- You can also easily manage your payments online. The Chase app allows you to pay bills, transfer money to friends via Zelle, and schedule payments for your credit card, mortgage or other loans. You can also see your TransUnion credit score in the app.
- This is one of those apps that pay real money to PayPal. On every eligible purchase, you get amazing cashback from SavingStar. If you want to earn from receipt scanning, this one is the best app for you.
Start with a high-yield savings account like CIT Bank that offers a Savings Builder that will pay a great APY and still give you instant access to your money in case of an emergency. You can open it with $100 and deposit $100 a month to help you. The next app that pays real money is InboxDollars, where you can earn cash for sharing your opinion and completing surveys. This is a super legitimate app like Swagbucks and Survey Junkie. In fact, InboxDollars has millions of members who have earned over $57 million in cash to date.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
With the recent technology advancements, there are plenty of apps that pay you real money for doing little to no extra work at all. Let's get into the very best apps that pay money for you to simply get involved.
I'm a big fan of making money online and working wherever you like in the world. Who doesn't like making extra cash for doing little to no extra work at all? Increasing your income and saving costs is very important as it allows you to pay off debt and/or invest faster.
I enjoy small wins from apps that will pay you for signing up or participating. If I can earn $20 of incremental savings, I will take it! I use this to continually invest in stocks to make that $20 grow into much more over time.
Why use apps to earn money?
Did you know that there numerous apps that pay you real money for doing specific simple tasks? Well… If you have a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop and you still haven't been earning from these money minting apps, then you're losing out a great deal.
There are plenty of apps out there that will simply give you money for signing up AND/OR you continue to earn money for making routine purchases, grabbing lunch or even WALKING.
You can earn a bunch of dollars by downloading an app, installing them on your smartphone, or if you love games, you can make money by playing games with apps. Also, you can get rewards and earn points with data collection and cashback apps.
With this many apps nowadays, you have no excuses to save or start investing.
List of 27+ Apps that Pay You Real Money
In this article, we have gathered a list of some of the best money making apps. So, without much further ado, here is a list of the27 best apps that pay you real money:
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is one of the genuine apps that pay you real money. It is an online survey platform that pays you for taking part in their online surveys. It is among the highest paying survey apps that pay you real money, and that can add something significant to your wallet.
It is a free mobile app and one of the highest paying apps that charge you $0 to join, and it can pay up to $50 with surveys. A survey takes not more than 5 minutes to complete. Check out my writeup on Survey Junkie to learn more. Sign up using my link and you'll start earning money now.
Drop app
When you download and link up your debit or credit card to the free Drop app, it tracks all your purchases. It then adds the point to your account when you purchase products from specific stores that you choose from their list.
The points can be redeemed as gift cards that you can use at favorite retail shops like Amazon, Whole Foods and more. You get $1 for signing up by using my link.
Swagbucks
Earn up to $35 clean cash per survey by participating in an online survey with Swagbucks from any device at any time. It is a great way to make extra money even at the comfort of your home, and it is 100% free to register. They offer a $5 registration bonus, and the survey tasks are generally easy to complete.
The app allows you to earn money through taking part in surveys, playing games and shopping online. You can also earn by watching videos during your spare time. You are allowed to cash your SB cards in various major stores, or you get paid using cash through PayPal.
Swagbucks is one of the best apps that pay you real money with surveys.
Paribus
All you need to do is keep your emails without deleting them. Paribus scans all your emails of the things you have purchased, and you get refunds if prices of the items bought drops. It's 100% free to join.
InboxDollars
Signing up for InboxDollars is another excellent way of earning extra money with minimum hassle. It pays you up to $50 in a month to watch fun videos & take their surveys.
They also have $5 free joining bonus if you use my link.
Nielsen
Nielson is another one among the great apps that pay you real money. Download Nielson app for free, keep the app on your favorite browsing devices and earn extra $50 per year. They, also, give away $10,000 each month. Thus, you can comfortably make $100 from the comfort of your house.
You need to register on your phone or your computer, and you are ready to make money. When you think of apps that pay you to install them, think Nielsen app.
Airbnb
Through the Airbnb app, you can make up to $1,500/month by just listing your spare room with them. Sign up your extra space for a few nights out in a month and earn over $1,500.
I've been earning $1,000 to $2,000 per month just by being a host on Airbnb with the hopes of living completely mortgage free.
Trim App
It helps you save by canceling unnecessary subscriptions and lowering your expenditures and bills by negotiating for even your common bills like electricity bills. It is 100% free to join.
Dosh App
Dosh is yet another app among the best apps that pay you real money. It is in the category of cashback apps that enables you to get some extra cash from your purchases.
