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10 Highest Paying Apps To Earn Extra Money Online

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Written by Jason Michaels Last Updated: May 8, 2024

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Want to Make Extra Money Now?

Looking for a list of the highest paying apps for your smart phone?

Making money from apps is one of the easiest ways to quickly earn free cash from your phone.

They good ones usually require little time and effort, and are great way to earn some extra money in your spare time.

While they won’t replace your full-time income, they can definitely help you buy a few extra meals per month.

Keep in mind that the following items on our list are ranked based on the following criteria:

  • Payout method
  • Hourly rate
  • Registration bonuses
  • Referral programs
  • Ease of use

Table of Contents

10 Highest Paying Apps To Make Extra Money Online

Want to skip the reviews and give the highest paying apps a try right away?

Not a problem at all.

Here’s a short list of the best highest paying apps:

I’ve found that with just the apps listed above, I’m able to earn at least a few extra hundred dollars per month.

With that said, let’s get started. Here’s a list of the 10 highest paying apps for your smartphone.

1. Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is by far one of the highest paying apps on this list.

Like the name says, you make money taking paid surveys online.

Each time you complete a survey you earn points that you can cash out for PayPal money or free gift cards to Amazon and PayPal.

You can earn up to $50 per survey (although these are quite rare).

Expect to earn anywhere between $10 – $20 per hour with Survey Junkie.

The best part about Survey Junkie is that if you don’t qualify for a survey, they tell you almost immediately so that you can move on to another to keep earning money.

This is unlike a lot of other survey sites and survey apps that wait until you’re almost done with a survey before they actually tell you that you don’t quality.

If you’re looking for a good way to make some money fast, stick with Survey Junkie.

Want more information? Check out our full Survey Junkie review.

2. Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a small task site that allows you to make money for completing things online that you would normally do anyways.

Each time you complete a task, you earn points called Swagbucks that can be exchanged for an Amazon gift card and other cool prizes.

The great thing about this app is that there’s so many different ways to earn:

  • Playing games
  • Taking paid surveys
  • Filling out polls
  • Watching videos
  • Clipping coupons
  • And More

One of the most popular ways to make mony with Swagbucks is by watching videos.

Since the videos play automatically, meaning you don’t have to do any work to earn free money.

The only downside is that there’s a limit to the amount you can earn from this task per day.

If you do decide to only watch videos, keep in mind that there’s a total of 5 Swagbucks Apps you will need to use in order to maximize your earnings.

This alone will get you about $30 per month – if you want to increase this amount, you’ll have to complete other tasks as well.

Another great ways it to refer a friend and get 10% of their earnings.

Swagbucks typically gives a $5 registration bonus, but we’ve also seen it as high as $10.

Be sure to check out our Swagbucks review to find more ways to earn money with this app.

3. LifePoints

LifePoints is one of the newer money making apps out there, but don’t let that deceive you.

They’re already proving to be one of the higher-paying ones out there.

While the primary way of making money with this app is through surveys, you can also get paid for completing small tasks.

The best part? Almost all of their surveys take under 10 minutes to complete.

This means that if you have only a short amount of time to spare (while waiting in line or in the waiting room), you can quickly pull out your phone and complete a task.

You get a 5 point bonus and a 15% bonus when you register as a new user.

You need a minimum of 1,080 points to cash out for a gift card of your choice from a wide selection of retailers.

Our LifePoints review explains exactly what to do to maximize earnings with this money making apps.

4. Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel

If you want to get paid for doing nothing, the Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel pays you for simply leaving their app installed on your phone. Simply use your phone like you normally do and earn free cash.

The reason the Nielsen app is able to pay you is because they collect data about how you use your phone. This includes what apps you have installed, your internet speed, the type of device you own, etc.

By leaving the app installed on your iOS or Android device for an entire year, you can earn enough points that will earn you $50 per year.

These points can be exchanged for prizes such as gift cards to popular retailers. You’re essentially earning a passive income since you don’t have to do anything.

The best part?

You can install this app on unlimited devices, thus doubling, tripling or even quadrupling your earnings. This is a great way to earn extra income.

Nielsen only limits the amount of devices per region, not household.

You can also install this app on your desktop computer, but the earnings work a little bit differently.

For desktop users, every month you’re automatically entered in a free sweepstakes drawing to earn up to $10,000.

If you enjoy this app, you may also enjoy reading about other passive income ideas as well as our Nielsen Panel review.

5. Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards is a receipt scanning app that works just like Ibotta.

The one big difference between Ibotta and Fetch Rewards is that this app only pays you for taking pictures of grocery receipts.

However, unlike Ibotta they do allow you to buy a product and earn cash back at any location instead of having to buy a specific product at a specific store.

