The Best Income-Generating Apps
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With the amount of time we spend on our phones daily, wouldn’t it be nice to make some money while we’re at it? Fortunately, there are some apps that allow you to earn money easily right from your phone. These apps can range from ones that allow you to begin investing in an unintimidating way. Or, they can be apps that give you cash back for your shopping trips. There’s a little something out there for everyone, including those who want to make more money by doing things in person.
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Overview of the best income-generating apps
App | Best For |
Acorns | Micro investing |
Airbnb | Renting out property |
Capital One Shopping | Finding the best prices online |
Dosh | Hotel savings |
Ibotta | Cashback from stores with loyalty accounts |
InboxDollars | Combination of cashback and paid surveys |
Lyft/Uber | Earning money by driving |
Rakuten | Simple cashback system |
Robinhood | Taking online investing to the next level |
Skillz Games | Mobile game tournaments |
Survey Junkie | Paid surveys and focus groups |
Swagbucks | Multiple earning and cashback opportunities in one place |
Sweatcoin | Exercise rewards |
Best Income-Generating Apps
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie lets you earn money just for taking online surveys. The way that it works is simple. Companies pay Survey Junkie to host online surveys and provide feedback from real customers. Then Survey Junkie can pay the members of its community for taking part in the surveys.
There is a limit on how much you can earn with online surveys, but they can be worth the time. If you join, it’s important to complete your Survey Junkie profile so you can be matched with surveys that are appropriate for you. Each survey has a certain number of points assigned to it, and those points are transferred into cash that you can take out of your account later.
There are a couple of other ways to earn with Survey Junkie, too. First, you can participate in focus groups for larger payouts, but there aren’t as many focus groups as there are surveys. You can also join the Survey Junkie Pulse community and allow Survey Junkie to gain more insights into your habits. When you join the Pulse community, you allow Survey Junkie to receive information about what you search for and the content that you engage with. This information helps Survey Junkie’s clients learn more about consumer habits.
It’s completely free to use Survey Junkie, and it can be a good way to pass the time. Each point that you earn with Survey Junkie is equal to $.01. Once you’ve earned 500 points, you can cash out your account to receive $5. Points can be redeemed for PayPal cashback, direct bank transfers, or virtual gift cards.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free
- Where to download/enroll/find: SurveyJunkie.com
- Where accessible: Anywhere within the United States, Canada, and Australia.
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.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is an online rewards community that gives members a few ways to earn extra cash. Like other rewards communities, Swagbucks pays its members in points that can be redeemed for cash later. Points can be redeemed for cash via Visa rewards cards or virtual gift cards.
The main way to earn points for cash using Swagbucks is by taking online surveys. Each survey has a certain number of points that you can earn by participating in and completing the survey. Most surveys are related to your familiarity with certain brands. You may also find surveys that ask how much you are willing to spend on certain products and the types of products you prefer.
Swagbucks offers other opportunities to earn points as well. There are daily polls that you can participate in and trial offers that you can take advantage of. You can also use Swagbucks Play to earn points by playing games like Solitaire Rush, Scrabble Cubes, and Trivial Pursuit or watch videos through Swagbucks Watch.
Swagbucks can help you earn cashback on purchases, too, making it a good option if you want to take surveys and get cashback in the same place. When you shop through the Swagbucks website, you can earn cashback from stores such as Old Navy, Petco, and Groupon. You can also link a credit card to your Swagbucks account to qualify for in-store cashback offers. When you add the Swagbucks browser extension, you can automatically be informed if there is a coupon or cash back opportunity when you’re on a website.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free
- Where to download/enroll/find: Swagbucks
- Where accessible: Swagbucks is available “around the world.”
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.
InboxDollars
InboxDollars is a virtual rewards club that gives you the opportunity to earn cash by doing various tasks in your free time. Every task is virtual, so you can use InboxDollars from just about anywhere. All you need is your device, so you can start completing tasks as soon as you sign up for an account.
When you use InboxDollars, you’ll be able to see exactly how much you’ll earn for each task before you begin the task. This is because, unlike some other rewards clubs, InboxDollars shows the actual cash value of an assignment rather than assigning points to each task. The transparency that this offers makes InboxDollars an attractive option, especially if you’re just starting to explore income-generating apps.
