14 Apps That Pay You Real Money [Make Money with Your Phone]

These money-making apps turn sitting at home into a lucrative side hustle.

Are you interested in downloading the best money making apps that pay you real money?

Today I’m going to show you some new strategies to make some extra money fast simply by clicking a few buttons on your cell phone (in under 5 minutes).

The best part? A lot of these require no effort at all.

I get it.

Life happens.

Sometimes you need some extra cash to pay a bill or you’re trying to save up for something you want.

You don’t want to fall behind on bills and are wondering how to make money today or what apps pay you real money?

Sure, another 100 dollars earned today wouldn’t hurt.

We’ve all been there, but what do you usually do when that happens? This is an exhaustive list of things that anyone can do, today, in order to make money online fast through the best mobile applications I've found.

If you're strapped for time, I'll go ahead and share the best money making apps that you can add to your side hustle arsenal.

14 Best Apps That Pay You Real Money

Ready? I’ll only list legit ways that I’ve personally used to make money, and make it fast. We will first start with the quick wins, companies that’ll (legit) pay you free money just for signing up:

1. Survey Junkie

  • iPhone: 4.5 – ‎17,660+ reviews
  • Android: 4.3 – ‎8,220+ reviews
  • Payment methods: Paid in gift cards, or cash via PayPal
  • Quick summary: With Survey Junkie, you’ll complete easy tasks to earn cash and rewards. If you like taking fun and interesting surveys, this is a good app for you. You can earn points that can be easily be redeemed.
make money fast with Survey Junkie

Taking online surveys to make that extra money is a no-brainer!

You definitely won’t get rich or make thousands of dollars per day with surveys alone, but you won’t waste much time, and you can make some money the easy way. Here is my favorite (and highest paying) survey site:

Survey Junkie pays between $2 and $50 per survey, and many of them take less than 5 minutes to complete. So if you took on average 10 surveys per day, every day for a month, you could make $375+ per month. If you took more surveys a day — the possibilities are endless.

There are a lot of scammy survey sites out there, but Survey Junkie has over 11,000 positive reviews on TrustPilot, the highest of any survey site. It’s legitimate.

Sounds like fun? Sign-up for Survey Junkie, take surveys and earn money from your phone fast. You can also get a registration bonus through here.

Earn money with Survey Junkie

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

2. Sell Your Stuff and Make Money Fast

get free money fast

If you're like most people, you've got a lot of stuff just taking up space in your home. What if you could get rid of some of that stuff and make some extra cash at the same time? It's possible with Decluttr!

Decluttr is an easy way to sell your unwanted CDs, DVDs, games, books, and more. Just enter the barcodes of the items you want to sell into the Decluttr app or website and they'll give you an instant valuation. Once you've scanned all of your items, just ship them to them for free and Decluttr will take care of everything else – including paying you!

With Decluttr, you can declutter your home and earn some extra cash at the same time. So what are you waiting for? Start selling your stuff today and make $50 fast.

SIGN UP NOW

3. Swagbucks

  • iPhone: 4.4 – ‎13,674+ reviews
  • Android: 4.2 – ‎39,986+ reviews
  • Payment methods: Paid in gift cards, or cash via PayPal
  • Quick summary: With Swagbucks, you can put cash back in your wallet for answering fun surveys and polls. You can also get free gift cards and cash for shopping and discovering content online. Plus, they’ll even give you a $10 welcome bonus.
swagbucks

Swagbucks is another great survey app to make some extra money in your free time. As a new member, you can earn up to $35 per survey!

 They are known for giving out fun, top-paying surveys. And you can also get paid to play games and watch TV!

It’s similar to Survey Junkie, but there are also a few other ways you can earn money as a member (including a $10 bonus just for signing up).

Other ways you can make money with Swagbucks outside of surveys:

Swagbucks is conveniently offering a $10 bonus just for signing up through this link, so act fast.

Claim $10 signup bonus

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

4. InboxDollars

  • iPhone: 4.4 – ‎106,369+ reviews
  • Android:  4.2 – ‎94,251+ votes
  • Payment methods: Paid in gift cards or via check
  • Quick summary: With InboxDollars, you can earn cash for sharing your opinion and completing surveys. Join the millions of InboxDollars members who have earned over $50 million in cash to date.
inboxdollars

The next thing you can do is sign up for InboxDollars which pays you, in cash, to watch fun videos & take surveys.

If you sign up before the end of this month, they also give you a $5 free bonus just to give it a try.

By spending just 5-10 minutes per day on this (either on your lunch break or during TV commercial breaks) you can earn and earn an extra $200/month.

More people should be doing this!

