16 Apps Like Swagbucks That Pay Extra Cash

If you’re interested in earning a little extra cash, you may have considered apps like Swagbucks. Swagbucks and the Swagbucks alternatives can be a simple way to complete surveys and other small tasks for credits that can be exchanged for gift cards or other rewards. Some of the opportunities are even to play games that pay real money!

Swagbucks is a leading contender in the GPT or Get Paid To niche, but the platform is not perfect. So, if you’re not comfortable using Swagbucks, here we’ll delve into the best apps like Swagbucks, so you can find the right one for you.

1. The Swagbucks Basics

Swagbucks is a platform offering users points or Swagbucks (SBs) for completing simple online tasks. This includes participating in surveys, watching videos and shopping online. You can accumulate your SBs and exchange them for PayPal cash, charity donations or gift cards from a list of 1,500 plus retailers. 

The number of SBs needed to exchange for a reward will depend on your preferred redemption, but you can typically expect a value of one cent per SB. So, if you want a $10 gift card or $10 PayPal payment, you’ll need approximately 1,000 SBs. 

However, Swagbucks often has reward sales, which means that you can get an even better deal on your rewards. For example, you may find that Swagbucks is offering 20% off the usual cost of a PayPal credit, so you’ll need fewer SBs. 

2. InboxDollars

InboxDollars is perhaps the top Swagbucks alternative, as it operates in a similar way. This popular cash rewards platform allows you to get paid by completing various simple tasks. The list of tasks includes playing games, participating in surveys, watching videos, shopping online, responding to emails and clipping coupons. 

The key difference between InboxDollars and Swagbucks is that, with InboxDollars, you earn a cash amount for each task rather than points. Each activity pays a slightly different amount, but you can see your expected earnings before you participate. For example, depending on the length and complexity of a survey, you can earn $0.01 to $2.50 each. 

You’ll need to accumulate at least $10 in InboxDollar earnings before you can claim your money. You can request your cash rewards via PayPal, Amazon gift card, check or ePayment using Tango. 

3. Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is one of the largest survey sites with more than 10 million active members. This paid survey site is free to join and you can earn points for completing online surveys. A quick way to earn extra cash, their surveys typically pay $0.50 to $3 each and can take up to 15 minutes to complete. 

While your cash rewards will be primarily dependent on surveys, you can earn some bonus points on this survey site. For example, you’ll earn 25 points for signing up and another 25 for confirming your email, and there is a 5-point bonus for taking a site tour. You’ll also get 3 points if you don’t complete a survey. Crucially, you’ll also earn 50 points for completing your profile. This is great because you’ll get rewarded for helping yourself by accessing more paid surveys, since your profile will indicate your demographics. 

The minimum cash out on Survey Junkie is $5 and once you reach this threshold, you can request a bank account transfer, PayPal cash or a gift card from a comprehensive list of retailers. 

4. InstaGC

Despite its moniker, InstaGC has no affiliation with Instagram. In fact, InstaGC is an abbreviation of “Instant Gift Card.” The premise of this rewards site is to help its users earn gift cards with small tasks including completing surveys, watching videos, testing products, testing apps, internet browsing and referring friends. 

The majority of the tasks take approximately one minute and most will pay between 10 and 50 points each. Points are worth one cent each, which means that you’ll typically earn $0.10 to $0.50 per task.

Once you accumulate 100 points or $1, you can claim your rewards. Although the primary redemption method is gift cards, you can also choose PayPal, prepaid Visa credit cards or Bitcoin. However, these other payment methods do incur a 15 to 25-point fee. 

5. MyPoints

MyPoints is a sister site to Swagbucks as they are both owned by Prodege LLC. MyPoints is actually one of the oldest rewards sites out there, as it has been operating since 1996. The premise of MyPoints is very similar to Swagbucks, as you’ll earn points for a variety of tasks. These include:

• Watching videos: up to 500 points per playlist

• Participating in surveys or polls: Up to 400 points each

• Reading emails: 5 points each

• Using the Yahoo search engine: Up to 170 points at random

• Play games: 8 points for every dollar you spend

• Accepting deals: MyPoints has deals worth up to 50,000 points

• Shop online: Earn points when you shop with 1900 plus retailers.

