Can you really get paid to walk? Surprisingly, yes. There are over a dozen legit apps that will pay you in cash or gift cards for doing something you do every single day — walking!
Most apps that pay you to walk connect to your smartphone or fitness tracker and log your steps. You then earn points that convert to gift cards or cash. These apps don’t pay a ton, but it’s easy money. Learn about all of your options, including side hustle apps that involve walking (this is where you can make even more money walking!)
Below are our top pics for highest-paying apps for walking:
DoorDash drivers can schedule their own hours and deliver when they have availability.
Instacart shoppers can schedule hours in advance.
Table of Contents
1. DoorDash
DoorDash is one of the fastest-growing delivery services, and DoorDash delivers in over 7,000 cities across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Now, you’re going to need a car, bike, or scooter for this one, but being a Dasher may involve quite a bit of walking, depending on the city you work in.
Because Dashers spend a lot of time in and out of their car, picking up food, and dropping it off with your customers, you can seriously get some steps in.
Deliver for DoorDash on foot
DoorDash is an incredibly flexible way to make extra money, and you pick the hours you work in the app. There are also bonuses and challenges to boost your pay.
2. Instacart
If you don’t mind walking around the grocery store, then you might be interested in Instacart. Instacart is an on-demand service where you can make around $15-$20/hour shopping for and delivering groceries.
There are two different kinds of Instacart workers — in-store shoppers and full-service shoppers. Full-service shoppers both shop and deliver orders, while in-store shoppers spend their time walking around the grocery store filling orders. In-store shoppers don’t necessarily need access to a car, but you will need a 4-door vehicle if you want to become a full-service shopper.
3. Rover
Looking for apps that pay you to walk… dogs? If you want to earn money by walking dogs, definitely check out Rover. Dog walkers earn around $15/hour on average, but that number can be higher if you’re located in busier urban areas.
Rover is an app that connects pet owners with dog walkers and pet sitters. You create a profile on the app, set your rates, and list your availability. It’s free to sign up for Rover, and they take a 20% booking fee for each job.
Get paid to walk dogs
Rover dog walkers set their own rates and availability, and you can earn even more if you’re also willing to board animals or pet sit.
4. Shipt
Shipt is another grocery delivery service that’s growing in popularity. Many people who work for Shipt also work for other delivery services because you’ll have more delivery possibilities available to you.
Working for Shipt means you’re accepting grocery orders in the app, walking around the grocery store shopping for them, and then delivering via car. Yep, you’ll need a vehicle for this option, and Shipt requires a reliable 4-door vehicle.
5. TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit is an app for all different kinds of gigs and one-off jobs. You can get paid to walk dogs, hang pictures, run errands, set up IKEA furniture, and more.
There’s a one-time registration fee of $25 to become a Tasker — there are no service fees or commissions for Taskers beyond that.
If you’re interested in signing up for TaskRabbit, you’ll need to download the app, set up your profile, list the kinds of tasks you’re willing to do, and then wait for approval. It can take around two weeks to be approved, and this is based on rolling approvals to avoid oversaturation of the marketplace.
6. Evidation
Evidation is the new name for Achievement. Even though they’ve recently changed names, the premise is still the same. You can earn points for “health actions” like walking, biking, meditating, and logging meals. They also pay you to participate in health research or read health-related articles.
The way Evidation works is that you connect to Evidation from over 20 different health apps, like Apple Health or Fitbit. Then, you earn points by:
- Logging actions in the app like walking, sleeping, biking, etc.
- Participating in health research studies
- Answer survey questions about your health
You earn points that convert to cash, and once you hit 10,000 points you can redeem them for $10 in rewards via PayPal, direct deposit, gift cards, or donating points to charities. Your rewards are paid within 3-7 business days.
Evidation is available for both Apple and Android users.
7. Sweatcoin
You’ll see Sweatcoin on lots of lists of apps that pay you to walk, but Sweatcoin doesn’t technically pay cash — you earn digital currency that can be used to buy products and services through the Sweatcoin app.
Sweatcoin believes so much in what they’re doing that they’ve said, “Soon Sweatcoins will be a universally accepted form of payment.”
Here’s how Sweatcoin works:
- Download the Sweatcoin app and sign up
- Sync your phone’s health and fitness data and GPS with the app
- The app tracks how many steps you take a day
- Every 2,000 steps convert to “sweatcoins”
- Use your sweatcoins to claim offers in the Sweatcoin Marketplace, like music downloads, magazines, headphones, digital watches, and more.
8. StepBet
StepBet is a fitness app where you set goals and bet on yourself. You’re pooled with other StepBet users into games that vary in length and go up to 6 weeks long.
You win points for meeting weekly goals, but you and other players get to share your winnings when you meet all of the goals throughout the game.
StepBet works with fitness trackers like Google Fit, Apple Watch, FitBit, etc.
9. FitPotato
FitPotato is an app that rewards you for meeting weekly fitness goals. You place bets on yourself for as little as $5 a week, and you can set it for running, walking, or dog walking. You’re put in with a weekly prize group, and if you complete 3 sessions in a week, you win.
