Sweatcoin Review (2020): How It Works & My Experience

April 2018.

That's right around when I started using Sweatcoin, and I was pretty intrigued by it.

On one hand, I thought it sounded a bit too good to be true. I mean come on, getting paid to walk? My scam senses were definitely tingling.

On the other hand, I thought that even if it was legit, it wouldn't be sustainable for long. How do you stay profitable when you're paying people to do something as simple as walking?

It was at this point I quickly jumped down the rabbit hole of finding other apps that would pay me to walk, but that's beside the point.

Fast forward to the present day, and the Sweatcoin app is still running strong (no pun intended).

That being said, I've seen the app go through some big changes over the years, and I've also seen and heard various Sweatcoin reviews from others, with some hating on the app, and others loving it.

With all sorts of mixed feelings going around, I figured it was finally time for me to release my own Sweatcoin review, and I'm going to be as honest and transparent as I can here.

If you've been wondering how Sweatcoin works (and how they make money), what a “sweatcoin” even is, whether or not this app is worth using, and more, today is the day my friend. I am here to answer all your questions.

What is Sweatcoin?

It's not a coin made out of sweat, that's for sure.

Put simply, Sweatcoin is an app that rewards you for walking. In exchange for your steps, you earn Sweatcoins, which can be redeemed for products, cash, and more.

If you're into origin stories, Sweatcoin was founded in 2016 by Oleg Fomenko and Anton Derlyatka, two Russian fitness fanatics. They started the app to motivate others to be more physically active, and their end goal is to transition Sweatcoin into a fully-fledged currency.

Speaking of currencies…

Is Sweatcoin a Cryptocurrency? Am I Earning Real Money?

Short answer: nope.

Sweatcoin isn't on a blockchain and therefore isn't a cryptocurrency.

And, because Sweatcoins don't have purchasing power outside of the Sweatcoin app, I wouldn't call it “real money” either. When you earn Sweatcoins, you're earning more of a mini-currency.

That could change soon though…

The Sweatcoin team and founders DO want Sweatcoin to be tradeable on exchanges at some point, so a Sweatcoin cryptocurrency could be a possibility in the future.

If that were to ever happen, you could theoretically earn Sweatcoins and exchange them for other cryptocurrencies and fiat cash whenever you'd like. Sweatcoin would be much more like “real money” at that point as it would have way more real-world uses.

Where is Sweatcoin Available? Who Can Participate?

Sweatcoin was first released in the United States and the United Kingdom. Now, they're now quite global and available in many different countries, including:

Sweatcoin is constantly expanding so if you don't see your country on the list above, sign up on their site to receive a notification when they launch in your country.

If Sweatcoin IS available in your country, just note that you must be 13 years or older to use the app.

Is Sweatcoin Legit?

A lot of people hear “get paid to walk” and instantly think, “Sweatcoin is a scam!” I know I did.

And honestly, that's a pretty justifiable reaction based on the old, “if it sounds too good to be true, it is” way of thinking.

But is it true? Is Sweatcoin a scam?

Truthfully, it isn't. Sweatcoin is legit and honest with their promises.

Does that mean you're going to be able to quit your day job and earn a fortune walking around?

Nope.

You can earn some extra money, but don't expect to get rich hustling Sweatcoin. The entire point of the app is to simply motivate you to exercise while offering small rewards, and Sweatcoin delivers on that.

I even have a Sweatcoin PayPal payment proof for the nonbelievers…

Sweatcoin Payment Proof ($100 Earned)

To prove further that Sweatcoin is legit and that they really do pay, here's a Sweatcoin payment proof screenshot from my PayPal:

So far I've cashed out twice, earning $200 USD total. I'm holding onto the rest of my coins and invites for now hoping for better exchange rates.

Keep in mind, the reason I was able to earn $200 from Sweatcoin has a lot to do with referrals and the Sweatcoin influencer program, which I'll talk more about below.

I just wanted to show you this to prove that Sweatcoin WILL deliver on any rewards you cash out. That, in my mind, makes them legit.

Is Sweatcoin Safe to Use?

Besides wondering if Sweatcoin is legit, a lot of people want to know if Sweatcoin is safe to use.

