Best Apps With Sign-Up Bonuses – Rewards Just for Joining
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Who doesn’t love free money? Sign-up bonuses can be a great way for new users to earn extra cash just for signing up for and using an app. Most apps with sign-up bonuses have requirements that you must meet to earn the bonus. So, if you want to earn the bonus, don’t be like me and download the app just to forget about it the next day.
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Overview of the best apps with signup bonuses
App | Best For |
Acorns | A gentle approach to investing |
BeFrugal | Cashback rate guarantee |
Dosh | Cashback for in-store purchases |
Ibotta | 100% cashback bonus |
InboxDollars | Transparent rewards |
MyPoints | Easy sign up bonus offer |
Rakuten | Easy-to-use browser extension |
Robinhood | Resources for investment beginners |
Survey Junkie | Easy ways to earn cash back |
Swagbucks | Variety of ways to earn rewards |
Earn Real Money Fast by Filling Out Surveys!
- Sign up for FREE & complete your profile
- Earn points for taking surveys
- Redeem your points for cash or gift cards
- $55k+ Paid to Survey Junkie members daily
- Complete 3+ surveys a day, earn up to $100/mo.
Best apps with signup bonuses
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is an online market research community that pays its members to take surveys. Survey Junkie is free to use and can actually help you earn money. When you sign up, you’ll receive 25 points automatically. If you complete your profile, you’ll earn an additional 50 points.
Most people who use Survey Junkie use it to take paid surveys. Survey Junkie matches you with surveys that you may qualify for based on your profile. Each survey is assigned a certain amount of points that you earn for completing the survey. Survey Junkie also offers the opportunity to participate in focus groups in exchange for cash rewards.
Another way to earn using Survey Junkie is by joining the Survey Junkie Pulse community. When you do this, you’re electing to share your online behaviors with Survey Junkie, such as what you search for, the ads you see, and the content you engage with. You can use the mobile app or browser extension to participate in Survey Junkie Pulse.
Survey Junkie points are worth $.01 per point. Once you’ve earned at least 500 points, you can get a payout of $5. You can cash in your points for PayPal cashback, virtual gift cards, or direct bank transfers through a third-party partner.
Acorns
Acorns is a company that was designed to empower people to begin building a future for themselves through micro-investing. The company offers pricing tiers that are designed for individuals and families. You’ll also receive a $10 bonus investment when you sign up for an Acorns account.
The thing that Acorns may be best known for is its Round-Ups. Acorns helps you invest in small increments by using your “spare charge” to fund your investment account. To use the Round-Ups feature, you have to have a debit or credit card linked to your Acorns account. Then when you use the card to make a purchase, Acorns will round up to the nearest dollar and put the change into your account. For example, if your trip to the drug store costs you $17.34, Acorns will round up to $18 and put the extra $.66 into your Acorns Invest account.
There is no free version of Acorns, but its subscription model is transparent and inexpensive. There is Acorns Personal, which costs $3 per month. This tier includes an investment account, a retirement account, and a checking account with an Acorns debit card. Families can opt for the Acorns Family account for $5 per month. Family accounts include everything that is offered with the Personal Account, plus an investment account for kids.
Both Acorns accounts include additional features as well. Acorns has a mobile app and browser extensions that can allow you to earn bonus investments when shopping from partner brands. You’ll also gain access to financial advice with your account.
BeFrugal
BeFrugal is a company that can provide cash back to customers who are making online purchases at partnering stores. It’s completely free to sign up for BeFrugal, and there is no paid version of the app. BeFrugal is also currently offering a $10 cash bonus for joining.
When you use BeFrugal, you’ll have access to coupons and deals for over 50,000 stores. This includes Groupon, Hotels.com, Lowe’s, Sephora and more. You can use BeFrugal by visiting its website, using the mobile app, or installing the BeFrugal browser extension. The BeFrugal browser extension, in particular, automatically applies coupons and cash backs to your qualifying purchases.
