Steppa vs Beeminder: A Rising Pledge or a Step Challenge Pool

Beeminder is the stronger choice for a long-running goal of almost any kind, from steps to pages written, and it works on Android and the web. Steppa is the simpler choice for a step goal on an iPhone, with a fixed stake, a clear end date and other players who share the pool.

Key Takeaways

• Beeminder tracks any goal you can count against a line you set; go off the line and your pledge is charged, then the next pledge goes up.
• Charges are Beeminder's business model, by its own FAQ; Steppa takes nothing from the pool and charges a service fee when you join.
• Beeminder reads Apple Health, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura and more, or takes manual entries; Steppa reads Apple Health only and never accepts steps typed in by hand.
• Beeminder runs on the web, iPhone and Android; Steppa is iPhone only.
• Choose Beeminder for long-running goals of any kind; choose Steppa for short step challenges with other people.

Beeminder has been running since 2011, built by Daniel Reeves and Bethany Soule. It and Steppa share one idea, money on the line, and differ on nearly everything else. Every Beeminder fact here comes from its own FAQ, help pages and App Store listing, because this is Steppa's blog and we would rather you check.

Steppa vs Beeminder at a glance

How Beeminder's line works

Beeminder asks you for a rate, such as 70,000 steps a week, and draws a line on a graph with about a week of buffer. You feed it data, automatically or by hand, and as long as your total stays on the right side of the line, nothing happens. Go off it and you "derail": about 24 hours later your pledge is charged, and the goal restarts.

The pledge climbs with each derail: $5, then $10, $30, $90, $270, $810 and $2,430, up to a cap you choose. Lowering it takes seven days, so you can't drop it the night before a bad week. There is also an "uncle" button that charges you at once, which can't be refunded. After a derail, Beeminder asks whether it was legit.

A step challenge with an end date

Steppa is far less flexible, on purpose. A challenge has one daily step goal, the same for everyone in it, and a fixed number of days. You reach the goal every day, midnight to midnight in your own time zone, or you are out. Official challenges usually run one to two weeks, and three-day ones are common; a challenge you create runs 5 to 180 days, at 5,000 to 50,000 steps a day and a stake of $10 to $1,000.

There is no buffer and no line. One bad day ends your run in that challenge.

Money, both ways

Beeminder's FAQ is open about it: derail charges are how the company makes money. Three goals are free with a card on file (with a $5 charge if you don't set one up in the first week), and paid plans cost $8, $16 or $81 a month.

On Steppa, the stakes of players who miss a day go to the players who finish, and Steppa keeps none of the pool. A made-up example: 30 players each put $40 into a 14-day challenge, and 24 finish. The $1,200 pool splits 24 ways, $50 each. Every player paid a $2.10 service fee to join (for most players $0.50 plus 4% of the stake, shown before you pay), so each finisher is $7.90 up and each of the six who missed is $42.10 down.

On Beeminder, staying on track costs you nothing, and it never pays you anything either.

Syncing steps

Beeminder's iPhone app syncs Apple Health at most once an hour and needs to be opened regularly. It also links to Fitbit, Garmin and Oura, but not Google Fit, and it accepts manual entries. Some users say a stale sync has made them derail. Others love the graphs and the room to set up nearly any goal, though there is a learning curve.

Steppa reads only Apple Health and never counts steps itself, so an Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Oura or Whoop works when it syncs there. Steps typed into Apple Health by hand never count. Results settle at 12:00 UTC two days after a challenge's last day, and winnings land in your in-app balance, ready to send to PayPal or a US bank account. The bank route has no Steppa fee on a standard transfer; with PayPal, any fee is listed before you confirm.

Who each one suits

Beeminder suits you if you:

• want to track a goal for months, with room for an off day inside the buffer
• have goals beyond steps, or like entering data yourself
• use Android or the web

Steppa suits you if you:

• want a short step challenge with a clear finish line
• would rather your stake stay the same than climb
• like the idea of other players' missed stakes being what you win

On eligibility: Steppa is for adults 18 and over, and paid play is offered only where local law and the Terms permit it.

To compare Steppa with other apps built for walking goals, read our best step challenge apps guide, or browse the comparison hub for every matchup.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Beeminder charge when you derail?

Your current pledge, which starts at $5 and climbs after each derail: $10, $30, $90, $270, $810 and $2,430, up to a cap you set. The charge comes about 24 hours after you go off track, and lowering a pledge takes seven days. Beeminder asks afterwards whether the derail was legit. On Steppa the stake is fixed for the whole challenge, and you choose it before you join.

Is Beeminder free?

Beeminder lets you run three goals for free with a card on file, though it charges $5 if you do not create a goal in your first week. Paid plans are Infinibee at $8, Bee Plus at $16 and Beemium at $81 a month, with discounts for students, jobseekers and seniors. Steppa has no plan to buy for challenges; you pay a service fee each time you join one.

Can Beeminder track my steps from Apple Health?

Yes, through its iPhone app, which syncs Apple Health at most once an hour and needs to be opened regularly. It also links to Fitbit, Garmin and Oura, but not Google Fit. Some users say a stale sync has caused a derail. Steppa reads Apple Health as well, and settles each challenge at 12:00 UTC two days after its last day, so a late watch sync has time to arrive.

Who gets the money on Beeminder and Steppa?

On Beeminder, the company does: its FAQ is open that charges from derails are how it earns money. On Steppa, the money from missed days goes to the other players who finished, because they split the whole pool and Steppa keeps none of it. Steppa earns from the service fee each player pays at join, for most players $0.50 plus 4% of the stake, shown before you pay.