Money Making Game Apps That Actually Work

The idea of earning money by playing games might sound too good to be true, but there truly are various mobile game apps that pay real money. I’m not talking about in-game credit or entries into a sweepstakes contest either.

Instead, most of the apps on this list offer the chance to accumulate points, which you can then withdraw through gift cards, PayPal, or sometimes a check.

The biggest limitation is that these apps won’t ever be great money earners. Just like survey apps or offer apps, you’re always going to be making far under the minimum wage. It might even take you a month or more to earn enough to withdraw even once. If you want to make more money, then you should consider something more lucrative.

Keep in mind that “apps” will never really make as much money as an actual job. The good news is that you can find some awesome online work with Flexjobs, an online marketplace for finding online work that actually pays out.

6 Games and Apps That Pay Real Money 1. Swagbucks ($5 Bonus) Where to play: iPhone, Android, and Put cashback in your wallet with Swagbucks! 6 Games and Apps That Pay Real Money 1. Swagbucks ($5 Bonus) Where to play: iPhone, Android, and Put cashback in your wallet with Swagbucks! Apr 02, 2021 With over 10 million members, high ratings from real app users, an excellent score on Trustpilot, and a minimum payout of just $5, Survey Junkie is a must-have money making app. Minimum withdrawal: 500 points gets you a $5 transfer to your PayPal account or can be redeemed for gift cards.

Flexjobs is great because you don't have to commit to a full time job, but can find flexible online work to add to your current income whenever you need a bit of a boost.

Another potential way to earn money with apps, for example, is to make money on TikTok. You can have fun by lip syncing, dancing, or making funny videos. Though it's not a “game” per se, it's still fun. You can earn directly on the app, or leverage TikTok to send users to your YouTube channel then collect Adsense checks from Google 😉

Still, playing games is pretty fun, and if you can play games on your phone and still earn money, even better. Apps work off your phone, so you can take them pretty much anywhere. This gives you the chance to make some money while you’re waiting in line or as a passenger on a long commute.

Some people even find mobile game apps relaxing, especially if they’re watching videos on Netflix or something similar at the same time. If you fall into that category, one of these apps could be perfect.

So let’s take a look at the various apps and how they work. We’ve tried most of these out ourselves, so we can give you the low down about which apps are worth your time and which ones truly aren’t. Before you do that though, I've found an awesome new app called Fold where you can earn free BITCOIN just for spinning a prize wheel once a day.

You can also earn by purchasing gift cards, but the prize wheel is free to spin. That's basically their business model. Get you interested with free “Sats” (fractions of Bitcoins), then hope you buy a gift card to Starbucks or Amazon. The reason I like this app is because it's not USD you're earning. Bitcoin has a good chance of increasing in value over the next decade, so $10 now could turn into $100 later, and $100 could turn into $1000 as the price of Bitcoin rises.

On a side note, many of these apps allow you to earn by playing the same games (like Lords Mobile or Game of War). Most of the time you only earn from the first time that you’ve ever played a given game, which means that you can’t earn from the same game even with multiple apps.

Types Of Mobile Game Apps That Pay Real Money

Earn By Downloading (And Playing) Games

Make Money – Free Cash App

The name Make Money – Free Cash App makes this app sound like a serious scam but actually, it isn’t too bad. The app currently gets an average of 4.7 stars on Google Play. Some of those positive reviews could well be fake but, even so, poor apps normally end up with a lower average.

The app follows an offers approach, where there are various types of offers to choose from such as signing up for free trials. There is also an emphasis on downloading and playing games. That’s the part we’re talking about today.

The Make Money app lumps most of its offers together. For example, my offers wall showed a task to sign up to STARZ (for 2,919 points), one to join My Survey (for 897 points) and one to reach Stronghold Level 15 in Game of War (for 17,208 points).

This style might mean that there are fewer games to download than with other apps. Even so, there are some impressive numbers with the app, such as the 17,000-odd points for Game of War (although, getting to level 15 in Game of War would take quite some time).

On a side note, those Game of War points are for new players only. You’ll often see that pattern with game download apps. This means that people who already play apps regularly may have fewer opportunities to make money.

Overall, the app itself performs well. It is a little cheesy in places, but everything is easy to use and intuitive. You can withdraw through PayPal too, which is a clear advantage.

AppKarma

While AppKarma focuses on downloading and playing apps, the service does have various ways to earn extra points, such as by watching tutorials, completing quizzes and checking into the app every day.

There are multiple ways to earn from apps too. The main approach is to download the app and complete whatever the task is.

For example, I could earn 1,872 Karma Points by downloading the game Coin Master and getting up to the 4th village. It was also possible to get 60 points each play for 12 plays. Similar patterns can be found with other games that the app offers.

Finally, App Karma has a Playtime Rewards feature (in some countries) where you can earn some money by progressing through games.

Some of the apps pay out really well, like 18,722 Karma Points for the game Matchington Mansion. But, there are some limitations, as you can only get the reward if you haven’t downloaded the game before and you must hit the goal within 30 days.

