Last Updated on December 8, 2022

Want a bit of extra cash? Who doesn’t! The fact is, we’re all spending more and more time on our smartphones, so why not invest your time wisely and make some money from the best money making apps available?
Imagine you’re in the doctor’s waiting room and you know you won’t be attended to for some time. You may as well get paid for your time sitting there.
Even with that long commute (where you don’t get paid from your current employer) you could be making money on your way to/from work.
Now before we start I want to emphasize here that these apps will not make you enough to quit your day job or make you filthy rich.
The purpose of these apps is to create a side hustle whilst still working a full-time job to be able to create your own online business or invest it elsewhere for the future.
Ready? Let’s Fly!
Disclaimer: This article includes affiliate links that may provide a small commission to me at no cost to you (it will buy me a cup of coffee though 😉). However, these are the best tools I have tried, tested, and fully recommend when it comes to these money making apps. You can read more about my affiliate disclosure in my affiliate policy.
What Are the Best Money Making Apps?
Included in the list below are my top picks for choosing the best apps you can use right now!
1. Swagbucks.
Best app overall, with a range of different ways to earn money.

Swagbucks is not only a money-making app but also a rewards point-based system. It allows you to earn points for daily tasks you would normally do anyway. Do you watch videos online? Play games? Enjoy having your voice heard with surveys.
I must admit I had fun watching videos online, and the surveys were mostly targeted toward my interests.
All of these tasks earn points which you can then redeem for gift cards or even cash prizes via direct deposit.
Swagbucks is available for anyone to join from anywhere around the world who is 13 years of age or older.
How it works to earn with Swagbucks:

Key Features
- Every Survey Wins! The typical survey ranged from $0.05 to $2.50 and even sometimes up to $25 to $35 per survey. Sometimes I did not qualify for a survey, but that’s ok because I still got at least 1 reward point for my troubles.
- Make Extra Money Just by Trying Out a Service – Get access to some great deals from a range of different companies such as Hulu, Dollar Shave Club, and more. Be sure to check daily for new deals that you may want to test out.
- There are so Many Ways to Earn Money – From trying out products (yes, I got paid to be a tester), surveys, using the Swagbucks internet browser, watching videos online, playing games, and even eating out!

When you join Swagbucks, you can even earn rewards by referring friends and family.
You’ll get 300 SB bonus points, plus earn 10% of their SB earnings for the life of their account.
Pricing
Swagbucks is one of the most money-making apps and is absolutely free to signup with a $10 bonus.
2. Survey Junkie.
Best app for those wanting to earn money from surveys.

If giving feedback is your thing to do, then there are plenty of surveys here with Survey Junkie. You can use any device as long as you have an internet connection.
Although be aware that if you’re doing it off of a Smartphone device, then you will only be limited to mobile surveys only. So I recommend doing it from a desktop or tablet if you want the full experience.
While there might be a bit of a temptation to “cheat” the system by just putting whatever into the surveys without giving it any thought, if you want fully targeted and relevant surveys, then it’s best to do it properly.
The surveys themselves are very easy to complete, but you will need to be proficient in English. As a result, you are limited to joining Survey Junkie unless you’re from the United States, Canada, or Australia and are 16 years of age or older.
Here is how it works:

Once again, you will not get rich by signing up, as the rewards vary with each survey.
The more you complete tasks in full, the more options you have to get paid. You’ll know if you are going to be getting paid by completing that action because there’s a little green button next to it.
Once you reach 500 points, you can cash out through PayPal or redeem an e-gift card (USA only). 500 points are the same as $5.
Key Features
- Points never expire as long as you remain an active member within a 12-month period.
- There were plenty of opportunities for me to earn cash every month.
- On average, it took me about 15 minutes to complete a survey.
- I could stop completing a survey at any time and choose another from the dashboard that I liked better.
Pricing
Membership is totally free to sign up.
3. Sweatcoin.
Best way to make money is just by walking.

