In our mobile world, people of all ages are spending more and more time on their devices.
We are always looking at various apps when we are in line, during TV commercials, and pretty much everywhere.
But how many of those apps are paying you? It’s likely that most of them aren’t, in fact, some of them are probably costing you money.
You wouldn’t work for free, right? So why not get paid by some of the best apps that pay you real money! Plus, twenty years ago it wasn’t even possible to earn money with apps, so why not take advantage of the opportunity we have today? Hopefully, you want to because we went ahead and found then tested tons of the best apps that pay you money out there, and resulted in this list of the 27 best money making apps that pay you the highest amount of money in 2021.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This list of the best money making apps is broken up into these six categories
- Money Making Survey Apps
- Money Making Apps That Earn You Cash Back
- Passive Income Apps
- Apps That Pay You For Simple Activities
- Money Making Apps for Selling Things
- Other Top Money Making Apps
This list of the best money making apps is broken into six categories to keep things organized. Within these categories is listed only the best of the best highest paying apps that exist.
How to Make Money With Apps
After testing all of these apps that make money, and many others that didn’t make the list, this list is all of the money making apps that were left (in no particular order).
To make the most money possible with this list of apps, we encourage you to find the ones you earn the most from by testing them all out. After you sign up, which shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes or so for all of them, you can then go through and test and see which apps earn you money at the highest rate. It might be different for everyone, as you might shop at different stores, live somewhere where one app will make you more money than someone in another location, and so on.
To truly get the most out of the list, you’ll have some testing to do. However, this is a good list that has filtered out other apps that won’t be worth the time. However, within this list of 27 money earning apps, there are going to be many that will work for you.
Money Making Survey Apps
Swagbucks ($10 Signup Bonus)
Maybe one of the most popular survey apps to make money out there is Swagbucks. They’ve paid out over $150,000,000 to their users since they started. It’s no wonder why, since users of Swagbucks can earn SB points in a ton of different ways:
- Taking surveys
- Shopping online
- Searching the web
- Playing games
- Watching videos
- Using coupons
SB points earned from these activities can then be redeemed for PayPal or gift cards, your choice. Plus, their minimum to cash out is just $5 so you don’t have to wait forever to earn enough points to cash out.
Sign up for Swagbucks and use our referral code DWTDWT to get a free $10 just for joining!
MyPoints ($10 Signup Bonus)
With MyPoints, you can earn points from shopping, taking surveys, using coupons, watching videos, and more. All of those points you earn can later be redeemed for gift cards to popular stores like Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, and many more. Alternatively, MyPoints is also one of those apps that pay you PayPal, which is always a bonus. Plus, like the other survey apps that pay for your opinion on this list, this one also seems to be a fairly high-paying survey app!
Signup for MyPoints and get a $10 bonus after you complete your first task.
InboxDollars ($5 Signup Bonus)
Give your opinion, watch videos, take advantage of offers, and more on InboxDollars, and get paid for it. InboxDollars is very similar to Swagbucks, and although I think Swagbucks is a bit better, sometimes you can find more value for your time with InboxDollars.
For that reason, it makes a good addition to the list. Plus, they have an app so you can earn points while you are in line, commuting, or just watching TV.
Signup for InboxDollars and get a $5 signup bonus to get you started.
It’s always a good idea sign up and check between all of these survey apps to find the best paying surveys and activities. Sometimes, a platform may just not have the highest paying surveys for that day when another might, and checking all of them will ensure you don’t miss good opportunities!
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Money Making Apps That Earn Cash Back
Rakuten ($30 Signup Bonus)
Rakuten might be one of the oldest and well-known rebate apps around. They earn you rebates for shopping online or in-store with participating stores, in some cases earning you 15% (or more), from a ton of different places like:
- Amazon
- Macy’s
- Walmart
- Ebay
- Groupon
- Sephora
- and many more
All of the cash back you earn from shopping through Rakuten can be redeemed for cash, check, or gift cards.
Rakuten is also currently offering new users $10 just for signing up.
Drop ($5 Signup Bonus)
Drop allows you to earn cash back without uploading any receipts or clipping coupons.
Instead, you connect any debit or credit cards you normally make purchases with and earn cash back automatically when you shop at participating stores.
It’s a great app to add to your collection of cash back apps that pay you money because it doesn’t take any extra time to earn money as it’s done automatically, plus it’ll just add another way to earn cash back in addition when using these other cash back apps that pay.
Get the Drop app and get a free $5 with the invite code Z6QCB when you connect your first card (which can be redeemed immediately if you want).
Ibotta ($20 Signup Bonus)
Ibotta is one of the most well-known rebate apps that pay you cash and boasts of having paid out to its users over $500,000,000.
