Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. We may receive a commission when you click on them, but this is at no extra cost to you. Read our privacy policy for more information.
Want to make some easy money through your smartphone?
While the 20 easy money apps on this list won’t make you rich, they can help you quickly and easily earn some extra cash on the side.
Whether it be sleeping, working in the office or playing sports, there’s probably an app that will pay you for it. The best part? They’re all 100% FREE to register.
These apps are ranked based on money potential and the amount of time that you have to put into them. The less time you have to spend making money, the higher the ranking.
Want to skip the list and get straight to it? Here’s some of our favorites:
- Ibotta ($10 bonus after scanning your first receipt)
- Swagbucks ($5 sign-up bonus)
- Pinecone Research (flat $3 per survey)
- Trunow (earn cash back on gas – $2 bonus with promo code TOF19)
- Acorns ($5 bonus to start investing in your future)
- More below…
Want to view this article in video version? Click here to scroll down to our YouTube video.
With that said, let’s get started. A list of the 20 best easy money apps.
Table of Contents
1. Ibotta
- Registration Bonus: $10 after scanning your first receipt
- Join Ibotta
Ibotta has to be one of the most popular money making apps on the market today. Get paid to take pictures your receipts from purchases on alcohol, groceries, electronics, meals at restaurants and more.
Partnered with hundreds of retailers and currently with over 1,000 offers, Ibotta gives you anywhere between $.25 cents and $5 per offer found on your receipt. Cross the $5 threshold by scanning multiple offers per receipt.
You can also earn cash back through their portal system when shopping through other retailers.
For example, let’s say you wanted to shop through Groupon. First open the Ibotta app and then scroll down for rewards through other retailers. Find Groupon, and you’ll notice they offer 10% in cash back.
Click on the app, and you’ll be redirected to the Groupon app (or be asked to download it if you don’t have it already). From there, make your purchase on their app and receive 10% in cash back on your total purchase price in your Ibotta account.
The best part? Earn a $10 registration bonus when you sign-up and scan your first receipt. You need a minimum of $20 to cash out to PayPal, Venmo or for a gift card of your choosing.
2. Shopkick
- Registration Bonus: 250 kicks
- Join Shopkick
Shopkick is one of my favorites on this list due to the amount of different ways you can earn money via shopping. Get paid to walk into stores, scan barcodes, shop online, refer friends, link your credit cards and more.
What’s great about the Shopkick app is that a lot of people actually think it makes shopping around that much more fun.
When you sign-up as a new user, you get 250 kicks (their word for points) for free. For every friend that you refer you get an additional 250 kicks.
When you reach a minimum of 1,250 kicks, you can cash out for a gift card of your choosing. I usually find that I can earn an additional $20 – $30 per month from my shopping adventures using Shopkick.
Read our full Shopkick Review
3. Swagbucks TV
- Registration Bonus: $5
- Join Swagbucks
Swagbucks TV is linked to a site called Swagbucks. On this website, you can points called Swagbucks by taking surveys, filling out various offers or watching videos. These points are then redeemed for gift cards.
By using this app, you can continuously watch videos without the need to do anything or hit next to watch an upcoming video. That means you can even make money while you sleep.
The only downside is that Swagbucks only allows you to make 50 Swagbucks a day, which equates to about 3 hours of watching videos.
Watch for 9 days and you’ve earned enough for a $5 gift card to Amazon at 450 points. You must first sign-up for a Swagbucks account in order to start earning money.
Read our full Swagbucks Review
4. Checkout 51
- Registration Bonus: None
- Join Checkout 51
Similar to Ibotta, Checkout 51 also gives you money for grocery shopping. After scanning your receipt from your purchase to your iPhone, you will receive money within 1 week.
The only reason that Checkout51 ranks below Ibotta is because it doesn’t have as many offers. The best way to make some money is to stack Ibotta and Checkout51 together in one purchase.
It’s a very easy app to use and requires very little work to get some extra cash for grocery shopping.
Read our full Checkout 51 Review
5. Perk TV
- Registration Bonus: 50 Perk Points
- Join Perk TV
The laziest of all the apps, PerkTV is by far the easiest app to use in order to earn cash. You receive points by simply watching videos.
The best part? You don’t have to click anything to go to the next video, meaning that your points will continue to increase as long as you don’t touch anything.
This means you could leave the app running 24/7 provided that you have a stable internet connection, earning over $60 a month for doing nothing!
The only con that I could find is that PerkTV only provides cash to those who are current residents of the United States. Also see This App Will Make You $250 Per Month in Passive Income – Perk TV.
Use promo code fe060f34 to get a bonus on sign-up.
6. App Trailers
- Registration Bonus: None
- Join App Trailers
A veteran of money-making apps, App Trailers pays you to watch videos about apps, games, movies, promos and much more
It can’t be left on repeatedly, so you’ll have to keep clicking in order to go to the next video to keep earning money.
Points can be redeemed for gift cards or money directly deposited into your Paypal account. It has a very easy to use layout and a quick method for earning points fast.
7. Surveys on the Go
- Registration Bonus: None
- Join Surveys on the Go
Be heard and get paid! With Surveys on the Go, you can get paid to take quick and simple surveys right from your smartphone.
Getting started is so easy.
First, sign up for an account. Then, download the app from Apple App Store or Android Play Store. Then, take your surveys and get paid!
Take a look at this review:
Easy way to earn a little extra money. I recently start getting $10 surveys to try new products. I’ve had 3 in the last 2 weeks. Love them!
Read more about Surveys on the Go
8. Viggle
- Registration Bonus: None
- Join Viggle
Reinforce your bad habit of watching TV with our number four ranked app, Viggle.