The reason why this app makes the list is due to their high payouts. Expect to earn anywhere between $1 and $4 per offer. Increase this amount by having more than one offer per receipt.

You need a minimum of $3 in earned cash back to cash out for a gift card of your choosing. When you register as a new user, you get a $1.50 bonus when you use the promo code HH3MN.

Read our full Fetch Rewards Review

6. YouGov

YouGov is both a survey site and a survey app that pays you for sharing your opinion.

Unlike the majority of survey apps, you get a chance to express your ideals regarding politics and current events. Not only that, but you also are able to view the opinions of others on certain topics of discussion.

The fact that you can chime in and see what other people are thinking regarding a certain topic makes this one of the more interesting items on our list.

You get a $2 bonus for signing-up as a new user. While there is a minimum balance of $25 needed in order to cash out, I usually don’t have any difficulty reaching this amount rather quickly.

Read our full YouGov Review

7. MyPoints

  • Registration Bonus: $10 when you make your first $20
  • Join MyPoints

The thing I love about MyPoints right off the bat is their high registration bonus. After you earn your first $10, you get a bonus of $20.

Get paid with MyPoints by completing tasks that you most likely already do on a daily basis: complete surveys, shop online, watch videos, take polls and more.

Assuming you stay with the higher-paying surveys, we estimate that you can earn at a rate of around $8 – $10 per hour. However, take the lower-paying surveys and this amount will be much lower.

MyPoints also has an excellent referral program. Earn a referral bonus when your friend signs-up and earns their first $20.

Read our full MyPoints Review

8. Inbox Dollars

Inbox Dollars is a small task site that’s similar to Swagbucks.

Earn extra cash completing small tasks online such as playing games, watching videos, shopping online, reading emails, referring friends or more.

You start off with a great $5 registration bonus and you need a minimum of $25 to cash out. While this amount may seem a bit high, I usually find that you can reach it pretty quickly.

The two activities that we recommend participating in with Inbox Dollars are taking surveys and watching videos.

This way you can earn the most amount of cash with the least amount of effort.

Unfortunately, you need to manually click to play the next video, so you can’t earn passively.

Expect to earn at a rate of around $10 per hour when taking surveys.

When it comes to watching videos, the amount is going to be much lower, but we recommend the task since it’s so simple to complete. Refer your friends and get 10% of their earnings for life.

Read our full Inbox Dollars Review

9. Ibotta

  • Registration Bonus: $10 after scanning your first receipt
  • Join Ibotta

Ibotta is one of the most popular receipt scanning apps out there and is a quick way to make extra money.

Take a picture of your grocery receipt and make anywhere from $.25 to $5 in cash back depending on your purchase.

Combine more than one offer per receipt and you can pass this $5 threshold.

The great thing about Ibotta is that you get a $10 sign-up bonus when you sign-up claim your first offer.

While Ibotta was originally meant to be used for groceries, you can now get cash back on other items such as electronics, alcohol, prescriptions, meals at restaurants and more.

Furthermore, Ibotta recently added a new feature to help you receive cash back by shopping through other apps. When you open the app, there will be a section for earning a certain percentage of cash back at certain stores.

For example, let’s say you want to shop at Hotels.com.

Open the Ibotta app and scroll down. You’ll notice an offer for 10% in cash back. Click on the link to be redirected to the Hotels app on your phone (if you don’t have it you’ll be asked to download it) and make a purchase.

Within 10 days you’ll receive 6% of your total purchase price in your Ibotta account.

Once your account reaches $20 in cash back, you can cash out for gift cards of your choosing or for direct deposits to PayPal.

Every once in a while Ibotta comes out with a new features that allows you to earn extra cash from your phone, so be sure to read our Ibotta review for updates.

10. Rakuten

Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) is another shopping portal that works exactly like TopCashBack.

They partner with thousands of retailers across the web and aggregate all of their affiliate links onto one page.

Each time you buy something using one of these links, Rakuten earns a commission and gives it back to you in the form of cash back.

The rates are nowhere near as high as TopCashBack, but sometimes you’ll find stores that give a bit more.

The one difference about this app is that it can be used in-store, one of the only cash back apps that allows you to do that.

While the rate isn’t very high at 1% – 2% when shopping in-store, it’s still better than nothing, and can add a lot to your savings when purchasing really expensive items.

You get a $10 gift card for registering as a new member.

Don’t forget to read our full Rakuten review.

11. VIPKID

Looking for an app that will make you money?

VIPKID is the highest paying app on this list when it comes to earnings potential, but it definitely takes the most amount of effort.

Get paid to teach children English across the world and earn anywhere between $14 – $22 per hour.

This is one of the few companies on our list that you can use to make a full time income and allows you to create your own online business.

