This is my guide to the best apps that pay you in the UK.
You may have noticed an increasing number of apps that pay you money to complete tasks springing up lately. If you’re new to the idea, it’s easy to think that they’re scams or there’s some sort of risk of losing your money.
That isn’t the case, but neither can you make a fortune through these apps. Yet you could make enough extra money to pay for small things here and there, or just to top-up your savings. If you’re living a frugal lifestyle and have clear savings and investing goals, then apps that make money can be a little bonus.
So, these apps that pay you are useful if you have spare time and want to make a little extra money. But my own view is that your time is better spent on business ideas, investing or trading to build wealth over time.
That being said, if you have a regular commute of say 30 minutes twice per day, then spending some of that time generating extra cash using these apps that pay you could be productive. What you don’t want to do is sit at home on your phone all day just to earn modest amounts of extra money.
Bearing that in mind, let’s take a look at the best apps that pay you available in the UK. Use the links below to skip ahead or keep reading for the full rundown.
Apps That Pay You UK
Most apps that pay you will require you to complete short tasks, such as watching a video or filling out a survey. In return, you will earn rewards which are usually in the form of cash or vouchers to spend.
Let’s dive in…
Swagbucks
Founded back in 2008, Swagbucks is one of the most popular apps that pay you in the UK. Swagbucks lets you earn money by doing lots of different things like taking surveys, shopping, watching videos, playing games, or using their app to search. You can use its mobile or desktop apps to make money with little effort.
Each Swagbuck, or SB, is worth 1p, and you can exchange your earnings for vouchers once you have reached a certain threshold. It partners with big brand names like Starbucks, Amazon, and Best Buy, so you can spend your vouchers on whatever you need.
Points add up really quickly with Swagbucks, and it’s a legitimate way to earn some extra cash. You can claim vouchers, or Swagbucks can deposit the money in your PayPal account.
20cogs
20cogs is a great app that pays you. It only pays out cash, rather than vouchers, via PayPal or bank transfer. Plus, it offers users a £5 sign-up bonus. It claims to have paid out over £3 million to its members, which is pretty impressive.
You earn money with 20cogs by signing up to the platform and following the instructions to complete surveys. You can also earn by playing games, taking up their offers, or participating in competitions.
You will need to complete 20 surveys before you can get paid. But once you start earning, 20cogs pays money into your PayPal or bank account 3 times a week.
Oh my dosh
Oh My Dosh markets itself as the fastest paying reward site, and it promises to pay users within one week of signing up. It works with some big brands like Groupon, Sky, M&S and lots more.
Oh My Dosh is one of the only reward sites that doesn’t actually have an app. You can only access it by visiting the website. On its site, you earn money by participating in trials, surveys, and many other ways.
It pays out via PayPal or your UK bank account. You can start cashing out once you have earned your first £10.
Toluna
Toluna is an interesting app that pays you. It has what it calls a ‘commmunity’ of influencers whose input helps to influence the way big brands and companies market their products.
Essentially, it’s an app that provides surveys for you to complete. By completing these surveys you will earn rewards in the form of points. These points can be exchanged for rewards which can be in the form of vouchers, including for Amazon, or cash through Paypal.
It’s straightforward to use and will require some demograpic information from you when you sign up. Once signed up, you can get started straight away.
Each major survey will earn you 2,000 points or more. Answering shorter surveys or one-off questions will net you a smaller amount of points.
CheckoutSmart
CheckoutSmart lets you make money when you check out at the supermarket. All you need to do is upload a snap of your receipt to the app within 7 days of your purchase. You can also upload the picture onto their website if you don’t want to use your smartphone.
Order your shopping online? You can still use CheckoutSmart by uploading your receipt from your online shopping too. It works with big-name supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, and many other shops and supermarkets.
The app has a list of lots of featured products you can claim cashback for or even get free every time you shop. Most of the offers on the app are around 50% cashback. Many of the items you can claim cashback on are popular brands you would buy anyway.
You can receive payments from CheckoutSmart through PayPal or your UK bank account.
Snap & Save
Snap & Save is an extension of TopCashback. It works similarly to CheckoutSmart, and you can access deals from its website or mobile app. You can browse through deals and find items you can earn cashback on. All you need to do is upload a snap of your receipt to claim your cashback.
You can use either the mobile app or upload a picture of your receipt to the website and get cashback from your purchase.
You can claim cashback on a range of products, from grocery items to cinema tickets. Most of the cashback rewards are around 50% on Snap & Save, but you can even get as much as 100% back from your purchase.
Streetbees
Streetbees is another of my favourite apps on this list since it’s one of the most fun apps that pay you. It offers the greatest variety of tasks, so I find it easier to earn money with this one.
Streetbees works with companies like Sony, Unilever and Danone to bring you lots of surveys to participate in and earn money from. They feed the data and information they receive back to these companies to understand their consumers more.
You can earn money by completing similar tasks to other apps that pay you, like completing surveys, playing games, recording videos or taking photos through the app.
Streetbees pays you cash directly to your PayPal account rather than vouchers or discounts. Earning potential with Streetbees is also pretty high — you can typically earn £1 from a 5-minute survey.
YouGov Direct
YouGov is probably one of the survey-taking platforms you’ve heard of before. It’s recently launched its own app, making it much easier to participate in surveys and earn money.
The surveys on the app are a little different to those on the website, as they’re really quick to do, only taking around 10 seconds to 1 minute to complete. The pay is quite low because of how quick the surveys are, at around 10p – 20p. But you can fire a lot of surveys out quickly, so you can earn quite a lot.
You can cash out with as little as £2 on the YouGov app, which is much easier to achieve than the YouGov survey website, where you need to earn £50 to cash out.
Apps That Pay You UK – Which Is The Best For You?
If you spend a lot of time on your phone then you may find some of these money making apps useful. Especially if you have a regular commute and want to kill some time earning extra money.
However, if you’re serious about building wealth and generating serious income then your time is better spent focusing elsewhere. This could be working on a side hustle or learning how to invest or trade with your own money.
