10 million. These users have, collectively, converted over nine trillion steps into Sweatcoins.

Once you’ve earned enough Sweatcoins, these can then be converted into any of the products on offer in the app, which can include actual items as well as cash.

Is Sweatcoin a scam?

Sweatcoin definitely isn’t a scam. The concept of getting paid for walking may seem simple, but the app is legit, with plenty of Sweatcoin reviews online confirming that people are actually receiving money based on their step count.

Just keep in mind when wondering whether Sweatcoin is a scam that you won’t become super wealthy from this app. This doesn’t make it a scam though. Instead, it’s a great way to earn a bit of extra money on the side while motivating you to walk more. This, in turn, can have a positive effect on your health – which can actually save you even more money in the long run!

How does Sweatcoin work?

Sweatcoin is very easy to use. How it works is as follows:

1. Download the Sweatcoin app

The Sweatcoin app is available as a free download both on iOS for your iPhone or for Android.

Just head to the website here and select either one of them for whichever type of phone you have.

2. Set up your profile

Once you’ve downloaded the app, it will ask you a few questions, like your name and email address. It should also prompt you at some stage to let it have access to your health stats, so that the app can track your step count.

This will take, at most, one minute. And once you’ve done this, you’ll be ready to start moving and earning!

(It’s worth noting that the app has a minimum age limit of 13 years old, meaning Sweatcoin can be a great option for any teen looking to make money.)

3. Start moving

From there, you’re good to go. The app will run in the background of your phone, so you won’t have to do anything to “activate it”. It simply starts counting steps automatically.

For a long time, the app would only work if you were walking or running outside, as the app would use GPS to verify that your steps were actually real. This meant that things like running on a treadmill or attending a fitness class at a gym wouldn’t work.

However, this isn’t the case any more! Instead, there’s been a great update to the Sweatcoin app that’s been rolled out recently in that it now recognizes indoor exercise – including those that don’t really involve walking.

Not only does this mean that things like treadmills will now count in the app, it also means that if you find yourself walking a lot at your indoor job, these steps will now count towards your Sweatcoin earnings.

Interestingly, the app doesn’t seem to be set up yet to work for some other non-walking exercise examples. However, on the Sweatcoin Reddit page, some people do report that it counts steps if your phone is in your pocket while biking. It seems this mostly works when you’re going uphill, as going downhill or too fast on flat ground will make the app “realize” that you’re going too fast to be on foot.

How to make money with Sweatcoin

There are a bunch of different ways to make money with Sweatcoin.

1. Moving 

The most common way to earn Sweatcoins is by walking or running. The more steps you take as part of your daily exercise, the more Sweatcoins you’ll accrue to then be converted into real money or other offers.

2. Referrals

Referrals are one of the more lucrative ways to make money with Sweatcoin as for each friend who signs up using your referral link, you’ll earn 5 Sweatcoins.

After 30 friends have signed up, you’ll be able to become a Sweatcoin influencer, which gives you the chance to access more exclusive rewards – which we’ll go into a bit more later on in this Sweatcoin review.

Related: How to Get Paid To Be a Virtual Friend

3. Daily bonus 

The Sweatcoins app has an option called “Daily Bonus” where you can receive a random amount of Sweatcoins by watching an ad that’s usually 30 to 60 seconds long. Generally, we’ve found that you’ll receive two to five Sweatcoins for each ad you watch.

This can be a good way to boost your earnings, although it’s worth noting that an app like Swagbucks is going to be way better for letting you earn money from watching videos (not to mention the pretty incredible $10 welcome bonus that Swagbucks offers).

Related: Is Swagbucks Worth It? The Ultimate Review

What do the different types of Sweatcoins membership levels mean?

Sweatcoin has various levels of membership, with the main difference being that they impact how much you can earn with the app. That is, the higher your membership level, the greater your daily earnings limit.

Fortunately, it doesn’t actually cost you anything to upgrade. Instead you simply pay with Sweatcoins you’ve already accrued.