An even more concerning aspect is that some of the goals cost money. For example, to get the 18,722 Karma Points for Matchington Mansion, you need to spend $90 USD.

As for cashing out, you need 13,500 Karma Points to get $10 through PayPal. You could hit that goal fast if you were spending money (although doing so really defeats the point of using the app). It would take much longer to build up your points if you decided not to spend money on any of the games.

Money App

Money App is a typical example of apps in this field. It has a variety of ways to earn, including games.

The game rewards are higher than you’ll find with many other apps, which has positive and negative implications. The challenging part is that you generally need to hit high levels or spend money in the game to earn anything. For most games, simply downloading and running them won’t be enough.

These targets can take a long time to hit. If the game involves a decent amount of skill or luck, you might not even be able to do so at all.

Some reviewers also mention that they didn’t get the points for a given target, even though they did everything right. This type of issue can be the result of user error or a random glitch in the app. Regardless, you don’t want to be spending weeks trying to hit a goal just to find that you don’t earn anything from the process.

Mistplay

Unlike many of the apps on this list, everything about Mistplay feels professional and looks appealing. The entire app seems to have been designed with gamers in mind, to the extent that you earn experience points (called GXP) for playing games and this GXP allows you to level up.

Honestly, the app performs well. I didn’t have any issues using it, aside from the odd bit of slowdown when first downloading and connecting to a game. There are various ways to earn units within the app, including hitting daily play targets, moving from one level to the next and completing various tasks (such as ‘reach game level 15’ or ‘play 1 hour after 12 am’).

The amount you earn is also dependent on the game that you’re playing and your level within Mistplay. Playing more means that you reach higher levels, which then influences the amount that you earn.

The games that you can earn from vary depending on your selection at the beginning, your demographics and some of your history with downloading games. This aspect can be a bit frustrating, but there are still plenty of games to choose from.

Mistplay’s system for monitoring your playing seems to work well, although it does produce some annoying popups. The app gets an average of 4.3 on the Google play store, with many people enjoying it. The biggest complaint, as always, is that it takes quite some time to get enough to cash out.

It’s also important to pay attention to any restrictions within the app or the game. For example, sometimes you won’t earn if you play a game more than two hours in a day or once you get above a certain level.

PlaySpot

The PlaySpot app looks nice and performs well, even though their Google Play listing has some odd grammar at times. The general idea is that you’re downloading games and earning money for the time that you spend playing them. So, this time, there aren’t many in-app targets to hit. You’re mostly focusing on play time instead.

As some users mention, the amount you earn does tend to decrease with the time spent on one game. This means that you can’t simply find a game that you like and dedicate all of your time to it. You’ll need to switch around instead (actually, this is true for most of the apps on this list).

Even if you do so, it can take quite a while to get to the point of cashing out. Some users report that it took them months to cash out even once. While there are offers that provide more points, many of these will cost, which makes the idea a little counter productive.

The app does seem to be legitimate, as some users have successfully cashed out. But, there has also been a decent number of complaints about errors with cashing out, which means that you need to be wary.

AppStation

AppStation is another example that focuses on app downloads, rather than offering a variety of ways to earn. Like Mistplay, the app highlights how you can make money by playing games.

This time, the main way to earn from games is simply by spending time playing them. This means that you don’t need to focus on hitting a certain level or reaching other specific targets in the game.

Your earnings vary from game to game, so some games will give you more income for your time than others. The payout tends to decrease as you spend more time in a game. As such, the best way to earn is to regularly install and play new games from your list, rather than spending all of your time playing your favorites.

The biggest complaint is that the games you can earn from aren’t always appealing. But honestly, this is a standard issue with any apps that pay you to play games. Your selection of apps is generally based on demographics, along with the apps that you have already played.

Coin Pop

Coin Pop is a time-based approach to earning from apps (similar to AppStation). You can choose your favorite game from their list, install it and then earn money for the time that you spend playing it.

This can be the most appealing style, as you don’t need to constantly download apps or hit specific targets within the game.

One limitation is that the game list might not include everything that you want to play. You may find that some games disappear over time too.

The pattern is typical for apps like this. After all, the company behind the app needs to make money too, so the games that they can pay you for will change based on their relationships with game creators.

The app averages 4.0 stars on Google Play, which isn’t too bad. Some users mention that the ratio of coins to time gets worse the longer they play a given game. This is another common pattern – and is a flaw of the playing games for money model, rather than a problem with Coin Pop itself.

Earn By Downloading Only

CashKarma

CashKarma is one of the few apps that seems to be able to maintain a good rating over time. I’m not entirely surprised either. The app looks good and performs as it should. There are even some unusual offers from time-to-time to help keep things interesting.

The app is what I would call an offers app, so you are provided with various different ways to earn money.

Unfortunately, this does mean that there are fewer game downloads than is ideal. In fact, game downloads are mixed in with the other offers. You might not even have very many at some times.

On a side note, CashKarma does have a bit of a game-like feel to it, as you are able to level up as a member. Higher levels give you bonuses on the points that you earn. This seems like a nice little way to keep users engaged.

