- There are apps that make you money, and today we are taking a look at some of the highest paying apps that are making people real money. These are apps that pay you through PayPal or gift cards, from big platforms like Amazon, Target and Walmart just for completing simple tasks like answering questions, taking photos or even browsing the.
- 18 Apps that Pay You Real Money. The following apps are perfect for earning you extra money in your free time. Get paid for living your normal life and make use of downtime that tends to be wasted. As you go through this list, many of the apps can be doubled up for maximum earnings. There’s no reason why you need to stick to just one.
- Slingo is a free to play, online money gaming site that gives you real cash. As it offers free membership across the glove so you can compete with people everywhere. Most tournaments are one hour long.
Rakuten gives you cash back on online shopping. Obviously the more online shopping you do, the more cash back you’ll earn, but if you spend $3,000 a year shopping online (sounds like a lot but only comes out to $250 a month) and get an average of 10% back per shopping trip through Rakuten (the actual cash back percentage varies by store) that would be an extra $300 per year back in your pocket.
Money Earning Apps
If you use your smartphone as often as I do (like a million times!) why not make use of these free money making apps to earn extra cash each month.
That’s right.
There are apps that make you money, and today we are taking a look at some of the highest paying apps that are making people real money.
These are apps that pay you through PayPal or gift cards, from big platforms like Amazon, Target and Walmart just for completing simple tasks like answering questions, taking photos or even browsing the internet (that’s #3 on the list).
After some research, I have put together a list of the best money making apps for android and iPhone users in 2020, so you can pick and choose from the ones that suit you best.
Ready to make money from your phone?
*This post make contain affiliate links. Disclosure here.
20+ Free Money Apps
1) Survey Junkie
The most popular survey app, known for being legitimate is Survey Junkie.
You can access surveys from their dashboard and have the potential to earn up to $50 a survey. Currently only available to those living in the US, Canada and Australia, this survey site has over 9 million members making money from home. They also have a majority 5-star rating on Trustpilot.
2) My Points – $10 Bonus
Featured by big names like Yahoo and New York Times, MyPoints has given away $236 million in the form of PayPal cash and gift cards to its members.
How do you make money? Once you sign up with My Points, you collect points to redeem for cash or gift cards. Here are five ways to do it.
- Shop online – 25 points per dollar spent
- Watch Videos – up to 500 points per day
- Surveys – up to 300 per survey
- Games – 10 points
- Read emails – 5 points
3) Swagbucks
I use Swagbucks and I would recommend this as the easiest way to earn – with least effort.
For instance, you earn for searching the web.
Yes.
It’s as simple as that.
Instead of using Yahoo, Bing or Google to search the internet, use Swagbucks as your usual search engine and accumulate points.
Here are additional ways to earn SB’s (Swagbucks Points):
- Daily surveys up to $35 each
- Watch your favourite cooking shows to earn
- Get cashback from major retailers including Amazon, Walmart & Target
- Invite friends and family to earn more points (including 10% of their lifetime earnings)
4) Apps that Pay You to Scan receipts
Fetch Rewards is one such app where you get paid to upload receipts.
No couponing, no scanning barcodes, no surveys and no ads. Once you finish shopping just scan your receipt using the app to earn rewards in the form of e-gift cards from Target, Amazon, Kohl’s, Sephora and hundreds more.
You can cash out with as little as $3. You can scan your shopping receipts up to 14 days from date of purchase.
Download Fetch Rewards for free on your phone and start earning.
You can also submit your receipts for money with ReceiptPal. This is another free app that pays you money to scan receipts.
But wait, its not just shopping receipts, you can also get money back from your restaurant bills. Using the Seated app you can scan restaurant receipts and upload it to get back up to 30% of your total bill in the form of gift cards.
5) Vindale Research -$50/survey
Another research company like Pinecone Research, but your earning potential is a lot higher. We are talking up to $50 per completed questionnaire.
They have high paying surveys added daily and have $6,955,991+ already paid to members.
And the best part is, you get paid cash via check or PayPal – not points.
6) Online Research
Pinecone Research is a site that pays cash for sharing your opinion. They conduct surveys to help them develop products based on consumer opinion – which is you. So by taking the time to answer the questionnaires, they pay you money in return.
How much you earn depends on how many surveys you complete a day. Typical surveys take an average of 10 minutes and can earn you up to $10.
You earn points by completing these surveys that you can redeem for cash and gift cards.
