SweatCoin is a mobile app for Android and iOS that pays you for walking, running, and being mobile.
The app is advertised to reward users for being active and getting fit while getting paid for it, which is a nice way to motivate even the laziest person (or reward those who are already active).
Details
- Type: Mobile app
- Platforms: iOS, Android
- Price: Free (with ads)
- Registration required: Yes
- Earning potential: –
- Realistic earning average: –
- Time commitment: –
- Estimated earnings per hour: –
- Download the app: Android or iOS
- See the official page
Overall score: 5/10 (Average)
SweatCoin is a legitimate app that rewards you for being active, but the prizes offered are lackluster and there’s no easy way to convert your coins to real cash. There are also problems with the steps-to-coin conversion algorithm and any decent prize is priced too highly. This is not an easy way to earn money or prizes and only should be used for those who are already active, or need a low-incentive motivator.
How does SweatCoin work?
The app works by tracking your steps and converting them to a virtual currency called sweatcoins. The app tracks your movement by using your phone’s GPS and a custom algorithm that measures and converts your steps to the coin currency.
That’s one of the major problems with the app. The conversion formula seems to be all over the place.
For example, I walk an average of 12K steps a day (probably even more now because we all have nowhere to go). I use a cheapo third-party fitness tracker, my phone’s pedometer, and SweatCoin.
All three give me different readings, but the fitness tracker and phone are roughly within 1K steps of each other at the end of the day. SweatCoin, however, seems to shave major steps off the total.
Sometimes it takes off more than half of the total and upwards of 6-7K down from 12K. That’s significantly inaccurate and makes me think that the algo used is in need of some fine-tuning.
But on the other hand, the developers probably made it that way to remove all fake or unintentional steps.
This isn’t just my experience- if you read the reviews, both on the Android and iOS stores, you can see that plenty of people complain about the same thing:
The thing to keep in mind here is that if you’re already active, you can think of this app as a passive way to earn some rewards.
But if you’re exercising JUST for the sake of earning prizes using SweatCoin, you’ll feel ripped off. I mean, who wants to sweat outside all day after putting in that last 1K steps just to see 60% of their steps disappear? Especially when it was done legitimately.
How much can you make with SweatCoin?
Sweatcoins earned can be exchanged for various items from the marketplace. You USED to be able to redeem PayPal cash, virtual gift cards, and other random swag from their currency exchange.
So you’re probably thinking: Does SweatCoin give you real money?
Well, you can earn PayPal cash but only if you refer friends. Otherwise, you’re stuck with random subscriptions, or discounts for stuff you don’t need.
The actual good stuff costs way too much that’ll take you many years to earn enough Sweatcoins to redeem. So don’t count on it. You’ll probably give up by then.
But they’ve changed this now to simply discounts on prizes that require a subscription, or at least most of them. This is pretty lame and discourages a lot of users.
You can earn stuff like GoPro, Samsung TVs, and more. But not everyone can redeem this stuff as it seems to be geo-restricted. Other prizes are discounted razors, socks, clothing, and other stuff you can easily buy at the dollar store. Cash prizes are here and there, but limited.
All the prizes you could want aren’t there (phones, game consoles, gift cards, etc.). And the things that you DO want are extremely expensive. They also have “free trial” offers when you buy a sub to get something or get 50% discounts on products you’d never need. You don’t earn prizes. You earn coupons.
Another problem is that the prizes may disappear without notice as the developers try to figure out a way to keep users using their app while making a profit.
So that $100 PayPal you’ve been walking towards? It can disappear the next day. And it requires a friend referral just to get cash to spend on the things you DO want.
The other problem? The time it takes to earn a non-garbage reward is a long, long time. NO joke. For example, if you earn 30 coins a month, you’ll need to walk 7 months to redeem $100.
Your coins can only be used on subscriptions, discounted goods you don’t want, or super expensive prizes you’ll never earn enough for. Some prizes even ask for your bank details.
Are they paying us to walk and get fit? Or are they just selling our location history/
Users have been complaining about the crappy prize offerings forever and the company usually replies with the same copy/pasted response:
They state that they’re constantly working hard to find new offers from marketplace vendors, but this has yet to happen.
So the amount you can earn with SweatCoin is largely dependent on multiple factors:
- How many steps you walk per day
- How the conversion algorithm decides to convert your steps
With these two variables in mind, you can earn next to nothing (a fraction of a sweatcoin) or 2 coins a day. It’s all based on your activity level and how the algo converts your steps to coins. Maybe after some time, you’ll figure out how to make it actually track your steps accurately so you can maximize your earnings daily.