All of the tasks that you can complete using InboxDollars are simple. You can earn money by taking online surveys through the app. Other earning opportunities include opening and interacting with PaidEmails and watching videos from partners of InboxDollars. You can even use InboxDollars to get cashback and exclusive offers from partner brands.
Like many income-generating apps, your earnings will be stored in your account with the app. InboxDollars allows you to cash out after you’ve earned $30 in total. One thing to be aware of is that InboxDollars charges a payment request processing fee of $3 each time you cash out.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free to download and use, but there is a $3 payment request processing fee each time you cash out
- Where accessible: Anywhere within the United States
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.
Acorns
Acorns is an app that is designed to help people invest and grow their wealth inexpensively. It doesn’t necessarily allow you to generate income quickly, but it is a good way to start or add to your investment strategy. Acorns use a simple formula to help anybody fund an investment account in small increments.
The formula Acorns uses doesn’t require much effort on the member’s part. All you need to do is connect a debit or credit card to your Acorns account and let it do the work for you. Then when you make purchases using your connected cards, Acorns will round your purchase up to the next dollar. The “spare change” leftover from your purchase is put into your Acorns investment account.
Individuals and families can both benefit from an Acorns account. Individuals can sign up for an Acorns Personal account for $3 per month. It includes an investment account, retirement account, and checking account with an Acorns debit card. Families can opt for the Acorns Family account to add an investment account for the children in the family. The Family account is $5 per month. Both types of accounts include access to financial advice and opportunities to earn bonus investments from shopping from partners via mobile app or browser extension.
There is no free version of Acorns, which might be disappointing to some users. However, it can provide an inexpensive way to start investing or try out micro-investing. Acorns is also offering a $10 bonus investment when you sign up for an account.
- Costs, fees, or price: $3 monthly for Personal or $5 monthly for Family
- Where to download/enroll/find: Acorns.com
- Where accessible: Anywhere within the United States.
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.
Airbnb
Airbnb is one of the best apps to use to make money if you have room to spare. The app offers an alternative to hotel rooms for travelers who are looking for something different. You can rent out a room in your apartment if you don’t mind having guests staying with you. Or, if you’re going out of town, you can let someone else crash at your place while you’re away.
With Airbnb, you’ll be able to select the dates that your property is available and accept or deny requests from travelers. You can set your own rules for the property, including check-in times and whether pets are allowed. It’s completely free to set up your account and list your property, but Airbnb does take a percentage of what you earn for each stay.
Airbnb does its best to make hosts feel comfortable by setting some security measures in place. The company verifies personal profiles as well as listings to ensure that everything is as it seems. The app also hosts a messaging system that allows hosts and guests to communicate safely about reservations and stays. Payments are handled through Airbnb as well.
Additionally, Airbnb offers free protection for its hosts. This includes $1M in liability insurance that can cover hosts if guests are hurt during their stay and $1M in damage protection if your belongings are damaged by guests. Pet damage and unexpected cleaning costs are covered as well. Hosts have two weeks to report damages and can expect to receive reimbursements within two weeks in most cases. If bookings have to be canceled due to damage, Airbnb will reimburse the lost income as well.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free to list, but takes a fee (typically 3% of the booking subtotal)
- Where to download/enroll/find: Airbnb.com
- Where accessible: Internationally
Capital One Shopping
Capital One Shopping is an app that can help you find the best coupons and prices when shopping online. It can be downloaded as a mobile app or as a browser extension on multiple browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.
It’s very easy to install and use Capital One Shopping. It features a watchlist to which you can add products if you want to monitor the price and buy it when it’s less expensive. There is also an Amazon button that will show you if the product you’re looking at is cheaper somewhere else. Several retailers participate with Capital One Shopping, so when you visit a participating website, Capital One Shopping will automatically show you the available coupon codes for that site.
In addition to helping you find the best prices, Capital One Shopping can help you earn money for shopping as well. When you shop online, you’ll earn credits through Capital One Shopping that can build up in your account. After you’ve built up credits, you can redeem them for gift cards to stores such as Macy’s, Sephora, and Kohl’s.