They by far have the most amount of offers when it comes to grocery store items. You can expect to find cash back rewards for anything and everything, such as:
- Cereal
- Milk
- Meat
- Produce
- Frozen products
- Personal care items
- Liquor
- Online shopping (new)
- and much more…
Plus, you can stack offers with sales and coupons for even greater savings.
Right now they are giving out a huge signup bonus of $20 for new users with the referral code XIDADJV after they redeem their first offer.
Checkout 51
Checkout 51 is another good cash back app for groceries to have in your tool belt. While they don’t seem to have as many offers as Ibotta does, they usually have a different selection of items – allowing you to save money on more potential items. The biggest upside with Checkout 51, however, is that you can upload a receipt from any store! This could be a national chain or a local grocery store, either way, you will get paid as long as you redeem an offer.
GetUpside (20¢/Gallon Bonus)
GetUpside has been a game-changer when it comes to saving money at the pump. On top of any savings you get from gas station rewards programs, you can also earn cash back (anywhere from 10 to 25 cents per gallon) every single time you go to the gas station with GetUpside.
Plus, when you sign up, you’ll get an extra 20 cent per gallon bonus on your first fill. Click here to signup for GetUpside and use referral code VDZYC to get that signup bonus.
Trunow ($1 Signup Bonus)
Another cash back app for gas, Trunow is another way to save at the pump. If a gas station isn’t available on GetUpside, you can always rely on Trunow to earn you money. In fact, Trunow will give you at least 1% back on every gas purchase, at any gas station. All you need to do is upload your receipt and you’ll be credited.
Signup for Trunow and get your $1 bonus!
Paribus (now Capital One Price Protection)
The Paribus app will automatically track all of your online purchases and monitor for price drops. If the price drops at any time in the future, Paribus will get a price difference refund on your behalf and refund it entirely to you.
Since Paribus was acquired by Capital One, it is now 100% free to use which is even better.
Seated
Eat out often? Or even just once in a while?
Either way, you can make money from your phone just for dining out through the Seated app. All you need to do is book through the app, eat at the restaurant, meet the requirements, and you’ll earn money. The app wants to reward you for eating out, and it really does a good job at doing that by paying you.
Click here to sign up for the Seated app!
Fetch Rewards ($2 Signup Bonus)
This is another cash back app that pays you whenever you buy items from certain brands.
Unlike other apps that focus on individual items, this app’s main focus is on rewarding you every time you buy any item from a given brand. Some of those brands include:
- Ben & Jerry’s
- Brisk
- Campbell’s
- Dove
- Heinz
- Jell-o
- and many more (over 200+ different brands)
Signup for Fetch Rewards and use the referral code VB3YJ to get your $2 signup bonus.
Shopkick ($2.50 Signup Bonus)
Get paid for walking into stores, scanning items, and (or) uploading receipts with Shopkick. There aren’t a lot of apps out there, especially not as good as Shopkick, that will pay you just for walking into a store or just for scanning items; that’s why it’s so neat.
Since there are so many ways to earn money with Shopkick, from uploading receipts to just walking in a store, it had to make the list.
Signup for Shopkick and get your $2.50 bonus!
Related: 17 Best Rebate & Cash Back Apps
Passive Income Apps
Lending Club
Lending Club might be one the best passive income apps purely by the potential it has to make you some serious passive income.
In short, Lending Club is a peer-to-peer lending platform that allows you to safely lend money to people in as big or small amounts of money as you feel comfortable. You then earn interest on your money, just like a bank would when it lends out money.
Their app makes it extremely easy to lend out money and track your loans to monitor your profits.
Click here to check out Lending Club and signup!
Acorns ($5 Signup Bonus)
Acorns makes the list of the top money making apps for passive income for two reasons, you can earn money by investing your money and you can earn cash just for shopping (which those earnings go into your investment portfolio to grow even more).
Acorns main feature is spare change investing, which rounds up every purchase you make to the nearest dollar and invests it for you. That money will grow over time and is all done on your behalf. Plus, the Found Money feature earns you cash back just for shopping at participating locations and puts those savings into your investment portfolio too.
Click here to get Acorns and start saving & investing money!
Nielsen ($50 / Year)
Neilsen is the definition of passive money making app as it’s probably the easiest of them all to earn passive income. All you need to do is download the app, sign up, and that’s about it. They anonymously monitor your interest usage to see how consumers behave and will pay you $50 a year to be a part of it.
Install the Nielsen app, get it set up, and enjoy a free $50 a year – that’s it!
