13+ Best Apps
That Give You Free Money
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Look we get it — you’re addicted to your smartphone.
But instead of surfing endlessly or texting away, you can use your smartphone
for financial benefit. There are several apps available that offers cash, gift
cards and other rewards for simply doing things you will probably do for free.
All you need is a smartphone and some free time. Here
are 13 different apps for both Android and iOS, which will earn you some free
cash. Just find out what works best for you.
Want to skip the reviews and get right to it? Here’s a
quick list of some of your favorites:
·
Ibotta ($10 bonus when you sign-up with promo qFTVA and
scan your first receipt)
·
Shoptracker ($3 registration bonus after registration)
·
Shopkick (lots of fun ways to earn money from your phone)
·
Ipsos i-Say (great surveys with free sweepstakes entries)
·
Acorns ($5 sign-up bonus to invest in your future)
·
Drop ($1 bonus when you link your first debit/credit card)
·
Swagbucks ($5 sign-up bonus)
·
More below…
With that, let’s get started.
1. Ibotta
·
Registration Bonus: $10 using promo code qFTVA after
scanning your first receipt.
Ibotta is an app that pays you back for the money
you’ve spent at the store. It’s a great way to earn cash back at the stores.
You earn cash back through rebates on grocery items. You can simply unlock cash
rewards by completing small tasks before you go shopping.
The best part about Ibotta? You get
a $10 bonus when you sign-up with promo code qFTVA and scan your first receipt.
Some of the tasks include taking a quick poll, reading
a fun fact about a product, or writing a short comment about a specific item.
Once you complete the task, the product is added to your “Checklist”. Some of
the items that usually have rebates include eggs, milk, butter, yogurt and
butter.
When next you take a trip to the store and buy the
product, you earn a cash reward. To verify your purchase, take a picture of the
receipt and scan it via the app to get paid via gift card or PayPal. After
scanning the receipt with the Ibotta app and once verified, your account
balance is credited.
The minimum amount for withdrawal is $20. The amount
of cash you can receive is based on the offers available in the app. To
maximize savings, you can check out the offers available before shopping.
Ibotta sends your cash to PayPal as soon you request
it. Payment can also be sent through Venmo. Ibotta is a tremendous way to
complement traditional paper coupons and increase your savings.
Read our full Ibotta Review
2. Shoptracker
·
Registration Bonus: $3 Visa gift card
This offer you a seamless and passive way to earn an
additional $36 annually. This app is managed by The Harris Poll, a survey
company that measures U.S. public opinion. The aim of the company with
ShopTracker is to find out the products that are purchased by Amazon users.
A major requirement is that you should be a regular
shopper on Amazon, must be 18 years and a residence of the United States. The
Amazon account should have at least 1 month of purchase history. You can sync
up to 3 Amazon accounts per household, which can be done as often as you wish.
Once you download the app, sync it with your Amazon
account you will receive a $3 Visa Gift card as sign up bonus. Once you sign up
on ShopTracker you will be required to provide information including the day
the order was made, the product title, release date, ISBN, condition, quantity,
list price per unit etc.
You may also be requested to take part in occasional
online survey. After the initial sign up bonus, you will continue to earn point
monthly as long as the app is installed on your phone.
Once you have accumulated enough points, your balance
can be redeemed for a variety of different rewards including gift cards,
donations to charity etc.
3. Shopkick
·
Registration Bonus: 250 points
Shopkick is a versatile app that rewards you with
“kicks” or free gifts for several items. Interestingly, you don’t even have to
buy anything to earn money with this app. The app basically offers you reward
for shopping.
You earn reward points commonly referred to as
“kicks,” just for walking into stores like Target, Walmart, Best Buy,
Starbucks, and even at some local grocery stores. It gets even better when you
actually buy something from the store.
The app comes with a GPS feature that indicates that
you’ve enter the store and you will earn kicks immediately you step out of the
store. Navigating to the store section of the app shows stores offering walk-in
kicks.
As you earn more kicks, you’ll be rewarded with free
gift cards to your desired store. Astonishingly, you don’t have to do much to
earn a $5 Starbucks gift card. You will also get updated information on coupons
and deals at your favorite stores.
It’s also recommended that you check their feeds on
Facebook as they constantly post update on more innovative ways to earn free
kicks. To earn additional kicks you can scan product barcodes in stores.
The barcode feature is only available when you’re in
an actual store. Although this feature is not readily available at every store,
it’s a quick way to earn kicks. When you actually buy an item, you will use
their special coupons and discounts.
If you find something worthwhile, then it’s an added
bonus and if not you can keep all the other kicks you earned in the trip.
Shopkick allows you to cash out or redeem your kicks for gift cards to a large
selection of retailers.
Some gift card options include Urban Outfitters,
BestBuy, Walmart, and Target and a lot more.
4. Ipsos i-Say
·
Registration Bonus:
None
Ipsos is an online survey rewards community with more
than 3 million panelists. The company is a leading global market research
company. All you need to do is complete surveys – share your opinion on a
variety of topics and choose your rewards.
You can expect to get at the barest minimum at least
one survey each month. You can get many more if your account profile matches up
with the posted surveys. For every survey completed successfully you can earn
between 10-100 points.
The invitations for the surveys are sent directly to
your inbox for easy access. The Ipsos i-Say app is available on both Android
and iOS. It gives you instant notification when surveys are updated so that you
can complete surveys on the go.
The amount of points earned per survey differs based
on several factors including but not limited to the length of the survey. Once
the survey is completed, the points will be credited to your account right
away, except the survey says something different.
You will also earn 5 points if you happened to be
screened out of a survey before completion. You can also receive loyalty i-Say
bonus points for been a regular user. For example, if you complete 10 surveys,
you’ll be rewarded 50 bonus points, and 200 bonus points if you respond to 50
surveys.
You can request for payout once you have at least 500
I-Say points. Some of the rewards available Amazon gift card certificates, Visa
pre-paid cards, iTunes codes, PayPal funds, Starbucks e-gift cards and more.
There’s also opportunity to participate in sweepstakes.
Active members can receive entries into various prize
draws. The prices include paid vacations, electronics and prize packs.
5. Swagbucks
·
Registration Bonus: $5
Swagbucks is another app that allows you to earn free
money. Unlike other apps it focuses mainly on surveys. You can start by
downloading the app, selecting a survey and completing it.
You earn Swagbucks for every completed survey. An
interesting thing about the surveys is that you know exactly how long each
survey will take and the number of Swagbucks that you’ll earn.
For example, a 6 minute survey will earn you 50
swagbucks. For every 500 Swagbucks you earn, you’re eligible for a $5 gift card
from Starbucks, Amazon, Target or Walmart. The cashback site has quite a number
of deals available.
There are also plug-ins that makes earning effortless.
Another option to earn from is to use Swagbucks search engine as your default
option – or run Swagbucks video ads.
While waiting at a doctor’s appointment, riding in a
bus, or maybe at the DMV, you can quickly complete one or two surveys and earn
yourself some Swagbucks.
6. Drop
·
Registration Bonus: $1 when you link your first debit/credit card
To start using Drop App link your debit or credit card
to your Drop account. This free app track purchases made with your linked cards
and anytime you make purchases with any of the linked cards you earn points
that can be redeemed for gift cards.
This makes the app far more efficient than most of the
other popular apps. As you shop, you rack up points in the process. The number
of points accrued is based on the amount of money you spend on qualified
purchases.
For example, you earn about 10 points for every $1
spent at McDonalds, 10 points for every $1 spent at Target and 2 points per $1
spent at Walmart and lot more. Every 1000 points you earn on Drop app is
equivalent to $1 when you are redeeming rewards.
If you want more information on the payout options you
can see the full list of rewards available in the drop-down menu on the app.
This makes it easy to see the exact amount of points you need to accumulate to
qualify for different rewards.
Drop app also maintains a full functioning website
with a very detailed FAQ section which makes it one of the best shopping apps.
Drop app does not offer cash option at the moment, you can only get gift cards
on the app.