Capital One Shopping isn’t as useful if you shop in person more than online, but it can still be worth it in some cases, If you link a credit card to your account, you’ll get access to offers at local stores and restaurants. The availability of these offers depends on where you live, but since it’s free to download the app, it doesn’t hurt to see what’s around you.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free
- Where to download/enroll/find: Capital One Shopping
- Where accessible: "The full suite of Capital One Shopping services is available for United States addresses and excludes territories such as Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. If using Capital One Shopping outside of the U.S. available features may be limited."
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.
Dosh
Dosh is an app that allows you to earn money from your everyday purchases. The cashback app allows your purchases to do the earning for you when you connect a payment method to your account. For every qualifying purchase, Dosh will automatically place your earnings into your Dosh account.
As long as you’re comfortable with linking a credit card or debit card to your Dosh account, earning using the account couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is use the card that’s linked to your account to make purchases. Dosh does not require you to upload your receipts because it can track your purchases through your linked card. So when you shop in stores and purchase a qualifying item using your card, Dosh will know that it needs to put cash back into your account.
Dosh also partners with other companies to give its users more cashback opportunities. This includes partners such as Walmart, Thrive Market, and Instacart. If you travel, you can also see if you can stay at a hotel that partners with Dosh for earning opportunities.
Your Dosh earnings will be stored in your account until you decide to transfer the money. You have to have a minimum of $25 in your account before you can transfer the money to your bank account, PayPal or Venmo. Dosh is free to use as long as you are an active member. If your Dosh account is inactive for 12 months, you’ll be charged a $4.99 maintenance fee.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free, but $4.99 maintenance fee if inactive for 12 months
- Where to download/enroll/find: Dosh.com
- Where accessible: Anywhere within the United States
Ibotta
Ibotta is another cash-back app that can help you earn some money just from shopping as you normally would. It works with most major retailers, including Target and Walmart. You can also find deals from most grocery stores through Ibotta.
You can access savings from Ibotta using either the mobile app or the browser extension for Chrome. When shopping online, you must visit the website that you are shopping through Ibotta. Luckily, the browser extension will remind you to use Ibotta by showing a pop-up when you visit a partnering website.
In-store shopping requires a bit more work sometimes. You have to browse Ibotta before you go shopping and add the offers that you are interested in into your account. After completing your purchase, you may have to upload your receipt to receive cashback in your Ibotta account. Some retailers with membership or loyalty cards allow you to connect the card to Ibotta. If a store does this, you won’t have to upload your receipt as long as you used your loyalty or membership card when you made the purchase.
Ibotta is free to download and use. Your cashback earnings will be stored in your Ibotta account until you redeem them. However, if you keep money in your Ibotta account and don’t use the app for more than six months, you’ll be charged a $3.99 account maintenance fee per month.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free, but $3.99 monthly maintenance fee if your account is inactive with a standing balance for more than six months
- Where to download/enroll/find: Ibotta.com
- Where accessible: Anywhere within the United States and on U.S. Military Bases internationally when shopping at the commissary
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.
Ridesharing apps
If you have a vehicle and don’t mind driving, using a rideshare service like Lyft or Uber can be a great way to earn some extra income. It’s usually fairly simple to become a driver for one of these services. However, you have to meet both the driver and vehicle requirements to become a driver.
With Uber, every city has its own requirements for drivers. The minimum requirements for all drivers are that you must be of the legal driving age in your area and have driving experience. If you’re under 25, you need three years of driving experience, but those over 25 only need one year of experience. Uber conducts background checks on its drivers to look at your driving history as well. Drivers must have a valid U.S. driver's license, clean driving record, auto insurance, and a registered vehicle to qualify.
Lyft’s requirements are similar, but there are some differences. You must be at least 21 years old, but some areas may have minimum age requirements up to 25. Some states also require that drivers have had an active U.S. driver’s license for at least one year. Like Uber, Lyft also conducts a background check before hiring drivers. Lyft drivers cannot have been convicted of a violent crime or sexual offense. There are also driving record requirements, including no more than four moving violations in the past three years.