One of the unique things about BeFrugal is that it offers a best cash-back rate guarantee. If you make a purchase using BeFrugal, you can seek out other cash-back rewards sites to see if they offer a higher cash-back rate. If you find a higher cashback rate elsewhere after you’ve made your purchase using BeFrugal, BeFrugal will match 125% of the cashback rate.
In addition to the cash-back offer, BeFrugal offers another way to increase your earnings. When you become a member of BeFrugcashbackan get a unique referral link to share with friends. If someone uses your link to join BeFrugal, you can earn a $10 bonus as long as your referral earns $10 or more in cash back within a year of joining.
Dosh
Dosh is a cashback app that allows you to earn by making purchases with a linked payment method. You can link a credit card to your account or you can utilize Dosh by making purchases through participating apps, like Venmo. Dosh is free to use, but the app does charge a $4.99 maintenance fee if your account is inactive for 12 months. You can get a $1 bonus after you link a card and make a purchase.
By using Dosh, you’ll be able to access more cashback opportunities than you would with some of its competitors. When you link a card to your Dosh account, you can earn cash back for making purchases in-store without even thinking about it. There’s no need to upload your receipts later because the app has already done the work for you.
Dosh partners with over 10,000 places to give you cash-back opportunities. Some of its partners include Walmart, Sephora, Instacart, and Thrive Market. You can also get cashback on your hotel stays if you book through Dosh.
As you make qualifying cash-back purchases, dosh will automatically put your earnings into your Dosh account. You can check your balance at any time within the app. When you have $25 in your account, you can then transfer the money to your bank account, PayPal, Venmo or you can even donate it to charity.
Earn Real Money Fast by Filling Out Surveys!
- Sign up for FREE & complete your profile
- Earn points for taking surveys
- Redeem your points for cash or gift cards
- $55k+ Paid to Survey Junkie members daily
- Complete 3+ surveys a day, earn up to $100/mo.
Ibotta
Ibotta is a cash-back app that gives you cash-back and coupon opportunities at your favorite stores. You can use Ibotta’s mobile app or you can use the Ibotta browser extension for Chrome. Ibotta is free to use, but there is a $3.99 per month account maintenance fee if you’ve been inactive for over six months but have a standing balance. Currently, Ibotta is offering a sign-up bonus in the form of cashback. You can earn 100% cashback on your first purchase from select retailers.
To get cash-back offers for online shopping, you can either use the Ibotta app or browser extension. If you use the app, you have to visit the website you are shopping from through Ibotta. If you’re using the browser extension, the extension will pop up when you visit supported websites. You just need to activate the extension to earn cash back on your purchase.
You can also use Ibotta for in-store shopping. To do this, you must browse Ibotta and add the offers that you’re interested in into your account before you go shopping. After making your purchase, you can upload your receipt to earn your Ibotta cashback. Some retailers also allow you to link your loyalty accounts to the Ibotta app, which allows Ibotta to easily connect your qualifying purchases to your cashback offers.
Ibotta works with almost any major retailer that you can think of. This includes Target, Walmart, Petco, Trader Joe’s, and 1-800 CONTACTS. Some Ibotta offers can also be used at any store within a category, such as at any grocery store or any liquor store.
InboxDollars
InboxDollars is an online rewards club that allows members to earn extra cash in their free time by completing simple tasks. InboxDollars is free to join and use, and there is no premium or paid version of the app.
There are a few ways you can earn with InboxDollars. The most well-known way is to take paid online surveys. You can also read and confirm InboxDollars’ PaidEmails and watch videos from InboxDollars partners. Additionally, you can get cash back for online shopping and other exclusive offers from partnering brands.
One of the benefits of InboxDollars is that it offers transparency in how much you can earn with each opportunity. Unlike many other rewards clubs that pay in points, InboxDollars shows the actual dollar value of each assignment.
