I spent months testing every “make money from your phone” app I could find. Most were complete garbage. Some paid pennies for hours of grinding. A few were outright scams.
I found 11 apps that actually paid real money to my bank account. Not life-changing income, but legitimate side money. $200-$400/month when used consistently.
Here’s what actually worked. Yes, these links are tracked—that’s how sites stay online. I only included apps that paid me personally.
Reality check before you scroll:
– This is not passive income
– This will not scale
– You trade time for money
– If you hate apps, surveys, or small tasks, stop here
I’m sharing this because Reddit is full of fake lists. These are the only ones that actually paid me.
📱 The only apps that paid me real money (tested personally)
The Apps That Actually Paid Me
1. Freecash
Free $5
Some of the highest paying offers in this space—up to $5k for crypto offers if you’re willing to deposit and wager. For everyone else, the $0.50 minimum cashout means you can cash out daily via PayPal, Bitcoin, or gift cards. Complete your first task today and get paid today.
$0.50 minimum cashout
Instant Bitcoin withdrawals
Stake offers pay $3,000+
Claim $5 Sign-Up Bonus →
My experience: I’ve made over $1,000 with the Stake offers alone—but those require depositing money and wagering, so they’re not for everyone. If you’re comfortable with that, they’re extremely lucrative. For everyone else, the $0.50 minimum means you can cash out daily instead of waiting weeks. Transfers are instant.
2. Bigcash
⭐ $15 Sign-Up Bonus
Over 3,000 app testing offers available right now. Download a shopping app, play a mobile game to level 10, test a fitness tracker. Standard offers pay $3 to $15. Premium tasks go up to $50 to $170 when you hit bigger milestones. The $15 bonus hits after your first cashout, and the $1 minimum means you can withdraw within 30 minutes of starting. What makes this different: their support team actually responds within 12 hours when offers don’t track properly.
$15 bonus after first cashout
Cash out at $1
Support responds in 12 hours
Claim $15 Bonus →
My experience: I’ve tested dozens of GPT apps and deleted most within a week. Bigcash is different. Had one offer not track after I finished it, sent one email, got my $15 credited in 11 hours. That never happens. Been using it for months and cashed out over $200 total. The high-value offers take longer but they actually pay out.
3. Branded (Seen on CBS)
$100+ Per Task
Sign up, test new games and apps, get paid when you complete tasks. Like testing a game to level 5 or downloading apps and using them for a set time. The higher-paying tasks take longer but the payouts are real. Some tasks pay $100+. The more you use it, the more high-paying tasks unlock.
Some tasks pay $100+
Free to join
PayPal cashout
Start Testing Apps →
My experience: Wildly underrated. The higher-paying tasks take time—sometimes a week or more of casual play—but the payouts actually hit your account. I completed a game offer for $45 in about a week.
4. Testerup
$50+ Per Task
Get paid to test games, apps, and complete simple tasks on your phone. Sign up, choose from available offers, complete them, get paid. Some tasks are quick like downloading the TikTok app. Others take longer but pay more. The more you use it, the more high-paying tasks unlock.
Some tasks pay $50+
Free to join
PayPal cashout
Start Testing Apps →
My experience: Another solid option. The higher-paying tasks require more time investment, but payouts are legit. I completed an app download and earned $7 in minutes. The bigger tasks take days but pay accordingly.
5. Arrived
Get Rent Checks
Invest $100 in rental properties and collect rent payments quarterly. Arrived buys rental houses, you buy a small piece, tenants pay rent, you get paid proportionally. No dealing with tenants, no property management, no repairs. Pick a property, invest $100, collect rent every 3 months. Average returns are 10-20% annually from rent plus property appreciation. Need your money? Sell your shares in 2-3 days on their secondary market.
Start with $100
Get rental income quarterly
Backed by Jeff Bezos
Start Getting Rental Income →
My experience: I invested $100 into a rental house in Nashville a few months ago. Every quarter, I get a rent payment from the tenant. This is real. No maintenance calls, no tenant issues, nothing. Just quarterly payments. I’ve done this with 4 properties now. It’s the easiest hands-off income I’ve found.
6. National Debt Relief
Free Analysis
National Debt Relief offers a free debt relief analysis to see if they can help you lower your payments and get back on track. App bonuses are fun, but if you’re drowning in debt, a few extra bucks won’t fix the bigger issue. To make this worthwhile, you’ll need at least $10,000 in unsecured debt (like credit cards, personal loans, or medical bills). If debt is weighing you down, it’s worth seeing what options you have—it costs nothing to check.