You can use the cashback for shopping, booking hotels and travel activities and dining out with over 100,000 nationwide merchants and brands. It pays $5 for registering using my link.
Vindale Research App
Vindale is an app that requests for your information and then matches your profile to the best fitting surveys. It allows you to make even up to $75 in for some surveys per pop out and give you an extra $2 free as a sign-up bonus. The app usually pays you via PayPal, and it's free to join.
Long Game App
The app is one of the few game apps that pay you real money when you download it, create an account and link it with your bank information. If uncomfortable, you can open a new bank account and link. You then fund the account with as little as $5, set an automatic saving deposit and earn free coins to start playing games.
They give 40 coins for every $1 AutoSaved in the first week and three coins for every $1 deposited. When your account is linked, you get 300 points to start playing immediately.
Digit Review
When you link the app to your checking account, it uses its algorithms to calculate small cash amounts to withdraw into a different saving account that is FDIC- insured. It gives you $5 free registration bonus.
Acorns App
The Acorns app gives you free cash to invest in stocks. It requires you to link it to your debit or credit card, and it automatically rounds up all your purchases to the nearest dollar.
It then funnels the digital change into a stocks investment account. You get $5 free sign up bonus using my link, and you can make more than $1,500 per year.
Ibotta App
Ibotta is a rebate app that gives you a chance to get cash back whenever you do your shopping at major stores such as Walmart. You get $10 for signing up using my link. In addition, you receive $100 for referring three of your friends and $ for every other person you refer after that.
MyPoints
With this app, you get free $10 Amazon gift card for just trying the site. This site pays you for just shopping online. If you purchase $20, you get 1,750 bonus points.
You can redeem these points to get an Amazon gift card worth $10. If you prefer cash, here's how you can sell your Amazon gift cards for money.
See Related: Ways to Get Free Amazon Gift Cards
SwagIQ
It is a new Trivia app that gives you a chance to win up to $1000 for just answering simple questions that are meant to test your level of knowledge. It pays cash and many other prices.
Fundrise App
It is a smart way of earning money using little effort. The app allows you to invest in real estate and earn up to 8-10% on your investment with just $500 initial investment. The app has more than 200,000+ users. Fundrise is one of the best ways to earn passive income through real estate.
Read more about the site through our Fundrise review.
LendingClub
The Lending Club app allows you to lend money to your friends or other people in the form of a personal loan and earn up to 14% per year on your lending amount. You need $25 to start earning with this app.
Fetch Rewards
With Fetch Rewards which is a mobile rewards app, you get paid for just shopping. You get $2 for signing up with them. You download the app, get a referral code, scan any receipt from any store and get paid through PayPal.
Panda Research
It is a free survey app that gives you a chance to earn up to $50 per survey. You also get a free $3 for signing up. It pays you to participate in online surveys, focuses groups and to try new products.
Uber drivers app
If you have some free time like during weekend s and at nights, you can earn extra cash through Uber app by driving with their app.
Uber Eats
The app gives you a chance to earn extra money by delivering food around the city when you sign in as an Uber Eats Delivery Partner. You work on your schedule.
Ebates
Ebates is a smart way to earn cash when you shop online using their app. They have a $25 signing up free bonus if you use my link. Through Ebates app, you can save money by shopping in over 2,000 stores. This is literally free money. Who doesn't love that?
Survey Voices
As one of the best paying survey apps, you can earn up to $300 per week by taking part in Survey voice! Surveys. They pay you for talking about how you feel about major products and brands. It is among those apps that pay you for data collection.
ShopKick App
With ShopKick shopping app you get rewarded for the shopping you have already done. You earn points by just walking into major stores like Walmart or completing numerous surveys for popular brands.
Pinecone Research
It is a research app that sends you survey invitations which can earn you $3 per survey. Although the invitations are not too many, there is a biweekly cash sweepstake of $500 you can join and quarterly $4,500 prize that you can also win.
Conclusion on Apps that Pay You Real Money
Free money is awesome. While some of these apps can consume your time, I suggest that everyone has at least a few of these apps on their phone. They literally give you money just for participating. I use small wins like these of $20-$50 to continually invest my money and generate more income. This is the easiest way to start building wealth.
Did you know that there are apps out there that will give you free stock? Here is a list of apps that give you free stocks just for signing up. You have no excuses to start investing now.
I hope this list of apps that pay you real money has offered you valuable insights on how to earn with apps in your idle time.
Who doesn't love using apps that pay you real money? Let me know in the comments below if you are going to use any of these outstanding apps.
