Is Swagbucks Legit Or A Scam? (My Honest Review!)
Swagbucks is a legit get-paid-to website with millions of members from around the world. And according to its website, it's paid its members over $900 million since launching in 2008.
But is Swagbucks real or fake? And how much can you realistically expect to make with this platform?
Well, I've been using Swagbucks for over five years at this point ever since my phone farming days in college. And I've cashed out dozens of times with it and know the platform in-depth.
This Swagbucks review is covering how it works, its earning potential, and testimonials from other users so you can decide if it's worth using.
Key Takeaways:
- Swagbucks is a leading rewards platform available in dozens of countries
- You can earn by answering surveys, playing games, shopping online, and more
- Rewards include PayPal money and dozens of gift cards
- Most rewards take $5 to redeem
Is Swagbucks Legit?
Swagbucks is legit and lets you earn gift cards and cash by completing short online tasks. It also has a 4.1 star rating on Trustpilot and thousands of positive reviews from members who enjoy using the platform.
I've cashed out dozens of times with Swagbucks over the last few years, and my rewards always arrive on time. And my video above shares my experience with the site and how cashing out works.
In my experience, making a few dollars per hour with Swagbucks is realistic. So, it's an easy way to get free PayPal money or gift cards without much effort.
Most negative Swagbucks reviews complain about hourly pay and survey disqualifications, but this is pretty standard in the paid survey world.
Overall, Swagbucks won't replace your day job and isn't a full-time income source. But it's a legitimate way to earn a bit of extra money in your spare time.
What Is Swagbucks?
Swagbucks is a popular survey site that lets its members earn free gift cards and cash by completing a variety of short online tasks.
The company is owned by Prodege, a market research and consumer polling company that also owns reward sites like InboxDollars and MyPoints.
According to its website, Swagbucks has over 20 million active users at the time of writing. The platform is also free to join if you're 13 or older and is available in dozens of countries.
Swagbucks also has a 4.3 star rating on Trustpilot and is one of the most popular rewards platforms in this space.
Overall, Swagbucks is a versatile way to earn money online. And after using this platform for the last few years, I enjoy just how many earning options it has and the variety of rewards.
Is Swagbucks Real Or Fake?
Swagbucks is a real rewards website and isn't fake or a scam. It's run by Prodege, a reputable market research company. And I've personally cashed out with Swagbucks numerous times, so I know it's legitimate and pays on time.
Additionally, Swagbucks doesn’t ask for credit card information or any overly-personal information when signing up, which I like.
Is Swagbucks Safe?
Swagbucks is safe to use. It doesn't ask for very personal information or to download any software on your computer to use its website. And you can read its privacy policy to learn more about the data it collects from you.
My post “are online surveys legit and safe” also covers this topic in more detail if you want to learn how to avoid survey scams.
How Does Swagbucks Work?
I signed up for Swagbucks about five years ago as a way to earn money online as a beginner while I was finishing college.
Since then, the platform has added new ways to earn but hasn't really changed at its core. All-in-all, Swagbucks works in three simple steps:
- Sign up
- Complete tasks to earn Swagbucks (SB)
- Cash out
1. Sign Up
Swagbucks is free to sign up for and is available in most European, North American, and Asian countries. Some African countries are also able to join, and Swagbucks is slowly expanding its availability.
You can sign up if you're 13 or older in many countries as well, making Swagbucks a popular teen survey site.
To sign up for Swagbucks, simply enter your email and password and verify your email to create your account.
New Swagbucks members get a $5 sign up bonus which deposits into your account in the form of SB, the platform's point/currency system. And you can often earn additional sign up bonuses depending on the current promotions going on.
2. Answer Surveys
Answering surveys is the most popular way to earn money on Swagbucks. You can see a list of available surveys on your main dashboard and choose ones to complete.
Every survey provides a time estimation and also tells you how many SB you earn upon completion. As you can see on my Swagbucks dashboard, most surveys range from 10 to 30 minutes and pay between $0.25 to $1.50 worth of points.
Some surveys are known as “Gold Surveys,” which are surveys that often have higher payouts and credit to your account instantly, so keep an eye out for these opportunities.
Most survey topics include consumer opinions, entertainment, politics, shopping habits, and health. You generally answer a few pre-screening questions as well to try and qualify for surveys.
This is one downside of Swagbucks since in my experience, I get disqualified from at least half of the surveys I try.
Swagbucks pays you a few SB per disqualification, which is nice, but it still takes a few minutes to find and qualify for a survey on a good day.
3. Complete Daily Goals
Swagbucks has a daily goal meter at the top right of your dashboard where you can complete various tasks to earn bonuses. And this is one of the easiest Swagbucks hacks to get more points.
