Your smartphone is an incredibly powerful tool. As fun as it is to use it for things like doomscrolling the latest election news and checking what your ex boyfriend’s ex girlfriend’s new boyfriend is up to, it also has the potential to make you some extra money in your spare time. With the right apps, you can use your phone as a side hustle to make money earning cash and gift cards.
Some money-making phone apps are certainly better than others, so it’s important to be discerning and only give your time and information to credible apps with a good reputation. I’ve tried a lot of different money-making apps over the years, so this list includes some of my favorites that I’d recommend to a friend.
(Sidenote: These apps involve doing simple tasks on your phone. Of course there are apps you can use to find work like delivering groceries, pet sitting, or renting out your RV, but since most of my readers don’t conveniently have an RV sitting in their driveway just waiting to make them hundreds of dollars, I haven’t included those types of apps. Just because you’re listing it via your phone doesn’t mean it makes sense to include here.)
(This post contains affiliate links, so if you click something and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. A girl’s gotta eat)
The Best Apps to Make Money From Your Phone
Fetch Rewards
Fetch is my favorite app on this list (hence why it’s the first one). I’ve earned almost $200 in Amazon gift cards since 2022 just from scanning my shopping receipts. It doesn’t require you to choose specific products from their list ahead of time to get points – you get a minimum of 25 points every time you upload a receipt, plus more if you buy products on their list of promotions. Some of my receipts have earned hundreds of points because I bought bagels or batteries they had on a promotion. When I signed up for a membership with BJ’s Wholesale, Fetch had a promotion that gave me 30,000 points – enough for a $25 Amazon gift card plus some left over. They have lots of gift card options to put your points toward, so you can choose depending on where you shop. You can also cash out in the form of Visa gift cards, which I recently learned you can add to your Venmo and then transfer to your checking account as cash.
Sign up for Fetch here and you’ll get 100 free coins just for joining.
Receipt Hog
I’ve been using Receipt Hog for 2015. It’s another receipt-scanning app I enjoy because you don’t have to skim through a list of products to find items that qualify for cash back, you just get points for every receipt. They also have monthly sweepstakes, surveys, and a “spin to win” game that gives you more points. Once you reach a minimum threshold, you can cash out via Paypal deposit or get an Amazon or Visa gift card.
Sign up for Receipt Hog here and get bonus points.
Bridge
Bridge is a new shopping/cash back app that links to your bank account and gives you points for every purchase you make, which are automatically added to the app so there’s no scanning receipts or anything like that. You can also make money with Bridge by taking surveys, watching ads, and playing games. Occasionally they have partnerships with finance and investing apps that give you points and special bonuses for signing up, so there are plenty of opportunities to make money depending on what you like to do. You can also cash out your points as a bank deposit at any time.
Sign up for Bridge and make sure to use my code XDKMWZ for a special sign-up bonus.
Rakuten
I use Rakuten on my phone and my computer depending on which device I’m using to shop. Rakuten partners with brands and stores to offer cash back on shopping you’re already doing. All you have to do is log into their app, click on the store you’re shopping at and do your business as usual. They offer 1-5% cash back depending on the store, which is then deposited into your account balance once your purchase is complete. They send quarterly payments if your balance is $10 or more.
Sign up for Rakuten and you’ll get $30 cash back once you spend $30 through the app.
Honey
Honey is similar to Rakuten. It’s a rewards program associated with Paypal that you can add as an extension to your browser to scan for coupon codes whenever you shop online. You can also earn Honey Rewards, which accumulate and deposit into your Paypal account as cash.
Sign up for Honey and get bonus rewards as a new user.
Ibotta
Ibotta is the last app specific to shopping that I’ll include on this list. It’s a little more tedious than the others because you have to scroll through their promotions to find specific products you’ve purchased or plan on buying, but you can find some really good deals this way. You then scan your receipt to verify your purchases and the cash back is added to your account. Once you reach $20 you can cash out in the form of bank deposit or gift cards.