Some of the offers and tasks do seem to pay better than similar offers from other apps. This could mean that you earn more money from your time, but the amount that you earn will heavily depend on the exact offers that you get.

AppMan

While some apps look encouraging at first glance others, like AppMan, simply don’t. The app had an average rating of 2.9 stars when I first reviewed it and it isn’t doing a whole lot better now.

I didn’t have a lot of luck using the app myself either, as the game that I did download never credited me with points. Some other reviewers experienced similar problems, so there might be an incompatibility issue with some phones (or perhaps a wrong setting somewhere). Other reviewers had no problems getting points, so AppMan clearly works for some people.

Another interesting thing is that most of the apps just require you to download and play them. There were are requirements to hit certain goals. The same is true for apps that aren’t games, like the Walgreens app.

You can also earn by referring others to the app. You don’t just get a single points payment for doing so either. Instead, your earnings are based on how much the people you refer make. This could help you to boost income, but only if the people you refer don’t have any problems with the app.

Cash for Apps

Cash for Apps takes a simplistic approach, where you just earn points by downloading various apps. Many of these are games, but there are other types of app included in the mix too, like Spotify, Lyft and Expedia.

The company aims to add new apps every day, but you might still find that you run out of apps to download. This is especially true if you live outside of the US or the UK, as there are fewer offers for other parts of the world.

It is also possible to install the app on another device and earn points that way. You might even get points for downloading the same apps sometimes. Doing so is something that Cash for Apps itself recommends, so you’re not going against their terms and conditions.

AppRedeem

AppRedeem comes from the same company as AppTrailers – and they both reward Perk Points for completing actions. AppRedeem is basically an offers app, so there are various ways for you to make money.

Rather than focusing on games specifically, AppRedeem has a section for installing apps. You can earn up to 500 points for installing and opening an app. Some of these will be games, but there are likely to be other types of app in the mix too.

500 points isn’t too bad as an amount, especially as you can generally get rid of the app once you have received your points (although this is the maximum amount, you will probably get less from some apps). You can earn more with offers and surveys too, just pay close attention to the requirements, as some offers may cost.

Of course, the downside is that you might run out of apps to install, especially if you regularly play games on your phone.

Play Games In The App

Lucktastic

Lucktastic takes a different approach to this field. You’re completing scratch cards within the app, ones that could potentially pay out with real money. I saw some scratch cards that could reward $50, $500 or even $1,500.

Scratch cards could still be considered a type of game, although the process relies entirely on luck (rather than skill).

The main way to earn from Lucktastic is to win one of the scratch cards. You do also accumulate tokens over time, which can be cashed out for gift cards. Just be warned – you need a lot of tokens to get a gift card, much more than with most other apps.

Lucktastic earns its money from ads, so you need to watch video ads regularly to be able to complete the scratch cards. The style isn’t as frustrating as it could be and the scratch cards are somewhat entertaining, so it isn’t all bad.

Lucky Day

Lucky Day is a sweepstakes app. It includes daily scratch cards and lotto games that you can play, along with raffles, contests and similar approaches. This type of app is often referred to as simulated gambling, as many of the processes are similar to gambling, but there is no need to spend any money.

Just like with Lucktastic, Lucky Day users mostly get points for their efforts, rather than cash prizes. The points are enough to keep users engaged and coming back for more, even though it will take a long time for you to earn enough to cash out even once.

One reviewer mentioned that you’re generally earning 1,000 points most of the time, which ends up being around 1/1000th of a dollar. Whether the app is worth your time entirely depends on whether you enjoy the process.

Swagbucks Live

Swagbucks Live is a live trivia app that was once called Swag IQ. The app is part of Swagbucks, so you earn SB points rather than cash.

Games often have prizes of around $1,000, which is divided amongst the winners. When the game is easy and lots of people win, then you might only get 25 SB or so from the process. When there are fewer winners, your prize will be higher.

The biggest problem seems to be a buffering issue with the app. This may sometimes prevent you from taking part in a given round. Even so, the app seems to perform well and is fun (if you enjoy trivia quizzes, that is).

Swagbucks itself is also one of the more reliable survey and offer companies out there, so there should be few issues in cashing out any money that you earn.

Givling

Givling is another trivia app, but it has a few unusual features. For one thing, you need to get the app from the Givling site itself rather than through the Google Play store.

The trivia game itself can be played twice a day. You do so as part of a three-person team. The highest scoring team for each competition period splits the cash reward for that competition.

There is also a queue feature to Givling. The idea is that you work your way up a queue to get your student loan paid off from crowdfunded money.

It’s almost impossible to know how well this idea works in practice, especially as there are no app store reviews to look at. Some users have made headlines in local news publications for winning and getting their loan paid off, but such success stories may not happen very often.

Lucky Money

Not surprisingly, Lucky Money is another luck based app. Features include a spinner, a lucky egg, lotto and virtual scratch cards.

Once again, there is the chance to earn actual money from the various games, but the odds are low. You’ll mostly be earning points instead. Even when you do make money, you need to accumulate enough to be able to cash out.

There have also been some problems with the cash out aspect of this app. Some users mention that gift cards often aren’t restocked. This limits your options for getting money.

