Do you ever find yourself browsing on your phone when you’ve got spare time? Many smart phone users do, I suspect. While wandering aimlessly on your phone can be a waste of time, you can browse productively.
Did you know there are smart phone apps that will allow you to make money fast with your phone? It’s true: you can put a little cash in your pocket while you’re doing everyday tasks on your phone. So, why not make some money as you browse?
Check out these smart phone apps and see if you can find a way to make yourself some fast money while doing things you do every day.
Table of Contents
Make Money Fast with These Apps
Some of these apps are ones you may have heard of; others are not. Read the information about the apps listed below and how you can make some cash using them.
1. Rakuten
Rakuten is the app that pays you back for shopping online. Depending on which stores you shop at, you can earn up to 40 percent back on your purchases.
All you have to do is download the Rakuten app. Then, every time you shop online just do so through the Rakuten portal. Rakuten will give you cash rebates on your store purchases. Here are some of the over 2,500 stores you can get cash back from when you shop online through Rakuten.
- Walmart, Target and Amazon
- JCPenney and Kohl’s
- Macy’s and Nordstrom
- The Gap and Old Navy
- Garmin and Abu Garcia
- Specialty stores such as Crabtree & Evelyn
And hundreds more. Rakuten even offers discounts on hotel stays and other getaways. It’s free to join Rakuten, and as of this writing they’re giving new members a $10 sign-up bonus.
Rakuten sends you your cash earnings automatically. Every quarter they’ll send you a PayPal deposit or a check – whichever you request.
You might be wondering why Rakuten is giving you money for shopping. It’s pretty simple, really, Stores pay Rakuten a commission for sending you to their site through the Rakuten portal. Then, Rakuten splits that commission with you.
It’s a win-win for everybody. This is a great app for making money if you like shopping online.
The Rakuten app is available for Apple iOS and for Android, or you can get the browser extension for your computer to make saving money even easier!
2. Inbox Dollars
Inbox Dollars pays you money for a number of tasks. After you download their free mobile app, you can earn money by doing things such as:
- Shopping online and taking advantage of offers
- Completing surveys
- Watching videos
- Referring members
And more. Once you’ve earned at least $30 with Inbox Dollars, you can request payment. You can get a prepaid Visa card with your points, or you can choose a retailer gift card too.
The Inbox Dollars app is available for both Android and Apple.
3. i-Say
Ipsos i-Say is a company that will pay you for your opinion. When you take surveys and share your opinion with the i-Say app, you earn rewards points.
You can use the points to get PayPal cash or to get a gift card to one of your favorite retailers. Bonus: you can also use your points to enter sweepstakes contests.
Sweepstakes prizes include items such as bicycles, luggage sets and more.
The i-Say app is available in Android and in Apple iOS.
4. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is probably one of the most popular money-making sites out there. They’ve paid out over 285 million dollars to members so far.
With the Swagbucks app you can make money by doing various tasks such as:
- Taking surveys
- Searching the Net
- Watching videos
- Playing online games
And more. They’ll pay you for referring others to sign up as well. With the points you earn you can get PayPal money.
Or you can get gift cards to your favorite retailers, such as Walmart, Amazon, Starbucks and more.
The Swagbucks app is available in Android and in Apple iOS.
5. Ibotta
Ibotta is an app that’s provided an alternative to oft-cumbersome couponing. Here’s how it works. First, you download the Ibotta app onto your smart phone.
When you pull up the app, it’ll show you cash back offers available through your favorite stores. You click on the cash back offers you want to take advantage of.
For instance, you might see a cash back offer for $2.00 off your favorite nail polish brand. Or, you might see an offer for 50 cents off of a milk purchase. Click on the cash back offers you want, and then go shopping.
After you shop, you’ll scan your receipt with the Ibotta app. Ibotta finds the coordinating purchases for the offers you chose, and credits your Ibotta account.
When you want your cash back, you just request it via a PayPal or Venmo deposit. Or, you can use your money to get a gift card from Ibotta. Ibotta offers gift cards to your favorite stores, such as Walmart and Starbucks.
