Sweatcoin · B2C · app that pays you to walk
Build free-tier limits in early, then sell a plan that lifts them and removes ads
Basic plan already makes 'considerable' revenue; founder thinks it came 12-18 months late
Workedpaywallpricing
What they did
Built the free product with inherent restrictions from the start (e.g. a daily cap on coins earned, limited rewards) that can later be lifted. After reaching scale and profitability on brand partnerships and ads, launched a basic subscription: removes ads, lifts free-tier restrictions, adds costlier features that can't be given free (a walking coach in development). Model likened to Southwest adding a premium cabin: same plane, better seats. Jacob compares it to game subscriptions like Pokemon GO that boost your ability to play.
What happened
Low-effort basic subscription already brings a considerable amount of revenue; Anton says the move came 12-18 months too late because profitability made them complacent.
- Stage
- monetization
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · How to Turn Gamification Into a Retention Powerhouse — Anton Derlyatka, Sweatcoin“we would always set a ceiling on the number of sweatcoins you can earn on a day on a given day. So because of that, you know, we needed to create a kind of economy that would be sustainable, so we introduced a bunch of restrictions early on that we actually can lift or remove.”
“So I think removing ads, to some users, that's a massive value proposition.”
“So I think that we probably took that decision to go subscription maybe a year, 18 months too late in retrospect.”
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- Sweatcoin: Pay users 1 coin per 1,000 walked steps, spendable in a rewards shopRetention far above other fitness apps early on; users walk ~20% more
- Sweatcoin: Show two ways to earn on the home screen: walk, or invite a friend for 5 coinsNew users went from under 300 a day to 300, 1,000, then 5,000 a day
- Sweatcoin: Offer a few donated brand products a day, with a new one every daySolved cold start; brands later queued for months to be featured
- Sweatcoin: Pay 1 coin for watching an optional video ad, up to 1-3 times a dayRetention and engagement rose at 1-3 views a day; fell when more were allowed
- Sweatcoin: Let users swap coins for 3 free months of Spotify or Apple MusicFounder says users loved it; instant rewards with no shipping delay
- Sweatcoin: Unlock a secret prize shop after 30 successful invites, for creators with small followingsSpread 'like wildfire'; about 5% of all users came this way
- Sweatcoin: Kick off spikes with friendly creators, then let fast invite chains push store rankings#1 app in the US, Brazil and 65 other countries; now stable growth
- Sweatcoin: Make a fitness app look like a finance app, with a name people react toPress picked it up; first 30-40K users
- Sweatcoin: Let a health service fund extra prizes to keep diabetes program patients engagedProgram completion rose from ~25% to 89%; activity +45% vs +20% on free app