Personally, I recommend avoiding any app that is heavily luck-based. The cash prizes are mostly a way to get users hooked. It’s easy to spend much more time on the app than you mean to, while making little money. At least with other types of apps, you have some idea about what you’ll be earning from each task.

Brain Battle

Brain Battle has a retro feel to it and the games are often simplistic. In fact, the initial screenshots from the company show a case where you are just answering basic math problems like 2 + 1. Even with the potential to earn, such games could get boring fast.

Thankfully, Brain Battle doesn’t seem to be competition based. Instead, playing the games gives you entries to a draw. If you win the draw, then you get a prize. Prizes tend to be in the form of points, so you might need to win more than once to be able to cash out.

Brain Battle is using a portion of its advertising revenue to provide prizes, so you can expect a decent number of ads as you play the games.

Math Cash

Here’s an unusual entry in the field. Math Cash literally allows you to earn money by completing math problems (so it won’t appeal to everyone!). The app is heavily ad supported, so you can expect to be wading through ads as you try to play the games.

The main way to earn points is to win matches. This means that you’re competing against other players. Competing to win can be frustrating, as you may be faced off against opponents who are much more skilled than you are.

You might be able to get some points if you don’t win, but even so, you’re faced with the typical problem of needing to collect points over time before you can cash out.

Big Time Cash

The name Big Time Cash is incredibly corny, but the app itself does seem to be legitimate. It is another one where you are earning entries in draws by playing games.

The games come from Big Time Cash itself, so their quality varies significantly. Users mention that some are simple and fun, while others are incredibly difficult. Still, at least you’re not playing the same series of games that do the rounds in most other apps.

Some users mention problems when trying to cash out. Sometimes they’re told that they have no internet connection, then the process doesn’t work properly. Such issues are sometimes due to user error, but the number of similar complaints suggests that there is an underlying problem.

Combined Approaches

Showbox

The Showbox app involves two different approaches to game playing. The first is that you can play games within the app and earn points for doing so (Showbox calls these CASH-POINTS, which sounds a bit absurd).

The in-app games follow a contest style. This means that you only make money if you out-perform other players. Doing so is often difficult, even if you’re a decent player yourself.

There is also an app download aspect where you can earn points by downloading and running apps. Most of the time you just need to ‘play for a few minutes’, rather than completing any specific goals.

Money Making Game Apps That Actually Work

While the idea sounds appealing, Showbox really doesn’t get good reviews. It had an average of 4.2 stars when I initially downloaded and tried out the app. Its current rating is a paltry 2.8 stars, with many complaints about how the app says ‘network not stable’.

The app hasn’t been updated since 2017, which may be the source of many of the current issues.

CashPirate

The most notable thing about CashPirate is that the app looks very simplistic. I initially wondered whether there was something wrong with my phone, but it seems that the app is just meant to look like that.

CashPirate is basically an offers app, so it has many different ways for you to earn.

Some of these relate to downloading and playing games. For example, I could earn 106 points by downloading and starting Castle Clash: Age of Legends or 431 points by downloading Poker Heat and reaching level 5 in the game.

I also noticed some trivia games, which is an unusual style. You’re able to get points by completing quizzes – if you get 100%.

The quiz I tried sent me to a website to complete it. The quiz was split into multiple pages, each of which was packed full with ads. It was a little tricky to navigate the quiz without tapping on an ad by accident. Some pages didn’t even have quiz questions on them, just more ads.

The end result wasn’t enjoyable at all. It was also far too time-consuming for the low number of points that the quiz offered.

It’s nice that CashPirate offers a variety of different ways to earn, but this may mean that there are fewer games to choose from at any point in time. If you’re mostly hoping to earn by playing games, an app like Mistplay may give you more opportunities.

Regardless of how you earn, the hourly rate with CashPirate is never going to be high. You might earn a couple of dollars per week, depending on how much you play the games. This ratio is similar to other apps.

FeaturePoints

The FeaturePoints app is another one that provides a variety of different ways to earn. Thankfully, these are presented in individual sections, making it easy to find game-based approaches.

The app is well-designed, visually appealing and still manages to get good ratings on Google Play (an average of 4.3, currently). There are also regular updates, which is always a good sign. In fact, the app has even managed to improve on one part that I found frustrating between my original review and now.

The app downloading aspect mostly relies on just downloading the apps. While you might need to open the app up once, you should be able to get your points without doing much on it at all

There are also scratch cards and sweepstakes on the app. You might consider these to be another type of game and there is the chance to win money. Most of the time you’ll just be getting points, but these would add up.

Gift Wallet

Gift Wallet is another app that follows the offers style. However, Gift Wallet does look much better than many competing apps and there has been a clear focus on getting the design right.

Downloading games is one of the main ways to earn with Gift Wallet. Sometimes you’re simply downloading and running the game, while other times you may need to hit certain goals as well.

As with CashPirate, the offers style of Gift Wallet seemed to limit the number of games that you could earn from. The fact that you’re often just downloading games could be a limitation too, as this means fewer potential coins per game.

Gift Wallet also has a spinning wheel game. You can play this in-app for the chance to win coins. I found this to be a better way to earn than downloading apps, but your experiences will depend on the offers available to you.

Regardless, this part of the app does pop up ads fairly often. While the ads are easy to close and aren’t too annoying, it would be easy to click through on an ad by accident.

Rewarded Play

Rewarded Play has a Google Play average of 4.3 stars across around 7,600 reviews, making it a less popular app than many of the others on this list. Even so, it does offer the chance to earn some money by playing casual games.

The description for the app talks about how you can earn with popular games, such as Words with Friends and Yahtzee. There are also plenty of bonus ways to earn, such as daily actions and playing games regularly.

While some of the games give you the chance to earn simply by playing, Rewarded Play also has a strong sweepstakes aspect. A sweepstakes approach means that you could be playing a game for hours and never earn anything at all (you might get lucky but let’s be honest, most people don’t find success with luck-based games).

Reviews suggest that some users are earning and cashing out successfully. Building up enough points does take time, but this pattern is true for all of the apps on this list.

On a side note, the company seems to respond quickly to customers who leave reviews, often providing them with ways to follow up and resolve issues. This is a nice touch, as many other companies ignore their users almost entirely.

AppNana

AppNana claims to be the most popular mobile reward app for Android. The claim feels excessive, but there’s no denying that the app is popular. It has been downloaded more than 10 million times and now has more than 500,000 reviews to its name.

Despite AppNana’s reputation, the app does look pretty simplistic when you first log in. Thankfully, this doesn’t stop the app from working well.

The main way to earn is with app downloads. For example, when I tried out the app, I could get 967 Nanas for downloading and running Gardenscapes – New Acres and 2,705 for downloading and watching something on the ABC App.

The goal is mostly just downloading and opening apps, so you don’t need to worry about in-game targets.

For people who actually want to play games, there is also the AppNana Game Center. This includes games like Jewelish, Multisquare and Spect (which are mostly off-brand versions of common game styles). These games seem to provide random Nanas for playing.

There are also some other areas to earn in the app, including a daily reward, watching videos and general offers. You’re likely to need some of these to earn well with AppNana, as the selection of apps to download isn’t that large. Even if the list gets refreshed over time, you’re likely to find that you regularly run out of apps to download.

Nathaniell

What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Nathaniell and I'm the owner of One More Cup of Coffee. I started my first online business in 2010 promoting computer software and now I help newbies start their own businesses. Sign up for my #1 recommended training course and learn how to start your business for FREE!

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Looking for some free money hacks that actually work?

The best part about these hacks is that it’s easy money without requiring a lot of time or effort.

Since using the tips below, I’ve been able to make over $1000 in free money.

And now I want to share these tips and tricks so that you can do the same.

Table of Contents

  • 25 Best Free Money Hacks That Actually Work
    • 7. Take Advantage of Sign Up Bonuses

25 Best Free Money Hacks That Actually Work

With all of that said, let’s get started.

Here’s our list of the 25 best free money hacks that work both online and offline.

1. Download Survey Apps

Survey apps and survey sites take the saying ‘penny for your thoughts’ literally. They’ll actually pay you to tell them your thoughts.

There are a bunch of them out there that you just need to download before you can start earning free money straight away.

Here are some of my favorites:

  • Survey Junkie (among the highest paying survey sites)
  • Swagbucks ($5 registration bonus with other tasks to earn)
  • Pinecone Research (earn a flat $3 per survey)
  • Vindale Research ($1 registration bonus)
  • Inbox Dollars (this one pays you for reading emails)

Once you fill in some basic information about yourself, you can browse their list of surveys. If you’re eligible, fill them in for an easy, quick cash reward.

It’s not totally ‘free’ money as it does require a little bit of time investment, but the surveys aren’t very hard to complete and usually take around 10-15 minutes.

This is the perfect amount of time to fit them into your regular commute or while waiting in line.

Answering surveys is definitely my favorite way to earn free cash fast.

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of researching the which survey sites are the best, stick with Survey Junkie or Swagbucks. They’re the highest paying and they make it really easy to start earning.

2. Switch Bank Accounts (Or Open a New One)

Did you know that lots of different major banks will actually pay you to switch your current checking savings account over to them?

You can earn hundreds of dollars for what amounts to less than an hour’s work. All you have to do is sign up and start the switching process.

Why do banks offer this switching bonus? Because they’re absolutely crazy about acquiring new customers.

The banking market is competitive, and banks make a lot of money by investing the cash you deposit every month.

If they can attract a new, potentially lifelong client for a few hundred dollars, they will.

You can take advantage of this by accepting those bribes and ‘playing the field’ so to speak.

Just remember to consider other factors aside from the bonus too. It’s pointless switching for a $200 bonus if you end up paying out $300 in hidden fees on a savings account.

If you’re in the UK, switching is especially easy on account of the seven-day Current Account Switch Service (CASS). This has been been in place since September 2013 and puts the onus on banks to make it easier for customers to switch over painlessly.

Sign-up bonuses are similar to switching bonuses but they only require you to open a new account.

Keep in mind you don’t usually have to close your old one unless it’s in your new bank’s terms and conditions.

Here are some banks that will pay you to switch your current/checking account or open a new account with them:

Most of the above will pay you somewhere between $100 – $300 for signing up/switching. Not bad for a one-off cash injection.

The last piece of advice I’d give you is to always check the small print, as most of the bonus offers will require you to meet certain eligibility criteria, such as by making a certain minimum deposit within a given timeframe.

Once you’ve switched over and got your first few hundred dollars worth of free money.

But don’t go rushing out to spend it just yet! You could get more out of it with our next money hack…

3. Buy Gift Cards

Don’t you just hate it when you a gift card off a relative as a birthday gift for a store that you never visit?

Well, so do a lot of people. And what do they do with those gift cards? They sell them, of course! And usually at a significantly marked-down price.

All those re-sold gift cards mean that it’s possible for you to buy second-hand gift cards for your favorite stores at less-than-cost prices, and then use those gift cards against purchases you’d usually make with cash.

For example, let’s say you planned on spending $50 in Walmart for groceries. You could buy a $50 Walmart gift card for around $45 first, redeem it against your grocery purchase, and walk away with $5 spare.

It might not be much, but that’s $5 worth of free money that you wouldn’t have had without this neat little money hack.

Here are a couple of websites where you can buy a discounted gift card at up to 40% off retail value:

4. Invest Your Pennies

One of the easiest ways to get free money is to start investing the money you already have, sit back, and wait for the returns to come in.

I know what you’re thinking though – investing isn’t really a ‘money hack’. Hacks are supposed to be ways to take the work out of earning money and cheat the system, but investing is hard work. It requires time, knowledge, and lots of funds to be successful.

Or does it?

Well, there’s actually a neat little app you can use that takes all the hard work out of investing – an app called Acorns.

With Acorns, all you have to do is download the app, link up your credit card or debit card, and choose your investment strategy (conservative or aggressive). The app will take care of the rest.

It rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and adds the difference to an investment pot.

Because it works on spare change, you don’t need to a huge amount of savings to get started.

Also, it won’t feel like you’re taking a huge risk and you probably won’t even notice that spare change leaving your account.

Eventually, those acorns will start growing into money trees, and you can cash out your investment returns for essentially free money.

Speaking of apps that can help you to get free money…

5. Download Cashback Apps

One of my favorite free money hacks online is to claim cashback as many purchases as you can using cashback rewards apps.

Cashback shopping apps are apps which reward you with money and/or gift cards whenever you make purchases from select retailers.

Typically, all you have to do is browse the offers listed on the app, select one that you’re interested in, make a purchase, and scan/upload your receipt. Once your purchase has been validated, your account will be credited with a cashback reward.

Here are some of the most popular cashback apps available:

The cashback amounts you can earn vary between apps and retailers and could be anywhere from 1% to 20%.

Even the smaller amounts will add up over time. Eventually end up with a pretty large pot of money to withdraw.

Personally, I earned around $150 last year from cashback apps alone. It might not sound like much, but it’s completely free money with almost no effort required.

6. Resell Free Items

Sometimes, when people are moving homes or undergoing home improvements, they end up with furniture and appliances that they no longer need.

Getting rid of big items like this can be a hassle, so a lot of people will turn to sites like Craigslist to give them away for free, rather than take them to a skip.

But as that old saying goes, ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’.

In other words, that ‘junk’ that they’re giving away for free might not be junk at all. They might just not know what it’s worth.

The savvy entrepreneur out there can use this to their advantage by scouring sites like Craigslist for free items and then selling them on for a profit. The great thing about this is that there is no investment required – just a little bit of resourcefulness and a good eye for value!

We’ve written extensively about this specific free money hack in our post here, so check that out for more tips on how to get started flipping free items.

7. Take Advantage of Sign Up Bonuses

Lots of different websites, apps, and credit cards will pay you free money just to sign up. Most of the time, they do this because they expect to see returns on the money they pay out by locking you into recurring card payments or hooking you in so that you spend more money.

However, if you’re smart about it, you can essentially hack the system to claim your sign up bonus and then walk away without spending a penny.

Online casinos and betting sites are notorious for offering lucrative sign-up bonuses, so you can start your hunt there.

Free cash!

If you plan to use this free money hack though, make sure you follow these tips:

Check the terms and conditions

Sometimes, sign up bonuses will come with hidden clauses and conditions that make it difficult for you to claim your money. For example, some online casinos will require you to gamble your bonus a certain number of times first.

Create a new email account

Most of the time, you’ll be required to input your email address to sign up and claim a bonus.

If you plan on doing this on many sites, make a new email address so that your personal email doesn’t end up flooded with spam.

Sign up for a credit card towards the end of the year

Credit card sign-up bonuses will usually require you to meet a minimum spending amount within a specific timeframe.

It’s easier to do this towards the end of the year as people tend to spend more in the holiday season on things like Christmas presents, Black Friday sales, and New Year celebrations.

8. Claim Your Unclaimed/Undelivered Tax Refund

Every single year, millions of dollars worth of tax refunds are left unclaimed or undelivered – and some of it could be yours.