7) Pay your Selfie
Raise your hands if you are a selfie person. Strangely I’m not (and more because I am camera shy:). But if you enjoy taking selfie’s you can earn money doing it.
This app shows you a list of selfies you can take like a travel selfie or a shopping selfie and pays you for each of your selfies. You can redeem for cash once you reach $20. You earn up to $1 a selfie, so you can cash out in no time.
This a reliable app has been featured by big-name companies like The New YorkTimes. Sign up for free and click away!
Related post: Incredibly easy ways to get free money right now
8) Raise
Got a lot of unwanted gift cards lying around your house?
With Raise, you can sell those gift cards for cash via direct deposit, PayPal or check.
All you need to do is upload your listing for free and when your card sells you make money. They accept gift cards and merchandise credit from any brand or restaurant. And you can set your own selling price too.
9) Paribus
*Note Paribus compensates us when you sign up for Paribus using the links.
Paribus is a Capital One owned app, that gives you refunds when there is a price drop for online purchases.
Say you bought a laptop for $499 and later the price drops to $399, you will get $100 deposited back into your account.
That’s not all, Paribusalso compensates for late deliveries and helps you rebook hotels and accommodations for the best price.
You don’t need to contact customer service for your refunds or keep track of product prices, Paribus will scan all your email shopping receipts regularly and pay you the refunds.
10) Acorns – $5 Bonus
This is an investment app that is great for beginners because you can start investing as little as 20 cents!
Actually, this is a creative way to save money. Once you install the app, every time you shop Acorns will round it up to the nearest dollar and invest the spare change for you.
So if you were to buy a coffee for $2.60, Acornswill invest the $0.40 for you. Every little bit adds up, right?
I just love this idea because you don’t need to make a conscious effort to save, as acorns will do it for you.
11) Neilsen Panel – $50
This app pays you $50 a year if you just let it run on your tablet or smartphone.
And
Why they need you to do
They do not collect user ID’s or passwords, so you can be sure your information is held safe even if the app is installed.
Sign up here if you live in the US and make money every year you are with them.
12) Cashback apps – $20 Bonus
Needless to say, cashback apps are a fantastic way of getting money back for all your shopping.
How do these apps work?
Once you sign up to them, you log into these apps and find your retailers (like Amazon, Walmart etc) and make your purchase. You receive points for your purchase that you can redeem for cash, gift cards or via PayPal.
Here are some of my
13) Job Spotter
An app that pays you for snapping photos of hiring signs.
Legitimate Apps That Pay
Job Spotter a mobile app that is free to download for both Apple and Android users. Start taking photos of vacancy boards and the shop front and begin making money.
You earn points for each photo you send. These points can be accumulated to earn you some Amazon gift cards.
14) Weight Loss App – $10,000
This is here is a big one.
You get paid in thousands for losing weight and it is legit.
How this works is, you set a bet amount, the kilos/pounds you like to shed and how many months you think it might take. So if you bet $6 for 10 months to lose 10 pounds and you succeed, you can earn anything up to $10,000 in prize money.
Play around with their weight loss calculator here to see how much money you can make. They take into consideration, the gender, height and weight of each individual. So results may vary for everyone.
And you can be them too. This is a cash-based challenge to help you lose weight and make money for doing it. The money here is a big motivating factor that will help you nail your target.
15) High Paying Surveys
Surveys can indeed be a great way of making a few extra dollars each month.
Legit Game Apps That Pay Real Money
To make the best out of surveys, its best to sign up to them all, so you can pick and choose the surveys you want to do and cancel the ones that don’t work out well for you.
Here are a handpicked survey sites that pay up to $50 a survey.
MindsPay– $50
Vindale Research-$50
Panda Research– $75
Cashback Research-$60
16) Get paid to read emails
Inbox dollarsis a site that pays you for reading emails, surfing the web, or making purchases online.
They are a BBB accredited business and have paid over 57 million in rewards. Definitely worth trying if you are looking for more ways to earn.
Here is a $5 bonus just forsigning up here.
17) Foap
This is a photo selling app available to both Android and iOS users.
You download the app and upload your photos and videos. You earn 50% of the profit when you sell
18) EYEem
This is another photo selling
I love the idea of making money from photos because a SINGLE image you upload can be downloaded a thousand times and for each of those downloads you make money. A fantastic passive income idea.
With
19) Instacart
This is a grocery delivery app where you get paid to be the shopper. You can set your own schedule and get paid weekly with Instacart.
You are free to take time off and choose to work as much or as little as you like.
You need to be 18 years and over with eligibility to work in the United States.
