Best App to Lose Weight Walking: 4 Types and What Works

The best app to lose weight walking keeps you in a calorie deficit and gets you out walking every day, and you may need two apps to cover both. A step tracker or challenge app handles the walking. A food log handles what you eat, which moves the scale more than steps alone.

Key Takeaways

• The best app to lose weight walking pairs a daily step goal with a way to see your calorie deficit, so most people do best with a step tracker plus a food log.
• Pedometer users walked about 2,491 more steps a day than non-users in a 2007 JAMA review, and having a step goal was a key predictor of that rise.
• People who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept none in a 2008 trial of nearly 1,700 adults.
• Competing with others added 920 steps a day in the 24-week STEP UP trial, and 569 extra steps a day were still there 12 weeks after it ended.
• Putting your own money down more than tripled weight loss over 16 weeks in a 2008 JAMA trial (14.0 lb against 3.9 lb), but the gap narrowed once the money stopped.
• Losing money you already hold pushed harder than a reward: Penn employees hit 7,000 steps on 45% of days under loss rules, against 30% to 35% for the other groups.

The research points to three things that help most: a fixed step goal, other people who see your progress, and money you lose if you quit.

Weight loss starts with a calorie deficit

You lose fat when you burn more calories than you eat, week after week. Mayo Clinic says cutting about 500 calories a day may lead to losing about half a pound to 1 pound a week. As you get lighter you burn less, so the same habits slowly lose effect.

Walking adds to the burn side. Harvard Health lists 30 minutes of walking at 3.5 mph as about 107 calories for a 125 lb person and about 159 for a 185 lb person. That is real, and one snack can cancel it. Our guide to steps to lose weight sets out daily targets, and 10,000 steps calories works through the burn by body weight.

The four types of apps at a glance

Step trackers: the base layer

A 2007 review in JAMA pooled trials of pedometer users and found they walked about 2,491 more steps a day than people without one, a rise of 26.9% over where they started. Having a step goal, such as 10,000 a day, was one of the strongest predictors of that rise.

Your iPhone already counts steps in Apple Health. Free apps such as Pacer add goals, history and groups, and Pacer holds 4.9 stars from about 335,000 ratings on the US App Store. Pacer pays nothing for steps, which is fine here, since the point is the walking.

Pick a number you can hit on a bad day. If you average 5,000 steps now, a goal of 7,000 beats a goal of 10,000 that you miss twice a week. See average steps per day to find where you sit.

Food logging apps: the side most people skip

Walking burns calories, but what you eat decides most of the deficit. In a trial of nearly 1,700 adults, reported by ScienceDaily in 2008, people lost about 13 lb on average over six months, and those who kept daily food records lost twice as much as those who kept none.

A log does not need to be perfect. Writing down a 400-calorie coffee drink is often enough to make you think twice about the next one.

Social apps: walking with other people

Other people keep you going on the days your own drive dips. In the STEP UP trial, 602 adults with overweight or obesity got step goals for 24 weeks. The group that competed on a points leaderboard walked 920 more steps a day than the control group, and still walked 569 more a day 12 weeks after the program ended.

Friends matter for weight too. In a 1999 study, people who joined a weight-loss program alone and got the standard treatment kept their full loss 24% of the time from months 4 to 10. People who joined with three friends and got extra social support kept it 66% of the time. That study changed two things at once, so read the gap as the effect of both.

Our guide to a step challenge with friends shows how to set one up, and best step challenge apps compares the apps.

Apps that put money on the line

Money is the strongest push in the research, and it works best when you can lose it. In a 2008 trial in JAMA, 57 adults with obesity aimed to lose 1 lb a week for 16 weeks. People who put their own money down lost 14.0 lb on average, against 3.9 lb in the control group. Seven months in, after the payments had stopped, the gap had narrowed to 6.2 lb against 4.4 lb, which was no longer a clear difference.

A 2016 study at the University of Pennsylvania tested the same idea on steps. Employees got $42 up front each month and lost $1.40 for each day they missed 7,000 steps. They hit the goal on 45% of days. The groups offered the same money as a reward, or no money at all, managed 30% to 35% of days. Losing money you already hold pushes harder than winning money you do not have yet.