Examples of some goals I've seen for my account include:
- Earn 40 SB and get 3 SB
- Answering the daily poll
- Watching a video
- Completing daily searches, discover, and deals
- Completing a survey
The cool thing about daily goals is that your earnings increase if you begin a streak by consistently completing them.
This mechanism rewards consistent use of the platform, and it's a nice way to get free money if you spend time on Swagbucks each day.
4. Play Games
Another way to make money with Swagbucks is to use its cash gaming section to earn rewards.
Swagbucks has numerous offers that pay you to play games. Some of these games are real money games that require cash deposits, but some are free games you can download and play to earn SB.
You can also play trivia for money by trying out Swagbucks Trivia for Money, which was formerly known as Swagbucks Live.
Some Swagbucks game offers are quite lucrative and pay $5 to $25 or even more. However, you often have to reach a certain level or spend money in-game to complete these offers, so keep this in mind.
Personally, I prefer gaming apps like Cash Giraffe or Buff since these let you play free games to earn. But I still like that Swagbucks has a variety of gaming offers.
5. Magic Receipts
One new Swagbucks feature that I absolutely love is its Magic Receipts option that lets you shop and scan receipts to earn cash back.
This idea is similar to leading reward apps like Fetch and Ibotta. All you have to do is select products you want to buy on Swagbucks' website, purchase them in-store, and then upload your receipt to earn SB.
Many offers are for groceries and everyday essentials and pay anywhere from $0.05 to $1 or $2. But you can find some pretty high-paying offers, like the $8 cash-back deal on OxiClean you see above.
Swagbucks also lets you upload e-receipts, so you can effectively get paid to shop online. And new offers go live everyday so there's plenty of ways to earn cash back.
6. Shop Online
Speaking of shopping rewards, Swagbucks also has a shopping portal where you can earn cash back at some of the most popular brands.
This is similar to shopping extensions like Rakuten or Hoopla Doopla and lets you earn cash back when you shop at one of Swagbucks' many partner retailers.
Some of the notable retailers I can earn cash back from in my account include:
Cash-back rates often range from 1-5%, but you can find deals paying $10% or even more. And I like that Swagbucks shopping has plenty of travel partners as well to help you save on trips.
Pro tip: You can download the SwagButton extension to automatically earn cash back when you browse the web and shop at eligible partners.
7. Watch Videos
If you want to make passive income, you can actually get paid to watch ads by using Swagbucks' video portal.
This is one of the main ways I've made money with Swagbucks since I used it as a passive income app during my phone farming experiment in college. And while watching videos only pays 1-2 SB, earnings can stack up quickly.
Just note that this feature is dwindling in popularity, and it's not always available. I expect Swagbucks will remove it entirely at some point, so don't be disappointed.
8. Complete Deals
Swagbucks has even more money-making deals under its main “Discover” tab. Examples of different deals you can complete include:
- Downloading apps for money
- Entering contests and sweepstakes
- Clicking ads and links
- Signing up for newsletters and free trials
- Product review gigs
- Playing games
- Shopping for tech
In my experience, the Featured Offers section pays well. You can usually earn a quick $5 to $50 or even more just for trying out different money-making apps or financial products.
9. Surf The Web
With the “Search & Earn” feature, you can earn small amounts of SB for searching the web.
All you have to do is use Swagbucks like you would use any other browser and start handling your searches through the platform.
Most searches pay 1-2 SB, so don't expect much. But this is an easy way to make money quickly just by using the Internet like you normally do.
10. Invite Your Friends
Swagbucks has a great referral bonus structure in place that pays you to invite people to the platform.
For every friend you refer, you earn a 300 SB bonus and 10% of their lifetime earnings if they earn 300 SB in their first month. Your friend also receives the $5 sign up bonus just for joining, so it's a win-win for both parties!
You can access the referral program under the “More” tab by selecting “Refer & Earn”. From there, you can share your unique link with any of your friends.
Swagbucks Rewards & Cashing Out
Swagbucks lets you cash out your earnings for free gift cards at 100 SB ($1) and for PayPal money at 500 SB ($5). All rewards arrive electronically, and in my experience, Swagbucks pays out in a day or two after cashing out.
I like that Swagbucks has PayPal cash as a reward option. Charitable donations are also an option, and Swagbucks has dozens of free gift cards you can redeem, including ones to:
Just note that while some gift cards start at only $1, many require $5 to $10 or more to cash out.
You can also enter Swagstakes, which are sweepstakes to win bonus SB, but this isn't a guaranteed payout so I never use it.
👉 How To Get $500 By Tomorrow.
How Much Does Swagbucks Pay?
In my experience, Swagbucks pays about $3 to $6 per hour at most. You can earn much more if you complete gaming or featured offers, but tasks like surveys only pay a couple of dollars per hour. Overall, making $5 to $20 a day is realistic with Swagbucks.