The levels are as follows:

• Mover – This is where everyone just starting out with Sweatcoins begins. Your earning limit is 5 Sweatcoins per day or 150 per month.
• Shaker – By paying 4.75 Sweatcoins each month, you’ll be able to start earning 15 Sweatcoins each day or up to 450 Sweatcoins each month.
• Breaker – This level will cost you 30 Sweatcoins per month and will let you make up to 20 Sweatcoins per day or a maximum of 600 Sweatcoins per month.
• Trouble Maker – This is a brand new membership level that was only released very recently. It will let you earn up to 50 Sweatcoins per day or a massive 1,500 Sweatcoins per month. One major difference is that it looks like it will cost actual money to upgrade to this level, at a cost of GBP 0.99/USD 0.99 per month.

Should I upgrade my Sweatcoins membership level?

As you can tell from the amounts above, it’s quite easy to earn enough Sweatcoins to move up to a higher membership level if you’re maxing out your earnings at a lower level. For example, to move from the Shaker level to the Breaker one, it will only cost you two days of earnings with the rest of the month then being pure profit.

This means that if you’re consistently reaching the daily limit of the amount of Sweatcoins you can earn, it’s definitely worth it to use some of those coins to upgrade instead of trading them in for prizes. This is because it probably means that you’re taking a lot of steps that aren’t counting due to them being more than your daily limit. 

We’ll review the Sweatcoin conversion rate below, but earning 20 Sweatcoins per day at the Breaker level will require you to take 21,053 steps. This means that it will likely be worth it for someone who likes to run or hike fairly good distances a few times per week. 

Alternatively, this would also work well for someone who’s on their feet a lot at their job, meaning that their walking step counter just from work is high enough to make this worthwhile.

However, if you find it a struggle to consistently get to even 5 Sweatcoins per day, then it’s perfectly fine to remain on the Mover level. That would mean that everything you earn can ultimately be converted to money or whichever other reward you’re looking for, rather than being used for an upgrade that you won’t end up taking full advantage of.

How can I spend my Sweatcoins?

There are a bunch of different rewards in the app that you can redeem in exchange for the Sweatcoins you’ve earned.

While the specific offers will change over time, they generally include things such as electronics (including iPhones), fitness accessories (such as clothes, shoes, fitness watches and more) or even the option of converting your Sweatcoins to PayPal cash.

These are categorized in the app as follows:

1. Daily Offers 

These are usually fairly low value things, such as gift cards or even free trials to various services. 

At the time of writing this, these offers include a 70% discount on products from a certain jewelry brand (for 9.99 Sweatcoins) and a 50% discount on a swimwear brand for 20 Sweatcoins.

2. Spotlight Offers 

The Spotlight Offers also generally include free trials from Sweatcoin partners and are often better than the ones found under the Daily Offers. 

For example, at the time of writing this, you can sign up for a free three-month trial to Amazon Music.

3. Sweatcoin Essentials 

These are also mostly free trials with, to be honest, no real clear way on how they differ from the Spotlight Officers, even if they’re listed separately. This means that they’re essentially ads, although there’s no reason why this shouldn’t stop you from taking advantage of them. 

As an example, there’s currently a free one-month trial of Amazon Prime available.

4. Marathon Offers

These aren’t going to be easy to earn, but they’ll be worth it if you do. Basically, they’re some of the best offers available in the app…but you may literally have to run a few marathons in order to earn enough Sweatcoins to afford them.

For example, at the moment, you can exchange 20,000 Sweatcoins for a 75” Samsung Smart TV, a $1,000 airline voucher with KLM or $1,000 in PayPal cash.

5. Bucket List

If you’d rather redeem your Sweatcoins for experiences rather than things, then this is your section. Again, it’s going to take a long time to earn enough Sweatcoins to be able to afford these, but they’re definitely worth it. 

Offers include getting to “experience the Northern Lights from a cozy igloo”, have dinner at the Eiffel Tower or spend five days at Disney World, with prices ranging from 13,999 to 17,599 Sweatcoins.

6. Crowdfunding

Perhaps you don’t want to use Sweatcoin to get actual things but are looking to help someone instead – in addition to improving your health.

If that’s you, then the crowdfunding offers may be what you’re looking for.