The Ibotta app is available for Android and for Apple iOS.
6. Shopkick
Shopkick is an app that will reward you with cash, simply for shopping. Here’s how it works. After you download the Shopkick app, you can earn rewards points (called “kicks”) in different ways such as:
- Walking into specific stores
- Making online purchases
- Scanning barcodes on certain products when you’re in a store
- Watching in-app videos
- Making purchases with your linked debit or credit card
And more. When you’ve earned enough points you can get free gift cards to retailers you love. Some of the retailers Shopkick gives gift cards to include Target, Walmart, Starbucks, Amazon and Sephora.
The Shopkick app is available in Android and in Apple iOS.
7. Gigwalk
Gigwalk will pay you money for becoming what they like to call a Gigwalker. Gigwalkers use the Gigwalk app to find and complete gigs (small tasks) in their area.
As a Gigwalker, you might take a picture of a restaurant menu. Or, you might be asked to write a review about a company.
Companies hire Gigwalk to learn how they can better serve clients and gain more clients. Gigwalk hires Gigwalkers to help give feedback to those companies. Each gig will pay you a different amount and take a different amount of time. New members start out getting smaller tasks.
As you get better at performing gigs you’ll be able to get approved to do bigger, higher paying gigs. In other words, you’ll have the opportunity to make more money with the site.
The Gigwalk app is available in Android and in Apple.
8. Field Agent
You can use the Field Agent app to make money by doing retail auditing gigs and mystery shopping tasks. Retailers hire Field Agent to help them make their businesses better. Some of the tasks you’ll do as an agent for Field Agent include:
- Doing price checks on items in stores
- Taking pictures of in-store displays
- Completing surveys
There are other tasks available too, depending on the area you live in and client needs for the retailers there. Field Agent will pay you via Direct Deposit to your bank checking or saving account.
The Field Agent app is available in Android and in Apple iOS.
9. App Trailers
App Trailers is an app that helps you earn money by watching video trailers. You might be asked to watch a video trailer of an upcoming movie.
Or, you might be watching a DIY video or a celebrity gossip clip. You earn points for each video you watch. Bonus: you can earn points for playing trivia games too. With the points you earn on the App Trailers app you can get cash via PayPal. Or you can get a gift card to one of hundreds of different retailers.
Some of the retailers they have gift cards to include Amazon, Starbucks, Target, and Groupon.
App Trailers is available in both Apple and Android.
10. Bookscouter
Bookscouter helps you earn money by helping you sell used textbooks. Here’s how it works. First, you enter the ISBN barcode number of the books you want to sell.
Bookscouter will populate a list of booksellers that are willing to buy your books. The list will also tell you how much each vendor will pay you for your books.
After you agree to an offer price for each book, you pack the books up and ship them for free. Then you’ll get paid after the books are assessed for quality. Note that the books must be in the condition you said they were in when you requested a quote.
Bonus: Bookscouter will connect you with vendors that buy collectible and antique books too.
The Bookscouter app is available in Apple iOS and in Android.
11. Slidejoy
Slidejoy pays you to have advertisements installed on your smart phone’s lock screen. When you see an ad on your phone you can swipe left to get more info, up to see another add or right to go to your home screen.
You get paid the same whether or not you accept or reject an ad. With the points you earn you can get a PayPal deposit. Bonus: you can choose to donate your money to charitable causes as well.
This is kind of a cool way to earn money because you earn simply by accessing your phone.
The Slidejoy app is available only in Android.
12. Decluttr
Decluttr is a site/app that will help you sell your unwanted items and earn cash. Here’s how it works. First, you enter the ISBN number of the item you want to sell.
Second, you choose whether to accept or reject the price quote Decluttr gives you on each item. If you decide to accept the offered quote Decluttr will give you a free shipping label.
After you pack and ship your sold items, Decluttr will assess them for condition. If they’re in the condition you stated they’ll send you your money via a PayPal deposit.