MyPoints also has some money-saving offers including local deals such as LivingSocial and Groupon vouchers, and coupons. You can also earn 10% of your friends’ points when you refer them to the platform using your unique referral code. 

You can complete the activities on the MyPoints website or using the company’s app, which is available for Android and iOS devices. You can withdraw your earnings from just $1 and in addition to PayPal cash, prepaid Visa credit cards and a choice of over 70 gift cards, you can convert your points into miles if you already have a United MileagePlus account. 

6. Toluna

Toluna is one of the biggest survey sites, but it differs from its competitors because of its international social media platform. This paid survey site allows you to not only earn cash completing surveys, play games, buy magazine subscriptions or apps, testing products and referring people to the platform, but also interact with other members of the community. 

Online paid surveys typically pay 3,000 to 6,000 points, but you may occasionally be offered a survey paying up to 50,000 points. There are also some nice point bonuses including 500 points just for opening an account and 15 points if you don’t qualify for a survey. 

The minimum redemptions vary according to your preferred method. Gift cards are available from 30,000 points, which is a $10 value. But, PayPal withdrawals require 90,000 points or $30. While this is higher than other apps like Swagbucks, there are a number of opportunities to make money online. 

7. Lifepoints

Lifepoints is a popular platform if you want to take several online surveys per day. Surveys typically take up to 20 minutes and pay 50 to 150 points each. Each point is worth one cent, so you can earn up to $1.50 per survey. 

There are a few other earning opportunities on the platform including watching ads, tracking your daily habits and sharing your advertisement data as you surf the internet. One of the best survey sites, Lifepoints also has trivia contests with the opportunity to win point prizes. You’ll also get 10 points as a bonus for signing up.

You can redeem your earnings once you reach the minimum 500-point threshold. There is the option of PayPal payments or free gift cards. 

8. Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys facilitates you getting paid to participate in online polls and surveys. The surveys are conducted on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, so they are primarily about marketing and products. However, there are no other ways to make money on Branded Surveys. 

The surveys vary in length and complexity. Some involve video testing or product reviews. Surveys typically pay 10 to 500 points and they can take up to 20 minutes to complete. This works out to $0.50 to $5 each survey. There is also a daily one-question poll which pays $0.05. 

Branded Surveys also has Brand Elite, which is its own loyalty program. As you complete at least 12 surveys per month, you’ll advance in status with Bronze, Silver and Gold tiers. Each elite tier allows you to earn weekly bonuses. Once you accumulate a minimum of $10, you can redeem your earnings via PayPal, bank transfer, charity donations or gift cards.

9. Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost is primarily a survey site, but there are opportunities to earn points by watching ads. What makes Opinion Outpost different from other Swagbucks alternatives is that you may receive invitations to participate in online focus groups, monthly diaries or product testing.

Most surveys pay 5 to 15 points, but the focus groups and product testing tends to pay more than the basic surveys. Once you reach 50 points ($5) you can request payment, but if you want a PayPal payment or Visa prepaid card, you’ll need $10. 

Opinion Outpost also has a quarterly prize draw with a pot of $10,000. For each survey that you complete during the quarter, you’ll have one entry for the draw. 

10. PrizeRebel

PrizeRebel has been operating since 2007 and has garnered a solid reputation within the industry. It has a similar premise to Swagbucks and you can earn points by answering surveys, watching videos, installing the browser extension, joining daily challenges and testing apps. You can also enter raffles and contests, drawing lucky numbers and finding promotional codes on offer walls.

Tasks typically pay up to 100 points, but you can also achieve status levels that provide more advantageous terms. For example, the minimum payout is $5, but if you reach the Silver level by earning at least 1000 points, your minimum payout drops to $2 for PayPal or gift cards. 

However, don’t assume that you can mindlessly check boxes to complete enough surveys for elite status. Many of the PrizeRebel surveys feature attention check questions, which are quality control questions designed to check that you are answering honestly or paying attention. 

11. Vindale Research

Vindale Research has hundreds of new surveys daily, so it is easy to find consistent work. As with many sites like Swagbucks, you will need to set up your profile with some basic personal information. This is particularly important with Vindale Research, as your details are used to match you with appropriate online surveys. 