Other Making Money Online Resources
- Best cashback apps to use on a daily basis for routine purchases
- Use these freelancer websites for beginners to start making money online
- Living the good life… Three steps to become a digital nomad
Subscribe to the Millionaire Mob early retirement blog newsletter to find the best travel hacking tips, dividend growth investing, passive income ideas and more. Achieve the financially free lifestyle you've always wanted.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Join our community of over 30,000 mobsters seeking financial freedom. What are you waiting for?
These days, you can find apps for almost anything. But have you ever wondered if there are apps that pay you real money or apps that make you money?
Sounds like a dream, right?
What if I told you that there are actually lots of legit apps that pay you money or give you free cash?
Even better, most of the best money-making apps can run in the background or require very minimal effort to use.
I've done the research for you so all you need to do is pick from this list of legit money-making apps!
These apps won't pay you as much as a full-time job would but using any of these apps is an excellent way to make money fast.
How to Avoid Money-Making Apps Scam
I'll be honest, while there are plenty of legit money-making apps out there, there are also apps that only offer false promises and only scam you into signing up.
So, how do you know which apps are legit?
Here are the red flags telling you that a 'money-earning app' could be a scam.
It promises unrealistic rewards or payments.
Legit apps that pay you real money give out rewards or cash, that's for sure, but what you earn from them can hardly replace your full-time income.
If you find an app promising you hundreds of dollars upon sign up, and an extra hundred for a referral, think twice because it's most likely a scam.
It asks for confidential information.
You should never give away sensitive information online, even if you aim to make money. When you sign up with an app, the most that it would require you are your name, email address, PayPal address, and bank account information (for apps that you have to link your credit or debit card with).
Be wary of apps that ask for your social security number and driver's license number.
It asks you money to sign-up.
Legit apps that pay you real money are free to sign up.
If you're required to shell out cash even before you start making money with the app, you might want to reconsider joining.
How Do Free Apps Make Money?
When using apps to make money, it's also important to learn how these apps make money. You want to know how these companies are able to pay you even when their apps are free to use.
This knowledge should also make you feel comfortable about using these apps and help you weed out scams from the real ones.
I have categorized the apps on this list into the following to give you an idea on how these top money making apps work and make an income:
1. Apps that give you free money
These 'free money apps', also called cash back apps, pay you for shopping.
Cash back apps are paid by their partner stores or brands each time you use these apps for shopping.
These apps work like a middleman. When you shop through them, they'll take you to the store, say Amazon, and Amazon will pay them a commission for your purchases.
But instead of keeping the commission all to themselves, they split this payment with you in the form of cash back.
The best cash back apps also offer a welcome bonus for just signing up, and they have partnered with numerous stores in the US so you'll have a lot of opportunities to make money using the app.
2. Survey apps that pay money
There are also apps that pay you real money for your opinion, and these apps, also called survey apps, operate a bit different from cash back apps.
You don't have to purchase anything to start making money with these survey apps. All you need to do is to share your opinion as a consumer.
Survey apps are paid by companies who want to know your opinion to improve their products or services.
These apps then compensate you for the time you spent for answering questions like 'Which of these coffee products do you often buy?' or 'When will you likely buy a new car?'
3. Apps that save you money or make you money
Zbot zynga download. These apps are designed to help you save money but I have also included apps that make you money in this category, including micro-investment apps.
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for any purchases made through these links at NO additional cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for more information.
Best Legit Apps that Pay You Real Money with Your Smartphone
Best Legit Apps that Give Free Cash
1. Ibotta
Ibotta is one of my most favorite money-earning apps because you get cash back for grocery items. You buy groceries every week so there are lots of opportunities to earn money using this app.
This free money app has paid me over $800 in cash back and bonuses from buying groceries alone!
How does Ibotta work?
Ibotta works just like couponing without the need to clip coupons. All you need to do is upload your grocery receipts on the app and earn cash back on grocery items such as milk, meats, vegetables, bread, cleaning products and more.
Ibotta has recently expanded and they are now offering cash back not only for in-store purchases but also online. Among the new categories you can earn cash back from are clothing, travel, eating out (restaurants) and home.
Important: You'll only get this bonus after uploading your first grocery receipt. If you cannot find any offer that you like on the app, you could buy a toilet paper or Colgate and you'll still come out ahead.
Want to know more? Read my Ibotta Review here!
Related Posts
2. Rakuten (Ebates)
When you shop online, use this free money-making app to earn up to 40% cash back on your purchases at any of their 2500+ partner stores!
Not only will Rakuten pay you for using their app for shopping, they will also pay you $25 extra for each person you refer to them.