Here are the following requirements for potential teachers:

  • Eligibility to work in the US or Canada
  • Bachelor’s degree in any field
  • 1 school year of traditional teaching experience or the equivalent in mentoring, tutoring, or alternative education

The best part is that you get to choose your own hours.

Keep in mind that the majority of these children are going to be located in China, meaning you may have to change your schedule a bit in order to accommodate them.

There are plenty of people who are making a full time living from VIPKID and can work anywhere in the world doing so due to their high payout rate.

VIPKID pays you via direct deposit.

Read our full VIPKID review

12. Acorns

Acorns is an investment app that helps you invest your spare change. Start off with a $5 registration bonus, and start investing with $5 at a time in your stock portfolio.

Not an expert in investing? Not a problem. Acorns understand that having sufficient knowledge takes time, and that’s why they do all of the work for you.

Simply register for the app, fill out your financial profile, and Acorns will suggest which type of investment is right for you. If you’re young and have a lot of extra cash saved up, you’ll most likely be put in the aggressive portfolio option.

For those who are a bit older, Acorns will suggest a more conservative approach.

The best part?

You only need to invest $5 at a time, and unlike most brokerage firm there’s zero commission fee. This is a great way for those to start investing in their future.

They even have a spare change feature that allows you to invest slowly.

Link any one of your credit cards or debit cards and every one of your purchases will be rounded-up to the nearest dollar.

And don’t worry – your credit card information is completely safe.

The difference between your purchase price and the rounded-up part will automatically be invested in your Acorns account – no extra work done on your part.

Read our full Acorns Review

13. TopCashBack

If you do a lot of online shopping, this is the app for you.

TopCashBack has partnered with thousands of retailers across the web and placed their affiliate links onto one site.

When you click on one of these links, TopCashBack earns a small commission and then gives it back to you in the form of cash back.

Expect to make about 7% in cash back for all of your online purchases.

TopCashBack is mostly known as a website, but you can also get cash by using their mobile app as well. There’s absolutely no cost to register, and you even get a $10 bonus just for signing-up as a new member.

Once you reach a minimum of $10 in earned cash back, you can withdraw to PayPal or for Amazon or Amex gift cards for a 3% withdrawal bonus.

This is definitely one of my favorite cash back apps.

14. Shopkick

Shopkick is a great way to make some money while shopping. Once you install the app, share your location and earn cash and gift cards when you check into stores.

You also make some extra cash by scanning the barcodes of specific products or using one of their in-app coupons.

They’re currently partnered with a wide variety of stores such as Walmart, Macy’s and Best Buy with continual expansion.

Not only that, but you can also find great deals by using their shopping system.

You won’t earn much scanning barcodes alone, which is why we mostly recommend just using their check-in service.

You can easily get $.25 cents or more per check-in and it only takes a second.

It wasn’t until recently that you could also receive cash from scanning receipts.

I usually find that this is one of the more fun apps to make money.

Don’t forget to read our complete Shopkick review to find out more.

15. Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is one of the best survey apps out there. You always know what you’re going to get paid, and you always know roughly how long each survey will take.

Pinecone Research pays you a flat fee of $3 per survey, and each survey takes anywhere from 10 – 15 minutes to complete.

At this rate, you’re essentially earning at a rate of $15 per hour. The downside? There aren’t that many surveys to go around. I usually find that I can complete one or two surveys per month, and if I’m lucky three.

Sometimes Pinecone Research doesn’t accept new users, so if this is the case for you, just be sure to check back in about a month. You can cash out your earnings for gift cards of your choosing.

The great thing about Pinecone Research is that you never have to log-in to see if new surveys are available since they always send you email notifications.

Read our full Pinecone Research Review

16. Toluna Opinions

The great thing about Toluna Opinions is that you’re guaranteed to earn anywhere between $1 – $5 per survey. This is particularly great for those who are tired of always getting low-paying surveys and not earning much.

Toluna is definitely one of the better survey companies out there. Most of the survey sites are quite short, and I find that I can usually make at least around $10 per hour.

While there isn’t a registration bonus, you won’t be disappointed. You’ll have plenty of surveys to choose from. Be sure to check back every couple of days for new offers.

17. Paribus

It’s terrible when you buy something at a store only to find out a few days later that it can be found at a lower price.

What’s even worse is when you don’t find out soon enough so you don’t even have time to return the item to buy the cheaper version.

Instead of taking the time to search around for a cheaper price, have Paribus do it for you. Link your online shopping accounts to Paribus and it will track the internet for cheaper prices.

Even if you’ve already made the purchase, Paribus will track down the original retailer and ask for the retailer to refund the difference.

