We live in a video-obsessed world. Do you think I’m dramatic?
Consider some of these statistics:
- More than 1 billion hours of Youtube clips are watched each day.
- Netflix members stream an average of over 140 million hours of video each day.
- Over 100 million hours of video are streamed every day on Facebook.
So we’ve established that we’re all watching a lot of videos. Yet when we’re all vegging on our couches watching videos, the only ones making any money are the content creators.
But what if you could be paid for watching videos? Well, it turns out that there are at least 11 easy ways you can get paid to watch videos.
Let me be clear that you won’t get rich with any of these methods. But, in my opinion, even being able to make a little money by laying in bed watching videos is a huge win.
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How to Get Paid to Watch Videos
So are you ready to start getting paid to watch videos? Here are the 11 easiest ways that we’ve found.
1. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is one of my favorite cashback sites. You can earn Swagbucks by completing a variety of online tasks, including watching videos.
To find videos that Swagbucks will pay you to watch, navigate to their “Watch” tab from their homepage or app.
Once there, you can watch nCrave videos which they select for you. You can also choose videos by category, including:
- Fashion
- Food
- Health
- Hobbies
- Home & Garden
- News & Politics
- Parenting
- Pets & Animals
- Sports
- Technology
- Travel
You won’t be able to make as many Swagbucks watching videos as you can with other Swagbucks tasks, like filling out surveys. But watching videos is easier, so I think it’s a pretty good trade-off.
Once you’ve earned enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for free gift cinboinbards, with 140 gift card brands to choose from. You can also redeem your Swagbucks via PayPal cash once you have at least $25 in your Swagbucks account.
2. InboxDollars
InboxDollars is one of Swagbucks’ main competitors. They also allow users to earn cashback by watching videos. On their website, InboxDollars says that they will pay users for watching movie previews, TV shows, news, and more.
How are they able to pay you to watch videos? By partnering with advertisers who want to get their content in front of you.
Advertisers often pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy commercial time on live TV. But what do people often do when those commercials come on? They fast forward right through them.
Because of this, many brands are happy to take some of their advertising budgets and pay it directly to viewers instead. In this way, brands can guarantee that they’ll get views in return for their advertising dollars.
So it’s a win-win. It’s a win for you because you get paid to watch videos. And it’s a win for the brands because they get the ad views that they crave.
3. Viggle
Viggle began as a company that would pay users for watching live TV. Now, they will also pay members for watching shows on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
Here’s how it works. First, open up the Viggle app and tap on the show that you are getting ready to watch on your TV. Then, you’ll need to hold your phone up to your TV so Viggle can listen to the program and confirm what you’re watching.
After you’ve completed your “check-in,” you earn 1 point per minute of each show that you watch.
When watching live TV, you can earn bonus points by answering real-time trivia questions, polls or quizzes about the show that you’re watching. At times, certain shows will offer bonus points to you just for tuning in!
And Viggle is a Perk (which we’ll discuss next) partner. So you’ll earn Perk Points for all the video-watching that you log on the Viggle app.
4. Perk TV
Perk is a company that offers people different ways to make money for the things that they do online. One of those ways to earn money is by watching videos on Perk TV.
Perk TV allows you to earn points by watching popular news videos, movie and show trailers, and sponsored content.
You’ll earn points for every video that you watch. Then you can redeem Perk Points for gift cards to hundreds of brands, including Amazon, Walmart, Gap, Starbucks and Target.
You can also keep track of all the points you’ve earned by downloading the Perk Wallet on Android or iOS. Perk even has a debit card, called Perk Plastik. As you earn Perk Points you can load them onto your Perk Plastik card and use it anywhere that accepts Discover cards!
5. Netflix
If you’re a Netflix member, then you’ve likely seen their list of “Top Shows for You.” If you’ve ever been amazed (or creeped out) by how these suggestions can be so accurate, the answer isn’t all that futuristic or exciting.
Real people called “taggers” are the ones responsible for making these video suggestions possible. Taggers watch video content on Netflix and then add them to the main and sub-categories that they fit into best.
If you think Netflix tagging would be a job you’d enjoy, keep an eye out for tagging position openings on Netflix’s job board.
6. Rev
Rev works through freelancers to provide services like transcription, translation, and foreign subtitles to their clients. They also hire freelancers to provide video captioning services.
On their “Become a Captioner” information page, they say that they receive a ton of content from top-of-the-line video producers. They also state that they need video captioning for everything from old TV shows, to current movies, to educational content.
