Make Money Side Hustles

Swagbucks Review [2024]: Is it a Legit Way to Make Extra Money?

Swagbucks offers fun and easy ways to make a little side cash. You won’t pay the mortgage with the earnings, but who doesn’t love a free Starbucks gift card or little PayPal cash?

By Larissa Runkle
and Ashley Chorpenning

Edited by Jess Ullrich

Updated Dec. 17, 2024

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Swagbucks

OUR VIEW

Finding a side hustle that doesn’t feel like work can seem complicated. From rideshare driving to starting a freelance gig, everything takes hours of your time. While those are great ways to make money, I like apps like Swagbucks that offer more ways to supplement your income and reach your financial goals.

The good news is that there are many ways to earn with Swagbucks , including taking online surveys, answering daily polls, playing trivia games, shopping, and accepting special offers. My favorite ways are answering surveys and shopping, but keep in mind, you won’t pay the bills with the money you’ll earn. It’s just a nice way to add some side cash to your wallet, while having a little fun.

Pros

Free to sign up and use Swagbucks to earn money

You might earn money for things you already do, like shop

Offers a large selection of awards including PayPal cash

Cons

You won’t make enough money to do much more than buy a coffee

Tasks are first-come, first-served and fill up fast

There’s no guarantee that your personal information isn’t shared

How we evaluate products

What is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is a get-paid-to app that pays members to answer surveys, play games, shop, and search the web.

It sounds crazy that an app would pay you to do things you already do, but it’s because they are owned by Prodege LLC, a market research company that specializes in customer engagement.

Swagbucks offers members many ways to interact with products and brands, paying members in SBs or Swagbucks in exchange for time spent doing certain activities. It’s free to join Swagbucks, and you can choose which activities you will participate in to earn money.

How does Swagbucks work?

Swagbucks allows members to earn Swagbucks points (they’re called SBs) that are redeemable for free gift cards from retailers such as Amazon, Starbucks, and Walmart. As well as cash rewards for taking basic actions such as

Online shopping
Signing up for exclusive deals
Participating in surveys
Watching videos
Playing games

You access most of these tasks in their online portal, but you can also earn Swagbucks through its mobile app, by installing its SwagButton Chrome browser extension, or by using the company’s search engine. I get the most offers and use out of Swagbucks using its online portal, but the mobile app is nice when I’m out and about and have some downtime to fill.

After signing up with Swagbucks, you can choose how you earn by logging into your account and viewing the available tasks.

For example, you might log in and see videos available for viewing, a new survey to take, or exclusive offers at your favorite stores. Each offer tells you how many SBs you’ll earn if you accept the task and what’s required of you to earn them.

After earning SBs, you can redeem them for gift cards or PayPal cash. Each SB is worth roughly $0.01, but you may catch some gift cards ‘on sale.’ A few examples include:

1,000 SB for $10 PayPal cash or a $10 Amazon gift card
5,000 SB for a $50 Apple gift card
1,500 SB for a $15 Starbucks gift card

Whenever I use apps like Swagbucks to earn gift cards, I try to use them on gift cards for stores I would consider a ‘splurge’ so I’m not spending my own money but get to have some fun shopping.

Who can use Swagbucks?

Anyone with a valid email address over 13 can sign up for Swagbucks; however, they encourage teens to get their parents’ permission first. I always tell my friends and family to download and use the app in their free time.

As I said earlier, you won’t pay bills with the money you earn, but who doesn’t love getting free gift cards for answering market research surveys or shopping for items you’d normally buy?

I use apps like Swagbucks in my downtime, such as when I’m sitting on the couch watching TV, standing in a long line, or waiting in a waiting room. They help me turn my downtime into money and I find it’s a good cure to doom scrolling.

How much can you earn with Swagbucks?

Because of the wide variety of ways to earn with Swagbucks, actual earning potential varies significantly. As we mentioned above, different activities pay different rewards.