InboxDollars has a fairly high minimum amount that you must have before you cash out. You have to wait until you’ve accrued at least $30 in rewards. After you’ve hit that point, you can cash out for gift cards or PayPal cashback. InboxDollars charges a $3 payment request processing fee, so it’s better to cash out as infrequently as possible.
MyPoints
MyPoints is an online shopping rewards program that allows members to earn points toward extra cash. The app is free to download and use, and there is no membership fee. It also offers a nice sign-up bonus of $10, which can be redeemed as an Amazon gift card or Visa gift card.
Like many online rewards programs, MyPoints offers a few ways to earn free money. You can earn points by completing surveys. You can also earn points when you shop at popular online retailers as long as you follow the links from MyPoints to do your shopping. Some of the participating retailers include Target, Walmart, and Amazon.
There is a catch with MyPoints sign-up bonus, so it’s not a good idea to sign up and abandon your account. To earn your $10 bonus, you have to spend $20 or more at one of the partnering retailers within the first 30 days of your membership. This shouldn’t be too difficult, but you have to remember to use MyPoints to get to the retailer’s website so your purchase will count toward this requirement.
To cash out your MyPoints rewards, you must have $25 worth of points in your account. Points can be redeemed for gift cards, Visa prepaid cards, or PayPal cashback.
Rakuten
Rakuten is a cash-back app that can be used via mobile app or browser extension. The app is free to use and can help you get cashback on in-store and online purchases. There is also a $10 welcome bonus as long as you meet the qualifying terms.
The most straightforward way to earn cashback using Rakuten is through its browser extension. With this, all you have to do is navigate to your favorite retailer’s website. If your extension is activated, Rakuten will give you a pop-up that will allow you to activate the cashback offer.
There are two other ways you can earn cash back from shopping. With the mobile app, you can select your chosen retailer and complete the purchase through Rakuten to earn your cash back rewards. You can also earn cash back for in-store purchases as long as you activate the in-store offer before you go shopping. Then all you need to do is use a card that is linked to your Rakuten account to complete your purchase.
Rakuten offers a few additional ways to earn. There is a referral program and occasional promo codes and BOGO deals from select retailers. To receive the sign-up bonus, you need to place a qualifying order of at least $25 within 90 days of joining Rakuten.
Earn Real Money Fast by Filling Out Surveys!
- Sign up for FREE & complete your profile
- Earn points for taking surveys
- Redeem your points for cash or gift cards
- $55k+ Paid to Survey Junkie members daily
- Complete 3+ surveys a day, earn up to $100/mo.
Robinhood
Robinhood is an online brokerage that aims to provide people with the opportunity to start investing at their own pace. The company offers a few products for consumers to use as well as financial advice and news. There is a $10 sign-up bonus when you join Robinhood for free.
Investing with Robinhood gives you access to stocks, ETFs, crypto, and more with no commission fees. Robinhood even gives new customers a free stock. Maintaining an investment account requires very little upfront, and you can place trades with as little as $1.
Robinhood also offers a debit card with no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirement. When you use the card to make purchases, Robinhood can round up your purchases to the next dollar and set aside the spare change that you can use for your investments. You can also earn a 10% to 100% bonus on your weekly round-ups.
In addition to its investment products, Robinhood offers financial advice and news for free. You can learn about investing basics and your trading options before you put your investment account to use. There is also a daily newsletter called Robinhood Snacks, which puts 3-minutes of financial news into your inbox to start your day.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a free online rewards community that gives members plenty of opportunities to earn extra money. It pays members in points called SBs, which later can be redeemed for gift cards or Visa rewards cards. There is also a $10 bonus if you meet the qualifying requirements.
The most popular earning opportunity available from Swagbucks is its paid surveys. Like its competitors, Swagbucks assigns a certain number of points to each survey, and you earn the points when you complete a survey. You can also participate in a daily poll to earn more points.
Swagbucks offers other ways to earn points as well. There are some trial offers from brands that you can activate through Swagbucks to earn points. You can also earn points by playing online games and shopping through Swagbucks. The Swagbucks browser extension and swag codes offer additional earning opportunities as well.
