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In recent years, most money making websites offer smartphone app options. I’ve been toying with a few different ones and found InboxDollars on Reddit. Over the past few weeks, I’ve used their website and app to make money online.
Below you’ll find an InboxDollars review based on my experience, user feedback, research, and more. It’ll give you an unbiased look at this money making app.
From tips to pros and cons, I’ve covered it all. Read on to find out if InboxDollars is a scam or legit.
Table of Contents
What Is InboxDollars?
InboxDollars is a website that partners with major brands for consumer input and advertisement. You earn money by giving your input in different ways and viewing different types of advertisements.
For example, you take surveys to give your opinions and watch video advertisements. I’ll cover the other ways to earn money later in this post.
The services offered by InboxDollars benefits both you and big name brands. They learn more about buyers and they get more exposure. You get paid to complete these simple tasks.
According to the company, they’ve paid over $50 million to their users. InboxDollars can be used via their website, iPhone app, or Android app.
InboxDollars Pros and Cons
Before diving into the details, I’ll go over some InboxDollars pros and cons. These are partially based on my experience so far. I’ve also found comment threads on reviews that list pros and cons, too. You’ll find a mix of both below.
Pros:
- Some earning options are low-effort.
- You get $5.00 for free just for signing up.
- The website and app are free to join/use.
- It’s a good option for those who have sporadic free time.
- You can earn money through referrals.
- Payment is reliable when you meet the threshold.
- You can get paid via check, prepaid Visa card, or gift cards.
- Easy to do while watching TV, movies, etc.
Cons:
- The payout threshold is $30.
- It’s common to get screened out of surveys after spending several minutes on them.
- You may receive a lot of promotional e-mail.
- Most tasks and surveys are low paying – typically $0.01 to $1.25 at most.
- The website and app can glitch or crash.
- Survey questions are very repetitive.
- Some users report being locked out or having their accounts deleted randomly.
- It’s not a consistent source of money.
- There’s a $3.00 processing fee when you reach the payment threshold.
- The info you provide is sold to companies, so you’ll likely get spam e-mail and texts.
- It can take weeks to receive your check via mail.
Overall, I think it can be summed up pretty easily. InboxDollars is easy to use, but it’s easy for a reason. The potential to earn more than $5.00 per day is almost non-existent.
Naturally, this turns many people off of InboxDollars. If you want a reliable way to make good money online, this isn’t the opportunity for you.
But, you can legitimately earn money – there’s no questioning that. It’s just that you won’t earn a lot of money. I knew this going in, so it personally doesn’t bother me.
I view it this way – why not use the time I’d spend on Reddit earning a few bucks or so? Overall, being realistic and patient will make or break your decision to use this app.
I will note that I’ve received spam e-mails and texts, been screened out of surveys, and I’ve had the app crash mid-survey. These cons are very frustrating.
Some reviews mention that customer support helps with the latter two issues. Others weren’t so lucky. So, you are taking a risk in this sense.
How To Sign Up For InboxDollars
Signing up for InboxDollars is simple. Start by visiting their website or downloading the smartphone app. Then follow these easy steps:
- Input your e-mail address.
- Choose a password.
- When prompted, confirm your e-mail address. This activates your account and gives you a $5.00 signup bonus.
- Fill out your profile surveys. You’ll earn some money for this, but the purpose is to collect your demographic info. That allows you to get offers and surveys tailored to you.
- You’re all set to start earning!
I signed up through the Android app. Steps 1-3 took a few minutes at the most. I’d say I spent about 10 minutes total on the profile surveys. However, I got paid for this step so it’s a win-win. I enjoyed how easy it was to start quickly earning money.
How To Earn Money With InboxDollars
There are several different ways to earn money with InboxDollars. Each option pays differently and has unique pros and cons. Below, I’ve detailed the ways you can earn along with the ups and downs of each method.
Surveys
Surveys are a common way to earn money. The pay rate for surveys varies a bit. Right now, the surveys available to me range from $0.25 to $1.25 per survey. The length of time varies from 10 minutes to 27 minutes.
In my experience, surveys on InboxDollars can be hit or miss. There’s been a handful of times where I’ve spent five or so minutes on a survey, and then I was screened out.
This is a little annoying, but it doesn’t happen every time. I take about one survey per day with the average pay being $0.10 to $0.25 per survey.
It’s not much, but it’s a few extra bucks here and there. And with the other options for earning, it adds up fairly fast. Make sure to honestly answer questions on surveys. Random button clicking can prevent you from getting access to good surveys.
Sign Up Bonus
When you sign up for Ibotta, you receive a $5.00 bonus with no strings attached. This is about 16.7 percent of the payout minimum, and it takes absolutely no effort. It’s a nice little motivator to earn the remaining $25 you need to cash out.
PaidEmail
PaidEmail is hands down the easiest way to earn money on InboxDollars. You can view the PaidEmail in your e-mail inbox or through the InboxDollars website or app.
All you have to do is click a purple button that says “Confirm Paid E-mail” at the bottom of the screen. Your account is instantly credited.
The only downside is that this earns you about $0.01 or $0.02 per e-mail. It’s not much at all, but it’s literally a 10-second task.
To me, this effortless task is totally worth it. I get at least three e-mails per day. That’s an extra $0.21 per week for 70 seconds of effort. It’s a simple way to help boost your earning toward payouts.
Cash Offers
So far, I’ve only completed one Cash Offer through InboxDollars. They pay fairly well, but I’m a bit wary of them. I’ll explain why below. But first, InboxDollars lists this how-to for Cash Offers:
The best way to earn with InboxDollars is to interact with our partners that interest you.
