You can make money using your smartphone in today’s digital world, it’s not just some far-off dream. Many companies are happy to pay you to test out their apps.
Getting paid for downloading apps is possible when you are looking to make some extra cash. While it might not replace your job, this side hustle idea can be a fun and profitable way to earn money via apps from your home.
With so many platforms out there, naming the ones truly worth your time can be tough. I’ve personally tested and dug through hours of research to figure out the platforms that are worth looking at.
This is a compiled list of 10 top legitimate programs to earn money by downloading apps.
Get Paid for Downloading Apps: Most Trusted Ways
Over the years, I’ve tried multiple apps & programs and this can be an excellent starting point for making money online as a beginner. I doubt I can cover every option here in this post.
So, I’m aiming to consolidate the programs that are highly recommended by its current users or tested by myself so your time with these apps is worth it.
1. Freecash
- Available On: PC, Android, iOS
- Cashout Options: PayPal, Cryptos, Gift Cards, Game Skins
- Minimum Payout: $0.25
- My Promo Code: geekguidez (you get the welcome bonus and get a chance to receive a free case worth up to $250)
Freecash is a standout among GPT sites due to its rewarding nature. It offers you a range of tasks like playing games, downloading apps, and taking surveys. When you download apps from the platform and then complete the milestones or other available tasks you will get paid.
The platform is super user-friendly, free of ads, reliable, and features numerous other simple ways to earn other than downloading apps. They will welcome you with a bonus cash which you can build on by completing dedicated challenges to per offers.
You have multiple withdrawal options available, such as transferring cash to Paypal, receiving cryptocurrency, obtaining gift cards (like Amazon, Visa, Google Play, Apple, Steam, and more), and even acquiring game skins.
To cash out, you just need about $0.25 for the stake wallet or $0.50 for cryptocurrency such as litecoin. For other popular cryptos or PayPal cash out, you will need to have a minimum of $5 in your Freecash account.
2. Swagbucks
- Available On: Web, Android, iOS.
- Cashout Options: PayPal, Cryptos, Gift Cards.
- Minimum Payout: $5
- Swagbucks review
When you are looking for ways to get paid to download apps Swagbucks is one of the best GPT sites out there. They offer numerous other ways to earn such as surveys, tech deals, signups, and click & earn. Once you create a new account, you are eligible to get daily Swagbuck points too.
The platform points are called SB which you can redeem in Paypal cash, Payoneer, or available gift card options. Swagbucks withdrawal limits differ across various reward options on the platform.
PayPal allows users to cash out with a minimum of $10 (equivalent to 1000 SB), while Gift cards from different retailers have varying minimum withdrawal amounts; for instance, Amazon cards start around $5 (500+ SB), while others may set higher thresholds, such as $5 or $10.
Alternatively, for rewards like prepaid Visa cards, cryptocurrency, or sweepstakes entries, the minimum withdrawal typically ranges between $5 and $25.
3. ySense
- Available On: Web, Android, iOS.
- Cashout Options: Skrill, Amazon, Flipkart, Payoneer, PayPal, Gift Cards.
- Minimum Payout: $10
- ySense reviews
ySense won’t make you super rich quickly, but it’s good if you want to make some extra money when you’re free. Whether you like doing surveys, finishing tasks, or just want a bit of cash by downloading apps and testing up programs, ySense is a good website to try.
You can withdraw your money when you reach around $10 which I believe falls into the low minimum considering the amount of options you get to earn at ySense. You can withdraw to PayPal, get gift cards, or have the money sent straight to your bank.
You can make money every day at ySense because there are lots of ways to earn regularly. You can expect to download apps to earn money including other tasks because it’s a GPT site.
4. GrabPoints
- Available On: Web, Android, iOS.
- Cashout Options: Flipkart, Roblox, PayPal, Gift Cards, Online Stores.
- Minimum Payout: $2
- GrabPoints reviews
Grabpoints is cool and fun. It’s one of my most trusted platforms where I used to spend my extra time and earn rewards mostly by playing games. They also pay for doing surveys, watching videos, completing tasks, and testing programs referred by them.
At GrabPoint, you can get Roblox gift cards as a special way to get your earnings. To get a Roblox gift card, you need at least 11,000 points. But there are also many other ways to get your money.
One good thing about GrabPoint is that it pays out really fast. It doesn’t take as much time as some other survey sites to earn enough money to get paid.
You can use your rewards to buy clothes, book travel, shop at other places, or just get cash. Usually, you can cash out with PayPal for as little as $2, which is 2000 GP.
5. Pawns
- Available On: Android, and iOS.
- Cashout Options: PayPal, Gift Cards, Cryptos.
- Minimum Payout: $5
- Pawns reviews
Although Pawns works like programs such as Swagbucks that focus on surveys and data collection, they primarily help you earn extra dollars by monetizing your unused internet bandwidth.
They let you download apps and even pay you to test them out. How much you earn depends on things like how much internet you share, the surveys you finish, and how long you keep using the Pawns.app network. As of now, they pay 0.20 USD for every 1GB you share.
