There are so many apps available for download that if you are looking for one to help you make money, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Choosing the right app is hard, but in this case, I have done all of the legwork for you.
Here are the 21 best apps to make money, and I think that if you download one today, you can start bringing in some extra cash, which is sure to help out with bills and other payments that you need to make.
1. Google Opinion
If you love to give your opinion on things, then I think that you will really enjoy Google Opinion. By using it, you can earn credits so that you can buy stuff in the Play store. I found that it’s effortless to quickly earn credits by answering the surveys that they have included in the app.
They generally send out surveys around once a week, whenever they are looking for more information, and when you complete the survey, you can earn up to $1 in credits. Christian Cawley at Make Use Of provides a thorough review of how to best use this app and get started making money.
2. iBotta
Most people have heard of iBotta by now, as it is one of the best apps to make money available on the market. The idea is straightforward – when you do your regular shopping, you can earn cash back on your purchases. While it may seem like a coupon that you’d use in store, it’s actually even better.
First, you look through the app for items that you want to buy and select them, you then upload a picture of your receipt showing that you purchased the items. iBotta then matches your purchases with your chosen items and deposits money into your account in the form of a rebate.
Everyone has to buy groceries, so you might as well make some money at the same time.
3. Shopkick
If you already spend a lot of time shopping, then you may as well be rewarded for your time spent in the store. With Shopkick, you can earn points from walking into stores, browsing through products online, buying certain products, and even just scanning barcodes. When you make enough points or “kicks,” you can then redeem them for gift cards from major retailers.
While this review on Business Insider from Dan Fromer is a bit older, it explains the app really well and shows that it’s effortless to get started using this app. Most people really love this app and have found that it’s a fast and easy way to be rewarded for spending time in a store, which is where you have to go shopping, anyway.
I love that you don’t even have to make a purchase to be rewarded, as some of the kicks are merely for entering a specific location or even finding and scanning the barcode on a particular product, which makes it ideal for people who aren’t going to spend extra money to earn points.
4. CashPirate
This free app lets you earn rewards and cash by merely watching videos, playing free games, filling out surveys, downloading new apps, and even trying out free products. Also, you can boost your earnings by inviting your friends to download CashPirate too, and you can earn extra coins when they start earning coins.
This makes it a great way to make some passive money if you are able to invite enough people to join and download the app through an invite. When you are ready to cash out, you can do so through PayPal, or you can use the points that you have earned to get gift cards to major retailers.
5. eBates
If you are familiar with iBotta, then you already understand how eBates works, except there is one significant difference. While iBotta is great to take with you to the grocery store when you do your shopping each week, eBates is used when you make larger purchases, such as shoes, furniture, and workout gear.
By searching in the eBates app for the item that you want to purchase, you can then shop through the app and get the money that you saved deposited directly into your PayPal account.
The app will actually get a small commission for their referral to the company you buy from, and they will split that commission with you, which is a great way to boost your earnings easily.
The experts at Who What Wear compare this app and show how easy it is to use it and start saving money right away.
6. FOAP
If you are an aspiring photographer and are always taking pictures with your smartphone, no matter where you are, then it’s time to start making some money with the snaps you take. FOAP makes it easy to upload your photographs to their marketplace, tag them, and then wait for someone to buy them from you for their ad campaign.
They even allow you to “complete missions” where you try to take the perfect photograph for a company’s specific ad campaign. While it is effortless to download FOAP and start uploading your photos, it’s much more difficult to get noticed and sell them, but the users who do can really cash out.
7. Perk Scratch & Win
I found that sometimes it’s nice to make money from an app without having to put forth a lot of effort, which is why I love Perk Scratch & Win. This fun app makes it easy to earn points that can then be redeemed for gift cards. Perk is a massive company with a dozen different apps that you can use and earn points, and you store them all in your online Perk Wallet.
To use Perk Scratch & Win, you need to use the points from your Perk Wallet to buy scratch tickets that will then allow you to win prizes, gift cards, or even to participate in sweepstakes. Because all of the Perk apps “talk” to each other, it’s effortless to start making points right away.
