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When it comes to apps and websites that give you a passive income, the only thing you have to do is setup an account and cash out. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the top 10 passive income apps & websites.
Run them all simultaneously and earn an extra $1,293 per year. The best part? All of these apps are 100% FREE.
With that said, let’s dive right in. See one that isn’t on the list and should be? Let us know in the comments below.
Want to see the video version of this article? Click here to scroll down to see it below.
Table of Contents
1. MobileXpression App
- Potential Earnings: $20/year
- Installation Bonus: $5 within the first few weeks
- Join MobileXpression
The MobileXpression App is another app that sits in the background collecting data about your phone. Just be leaving it on your phone you get paid. Within your first few weeks, you get a $5 Amazon Gift Card as a bonus for just having the app installed.
Unfortunately, compared to other rewards apps on this list, the earnings aren’t as great. You only earn around $20 per year per device. Not only that, but the app is currently only available for Android devices.
Although the earnings aren’t as high, the setup process is completely simple. Not only that, but $20 is pretty nice considering you don’t have to do any extra work. The only time you ever have to interact with your phone is when you want to exchange your points for cash prizes.
Read our full MobileXpression Review
2. Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel
- Potential Earnings: $150/year
- Installation Bonus: None
- Join Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel
The Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel pays you to track your phone usage. This typically includes your browser type, what apps you have installed and also your internet speed.
Simply install the app and leave it running in the background. Check the app to make sure that it’s active. If it’s active, you’ll receive a small bonus every 3 to 6 weeks.
Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel is one of the highest-paying passive income sources on this list. The main reason is because you can install it on an unlimited number of devices.
For the purpose of this article, we’re going to assume that you have 3 members in your household and therefore 3 devices you can install it on. Each device will earn $50/year in passive income, so you get a total of $150/year.
Have more devices? Earn more money.
Another great thing about Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel is that it’s available to more than just users in the US. You can register if you’re from England, Spain, Australia, Canada, the US and many other countries.
You only need a minimum of $5 to cash out for a cash prize of your choice.
Read our full Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel Review
2. Sweatcoin
- Potential Earnings: Unlimited
- Installation Bonus: None
- Join Sweatcoin
With Sweatcoin, it pays to walk, literally. They track and verify your outdoor steps using your cell phone. Those steps get converted to their currency, Sweatcoins, and you earn passively everyday, for doing what you’d be doing anyway, walking!
I had been hearing the buzz about Sweatcoin for a while but it wasn’t until I made a recent trip to Las Vegas to truly understand its power. The first day of my Vegas trip I walked over 20,000 steps. If you’ve been to Las Vegas, you know that this isn’t unusual.
After that first day, I immediately installed the app to my smartphone and for the duration of my trip, each day I logged 20,000 to 40,000 steps and banked it with my Sweatcoin app!
It’s so easy to get started with Sweatcoin and be on your way to earning money passively with walking.
As you accumulate your Sweatcoins and your balance grows, you’ll be able to buy things like:
- Goods, like Apple watches
- Services
- Experiences, like anti-gravity yoga classes
- Paypal cash
Another plus is that you have the ability to donate your Sweatcoins to their partner charities, helping make a difference around the world.
“If you’ve needed an incentive to exercise, a new app could give you a much-needed boost to get active.”
Visit Sweatcoin to learn more.
4. SavvyConnect
- Potential Earnings: $180/year
- Installation Bonus: None
- Join SavvyConnect
SavvyConnect is part of the SurveySavvy network, one of the more popular survey sites on the web. Install the SavvyConnect app and leave it running in the background to get paid.
The app can be installed on up to 3 devices per home – desktop, mobile and tablet. You earn $5 per month for every devices it’s installed on.
Have it installed on the maximum number of devices and you get $15 per month or $180 per year – definitely one of the highest-paying programs on this list.
The reason they’re able to pay you is for the same reason Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel is able to pay you. They track how you use your phone and then sell the information to companies. In exchange, you get a cash reward.
Again, all of the information is kept anonymous. There won’t be any way for companies to track your information back to you.
The one great thing I love about SavvyConnect compared to all of the other programs on this list is their excellent referral program.
For each “project” your referral completes, you earn anywhere from $5 – $15. If your friend makes a referral, you get another bonus of $2 – $6. So encourage your friends to join, and encourage your friends to earn referral bonuses.
At this time, we currently do not have a SavvyConnect review.
5. ScreenLift
- Potential Earnings: $60/year
- Installation Bonus: 250 points
- Join ScreenLift
ScreenLift was just recently launched, but it’s already making its claim to fame with its ease of use. This has to be one of the most passive apps out there.
ScreenLift pays you to unlock your screen by placing an ad on your screen each time you unlock your phone. The best part is that the ad doesn’t interfere in any way, and whether you engage with the ad or not you still get paid!