This is a great innovation from the creators of Sweatcoin. It’s an app that will pay you money in the form of crypto just by taking steps. Yes, I actually got paid to walk!
Whether you’re outside or inside doing your steps, they all count towards your daily total. At the moment, only the steps taken with GPS tracking data devices will count.
So that includes all iPhone and Android smartphones and Apple Watches, but sadly my Fitbit didn’t count.
But don’t think it’ll be easy to cheat either just because you’ve shaken your phone. The creators from Sweatcoin are one step ahead of you and have the app not take those steps into account by cheating.
So you’ll have to actually do the steps in order for this to work.
Here is how it works:

It’s quite simple, you start walking, and you earn Sweatcoins. These coins can then be redeemed from a wide range of items, including audiobooks, beauty products, meditation subscriptions, and even headphones to keep you going further.
1,000 verified steps will get you 1 Sweatcoin. But, Sweatcoin then takes 5% of your earnings as commission.
So if you ended up doing 10,000 steps in a day, you’ll pocket 9.5 Sweatcoins.
Key Features
- Get rewarded 5 Sweatcoins for every friend you get to join through your link.
- Everything can be done through the app, and the marketplace changes daily, so there’s bound to be something you like to redeem your coins.
- Send and receive Sweatcoins from other users.
- Sweatcoins never expire.
- Available in most countries.
Pricing
Once you join, members can only earn a maximum of 5 Sweatcoins per day. If you want to increase the number of Sweatcoins you can earn, you need to increase your membership level.
But this isn’t paid through money. To upgrade, it’ll cost you steps (not bad!). At the moment, there are 4 membership levels.
Membership Level | Cost Per Month | Sweatcoin Earnings |
---|---|---|
Mover | Free | Up to 150 Sweatcoins per month |
Shaker | 4.75 Sweatcoins | Up to 300 Sweatcoins per month |
Quaker | 20 Sweatcoins | Up to 450 Sweatcoins per month |
Breaker | 30 Sweatcoins | Up to 600 Sweatcoins per month |
This is definitely one of my favorite money-making apps.
4. TaskRabbit.
A good way to make more money is by doing tasks for people.

If you’re more of a handyman, task-driven type of person, instead of doing endless amounts of surveys for a few dollars, then this is the app for you.
TaskRabbit allows you to be your own boss in your free time. Work however much you want, set your own rates, and even set where you want to work.
There are over 50 categories to choose from and what’s best is that you don’t need to be experienced to apply for jobs.
Jobs range from car washing to being a fully licensed electrician to putting together IKEA furniture. You could even get paid $15 per hour just to stand in line for someone! I’ll do that!
Here is how it works:

Unfortunately, at this time, though, you can’t be a virtual tasker. All jobs will need to be performed physically.
When you sign up to TaskRabbit, you are not an employee but rather a contractor. This is what gives you the flexibility to grow your own business and set the hours and rates that you want.
To be a “tasker”, you need to have the app. This requires you to have an iPhone or an Android smartphone and download it from the Google play store.
Available in the United States and parts of Europe.
Key Features
- Over 50+ categories to perform tasks for people.
- No experience is necessary for some categories.
- IKEA partner.
- Ability to earn anything from $15 to $100 per hour.
Pricing
Downloading the app is free, but there is a $25 registration fee to join. There is also a 15% commission fee on all tasks that are paid to TaskRabbit.
5. Ibotta.
Best app to earn cashback from retail shopping.

What was once a cashback app for just groceries, Ibotta has grown to include other in-store retailers and even online partners like Amazon and Dominos.
You are now able to get real money back from almost any purchase you make. Earn in the “grocery pickup and delivery” category just by completing online purchases. The Ibotta app makes it easy by simply connecting your loyalty account and adding offers to your list.
Then it’s a matter of receiving your credit as soon as you receive your groceries.
This is a really great way to earn hundreds of dollars per year back through purchases you would normally make every day anyway, especially when shopping online.
Here is how it works:

The Ibotta app gives you plenty of ways to get on board with online shopping and earn rewards. You can download the Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox extension when you’re on a laptop, for instance, and then you have access to the app when you’re out and about.
There are also ways to earn bonuses and extra cash through offer redemptions from select retailers. Just be prepared that sometimes the money may not come straight away into your bank account and will depend on the pending time from the retailer.
There are no account-keeping fees, but if your account is inactive for more than 6 months, then be prepared for maintenance fees to be charged.
Key Benefits
- Withdraw your cash in the form of a gift card and send it to a friend or family member as a gift.
- Withdraw your earnings by sending it to a PayPal account or bank account.
- Shop with big names such as Amazon, iTunes, Walmart, Groupon, Hotels.com
- $20 minimum to withdraw cash.
Pricing
Downloading the app or chrome extension is free. You’ll also receive a $20 bonus when you sign up and complete your welcome tasks.
6. MyPoints.
A cashback rewards app from surveys and making everyday purchases.

MyPoints allows you to earn rewards points for every dollar you spend across a huge network of stores. You get access to the latest deals, coupons, sales, and promo codes for all your favorite stores when you shop online.
In addition to that, you can also earn points for doing surveys. Then when you’re ready, you can redeem those points for gift cards or, if you prefer, straight into your PayPal account.
Don’t like either of those? Then earn up to 8 points per dollar for playing games like Bejeweled 2 and Solitare Rush.
Here’s how it works:

What makes MyPoints so attractive is just how many different ways you can earn money.
Just by watching video playlists, you can earn up to 500 points per day. Got a thing for surveys? Earn up to 400 points per day, completing market research.
Or you can even get a random bonus of up to 170 points per day just by using Yahoo! for your search results.
As a point of reference, $10 is equal to 1,750 points.
Available to the United States and Canadian residents only.
Key Features
- Convert points into cash via PayPal.
- Earn up to 40% back on your purchases.
- MyPoints is a partner with Swagbucks, so you can redeem on either site.
- Earn bonus points for shopping every day.
- Use MyPoints to transfer reward points to your United Airlines Mileage Plus account (my favorite way to transfer!).
- Play games for extra money.
Pricing
Free to sign up, and as a new member, you’ll receive a $10 welcome bonus to use either at Amazon or you can go for the Visa gift card.
7. Capital One Shopping.
Best way to save and make money at the same time.

On the face of it, it may look like it’s just another rewards site that you cash in for money. But you’d be wrong.
Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension (available on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari) that automatically compares different websites to give you the best and cheapest offer on your product.
When you’re out at a physical store, Capital One’s genius app lets you scan the barcode, and then it will display a list of other stores that offer a better price.
Then when you’re ready to buy, you can receive reward points from the purchase you’ve just made to then use at Amazon or other partner stores.
Here’s how it works:

Capital One Shopping only is for those people with a United States address and excludes territories like Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.
Key Features
- Capital One Shopping finds the best coupons available at the time of checkout, saving you even more money.
- Price drop alerts are available when you’re waiting for items to go on sale.
- A browser extension is available, even on Safari.
- The shopping app supports both iOS and Android.
Pricing
Completely free to use and join up.
Bottom Line
So there you have it. Apps that you can start earning extra cash today right into your bank account!
While these apps aren’t designed to make you a millionaire, they are great for earning a bit of extra income and saving you where you would be making those purchases anyway in just a few minutes.
We’re pretty much hooked on our devices these days, so why not make some money from them? Who knows, you might make enough to go out and upgrade your smart device.
Having said that, I was able to make an extra couple of hundred dollars per month by combining apps, and was great to get my petrol for free every week!
If you’re still looking for extra ways to make money, take a look at these other popular apps from Uber, Lyft, Mercari, Robinhood, and M1 Finance.
Which apps are you using for in-store purchases? Let me know in the comments below.
It’s time to be the pilot of your life and not just the passenger.
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Chris Bournelis is a blogger, search engine optimization, and content marketing specialist. He has been working in the online business since 2015. Join him here at ChrisBournelis.com for the best SaaS reviews and tips to get the most out of your online business.