How it works is that the app displays various crowdfunding campaigns to which you can donate your Sweatcoins alongside other users.

This doesn’t mean that you’re donating the cash equivalent to these campaigns. Instead, your donation is considered as being a sign of support for the project. Then, once the project reaches its goal amount, the Sweatcoin company makes a cash donation towards the campaign.

In some cases, there are also added offers in these. For example, one of the campaigns at the moment is sponsored by another company which is offering a 60-day free trial to one of its apps. So you can feel good about giving your Sweatcoins to a good cause and get an extra bonus at the same time!

How much can you earn with Sweatcoin?

As mentioned earlier in our Sweatcoin review, you won’t earn actual money with this app. Instead, you’ll be paid in its in-app currency, with the exchange rate being 1,000 steps equaling 0.95 Sweatcoins.

The amounts you can earn with Sweatcoin will vary depending on your membership level. For example, if you stay at the starting “Mover” level, then your daily earnings will be capped at 5 Sweatcoins per day or 150 per month.

However, if you use some of these Sweatcoins to upgrade to some of the higher levels, you’ll also unlock increased earnings limits. This means that if you find yourself maxing out your daily step count, it’s probably worth it to upgrade.

How many Sweatcoins is $1? 

The exchange rate of Sweatcoin to USD is about $1 equalling around 20 Sweatcoins. Noting that you need to take 1,000 steps to earn 0.95 Sweatcoins, this means that you’ll need to take 21,053 steps to earn the equivalent of $1 in value.

Does Sweatcoin really give you $1000?

It’s technically possible for Sweatcoin to give you the equivalent of $1,000. However, it’s going to take quite a while to earn enough Sweatcoins to get to that point.

That is, we know that 21,052 steps is needed to earn $1, which means that you’ll need to walk 21,052,000 steps to get to $1,000.

At the same time, staying on the Mover membership level means you can only earn up to 5 Sweatcoins per day, which equates to 5,263 steps.

This means that it would take 4,000 days or more than 10 years to earn $1,000 from the Sweatcoin app at the Mover level.

Of course, if you upgrade your membership, then this is going to be much faster. In particular, if you exercise enough to get to the maximum of 50 Sweatcoins per day at the Trouble Maker level, earning $1,000 is only going to take you a bit over a year, which is much more reasonable.

You may be interested in: Make $200 a Day Online: 17 Ways That Are Proven To Work

How many steps is 20000 Sweatcoins?

You would need to walk 21,052,000 steps to get to 20,000 Sweatcoins. And as we just mentioned, that’s what you’ll need to earn to redeem the equivalent of $1,000.

Safe to say, you may have to work your way through a few pairs of shoes to get to that point.

Can I transfer my Sweatcoin money to my bank account?

You can’t transfer your Sweatcoin money to your bank account directly, however you can convert your Sweatcoins to PayPal cash, which is basically the same thing. That is, once you’ve added your earnings to your PayPal account, you can then withdraw this and transfer it to your bank account.

This will require you to earn enough to take advantage of one of the PayPal offers, which are sometimes pretty high. For example, at the time of writing this, you can exchange 20,000 Sweatcoins for $1,000 in PayPal cash.

That said, there are sometimes smaller offers available, such as letting you redeem your Sweatcoins for $100 in PayPal money. Just keep an eye out on the offers once you’ve had the time to earn some Sweatcoins to make sure you’re able to take advantage of a PayPal offer as soon as it appears.

Is Sweatcoin safe to use?

In addition to wanting to know if Sweatcoin is legit, it’s also good to check if Sweatcoin is safe to use.

Fortunately, recent updates to the app have meant that a lot of the earlier security concerns have been resolved. In particular, Sweatcoin used to use GPS as the method for verifying whether your steps were real.

Now, however, Sweatcoin recognizes steps taken inside, meaning that the app no longer needs GPS to work. Not only is this better for your battery life, but it’s also a good sign for your security.

Does Sweatcoin sell your data?

Sweatcoin has made it very clear on their website that they will never sell your data. There’s no indication that they’ve ever gone against this so, for now, it’s probably safe to say that this is true.

Can Sweatcoin be hacked? 