For example, I linked my Amazon account and bought a book for around $12. Paribus found the book cheaper at another retailer and contacted Amazon on my behalf. Within a week of purchase I noticed a random email stating that a few dollars had been refunded to my account.

The catch? Paribus gets a small percentage of your refunded amount. However, refer enough friends and you can get this amount down to nothing so you get 100% of the difference.

18. BeFrugal

BeFrugal and TopCashBack are so alike that it’s almost impossible to rank one ahead of the other. BeFrugal is also a shopping portal  that pays you for clicking affiliate links on their site and shopping through them. The more you shop online, the more you earn.

On average you can get about 7% in cash back across all purchases. I personally find TopCashBack a bit easier to use, but most of the time the rates are identical that it’s best to check between the two of them before each purchase.

BeFrugal also gives a $10 sign-up bonus to new members.

The one big difference that may turn people away is that you do need a minimum of $25 to withdraw your cash back. However, BeFrugal promises to award cash back bonuses within 10 days of your purchase, whereas TopCashBack can sometimes take a bit longer.

Read our full BeFrugal Review

19. Checkout 51

Checkout 51 works in a very similar way to Ibotta. They pay you money for taking a picture of your receipt and submitting it to the app.

Yet unlike Ibotta, it doesn’t matter where you purchase the item as long as it shows up on your receipt.

This means that you can make a purchase at a grocery store, retail store or whatever.

Most of the items you find on the app are food items, but once in a while there are a few exceptions. The payout isn’t that great, usually only yielding $.25 – $1 per item, but the amount of work required is quite minimal.

Keep in mind that you can stack this app with other receipt scanning apps, meaning you can use multiple apps with the same receipt.

Want to make even more money with Checkout 51? Earn a $10 bonus each time you refer a friend.

Read our full Checkout 51 review for more information.

20. SavvyConnect

SavvyConnect works in a similar manner to the Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel app. Get paid to leave an app installed on your mobile device and get paid to use it like you normally would. Absolutely no work is required on your part.

Each month that you leave the SavvyConnect app on your phone, you earn $5. Calculate this out and you get a total of $60/year.

Increase your earnings by installing the SavvyConnect app on a maximum of 3 devices for a total of $15/month or $180/year. The best part is that all of this is essentially passive income since the only thing you have to do is leave the app installed and cash out.

They also give you a chance to increase your earnings by referring your friends. When your friend signs-up using your link and completes their first “project,” you earn anywhere between $5 – $15. You can also earn cash from your friends’ referrals as well.

What Should I Look For In Highest Paying Apps?

There are certain criteria you should look for when it comes to looking for the highest paying apps for your smartphone.

Keep in mind that each app may meet the needs of each person differently.

Payout method

Usually apps have at least a few payout methods.

It’s typically for an app to pay you via PayPal or through at least a few gift cards of your choosing.

However, sometimes there’s only one method. If they only pay you gift cards to Fred Meyer and you never shop there, it might not be worth your time.

Hourly Rate

The hourly rate is calculated by counting how much you earn within an hour’s worth of time.

It’s important to keep track of this information because sometimes it may seem like you’re earning a lot less than you really are and visa versa.

You should try to prioritize the the apps with the highest hourly rates.

Sign Up Bonuses

Registration bonuses are a great incentive to get started with any app.

Even if you end up not liking the app, at least you’ve earned a few dollars for free without having to do any work. Swagbucks for example gives you a $5 bonus just for signing up.

Referral Programs

Referral programs are one of the easiest ways to make money with apps. A quick post to Facebook or Twitter usually only takes a few seconds.

If you have a few hundred friends, it’s possible you can get a few sign-ups, netting you an extra few dollars here and there. Sometimes there’s percentage bonuses.

For example, some apps give you 10% of your friends’ earnings for life.

Ease of Use

While the apps on this list are great, sometimes they can be a bit tedious. This is especially the case after using them for long periods of time.

Keep in mind how frustrating it might be to use the app. If it’s easy and you can earn well, it might be worth keeping.

Beware of Scams

All of the money apps listed here are legit and actually pay you real cash. Yet sometimes you may run into a scam.

Unless you know it’s a legitimate app, never sign up if they ask you for your credit card or any other type of payment information.

Also make be aware of the personal information that you need to give during registration.

What Apps Pay You The Most Money?

Survey Junkie, Swagbucks and VIPKID are the apps that pay you the most money in the shortest amount of time. However, we suggest trying out all of the apps on this list to see which ones work best for you.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking to earn some extra money from home, smartphone apps can be a great way to do so. They’re also great for getting that much closer to your personal finance goals.

While these apps most likely won’t make you rich, it’s still a great way to earn real money and give you some extra income

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy the following:

If you’d like to add anything another app to our list of the highest paying apps or any other ways to make money, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

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