stickK, Beeminder and Forfeit alternative: money on your goals, with friends
Pick stickK, Beeminder or Forfeit if you want to put money behind any goal on your own and pay only when you miss. Pick Stint if your goal is focused work and you want to do it with friends: everyone pays the same entry fee up front, and the people who finish the challenge split the prize pool, instead of missed money going to a charity or the company.
Updated
Stint vs stickK, Beeminder or Forfeit at a glance
Price, platforms, blocking, how hard it is to get around, and where money comes in.
| Feature | Stint | stickK | Beeminder | Forfeit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | StintFree to download. Each pool has its own entry fee. Stint Pro is optional, US$5.99 a month. | stickKFree. | BeeminderFree core plan; premium plans US$8 to US$81 a month. It earns mostly from the pledges people pay. | ForfeitFree to download, with optional paid plans. |
| Platforms | StintiPhone (iOS 18 or later). Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome and Edge coming soon. | stickKWeb and iPhone. | BeeminderWeb, iPhone, Android, email and Slack. | ForfeitiPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and web. |
| Goals it covers | StintDaily deep-work time in the work apps you choose. | stickKAny goal you set: weight, meditation, a thesis. | BeeminderAnything you can count: weight, push-ups, minutes on a site. | ForfeitHabits and tasks: waking up, workouts, reading, screen time. |
| How it’s checked | StintYour phone reports each minute of a session to Stint. No self-reporting. | stickKYou report your progress; a referee you invite has the final word. | BeeminderYou enter your number, or connect a device or app to report it for you. | ForfeitPhoto, video, GPS, Apple Health, Screen Time or Mac activity. AI or its team reviews photo and video proof. |
| Blocks apps | StintYes: only the apps you choose, only while a session runs. | stickKNot a feature it lists. | BeeminderNot a feature it lists. | ForfeitYes: Screen Time on iPhone, its own app on Mac. |
| Solo or group | StintGroup only. Join a public pool, or a private one with friends shared by a code or a link. Hosting a pool takes Stint Pro. | stickKYour goal, with a referee and supporters you invite. | BeeminderYour own goals. | ForfeitYour goals, with a friend to verify or to be told when you slip. |
| When you pay | StintUp front: the entry fee, when you join a pool. | stickKOnly if you miss, and only if you chose to put money on the goal. | BeeminderWhen you fall off track, your pledge is charged. | ForfeitOnly if you miss: your card is charged the amount you set. |
| Where missed money goes | StintTo the people who qualify: they split the prize pool, after any platform cut set by the pool’s creator. Payouts are reviewed. | stickKTo a friend, a charity or an “anti-charity” you choose. | BeeminderTo Beeminder. Its top plan can send half to one of three charities. | ForfeitKept by Forfeit for now, it says; it plans options to send it to friends or your savings. |
Details from beeminder.com, forfeit.app and each app's App Store page, checked 2 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars and can change.
When to pick stickK, Beeminder or Forfeit instead
stickK, Beeminder or Forfeit does some things Stint doesn’t. If any of these matter most, it’s the better fit.
Pick stickK, Beeminder or Forfeit if
- Your goal isn’t screen work: running, weight, waking up early, quitting a habit. All three take any goal; Stint counts only focus time in your work apps.
- You want to pay only if you fail. Hit every goal and you pay nothing for it. Stint’s entry fee is paid up front either way.
- You want missed money to go to a cause. stickK lets you pick a charity (or an anti-charity), and Beeminder’s top plan can send half to one.
- You need Android, a Mac or the web today. Beeminder and Forfeit have them; Stint is iPhone-only for now.
- You want to go it alone, with one referee or friend checking in rather than a group.
Pick Stint if
- Your goal is deep work, and you want it measured by your phone rather than reported by you.
- You want to do it with friends, or with a group of strangers taking the same challenge.
- You’d rather missed money went to the people who finished than to a company or a charity.
- You want a known limit: you’re never charged more than your entry fee.
Two ways to put money on a goal
Pay if you fail. stickK, Beeminder and Forfeit are commitment contracts. You name a goal and an amount, and you're charged only if you miss. The money goes to a friend, a charity or the company, depending on the app. If you always succeed, it costs you nothing.
Pay in, finishers split. In Stint, everyone in a pool pays the same entry fee before the challenge starts. When it ends, everyone who qualified splits the prize pool equally, so the fewer people who finish, the bigger each share. You're never charged more than your entry fee.
One honest catch: if a pool has a platform cut and nearly everyone qualifies, a share can be less than the entry fee. Every pool shows its cut before you join. The worked example is on how prize pools work.
How Stint works
A group, a daily focus goal and a prize pool. Your phone keeps score.
- Step 1
Join a pool
Every member pays the same entry fee into the prize pool. The goal, length and any platform cut are shown first.
- Step 2
Focus
Time counts only in your work apps. The apps you chose to block stay blocked during a session.
- Step 3
Your phone verifies it
Your phone reports each minute of a session to Stint. No self-reporting.
- Step 4
Qualify and split
Meet the goal on the days the rules require. Everyone who qualifies splits the prize pool equally.
The full rules are on how Stint works, and the arithmetic of the split, with a worked example, is on how prize pools work.
Questions people ask
What is a commitment contract?
A commitment contract is a promise backed by something you value, usually money, that you lose if you don’t follow through. stickK, Beeminder and Forfeit work this way: you set a goal and an amount, and you’re charged only if you miss.
Where does the money go if you fail on stickK, Beeminder or Forfeit?
On stickK it goes to the friend, charity or anti-charity you picked. On Beeminder it goes to Beeminder, and its top plan can send half to a charity. Forfeit says it keeps it for now and is building options to send it to friends or savings.
Is there a commitment contract app for friends?
Stint works as one for focused work. Friends join a private pool, shared by a code or a link, and each pays the same entry fee into a prize pool. Everyone who meets the daily focus goal qualifies, and the people who qualify split the prize pool equally.
Can I lose more than my entry fee on Stint?
No. The most you can lose is the entry fee you paid to join. If you don’t qualify, you forfeit your share and the people who qualified split the prize pool. You’re never charged anything more for missing a goal.
Is Stint a game of chance?
No. It’s a skill-based productivity challenge with an entry fee. The goal is set and shown before you join, and whether you qualify depends only on the focused work you do, not on luck.
Start a pool with friends
Stint is free to download. You pay a pool’s entry fee only when you join one.