Sign up for Ibotta here and get a bonus.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a versatile app that pays you for tasks like completing surveys, watching videos, playing games, answering polls, browsing the web via their search engine, scanning receipts, and more. I haven’t used this one as much but plan on taking advantage of it more this year.
Sign up for Swagbucks here for a $10 bonus.
Smarty Pig
Smarty Pig is my favorite high-yield savings account that I’ve been using for over 10 years. If you have any money in your standard bank savings account that’s just sitting there for an emergency, rainy day, or another future expense, you HAVE to transfer it to a high-yield savings account. There are plenty of them on the market, but Smarty Pig is my favorite because it has some of the highest interest rates available and is through Sallie Mae so it’s FDIC insured. With a HYSA, the interest rates are higher than your bank (which might as well be nonexistent) and are based on current financial trends – since interest rates for things like home loans are higher right now, the bonus is that HYSA interest rates are also higher. My interest rate is currently at 4.25%, which is the highest it’s ever been.
What I also like about Smarty Pig is you can create as many savings categories as you want. Right now I have one for an emergency fund, a vacation fund, and a car fund. It’s a nice visual way to see how close you are to meeting your goals and allocate your savings for specific things. There are no penalties if you take your money out early, either.
Sign up for Smarty Pig and start saving today.
Acorns
Acorns is an excellent app if you want to learn more about investing your money but have no idea where to start. With Acorns, you link it to your bank account and the app will round up your purchases and invest the rest. So if you spend $3.60 on an iced coffee, Acorns will round it up to $4 and invest the extra 40 cents. Investing has always intimidated me so I love the idea of micro-investing as a beginner.
Sign up for Acorns here and get a $5 bonus when you make your first investment.
Decluttr
If you have old phones, games, consoles, or other tech products lying around your home that you (like me) feel weird about throwing away, Decluttr is the place to sell your old tech and make money. All you have to do is take a picture of your product and provide them with some basic information, then they’ll provide you a free valuation. If you’re happy with that amount, they’ll send you a shipping label, you box up and mail them the product, and they’ll send your payment via Paypal once they receive and inspect the product.
Poshmark
Poshmark is another app-based marketplace where you can sell your old clothes, accessories, housewares, children’s products, etc. I love selling on Poshmark because they make it super simple to snap a few photos of your product and list it for sale on the marketplace. The site operates like a combination of an online resale shop and a social media site, so users are very active which helps get your products in front of potential buyers on the regular. Another convenient bonus is that Poshmark will send you a shipping label once you make a sale, so all you have to do is pack up the item and leave it at the post office. Once your customer receives the product, they deposit the money into your account, which you can either transfer to your bank or use to shop on the app.
Sign up for Poshmark here and use the code GINGERFOXSHOP for a $10 bonus.
Check out my post with Poshmark seller tips here.
How do these money-making apps get their money?
Many of these apps, especially those involved with shopping or surveys, sell the market research data they acquire through receipts, polls, and spending habits. Others have partnerships with brands that pay bonuses to encourage users to sign up or shop those products. If you’re unsure of how an app works, make sure to read through their terms and conditions to see how the business is run and how your information is used.
Which apps are the fastest for making money?
If you’re reading this list because you want some quick cash, your best bet is to list something for sale on Decluttr or Poshmark. None of these apps are “get rich quick” schemes or enough to replace a full-time income, but the fastest way to make some money is by selling something you already own because there are no withdrawal limits.
If you don’t have anything to sell but need money fast, I recommend apps like Bridge because you can watch videos, take surveys, and play games to accumulate some points and withdraw them quickly.
These are my favorite apps I’ve personally used to make money from my phone. There are so many others out there that I haven’t tried, and it’s important to do your research to make sure the apps are safe and credible. These have all been vetted and have a positive reputation for paying what you’re owed and protecting your information.
Have you used any other apps to make money from your phone? Share your favorites in the comments if it’s not on this list.
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