In the past, this was much more of a concern since Sweatcoin used to require constant GPS data to work properly. Now that that's no longer the case though (more on how Sweatcoin works below), Sweatcoin is safer than ever.

On top of that, Sweatcoin has made it clear on their site that they will never sell your data.

How Does Sweatcoin Work?

Starting in early 2020, the way Sweatcoin works and counts steps massively changed. For the longest time, Sweatcoin could ONLY track outside steps, and it used the phone's GPS as a way to confirm real steps.

This worked well for stopping cheaters, but it caused battery drainage and bad step conversion. For every 1,000 steps, only about 650 converted into Sweatcoin, which was annoying.

Now though, Sweatcoin has a more advanced algorithm. They no longer require GPS data to confirm steps AND they can count indoor steps. This has lowered battery usage and increased conversion rates to an average of 90%!

So, back to the question:

How does Sweatcoin work?

Well, before you can start earning, you'll need to download the app and create an account.

After that, simply walk around with your phone in your pocket (inside or outside) and you'll start earning 0.95 Sweatcoin for every 1,000 steps you take.

Why only 0.95 SWC you ask?

Well, Sweatcoin takes a 5% commission on every Sweatcoin generated. They do this because they need the funds in order to pay out referrals and other bonuses.

Fun fact: Sweatcoins can ONLY be generated through physical activity. The Sweatcoin company itself can't even “print” or create Sweatcoins any other way.

Once you earn some Sweatcoins, you can either save them, redeem them for a reward, or transfer them to a friend.

Speaking of friends, Sweatcoin has a built-in mini social network where you can follow others and even buy and sell things among your network.

On top of that, if you have friends who aren't on Sweatcoin yet, you can even invite them for rewards (more on that below).

How Does Sweatcoin Make Money?

While we're on the topic of how Sweatcoin works, let's talk about an even bigger question:

How does Sweatcoin make money? They're out here paying millions of users to stroll around, how is that sustainable?

Well, Sweatcoin actually makes money in a few different ways:

1. Funding – This is a big one and it's what allowed Sweatcoin to get up and running. Investors give money to Sweatcoin to support growth, and in return, they get a piece of the company that will ideally be worth more than what they paid for it later on.
2. Brand partners – The rewards on Sweatcoin come from brands, and those brands pay to be there. Sweatcoin is essentially a very niche advertising platform.
3. Ads – There's a ‘Daily Bonus' feature in the Sweatcoin app that gives you a random number of Sweatcoins in exchange for watching an ad. Sweatcoin makes a bit of money each time you watch one of these ads.

Sweatcoin is also working with governments and insurers to make money, as increased physical activity can improve communities and lower health risks.

Earning Sweatcoin: More Info + Tips & Tricks

There are three main ways to earn Sweatcoins:

1. Walking/Running/Cycling/etc. – Walking/Running will work the best and result in the most converted steps, but cycling works too. Remember, you can earn for indoor steps now too.
2. Daily Bonus – As mentioned above, the daily bonus gives you Sweatcoin in exchange for watching ads. You can anywhere from 0.5 SWC all the way up to 25 SWC for each ad you watch.
3. Referrals – This is one of the most lucrative ways to increase your Sweatcoin earnings. For each friend you invite, you'll earn 5 SWC. With 30 invites, you join the elusive Sweatcoin influencer club, which gives you access to exclusive Sweatcoin rewards (more info on that below).

How Much Does Sweatcoin Pay?

As mentioned above, Sweatcoin pays 0.95 SWC for each 1,000 approved steps. That means, realistically:

~1,053 approved steps = 1 Sweatcoin.

Now, taking into account the fact that, on average, only 90% of all steps are approved and converted into Sweatcoin, you actually need around 1,170 steps total to earn 1 Sweatcoin.

Assuming you walk about 100 steps per minute (which is the average for a moderately intense walk), it will take you ~12 minutes to earn 1 SWC. Less if you're running.

Whew. That's enough math for today. I'll talk more about converting your Sweatcoins into real cash further on in this review.

Sweatcoin Membership Levels Explained

Yes, Sweatcoin has membership levels, but don't worry! You don't have to pay ANY real money to upgrade your account.

