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If only it were easy to earn free cash for things that you already do. Fortunately, you can – thanks to plenty of free apps that pay you to walk.
Most of the time, the only thing you have to do is leave the app installed your phone, set it and forget it and cash out once you hit a certain balance.
In this article, we’re going to show you the the 5+ best free apps that pay you to walk. With that said, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
5+ Best Apps That Pay You To Walk
Let’s get started with our list.
1. Gigwalk
Do you walk a lot in a city or suburban area with many shops, restaurants, and other kinds of businesses? Take a look at Gigwalk. To get started, download the App and fill out a profile which includes your PayPal information so you can get paid for your gigs.
Gigwalk is free to use for walkers, but you will be charged a fee by PayPal for processing your payout.
You will see gigs posted on a map by Gigwalk customers in your area. Each gig is represented by a red pin.
When you click on a pin, you’ll see the details for that gig and specific instructions like “Photograph the display of Product X in Store Y and how much the gig pays. As you walk around, the map will update with new gigs.
The gigs are mostly retailers and brands who want someone local to check that their items are displayed and displayed properly. Gigs can take just a few minutes or a few hours and can pay from $3 up to $100.
If you see a gig you’re interested in; you apply for it. If you’re chosen, you will receive more detailed instructions on how to complete the job. Most gigs are documented via geotagged photos.
The client approves your work, and you’re paid via your PayPal account within seven days of completing the gig.
Customers can leave reviews of your work and the better your reviews, the more gig options you will see. Gigwalk is available for iOS and Android.
This is by far one of my favorite apps that pay you to walk.
2. Postmates
Postmates connects customers who need something delivered to their home or office with a network of couriers who can deliver nearly anything from local stores and restaurants who don’t offer delivery services.
If you live in a dense, urban area, you don’t need a car to be a Postmate; you can be a walking courier. Create an account and enter your information including your bank account details. You will need to pass a background check before you can get started.
Once you’re approved, you will receive a Welcome Kit which includes a pre-paid card which you use to pay for orders that customers haven’t already pre-paid and an insulated bag for food orders.
When you are available to make deliveries, you mark yourself “Live” on the App. You’ll see jobs near you, and they can include anything from delivering a Starbucks order to dry cleaning. If you want to make the delivery, you tap “Accept” on the App.
Your earnings include base pay for each leg of the trip, the time you spend waiting for the order which is paid per minute, per mile for the distance between the pick up and drop off location, blitz bonuses, extra money curriers make when demand is high, and tips which the courier gets to keep 100% of.
Couriers keep 80% of each delivery. Between the pay per job and tips, Postmates can make up to $15 an hour.
Earnings are directly deposited to your bank account within 4-7 days of completing a delivery.
3. Walgreens Balance Rewards
Do you have one of those little tags attached to your keychain that you scan for Balance Rewards points when you buy things at Walgreens? Well, you can earn points just by walking too!
If you’re not yet a member, you can join the next time you check out, by downloading the Walgreens App or by joining online.
Connect a device like a Fitbit or an App like My Fitness Pal, and you’ll automatically earn 250 points. You earn 20 points for every mile you walk, run, or bike and can earn up to 1,000 points each month.
For every 5,000 points earned, you get a $5 off coupon for your Walgreens purchases.
If you’re shopping at Walgreens, the salesperson will notify you when you have enough points to redeem, and you can use them at that time or continue saving them up.
If you’re shopping online, you can use the drop-down menu at checkout to redeem points. Don’t wait too long to redeem; points expire one year after being earned or in six months if there is no activity on your account.
4. United Healthcare Motion
Fed up with having to pay out of pocket for medical expenses? Me too, but for now at least, it’s the system we have. But there is a way to get some of that money back just by walking if you’re insured with United Health Care.
When you sign up with United Healthcare Motion, you get a $55 credit toward a fitness tracker and United will ship it to you.
You and your spouse (if they’re enrolled with United under your plan) can each earn up to $1,095 per year which you can use to pay for things like co-pays, prescriptions, and deductibles.
Medical expenses can add up so having more than a $1,000 per year to offset them is a pretty great deal and it provides extra incentive to increase your daily activity.
The money you earn is deposited each quarter into your HRA or HAS account, and if you don’t use the entire amount you earn, it rolls over year to year. There are three goals you can meet each day.
The Frequency Goal is 500 steps within seven minutes six times each day. The Intensity Goal is measured as taking 3,000 steps within 30 minutes, and the Tenacity Goal is walking 10,000 steps a day. United Healthcare Motion is available for iOS and Android.
5. Charity Miles
Walking is beneficial to you but what if you could make your walks beneficial to others? Charity Miles allows you to do just that. You can sign up via Facebook or with your email address. Enable location, motion detection and notifications on your phone.
Choose from among the 37 participating charities that include Stand Up To Cancer, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the ASPCA, the Special Olympics, and Habitat for Humanity.
The app used the GPB and motion sensors on your phone to measure your distance. You earn up to .25 per mile walked or jogged and up to .10 per mile biked. You can rack up miles and dollars on your own or form a team with your family, friends or colleagues.
There is a yearly cap based on how much the corporate sponsors give to the program each year.
The money for the donations comes from Charity Miles’ corporate partners including Humana, MasterCard, Kenneth Cole, and Johnson & Johnson.
Charity Miles pays out once each year, for 2018, that will occur on May 31 and will include all miles logged by users from June 1, 2017 to that date. Charity Miles is available for iOS and Android.
A Great Day for a Walk
If you work a desk job, you sit for seven to ten hours a day and a few more hours sitting during your commute and in the evening. All that sitting is not good for us. We all need to walk more and getting paid to do it is good incentive. Download one of these Apps and get moving.
Do you know of any other apps that pay you to walk that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy frugaling!