20) Mercari
Mercari is a selling app, where you can sell anything for cash and you set the price. From fashion, toys and electronics, you can start listing them and make money.
Their website claims to have over 100k listings a day with over 35M downloads of the app.
Upload an image of a product you want to sell (either new or used) and list the item on the app.
You get paid via direct deposit with just a minimum payout of $2.
21) Easy Shift
This free app is available on the App Store and Google Play in the US and the UK.
You earn for doing short tasks, like taking photos of products, checking prices, and reviewing promotions.
Payments are made to you via PayPal and it usually takes only up to 48 hours after approval.
22) Declutter
This is another selling app where you can sell your phones or any tech devices for cash. You can also sell your old DVDs and CDs too.
You just scan the barcode of the product you want to sell and the Decluttr app will give you the price on it. Once you download the app, it transfers your phone camera into a barcode scanner.
If you don’t have a barcode, you can enter the make, model number, and condition of the product.
Once your product reaches their warehouse, they will check the product and pay you the day after.
23) Poshmark
This is an app for selling fashion online – from clothes to shoes.
Once you take a photo of the product you want to sell, you can list the item and share it to get seen.
Poshmark will supply you with pre-paid labels and have it picked up from your home for free, making the delivery so much simpler.
The Poshmark app is free to download on Apple, Ipad and Android devices.
24) LetGo
Let Go is a selling app that is not restricted to just fashion. You can sell any secondhand items you don’t need anymore.
Download the app, take a photo of your item and start selling.
Its totally free to use without any hidden charges, and you are free to even sell your car!
Apps that Pay You Money
2 Popular Money Making Sites- Earn up to $50 each time you share your opinion about products and brands - available to those in the US, Canada and Australia. Join Survey Junkie here, it's free!
- Take part in daily surveys worth up to$35 with Swagbucks.
These days, you can find apps for almost anything. But have you ever wondered if there are apps that pay you real money or apps that make you money?
Sounds like a dream, right?
What if I told you that there are actually lots of legit apps that pay you money or give you free cash?
Even better, most of the best money-making apps can run in the background or require very minimal effort to use.
I’ve done the research for you so all you need to do is pick from this list of legit money-making apps!
These apps won’t pay you as much as a full-time job would but using any of these apps is an excellent way to make money fast.
How to Avoid Money-Making Apps Scam
I’ll be honest, while there are plenty of legit money-making apps out there, there are also apps that only offer false promises and only scam you into signing up.
So, how do you know which apps are legit?
Here are the red flags telling you that a “money-earning app” could be a scam.
It promises unrealistic rewards or payments.
Legit apps that pay you real money give out rewards or cash, that’s for sure, but what you earn from them can hardly replace your full-time income.
If you find an app promising you hundreds of dollars upon sign up, and an extra hundred for a referral, think twice because it’s most likely a scam.
It asks for confidential information.
You should never give away sensitive information online, even if you aim to make money. When you sign up with an app, the most that it would require you are your name, email address, PayPal address, and bank account information (for apps that you have to link your credit or debit card with).
Be wary of apps that ask for your social security number and driver’s license number.
It asks you money to sign-up.
Legit apps that pay you real money are free to sign up.
If you’re required to shell out cash even before you start making money with the app, you might want to reconsider joining.
How Do Free Apps Make Money?
When using apps to make money, it’s also important to learn how these apps make money. You want to know how these companies are able to pay you even when their apps are free to use.
This knowledge should also make you feel comfortable about using these apps and help you weed out scams from the real ones.
I have categorized the apps on this list into the following to give you an idea on how these top money making apps work and make an income:
1. Apps that give you free money
These “free money apps”, also called cash back apps, pay you for shopping.
Cash back apps are paid by their partner stores or brands each time you use these apps for shopping.
These apps work like a middleman. When you shop through them, they’ll take you to the store, say Amazon, and Amazon will pay them a commission for your purchases.
But instead of keeping the commission all to themselves, they split this payment with you in the form of cash back.
The best cash back apps also offer a welcome bonus for just signing up, and they have partnered with numerous stores in the US so you’ll have a lot of opportunities to make money using the app.
2. Survey apps that pay money
There are also apps that pay you real money for your opinion, and these apps, also called survey apps, operate a bit different from cash back apps.
You don’t have to purchase anything to start making money with these survey apps. All you need to do is to share your opinion as a consumer.
Survey apps are paid by companies who want to know your opinion to improve their products or services.