Claim $5 signup bonus

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

5. Mistplay

mistplay

We all heard the old saying “time is money” right?

Instead of playing games on your phone like everyone else and feeling bad for wasting your time — now you can get paid for it.

Getting paid for playing games sounds like a dream. But if you download a free new app, and then download games from it and play, you earn money.

As you level up you can earn more money for cash rewards or gift cards.

This is a great opportunity for those looking to get paid for something they enjoy, like winning free gift cards and cash for playing games. I use it and it is legit and has over 35,404 positive reviews in the Google Play store.

If you’re interested, I recommend you download the app from the Google Play store for free by clicking here.

Get paid to play games

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

6. Nielsen

nielsen make money fast

By using the internet as you do every day, Nielsen invites you to make a difference – and you can make a quick $50 too.

Just by downloading an app, you can collect $50 per device and earn rewards. They just track your app usage and that’s it.

You don’t have to do anything other than initially registering your computer or phone.

Nielsen: This company will pay you $50 a year to keep their app on your favorite internet browsing device and they also give away $10,000 each month. So you can possibly make more than $50. Sign up through here for a registration bonus.

Make $50 with Nielsen

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

7. Get a Free Stock with Robinhood

Are you ready to say goodbye to fees for when you buy and sell stocks and hello to commission-free trades?

That’s right, this app lets you do everything for free and takes no fees — ever.

robinhood

Better yet, if you join through this link you can get a free stock like Apple, Ford, or Sprint when you join.

Sign up for Robinhood now and Get a Free Stock

Claim free stock now

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

8. Capital One Shopping

One of the best savings (and making money) apps is Capital One Shopping. It’s a shopping app that can help you make money in two ways: finding better deals and giving you rewards.

It can help you save money on products you buy daily. Once you install the app on your browser, it will show you lower prices on things during checkout.

The other way is by giving you rewards when you shop. Once you shop at stores they work with, you can get reward points and redeem them for gift cards. It’s that easy and there’s no catch (and 100% free). This free app is open to everyone, no Capital One account required.

Install the app

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

9. Cash In on the Food Delivery Boom

Gig economy workers are the real winners in the COVID-19 era, as the demand for food delivery is booming. If you wanted to cash in and earn over $20 each day — here are the best food delivery apps that pay the most:

  1. DoorDash: DoorDash is the #1 food delivery app to make money delivering food. You can earn on your bike or even by walking and make up to $20 an hour.
  2. Instacart: If you have a car then you can use it to deliver groceries with Instacart. Just log into the app whenever you want to make extra cash and the orders will come. You can earn $20 an hour.
  3. Uber Eats: Uber Eats is another popular option to make money delivering groceries, takeout, or even alcohol. Plus, there is no dress code so you can wear whatever you want during deliveries.

If you do plan to pick a delivery app to make extra cash in your free time, consider driving for multiple food delivery apps at the same time in order to be more profitable and make more money in between orders. If you haven’t yet, click here to sign up for InstacartDoorDash and Uber Eats!

10. Cash Bonuses Expiring Today

If you’ve got some free time you can earn extra cash just for signing up for sites/apps. It’s a perfect way to make a good amount of extra cash whenever it’s convenient for you.

Interested? The next thing you can do is claim bonuses for quick wins, check out the best sign up bonuses below:

  • Public: When you complete the signup process (it takes just a couple of minutes), you’ll get up to $5 of free stock in a company of your choice.
  • Personal Capital: Provides a free financial dashboard that features a net worth tracker (the easiest way to track your net worth), a retirement planner, budgeting tools, a fee analyzer, and more. When you join for free — you can refer friends and get $20 for each referral.
  • Nielsen: Earn free money (passive income) just by leaving an app installed on your phone. Join Nielsen & Get a Free Gift Card in One Week

A lot of people do this full time, so you can imagine that’s it definitely possible to do this on as a lucrative side gig and make extra money and be your own boss.

11. Fundrise

Wouldn’t it be great if you could invest in commercial real estate and apartments without dealing with all the hassle of buying, improving, and re-selling real estate?

You don't have to be a millionaire to invest in these types of properties. You can now invest in large-scale real estate for as little as $10 with Fundrise.

Through their real estate investment products, investors earned an average of 8.7 – 12 percent on their money last year, and all without painting a wall or dealing with unruly tenants.

There is a reason why they currently have over 200,000+ users, this app really pays you!

If you’re interested, I recommend you sign up for more information from Fundrise by clicking here.

Earn passive income with Fundrise

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

12. Paribus

Do you want to get free refunds with Paribus?

No, hear me out. I bought something online from Target.  The price of the Keurig cups I purchased — dropped in price, after the fact.