They also offer a lot of awesome bonuses. For example, if you ride Lyft through Rakuten, Rauten will give you $20 on your first ride, plus a $10 bonus for downloading the app here and signing up.
I've also made over $300 in cash back for simply using this app!
Want to know more? Read my Rakuten Review here!
3. Dosh
Apps That Pay You Real Money To Your Bank Account Permanently
Dosh is an app that automatically collects cash back from your purchases from partner stores into your credit or debit card.
Dosh is free to use, and sign up is easy. It's best to link your most-used credit or debit card with Dosh to accrue cash back rapidly. Use that card to pay for purchases and then get cash back ranging from 2% to 10%, depending on the store. Whether you use the card to pay for in-store or online purchases, Dosh runs on autopilot, so you can keep getting cash back as you shop.
Apart from paying your purchases with the Dosh-linked card, you may also book hotels with the same card and enjoy $25 cash back on your very first hotel booking.
When you refer a friend to sign up for Dosh, you'll get an additional $5 cash back.
You can withdraw your earnings when you reach $25 of cash back and deposit the funds to your PayPal account.
4. Paribus
Ever paid full price for an item, only to find out a day later that its price dropped? Use this free app called Paribus so you'll never miss any savings when prices drop.
The best thing about Paribus is that it automatically gets the adjustment amount for you! There's no need to scan receipts or waste time finding out whether there's any price drop.
It also even helps you get paid for late Amazon deliveries. You can check it out here.
Legit Survey Apps that Pay Money
Survey apps are some of the best money making apps out there, and they're legit too! The great thing about survey apps is that they're pretty easy to use, they're usually free to sign up, and collecting points is super easy.
5. Swagbucks
I personally use this app to earn money via Paypal, or earn Amazon or Starbucks gift cards.
Swagbucks is the biggest research panels on the internet that will reward you for doing things like completing surveys, watching videos, searching the internet, playing games and shopping online.
Swagbucks gives you SB points which you can redeem for gift cards or Paypal cash.
It is free to join and if you join below, you'll receive $5 FREE after confirming your email.
6. Inbox Dollars
Inbox Dollars is another rewards company that works like Swagbucks, offering you a few options to earn points, from watching videos, playing games or completing surveys.
This company has paid over $57 million in rewards and is currently offering a $5 sign-up bonus!
Like Swagbucks and other rewards sites, Inbox Dollars also offers a cash payout or gift cards as an option to redeem your points.
Download the app below and make sure to confirm your email to get your sign-up bonus!
7. MyPoints
Another survey app that pay money is MyPoints, which is also just as fantastic because they give you $5 when you sign up. You can also redeem your points in a variety of ways, including cash, travel miles and gift cards.
Most of these real money apps allow you to earn in different ways. So, apart from taking surveys, you could also earn from shopping online, watching ads, playing games, searching the web, and referring other people.
Legit Apps that Save You Money and Make You Money
8. Trim
If you think canceling a subscription you no longer use is such a hassle, you can let the app called Trim to do it for you.
Trim is a fascinating smartphone app that analyzes all your bills so you can see which of them continues to charge your account even if you aren't using them.
Got a gym membership costing your account month after month, but you don't go to the gym? Trim will remind you of that. Even better, the app can cancel the subscription on your behalf, so you don't even have to bother doing it yourself.
Trim can also help you negotiate your cable bill. If you think you are getting ripped off on cable or internet, download this free app that helps you save money.
Trim works with Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, and any other provider, and has helped its users over $1,000,000 over the last month!
9. Decluttr
If you were quite the hoarder of electronic things, DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, gaming consoles, and tablets (and surprisingly, legos too!), you might find disposing of them somewhat painful and regretful.
But a cash incentive in exchange for them might convince you. And that's what the money earning app called Decluttr aims to do.
Decluttr is both an app and a website that accepts the abovementioned products and pay you with cash. You just fire up the app on your phone, scan the product's barcode, and Decluttr tells you how much they offer for each item.
If you like what they offer, Decluttr will send you a pre-paid box and shipping label to attach to your box, and then ship the box free of charge. Once they receive your items, they will go through them, and then send you the money through a check, PayPal, or bank deposit.
Drop app
When you download and link up your debit or credit card to the free Drop app, it tracks all your purchases. It then adds the point to your account when you purchase products from specific stores that you choose from their list.
The points can be redeemed as gift cards that you can use at favorite retail shops like Amazon, Whole Foods and more. You get $1 for signing up by using my link.