You can simply wait for Vindale to send you an email notification when a survey becomes available, or you can browse the list of surveys on the platform. 

Where Vindale Research differs from Swagbucks is that it is solely surveys and the minimum cash out is significantly higher at $50. Once you reach this threshold, you can redeem your earnings via gift cards or PayPal transfer. 

12. Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is widely considered the highest-paying online survey site, but it is quite competitive to join. You cannot simply visit the site and create an account. Most of the time, you’ll need to use your email address to be added to the waitlist to join. 

Once you’re a member, you can access higher-paying surveys to earn $3 each but they are by invitation only, as Pinecone Research carefully selects participants who closely meet the target demographic. Periodically, you may be invited to test products for this market research company. These are more in-depth projects that pay far more. You’ll need to test the product and then provide your feedback by completing a survey. 

One standout feature of this platform is that you can request instant payment after you complete a task. This is available for PayPal payments or gift cards. 

13. Zoombucks

Zoombucks aims to recruit members to assist brands in seeking engagement. As a participant, you can answer surveys earning up to 1100 points, but you can also download and test apps, watch videos, accept offers and invite friends to join the platform. Each of these tasks pays varying amounts of points from 7 points a video to thousands of points for signing up for a product trial. 

One of the attractive features of Zoombucks is that the minimum payout threshold is only 300 points or $3. You can request a PayPal payout or select a gift card from a list of participating retailers. 

14. Valued Opinions

As the name suggests, Valued Opinions wants your input on a variety of topics including movies, fashion trends, foods and even environmental issues. This is in the form of online surveys, testing products or diary studies. Each task pays up to $5, depending on the complexity and time required. Most tasks take less than 15 to 20 minutes, making it a great way to earn money online. 

Once you accumulate $10 or more, you can exchange your earnings for gift cards from a comprehensive list of retailers including Target, Amazon, and Macy’s. You can also use your earnings for magazine subscriptions with available publications including Food Network Magazine, Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health. 

15. Survey Savvy

Survey Savvy is part of the Luth Research group, which has been active in the market research industry for more than 40 years. With Survey Savvy, you can earn rewards by participating in paid surveys, using the SurveyConnect app or referring friends to the platform. Completing online surveys amount to $3 each, but the SurveyConnect app is an innovative way to boost your earnings.

You can earn $5 per month by downloading it to your device. However, you can download it to multiple devices, so you could have it on your smartphone, tablet and laptop. This does not access your personal call or text data, but it monitors when, where and how long you use the internet. 

Survey Savvy also has one of the best referral programs in the industry. When someone signs up using your unique referral code, you will receive $2 each time that they complete a survey. Additionally, if your referral brings someone to the platform, you’ll get paid $1 each time they complete a survey. 

Unfortunately, the payment methods on this platform are very restricted. You can’t simply request a PayPal payment or select a gift card. After you accumulate at least $1, you can cash out via paper check. This will be mailed to you at the postal address in your profile. 

16. Rakuten

Although not strictly similar to Swagbucks, Rakuten works like the shopping category on Swagbucks and it can be a good way to earn some extra cash. Essentially, Rakuten allows you to earn cash back when you shop online or in-store at your favorite retailers, with the list of Rakuten partners now over 2,500 brands. 

You can also access coupons offering up to 72% discount and Rakuten has a cashback card that includes an additional 3% when you shop with it. When you’re shopping online, you can connect via the Rakuten website or install the Rakuten Button Extension on your browser. This will highlight when the best deals are available. 

You can also earn $25 in referral bonuses when your friends make their first purchase through the site, and they will receive a $10 bonus. 

You can redeem your Rakuten earnings after you accumulate at least $5, via PayPal or paper check mailed to your home address. 

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a whole host of apps like Swagbucks. So, if you are looking for a Swagbucks alternative or want to supplement your earnings with a similar platform, there are plenty to choose from. Fortunately, most of these survey sites and rewards sites are free to join and they often have reasonable minimum withdrawal limits. So, why not try out a few different platforms? This will increase the chances of you having access to consistent Get Paid To (Get Paid To) tasks and you should be able to generate a decent side hustle income.