Related: 21 Best Passive Income Ideas
Apps That Pay You For Simple Activities
HealthyWage
What if you could be more motivated and get paid to lose weight?
That is what HealthyWage was made to do.
How it works is you bet a certain amount of money that you can reach a certain weight goal by a certain date. If you accomplish it, you’ll win money.
If you want to get paid to lose weight, get HealthyWage.
Rover
Good with dogs? Want to get paid to walk them or house sit?
The Rover app connects dog owners with caretakers for pay, which could be you.
Get Rover and start earning money for taking care of other peoples dogs!
Lyft or Uber
Got a car and are willing to drive people around?
Get Lyft or Uber (or both) and start driving people around for cash. This could even just be done to earn some extra money on your commute to and from work. Or, you could take it further and work as long as you want!
Instacart, DoorDash, UberEats
If you don’t feel comfortable driving people around, how about driving their food around?
Apps like Instacart, DoorDash, and UberEats pay you to do things like grocery shop or pick up someone’s fast-food order. It’s kind of like a delivery driver job but it’s an app that pays you and allows you to completely choose your own hours.
Foap
Have a good phone and a good eye for photography?
The Foap app pays you every time one of your photos is sold. They do this to incentivize more content to be uploaded to their platform to be available for their customer base. They really close the gap between photographers who want to be paid and brands who need good photos.
If you can take good photos, sign up for Foap!
Mobee
Want to be a secret shopper and perform tasks like asking employees certain questions or locating items? The Mobee app allows you to do just that, and get paid for it.
No longer do you need to join a company and get on payroll to become a paid secret shopper, the app Mobee has brought that to your phone. Earn points for secret shopper-type tasks, then redeem those points for gift cards or cash – that’s it!
Click here to get the secret shopper app, Mobee!
Money Making Apps for Selling Things
Decluttr
Decluttr allows you to easily find out what your electronics are worth and connects you with people who are willing to buy them from you. Once they are sold, package them up and ship them out and you’re all set!
Click here to signup on Decluttr.
OfferUp
OfferUp is an app that makes you money easily by helping you sell your stuff locally. It’s like a modern version of Craigslist in app form, and it a great way to sell your stuff while still getting top dollar for it.
Click here to signup on OfferUp.
Other Top Money Making Apps
Long Game Savings ($1 Signup Bonus)
Long Game Savings is an app that earns you money just for saving. This FDIC-insured app will reward you with points and games that give you the chance to win prizes of up to $1,000,000 every time you deposit money into the app.
The app does this to incentivize you to save, which it accomplishes in a truly fun and neat way.
Start getting rewards for saving money with the Long Game Savings app!
Sweatcoin
Most of us walk, and Sweatcoin is an app that pays you to walk. Amazing, right?!
Just install the Sweatcoin app and you’ll start earning for every single step you take. Points can be redeemed for things like bags, jewelry, or even cash.
If you want to be paid to walk, get the Sweatcoin app here!
Cash app ($5 Signup Bonus)
The Cash app by Square wouldn’t traditionally fit on this list.
Why?
Because its main purpose is an app to send and receive money.
However, they’ve rolled out a feature where you can earn cash back on purchases at stores they’ve partnered with. Here are some of the offers the Cash app card offers:
- $2 back at Dominos
- 10% back at Taco Bell
- 10% back at Panera
- 10% back at Trader Joe’s
- and MANY more
Plus, these aren’t available for one use. You can use these offers every time you visit, so it really adds up. All you have to do is transfer some funds to the app, get the Cash app card, and use it when shopping at a participating location. It should also be mentioned that all of this is entirely free.
Even better, Cash app is giving new users a free $5 when they sign up and send their first $5.
Will you become rich using these money making apps? Not at all. However, you can earn a decent amount of money every hour you spend using them which will make using them worthwhile. Plus, some of them are passive – so you’ll earn even when you aren’t using the app. All of this extra money can be used for whatever you want, whether that’s for a vacation you’re saving for, retirement, or anything else, every penny counts!
Also, we tried to make sure this list had both enough money making apps for android as well as money making apps for iPhone devices. While not every app is available on both devices, there is certainly a good mix and, for the most post, are available on both devices. If you come across an app that isn’t available on your phone, don’t be afraid to check back later and see if it is – in the meantime, there is hopefully something on this list for everyone.
Did we miss an app that pays well that should have made the list? Please, let us know!
Dustyn Ferguson
Dustyn is a personal finance aficionado and the founder of Dime Will Tell where he writes about the experiences he's had with saving money, being debt-free, and building side hustles. He's been featured as an expert resource in publications like Huffington Post, Go Banking Rates, & Reader's Digest.
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