Looking to turn your daily steps into actual cash? f you can get paid to walk, that sounds like the perfect passive income hack, but the reality might surprise you. We tried the top walking apps in Europe to separate the marketing hype from the actual earnings potential.
Key takeaways
- Walking apps provide modest income (typically under €50 annually) but can boost fitness motivation
- CashWalk offers the most predictable rewards, converting 5,000 coins into a €5 Amazon gift card
- Sweatcoin pays in cryptocurrency with $SWEAT tokens worth approximately €0.01 each
- Traditional walking side hustles like dog walking (€15-25/hour) dramatically outperform app earnings
- Combining multiple apps with physical side hustles creates the most lucrative strategy
Get paid to walk: The Reality of Earning Money Through Fitness Apps
Let’s cut to the chase: step-to-cash apps won’t replace your day job (obviously). Most fitness rewards apps operate on tight margins, capping daily earnings and stretching reward periods to maintain profitability. After testing dozens of options, I found three primary monetization models dominating the market:
- Digital tokens (Sweatcoin)
- In-app coins (CashWalk)
- Direct cash payouts (Evidation)
Each model offers different advantages, but they all share one common reality: modest payouts. While launching a side hustle through walking might sound appealing, most consistent users earn under €50 annually – hardly life-changing money.
The real question isn’t whether these apps pay (they do), but whether the earnings justify the effort and attention they require.
Sweatcoin Review: Cryptocurrency Potential vs. Actual Returns
Sweatcoin captures the move-to-earn crypto movement perfectly. The app converts 1,000 verified steps to 1 SWC (Sweatcoin). When synced to their Sweat Wallet, approximately 4,745 steps equals 1 SWEAT token worth roughly €0.01.
For perspective, we tracked my daily 10,000-step average over three months and earned approximately €0.60 monthly. That’s right: sixty cents. The kicker? Sweatcoin offers no direct cash withdrawals. You’re either trading for marketplace rewards (usually overpriced products) or holding tokens hoping for future appreciation.
The platform’s long-term vision includes inactivity penalties planned for 2026, pushing users to remain active or lose coins. While the walking cryptocurrency concept is innovative, current returns remain minimal for average users.
CashWalk: The Most Reliable Path to Gift Cards
Among all the apps we tested, CashWalk delivered the most straightforward value proposition. The platform caps earnings at 100 coins daily, with 5,000 coins redeemable for a €5 Amazon gift card, creating a predictable 50-day earning cycle.
Unfortunately, the app recently increased gift card requirements by 50% in 2024. For example, a Starbucks card now costs 7,500 coins instead of 5,000. This step coin app requires opening daily to claim rewards, exposing users to frequent advertisements which drive the company’s revenue model.
What makes CashWalk stand out is its reliability, you know exactly what you’re getting and when. For those who want predictable passive rewards without the cryptocurrency speculation, this platform offers the clearest path to tangible benefits.
App Breakdown: Which Walking Platform Pays Best?
After extensive testing, I calculated the hourly earnings across major platforms to determine which fitness payment apps deliver the best return on investment:
- Sweatcoin: €0.01/hour (4+ years to reach €10)
- CashWalk: €0.02/hour (50 days to reach €10)
- Evidation: €0.04/hour (90 days to reach €10)
- Winwalk: €0.015/hour (160 days to reach €10)
- StepBet: €1.50/hour (but requires €40 entry fee)
The numbers don’t lie: these are extremely low hourly rates. However, we found combining Evidation (which offers additional health surveys) with CashWalk can yield approximately €8 monthly with minimal effort.
For comparison, professional dog walkers earn €15-25 hourly, making walking apps at best a supplemental income source rather than a primary earner.
Real User Results: Our 30-Day Test Across Multiple Apps
To provide concrete data, we conducted a 30-day test walking 7,500 steps daily across multiple platforms simultaneously. Here are our real-world app reviews and results:
- Sweatcoin: Earned 45 €SWEAT (approximately €0.45)
- CashWalk: Accumulated 3,000 coins (60% toward a €5 gift card)
- Evidation: Collected 3,300 points (33% toward €10 PayPal cashout)
Total combined value after one month of testing all apps simultaneously: under €5. This represents the reality of step app earnings : they’re minimal but require almost no additional effort if you’re already walking.
The psychological benefit proved more valuable than the financial one. We found ourselves taking stairs instead of elevators and parking farther from store entrances to boost our step count.
Beyond Apps: Walking Side Hustles That Actually Pay
If you’re serious about monetizing your walking, traditional side hustles dramatically outperform apps. Here are three alternatives to get paid to walk we’ve researched with substantial earning potential:
- Commercial trash pickup services: €30-€50/hour (Brian Winch built a $650k/year business from this concept)
- Dog walking through platforms like Rover: €15-25/hour (top earners make €1,000/month working 10 hours weekly)
- Leading historical walking tours via Airbnb Experiences: €50-€150 per tour
These options require more effort and initiative than passive apps, but the income difference is staggering: we’re talking 100x higher returns for your time investment. Creativity definitely rewards.
Maximizing Your Walking Income: Smart Hybrid Strategies
The most effective approach I’ve found combines passive apps with active side hustles or a 9-5. For example, earning Sweatcoin while dog walking effectively adds €0.01 to your €15/hour dog walking rate. Or combining it with a job means you wil get paid to walk to work. Small improvement, but why leave money on the table?
If you’re generating meaningful income from walking activities, consider these tax deductions:
- Track app earnings for taxes (1099-MISC forms)
- Deduct phone data and step-tracking apps as business expenses
- Use tools like Stride for mileage tracking
- Consider QuickBooks Self-Employed for expense management
The key to maximizing walking revenue is thinking like an entrepreneur. While online earning opportunities abound, walking-based income requires combining multiple streams for meaningful results.
The Bottom Line: Are Walking Apps Worth Your Time?
Our conclusion is nuanced. You definitely can get paid to walk, but walking apps provide minimal income (€20-50 annually). On the other hand they do offer valuable motivation benefits. The most cost-effective approach is using apps during activities you’d do anyway, essentially making them truly passive.
CashWalk delivers the most predictable rewards (€30-40 annually in gift cards), while Sweatcoin offers speculative cryptocurrency potential. For serious income, entrepreneurial side hustles like dog walking or trash pickup services yield dramatically higher returns (€15-50/hour).
The real question is whether the earnings justify the mental space they occupy. If you’re already walking and enjoy the gamification aspect, you might as well get paid to walk. But for us, we like to walk without using our phones at all. The €20 – €50 annually is simply not worth it for us, hence why you won’t see this method on our insights page.