Each week’s winners get a share of the weekly prize (the total amount put in by all of the players in the group), and if you’re the only winner, you win the entire prize.
Like other apps that pay you to walk on this list, FitPotato works by syncing a fitness app on your phone to the app.
10. LifeCoin
LifeCoin is an app that counts your steps when you walk or run. The app automatically counts your steps and turns them into LifeCoins. The app says you can, “Turn daily walks into mining sessions.”
It takes about 1,000 steps to earn 1 LifeCoin on the app, and you can earn additional LifeCoins for referring your friends and family. LifeCoins are redeemable for gift cards, sports gear, gadgets, beauty items, and more.
The LifeCoin app is available for both Android and iOS users.
A couple of drawbacks are that users complain that the app drains your battery and that it can take a pretty long time to earn money for walking.
11. myWalgreens Health Goals
Formerly known as Walgreens Balance Rewards, myWalgreens Health Goals is a program through Walgreens that incentivizes meeting your health goals. You must be a myWalgreens member to get paid to walk with this app, but becoming a myWalgreens is 100% free and easy to sign up for.
Here’s how this program works:
- Join a 4-week health challenge
- Connect a device and track your progress
- Earn Walgreens Cash rewards when you complete your challenges
You earn up to $1/month for completing the challenge, and there are bonuses if you meet all of your goals throughout the 4-week challenge. Challenges can involve walking more, running, biking, or any other physical activity or healthy lifestyle change.
12. Winwalk
You can get paid to walk with Winwalk— a free pedometer app that tracks your steps and rewards you with gift cards to Amazon, Nike, Starbucks, Target, Walmart, and more.
People choose Winwalk over other apps that pay you to walk because it uses your phone’s built-in sensor to count your steps instead of GPS. This means you’re not draining your battery with GPS tracking.
It takes about 100 steps to earn 1 coin through the app, and you need approximately 8,000 coins to exchange for a $5 gift card. That means you need to take 800,000 steps to earn $5.
To put that into perspective, one mile = 2,000 steps. So, you’d need to walk 400 miles to earn $5. That’s a lot of walking! Winwalk is also only available for Android users right now.
13. PK Rewards
With PK Rewards, you can earn money by walking or tracking any other workout in the app. The app scores your effort, and your effort converts to coins. Once you have enough coins, you can trade them in for gift cards to Lululemon, Amazon, Nike, and more.
You’ll need a Bluetooth-based heart rate monitor to use with PK Rewards, and it’s currently only available for Android users.
PK Rewards also analyzes your workouts — this is how they determine effort — and you can track calories, duration, steps, and heart rate in the app.
14. Fit For Bucks
If you’re an Apple user and looking for apps that pay you to walk, you might want to check out Fit For Bucks. It’s only for iOS users, and you’ll need to connect it to your Apple Watch or another fitness tracker.
Fit For Bucks keeps track of your steps for any kind of workout: walking, running, dancing, biking, etc. Then you use your banked steps to claim offers like a free cup of coffee, discounted fitness classes, a free 30-minute massage, and more.
15. Runtopia
Runtopia is one of the most popular apps that pay you to walk, run, or cycle. The app encourages you to set and achieve exercise goals with an in-app audio coach and prizes. You earn Sports Coins as you complete in-app tasks, which you can trade in for products, coupons, memberships, and even cash.
There’s also a multi-step weight loss program offered with Runtopia’s premium membership. The program includes warm-ups, stretches, and exercises designed to help you reach your goals.
The Final Word on Apps That Pay You to Walk
If you’re looking for easy and passive ways to make money walking — I’m talking about apps that sync to your fitness tracker and log your miles for points — then Evidation and Sweatcoin are worth checking out. You’re only going to make a few bucks here and there, but it requires very little effort on your end.
To make even more money walking, check out these side hustle options:
- Get paid to walk dogs for $15-$25/hour with Rover
- Earn $15-$20/hour shopping with Instacart
- Get paid for each delivery you make with DoorDash
FAQs
Apps like Evidation and Sweatcoin pay you points for tracking your miles in their apps. You can redeem your points for cash or gift cards.
Swagbucks is a rewards program that pays you a $10 bonus just for signing up and spending $25 in eligible purchases at one of their partner stores. So if you’re already going to be shopping online, you may be able to instantly earn $10.
You can download a fitness tracking app like Sweatcoin or Evidiation and earn points that convert to cash or rewards. But you can really make money walking with a side hustle like DoorDash, Instacart, and Rover. All of those gigs involve a lot of walking, and you can get paid anywhere from $15-$25/hour.
DoorDash Disclaimer:
- Earning more on certain types of orders (ex. alcohol): Earn more per order as compared to restaurant orders. Actual earnings may differ and depend on factors like number of deliveries you accept and complete, time of day, location, and any costs. Hourly pay is calculated using average Dasher payouts while on a delivery (from the time you accept an order until the time you drop it off) over a 90-day period and includes compensation from tips, peak pay, and other incentives.
- Get paid instantly (DasherDirect): Subject to approval
- Cash out daily (Fast Pay): Fees apply
- Start dashing today: Subject to background check and availability
- Dash anytime: Subject to availability