For both rideshare companies, your vehicle must pass an inspection and be in good condition. Both companies require that the vehicle has four doors and that passengers can unlock and open doors from the inside. Uber’s requirements can vary by area, but in most cases, you can’t use a vehicle that is more than 15 years old. You also cannot use a rental vehicle or a reconstructed vehicle.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free, but take a percentage of the gross fare paid by riders
- Where accessible: Lyft: Over 600 cities across USA & Canada. Uber: Over 900 cities internationally
Rakuten
Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) is a cashback app that operates a bit differently than some of its competitors. Like many cashback apps, you can use Rakuten via mobile app or browser extension. It can also be used for both online and in-store purchases.
The Rakuten browser extension is probably the easiest way to use the app. When you have this extension installed, you’ll receive a pop-up from Rakuten each time you visit a partnering website with a cashback opportunity. All you need to do is click to activate the cashback opportunity and then continue on with your shopping.
The other option is to connect a credit or debit card to your Rakuten app to get cashback on in-store purchases. To use Rakuten for in-store purchases, you must activate the offer before you go shopping and you must use the connected card to make your purchase. Other opportunities include promo codes, BOGO deals from select retailers, and payments for referring Rakuten to others.
There are a couple of unique things about Rakuten. You’ll be able to earn a certain percentage of cashback on your purchases from partnering retailers. This percentage can vary from store to store, and may even change depending on the day. Rakuten also automatically cashes your money out for you, so there’s no need to do it yourself. You can connect your PayPal account to allow Rakuten to deposit it directly to make things even easier.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free
- Where to download/enroll/find: Rakuten
- Where accessible: Anywhere in the U.S, as well as select international markets including the U.K., Spain, Germany, France, and Ukraine
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 allows you to use an app to generate income through investments. It’s an online brokerage that can be a good stepping stone for anyone who is new to investing. You’ll even earn a $10 bonus when you sign up for a free Robinhood account.
With Robinhood, you can invest in stocks, ETFs, and even crypto. Robinhood gives new members a free stock to get started with. You don’t need a lot of money to invest either and you can place trades with as little as $1. There are also no commission fees to worry about when you use Robinhood.
To make things easier, Robinhood can round up your purchases to the next dollar and use the spare change to fund your account. In order to do this, you need to use a Robinhood debit card to make your purchases. The debit card has no monthly fees and there is no minimum balance requirement. You can also earn a bonus between 10% and 100% on weekly round-ups.
In addition to allowing members to invest, Robinhood provides financial advice and news for free. This can help members get used to investing by learning about the basics and trading options. If you’re the type of person who gets overwhelmed with a lot of information, you can sign up for Robinhood’s daily newsletter Robinhood Snacks to receive financial news in your inbox.
- Costs, fees, or price: Minimum $1 investment with Trading Activity Fees of $0.000130 per share (equity sells) and $0.00218 per contract (options sells)
- Where to download/enroll/find: Robinhood.com
- Where accessible: Anywhere within the United States
Skillz Games
Skillz is a mobile eSports platform that hosts tournaments for millions of players across the globe each year. There are a variety of games available through the app, and games that you can play to earn prize money. The app is suitable for gamers of all skill levels, so you can use it even if you’re just looking to try it out for fun.
When you play games through Skillz, you’ll be matched with players who are at the same skill level as you. If you’re playing for prize money, most games require that you spend money to enter the tournament. However, Skillz also has some free tournaments that you can play to save you from putting your own money forward.
If you use your money to enter Skillz tournaments, the money will be stored in your account and can be used for all Skillz games. Deposits can be made via credit card or PayPal. Then when you’re ready to withdraw your winnings, you can do so at any time.
Related: Best Gaming Apps to Win Real Money | Play Solitaire For Real Money
Skillz is free to download and available on both iOS and Android devices. The app can help you search for and find some of the mobile games that you want to play. When you find the games you want, you’ll be able to download those games as apps as well. Some of the most popular Skillz games include Solitaire Cube, Blackout Bingo, and 21 Blitz. Blackout Bingo stands out as the single best bingo game to win cash.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free
- Where to download/enroll/find: Skillz.com
- Where accessible: “Skillz cash tournaments are currently available in about 75% of the world. Cash tournaments are not yet enabled in certain countries, as well as the following states: AZ, AR, CT, DE, LA, MT, SC, SD, and TN. Additionally, cash gameplay is currently not available in ME and IN if playing cards are involved, and cash matches are not available in Dominoes Gold in New Jersey. Players using rupees to play games on the Skillz platform are only able to play Diamond Strike at this time.”