There’s no such thing as a Sweatcoin hack, so don’t fall for any scams that try to claim that they know some secret way to earn more Sweatcoins.

That said, there are definitely some strategies you can use in order to maximize your earnings:

• Always have your phone on you – Whether you’re at work, at the store or just walking around the house cleaning, always make sure you’re carrying your phone. That way, you’ll make sure you’re earning Sweatcoins even when you’re not specifically exercising.
• Refer your friends – The Sweatcoin referral bonuses are some of the easiest ways to boost your earnings. It could also give you someone to compete with in terms of your earnings – or a walking buddy to make sure you’re exercising as much as you could be!
• Keep the app running in the background – This may be self-explanatory, but you could be tempted to close the app when you’re not actually using it simply out of habit. However, you’re then losing the chance to earn Sweatcoins if you forget to turn it back on. As such, unless it’s causing major battery or performance issues, keep the app on.
• Upgrade your membership level – If you find yourself getting to the daily limit every day, upgrade to the next membership level. While it will cost you some Sweatcoins to do this, it’s more than worth it when you consider the increased daily earnings that are available.
• Don’t forget the daily bonuses – These are another easy way to earn some extra Sweatcoins just from watching a few videos. While they’re usually ads so aren’t the most exciting things you’ll ever watch, it doesn’t take very long and can be a nice little boost to your earnings.

What are the Sweatcoin countries where it can be used?

While Sweatcoin was originally only available in the US and the UK, the app is now far more global.

In fact, you can now download the app if you’re in the following countries:

So is Sweatcoin legit?

Sweatcoin is definitely legit, with tons of reviews online confirming that you can absolutely get paid for using this app. It’s also a great motivator for you to start moving more and get your step count up.

It is, however, important to keep in mind that you won’t earn thousands of dollars from this app. The amount you earn will depend on your membership level, but even at the upper levels, you only earn a few dollars a day at best.

As long as your expectations are reasonable, you’ll find that Sweatcoin is a legit way to get paid for walking.

Of course, like all apps, there can be a glitch from time to time. For example, some people report that their app was not converting all steps or was simply not working how it should have been. In those cases, Sweatcoin support can review the issue – and they appear to have been fairly quick in resolving these in the past.

Its also a good sign that the average Sweatcoin review on TrustPilot gives the app 4.4 out of 5!

Are there other apps like Sweatcoin?

There are apps like Sweatcoin, no matter if your motivation for using it is to get healthier or make some extra money – or both!

Other apps for getting healthier

If you’re looking to lose weight, Healthywage may be just what you need. 

It’s an app that helps people lose weight while they also make money. How it works is that you bet on how much weight you think you can lose within a certain amount of time. 

The app will then tell you how much you can win if you do this (using the Healthywage calculator available here).

And as you can see, users of this app have won literally thousands of dollars from doing this.

Alternatively, if you’re just trying to get moving and youre not so convinced after reading this Sweatcoin review, Achievement may be an alternative for you to consider.

The app doesn’t only pay you to walk and run, but also to do all sorts of other exercises, such as biking and swimming, which it logs by syncing with your Fitbit or phone. You can also earn points by logging your other health-related activities, such as what you’ve eaten, when you slept and your daily weight.

Those points can then be converted into cash once you’ve earned enough of them. While the earnings aren’t amazing, its a good option if you prefer other forms of exercise.

More information: 17 Legit Ways to Get Paid to Walk

Other apps for making money

If your main goal is to make some extra cash, then there are a ton of apps out there that can help you with this – many of which will let you earn far more than you will with Sweatcoin.

That said, there’s no reason why you can’t install several of these at once. This would mean, say, you’d go to the supermarket and have Sweatcoin running in the background on your phone as you walk around the store. You’d then use an app like Ibotta to get cash back on the groceries that you buy.

(Starting with the free $20 sign up bonus Ibotta gives you. Find out more from our Ibotta review.)

Here are some apps and other ideas that can help you to make some extra cash:

• The 42 Best Passive Income Apps to Make Money on Your Phone
• How to Make $100 a Day: 41 Ways That Actually Work
• 22 Proven Ways to Get Cash Urgently If You Need Money Desperately

Is Sweatcoin worth it?

