Steppa vs Winwalk: Free Gift Card Coins or a Staked Step Goal

Winwalk is the right app if you want gift cards for walking with no money at risk, on iPhone or Android, and you are patient. Steppa is the right app if you want to put a stake on a daily step goal and be paid in cash to PayPal or a bank, accepting that one missed day costs you the stake.

Key Takeaways

• Winwalk is free: you earn 1 coin per 100 steps, up to 100 coins a day, and trade them for gift cards from brands like Amazon and Walmart.
• The Budget Diet estimates Winwalk pays about $0.05 a day from walking, about 200 days to a $10 card.
• Winwalk pays only in gift cards; Steppa pays winnings to PayPal or a US bank account.
• Steppa puts a stake on the line, and missing the goal on any single day costs you that stake.
• Winwalk works on iPhone and Android; Steppa is iPhone only and reads Apple Health.

Winwalk is a free app from Gala Mix Inc. that turns steps into coins for gift cards. Steppa is a step challenge where players stake money and the finishers split it. They answer the same wish, being paid to walk, in very different ways. We run Steppa, so we have taken Winwalk's details from its App Store page, its site and named reviewers.

Steppa vs Winwalk at a glance

Coins for steps

Winwalk reads your steps from Apple Health on iPhone (an Apple Watch counts) or Google Fit on Android, with no GPS. Every 100 steps earns one coin, up to 100 coins a day, and you claim them before midnight or lose them. Videos, surveys and offers add a few more. You don't need an account until you cash out, which reviewers like.

Coins go toward gift cards from Amazon, Walmart, Google Play, Uber Eats, Xbox and other brands. There is no PayPal option. Winwalk's App Store page says cards arrive instantly once redeemed. The app is free, with no subscription, and carries ads.

A goal with money behind it

Steppa doesn't pay per step. You join a challenge with a single daily goal shared by every player, pay your stake, and reach the goal every day, midnight to midnight in your own time zone, until it ends. Miss a day and you are out, and your stake stays in the pool for the finishers. Steppa keeps none of the pool.

Official challenges mostly run one to two weeks, and plenty last three days. With friends, you can set one up for 5 to 180 days, at 5,000 to 50,000 steps a day, with a stake of $10 to $1,000.

What three days of walking is worth

The Budget Diet puts Winwalk at about $0.05 a day from walking, which works out to roughly 15 cents over three days and about 200 days to a $10 card. Bitletics earned about $14 in a 90-day test with the extras included.

Now a made-up Steppa challenge over the same three days: 100 players stake $10 each and 85 finish. The $1,000 pool splits 85 ways, about $11.76 each. Each paid a $0.90 service fee to join (for most players $0.50 plus 4% of the stake, shown before you pay), so a finisher ends about $0.86 ahead. Each of the 15 who missed a day is $10.90 down.

Notice how small the gain is when most people finish. Steppa pays more when fewer players make it, and nothing at all if you are one of the ones who don't.

Getting your reward

Winwalk's rewards are gift cards, and some reviewers say popular cards go out of stock, that the app is slow and ad-heavy, and that some steps fail to show up (Unstar). Others praise the range of brands. A Winwalk card can't be turned into cash, but it arrives quickly when it is in stock.

Steppa settles each challenge at 12:00 UTC two days after its last day, so a late watch sync still counts. Winnings land in your in-app balance 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, you see it before you confirm.

Who each one suits

Winwalk suits you if you:

• want a free reward for walking, with nothing to lose
• shop at the brands on its gift card list
• use Android, or don't mind ads

Steppa suits you if you:

• want cash rather than gift cards
• are motivated by a stake you could lose
• use an iPhone with steps in Apple Health

Paid challenges on Steppa are for adults 18 and over, and whether you can join depends on local law; the Terms spell it out.

Winwalk sits alongside several similar apps in our list of apps that pay you to walk, and the comparison hub links every Steppa comparison we have published.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Winwalk coins do you need for a $10 gift card?

Winwalk does not publish a price list, and reviewer figures vary widely, so we would rather not quote one. The Budget Diet estimates about 200 days of walking to reach a $10 card at about $0.05 a day. Bitletics earned about $14 over a 90-day test, with extras like videos and surveys on top of steps. Prices are shown in the app before you redeem.

Can you cash out Winwalk to PayPal?

No. Winwalk pays in gift cards only, from brands such as Amazon, Walmart, Google Play, Uber Eats and Xbox, and its App Store page says cards arrive instantly once you redeem. Steppa pays winnings into your in-app balance, which you can withdraw to PayPal, including outside the US, or to a US bank account. A standard US bank transfer has no Steppa fee.

Is Winwalk safer than Steppa?

For your wallet, yes. Winwalk never asks you to pay anything; it is free with ads, and the worst outcome is a slow trickle of coins. Steppa asks for a stake and a service fee when you join, and if you miss the goal on any day of the challenge, you lose the stake. Pick a short challenge at a step count you already reach if you want to try it.

Does Winwalk use GPS or Apple Health?

Winwalk does not use GPS. It reads Apple Health on iPhone, including steps from an Apple Watch, and Google Fit on Android, and you claim each day's coins before midnight. Steppa also reads Apple Health and never counts steps itself, so a Garmin, Fitbit, Oura or Whoop counts if it syncs there. Steps typed into Apple Health by hand never count on Steppa.