This app pays you to watch TV or listen to music. All you have to do is “check-in” for Viggle to detect what you’re listening to, and then you’re rewarded points based on the amount of TV you watch or music you listen to.
Points can be redeemed for gift cards or various discounts found at local retailers. Unfortunately, you have to keep manually checking-in when you change TV shows and commercials.
9. Receipt Hog
- Registration Bonus: 30 spins
- Join Receipt Hog
Receipt Hog gives you points for simply taking snapshots of your grocery store receipt no matter what you purchase. The higher your total, the higher amount of points you will receive.
You can also earn points by inviting friends, taking survey, or spinning the hog slot machine. Once you get enough points you can choose between cash and gift cards for redemption.
This is a definite must for anyone looking to get some extra cash out of their shopping experience, as not much has to be done beyond keeping receipts. Use code zuss1319 to get a bonus on sign-up.
10. Mobee
- Registration Bonus: None
- Join Mobee
If you like to shop, Mobee is definitely the app for you. This app pays you to mystery shop – taking surveys or filling out forms regarding services and places that you’ve experienced.
Mobee sends you notifications depending on your location and will give you a certain task to do that never requires a large amount of time. 100 points is equivalent to $1, and there is no limit on the amount of points earned.
It’s a great app to check whenever you’re out and about to see if some extra cash can be made. Use referral code H3HR to get a bonus on sign-up.
11. Iconzoomer
This app definitely gets two thumbs up for creativity and fun. Iconzoomer pays you to do small tasks, and are usually very minimal such as taking a picture of your shoes and uploading it. Every picture taken can be redeemed for roughly ten credits, and 200 credits is equal to $10 to PayPal or a $10 Amazon gift card. Not a bad deal for simply taking pictures.
12. GiftBay
GiftBay is an app that pays you to download and try out other apps. Install them to your phone, open them for a few seconds, and get paid. Expect to earn around $10 – $15 per month. There’s enough offers available when you first register to quickly earn $5, and there’s only a $1 minimum needed for cash out. You can also complete other tasks such as daily check-in, watching videos and more. What’s best is their referral bonus. For every friend you refer, they get a registration bonus and you get 30% of all their earnings. Use referral code 3b92e05 to get a bonus on sign-up.
13. GigWalk
Want to receive money for doing tasks on the go? Gigwalk is the app for you. This app finds local “gigs” that fits your profile. These little tasks include taking photos, filling out surveys, mystery shopping and more. Gigwalk usually pays a hefty amount, sometimes earning you up to $20 per task completed. I can’t personally use this due to my current location in Taiwan, but I’ve heard great things from friends and it has been well-received by its users.
14. EasyShift
EasyShift is a great app that gives you money for doing small audits at stores. It is similar to mystery shopping, but a little less work is involved. Some tasks might include taking pictures, counting inventory or doing price checks. Occasionally other small tasks may appear that you can do at home. Each task usually pays you around $2, but payouts of up to $12 can be made depending on the job.
15. Field Agent
Similar to Gigwalk, Field agent gives you money for completing small “jobs” or tasks. The tasks are simple enough, such as going to a grocery store and taking a picture of a product or filling out a survey. Jobs will depend on your location, so the more you move, the more opportunities you have! Tasks usually pay a generous amount, up to $12, but can be somewhat time-consuming.
16. CheckPoints
This app includes a little bit of everything when it comes to making money. Points can be earned through watching videos, scanning barcodes on products in stores and filling out small questionnaires. The points can then be redeemed for gift cards, airline miles or electronic devices. With the ease of simply scanning barcodes, it’s not difficult to make some money off of Check Points. The only problem is that tasks tend to be somewhat limited. Use code jwuerch to get free points upon registration.
17. iPoll
Have some extra time while waiting in line and can fill out a survey? iPoll is perfect for that. It’s an easy way to make money by answering questions about products and services you use and places you visit every day. You can earn gift cards, airline miles and cash deposits to PayPal.
18. Survey.com
While it may not have the best looking design, the Survey.com app has the most surveys out of any other source I’ve seen. The earning potential isn’t very high, but you should never run out of surveys to complete if you have some time on your hands. It’s a surefire way to earn some cash if you’re not willing to try any of the above apps. Surveys sometimes don’t pay out more than 50 cents, so make sure to look at the potential earnings before choosing which one to fill out.
19. Boom Gift
Boom Gift is very similar to the app mentioned above called Gift Bay. Get paid to download apps and try them out. While there isn’t a timeframe in which to leave the app open, we suggest a minimum of 30 seconds in order to ensure that your account gets credited. If you don’t get your credit, contact support and explain the problem. Similar to Gift Bay, expect to receive the same amount of earnings at $10 – $15 per month. There should be enough offers available on registration to quickly earn $5. Use code 6702298 to receive a bonus on sign-up.
20. Gym Pact
While this app may include a lot of work for some, for others it could be a great way to motivate you to exercise being very convenient. Gym Pact pays you money for completing your exercise goals, giving anywhere from 30 cents to $5 at a time. If you don’t complete them, it takes money away from your PayPal account, usually at around $5. Of course you can fake the amount you exercise and lie, but users usually find that logging in their meals, buying new, healthy dishes to photograph and recording their exercise time isn’t worth the trouble. This app made the list due to the fact that you can get paid to exercise. What’s more convenient than that?
Final Thoughts
Do you have an app in mind that’s not on this list? If so, let us know in the comments below.
Thanks again for reading, and feel free to leave any suggestions for other apps in the comments below. For those who want to view this article in video version, click on the image below:
