Swagbucks Review: Is Swagbucks Worth It?

There are countless companies and apps that promise to help you make money online or earn extra cash in your spare time, but not all of them are legit.

One of the sites/apps that if frequently recommended is Swagbucks. This review will cover all of the basics of how you can make money, and will help you to answer the question “Is Swagbucks worth it?“

Swagbucks is a cash back and rewards program that allows its members to earn money and gift cards for everyday things they already do online.

You can make extra money with the Swagbucks app by taking surveys, playing games, watching videos, purchasing gift cards and even browsing new deals. Chances are, you already spend hours per day surfing the web, why not make a little extra cash while you’re at it?

Here’s a detailed Swagbucks review that will explain how Swagbucks works, how you can make money with Swagbucks, and answer some frequently asked questions about their rewards program.

How Does Swagbucks Work & How Can You Make Money With It?

It’s common to question things that sound too good to be true, like making money for watching videos online or getting paid to surf the web. Can you really do that?

Absolutely. Here’s how it works.

Swagbucks is able to partner with major retail companies, who pay them a commission for sending traffic to their websites to make purchases, showing partnered retailer ads to Swagbucks members, etc. It’s basically a marketing funnel for retail and online companies to attract new customers and show their products and services to more people. Swagbucks then takes that commission they earn and pass on a portion of it to you in the form of cash back or rewards.

With Swagbucks, you can make extra cash through multiple different ways. Here’s a description of each way you can earn money when opening a free Swagbucks account:

Taking Surveys

Information these days is vital to building products and services that customers actually like. That’s why companies will often pay people to answer surveys and gather customers opinions on different topics.

When you take surveys with Swagbucks, you’ll earn point for each survey you take (I’ll cover the points system later in this article). It’s a true “win-win” scenario, you get paid for surfing the web, and retailers get to market their products, services and utilize your valuable opinions to make better products!

From the surveys dashboard (shown above), you’ll see a list of available surveys. Each survey will have an estimated amount of time needed to complete the survey, as well the number of points you’ll earn for completing the survey.

While Swagbucks is often classified as a survey website, to maximize your income you’ll want to also do some of the things listed below.

→ Related reading: 11 of the Best Websites to Take Paid Online Surveys for Money

Cash Back for Shopping Online

Swagbucks will give you cash back in the form of points, cash or gift cards when shopping at partnered retailers through Swagbucks affiliate link. Again, Swagbucks gets paid a commission when they send customers to partnered retailers, and they simply pass on a portion of that commission to you in the form of cashback.

You can shop at some of the most well-known online retailers like Amazon and Walmart and redeem your “Swagbucks” for points or free gift cards. There are thousands of retailers and websites in their program, so this is a great opportunity to save money on the things you need to buy anyway.

To make it easy for you, Swagbucks has a browser extension that you can install with just one click. The browser extension will give you a notification whenever you are browsing a website that offers cash back through Swagbucks. All you need to do is click on the alert so Swagbucks can track any purchases that you make.

The cash back functionality is one of the best ways to make money with Swagbucks. You may already use other programs like Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates). Sometimes the cash back that you can earn from Swagbucks will be higher than what Rakuten is offering.

→ Related reading: 15 of the Best Cash Back Apps and Websites

Get Paid To Watch Videos

Swagbucks allows you to start watching videos through their partner links and give your rating of the videos once you’ve watched them. They will learn the type of content you like and customize the videos you watch to the type of content and genres you like most. Each video you watch and rate will earn you more Swagbucks. Videos can range from anything related to interesting cooking ads to random music videos.

Watching videos can be a fun way to earn points, but it’s not one of the better opportunities to earn. Personally, I don’t spend any time on the videos because the payout isn’t high enough to justify the time.

Search For Any Topic With The Swagbucks Search Engine

Swagbucks has its own search engine and you can earn points by searching. You can install the Swagbucks Search browser extension and it will set Swagbucks as your default search engine. When you search, you’ll see related offers and options that allow you to earn Swagbucks.

For example, when a customer types in the search engine “make money”, the results currently show two opportunities to make 1500 Swagbucks when you open a free Stash Investing account, who also pays you $10 when signing up. Type in any term you wish and see if there are related offers available to earn Swagbucks and other free offers.

Signing Up For Offers

Swagbucks will pay you for discovering new offers available through their partner retailers (labeled as “discover” in the navigation menu). When you see an offer you like, you can sign up for the offer which is often times a free trial of the product or service, or a discounted trial, and you will get paid Swagbucks for each offer you sign up for. Keep in mind that some offers require you to buy a trial or something similar, and others may be free. Each offer will be detailed on what is necessary to get the earned Swagbucks.