A major drawback for some people is the fact that Drop
app requires you to link your cards as lot of people are still a little
concerned about sharing such sensitive information. However, there’s nothing to
suggest that Drop is sketchy.
·
Registration Bonus:
None
This also allows you to state your opinion about
consumer products and taste. You earn points for each completed survey. Anytime
a survey is available you be notified on your email address.
Once you receive notification for any available
survey, complete the survey and get rewarded instantly. You can also be invited
to test a product right in your home and get rewarded too.
The surveys offered are usually opinion-based or new
product testing. For every completed survey, you can earn about $3 worth of
points that can be redeemed for cash or prizes.
You get to test product directly before they hit the
shelves. Signing up on Pinecone Research is not easy. First you need to find a
signup link, then wait to see whether you will be accepted or not based on your
personal information.
Panelists are usually taken from the UK, US, Canada
and Germany. Pinecone Research is known for having some of the highest paid
surveys and really fascinating topics. Surveys are generally few and far
between- with only a few available each month.
A major advantage Pinecone Research has over other
survey apps is that you can be confident of completing the survey without been
disqualified because of the extensive pre-screening.
Pinecone Research takes great pride in its ability to
protect your personal information. You can get your account deregistered by
trying to sign up multiple accounts or violating the confidentiality agreement.
·
Registration Bonus: $1.50 when you use promo code HH3MN
This is another app that is very easy to use. Unlike
other apps that requires scanning receipts, they don’t care where you bought
the item, all that is required is for you to buy an item regardless of where
you bought it from.
Just like other apps, you can check the list of offers
available to maximize your savings. Instead of checking to see which of the
stores is offering the deals, you can just go to the nearest or most convenient
store to buy the product.
You will earn points that can be redeemed. You can
accumulate the points till you reach the minimum for payout. Every 1000 points
earns you the equivalent of $3 and the minimum payout is 3000 points.
A major drawback of the app is that because it is
fairly new, it does not offer a large number of offers compare to similar apps.
Instead of offering cash rewards, Fetch Rewards offers gift cards to dozens of
retailers, including Target, Amazon, Best Buy, Sephora, and a lot more.
There is also the option of donating your earnings to
Red Cross. These payout options are basically as good as cash because it can be
easily use for your next purchase of food items and other essentials.
Fetch Rewards works basically the same
way other grocery receipt-scanning apps works. You can get extra $1.50 bonus by using the code HH3MN when you download the app.
9. Acorns
·
Registration Bonus: $5
Acorns is one of the best smart phone apps for
investment as it rounds up your daily purchases to the next dollar and invest
the difference. All you need to do is link your credit card to the checking
account and Acorns takes care of the rest.
Acorns makes investment almost seamless, because
you’re investing only pennies at a time. This app is essentially an excellent
starting point for individuals who have never tried investing before. Acorns
works hard to make investment easy and ensure your money is invested wisely.
Basically what the app does is to round up your
purchases to the nearest dollar and invest the extra change. For example, say
you buy a coffee for $1.75, Acorns rounds up the purchase to $2 and invest the
extra quarter into your investment account piggy bank.
Every time your accumulated spare change reaches $5,
acorn automatically invests it. Acorn charges a monthly fee of $1.
Investment portfolios ranges from aggressive to conservative allowing you to
choose the level of risk you are willing to take with your investments.
Generally, there are 5 pre-set investment portfolios.
Acorn recommends one based on your answers to questions such as income, age
etc. to gauge the type of investor you are. Setting up the app is pretty
straightforward.
Since its inception more than a million accounts have
been registered. Recently Acorns started Found Money which allows you to earn
reward points from airlines, retailers and other businesses that can be
invested.
10. YouGov
·
Registration Bonus: $2
YouGov is a global data organization that focuses on
surveys. The company is so large that it has surveys on a wide range of topics.
Daily you will find surveys on different topics including products brand,
political opinions, consumer consumption habits and a lot more.
YouGov survey is an interesting way to earn rewards.
When you’re not taking surveys, you can also take part in community polls that
allows you to express your opinions on non-surveys topics such as pop culture
and current events.