Otherwise, you’re just being tracked and draining your battery because of GPS usage for nothing.
The app does utilize the GPS and you may notice your battery dropping. There are a ton of guides on maximizing battery life using various settings for those who use it all day. SweatCoin also uses the time and date of your device as a tracking data point.
The money you earn from SweatCoin isn’t real. It’s virtual. And everything in the store is pricey. Only the cheap junk is cheap, but it’s junk (duh).
For those who save up a ton of SC, they ask for personal details when you try to redeem, like your credit card or bank details.
Everything else is just a discount on something you don’t need or a subscription to something you don’t want. Why is it so hard to just redeem for a gift card- the prize that everyone wants?
They claim to have over 50M users, so why isn’t this a given yet:
So it comes down to personal preference:
- If you already walk daily and are active, SweatCoin may be a nice source of passive income ONLY if you have the mindset that you don’t care about the prizes. A decent prize doesn’t come easy.
- If you’re looking for an app that pays you for walking, SweatCoin isn’t the best choice. The prizes don’t allow you to “pay” yourself for walking through gift cards or PayPal (unless you jump through hoops).
And you’ll also have to deal with an algorithm that constantly shaves off your steps. Plus, you’ll drain your battery quickly with the GPS running in the background.
Whatever you do, don’t download this app with the mentality that you’ll earn “free money.” it’s far from it.
But if you want to earn some virtual coins here and there based on a moody algorithm for some prizes that are crappy, then yeah, you should give it a try. It’s all about the mindset you come in with.
This is NOT an easy way to earn passive money. You may even spend more on electricity and time charging your phone from the GPS drain than you earn from the app!
Is SweatCoin worth it?
If you already walk around all day (retail, fast food, or service industry job, etc.) then you might as well download it, assuming you don’t already drain your battery at the end of the day. If you do, then skip it because this app will eat up the rest of your battery.
But if you’re not active and you want to either:
- Be motivated to earn some small rewards/discounts
- Want to make passive income
Then it depends. Are you doing it for the possibility of making money?
You’ll be disappointed because this app will take forever to pay out and make walking worth your time. But if you’re doing it to get those free small discounts here and there, then okay, it may be worth your time. Just like for those who are already active.
You need to download the app with the right mindset. Or else you’ll give up as soon as you find out how little rewards you get, or the crappy conversion rate, or how long it takes to get any reward worth your efforts.
Otherwise, I’d say you should skip SweatCoin for now- until they finally get their partnerships in order and have a marketplace where you can redeem actual cash or virtual gift cards.
With 50M users, why can’t they just go to Amazon or something and BUY gift cards for users? There’s no need for a “partnership” unless that’s their excuse for stalling.
Sure, it’s time-consuming, but I’m pretty sure there are ways to automate it or use an API to automatically redeem the GCs. There are plenty of OTHER apps that pay you in Amazon gift cards. And if they can do it, why can’t SweatCoin with such a huge user base?
Is it free?
Yes, the app is free. SweatCoin is ad-supported and I also assume they get a commission when you sign up for one of their subscription packages in their marketplace. And when you use one of their discount coupons.
So they’re taking in some nice affiliate commissions when you redeem stuff. Otherwise, for you, all you’ll have to see are ads that pop up. There are 30-second videos that get annoying very quickly.
Otherwise, the base version of SweatCoin is free. I believe there’s also a premium version that unlocks other rewards and faster ways to earn coins, but I didn’t bother signing up for that.
Is SweatCoin legit?
Yes, SweatCoin is a legitimate app that does reward users with virtual currency that can be exchanged for various items.
But the process of getting there takes a long time with an algorithm that doesn’t always convert your steps to the proper sweatcoin equivalent. The prizes are also not worth the time for most cases because they’re things you don’t need or require a credit card to sign up, which is a big no-no for most people.
Regardless, they DO reward, but not always in the most straightforward way possible.
Is it worth your time?
Again, that depends on your purpose for using it. If you want to make money, hard pass. If you want to get prizes for being active because you already have an active lifestyle, then okay, sure.
Or if you need some “motivation” in the form of coupons for various things you probably don’t need, then yeah, go for it.
Overall review
SweatCoin is a good idea, but poorly executed. It’s awesome to pay people in a virtual coin for walking and getting fit, but when there’s nothing to redeem with said coin, it’s exactly what it is- a virtual coin. That’s worth nothing. The prizes are lame.
And the good prizes take years to get- if they don’t change it and swap it for something else. The app also drains your battery with GPS and monitors you nonstop. And the currency conversion is hit or miss- or completely random.
Therefore, you need to decide on WHY you want to get this app first. Then go from there.