Whether you’re looking to get more motivated to move more or simply for a way to earn some extra cash, Sweatcoin is definitely worth it.

While it’s true that you won’t get rich from this app, it offers a very simple way to make a few extra dollars from something you’d be doing anyway: walking around.

And if it has the added effect of encouraging you to exercise more, then that’s an extra bonus.

One thing you should take away from this Sweatcoin review though is that as long as you go into it being realistic about your potential earnings, then there’s really no downside. This is especially the case now that the app covers a broader range of exercises rather than only walking.

After all, it’s completely free and, once you’ve installed it, you literally don’t have to do anything else to start moving and earning.

So if you’re interested, it’s definitely worth signing up for Sweatcoin here to give it a shot.

FAQs on our Sweatcoin review

Got some other questions about the app not covered in the rest of this Sweatcoin review? We’ve got you covered!

Is Sweatcoin a cryptocurrency?

Sweatcoin isn’t a cryptocurrency, as it isn’t on a blockchain – although that’s definitely the ultimate plan of the team behind the app.

They’ve been upfront about wanting Sweatcoins to be on crypto exchanges in the future, so if all goes to plan, it’s likely that we’ll see a Sweatcoin cryptocurrency at some point.

This means that it would basically work like Bitcoin and other similar cryptocurrencies, in that the Sweatcoins you earn through the app could be used to purchase items or be exchanged, much like “actual” money.

This isn’t so different to what you can do now in terms of exchanging Sweatcoins for the offers available in the app. You’re also currently able to send coins to your friends who also use the app. 

However, turning Sweatcoin into a cryptocurrency would allow its use to be much broader. In particular, it would mean that you wouldn’t be limited to only using this currency with Sweatcoin partners, not to mention the ability to trade this currency with other people.

Does Sweatcoin work on a treadmill?

Sweatcoin very recently updated its system to allow for indoor steps to be counted as well as outdoor ones. This means that Sweatcoin now works on a treadmill. 

You can also use it for other indoor activities now that contribute to your step count, such as gym classes with a lot of stepping or even walking around at work.

(Meaning that for anyone who works somewhere where you’re on your feet a lot, this app is definitely for you.)

Related: Working Part Time: 9 Reasons Why To Seriously Consider It

Does Sweatcoin use a lot of battery?

Reviews are mixed as to whether Sweatcoin uses a lot of battery. Because of how it works, the app has to run in the background to make sure it’s tracking all of your steps, which clearly takes some battery power. 

That said, the app has changed in that it also used to use GPS to verify your steps. As that’s no longer the case, your GPS doesn’t have to be on anymore for the app to work, which has been great for saving battery usage.

Some people, like in this Sweatcoin review on Reddit, have mentioned that there seems to be more of a battery draining issue on Android compared to iOS, although comments like this are less common now with the GPS switch mentioned earlier in our own Sweatcoin review.

If you find yourself noticing battery performance issues, the first step is always to go into your phone’s settings and find the section that shows you which apps are taking up the most memory. These are usually the same apps that take up a lot of battery power.

If Sweatcoin is one of them for you, you may need to play around with the settings a bit to see if you can fix it. One solution could be to only turn the app on when you’re going to do your daily exercise, although you’ll then lose all the extra Sweatcoins you’ll earn just from your standard walking around.

Final thoughts based on our Sweatcoin review

Hopefully this Sweatcoin review has shown you that there’s a reason that Sweatcoin is legit one of the most popular apps out there that pay you to walk. After all, the app is not only free but super simple to use, as once you’ve installed it, it just runs in the background and earns you money.

It’s also a really fun way to motivate you to exercise more. By having the target of the daily Sweatcoin earning limit of whichever membership level you’re at, you’ll have something concrete to aim for every single day.

And if you’ve been struggling to drag yourself off the couch and get moving, this could be just what you need.

It’s true that, purely as a way to make money, there are far more effective ways to do this. But as long as you’re fully aware that apps like Sweatcoin are there to earn you a few extra dollars at best, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try using it as a way to have a small cash boost – and a much larger daily boost to your health.