If you want to maximize your earnings with Swagbucks, you’ll definitely want to pay attention to these offers as some of them pay quite well. The offers also change frequently, so check back often and be sure to take action when you see something interesting.

→ Get a $10 signup bonus when you join Swagbucks through this link.

Get Paid To Play Games

If you like to play games, you can search popular games and apps to play. In fact, Swagbucks made out list of the best apps that pay you to play games.

For example, you might be familiar with the popular games Angry Birds, or Bejeweled. These addicting games often get so fun that paying a few bucks to earn you more benefits within the game is worth the entertainment. We’ve all been there! Swagbucks will pay you for each dollar you spend within the partnered games when you start the game through the Swagbucks link.

Just like the videos, this is (in my opinion) not the best way to earn with Swagbucks. You might earn a few points, but the other options are better (see our list of ways to make money playing video games).

How Swagbucks Points Work & Options For Redeeming Points

Swagbucks uses a point system, and you need to understand how the system works if you are going to be using the site. Fortunately, the points system is simple.

In general, 100 Swagbucks is equal to $1. You can redeem 1,000 Swagbucks for $10 in cash through PayPal or for a $10 gift card to your choice of many different retailers, websites, and restaurants (or free Google Play credits).

Every task you complete will earn Swagbucks, whether it involves taking a survey, watching a video, accepting an offer, or making an online purchase through one of Swagbucks’ partners. The Swagbucks will accumulate in your account and you’ll be able to see your total whenever you are logged in.

You can redeem your points at any time by clicking on “Redeem SB”. Gift cards start for as little as $3 (300 SB), so you won’t have to wait a long time before you can actually redeem the points you’ve earned.

Although the conversion is generally 100 SB to $1, there are some offers that give you a better conversion rate. For example, right now I could redeem 2200 SB for a $25 Walmart gift card, which is a 12% discount. They frequently run discounts on Amazon gift cards as well.

→ Get a $10 signup bonus when you join Swagbucks through this link.

Is Swagbucks Safe?

As always, it’s important to be cautious of any new program you decide to join, especially when it involves giving out even the slightest amount of personal information. Swagbucks requires your basic contact info such as email, full name, and basic contact info. It will then request your PayPal account info as well for cash back (unless you only choose gift cards). So, is it safe?

We like to ensure a few important things are in place when deciding if a company is safe. Some questions to ask are:

• Do they have a legitimate looking website?
• Do they have strong partners with well-known companies?
• Are there any major publications through trusted news organizations?
• What are the current customer reviews?

Any question related to the above will help you determine for yourself if they are safe or not. After review, it’s easy to say Swagbucks is a legit and safe company to join as a free member. They have a very professional-looking website with detailed privacy policy and terms detailed. They partner with thousands of major retail companies and have been featured in multiple news editorials like Readers Digest and U.S. World News publications. Lastly, they post on their homepage what their customers are saying, along with their Trustpilot rating from thousands of customer reviews.

Who Is Swagbucks For?

While it could easily be said that Swagbucks is for almost anyone who wants to make extra money from the hours they already spend online, that’s a bit of a broad statement (although true). More specifically, Swagbucks will definitely benefit the following types of people:

• Anyone who wants to make a little extra money in their spare time
• Stay-at-home parents
• Anyone who wants a flexible side hustle
• People who shop online (cash back)
• Online gamers
• Anyone interested in learning of new products and services

In short, if you have some extra time and you spend it online browsing the web, then you will benefit from Swagbucks.

Other Sites/Apps Like Swagbucks

If you like Swagbucks, you’ll also want to check out these other sites and apps:

• InboxDollars ($5 signup bonus)
• MyPoints ($10 signup bonus)
• Survey Junkie

Conclusion – Will Swagbucks Make You Rich?

If you’re looking to become a millionaire by using Swagbucks, you’d better reconsider your decision. While Swagbucks is an easy way to make extra money doing stuff you already spend hours doing, it certainly won’t make you rich. It will, however, add an extra cushion of cash each month and take care of a few of your living expenses.

Depending on how much time you spend online each day, you can make anywhere from a few extra bucks a week to a few hundred bucks per month through Swagbucks. It is free to join, fun to use, and a great way to surf the web while making some extra cash while doing it.

→ Get a $10 signup bonus when you join Swagbucks through this link.