Instead, every upgrade is paid for with Sweatcoins. Makes sense, right?

So what are the Sweatcoin membership levels for?

Well, each time you upgrade your account, you gain the ability to earn more Sweatcoins per day.

For the starter (free) level, you'll be a Mover. Movers can earn up to 5 SWC per day, or 150 SWC per month.

Here are the other tiers:

• Shaker (costs 4.75 SWC/month) – Earn up to 10 SWC per day or 300 SWC per month.
• Quaker (costs 20 SWC/month) – Earn up to 15 SWC per day or 450 SWC per month.
• Breaker (costs 30 SWC/month) – Earn up to 20 SWC per day or 600 SWC per month.
• Trouble Maker (costs ? SWC/month) – Coming soon.

As you can see, the cost of upgrading to any of the tiers above is 100% worth it as long as you're clocking enough steps per day.

How to Maximize Your Sweatcoin Earnings

Maximizing your Sweatcoin earnings is pretty straightforward. All it takes are some good habits and a bit of strategy and you'll be earning at your highest potential in no time.

Warning: There's no such thing as a Sweatcoin hack or a Sweatcoin generator. If someone tells you there is, they're trying to trick you. Don't fall for it!

You can boost your earnings in a safe and legit way by following these tips:

1. Upgrade your account – Pay attention to the Sweatcoin membership levels above. If you're hitting your level limit most days, consider upgrading to earn more SWC per month.
2. Carry your phone everywhere – This is a pretty self-explanatory tip. The more you carry your phone, the more steps you'll convert and the more you'll earn.
3. Refer others – This is an easy and extremely effective way to earn some extra SWC. You'll get 5 SWC for each friend you invite, and having a friend to earn with may motivate you to walk more as well. Win-win!
4. Get your daily bonuses – The daily bonuses are an easy way to boost your Sweatcoin earnings. Make sure to watch them every day.
5. Never force quit the app – If you close the Sweatcoin app completely it won't be able to track your steps.
6. Open the Sweatcoin app once a day – This will allow Sweatcoin to process and verify your steps. It'll also remind you to cash in on your daily bonuses.

By the way, shaking your phone or attaching it to your dog won't trick the algorithm, but I like the way you think 😉

Spending Sweatcoin: Rewards & Offers

Sweatcoin has a variety of offers and rewards available in-app, all available for varying amounts of SWC.

These rewards include things like fitness courses, clothing/accessories (e.g. socks, shoes, etc.), self-care products, electronics (e.g. TV's, iPhones, etc.), and even PayPal cash.

All of these Sweatcoin rewards are split into five different categories:

1. Spotlight Offers

Each day, Sweatcoin features a spotlight offer, and these can range from all sorts of different things. Some are free trials, others are paid products or services.

2. Daily Offers

Daily offers are cheaper, more easily attainable offers including things like meal kits, low-priced gift cards, discounts, and free trials.

These change pretty often so keep an eye out for offers that interest you.

3. Sweatcoin Essentials

These seem to be free trials most of the time. I've seen Amazon Prime on here, Dollar Shave Club, and a few other random brand deals.

In my mind, these are basically just ads.

4. Crowdfunding

The crowdfunding offers are for all you generous folks out there who don't care about personal rewards.

Right now a few of the crowdfunding campaigns include supporting education for disadvantaged children in Columbia, strollers for refugee children in Greece, and providing people in Mali with free health checkups.

Sweatcoin aggregates all donations and displays them on the offers page of the app, and it's really neat to see how fast the funds grow.

As of writing this right now, one offer has over 8 million SWC donated, which equals out to about $400,000, based on each SWC being worth $0.05.

Note: When you donate SWC to a crowdfunding campaign, you're not directly donating money. You're simply showing support for the project and increasing its exposure.

That being said, when a crowdfunding campaign reaches the set target, Sweatcoin as a company donates money to the project.

5. Marathon Offers

These are the big boys, but they're not for the faint of heart. Seriously.

You'll need to walk a LOT of steps if you ever want to redeem a marathon offer. You'll also probably need a few pairs of shoes and maybe a leg replacement by the time you cash out.