8. Swagbucks
Most people have heard of Swagbucks, even if they haven’t tried it, as this is one of the first apps to make money that appeared online a while ago. This app makes it incredibly easy to earn money by filling out surveys, doing web searches, and even watching videos. By completing the set tasks, users can earn SB points that are then redeemable for gift cards or cash.
Since this is one of the first online money making apps, it’s arguably one of the most popular and recognizable, and it is a great one to get started with. I found that it’s incredibly easy to use and start making SB points right away.
9. QuickCash
I think that this app is perfect for anyone who is really connected online and loves being active on social media because it will rely on those social media networks to help you make money. The app pays its users cash whenever they or their friends install certain apps. By recommending apps to your friends, you can make a lot of money each time they install them.
Additionally, QuickCash makes sharing new apps with your friends fast and easy, as you can quickly post information to your various social media accounts. Because it’s easy to make a few dollars in just a couple minutes, you can quickly start to add up how much money you make when using this app and convincing your friends to try the new apps that you recommend.
10. SlideJoy
Everyone unlocks their phone multiple times a day, but now you can get paid for each time you unlock your phone. By installing SlideJoy on your phone, you will see ads displayed on your lock screen. When you want to unlock your phone, you will have three different options: swipe left to get more information, swipe up for a new ad to appear, or swipe right to dismiss the ad and unlock your phone.
Even though the retailers who pay for space on this app are obviously hoping that you will interact with their ads so that they can make money, users will get paid the same amount no matter what you decide to do when you see the ad. Earnings update quickly, making it easy to see how much money you have made, and you can cash out to PayPal, via Square Cash, or even donate your money to charity, and there isn’t a minimum for cashing out once a month, which I love.
Arjun Kharpal at CNBC ran an interview with Robert Seo, the CEO of SlideJoy where they talked about the benefit that users enjoy when they use this app and even address concerns about the sustainability of the business model in the future.
11. Surveys on the Go
Surveys on the Go is an incredibly powerful and easy to use app that is perfect if you want to get paid to take surveys on your phone. Not only are the surveys fast and generally just take under 10 minutes to finish, but the app will notify you when surveys are available, which is excellent for people who are always attached to their phone.
I love that you can cash out to PayPal as soon as you have $10 in your account and that some surveys will actually pay $2.50. While not all surveys will pay that much, this is a swift and easy way to make some money on the side without having to commit to a full side hustle that gets you out of the house or takes up huge chunks of time.
12. Mobee
If you have ever dreamed of being a mystery shopper, then you will love using Mobee, as you can choose missions near you, follow the instructions, answer questions, and then get paid. The questions are designed to help the store improve their customer service, so it’s essential that you take them seriously.
This isn’t a great app if you don’t want to stay at home and make money, but if you are already on the road a lot, then you can use Mobee to mystery shop. This app makes it incredibly easy to search for nearby available jobs so that you can plan your trip out of the home. While some jobs require a small purchase, many do not, making this a great way to make a little extra cash without spending any.
13. BookScouter
People who love books can make money off of their old collections or off of great volumes that they find when shopping by using BookScouter. I love that this app is incredibly easy to use and allows you to actually scan the barcode of the book that you want to sell so you don’t have to type in the ISBN, which can save you some time and frustration.
The only real issue that I have with this app is that this app is perfect for a smaller group of people. If you don’t have access to a lot of books that you can sell through the app or aren’t willing to dig through bookstores to find the best books to sell, then you aren’t going to find making money using this app very easy. Check out the review from the experts at Sell Books Fast to get an idea about whether or not this is the right app for you.
However, if you are surrounded by old college textbooks and are ready to get rid of them, then you may as well make some money at the same time.
14. Field Agent
While this app is very similar to Mobee, there is a difference. Mobee is looking for answers to specific questions so that companies can better themselves, while users who make money through Field Agent are going to be uploading pictures of certain products.
The purpose of this is so that companies can see what the product looks like in stores and it also allows them to verify pricing, which can be very important. Both major companies and small businesses rely on Field Agent to gather information about their products and to make sure that items are not only displayed correctly but priced correctly, as well.