These apps then compensate you for the time you spent for answering questions like “Which of these coffee products do you often buy?” or “When will you likely buy a new car?”
3. Apps that save you money or make you money
These apps are designed to help you save money but I have also included apps that make you money in this category, including micro-investment apps.
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for any purchases made through these links at NO additional cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for more information.
Best Legit Apps that Pay You Real Money with Your Smartphone
Best Legit Apps that Give Free Cash
1. Ibotta
Ibotta is one of my most favorite money-earning apps because you get cash back for grocery items. You buy groceries every week so there are lots of opportunities to earn money using this app.
This free money app has paid me over $800 in cash back and bonuses from buying groceries alone!
How does Ibotta work?
Ibotta works just like couponing without the need to clip coupons. All you need to do is upload your grocery receipts on the app and earn cash back on grocery items such as milk, meats, vegetables, bread, cleaning products and more.
Ibotta has recently expanded and they are now offering cash back not only for in-store purchases but also online. Among the new categories you can earn cash back from are clothing, travel, eating out (restaurants) and home.
Important: You’ll only get this bonus after uploading your first grocery receipt. If you cannot find any offer that you like on the app, you could buy a toilet paper or Colgate and you’ll still come out ahead.
Want to know more? Read my Ibotta Review here!
Related Posts
2. Rakuten (Ebates)
When you shop online, use this free money-making app to earn up to 40% cash back on your purchases at any of their 2500+ partner stores!
Not only will Rakuten pay you for using their app for shopping, they will also pay you $25 extra for each person you refer to them.
They also offer a lot of awesome bonuses. For example, if you ride Lyft through Rakuten, Rauten will give you $20 on your first ride, plus a $10 bonus for downloading the app here and signing up.
I’ve also made over $300 in cash back for simply using this app!
Want to know more? Read my Rakuten Review here!
3. Dosh
Dosh is an app that automatically collects cash back from your purchases from partner stores into your credit or debit card.
Dosh is free to use, and sign up is easy. It’s best to link your most-used credit or debit card with Dosh to accrue cash back rapidly. Use that card to pay for purchases and then get cash back ranging from 2% to 10%, depending on the store. Whether you use the card to pay for in-store or online purchases, Dosh runs on autopilot, so you can keep getting cash back as you shop.
Apart from paying your purchases with the Dosh-linked card, you may also book hotels with the same card and enjoy $25 cash back on your very first hotel booking.
When you refer a friend to sign up for Dosh, you’ll get an additional $5 cash back.
You can withdraw your earnings when you reach $25 of cash back and deposit the funds to your PayPal account.
Legit Free Cash App Money
4. Paribus
Ever paid full price for an item, only to find out a day later that its price dropped? Use this free app called Paribus so you’ll never miss any savings when prices drop.
The best thing about Paribus is that it automatically gets the adjustment amount for you! There’s no need to scan receipts or waste time finding out whether there’s any price drop.
It also even helps you get paid for late Amazon deliveries. You can check it out here.
Legit Survey Apps that Pay Money
Survey apps are some of the best money making apps out there, and they’re legit too! The great thing about survey apps is that they’re pretty easy to use, they’re usually free to sign up, and collecting points is super easy.
5. Swagbucks
I personally use this app to earn money via Paypal, or earn Amazon or Starbucks gift cards.
Swagbucks is the biggest research panels on the internet that will reward you for doing things like completing surveys, watching videos, searching the internet, playing games and shopping online.
Swagbucks gives you SB points which you can redeem for gift cards or Paypal cash.
It is free to join and if you join below, you’ll receive $5 FREE after confirming your email.
6. Inbox Dollars
Inbox Dollars is another rewards company that works like Swagbucks, offering you a few options to earn points, from watching videos, playing games or completing surveys.
This company has paid over $57 million in rewards and is currently offering a $5 sign-up bonus!
Like Swagbucks and other rewards sites, Inbox Dollars also offers a cash payout or gift cards as an option to redeem your points.
Download the app below and make sure to confirm your email to get your sign-up bonus!
7. MyPoints
Another survey app that pay money is MyPoints, which is also just as fantastic because they give you $5 when you sign up. You can also redeem your points in a variety of ways, including cash, travel miles and gift cards.
Most of these real money apps allow you to earn in different ways. So, apart from taking surveys, you could also earn from shopping online, watching ads, playing games, searching the web, and referring other people.
Legit Apps that Save You Money and Make You Money
8. Trim
If you think canceling a subscription you no longer use is such a hassle, you can let the app called Trim to do it for you.