Decluttr will buy a wide variety of items, including:
- Textbooks
- Smart phones, iPads, Kindles and other tech items
- Legos
- Video games and gaming systems
- CDs and DVDs
The Decluttr app is available in both Android and Apple.
13. iPoll
iPoll will reward you to tell them what you think about the products and services you use every day. When you answer questions about products and services you earn rewards points.
You can use the points you earn to get PayPal cash. Or you can get free gift cards for retailers like iTunes and Amazon.
Bonus: iPoll has a quarterly $10,000 cash drawing contest for members. And the iPoll app helps you take paid surveys wherever you are, as long as you have your smart phone with you. Of course, Internet access is required too.
The iPoll app is available in Android and in Apple.
14. Mobee
Mobee will pay you for completing certain missions that can help influence product development. When you download the Mobee app, you might get assigned tasks such as:
- Answering a question about a store or display
- Making a small purchase (don’t worry – you’ll get reimbursed)
- Other store and location specific tasks
Some missions are super short (as in less than one minute long) while others take longer. You’ll earn rewards points for each mission you complete.
You can use the points you earn to get prizes and gift cards to retailers.
The Mobee app is available in both Android and Apple.
15. Tap Cash Rewards
Tap Cash Rewards is an app that will give you rewards points for trying free apps and games. You can also get rewards points for watching videos. You’ll even get points just for logging in each day.
If you reach VIP status you can earn even more money with different activities. You can use your rewards points to get PayPal money, Google Play credits, or gift cards to various retailers.
The Tap Cash Rewards app is available in Android.
16. Surveys on the Go
The Surveys on the Go motto is “Be heard. Get paid.”. The company pays users for their opinions about various topics and issues.
When you use this app you get to opt in to specific survey categories such as sports, entertainment or technology. You’ll be sent surveys based on the demographic information you provide, so be thorough.
All payments are sent via PayPal.
The Surveys on the Go app is available in Android and Apple iOS.
17. Google Opinion Rewards
Google Opinion Rewards will reward you for doing a couple of different tasks. First you can earn rewards for sharing your opinion.
That might mean taking surveys, or reviewing hotels or other retailers, or taking a merchant satisfaction survey. Or, you might answer questions that help Google improve their own products and services.
You can also earn rewards for sharing your television and Internet usage information with Google. With the rewards you earn you can get PayPal credit or Google Play credits.
The Google Opinion Rewards app is available in Android and in Apple iOS.
18. Snap (by Groupon)
Groupon’s Snap app helps you save money when you shop. After you download the app, you can search for money-saving offers. You’ll get digital links for shopping online, or you can use coupons in-store.
Groupon will send you a check once you’ve earned $20 or more in cash back savings. The Snap app is available in Android and in Apple.
19. Paribus
The Paribus app will let you earn money simply by shopping online. When you give them secured access to your email inbox, Paribus will search for online receipts and shipping orders.
They’ll use that information to search websites of stores you’ve purchases things at. When they find that something you’ve purchased has gone on sale or been reduced in price, they’ll get you a refund.
Paribus contacts the store for you and does all of the legwork. You simply collect your refund. This service is totally free.
The Paribus app is available in Apple. They’re working hard on getting an Android app up and running.
Summary
There are so many apps out there that can help you make money fast. We covered several of the most popular money-making apps here. However, if you do some research you’ll find there are even more available.
You aren’t going to get rich with these apps, but they can help you bring in some extra cash.
If you’re looking to make enough money to potentially replace your 9-to-5 income, check out this article on money making ideas. There are many ways you can work from home and make enough money to live on.
Have you ever tried any of the apps listed here for making extra money? What did you like about them? What didn’t you like? Personally, Ibotta is my favorite app listed here.
I’ve been using it since January of 2018 and find it an easy way to earn a bit of extra cash. We’d love to hear about your experiences with the apps listed here. And about other ways you might be making money in your spare time.
Technology is changing the way people earn money. Now is the time to start researching your dream job!
Feel free to leave your thoughts about money making apps or side hustle ideas in the comments section below.