15. OnePulse
I love that OnePulse lets you make money by quickly answering mini-surveys. Since the surveys generally don’t have more than three questions, I have found that you can quickly finish them and move on to the next one. While there is a mix of both paid and unpaid surveys (or “pulses”) as you answer more surveys, you will be able to earn more money.
Users start out making $0.15 for each response, but you can gradually earn up to $0.41 each. While the surveys don’t pay a lot, you can cash out once you make $5, which means that you can easily start saving money quickly. However, it’s important to be aware that sometimes the app doesn’t have a lot of available surveys, which means that you won’t be able to make nearly as much as before.
Check out what the experts have to say about the business side of the app at NewsWatchTV to see if you might be interested in helping companies out.
16. JingIt
JingIt isn’t quite as popular as other money making apps, but I love that you can make money either by using the app to shop in a store or by interacting with the app itself, which gives me a lot of flexibility to earn. Not only can you make money buying certain products in stores, but you can also make money watching commercials through the app and then sharing them in your social media.
In this way, it is just like watching commercials on the TV, except you get paid to watch them, and when you are watching TV, you don’t. You can also make money when you refer new users to the app and by scanning products when you are out in the store, making this a handy app to have on the go.
17. Receipt Hog
Unlike some money making apps that require you to purchase specific items, Receipt Hog will reward you every time you upload a receipt. Once you have a receipt from a store, you just have to take a picture of the receipt and upload it to the app.
Your purchases will be verified, and you will be rewarded with virtual coins that can be used to buy gift cards from Amazon or to cash out through PayPal. I love that you can shop at any grocery store and don’t have to worry about purchasing specific items, as trying to buy what the app wants you to can really add up.
Additionally, it only takes a few seconds to upload your receipts, and then you just wait to get coins and redeem them for money.
18. Achievement
There aren’t too many apps that will actually pay you money to get healthy, but Achievement does and makes it easy to log your healthy activities because it syncs with various health and fitness apps. It tracks not only your movement, but also your nutrition sleep data, and it will reward you with points that you can donate to a charity or cash in.
I love that you can also use this app to participate in health studies and earn points that way. If you are already tracking your fitness and trying to get healthy, then you may as well be paid for your activities, and Achievement makes that fast and easy. I haven’t ever been quite so motivated to get off of the couch and go for a walk as I am now.
19. InboxDollars
If you are willing to watch ads and then provide feedback on what you have seen, then you may love using InboxDollars. It’s effortless to install this app, and I love that you get credit each time you watch a video, which makes it really easy to start accumulating and earning. Additionally, you can receive even more when you refer friends, and they use the app, which is a huge motivator for some people.
I have found that it’s relatively easy to earn around $30-$40 each month using this app. While that may not seem like a lot, it will add up fairly quickly, which is why I recommend this app to anyone who is looking to make some money. If you already spend a lot of time on your phone, then you may as well make some money on it.
20. WeGoLook
When you sign up to be a “looker” with WeGoLook, then you will be asked to leave your home to verify the condition of an item, such as a building, boat, auction item, or car. If someone is looking to buy a car or auction item near you, but they can’t come and see it in person, then they will hire a looker through the app to go and look on their behalf.
All you have to do once you sign up is check out the condition and quality of the item and then enter feedback into the app for the person to see. Most tasks on this app will pay around $20, which can add up really quickly if you are lucky enough to live in an area with high demand for this service.
21. Pact
This is another excellent app that will let you earn money while working out. If you are ready for some extra motivation to reach your diet and workout goals, then you can rely on Pact. When you stick to your set gym schedule and make sure that you are eating healthy, then you can earn money.
The app relies on GPS to ensure that you are sticking to the pact that you made. This is a great way to be held accountable and will ensure that you are willing to stick to your workout and diet plan, as there is real money on the line if you don’t, making this one of the most valuable apps to make money if you are trying to get in better shape.
Summary
As you can see, there are some great apps that you can use to start making money right away. Any of these 21 apps can put money in your pocket, as long as you are dedicated to making money. What you have to ask yourself is: are you ready to make money using apps?