(Ok, maybe that's a bit extreme…)

If you do manage to save enough Sweatcoins for a marathon offer, you'll be able to choose from some pretty cool rewards.

Right now they're offering a curved 55″ Samsung 4K TV, a $1,000 Delta Airways gift card, a 75″ 4K Smart TV, and $1,000 PayPal cash, all for 20,000 Sweatcoins.

Now, going off the math from above, 20,000 SWC = ~21,060,000 steps.

And, seeing as how you can earn a max of 20 SWC/day currently with the Breaker membership level, it will take 1,000 days – or around 2.7 years – to earn 20,000 SWC.

Needless to say, you've got to be pretty committed.

There are a couple of catches when it comes to redeeming these offers as well:

1. The Sweatcoin used to redeem a marathon offer must be strictly earned by you and you only. That means you can't gather some friends and pool your earnings together for a faster reward.
2. Most marathon offers can only be redeemed once.

Refunds?

For those of you wondering, you can only get a refund on offers that you purchased if they were never delivered.

If you redeem something on accident or simply change your mind, unfortunately, you can't just get a refund. Redeem carefully!

Tip: Offers can sell out. If you see one you like, snag it up before it's too late!

How Much is a Sweatcoin Worth?

Now that you're aware of some of the things you can exchange your Sweatcoins for, you may be wondering how much each Sweatcoin you earn is actually worth.

Truth is, the value of a Sweatcoin is basically whatever people decide on. There's no official exchange to determine an actual price.

With that being said, there is a way to get a general idea of what a Sweatcoin is worth:

As mentioned above, you can currently trade 20,000 SWC for $1,000 PayPal as a marathon offer. Based on that exchange, 1 SWC = $0.05.

Does this mean 1 SWC is always going to be worth that much?

Nope.

As I said above, people determine the value of currencies, and although SWC isn't a fully-fledged currency, it's pretty close. Who knows…maybe the Sweatcoin company is simply trying to buy back SWC from their users at a discount at $0.05 a pop.

There is one problem though with the exchange rate above:

It can take a long time to get enough Sweatcoins (20,000) in order to redeem the $1,000 PayPal offer.

If you're impatient and you want another way to trade your Sweatcoins for cash, there's one other option…

How to Sell Sweatcoins for Cash

Although the marathon offer talked about above is a nice and secure way to sell Sweatcoin for cash, as I said, it can take a while to actually save up 20,000 SWC to redeem the offer.

Fortunately, there are other ways to sell your Sweatcoins. That is if you're willing to take on a bit of risk.

What am I talking about?

Well, since Sweatcoins are tradeable through the app, there are people out there who are willing to buy them. They send you cash (typically through PayPal), you send them your Sweatcoins, and that's that.

I personally have never sold Sweatcoins myself, so I don't have anyone to recommend, but you can easily find offers by googling “sell Sweatcoin” or “sell Sweatcoin for cash”.

Warning: Selling your Sweatcoins to strangers is risky. If you're dealing with an unreputable person, there's a chance you could lose your coins entirely. Be careful!

Sweatcoin Influencer Program

Ok, I've mentioned the Sweatcoin influencer program a couple of times already, but what is it?

Long story short, once you invite 30 friends to the app, you become a Sweatcoin influencer, and you get access to exclusive offers. These offers allow you to cash in your invites for PayPal money.

For example, right now if you invite 200 friends, you can exchange those 200 invites for $100 PayPal cash.

Tip: The number of invites required to redeem these offers fluctuates, so keep an eye out for the best opportunities.

Sweatcoin Reviews From the Web

Although I've had a pretty good experience with Sweatcoin, I'm always curious to see what others' experiences have been like.

Here are some Sweatcoin reviews I found on the web (I kept it recent since the 2019 Sweatcoin update changed a lot). Let's start with some good ones:

Great Motivator (5/5)

I have been using Sweatcoin daily for over a year now. It has given me so much motivation to walk more. Haven't bought anything with Sweatcoins yet though, been saving up for the Marathon Offers!

– Marcus J.

It's Awesome! (5/5)

It's awesome! It's very useful to me since I always walk on my way to work

– Trixia Villalobos

Love this app (5/5)

Love this app. Crowdfunding makes me feel like a million bucks and I like being able to do it privately.