Here are some reasons you might have missed out on your tax refund:

  • You didn’t file a tax return
  • You changed address and didn’t notify the IRS (US) or HMRC (UK)
  • Your refund check was lost in the post

There’s nothing better than getting your hands on unexpected money out of the blue, so check to see if you’re owed an income tax refund that you haven’t yet received.

It’s really easy to do. For US citizens, you just need to visit the IRS ‘Where’s My Refund’ website and fill out some basic information. You never know, you might be owed a substantial amount and if so, that’s free money that you didn’t expect straight to your bank account.

If you forgot to file a tax return or chose not to because your wages didn’t meet the minimum filing requirement, you can still do so within 3 years of the deadline.

And that’s not the only way to get hold of unclaimed money either, which brings us to our next hack…

9. Find Unclaimed Money

Over the course of your life, you may have earned money that you didn’t even know about and that has ended up lost in the void somewhere, waiting for you to claim it.

It could be an old bank account that you had as a child or one that a parent or guardian opened for you without you realizing. It could be a check from a previous employer for unpaid work or a utility deposit on an account that you no longer have open.

The good news is that there are a few online tools and websites that can help you to find that lost money, like unclaimed.org and MissingMoney.com. You can visit them and search their databases to find and claim free money that’s rightfully yours.

10. Monetize Your Downtime

If you’re like most people, you probably spend a lot of your downtime on your phone, so why not monetize that downtime to get free money?

There are actually a bunch of smartphone reward apps that will pay you to mess around on your smartphone.

You can download the rewards apps below and get paid for playing games, watching videos, browsing the net, reading emails, shopping online, and more.

Each time you complete a task, you earn rewards points that can be exchanged for PayPal money or free gift cards.

Here’s some of my favorites:

They don’t pay much, but they can be a great way to get free money for things that you’d probably be doing anyway.

These apps are especially great for college students looking for money fast and easy.

11. Turn Your Phone’s Lock Screen Into a Money-Making Machine

If playing games, watching videos, and browsing the net seems like too much hard work for you, this next free money hack might be a little more appealing to you.

It’s possible to hack your smartphone to turn your lock screen into a money-making machine by downloading screensaver rewards apps.

These apps will change your lock screen into an advertisement which you have to view in order to unlock your phone. Viewing these ads generates a small amount of money or rewards points every time you unlock your phone.

Again, we’re talking minuscule amounts of money here, but it is free.

Two of my favorite screensaver apps are ScreenLift and Fronto, but we’ve also curated a list of 7 apps that pay you to unlock your phone screen.

12. Swap Your Damaged Money

Ever accidentally left a banknote in your jeans pocket and then washed them? Or maybe you left it too close to the fire and burnt it?

Well, you may have thought that the note was as good as useless. Yet it is possible to trade mutilated currency in through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for a full redemption.

If you’ve kept hold of your damaged currency, this little-known free money hack can turn it legal tender again and provide a chunk of free money you never expected to be able to use.

It doesn’t matter whether the currency has been buried, damaged by explosives, chewed on by rats, or anything else. It can still be traded in, as long as:

  • 50 percent or more of the note is present and clearly identifiable as US currency, sufficient remnants of relevant security features are visible, and at least one-half of the note is still intact.

Or

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  • 50 percent or less of the note is present and clearly identifiable as US currency and evidence is provided which demonstrates that the rest of the note has been completely destroyed.

13. Become A Freelance Writer

For those who have some extra time in their day to make some money, but do not want to go out and find a part time job, freelance writing can be a great alternative.

Freelance writing allows you to write articles and blogs for website owners or agencies and get paid for it.

Site like Upwork allow you to connect with clients who are looking for freelance writing to make finding work easier.

All you have to do is register, select a few preferences, and start applying for jobs that are being posted.

This can easily grow into a long term side hustle and some may even be able to make their own businesses out of it.

14. Sell Your Skill On Fiverr

Most people are usually skilled in at least one or two things. Did you know that you could be using this to make yourself some extra money?

There are many different online sites where you can sell your skill for extra money.

Fiverr, one of the most popular sites for skilled people, was designed around the idea of selling your skill in $5 increments.

We have seen people sell custom songs, spell checking, and many other skillsets on Fiverr.

With the growth in popularity, Fiverr has adapted to customer demands and have offered you to set the price of your skill to include prices above $5 such as hour long consulting and other timed tasks.

15. Wrap Your Car In An Advertising Wrap

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If you have a car, there are many more ways for you to earn extra money.

A popular way that people have started to make money using their cars is having them wrapped in advertisements.

Many companies are actively looking for people who are willing to wrap their car in their company’s advertisements to be a mobile billboard.

If you don’t mind having decals on your car, this could be a great way for you to earn extra money with little effort.

Not the most aesthetically pleasing money hack, but an easy way to earn extra money.

16. Rent Out An Extra Room With AirBnB

For those who have second homes, beach condos, or even a spare bedroom, these are all opportunities for you to be making some serious cash.

With apps such as AirBnB, you can rent your living quarters out to those wanting to avoid hotels and stay in a more convenient space.

