14 Legit Money Making Apps for Android Phones
11 min. read
Updated on
Share this article
Improve this guide
Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help MSPoweruser sustain the editorial team Read more
Looking for legitimate money making apps for Android phones? You’re in the right place, then.
I tested over 30 popular apps to see if they actually work. Only 14 made my final list. So, whether you’re looking to boost your bank account or want some Amazon gift cards, check out the following real money making apps.
To help you find the right one more easily, I categorized them into games, surveys, shopping apps, and others. So, let’s jump right in!
Best Money Making Apps for Android Phones
Survey Apps To Earn Money
1. Swagbucks – Best Survey Site To Earn Money
Swagbucks is one of the most popular cashback shopping sites that lets you earn real cash by answering online surveys.
Just sign up with your email ID and password to the Swagbucks Android or web app, and start earning gift cards or PayPal cash. The tasks can include playing games, filling online surveys, scanning receipts, etc.
The app gives you SB points for each task you finish. Later, you can turn these into real money.
Swagbucks isn’t just for earning – you can also save money by finding promo codes, best deals, and great discounts at your favorite stores.
2. Google Opinion Rewards – Get Paid for Sharing Your Opinion
Thinking of which app is best for making money online? Well, what’s more legit than Google? It can monetize your opinions with this app.
It pays your Google account for every survey you finish.
The app isn’t just limited to Android users, though. If you’re on iPhone, the money gets credited to your linked PayPal account.
The survey questions are highly personalized, focusing on your shopping history, visited places, food experiences, and more.
Download Google Opinion Rewards
3. Branded Surveys – Popular Survey App To Earn Money
Since 2012, this popular survey platform paid over 3 million users. The best part about this earning app is that it has a large inventory of surveys available so that the users can have a consistent and stable side income.
Yet, this app doesn’t let just anyone join the surveys. Therefore, answer the questions honestly to keep earning.
4. Survey Junkie – Make Money Online by Taking Surveys
Another great survey app that lets you make your first dollar online is Survey Junkie. Just signing up for this legitimate app earns you your first 25 bonus points that can be exchanged for dollars.
After signing up, go to the “Survey” tab where you can find numerous surveys for you to answer and grab a few dollars.
This market research app gathers your opinions and shares them with various brands to help them improve their products or services. In return, it pays you for the insights you provide.
While testing the app, I noticed a product testing feature. Basically, brands send you products for free, and you just need to share your feedback after using them. They pay you around 5-50 dollars for each review. However, it’s not something you can do frequently.
You can check your total earned points on the dashboard in a big circle. Each point is worth 1 cent in US dollars and the minimum payout should be $5.
Gaming Apps To Earn Money
5. Cash Giraffe – Play and Earn Real Money
Do you play video games in your free time? If yes, why don’t you convert your joy into real cash? Cash Giraffe is one of the best money making apps for Android that pays you for trying out different games.
Once you get the app from the Play Store, it invites you to play new games and rewards you with gems for playing them. These gems can be exchanged for real cash or gift cards.
What I liked the most is it’s minimal payout restriction, it’s as low as $0.20 to $0.50.
6. Rewarded Play – Earn Gift Cards by Playing Games
Rewarded Play lets you earn rewards in a fun way. That is, just play the games you enjoy and get paid in return.
After logging in, simply click on the game you wish to play. The app will then prompt you to install it. Once it’s installed, head over to the “My Apps” section within the Rewarded Play app and start playing.
Under each game’s poster in the app, you’ll see a big number. That number isn’t the points you get for playing the game; it’s the maximum possible score that you can make with that game. Once you hit that number, you can’t make more rewards by playing the same game, but reaching that maximum number is often quite challenging.
The downside is that you can’t convert the points in this app into real cash. However, you can use your earned reward points to redeem gift cards from popular shopping sites like Amazon, Target, and more.
7. Mistplay – Best App To Play and Earn Rewards
If you have an Android phone and enjoy playing games, install MistPlay right away.
Playing games gives you points called units here. You can exchange these units to withdraw cash via Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal. Plus, you can use them to redeem gift cards at Amazon, H&M, and more.
If you’re going with this app, I suggest you try playing every day as it gives you bonus points for being consistent.
Best Cashback Apps for Online Shopping
8. Rakuten – Best Cash Back Earning App
Shop online at your favorite stores with Rakuten and earn extra cash back. Basically, when you buy something through this app, the stores pays the app for bringing in customers, and the app shares the commission with you.
Wondering how to use this app? Open the Rakuten browser or app, and search for your favorite store. Click on the link to go to the retailer’s website and make a purchase there.
The cashback you get varies based on the brand, product, and the cash you spend. It can be anything from 1% to 100%.
9. Ibotta – Save Some Bucks While Shopping
Ibotta is another efficient money-earning app that gives you cashback for your in-store and online purchases.