– Merna Butcher

I like these Sweatcoin reviews because they really show exactly what Sweatcoin is all about: motivation for physical fitness, health, and feeling good.

Now let's look at a review with a bit of constructive criticism:

I like this app but sometimes it feels… (3/5)

I like this app but sometimes it feels like a con. Some days it doesn't record my steps. Today I walked for about 8km = 10,143 steps and sweatcoin says I have done 0. I believe they linked with the Google fit app. My Google fit app is showing all my steps, so how is it that sweatcoin has missed this? Also, last year when I changed to a new phone I lost all my sweatcoins and had to start all over again. C'mon sweatcoin sell the product that you are selling don't promise one thing and deliver another. I sweat hard for this thing.

– Sithulisiwe Ndlovu

This one's a tough one. On one hand, Sweatcoin has said that Google Fit/Apple Health steps don't always = Sweatcoins. Sweatcoin has its own algorithm to determine which steps are approved. That being said, this can glitch and I've seen it happen myself, and it's frustrating.

The fact the reviewer stated they switched phones and lost their Sweatcoins is really disappointing. However, I've switched my phone since using Sweatcoin and they transferred over just fine, so I'm not quite sure what could have happened here.

Ok, let's look at one last downright negative review:

Waste of time (1/5)

The more sweatcoins I earn, the less money they’re worth. Waste of time.

– Jackie Tindal

This one is debatable. Sweatcoins could lose value over time, but they could gain value as well. It is worrying though that as more users sign up, more Sweatcoins are generated, and therefore inflation could cause them to lose value. Jackie does have a good point here.

To play devil's advocate though, Sweatcoin gaining more users could also cause more sponsors to sign on to the app, therefore increasing the value of each Sweatcoin.

In the end, it's almost impossible to predict Sweatcoins future value, just as it's impossible to predict a stock going up or down.

All of the Sweatcoin reviews above were found on TrustPilot, where Sweatcoin has an average score of 4.7/5.

Sweatcoin Review Summary Breakdown

Ok, each money-making opportunity I review gets a score out of five, based on a set of criteria.

For this Sweatcoin review, I'll be breaking it down based on the earning potential, ease of use, cost, and time to profitability:

• Earning Potential: 1/5 – You're not going to be earning much with Sweatcoin unless you really cash in on referrals. For just walking, you'll earn far below minimum wage.
• Ease: 4/5 – Sweatcoin is about as easy as it gets when it comes to side hustles, but it does require physical movement, and it sometimes glitches, so I'm giving it a score of 4/5 here.
• Cost: 5/5 – As long as you already have a smartphone and WiFi, Sweatcoin is free to get started with. No investment required.
• Time to Profitability: 4/5 – As I said above, as long as you already have a smartphone and WiFi, Sweatcoin is technically profitable from day one (don't buy these things just to use Sweatcoin, that's not worth it). However, I gave Sweatcoin a score of 4/5 here because it'll probably take you more than a day in order to save up for an actual reward.
• Total score: 3.5

Not bad! Broken down like this you can see that while Sweatcoin doesn't have a high earning potential, it's easy to get started, costs nothing, and is profitable almost from day one, so it's not all bad.

On top of that, Sweatcoin has the huge benefit of promoting physical activity. The earnings are almost just a bonus when you consider the health benefits you gain from walking more.

How to Get Started

Getting started with Sweatcoin is as easy as 123:

1. Download the app
2. Create an account
3. Start walking and earning

And that's it!

If you found this Sweatcoin review helpful and you want to support the blog, I'd love it if you signed up using my referral link. Thanks!

Final Thoughts: Is Sweatcoin Worth It?

After reading this Sweatcoin review, you've probably already made up your mind about whether Sweatcoin is worth using or not.

In my mind, Sweatcoin is only worth using if:

1. You just want to be motivated to walk more and you see the earnings as a bonus; or
2. You have tons of friends to invite

If you fit either (or both) of those scenarios, sign up and enjoy. You might want to check out these other apps that pay you to walk too.

If you don't fit either of those cases, give Sweatcoin a pass.