If your goal is to make some extra cash, start here. I rounded up ways to earn on your phone: testing apps, playing games, taking surveys, grabbing sign-up bonuses and getting cash back, plus one cash advance option for when payday is still a few days away. Most take just spare minutes, like standing in line or sitting on the couch, so none of it touches your day job.
Scroll through, find the ones that fit you, and bookmark this so you can come back. Here are 23 ways to get extra cash on your phone:
1. Get Paid to Play Games and Test Apps
If you already play games on your phone, you might as well get paid for the time.
Testerup gives you a $10 welcome bonus when you join, then pays you to play mobile games and finish surveys. It doesn’t post a price per task, so what you make depends on which offers you pick.
Each task takes about 15 to 20 minutes, so it’s slow, steady money. When you’re ready to cash out, you do a quick face check and the money goes to PayPal in up to 3 business days. You have to be 18.
2. Pick From Thousands of Offers and Get Paid for the Ones You Finish
Some days you want options, not one app doing the same thing over and over.
Bigcash lists 3,000+ offers like games, apps and surveys, and you earn coins for each one you finish. 250 coins equals $1, and the biggest offers pay up to $170 each.
Bigcash also advertises a $15 bonus, but it isn’t instant, so don’t count on it the minute you join. $170 is the top end, not typical, and most offers take 5 to 10 minutes, so check the payout before you start one.
You can cash out to PayPal, gift cards or Bitcoin, and the minimum is low. Open it on your phone, because on a computer the link opens Freecash instead.
3. Get a $75 Bonus and Part of Your Paycheck Early
Some bank accounts pay you just for setting up direct deposit.
Current gives you a $75 bonus when you sign up through this link and set up direct deposits of $1,500 or more. Once you qualify, you can also get up to $1,000 of your paycheck early.
Current isn’t an earning app, and the advance is money you pay back. The amount you can get shows in the app, and there are no credit checks. Instant access costs extra, or you can wait up to 3 days and get it free.
4. Make Your Spare Cash Earn, Starting With as Little as $10
Earning apps pay you for your time. Investing apps put your money to work instead.
Fundrise lets you start investing in private real estate and other private assets with as little as $10. It offers real estate, private credit and venture capital.
This is investing, not a payout. There’s no sign-up bonus on its page, nothing is guaranteed, and you can lose money, so start with an amount you can leave alone.
5. Turn Your Spare Time Into Cash With Games and Apps
Most of us spend a ton of time on our phones, and almost none of it pays.
Freecash gives you $10 for joining, then pays you to play games, try apps, take surveys and shop through the app.
Don’t expect a paycheck. Freecash says most people make a few dollars to about $50 in a typical month, and some game offers pay in milestones, so a few take days or weeks to land.
You can cash out to PayPal, Venmo, gift cards or crypto. PayPal and Venmo usually go through the same day, though a few payouts get held for a security check.
6. Get Paid for Playing Games, Plus a $5 Gift for Signing Up
There are a lot of game apps out there, and most of them never pay you a cent.
Prograd lets you earn up to $1,200 per offer, with 900+ games to choose from. You also get a $5 gift for signing up.
I’ve used Prograd. The average withdrawal is $25, so $1,200 is the top end, not what you should expect.
Rewards are processed within 7 working days of your request, and it’s for US users only.
7. Open Free Packs That Hide Real Sign-Up Bonuses
Sign-up bonuses are everywhere, but nobody wants to dig through dozens of apps to find them.
ReferralWallet hides a real sign-up bonus in every pack you open. You open a free pack, see which company’s bonus dropped, and sign up on that company’s own site.
It doesn’t promise a number, because each company sets its own bonus and amounts can change. You still have to meet each company’s terms before you get paid.
The company pays you directly, and ReferralWallet never holds your money. You don’t need a card to open a pack.
8. Spin for a Free Sign-Up Offer Every Day
Want to see what sign-up offers are paying today without searching?
SavingLoop gives you one free spin a day, and every spin lands on a live sign-up offer worth up to $75. The bigger ones come up less often.
A spin isn’t cash, so you still have to finish the partner’s requirements. You sign up on the partner’s own site and the partner pays you directly, mostly to PayPal, your bank or gift cards.
SavingLoop shows the timing with each offer before you claim it, and you don’t need to buy anything to spin.