You also will earn points for every survey completed
on YouGov which can be redeemed for gift cards in several stores and
restaurants. Once you’ve accumulated enough points, you can cash out for gift
cards that can be sent directly to your email.
The minimum amount of accumulated points for
withdrawal is 5000 points. Your points can be traded for any gift card that you
choose. The amount your point is worth is determined by the type of gift cards
you selected.
Generally, the higher the dollar values you withdraw,
the higher the values you can get for your points. For example a $100 dollar
Visa Gift Card can be cashed in for 100,000 points this means that $1 is
equivalent to 1000 points.
However if the same amount of money is used to redeem
for the AMC gift card, then the worth of the points will be lower.
11. MyPoints
·
Registration Bonus: $10 when you earn your first $20
This is another popular survey panel that has been in
existence since 1996. There are several ways to earn on MyPoints including
taking surveys, watching videos online, making online purchases, reading emails
and a lot more.
You basically earn great rewards for
doing what you will normally do online. Signing up on MyPoints is easy, all you
need to do is fill in the required information and you’re good to go. To make
the most of the online surveys, ensure that your profile is updated and check
out the : for new uploaded surveys.
You can also earn points when you refer a friend (25
points). There are also online games that can earn you between 5-10 Points. You
also earn 5 points for reading mails and about 25 bonus points for printing
10-15 coupons in a month.
The videos posted online could be on a diverse range
of topics including entertainment, wellness, and health etc. For each short
video you earn 1 point.
For payout you need to accumulate at least 3,970
points, which is the equivalent of $25 PayPal funds.
That means each point is equivalent to more than half
a cent. If you’re interested in Gift Cards you need a minimum of 700 points
which is about $5. There are several options available including Amazon, JC
Penny, Barnes and Noble, etc.
12. InboxDollars
·
Registration Bonus: $5
InboxDollars app allows you to earn additional income
on the side. There are several options to earn on InboxDollars including paid
surveys, test products, read emails, redeem coupons, watch videos online and
shop online.
This gives you an opportunity to diversify your
earning potential. Right after signing up you will earn a $5 bonus cash. Unlike
several other apps InboxDollars offers cash as opposed to gift cards. Once you
sign up on InboxDollars you will start getting emails notification with offers
on products and services.
All you need to do is click the link at the bottom of
each email to indicate that you’ve read the content and earn cash rewards. You
don’t necessarily need to make any purchase or sign up for any offers, however
if you do you will earn more.
To use the paid search feature you need to download
the InboxDollars toolbar. You will earn $1.00 for downloading the app toolbar
and earn about $0.01 per search daily. The maximum you can earn is $0.05 cents
daily.
You can also check out the offer tap on the app for
100% FREE offers. You can earn ($0.25 – $3.00) for testing a new product or
trying out a service. You can also watch videos online which earns you about 6
cents for each short video which are posted every week.
The most popular way to earn is by completing surveys
which can earn you $0.50 – $10.00. You can request for payout once you’ve
earned a minimum of $30 which allows you to become a Gold Member giving you the
opportunity to earn even more rewards.
13. Receipt Hog
·
Registration Bonus:
None
Receipt Hog is another app that pays you for taking
photos of your receipts and those of people in your household. Each receipt
from beauty and health stores earns you between 5 to 20 coins depending on the
size of the item purchased.
You can only earn a maximum of 100 coins per week from
submitting receipts.
Receipts from other types of purchases including
electronics, clothes etc. earns you a spin on the “Hog Slots”. The Hog Slot
pays out 0 to 2000 coins for every spin.
Every picture of receipt taken and submitted earns you
an opportunity to participate in the monthly sweepstakes where large bonuses
are given out. You will need a minimum of 1000 coins to buy a £3 Amazon
voucher.
However, it will take up to 10 weeks to earn 1000
points from just scanning receipts, which is why you should take advantage of
the sweepstakes and Hog slots to increase your earning potential.
Final Thoughts
We hope you’ve enjoyed this list of 13+ best apps that
give you free money and their reviews. See one that’s not on this list and
should be? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy
frugaling!
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