Steppa vs DietBet: Weight Loss Bets or Daily Step Challenges

Pick DietBet if the number you want to change is your weight: it pays people who lose a set share of their body weight by a deadline, checked with photo weigh-ins. Pick Steppa if the habit you want is walking every day, you use an iPhone, and you would like a short challenge where the whole pool goes to the people who finish.

Key Takeaways

• DietBet pays for weight loss proved with photo weigh-ins; Steppa pays for hitting a daily step goal on every day of a challenge.
• DietBet keeps 10% to 25% of the pot depending on bet size; Steppa pays the whole pool to finishers and charges a service fee when you join.
• DietBet games run from four weeks to six months; Steppa challenges run from a few days to a few weeks.
• DietBet works on iPhone, Android and the web; Steppa is iPhone only and reads steps from Apple Health.
• Choose DietBet for a weight target checked by referees; choose Steppa for a daily walking habit in short games.

Both apps put your own money behind a health goal and split it among the people who make it. That is where the overlap ends. This is Steppa's blog, so we have stuck to what DietBet publishes about itself and linked every source.

Steppa vs DietBet at a glance

The goal you are paid for

DietBet's games are about the scale. In a Kickstarter you aim to lose 4% of your body weight in four weeks. A Transformer runs six monthly rounds with rising targets that add up to 10%, and each round pays out on its own. A Maintainer game asks you to stay within 3% of your current weight. You can join a game late, up to day 14. There are guardrails too: you cannot join with a BMI under 18.5, and losing too much (12% or more in a Kickstarter) gets you disqualified.

Steppa is about movement. You join a challenge with one daily step goal shared by everyone in it, and you have to reach that goal every day, counted midnight to midnight in your own time zone. Miss one day and you are out of that challenge. Steppa's own challenges usually run one or two weeks, and three-day ones come up often. If you start one with friends, you set the length (5 to 180 days), the goal (5,000 to 50,000 steps) and the stake ($10 to $1,000).

So start with which result you care about. Steppa never asks for your weight, and DietBet's core games never look at your steps.

Fees and what a winner takes home

DietBet's FAQ says it keeps 10% to 25% of the gross pot, depending on bet size, and players who miss their goal pay no fee. Members' Maintainer games share the whole pot. Winnings arrive as points worth $1 each, and under its terms a cash-out of less than $50 carries a $5 handling fee. An optional annual membership ($49.99 on the App Store) adds weekly progress weigh-ins, prize draws and referee feedback.

Steppa takes nothing from the pool. You pay a service fee when you join, shown on the join screen before you pay; for most players it is $0.50 plus 4% of the stake. In a public challenge created by another player, 5% of the stake also goes to that player as a creator fee.

A made-up example, with the same numbers on both sides: 50 people each put in $40, and 20 of them make it.

• DietBet, assuming a 20% cut (inside its 10% to 25% range): the $2,000 pot becomes $1,600, so each of the 20 winners gets $80 back, a $40 profit.
• Steppa: the full $2,000 is shared by the 20 finishers, so each gets $100. Take off the $2.10 fee they paid to join and the profit is $57.90.

When more people make it, every share shrinks on both apps. On Steppa, if everyone in a challenge finishes, each player simply gets their stake back and is down the fee.

Proving it: weigh-ins and step data

DietBet checks weight by photo. At the start and the end you send two pictures, one of you on the scale and one of the readout, showing a "weigh-in word" that changes over time. Human referees review each submission, and flagged accounts and games with bets over $100 need a video weigh-in instead. Some App Store reviewers call this a hassle; others say it is what makes the games feel fair.

Steppa has no camera step. It reads your steps from Apple Health on your iPhone and never counts them itself, so an Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Oura or Whoop works as long as it syncs there. Steps typed into Apple Health by hand never count. A challenge settles at 12:00 UTC two days after its last day, which gives a late watch sync a full day to land.

Refunds and getting paid

DietBet lets you leave a Kickstarter with a full refund up to 7 days after it starts, and a Transformer up to day 14 of the first round. After that, missing the goal means losing your bet. Points are cashed out to PayPal in the account holder's name, with a government ID, and they expire one year after your last activity.

Steppa's money rules are short. If a public challenge is short of its minimum number of paid players when joining closes, it is cancelled and everyone is credited back. Once a challenge runs, a missed day keeps your stake in the pool for the finishers. Winnings land in your in-app balance at settlement, and you request a payout to PayPal, which works outside the US too, or to a US bank account. A standard US bank transfer has no Steppa fee, and if a PayPal payout carries one, the app shows it before you confirm.

Who each one suits

DietBet is the better pick if you:

• want to lose a set amount of weight and be paid for doing it
• like a referee checking every result
• are on Android or want to play on the web
• are happy with a game that runs for months

Steppa is the better pick if you:

• want to walk every day and be held to it
• already have a watch or tracker syncing to Apple Health on your iPhone
• prefer games measured in days rather than months
• want the whole pool to go to the people who finish

Both apps are for adults: DietBet's terms say 18 and over, and so do Steppa's. Paid play depends on local law, and Steppa is available where its Terms allow.

For more ways to put money behind a fitness goal, see our guide to the best step challenge apps, or open the comparison hub for every app we have set beside Steppa.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is DietBet or Steppa better for losing weight?

DietBet, if a number on the scale is what you want to be paid for. Its games set a target share of your body weight, such as 4% in four weeks, and human referees check your weigh-in photos. Steppa never asks for your weight. It pays the people who reach a daily step goal on every day of a challenge, which suits someone whose goal is the walking habit itself.

How much does DietBet take from the pot?

DietBet's FAQ says it keeps 10% to 25% of the gross pot, depending on the size of the bet, and players who miss their goal pay no fee. Members' Maintainer games share the whole pot. Under its terms, cashing out less than $50 carries a $5 handling fee. Steppa takes nothing from the pool and charges a service fee at join instead, for most players $0.50 plus 4% of the stake, shown before you pay.

Does DietBet track steps?

Not in its core games. DietBet measures progress by body weight, proved with two photos at the start and end of a game and checked by human referees, with video weigh-ins for flagged accounts and for bets over $100. If daily steps are what you want counted, Steppa reads them from Apple Health on your iPhone, including steps from an Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit or Oura that syncs there.

Can I get my money back if I change my mind?

On DietBet, a Kickstarter can be refunded in full up to 7 days after it starts, and a Transformer up to day 14 of its first round; medical exceptions are possible with documentation. On Steppa, a public challenge that is short of paid players when joining closes is cancelled and everyone is credited back. Once a challenge is running, a missed day keeps your stake in the pool for the finishers.

Can I use DietBet or Steppa on Android?

DietBet runs on iPhone, Android and the web. Steppa is iPhone only and reads your steps from Apple Health, so any watch or tracker that syncs into Apple Health on your iPhone can feed it. If you use an Android phone and want money behind a health goal, DietBet is the one of these two you can install.