9. Claim Class Action Settlements Without Proof of Purchase
You may be owed money from a class action settlement and not know it, and you don’t always need a receipt to claim it.
FileYourClaim lists open class action settlements you can claim without proof of purchase, and it checks each one against the official claim site.
You sign a short statement that you qualify, so only claim what’s true. Payments are usually small and take months.
They commonly arrive six months to a year after the claim deadline, by check, PayPal, Venmo, a virtual prepaid card or direct deposit.
10. Earn Rewards Just for Using Your Phone and Computer
What if you could earn a little for stuff you already do online?
The Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel pays up to $60 a year in reward points for letting Nielsen see how you use your phone, tablet or computer. Panelists also get instant win games, with a $500 top prize each month.
Points turn into PayPal or gift cards from retailers like Amazon and Walmart. You install an app or software that sends Nielsen data about how you use your devices, and Nielsen says the data is anonymous.
11. Get Paid Just for Sharing Your Honest Opinion
Brands want to hear your opinion to help inform their business decisions on everything from products and services to logos and ads, and they’re willing to pay you for it.
A free site called Branded (as seen on CBS) will pay you points for sharing your thoughts with their brand partners. You can also earn points by trying apps and playing games.
Once you qualify, you can cash out from 500 points ($5) by bank transfer, prepaid card or gift card.
They’ve already paid their community more than $90 million. Plus, you’ll get a free 100-point welcome bonus, worth $1, just for becoming part of the community.
12. Get Cash Back for Shopping You Already Do
You’re probably buying things online anyway, so why not get something back?
Swagbucks pays points for cash back shopping, surveys, games and trivia, and the points turn into PayPal cash or gift cards from stores like Amazon and Walmart.
New members can get a $10 bonus, but it isn’t automatic. You have to activate it and spend at least $25 at a store in the Swagbucks shop within 30 days of joining.
13. Own a Slice of Rental Homes Starting at $100
Most of us can’t buy a whole rental house, but you can own a slice of one.
Arrived lets you buy shares of rental properties starting from $100, and property managers handle the day-to-day. Arrived advertises a 2% reward if you get started with $2,000 or more.
Shares are meant to be held until the property sells, though you can list them for sale to other investors. You have to be a US citizen or green card holder. Nothing is guaranteed, and you can lose money.
14. Get Paid Cash for Reading Emails and Playing Games
Not everything has to be a big side hustle. Sometimes you just want a little money for stuff that takes no effort.
InboxDollars pays cash for reading emails, taking surveys and playing games, and gives you a $5 bonus when you join. Its homepage doesn’t say what the rest pays.
You can cash out by check or gift card once you reach $30, so your first payout takes a while.
15. Share Your Opinion in Your Spare Time
Got a few minutes of dead time? Surveys can turn it into a few bucks.
Survey Junkie pays points for surveys, and for sharing your browsing activity if you opt into Surf to Earn. It doesn’t promise a number, and you won’t get rich.
I’ve used Survey Junkie on and off for years, and it has definitely been difficult to earn a few bucks. It’s worth signing up for. I check what’s good when I have off time.
You can cash out from $5 (500 points) to PayPal, a bank transfer or gift cards.
16. Get Gift Cards for Playing Mobile Games
If you’re going to play games on your phone anyway, you might as well collect something for it.
Mistplay pays you in gift cards for playing mobile games. It doesn’t promise an amount, since earnings vary with how much and what you play.
You can cash out for gift cards from brands like Amazon, Visa and Starbucks, not cash. Mistplay says the average time to a first payout is 3 hours.
17. Get Paid for Surveys and Free Product Tests
Some surveys pay pennies, and some pay a lot more if you land the right one.
Product Report Card lists over 400 surveys with payouts from $0.50 to $300, plus an average of 32 free product tests every month. You can also play games, take quizzes, scan receipts and get cash back.
You get your first $5 reward after you make a free account and take a short 5-minute survey. The examples on its page range from $0.50 for 5 minutes to $200 for an hour, so the big ones take real time.
18. Take Surveys and Redeem Your Points for Gift Cards
Survey panels come and go, and a few have been around for decades.
PineCone Research lists over $51 million paid in rewards since 2000. You get your first $5 after you make a free account and take a short 5-minute survey.