The rewards vary greatly depending on their complexity, if you must spend money, and how much time it takes. Here are a few examples of what you might earn:

500 SB for taking a 20-minute survey
2,800 SB for signing up with Hulu
5 SBs for redeeming Swag Codes (codes they release daily on their social media)
10% of any referral’s SB earnings if you share your referral code

Here’s a breakdown of some sample earnings with Swagbucks:

Activity	Swagbucks earning	Dollar value
Purchasing a gift card	1% to 20% cash back	$0.01 to $0.20
Signing up for a deal	Two to 15,000 SB	$0.02 to $150
Taking a survey	40 to 200 SB	$0.04 to $2.00

Tip

All Swagbucks gift cards are first-come, first-served. If you select a gift card that’s sold out, they may replace it with another of equal value.

Something that surprised me is how long it takes to receive a Swagbucks reward. Gift cards come via snail mail, and PayPal transfers can take anywhere from 10 to 14 business days.

A few other important points about Swagbucks rewards:

Rewards are non-transferable and can’t be traded or sold between users.
Points expire after two years (even in active accounts), and accounts that have been inactive for more than a year may be closed by the company.

How to maximize your earnings with Swagbucks

Time is money, so here are my best tips to help maximize your earning potential with Swagbucks:

Determine what you like to do, for example, if you dislike market research surveys, but love playing games, stick to the games
Set up a separate email for Swagbucks so you never miss a deal or offer that might interest you
Download the Swagbucks mobile app so you have it with you whenever you find downtime
Make Swagbucks your default search engine so you can earn SB while you search
Check your dashboard daily for your daily goals and try to accomplish them

Try to log into Swagbucks daily to see what’s new. Everyone gets new daily goals, that if you achieve, will earn you the stated SBs. The tasks are basic, and often include watching a video, answering a survey, and answering the daily poll.

Common questions about Swagbucks

Is it safe to use Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is generally safe to use. However, the company also states in its privacy policy that it “cannot ensure or warrant the security of any Personal Information you transmit,” and due to the nature of unsecured internet connections and communications platforms, “any transmission is done at your own risk.” Prodege LLC has B rating from the Better Business Bureau — making it pretty unlikely that users have experienced serious safety issues.

Is the Swagbucks app free?

The Swagbucks app is free to download and use. However, some rewards require you to spend money, such as cashback offers for shopping or exclusive offers to sign up for programs.

How much are 50 Swagbucks worth?

Fifty Swagbucks is equivalent to $0.50. Each SB is generally worth $0.01, so it takes 100 SBs to earn $1.

What type of rewards can you earn with Swagbucks points?

Swagbucks users can select gift cards to major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Applebees, Starbucks and Dunkin, or cash rewards paid via PayPal.

Signing up for Swagbucks is easy. Simply visit the Swagbucks site and register by linking your Facebook account or email. After signing up, you must complete your Swagbucks profile with your demographic information so it can match you with eligible surveys and offers.

You can start earning immediately and once you’ve earned enough points to afford a Swagbucks reward, you can cash in to start reaping the benefits of your work.

Other side hustles to consider

Although Swagbucks offers a fun way to earn some money, users tend to agree that earnings aren’t significant if you’re serious about how to make money more consistently, you could add other get-paid-to-apps to your arsenal, such as InboxDollars or MyPoints. I’ve found that the more I diversify my efforts to earn money online, the more I make.

However, if you want to make more money than Swagbucks offers, consider starting a side hustle, answering higher-paid surveys, or getting a part-time job. In addition, using a budgeting app can help you work on how to save money every month.

Bottom line

If you’re looking for a side hustle you can work in your free time, Swagbucks should be on your list. You can earn money with Swagbucks, but it won’t be a ton. Consider it something to do when you have some downtime and want to have a little fun.

Consider checking Swagbucks before buying items, answering surveys as often as possible, and playing games when you need to pass the time. You’ll earn $0.01 per SB, but with consistent effort, the earnings can add up.