- Discover – Find the offers that interest you.
- Interact – Complete the offer with our trusted partners
- Earn – Complete offers to earn cash in your account.
Overall, it’s pretty easy. But some of the offers require you to spend money to earn money. For example, InboxDollars credits you $10.00 for doing a $5.00 30-day trial with a trusted partner.
For these offers, you have to provide credit card info. You also have to remember to cancel the trial so you aren’t billed.
If that’s something that suits you, go for it! It’s a lucrative way to earn quickly through InboxDollars. The paid offers I currently see pay an average of $5.00 per offer. However, some pay up to $20 or $30 per offer.
I stick to the “Free Offers” tab; these usually just require subscribing to e-mail lists. The Free Offers that are available to me right now range from $0.50 to $25.00 per Free Offer.
The lower paying ones – about $1.00 or less – are usually just e-mail signups for other survey sites. I feel most comfortable with these.
Let’s say you stick to Free Offers and pick a $1.00 offer per day. That’s an extra $7.00 per week. Signing up for them usually takes about five minutes or so. It’s an easy way to earn money; just use caution when providing info for paid offers.
Cash TV
Earning with Cash TV is another low-effort way to earn with InboxDollars. You simply play advertisements through the app or website.
You can let them auto-play for as long as you’d like. After a bit, you’ll be asked if you’re still watching. Confirm you are to continue watching.
I’ve only done this once or twice so far, but my earnings for it are $0.11 for 1-2 Cash TV sessions. A quick Google search shows several users earn an extra $2.00 per day or $14.00 per week with Cash TV.
This is incredibly low effort and doesn’t actually require your attention – just make sure to click the “still watching” button!
Learn & Earn
Learn & Earn is a pop-up trivia feature in the InboxDollars app. You’re just asked a simple, fun question about pop culture, nature, or another random topic.
You don’t have to get the answer right to earn anything. Sometimes you’ll earn a few cents, and other times you’ll earn sweepstakes tickets.
I just earned 10 tickets by answering a question. It takes a second or two and doesn’t require any effort. So I give it a shot every time it pops up.
Cash Search Earnings
InboxDollars has their own search engine, and you can earn money by using it. There are a couple of different ways to earn:
- Perform four searches through their website or app. Once you do this, you’ll either receive a few cents or sweepstakes tickets (see below). I’ve mostly just earned sweepstakes tickets, though you can earn up to $0.15 per day. Four searches per day can take a minute or less. I just completed four searches and received $0.02 plus two sweeps tickets, and it took about 30 seconds.
- Earn $0.05 every four days in a row that you search. This is a loyalty bonus, and I’ve received it a few times by searching in the app.
I’ve read that you can also earn $1.00 by setting your default search engine to the InboxDollars search engine. However, I haven’t been able to verify this on their website or FAQ.
Overall, this task is simple and takes a minute or so. But aside from the $0.05 loyalty bonus, there’s no guarantee you’ll earn actual money. In my experience, sweepstakes tickets are much more likely.
Referral Bonuses
I haven’t referred anyone to InboxDollars yet, so I don’t have a firsthand experience with referral bonuses. According to the company, you are credited 10% of the qualified earnings your referrals earn.
There’s no indication of how long you’ll get this extra money though.
To me, this seems like the simplest way to earn money. But it all depends on if your referrals decide to use the app. Still, it doesn’t hurt to share your code with friends and family.
You’ll get free money from it, and they’ll get the opportunity to earn money as well.
Sweepstakes
As the name suggests, InboxDollars sweepstakes are a drawing where you can earn money. You win sweepstakes tickets through various activities.
For example, Learn and Earn nets me 10 sweepstakes tickets. You’ll also get sweepstakes tickets when you are disqualified from surveys.
The prices available in the sweepstakes are cash rewards and more tickets for more entries. The cash prizes start at $1.00 and you use 10 tickets per entry.
The increments go up to $100, and you use 50 tickets per entry. You can enter to get more sweeps tickets for lower tickets per entry. For example, you can spend 10 tickets per entry to win 100 tickets.
This isn’t a sure way to earn money, but you accumulate tickets either way. I usually use mine up at the end of the week try for cash prizes. I’ve yet to earn anything from them, but your mileage may vary.
InboxDollars Payment Options
You have three payment options available when you reach the $30 payout threshold. You can get a check in the mail, a digital or physical Prepaid Visa Card, or a digital gift card.
There is a $3.00 processing fee for all payment methods. However, several users have reported that InboxDollars will waive the fee if you reach a $40 minimum.
Visit the Payments page to learn more about each payment option and how to access it.
Verdict: Is InboxDollars A Scam Or Legit?
From my time on InboxDollars, I can verify that it’s not a scam. Many review websites are quick to label it a scam because of survey disqualifications or low payment. It’s understandable that these two things are major issues for some users.
However, the site and app are still 100% legitimate. Users get paid when they meet the payout threshold. InboxDollars has been around for years and partners with major name brands.
They have a support team that users can speak to if they have any issues. So while it won’t earn you tons of cash, it’s the real deal.
If you want an easy way to make a small amount of money each month, InboxDollars is right for you. It’s definitely feasible to make $20 to $30 per month by using the app a few minutes each day.
You can obviously earn more when you spend more time on the app.
Final Thoughts
If you like earning money via smartphone apps, InboxDollars is one popular and legitimate option. However, there are many different apps you can use to earn.
Check out 101 Free Money Making Apps To Quickly Earn Cash From Your Phone. You can earn cash and gift cards through surveys, games, receipt scanning, and so much more.
If you have experience using InboxDollars, let us know about your experience in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy frugaling!