This means that you can keep unlocking your phone like you normally do but instead receive cash from it. You need a minimum of 1,500 points to cash out, but we recommend saving up for more since the more you save up for, the more valuable your points become.
6. WiseBanyan
- Potential Earnings: Greatly Varies
- Installation Bonus: $20
- Join WiseBanyan
WiseBanyan is so confident in their app that they’re currently offering a $20 sign-up bonus. For a free rewards program with passive income potential, this is extremely high.
This app takes a little bit longer to setup that most on this list, but it’s definitely worth it. WiseBanyan is a free robo-investment advisor that helps you in invest money toward your future – $5 at a time.
All you have to do is fill out a short survey about your risk level (aggressive, moderate conservative) and WiseBanyan automatically invests your money for you.
Your money is invested into safe stock securities and the decisions are based on the expertise of hundreds of different financial advisors.
The best part? Each time you invest, you only have to add an additional $5. Furthermore, it’s all commission free! You can even choose to open an IRA or Roth-IRA account with WiseBanyan.
Sounds too good to be true? Try signing-up for free and invest with the $20 bonus that they give you. At this time, we currently do not have a review of WiseBanyan.
7. Digital Reflection Panel
- Potential Earnings: $120/year
- Installation Bonus: $50 your first month
- Digital Reflection Panel
The Digital Reflection Panel is a rewards program that tracks characteristics about your internet usage. You can quickly earn $50 your first month and a minimum of $170 your first year.
Since you receive the installation bonus only once, you will earn $120 each subsequent year. Not only that, but every 3 consecutive months you’re enrolled in the program you get a bonus.
The program works by asking you to install an internet meter on your wireless router. This takes roughly 5 minutes to install will complete instructions and full support have you any questions.
The type of data they collect is in regards to what websites you visit, what browsers you install, and search engines you use among other things. This information is then sold anonymously to businesses to help improve their products and services.
Registration is completely free and only takes 5 minutes to determine if you’re eligible for the program.
Read our full Digital Reflection Panel Review
8. Frequent Flyer App
- Potential Earnings: $60/year
- Installation Bonus: 100 points ($.10 cents)
- Join Frequent Flyer App
The recently-launched Frequent Flyer App is one of the easiest ways to start earning a passive income. The only step you need to take is install the app and leave it running in the background.
Once this is complete, the app will collect data about your phone usage. This includes what apps you use and your cell phone service among other things.
Leaving the app consistently installed will net you $5 per month or $60 per year. Although it’s not much, that’s enough to buy a small meal each month or make a free deposit into your Acorns investment plan.
The Frequent Flyer App rewards you in the form of points. The more points you earn the higher their value becomes. For example, you can cash at 12,000 points for $10, or wait until you earn 25,000 points and cash out for $25.
The second deal is much better. Points can be exchanged for gift cards toward travel such as Southwest Airlines, Airbnb and various hotels.
Read our full Frequent Flyer App Review
9. Google Opinion Rewards (formerly Cross Media Panel)
- Potential Earnings: $144/year
- Installation Bonus: $2 per device
- Join Google Opinion Rewards (formerly Cross Media Panel)
Cross Media Panel (previously known as Screenwise Trends) pays you to do something that you’re already doing on a daily basis – browse the web. After you install their plugin, they collect your data and resell it as market research. Instead of keeping all of this cash to themselves, they give a portion of it back to you.
You can have a maximum of 3 devices with the plugin installed. This may include desktop computers as well as tablets and mobile devices. Each device you install gives you a one-time installation bonus with a $1 weekly rewards just for leaving it installed.
If you calculate this out, this means we can earn a maximum passive income of $3 per week or $12 per month. This is pretty good since it takes under 10 minutes to set up. Once your account balance hits a minimum of $5, you can cash out for electronic gift cards to popular retailers such as Amazon.
You start earning rewards as soon as you register and install their browser extension. All of the data they collect is completely anonymous, and you’re helping to improve real-life products and services.
In order to be eligible for Cross Media Panel, you must be residing in the US and either use Google Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer browsers. This takes our #1 spot due to their fast payout times and ease of use.
10. Datacoup
- Potential Earnings: $60/year
- Installation Bonus: None
- Join Datacoup
Datacoup works by keeping track of how you use social media. All you have to do is link your accounts to the Datacoup network and receive a monthly bonus for allowing them to collect your data. All of this information is kept anonymous.
If you want to increase your earnings, you can do so by linking more than just social media accounts. This includes your credit cards and bank accounts as well. However, you don’t need to worry about stealing your financial information – the only data they gather is how you spend your money.
If you link all of your accounts to Datacoup, expect to earn about $5 per month. While it’s not much, I’ve found that I only have to check back once a year to make a $60 cash out to my PayPal account. It only takes a few minutes at most to setup an account.