AirBnB connects property owners with people looking to rent out a living space for one night up to weeks.

With hotels becoming more expensive and less reliable, staying in a home or room that is not in a large hotel could help you get some good sleep and better amenities.

17. Rent Out Your Car With Turo

Similar to AirBnB, you can also rent out your car to those looking to avoid the high price and hassle of car rental companies.

Apps such as Turo allow you to easily let your car be rented and returned to you for extra money.

Turo works similar to car rental companies in the realm of basic principles.

What Turo offers is a wider variety of vehicles based on who is renting their vehicles out in the city you are in.

By putting your vehicle up for rent and setting your own prices, you could be making money while you sleep or while you are at work.

18. Deliver Food With Postmates

We are in a time where people are becoming busier and busier by the day.

When it comes to grabbing food, sometimes, you just want to have food delivered. In the past, you were limited to basically pizza and Chinese depending on where you lived.

Now, with apps such as Postmates, you can get just about any type of food delivered, and you can even sign up to be a driver.

Postmates is an app that allows you to sign up as a driver or use as the one who is ordering food.

To earn money on Postmates, all you have to do is have a car and a valid license/insurance/registration. Simply log in to the app when you are available to deliver and start accepting deliveries.

You can make your own hours and earn money when you need it with Postmates.

19. Use Your Car As A Taxi With Uber Or Lyft

If renting out your vehicle isn’t something that you feel comfortable with, maybe you would be better off using your car as a taxi.

With apps like Uber and Lyft, you can sign up to be a driver and start picking up/dropping off people at the destination of their choice for extra money.

Similar to Postmates, these apps allow you to sign in when you want and make your own hours.

When you are ready to start driving, simply log into the app and wait for the requests to start coming in.

You are paid directly from Uber, and they’re very good about paying the right amount and on time.

20. Donate Plasma And Earn Up To $400/Month

What if we told you that you could be earning up to $400 month while saving lives?

By donating plasma, you can earn up to $400 a month for just a few hours of your time.

Donating plasma is similar to the process of donating blood.

Plasma donation sites bay upwards of $50-$100 for each session which lasts around 90 minutes.

If you are not afraid of needles, you can make this a habit to start making some serious money.

21. Start Your Own Website or Blog

Blogging is a word that gets tossed around a lot in the world of the internet, but the money people make from it can be a little confusing.

There are many different ways to earn an extra income with your own website or blog. Just keep in mind that it may take time to get started.

Creating a blog to jot down your feelings may not always be the best way to make money.

Recipes, how-to articles, guides, and other helpful information are great starting points.

Not sure on how to get started?

Check out our FREE 5-Day Money Making Blog Crash Course. We help with tips on affiliate marketing, setting up a blog, getting traffic via Google and social media, writing the perfect blog post and more.

If your blog gains a strong following, you can even make some passive income off of it.

22. Get Paid To Surf The Web

If you are reading this blog, it’s a safe bet that you are someone who surfs the web quite often. Wouldn’t it be nice to get paid to browse the internet? Well now you can with different programs that offer different types of payouts.

Bing Rewards is one of the more popular rewards programs that allows you to earn credits for using their search engine.

These credits are earned by daily tasks, searching through Bing, and even quick quizzes for bonus points. These credits can be redeemed for popular gift cards such as Target and Amazon.

23. Earn Money By Reviewing Websites And Apps

They say opinions are like..well you know the rest. What if we told you that you could get paid for your opinion? Now, with businesses looking for reviews of their sites and apps, you can get paid by telling them what you think.

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Using a site such as UserTesting, you can connect with businesses who are looking for your opinions.

Getting started is easy and you can easily start making money fast.

24. Write & Publish A Kindle eBook

Everyone has a story to tell, so why not get paid to tell the world? Writing and publishing Kindle eBooks are a great way to generate a residual income stream.

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Even if your story isn’t interesting, you can always write a book on a specific skill that you have or even create a totally fictional story that is entertaining.

Selling copies of your book online can net you some pretty good cash. And if it becomes popular enough, your ebook could turn into a passive income stream.

25. Become A Mystery Shopper With Field Agent

Mystery shopping has always been a popular talk among those wanting to earn some extra money or get free meals. However, many people do not know how easy it can be to get started using simple smartphone apps.

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FieldAgent, an app designed for smartphones, allows you to connect with companies who are looking for mystery shoppers. This app features a simple dashboard that has each job in a designated mile radius to make selecting jobs easy.

You can choose from jobs that pay cash, pay you back for meals, or even get free stuff. Payment usually comes within 1-5 days of completing the job.

Other Ways to Get Free Cash

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That concludes our tips and tricks of 25 best free money hacks online and offline that actually work.

These are super easy ways for saving money, reaching your personal finance goals or to make money fast and easy.

And we all know that everyone loves getting money for free.

We find these hacks to save money especially useful for college students and stay at home moms.

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The best part? It’s easy money and brings you that much closer to financial freedom.

Do you know of another free money hack that you’d like to share and we didn’t?

Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to also let us know how well the free money hacks above work for you.