Swagbucks
Earn up to $35 clean cash per survey by participating in an online survey with Swagbucks from any device at any time. It is a great way to make extra money even at the comfort of your home, and it is 100% free to register. They offer a $5 registration bonus, and the survey tasks are generally easy to complete.
The app allows you to earn money through taking part in surveys, playing games and shopping online. You can also earn by watching videos during your spare time. You are allowed to cash your SB cards in various major stores, or you get paid using cash through PayPal.
Swagbucks is one of the best apps that pay you real money with surveys.
Paribus
All you need to do is keep your emails without deleting them. Paribus scans all your emails of the things you have purchased, and you get refunds if prices of the items bought drops. It's 100% free to join.
InboxDollars
Signing up for InboxDollars is another excellent way of earning extra money with minimum hassle. It pays you up to $50 in a month to watch fun videos & take their surveys.
They also have $5 free joining bonus if you use my link.
Nielsen
Nielson is another one among the great apps that pay you real money. Download Nielson app for free, keep the app on your favorite browsing devices and earn extra $50 per year. They, also, give away $10,000 each month. Thus, you can comfortably make $100 from the comfort of your house.
You need to register on your phone or your computer, and you are ready to make money. When you think of apps that pay you to install them, think Nielsen app.
Airbnb
Through the Airbnb app, you can make up to $1,500/month by just listing your spare room with them. Sign up your extra space for a few nights out in a month and earn over $1,500.
I've been earning $1,000 to $2,000 per month just by being a host on Airbnb with the hopes of living completely mortgage free.
Trim App
It helps you save by canceling unnecessary subscriptions and lowering your expenditures and bills by negotiating for even your common bills like electricity bills. It is 100% free to join.
Dosh App
Dosh is yet another app among the best apps that pay you real money. It is in the category of cashback apps that enables you to get some extra cash from your purchases.
You can use the cashback for shopping, booking hotels and travel activities and dining out with over 100,000 nationwide merchants and brands. It pays $5 for registering using my link.
Vindale Research App
Vindale is an app that requests for your information and then matches your profile to the best fitting surveys. It allows you to make even up to $75 in for some surveys per pop out and give you an extra $2 free as a sign-up bonus. The app usually pays you via PayPal, and it's free to join.
Long Game App
The app is one of the few game apps that pay you real money when you download it, create an account and link it with your bank information. If uncomfortable, you can open a new bank account and link. You then fund the account with as little as $5, set an automatic saving deposit and earn free coins to start playing games.
They give 40 coins for every $1 AutoSaved in the first week and three coins for every $1 deposited. When your account is linked, you get 300 points to start playing immediately.
Digit Review
When you link the app to your checking account, it uses its algorithms to calculate small cash amounts to withdraw into a different saving account that is FDIC- insured. It gives you $5 free registration bonus.
Acorns App
The Acorns app gives you free cash to invest in stocks. It requires you to link it to your debit or credit card, and it automatically rounds up all your purchases to the nearest dollar.
It then funnels the digital change into a stocks investment account. You get $5 free sign up bonus using my link, and you can make more than $1,500 per year.
Ibotta App
Ibotta is a rebate app that gives you a chance to get cash back whenever you do your shopping at major stores such as Walmart. You get $10 for signing up using my link. In addition, you receive $100 for referring three of your friends and $ for every other person you refer after that.
MyPoints
With this app, you get free $10 Amazon gift card for just trying the site. This site pays you for just shopping online. If you purchase $20, you get 1,750 bonus points.
You can redeem these points to get an Amazon gift card worth $10. If you prefer cash, here's how you can sell your Amazon gift cards for money.
See Related: Ways to Get Free Amazon Gift Cards
SwagIQ
It is a new Trivia app that gives you a chance to win up to $1000 for just answering simple questions that are meant to test your level of knowledge. It pays cash and many other prices.
Fundrise App
It is a smart way of earning money using little effort. The app allows you to invest in real estate and earn up to 8-10% on your investment with just $500 initial investment. The app has more than 200,000+ users. Fundrise is one of the best ways to earn passive income through real estate.
Read more about the site through our Fundrise review.
LendingClub
The Lending Club app allows you to lend money to your friends or other people in the form of a personal loan and earn up to 14% per year on your lending amount. You need $25 to start earning with this app.
Fetch Rewards
With Fetch Rewards which is a mobile rewards app, you get paid for just shopping. You get $2 for signing up with them. You download the app, get a referral code, scan any receipt from any store and get paid through PayPal.
Panda Research
It is a free survey app that gives you a chance to earn up to $50 per survey. You also get a free $3 for signing up. It pays you to participate in online surveys, focuses groups and to try new products.