Rev pays $.45-$.75 per minute for video captioning and pays weekly via PayPal. They say that the average captioner earns $240 a month and their top monthly earnings are $1,570.
That’s a legit side gig! And all for a job that you can do at your home while working as little or as much as you want.
Rev says if you apply and are accepted, you can start earning in under 24 hours. It’s something that may be worth looking into…especially if you’re a fast typist.
7. SlideJoy
SlideJoy is one of Android’s most popular lock screen apps. It’s simple to use and is a great way to make money with almost no extra effort.
Once you’ve installed the app, it will show you a card on your lock screen every time you check your phone. If you decide to interact with these cards, you will find that many of them are videos.
You’ll have three choices to slide once you see a card:
- Left: Interact with the card (i.e., play the video)
- Up: See another card
- Right: Go to your home screen
To prevent bias, you’ll be paid the same amount whether you interact with a card or not.
Once you’ve accrued enough points, you can cash out by purchasing one of their many available gift cards or via PayPal.
8. AppTrailers
Most of us have heard of movie trailers and TV show trailers…but app trailers? I bet you’ve never had an exciting discussion around the water cooler about one of those.
What are they exactly? Pretty much exactly what they sound like. App trailers are promotional videos that explain how an app works and what special features it offers.
App makers really want people to see these trailers because it greatly increases the chance of app downloads. That’s why they partner with AppTrailers to pay people to watch their app promos.
Collect enough points watching app trailers, and you can redeem them for gift cards. Gift card options include:
- iTunes
- Google Play
- Amazon
- Starbucks
- Foot Locker
AppTrailers is free to download and is available on iOS and Android.
9. Market Force
How would you like to get paid to watch movies at the theater? Does it sound too good to be true?
Well, believe it or not, Market Force will pay you for doing exactly that as long as you’re willing to accomplish some easy tasks for them while you’re there. Market Force calls people who do these in-theater tasks Certified Field Associates (CFA).
Market Force CFAs do things such as watch and record all the trailers that are assigned to a movie. Their job is to confirm that they are playing as they’re supposed to. Also, they do things like count the number of people in the theater or sometimes conduct post-movie surveys.
Market Force also has a mystery shopper division of their company. In contrast, their theater checkers typically are not asked to go incognito. For this reason, they’ll usually give you a letter of authority to present to theater management.
Market Force pays cold, hard cash jobs for these jobs. Plus, they will reimburse you for your movie tickets and at times even for your concession purchases.
Apply here to see if Market Force CFA positions are available in your area.
10. Care.com
Care.com is a website designed to connect caregivers with the people who need them. So why in the world would Care.com make it on this list?
Because, first of all, many of the jobs available at Care.com are for watching pets. My younger brother often takes on weekend pet-sitting jobs. And guess what he spends most his pet-sitting nights doing? He watches Netflix!
Yes, I know this one’s a bit of a stretch. But many of the pet sitter listings on Care.com will come right out and say things like “Get paid to keep an eye on our sweet Daisy and watch our TV as much as you want!”
Also, many of the senior citizen caregiver job listings on Care.com make it clear that they’re just looking for someone who will keep their loved one company while they watch their favorite shows during the day.
In both scenarios, you will have other duties to tend to other than viewing TV shows. But even if you were able to spend half of your caregiving time watching TV, that’s still a pretty sweet deal.
11. iRazoo
iRazoo is another cashback site that will pay you to watch videos. iRazoo curates their available videos into “channels” (over 50 of them). They state that they refresh their inventory of videos daily.
The examples of the kinds of videos they’ll give you the chance to watch include:
- Short films
- New Ads
- Cooking tutorials
- Movie reviews
In addition to getting iRazoo points by watching videos, members can also earn points in other ways, like:
- Downloading apps
- Taking surveys
- Completing offers
- Playing games
You can even collect 100 free points just by giving iRazoo your email address.
Once you’ve earned enough iRazoo points, you can redeem them for movie theater gift cards, like AMC or Regal Entertainment. You can also cash out via PayPal.
Summary
Watching videos doesn’t have to be a complete “time-wasting” activity. In this article, we’ve shown you 11 easy ways to get paid to watch videos.
After all, no matter which method you choose, the least you could do is earn a few extra bucks a month. And at most, you may even be able to find a part-time job that consists primarily of watching videos!
Which of the ways that we’ve covered to get paid watching videos is your favorite? Have you tried any of them out yourself? If so, connect with us on social media to let us know.