To get started, create an Ibotta account and you’ll be rewarded with a $10 welcome bonus.
In the app, you can easily view all the available offers and click the plus button to unlock the offer details. Then, you’ll have to purchase the product in-store and upload the receipt to the app before the offer expires.
For online shopping, click the shop button under the product you like. This will redirect you to the retailer’s website where you can make a purchase and get the cashback to your Ibotta account.
You can withdraw the cash once your account balance reaches $20. You can also refer your friends to the app and earn $10 when they redeem their first offer.
10. Dosh – Best Automatic Cashback App
Dosh lets you seamlessly save some perks by offering numerous cashback options on online shopping, booking hotels, and in-store purchases. If you link cards to Dosh, the reward gets directly added to your account.
Offers can vary from as low as 1% to a decent 10% cashback depending on the retailers.
While trying the app, I found its hotel booking system quite unique. You can search for hotels directly within the app and receive cash back after making a reservation. It even displays the cashback amount before you book.
If you’re a Visa credit card holder, Dosh offers extra rewards you can cash out via PayPal or Venmo.
Best Photo Selling Apps
11. Foap – Sell Photos Online With Ease
If you know how to take decent photos, check out Foap.
You can upload the picture to the app and users may buy your photos for commercial purposes or personal use. Once a photo is sold, you’ll lose all the rights on it, and the entire license will be transferred to the buyer.
You’ll receive $5 for every photo you sell on the app.
Plus, companies may request specific photos. If your image gets selected, there’s a chance to win hundreds of dollars in one go.
12. 500px – Popular App To Make Money Using Photos
500px allows you to upload 7 photos per week for free, and get paid if any of them are sold.
Unlike other apps in the market, this app has an active community who are willing to look at your images and pay you for the license. However, it’s highly competitive due to its popularity, so you’ll make money only if you have decent photography skills.
A tip for you – Keywording is essential. Just stock your images with the right keywords, rank on the app, and get paid. Commenting on other people’s photos can also boost your visibility in the app, leading to more conversions and money.
Other Money Making Apps for Android
13. Cointiply – Earn Free Bitcoin
Cointiply lets you earn in cryptocurrency by playing games, watching videos, answering surveys, etc. Though it can’t replace your full-time job, the app is a completely legit way to make extra income online.
You can install it on your Android or use it on your desktop browser.
The app adds points to your account as you complete tasks, which you can exchange for any crypto of your choice.
Coming to payout, $3 is the minimum amount that you can request for withdrawal.
14. Acorns – Best Micro-investing App
Acorn is a hand app that automatically invests on your behalf. For instance, if you spend $70.5 shopping, then the app rounds up the money to $80 and invests the difference ($0.5) in smart portfolios.
Once you link this app to your debit cards and credit cards, it automatically starts investing every time you make a purchase.
Acorns selects personalized ETFs for investment, based on your financial goals, investing timeline, and risk factors.
Money Making Apps To Avoid
With the multitude of money making apps out there, separating the real ones from the scams is a bit tricky. Here are the most popular apps that don’t actually work:
- Puppy Town – Puppy Town is a fake money making game. The minimum payout is set at $10, and the app stops giving you points once you’ve spent hours trying to reach those 9 dollars.
- Lucky Dice – This app doesn’t pay you, because you’ll never manage to reach its unrealistic minimum payout threshold.
- OnMyWay – OnMyWay claims it pays $0.05 dollars for every mile you drive safely. But to get that money in your bank, you need to refer 250 people to use this app, which can’t be achieved unless you keep referring full-time.
- SweatCoin – The app advertises that it pays for taking steps, but when I tested it, I noticed it only pays you for referrals.
How To Avoid Scam Money Making Apps on Android?
Read Reviews
Before trusting any app, it’s important to listen to what others have to say. So check out its rating and reviews in the Google Play Store. If the reviews are good and genuine enough, then you may go ahead. Sometimes, you can also read review blogs about the app you want to download.
Check Number of Downloads
You can find the count of downloads in the store right under the app’s name. If you notice a significant amount of downloads, chances are high it’s legit.
Look for Grammatical Mistakes
If the app contains grammatical mistakes or seems unpolished, it’s probably fake.
Permissions
Ensure the app asks only for the required permissions on your phone. If it’s trying to access more than necessary, it could be a scam.
Suspicious Links
If you notice pop-ups with suspicious links, the app is likely a scam, and maybe even malicious.
How Can I Make Money With My Android Phone?
We all use our phones for everyday tasks. Then why don’t you turn your screen time into money? You can easily achieve this with the right money making apps for Android phones.
Some apps give you surveys to finish and make money, while others let you upload photos and sell them online. Some also reward you with gift cards for shopping, and if you’re a gamer, you can get paid for your hobby.
Feel free to share which app you’ve tried in the comments below!
User forum
0 messages