Free debt analysis
Lower your monthly payments
Requires $10k+ unsecured debt
Get Free Debt Analysis →
My experience: This isn’t an app or a way to make money—it’s about freeing up money you’re already losing to high-interest debt. If you’re carrying significant credit card balances or personal loans, this analysis could show you a path to paying less each month and getting out of debt faster.
7. Fundrise
Passive Income
Invest $10 in real estate and collect quarterly dividends. Takes 2 minutes to set up. Your money goes into actual real estate projects that pay you dividends. No active work required after setup. Just quarterly dividend payments.
Start with just $10
Quarterly dividends
Withdraw anytime
Start Earning Now →
My experience: This is where I park earnings from other apps on this list instead of letting money sit in PayPal. Start with $10, then funnel your beer money here. I get dividends every quarter. Takes 2 minutes to set up, zero effort after that.
8. AppFree
U.S. Only
Cash out at $1 instead of grinding to $10 or $20 minimums. Download an app, complete a simple task, get paid. Missions are straightforward: test a budgeting app for 5 minutes, play a puzzle game to level 3, try a meditation app. Each pays $1 to $5. High-value offers hit $20 to $40. When tracking fails, support fixes it in under an hour instead of ghosting you. You can see real money in your account within an hour of signing up.
Cash out at $1 (not $10 or $20)
Earn $10+ in your first hour
Same-day PayPal payouts
Get Paid in 1 Hour →
My experience: I tested this expecting another scam and cashed out $8.50 in 45 minutes. PayPal hit my account before I finished lunch. The offers actually track. When one didn’t register, support credited my account in 30 minutes. Every other GPT app ignores you or takes 3 days to respond.
9. Ask This Company to Get a Big Chunk of Your Debt Forgiven
Free Analysis
National Debt Relief offers a free debt relief analysis to see if they can help you lower your payments and get back on track. App bonuses are fun, but if you’re drowning in debt, a few extra bucks won’t fix the bigger issue. To make this worthwhile, you’ll need at least $10,000 in unsecured debt (like credit cards, personal loans, or medical bills). If debt is weighing you down, it’s worth seeing what options you have—it costs nothing to check.
Free debt analysis
Lower your monthly payments
Requires $10k+ unsecured debt
Get Free Debt Analysis →
My experience: This isn’t an app or a way to make money—it’s about freeing up money you’re already losing to high-interest debt. If you’re carrying significant credit card balances or personal loans, this analysis could show you a path to paying less each month and getting out of debt faster.
10. FileYourClaim
Up to $15,000
Companies lose lawsuits all the time—and the settlement money just sits there unclaimed. FileYourClaim.co tracks 40+ open class action settlements you can file right now. Google, Capital One, Wells Fargo, Tinder, 23andMe… if you used any of these, you might be owed cash. Most claims take 2 minutes to file. No lawyer needed. 100% free.
40+ open settlements
Most claims take 2 minutes
100% free to file
Check If You’re Owed Money →
My experience: I filed 6 claims in about 15 minutes. Most of these I had no idea existed—like the Google Play settlement where I qualified just from buying apps. The site updates weekly with new settlements, so I bookmark it and check back. Free money that’s already been set aside for you is the easiest beer money there is.
11. Ark7
Real Estate Investing
Invest in rental properties starting at just $20. Ark7 lets you own shares of rental homes and earn passive income from rent payments. No property management, no maintenance headaches—just quarterly dividends deposited directly to your account. Properties are carefully vetted and managed by professionals.
Start with only $20
Earn rental income monthly
Professional property management
Start Investing →
My experience: Similar to Arrived but with an even lower entry point. I started with $20 just to test it out and now own shares in multiple properties. The monthly rent payments are consistent and the platform is straightforward to use.
How I Tested These Apps
I only included apps where I could verify real payouts. Here’s how I filtered them:
– I cashed out to PayPal or bank account (no gift cards as proof)
– I tested each app for at least 2-3 weeks minimum
– I ignored referral bonuses when evaluating quality
– If support ghosted me or tracking failed, the app got cut
– I prioritized apps with low cashout minimums
If an app didn’t pay me directly, it’s not on this list.
TL;DR: Start With These 2
If you’re only going to download 2 apps from this list, start with Branded for the highest-paying tasks, and Bigcash because you can cash out at $1 and actually see money in your account today.
Reality check: This is not passive income. You’re trading time for money. If you use 4 to 5 of these apps consistently—during commutes, lunch breaks, whenever—you might hit $200 to $400/month. Some months less. That’s not quit-your-job money, but it covers groceries or a car payment.
I’ve been running these for 6 months. The payouts are real, but it takes actual effort. If you’re looking for something automated or scalable, this isn’t it. If you’re fine with small tasks for small money that actually shows up in PayPal, keep reading.