Trim is a fascinating smartphone app that analyzes all your bills so you can see which of them continues to charge your account even if you aren’t using them.
Got a gym membership costing your account month after month, but you don’t go to the gym? Trim will remind you of that. Even better, the app can cancel the subscription on your behalf, so you don’t even have to bother doing it yourself.
Trim can also help you negotiate your cable bill. If you think you are getting ripped off on cable or internet, download this free app that helps you save money.
Trim works with Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, and any other provider, and has helped its users over $1,000,000 over the last month!
9. Decluttr
If you were quite the hoarder of electronic things, DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, gaming consoles, and tablets (and surprisingly, legos too!), you might find disposing of them somewhat painful and regretful.
But a cash incentive in exchange for them might convince you. And that’s what the money earning app called Decluttr aims to do.
Decluttr is both an app and a website that accepts the abovementioned products and pay you with cash. You just fire up the app on your phone, scan the product’s barcode, and Decluttr tells you how much they offer for each item.
If you like what they offer, Decluttr will send you a pre-paid box and shipping label to attach to your box, and then ship the box free of charge. Once they receive your items, they will go through them, and then send you the money through a check, PayPal, or bank deposit.
10. Airbnb
If you have a second home, a vacation home, or even a spare room in your house, you can earn money from them by listing them up on the Airbnb app, one of the best real money making apps for those in real estate business.
First, you need to create a description of the rental property, post photos, set the price, and availability. When the listing goes live, people can make sense of what your property looks like, and if they like it, they’ll book through the app.
Using the Airbnb app is an excellent way to establish yourself as the landlord as well as create a sense of trust with the potential guests. The app also comes with a rating and feedback feature wherein guests can rate and comment about their experience in your property.
11. Sweatcoin
Sweatcoin is known as an app that pays you money for walking. It’s a fantastic platform that motivates you to become fit and healthy while earning money at the same time.
In reality, the app pays you a digital currency called sweatcoins, which you could use to buy Paypal vouchers to turn your earnings into real cash.
Sweatcoin works by tracking your steps through the app’s GPS feature and then rewards you with sweatcoins.
The app does not count steps taken indoors, so make sure to gear up for a walk around your neighborhood. Once you’ve accumulated enough coins, you can visit the app’s marketplace to purchase something you fancy, ranging from random knickknacks to a smart television, iPhone 6, or $1,000 worth of PayPal money.
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12. Acorns
Need help saving money and investing your savings? I highly recommend using Acorns, one of the most popular investing apps for beginners.
You need to link your credit or debit account with Acorns, and then the app will round up your purchases using those cards, take the spare change, and invest them.
For example, if you spent $3.80 for a coffee using your linked credit/debit card, Acorns will see the transaction, transfers the spare change of $0.20 to your Acorns account. When your account hits $5, Acorns will withdraw the money and invest it.
I’ve been using it for awhile and here’s a screenshot from my account after a few weeks:
I’ve accumulated over $280 of spare change from my weekly purchases and gained $6.32 from that little investment.
If you want to save and save money without thinking, Acorns is definitely one of the best ways to go most especially if you are new to investing as well. You’ll also receive$5 FREE from Acorns hereafter making your first investment of $5.
13. Robinhood
Robinhood is a free trading app that allows you to invest in stocks, ETFs, and options. As a mobile app, Robinhood gets you to invest with $0 account minimum and commission-free stock trading. It’s an excellent app, especially for beginner investors who are looking to maximize their trading profits by eliminating commission fees from the picture.
Additionally, Robinhood has been intuitively designed so that users can schedule deposits, monitor day trades, and perform advanced orders. As a smartphone-based trading platform, Robinhood is one of the best legit money making apps that allows you to invest right from your fingertips.
14. Poshmark
If you’ve outgrown a couple of your designer clothes, you may sell them on Poshmark. Poshmark is a smartphone buying and selling app, and most of the products traded herein are mostly designer clothes.
This is the ultimate for the fashionista, whether one has accrued more than clothing than your closet can handle, or you’re looking to purchase high-end clothes at a lower price.
Have a couple of clothes to sell? You can set up your own store wherein people can like and comment on your items.
LegitApps That Pay You Real Money: Are They Worth It?
The smartphone is such a powerful device that lets you do so many things, and having legit apps that pay you real money is one of the best ways to maximize your smartphone use. Whether you like to get fit, sell old products, shop online, or answer surveys, as they say, “there’s an app for that.” And if that app gives you money, then you’re in great luck!