In the world of microtask sites, this is pretty standard pay. You can't make a full-time income since this isn't an online job, but it's an easy side hustle idea anyone can try out.
Just have realistic expectations and consider your hourly pay when using this platform.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Easy to join
- Available in dozens of countries
- $5 sign up bonus
- Numerous ways to earn
- Hundreds of gift card options
- $1 cashout minimum
- PayPal cash is available
- All tasks tell you earnings beforehand
- Has a mobile app
Cons:
- Low earning potential and hourly pay
- Qualifications for surveys can be long
- Offers are oftentimes inconsistent and don't credit
Other Swagbucks Reviews
After using Swagbucks for several years, I think it's a legitimate online side hustle. And if you want a simple way to earn a bit of side income, it's worth using.
However, one of the best ways to tell if a beermoney site is worth it or not is to see what other people have to say.
The great news is that there are plenty of Swagbucks reviews on forums like Reddit where other users share their experiences with the platform:
- SnipFred says: “Yup, it can be super boring at times and kind of a pain but it works. I've used it to buy a bunch of games.”
- scurvy313phant says: “Definitely is. I’ve made over $1,000 through discover deals and surveys.”
- Yeolderman says: “It's legit. I've made over $2000 since opening my account a little over 2 years ago. In general, you won't make much at all compared to the time you invest on sites like this, but it adds up over time.”
- ACakeCalledDenial says: “It depends, I did a bunch of surveys and was never able to get a pay out, despite emailing etc. I just gave up.”
As you can see, these members generally think Swagbucks is legit, and two users report making over $1,000 within a few months. However, some users complain that Swagbucks doesn't pay very much per hour.
The Best Sites Like Swagbucks
I think Swagbucks is an excellent gpt site, and I like that it has low cash-out requirements and a variety of earning methods.
However, one of the best ways to make more money with GPT sites is to use several of them at once to cherry-pick higher paying offers. So, here are some of my favorite sites like Swagbucks you can use:
- Branded Surveys: My favorite paid survey site with a low $5 cash out minimum.
- Freecash: A new rewards site with 100+ earning methods.
- MyFreeApp: Download apps and play games to earn.
- InboxDollars: One of Swagbucks' sister-sites that's available in the United States.
- Kashkick: A fun way to complete surveys and play games to get PayPal cash.
- Pinecone Research: This survey panel pays $3 for every survey you complete.
- Toluna: A versatile survey site that also has gaming and shopping offers like Swagbucks.
- Mistplay: A fun way to play games for gift cards if you have an Android.
- Prograd: A new gpt site that helps you find new income opportunities.
I also made a video sharing some of my favorite gpt sites and survey apps and websites you can use alongside Swagbucks.
None of these sites will pay $1,000 a day or anything like that. But in my experience, making $50 to $200 a month or so in income is possible if you put in the effort.
Is Swagbucks Worth It?
Swagbucks is worth it if you want a flexible and easy way to make extra money online without having any skills. In contrast, it's not worth it if you want to earn a full-time income since the hourly pay isn't very high.
Again, having realistic expectations is important when using these types of websites. As long as earning a few dollars per hour is worth it to you, trying Swagbucks is worth it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Make $100 A Day On Swagbucks?
You can potentially make $100 a day with Swagbucks if you complete tasks like featured deals or shopping offers that pay you with high amounts of cash back. However, tasks like surveys and watching videos aren't able to make $100 a day because the hourly pay is too low.
Even making $50 a day is unlikely with Swagbucks. This is why I treat it like a bit of fun side money and not a serious hustle.
My post on how to make $100 a day guaranteed has some more realistic options you can try instead.
How Many Swagbucks Is A Dollar?
It takes 100 Swagbucks to equal $1. Swagbucks also has rewards in different currencies depending on the country you're in.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been using GPT and survey sites like Swagbucks for over 5 years now, and I think they're a fun side hustle that anyone can start.
Swagbucks has always been a top tier choice for me personally and for millions of other people. And while it won't make you rich, I think it's a leading site in this space for many reasons.
Plenty of earning options, low cash-out requirements, and a variety of rewards are selling points for me. As long as you have realistic earning expectations, there's no reason you can't find success with this site.
Plus, you can always stack Swagbucks with similar sites like Branded Surveys and Survey Junkie to earn even more!
Hopefully, my Swagbucks review helps you decide if this site is worth it or not.
Looking for more money-making ideas? Checkout:
Swagbucks Review
Name: Swagbucks
Description: Swagbucks is a popular rewards website that lets members earn gift cards and cash by answering surveys, shopping online, playing games, and completing other online tasks.
Operating System: Desktop, Android, iOS
Application Category: Reward Websites
Author: Tom Blake
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Earning Potential
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Earning Options
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Ease-Of-Use
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Cashing Out
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Rewards