Uber drivers app
If you have some free time like during weekend s and at nights, you can earn extra cash through Uber app by driving with their app.
Uber Eats
The app gives you a chance to earn extra money by delivering food around the city when you sign in as an Uber Eats Delivery Partner. You work on your schedule.
Ebates
Ebates is a smart way to earn cash when you shop online using their app. They have a $25 signing up free bonus if you use my link. Through Ebates app, you can save money by shopping in over 2,000 stores. This is literally free money. Who doesn't love that?
Survey Voices
As one of the best paying survey apps, you can earn up to $300 per week by taking part in Survey voice! Surveys. They pay you for talking about how you feel about major products and brands. It is among those apps that pay you for data collection.
ShopKick App
With ShopKick shopping app you get rewarded for the shopping you have already done. You earn points by just walking into major stores like Walmart or completing numerous surveys for popular brands.
Pinecone Research
It is a research app that sends you survey invitations which can earn you $3 per survey. Although the invitations are not too many, there is a biweekly cash sweepstake of $500 you can join and quarterly $4,500 prize that you can also win.
Conclusion on Apps that Pay You Real Money
Free money is awesome. While some of these apps can consume your time, I suggest that everyone has at least a few of these apps on their phone. They literally give you money just for participating. I use small wins like these of $20-$50 to continually invest my money and generate more income. This is the easiest way to start building wealth.
Did you know that there are apps out there that will give you free stock? Here is a list of apps that give you free stocks just for signing up. You have no excuses to start investing now.
I hope this list of apps that pay you real money has offered you valuable insights on how to earn with apps in your idle time.
Who doesn't love using apps that pay you real money? Let me know in the comments below if you are going to use any of these outstanding apps.
Other Making Money Online Resources
- Best cashback apps to use on a daily basis for routine purchases
- Use these freelancer websites for beginners to start making money online
- Living the good life… Three steps to become a digital nomad
Subscribe to the Millionaire Mob early retirement blog newsletter to find the best travel hacking tips, dividend growth investing, passive income ideas and more. Achieve the financially free lifestyle you've always wanted.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Join our community of over 30,000 mobsters seeking financial freedom. What are you waiting for?
These days, you can find apps for almost anything. But have you ever wondered if there are apps that pay you real money or apps that make you money?
Sounds like a dream, right?
What if I told you that there are actually lots of legit apps that pay you money or give you free cash?
Even better, most of the best money-making apps can run in the background or require very minimal effort to use.
I've done the research for you so all you need to do is pick from this list of legit money-making apps!
These apps won't pay you as much as a full-time job would but using any of these apps is an excellent way to make money fast.
How to Avoid Money-Making Apps Scam
I'll be honest, while there are plenty of legit money-making apps out there, there are also apps that only offer false promises and only scam you into signing up.
So, how do you know which apps are legit?
Here are the red flags telling you that a 'money-earning app' could be a scam.
It promises unrealistic rewards or payments.
Legit apps that pay you real money give out rewards or cash, that's for sure, but what you earn from them can hardly replace your full-time income.
If you find an app promising you hundreds of dollars upon sign up, and an extra hundred for a referral, think twice because it's most likely a scam.
It asks for confidential information.
You should never give away sensitive information online, even if you aim to make money. When you sign up with an app, the most that it would require you are your name, email address, PayPal address, and bank account information (for apps that you have to link your credit or debit card with).
Be wary of apps that ask for your social security number and driver's license number.
It asks you money to sign-up.
Legit apps that pay you real money are free to sign up.
If you're required to shell out cash even before you start making money with the app, you might want to reconsider joining.
How Do Free Apps Make Money?
When using apps to make money, it's also important to learn how these apps make money. You want to know how these companies are able to pay you even when their apps are free to use.
This knowledge should also make you feel comfortable about using these apps and help you weed out scams from the real ones.
I have categorized the apps on this list into the following to give you an idea on how these top money making apps work and make an income:
1. Apps that give you free money
These 'free money apps', also called cash back apps, pay you for shopping.
Cash back apps are paid by their partner stores or brands each time you use these apps for shopping.
These apps work like a middleman. When you shop through them, they'll take you to the store, say Amazon, and Amazon will pay them a commission for your purchases.
But instead of keeping the commission all to themselves, they split this payment with you in the form of cash back.
The best cash back apps also offer a welcome bonus for just signing up, and they have partnered with numerous stores in the US so you'll have a lot of opportunities to make money using the app.
2. Survey apps that pay money
There are also apps that pay you real money for your opinion, and these apps, also called survey apps, operate a bit different from cash back apps.