Here is how the main apps work, from their own pages:

• StepBet: most games ask for a $40 bet over about six weeks, and finishers split the pot after a 15% cut in standard games.
• DietBet: bets start at $10, you must lose a set share of your body weight shown by photo weigh-ins, and the fee is 10% to 25% of the pot.
• HealthyWage: you bet on losing at least 10% of your weight, with prize offers up to $10,000 and a strict no-refund policy.
• Beeminder: you pledge money on any goal, and the pledge climbs from $5 to $10, $30 and $90 after each miss.

Those results faded once the money stopped, so use a stake to build the habit and keep the step goal afterwards. Our Steppa vs StepBet page and the comparisons hub put these apps side by side.

Apps that pay small rewards for steps, covered in apps that pay you to walk and Sweatcoin alternatives, pay for walking you already do, so they add little push.

How to pick the right app for you

Start from the way you usually quit.

If you stop walking after a week, add something that costs you when you miss, such as a challenge with friends or a stake. If you walk fine and the scale still does not move, the problem is on the eating side, so add a food log first. If you have never tracked steps at all, a free tracker and a fixed goal may be all you need for the first month.

Watch for these catches:

• Money apps differ in strictness. StepBet sets goals from your step history, and DietBet needs photo weigh-ins.
• Weight bets reward big losses. The CDC says people who lose about 1 to 2 lb a week are more likely to keep it off, so pick a target you can hold.

A simple setup for your first month

1. Check your average daily steps in Apple Health for the last two weeks.
2. Set a daily goal about 2,000 steps above that average.
3. Log what you eat for at least the first 14 days.
4. Aim to cut about 500 calories a day through food, and let walking add the rest.
5. Add one push from outside: a friend's challenge, a group or a stake.
6. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time and judge the trend over four weeks.

For a full eating and walking plan, read walking for weight loss, and for the middle in particular, steps for belly fat. Talk to a doctor before a big change in diet or activity, especially if you have a health condition.

This is Steppa's blog, so one note on our own app. If you want a stake on daily steps with other people in the same challenge, Steppa runs step challenges on iPhone: you pay a stake up front, hit one daily goal every day, and the finishers split the whole pool. Miss a day and your stake stays in the pool. Winnings depend on how many people finish, so a profit is never certain. Steps come from Apple Health and typed-in steps never count. For most players a service fee of $0.50 plus 4% of the stake is shown before you pay. Paid play is for adults where available under its Terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free app to lose weight by walking?

A free step tracker such as Apple Health or Pacer covers the walking side, and a free calorie log covers the eating side. Together they show both halves of the deficit. Pacer is free, holds 4.9 stars from about 335,000 ratings on the US App Store and adds groups and challenges, though it pays nothing for steps. Set a daily step goal you can hit on a bad day, and log your food for at least two weeks.

Can you lose weight just by walking?

You can, but walking burns fewer calories than most people expect. Harvard Health lists 30 minutes at 3.5 mph as about 107 to 159 calories, depending on body weight. Mayo Clinic says a deficit of about 500 calories a day may mean losing about half a pound to 1 pound a week. Most people get there by eating a little less and walking more, rather than by steps alone.

Do apps that make you pay when you miss a goal work for weight loss?

Trials say they help while the money is on. In a 2008 JAMA study, people with their own money at stake lost 14.0 lb over 16 weeks against 3.9 lb for the control group. Seven months in, after the payments had stopped, the gap was small and no longer clear. Treat a stake as a way to build the habit, and keep a plan for the day the challenge ends.

How many steps a day should I walk to lose weight?

There is no single number, because weight loss depends on your total calorie deficit. A good start is about 2,000 steps above your current average, close to the 2,491-step rise pedometer users saw in a 2007 JAMA review. The CDC suggests aiming for about 1 to 2 pounds a week, and our guide to steps to lose weight sets out daily targets by goal.

Are apps that pay you to walk good for weight loss?

They help a little with motivation, but the money is small. Sweatcoin gives 1 sweatcoin per 1,000 verified steps minus a 5% commission and has no cash-out to a bank, and RunMatch estimates WeWard at about $1.75 to $3.00 a month at 10,000 steps a day. Because they reward steps you would take anyway, they push you less than a group challenge or a stake you could lose.