The examples on its page range from $0.75 for 12 minutes to $2.50 for a 20-minute taste test, with bigger ones like $150 for a 2-hour focus group. You can redeem your points for gift cards.
19. Get Cash Back on Gas, Groceries and Dining
You’re going to buy gas and groceries anyway.
Upside is a free app that gives you cash back on gas, groceries and restaurants. Cash back runs up to $10 on grocery or restaurant purchases and up to 25 cents a gallon on gas. Offers near you show up in the app, and there are 100,000+ locations.
20. Turn Your Receipts Into Gift Cards
You already have receipts piling up.
Fetch gives you points for scanning receipts from groceries and shopping, and for playing games and trying foods. You redeem the points for gift cards. It’s free to start, and $1B+ in rewards has been redeemed.
21. Get Rewards for Sharing Your Opinion With Ipsos
If you’re going to share your opinion anyway, you might as well get rewarded for it.
Ipsos iSay is a survey panel where you share your opinion and earn rewards. You can choose from Amazon, PayPal, Virtual Visa prepaid cards and more, but it doesn’t post a price per survey, so what you earn depends on the surveys you qualify for.
22. Earn Points for Surveys and Games, Then Cash In for a Gift Card
Some apps make it easy to see how your points add up.
MrSurvey gives you points for answering surveys and playing games. You can redeem 1,000 points for a gift card sent straight to your inbox, and a free account takes about 30 seconds to create. There are apps on Google Play and the App Store.
23. Start With 500 Welcome Points for Taking Surveys
Sometimes the easiest way to try a survey site is one that hands you a head start.
Unlock Surveys gives you 500 welcome points when you join, then pays points for surveys that match your interests. You can redeem points for gift cards from Target, Amazon, Starbucks and AMC, or take a PayPal transfer.
Questions People Ask
None of them promise a number. Bigcash has single offers worth up to $170, but most Freecash users make a few dollars to about $50 in a typical month. Start with Testerup, Bigcash and Freecash, then keep whichever pays you best.
Yes, but in small amounts. Most Freecash users land between a few dollars and about $50 a month, and nobody gets rich on Survey Junkie. Treat it as extra money.
PayPal and Venmo payouts from Freecash usually go through the same day. Testerup takes up to 3 business days. InboxDollars needs $30 in your account first, Survey Junkie starts at $5, and Mistplay pays in gift cards.
Most of these are free to join. The Swagbucks $10 bonus is the one that needs a purchase: at least $25 at a store in its shop within 30 days of joining.
ReferralWallet hides a sign-up bonus in each free pack you open. SavingLoop gives you one free spin a day that lands on a live sign-up offer worth up to $75. With both, you sign up on the company’s own site and the company pays you directly.
A cash advance app like EarnIn lets you get part of your pay early. EarnIn says you can access up to $200 a day and $1,000 per pay period, and it arrives in 1 to 3 business days at no cost, or in minutes if you pay a small fee. You need to connect your bank and verify your identity and employment, so it works best with a steady paycheck, usually by direct deposit. Current is another option, with advances up to $1,000 once you qualify. Either way, it’s an advance, so you pay it back.
[…] and where to execute until you have expanded your operations. When you think about the websites, apps, or software tools that you use to solve problems in your everyday life, they all add tangible […]
You do good to our people .I love as you reveal this for us I thanks a lot. But i am in Nigeria.
Glad you enjoyed the read. Unfortunately, most of these apps that pay mainly work in the US or Canada.
Which of the apps pay in Africa
Hi Eno,
Sorry, I’m not sure. These apps are tailored for those in the US or Europe. But based on my initial research, it looks like the UserTesting App does pay those in Africa for testing apps and websites and providing feedback.
Hope this helps!
Brian
The sad thing about all this opportunities, it is only for people of “developed countries”.
Where I live, we have the same level of education and degrees, same job description, with a minimum of 45h a week, yet earn 10x less.
I mean, what to expect from a socialist government. I can’t do anything though, I didn’t choose this and don’t have money to live elsewhere.
Then come the “social-democrats” from developed countries wanting to work less with 4 days a week? Guess who will have to work for them? While they are expending the little money that in their country is worth nothing and yet at my country it’s a fortune. Making us the “modern slaves” they always talk about. Hypocrites.
Sorry for the rant, I will keep looking here for new deals. tks.