You don't have to purchase anything to start making money with these survey apps. All you need to do is to share your opinion as a consumer.
Survey apps are paid by companies who want to know your opinion to improve their products or services.
These apps then compensate you for the time you spent for answering questions like 'Which of these coffee products do you often buy?' or 'When will you likely buy a new car?'
3. Apps that save you money or make you money
Zbot zynga download. These apps are designed to help you save money but I have also included apps that make you money in this category, including micro-investment apps.
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Best Legit Apps that Pay You Real Money with Your Smartphone
Best Legit Apps that Give Free Cash
1. Ibotta
Ibotta is one of my most favorite money-earning apps because you get cash back for grocery items. You buy groceries every week so there are lots of opportunities to earn money using this app.
This free money app has paid me over $800 in cash back and bonuses from buying groceries alone!
How does Ibotta work?
Ibotta works just like couponing without the need to clip coupons. All you need to do is upload your grocery receipts on the app and earn cash back on grocery items such as milk, meats, vegetables, bread, cleaning products and more.
Ibotta has recently expanded and they are now offering cash back not only for in-store purchases but also online. Among the new categories you can earn cash back from are clothing, travel, eating out (restaurants) and home.
Important: You'll only get this bonus after uploading your first grocery receipt. If you cannot find any offer that you like on the app, you could buy a toilet paper or Colgate and you'll still come out ahead.
Want to know more? Read my Ibotta Review here!
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2. Rakuten (Ebates)
When you shop online, use this free money-making app to earn up to 40% cash back on your purchases at any of their 2500+ partner stores!
Not only will Rakuten pay you for using their app for shopping, they will also pay you $25 extra for each person you refer to them.
They also offer a lot of awesome bonuses. For example, if you ride Lyft through Rakuten, Rauten will give you $20 on your first ride, plus a $10 bonus for downloading the app here and signing up.
I've also made over $300 in cash back for simply using this app!
Want to know more? Read my Rakuten Review here!
3. Dosh
Apps That Pay You Real Money To Your Bank Account Permanently
Dosh is an app that automatically collects cash back from your purchases from partner stores into your credit or debit card.
Dosh is free to use, and sign up is easy. It's best to link your most-used credit or debit card with Dosh to accrue cash back rapidly. Use that card to pay for purchases and then get cash back ranging from 2% to 10%, depending on the store. Whether you use the card to pay for in-store or online purchases, Dosh runs on autopilot, so you can keep getting cash back as you shop.
Apart from paying your purchases with the Dosh-linked card, you may also book hotels with the same card and enjoy $25 cash back on your very first hotel booking.
When you refer a friend to sign up for Dosh, you'll get an additional $5 cash back.
You can withdraw your earnings when you reach $25 of cash back and deposit the funds to your PayPal account.
4. Paribus
Ever paid full price for an item, only to find out a day later that its price dropped? Use this free app called Paribus so you'll never miss any savings when prices drop.
The best thing about Paribus is that it automatically gets the adjustment amount for you! There's no need to scan receipts or waste time finding out whether there's any price drop.
It also even helps you get paid for late Amazon deliveries. You can check it out here.
Legit Survey Apps that Pay Money
Survey apps are some of the best money making apps out there, and they're legit too! The great thing about survey apps is that they're pretty easy to use, they're usually free to sign up, and collecting points is super easy.
5. Swagbucks
I personally use this app to earn money via Paypal, or earn Amazon or Starbucks gift cards.
Swagbucks is the biggest research panels on the internet that will reward you for doing things like completing surveys, watching videos, searching the internet, playing games and shopping online.
Swagbucks gives you SB points which you can redeem for gift cards or Paypal cash.
It is free to join and if you join below, you'll receive $5 FREE after confirming your email.
6. Inbox Dollars
Inbox Dollars is another rewards company that works like Swagbucks, offering you a few options to earn points, from watching videos, playing games or completing surveys.
This company has paid over $57 million in rewards and is currently offering a $5 sign-up bonus!
Like Swagbucks and other rewards sites, Inbox Dollars also offers a cash payout or gift cards as an option to redeem your points.
Download the app below and make sure to confirm your email to get your sign-up bonus!
7. MyPoints
Another survey app that pay money is MyPoints, which is also just as fantastic because they give you $5 when you sign up. You can also redeem your points in a variety of ways, including cash, travel miles and gift cards.
Most of these real money apps allow you to earn in different ways. So, apart from taking surveys, you could also earn from shopping online, watching ads, playing games, searching the web, and referring other people.