To qualify for the 10 sign-up bonus, you must first activate the bonus offer in your account. Then you have to spend at least $25 at a store featured in the Swagbucks Shop to earn a minimum of 25 SBs. If you do this within the first 30 days of your membership, you’ll earn a 1000 SB bonus, which is equal to $10. Points can be redeemed for gift cards and Visa rewards cards in the Swag Store.
Best apps with signup bonuses summary
App | Type of app | Cost to join | Sign-Up bonus |
Acorns | Investing and banking | $3/mo for Personal, $5/mo for Family | $10 bonus investment |
BeFrugal | Cash back and coupons | Free | $10 bonus |
Dosh | Cash back | Free (but there is a $4.99 maintenance fee if your account is inactive for 12 months) | $1 bonus for linking a valid card and making a purchase |
Ibotta | Cash back and coupons | Free (but there is a $3.99/mo maintenance fee if you are inactive for 6 months and have a standing balance) | 100% cashback on your first purchase from select retailers |
InboxDollars | Rewards club | Free | $5 bonus |
MyPoints | Online shopping rewards program | Free | $10 bonus via Amazon or Visa gift card |
Rakuten | Cash back | Free | $10 bonus |
Robinhood | Online brokerage | Free for Robinhood Instant or Robinhood Cash, $5/mo for Robinhood Gold | $10 bonus |
Survey Junkie | Online market research community | Free | 25 points for joining and an additional 50 points for completing your profile |
Swagbucks | Rewards community | Free | $10 bonus |
FAQs
Why do some apps offer sign-up bonuses?
Sign-up bonuses are usually ways for companies to give incentives to their new users. When you download new apps, it’s important to remember that you usually can’t just get free gift cards or free cash for joining and doing nothing else. Most bonus offers can only be redeemed if you use the rewards apps or investing apps within a certain period.
How do I earn the most free cash?
When you join survey sites or a rewards site, you’ll be able to review the ways to earn free cash. Each site has its own tips and tricks to get the most out of your membership. Some sites also offer a program where you can earn points for referrals if you get your friends to sign up. The most important thing is to actually remember to use the accounts that you sign up for, especially when it comes to qualifying for the bonus offer.
Which apps should I use?
It might be tempting to download all of these apps at once to get the bonus offers, but that can get overwhelming quickly. Take a look at what each app offers and choose the one that appeals to you the most. For example, if you want to play games to earn money, look for rewards apps that give you cashback for playing online games. If you want to start investing, take a look at some of the investment apps for beginners.
Earn Real Money Fast by Filling Out Surveys!
- Sign up for FREE & complete your profile
- Earn points for taking surveys
- Redeem your points for cash or gift cards
- $55k+ Paid to Survey Junkie members daily
- Complete 3+ surveys a day, earn up to $100/mo.
Why you should (or shouldn’t) use the apps
Most of the apps on this list are free, so there’s no harm in signing up and trying to earn the bonus offer. However, if you don’t plan to commit to the app, there’s no point in using it. Bonus offers usually come with requirements, such as earning a certain number of points within 30 or 90 days. All of these apps can be useful, but you need to have the extra time to use them if you want to gain anything from them. If you’re looking for side hustles, unfortunately, signing up for apps to collect sign-up bonuses probably won’t get you very far on its own.
The bottom line
There’s an app for just about everything these days, and many apps are in competition with one another. That’s why some apps use welcome offers to try to convince users to join their platform. Most sign-up bonuses are incentives to get users to use the app so they can earn the welcome bonus.
All of the apps on this list are legitimate and can be useful in many ways. However, that doesn’t mean that every app is right for every person. You should consider what you want to gain from an app before you sign up, and only sign up for ones that you intend to use.
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Writer
Ashley Hart is a lead copywriter and digital marketing expert covering finance, law, real estate, music, entertainment, health and wellness.
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