✔️ I effortlessly got refunded without doing a thing.

I didn’t have to do anything, other than originally sign up for Paribus.

It's as simple as that.

This free app will scan your emails for any purchase receipts from dozens of online retailers. You don’t even have to know about the price drop in order to get your refund. It’s 100% free and will save you a lot of money. I pocketed around $50 in the first few weeks of signing upRemember, it’s 100% free!

Discover your savings

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

13. Ibotta

The app you should know about is Ibotta. This money-making app actually gives you cash back on things you buy every day, even booze!

You heard me right, you can make money for the booze you buy at groceries.

Ibotta is a fun rebate app that lets you get cash back on your purchases from major stores like Walmart, Target and almost every grocery store all over the country.

They are conveniently offering a $10 sign-up bonus after uploading your first receipt. So act fast.

How it works:

  1. Download the app and start a free account to browse deals in your area.
  2. Scan your first grocery receipt within a few days of downloading the app.
  3. Get paid and cash out cash via PayPal.

However, you do have to be 21 or older to take advantage of the booze deals.

Download Ibotta now

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

14. ZippyLoan

If you actually need money right now, then you can opt for a personal loan. When you need money in a hurry ZippyLoan is where to go.

You apply for a loan through the ZippyLoan site, if approved they send your loan application to one of many loan providers.

  • You review the loan details and e-sign if you like what you see.
  • No risk in checking what offers you’ll get.
  • You can borrow between $100 and $15,000 as soon as tomorrow.
  • Loans service for up to 60 months.

ZippyLoan connects borrowers to lenders through their network of lenders. They’ll find you the lowest interest rate and is one of the best no credit check loan. You can visit ZippyLoan here.

Get cash now

Download: iOS | Android | Browser

Once You Have $1,000 in Your Checking Account, Do These 5 Things

Once you built some cushion in your bank account — you're on the right path. Money making apps can only get you so far, it's time to think about longer-term financial goals.

What’s the next step you should take?

Here are ways to take your finances to the next level:

Leave Your Family $1M

Who doesn't want to be a millionaire? While we don't all have trust funds waiting for us, there is still a way to provide protection for your loved ones with up to $1 million in term life insurance.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could do this for as little as $8 a month without dealing with all the hassle of wasting your time or money? You don't have to have money in your pockets to get a free quote from Ladder.

If you’re interested, I recommend you sign up for more information from Ladder by clicking here.

Build an Emergency Fund

Having money in the bank for emergencies can help you improve your financial standing. You'll want three to six months' worth of expenses in your emergency fund. Be sure to stash your money in the right savings account that'll grow your money.

Start with a high-yield savings account like CIT Bank that offers a Savings Connect 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 get to $1,000 in less than a year.

GET STARTED >>

Get Free Stocks Instantly

While you're at it, why not increase your net worth with a free stock? Robinhood is a free investing app for your phone. I really mean free all around – free to join and they don’t charge any fees to buy or sell the stock.

Better yet, if you join through this link you can get a free stock like Apple, Ford, or Sprint when you join (must complete signup).

GET STARTED >>

Start Building Passive Income

Arrived is definitely one of the best passive income platforms.

If you want a simple way to earn extra cash on the side from your phone, look no further than the best real estate platform that pays you passive income.

There Will Always Be Money Making Apps that Pay You

There you have it. If you’ve finished the list, you’ve just made at least $100 through these apps that pay you real money. We wish you the best of luck on your journey on how to make money!

Just remember, with most of these services, consistency is key, so be diligent about completing your daily check-in and continue to use the service if you want to earn more lucrative amounts of cash or gift cards.

It’s always better to use these opportunities as additional cash for smaller purchases, rather than to rely on them for a steady income.

If you didn't claim your $5-10 cash bonuses already, don't forget to check out the best signup bonuses below:

To chalk it up, what are the best ways to make money right away? While a search online when you're in need of some fast cash will produce millions of results, not all will be legitimate.

It's up to you to filter through the so-called noise.

These strategies to make $50 fast will help put you in the black, even if it's in a very small way. Once you are, resume planning and focusing on the bigger picture.

Brian Meiggs
Brian Meiggs
Brian Meiggs is a personal finance expert, and the founder of SavingExpert, a personal finance site helping you make your money work for you. He helps readers bring in passive income in order to increase their saving potential and start building wealth for the future. He regularly writes about saving, budgeting, investing, and general personal finance topics aimed to help anyone save more, pay off debt, and reach financial freedom. He has been quoted as a top personal finance blogger in major publications including Insider, Yahoo! Finance, NASDAQ, Discover, MSN Money and more.