Legit Apps that Save You Money and Make You Money
8. Trim
If you think canceling a subscription you no longer use is such a hassle, you can let the app called Trim to do it for you.
Trim is a fascinating smartphone app that analyzes all your bills so you can see which of them continues to charge your account even if you aren't using them.
Got a gym membership costing your account month after month, but you don't go to the gym? Trim will remind you of that. Even better, the app can cancel the subscription on your behalf, so you don't even have to bother doing it yourself.
Trim can also help you negotiate your cable bill. If you think you are getting ripped off on cable or internet, download this free app that helps you save money.
Trim works with Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, and any other provider, and has helped its users over $1,000,000 over the last month!
9. Decluttr
If you were quite the hoarder of electronic things, DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, gaming consoles, and tablets (and surprisingly, legos too!), you might find disposing of them somewhat painful and regretful.
But a cash incentive in exchange for them might convince you. And that's what the money earning app called Decluttr aims to do.
Decluttr is both an app and a website that accepts the abovementioned products and pay you with cash. You just fire up the app on your phone, scan the product's barcode, and Decluttr tells you how much they offer for each item.
If you like what they offer, Decluttr will send you a pre-paid box and shipping label to attach to your box, and then ship the box free of charge. Once they receive your items, they will go through them, and then send you the money through a check, PayPal, or bank deposit.
10. Airbnb
If you have a second home, a vacation home, or even a spare room in your house, you can earn money from them by listing them up on the Airbnb app, one of the best real money making apps for those in real estate business.
First, you need to create a description of the rental property, post photos, set the price, and availability. Unibet poker app store. When the listing goes live, people can make sense of what your property looks like, and if they like it, they'll book through the app.
Using the Airbnb app is an excellent way to establish yourself as the landlord as well as create a sense of trust with the potential guests. The app also comes with a rating and feedback feature wherein guests can rate and comment about their experience in your property.
11. Sweatcoin
Sweatcoin is known as an app that pays you money for walking. It's a fantastic platform that motivates you to become fit and healthy while earning money at the same time.
In reality, the app pays you a digital currency called sweatcoins, which you could use to buy Paypal vouchers to turn your earnings into real cash.
Sweatcoin works by tracking your steps through the app's GPS feature and then rewards you with sweatcoins.
The app does not count steps taken indoors, so make sure to gear up for a walk around your neighborhood. Once you've accumulated enough coins, you can visit the app's marketplace to purchase something you fancy, ranging from random knickknacks to a smart television, iPhone 6, or $1,000 worth of PayPal money.
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12. Acorns
Need help saving money and investing your savings? I highly recommend using Acorns, one of the most popular investing apps for beginners.
You need to link your credit or debit account with Acorns, and then the app will round up your purchases using those cards, take the spare change, and invest them.
For example, if you spent $3.80 for a coffee using your linked credit/debit card, Acorns will see the transaction, transfers the spare change of $0.20 to your Acorns account. When your account hits $5, Acorns will withdraw the money and invest it.
I've been using it for awhile and here's a screenshot from my account after a few weeks:
I've accumulated over $280 of spare change from my weekly purchases and gained $6.32 from that little investment.
If you want to save and save money without thinking, Acorns is definitely one of the best ways to go most especially if you are new to investing as well. You'll also receive$5 FREE from Acorns hereafter making your first investment of $5.
13. Robinhood
What Apps Pay You Real Money
Robinhood is a free trading app that allows you to invest in stocks, ETFs, and options. As a mobile app, Robinhood gets you to invest with $0 account minimum and commission-free stock trading. It's an excellent app, especially for beginner investors who are looking to maximize their trading profits by eliminating commission fees from the picture.
Additionally, Robinhood has been intuitively designed so that users can schedule deposits, monitor day trades, and perform advanced orders. As a smartphone-based trading platform, Robinhood is one of the best legit money making apps that allows you to invest right from your fingertips.
14. Poshmark
If you've outgrown a couple of your designer clothes, you may sell them on Poshmark. Poshmark is a smartphone buying and selling app, and most of the products traded herein are mostly designer clothes.
This is the ultimate for the fashionista, whether one has accrued more than clothing than your closet can handle, or you're looking to purchase high-end clothes at a lower price.
Have a couple of clothes to sell? You can set up your own store wherein people can like and comment on your items.
LegitApps That Pay You Real Money: Are They Worth It?
The smartphone is such a powerful device that lets you do so many things, and having legit apps that pay you real money is one of the best ways to maximize your smartphone use. Whether you like to get fit, sell old products, shop online, or answer surveys, as they say, 'there's an app for that.' And if that app gives you money, then you're in great luck!