11. Adfun App
- Potential Earnings: $500+/year
- Installation Bonus: None
- Join Adfun
The Adfun app pays you to leave video runnings on your phone. The best part? You can have as many phones as you want running the app. The only requirement is that each household can have a maximum of one account.
I currently have 5 phones running, and I earn about $15 per phone per month. At this rate, this calculates to $900 per year in passive income! This amount is huge, and you can increase this amount even further by increasing the number of devices.
The only downside is that if you have too many devices running, they may run out of ads. Furthermore, if you don’t have a reliable internet connection, you may find it difficult to run that many videos at once since they’re taking up a lot of bandwidth.
In order to stay on accurate side, we’ve cut this down to about $500 per year for five phones, which is still really good.
If you’re looking for a good phone recommendation that’s cheap and reliable, we recommend getting the LG Fuel. They only cost around $20 – $30 on Amazon, and you can quickly earn your money back within a couple of months. Start slow to see if your internet doesn’t slow down and gradually add on phones from there.
Other Great Passive Income Apps & Websites
The items on the list below aren’t part of the top 10 list, but they’re still a great way to earn some extra cash.
12. Ebesucher
- Potential Earnings: $65/year
- Installation Bonus: None
- Join Ebesucher
Ebesucher pays you just to leave your browser open. Open a new tab in your browser, and they automatically surf the web for you. All you need to do is type in their “surfbar” link and the program begins for you. You don’t need to be active or pay attention to any of the sites they’re browsing.
The great thing about this program is that you can run their browser on as many devices as you want. With just one device, you can earn $65 per year assuming you leave it running constantly. The only condition is that you must have each device running on a unique IP address. You can either get multiple IPs or request a family member or friend run the same link for you.
Another incredible positive about this program is that there’s a 8% referral bonus for each friend you refer or 5% of their referrals. Payments are made in the form of cash directly to PayPal accounts.
Read our full Ebesucher Review
13. S’more
- Potential Earnings: Unlimited
- Installation Bonus: None
- Join S’more
S’more is a lock screen app that pays you to unlock your phone screen. You can get paid daily to allow S’more app to show you content and ads on your lock screen.
It’s so easy to earn and a great way to make money passively with no effort. There’s no need to try to view as many ads as you can, you just use your phone like your normally would. You can sit back and earn points every single day and those points convert to gift cards.
• Simply swipe up, down, left or right to unlock your phone
• If you’re interested in what you’re seeing, just tap the learn more button
• In exchange for allowing us to rent your lock screen, we’ll give you points every day
• You can redeem those points for gift cards.
14. Mobile Performance Meter App
- Potential Earnings: $72/year
- Installation Bonus: None
- Join Mobile Performance Meter
The Mobile Performance Meter App is one of the rewards programs on this list that requires the least amount of effort. Simply install the app and let it run in the background collecting your data. You never have to touch it except during the registration process and when you want to cash out.
You can earn on average $6 per month or a total of $72 per year. The type of data that’s collected is your battery life, amount of text messages sent and duration of phone calls. Like the other apps, all of this data is submitted anonymously.
As long as you have a decent mobile device, you shouldn’t notice the app slowing it down at all.
Read our full Mobile Performance Meter Review
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions that we come across when dealing with these type of apps.
Are These Apps or Websites Really Passive?
We define a passive income app or website that requires minimal management aside from the registration process and when cashing out. The rewards program should be passive enough to where you don’t have to touch it for days on end.
If you have a slow device that’s running videos or a browser-related task, you may run into more errors, causing you to maintain the app/website in order to keep running rewards. Therefore, we highly suggest getting a decent device that will support these types of apps if you can afford it.
Do These Apps Permit The Use of VPNs?
In general, no. This is especially true for video rewards apps. If a VPN is detected, they are assuming that you are potentially using more devices for the sole purpose of trying to get more rewards. We recommend not using a VPN to earn rewards.
How Will This Affect My Bandwidth Usage?
You shouldn’t have to worry about bandwidth issues unless you’re running video rewards apps such as the Adfun App. If you have a Comcast residential plan, they have an internet cap of 250 GB in data per month.
Expect a device running videos 24/7 for a month to take up about 50 GB per data. Although going past the 250 GB limit with Comcast has never raised any concern, you should at least be aware of it in case you encounter an issue. Be sure to check with your ISP if there are limits on bandwidth usage.
Are There Referral Programs With These Apps & Websites?
At the time of this writing, the only programs on this list that have referral programs are Frequent Flyer, eBesucher and MobileXpression. This can be a great way to earn some extra cash. We greatly appreciate it when you use our referral links in this article!
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking to make some extra cash or are in-between jobs, these apps can be a great way to increase your income. They take little effort to maintain, essentially granting you a passive income.
For those of you who want to view a video version of this article, feel free to watch it here:
For those who have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them down below. Thanks for reading our review of the top 10 passive income apps and websites. Happy frugaling!
