Did you know there are a lot of easy ways to make money online directly from your smartphone? Money making apps help you do just that.
The average smartphone user spends 4 hours and 30 minutes on their device every single day.
While you could spend this time browsing social media and news sites, you could instead take some of your time back and earn some cash.
After doing some extensive research, I ranked and reviewed the best money making apps to earn fast cash this year.
These rankings cover different types of money making apps:iPhone apps where you perform simple tasks for free money.Money-saving apps that help you save money.Personal finance apps for automated investing and passive income.New apps to earn cashback on everyday purchases.
Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links where I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you choose to purchase a plan from a link on this page. However, these are merely the tools I have tested and fully recommend when it comes to making money with apps. You can read my full affiliate disclosure in my privacy policy.What Are the Best Money Making Apps?
Here are my top picks for the best money making apps to use this year. 1. Swagbucks.
Best for paid surveys and online gift cards.
Swagbucks helps you earn quick bucks while shopping online, browsing the internet, and watching videos. You can also participate in online surveys, polls, or just play online games to earn more. You can redeem the rewards in the form of specific merchandise, gift cards, or cash.
Here are the ways to earn gift cards with Swagbucks: Shop online at online retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Starbucks.Answer surveys and earn gift cards.Watch videos.Earn points & gift cards with exclusive deals and offers.Browse the with Swagbucks’s Yahoo! powered search engine.Play games and make in-game purchases.
Swagbucks operates in the USA, India, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the UK (Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand). What’s more, you can register on Swagbucks for free through Facebook or your personal email. You can also earn through referrals and make some extra points.Key Features:Gold Surveys – Gold Surveys reflect the time it would take to complete a survey and the points you can earn from it.Daily Poll – You can answer one poll regularly to earn 1 Swagbucks point daily.Cash Out Early – Swagbucks lets you transfer as little as $3. This means you don’t have to wait for long for your paycheck.Pros:It offers gift cards for Amazon, Freecharge, Walmart, Expedia, PayPal, and more.For every 20 minutes of video, you can earn around 2 Swagbucks points.It also offers featured stores and shopping deals from Groupon.Pricing:
It’s free to sign up and you get a $10 bonus.
Get started with Swagbucks.2. Survey Junkie.
Best for earning extra bucks by taking online surveys.
Survey Junkie enables you to influence brands by sharing your opinion to earn extra money with surveys.
It helps you take surveys based on your profile and rewards you with virtual points. You can then redeem your virtual points for e-Gift Cards or transfer them to PayPal.
You can transfer your money directly into your bank account. Or you can receive cashouts via PayPal, Amazon gift cards, and more.Key Features:Extensive Gift Cards – It offers gift cards of several brands, including Amazon, Sephora, iTunes, Starbucks, Walmart, Target, and Groupon.Quick Estimate – You can check the time required to complete a survey and how many points you can earn.Pros:You can view all the available surveys on a single dashboard.The user interface is easy-to-use.The answers will be completely anonymous.Pricing:
You can register and participate in surveys for free.
Get started with Survey Junkie.3. M1 Finance.
Free investment platform for building wealth.
M1 Finance provides a range of financial tools to help you manage your spending, investing, and borrowing.
It also assists you in managing and rebalancing your portfolio. What’s more, its intelligent automation gives you the best instruments to invest and cheapest options to borrow money.
With just $10,000 investment, you can open a credit line where you can borrow for as low as 2 percent.
It also enables you to earn 1 percent on every dollar spent. M1 Finance also offers a 25x the national average APY. It helps you earn the same amount in 2 weeks that you would otherwise earn after a year from a big bank.Key Features:Afternoon Trade Window – Once you have over $25,000 in your investment portfolio, you can invest in both morning and afternoon.No Investment Commission – It offers services without any management fees or investment commission.Pros:Pay back your loans according to your own schedule.It automatically transfers the settled funds into your bank account.It lets you borrow money on very low base rates.You get handsome cashback on specific debit card purchases.Pricing:
You won’t have to invest until your account reaches $100. Other than that, there are no commissions or broker charges.
Get started with M1 Finance.4. Acorns.
Best for investing your spare change ($1 per month).
Acorns is a micro-investing platform that helps you invest your spare change left from your day-to-day purchases.
Set up your account within minutes and build your own diverse portfolio by investing in stocks or bonds. You can invest as low as $1.
With Acorns, you can invest in: Exchange-traded fundsAsset classesOver 7000 stocks & bonds of top companies
Don’t worry about security either. To keep your money safe, it provides bank-level security, 256-bit encryption, and two-factor authentication. It also helps you understand the nuances of investment through its detailed articles and videos.Key Features:Acorns Later – It helps you automate your investment and build a healthy corpus for your retirement in just a few minutes.Advisory – Acorn’s support team has qualified advisors to help you achieve your financial goals by investing in the right funds.Pros:It provides bank-level security.Earn cashback at some specific retailers.It allows you to earn bonus investments by shopping with over 350 brands.You can register by investing as low as $1 per month.Pricing:
Acorns has three pricing options:Lite: $1 per month. The Lite plan includes only an investment account.Personal: $3 per month. The Personal plan comes with an investment account, a retirement account, and a checking account.Family: $5 per month. The Family plan provides an investment account, a retirement account, a checking account, and an early investment account for kids.
Get started with Acorns.5. Wikibuy.
Make money through better online deals & cash rewards.
Wikibuy enables you to shop from websites and stores at the cheapest rates. After installing it on your browser, its database connects you to eCommerce stores offering the best discounts and offers on your purchase.
Wikibuy’s intuitive mobile app lets you scan the barcodes and find stores offering the same product at a lower price. It also adds coupon codes automatically and provides credits for your purchases on sites like Walmart and eBay.
On top of that, you can also earn rewards by shopping from its partner merchants and vendors.Key Features:Browser Add-On – Wikibuy’s browser add-on automatically sifts through thousands of websites to provide the best deals and prices.Mobile App – It also offers iOS and Android mobile apps to help you scan barcodes and find the best deals and shop on the go.Pros:It informs you about retailers that can help you earn bonus rewards.While shopping online, Wikibuy notifies you if the same product is available at a lower price on another website.Wikibuy also finds out the best promo code to save some extra cash during the checkout.Pricing:
It’s 100% free to register and use.6. Airbnb.
Best for making money by renting out extra space in your home (listing your home is free).
Airbnb provides you with the platform to rent out your room, condo, or any other property lying empty to make instant cash. The accommodation aggregator allows you to list your property on its website and reach billions of people globally.