When you’ve collected enough “pawns,” you can swap them for PayPal cash, Bitcoin, or lots of different gift cards. The Pawns app is easy to use, and they actually do pay.
However, the number of surveys and apps to try out within the program can be different depending on where you live, so you might not see as many chances to earn. Still, just running the app in the background could get you around 5 USD to 140 USD each month, as they advertise it.
6. SuperPay
- Available On: Web
- Cashout Options: PayPal, Skrill, Gift Cards, Bitcoins.
- Minimum Payout: $1
- SuperPay reviews
SuperPay is a cool website where you can download apps and get paid for them. In addition, it’s an online community you would want to join to make some extra money by doing surveys. People mostly earn by doing surveys there, and there are lots of surveys to do.
You don’t need to earn a lot before you can get your money from SuperPay. Once you reach just $1, you can easily take out your earnings.
It’s a decent platform to do things like watch videos, try out apps, and give your thoughts in surveys to earn a bit of money for small things, like buying a soda or getting gas. You can turn your points into Skrill, PayPal, or gift cards whenever you want.
7. TimeBucks
- Available On: Web
- Cashout Options: PayPal, Payoneer, or Bitcoin.
- Minimum Payout: $10
- TimeBucks reviews
TimeBucks is another site to make money online. You can do similar things like answer surveys, watch videos, download apps, and watch funny slideshows to earn cash. Lots of people say they’ve gotten paid for using this site, which is a good sign that it’s not a scam.
Even if you don’t get surveys every day or earn money fast, it might be a good idea to try it when you’ve got free time.
TimeBucks lets you pick how you want to get paid, like with PayPal, Payoneer, or Bitcoin. You can take out your money once you’ve made at least $10. What’s cool is that they send your money every Thursday, straight to the way you chose to get paid, once the payment is sorted out.
8. Reward XP
- Available On: Web
- Cashout Options: PayPal, Crypto, and Gift cards.
- Minimum Payout: $5
- Reward XP reviews
Reward XP comes up with an advertisement for one of the highest-paying survey sites that also lets you download apps to earn money. It’s a simple and legit program to get started with, earn your points, and redeem your rewards into typical payout formats: PayPal cash, Crypto, and gift cards.
Reward XP might not make you tons of money, but if you enjoy playing games or have free time on your phone, it’s a good way to make a little extra cash each month. The website is easy to use and doesn’t have too much going on, so you can focus on where you can earn money.
When you do surveys or install apps, you usually get between 2,000 and 25,000 XPs. When you hit 50,000 XPs, you can redeem them for $5. They pay out pretty quickly, usually on the same day you ask for your money.
9. Earnably
- Available On: Web, iOS, Android
- Cashout Options: PayPal.
- Minimum Payout: $1
- Earnably reviews
Another GPT site. Earnably is a reliable site among many others where you can make money. You can begin using it with your Google or PayPal account and do things like downloading apps or surveys to earn a bit of cash.
Once you’ve accumulated enough points, you can redeem them to your PayPal account for real cash. The minimum payout is just $1 and that takes around 10,000 points.
Even though getting that many points might seem like a big deal, you can actually earn over 300,000 points just by installing one app and hitting certain goals. But to reach those goals, it does take quite a bit of time.
10. Mistplay
- Available On: Web, iOS, Android
- Cashout Options: PayPal, Amazon, Google Play and Gift Cards
- Minimum Payout: $0.50 (with Amazon gift cards)
- Mistplay reviews
Mistplay is a game library to find games you like and play to earn. It partners with publishers to promote their games and pays the users to try it. Mistplay is trustworthy and if you play the higher credit earners it doesn’t take long at all to a $25 gift card.
With this app, you get rewards fast. The more you play, the more you earn—whether you play more often or more games. It’s pretty easy to swap your points for rewards too.
I have noticed a few people mentioned some glitches in the app, but they also said that the customer service is fast, helpful, and fair. Most of the time, they fix any problems people have. I think if you want to make some extra cash by playing games Mistplay can be one of the safest choices to go for.
Did you read my reviews on similar paid-to-play game apps?
How much you can expect to get paid for downloading apps?
Normally you can earn anywhere between $10-$20 per month on these legit moneymaking apps. Although the amount of money you can earn by downloading apps varies depending on the program’s reward structure, and how much time you are investing and completing the tasks.
You won’t make enough money to replace your main job with these extra cash opportunities. They’re more for small things you need money for when you have free time.
There are lots of programs like these around. Some pay a lot, some pay a little, and some pay quickly. But some might even block you or not give you the money you earned. That’s why it’s smart to choose apps that other people trust and have had good experiences with.
Some apps promise you’ll make loads of money, but it’s safer to avoid those. They might end up being scams, and you could waste your time for nothing.
Summing up:
In this post, I put in some programs for you to get money by downloading apps that I think are safe. If you work at it, you should get something out of it. I’ll keep an eye out for similar programs and keep you updated here.