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- Cash tournaments not available in AR, CT, DE, LA, and SD
Sweatcoin
Sweatcoin is an exercise app that can be used to help motivate you to keep moving throughout the day. The app tracks the number of steps that you walk each day and rewards you with Sweatcoin currency. You can then use your currency to buy products, invest in crypto or donate to charity.
To start using Sweatcoin, all you need to do is download the app. Then you allow Sweatcoin to track your steps via GPS navigation. The downside of this is that it will only count your steps if you’re walking outdoors. You also have to keep the app open on your phone to ensure that your steps are tracked.
Sweatcoin pays out 1 Sweatcoin for every 1,000 steps. However, users only get 0.95 of the Sweatcoin because the company holds 0.05 as a commission fee. Even so, if you use the app regularly, the Sweatcoins can certainly add up over time. You can also earn Sweatcoins by watching ads within the app and referring people using a unique referral code.
There are a few ways you can use the Sweatcoins that you earned. The company works with more than 100 brands and shares offer from them with Sweatcoin users. The offers change, so it’s important to check back if you don’t see what you want on any given day. Some offers include a voucher for Amazon credit or a deal on clothing and jewelry.
- Costs, fees, or price: Free
- Where to download/enroll/find: Sweatcoin.com
- Where accessible: Over 150 countries worldwide
Best income-generating apps summary
App | Type of App | Upfront Costs |
Acorns | Micro-investing | Subscription of $3/mo or $5/mo |
Airbnb | Real estate renting | None |
Capital One Shopping | Money-saving | None |
Dosh | Cash back | None |
Ibotta | Cash back | None |
InboxDollars | Rewards club | None |
Lyft/Uber | Rideshare services | None |
Rakuten | Cash back | None |
Robinhood | Online brokerage | Minimum $1 investment |
Skillz Games | eSports | None (but some tournaments require a deposit) |
Survey Junkie | Online market research community | None |
Swagbucks | Rewards program | None |
Sweatcoin | Exercise | None |
FAQs
What money-making apps should I use?
Whether you’re looking for cashback apps or an investing app, there are more opportunities out there than you can imagine. The ones that you use should be based on your interests and what you’re hoping to gain from the app. For example, game apps like Skillz can be a good option for people who are skilled gamers who want to make money online. A shopper might prefer an app that offers deals, cashback and coupon perks. No matter what your interest is, there is likely to be a free app out there that can help you earn real money.
Are these apps a good side hustle?
This depends on what you’re looking for from a side hustle. If you want a side hustle that can eventually replace your full-time income, you may find yourself disappointed. However, it can be a good option for freelancers who are looking to earn extra money in their spare time. There are some apps that can be used no matter how much extra time you have, especially if you do a lot of online shopping.
What should I look for in an income-generating app?
First off, you’ll want to make sure that the app is legitimate and safe to use. It’s a good idea to look through reviews of an app through the app itself and even on social media if you’re unfamiliar with it. You may also want to look at the welcome bonus or sign-up bonus that the app offers to see how much you can earn right from the start.
Why Should You Use Income-Generating Apps
Income-generating apps such as the ones on this list can be a good way to get free money just for doing things that you already do every day. They’re a good personal finance tool for just about anybody, as long as you go into it with the right expectations in mind. You should consider using these apps if you’re looking to make extra money, begin investing or find new motivation for exercising.
The bottom Line
With all of the apps on the market today, there is a variety of those that can help you earn extra cash. Some of these apps might not generate huge amounts of income, but when used consistently, they can add up over time. Each app has its own unique purpose and each app may pay out differently, but all have the ability to be beneficial.
When considering income-generating apps, it’s important to consider what your interests are and what’s required of you. For example, if you know that you’ll forget to shop through certain websites to earn cash back on purchases, you may want to look for an app with a browser extension. Or, if you like driving and have time on your hands, you might want to go for a rideshare or food delivery service.
When using these or any other income-generating apps, it’s important to have realistic expectations. Most (if not all) apps are not intended to be used for full-time income. However, they can be a good way to pass some time, have fun and earn extra money.
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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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