I Tried 12 Money Earning Apps Without Investment
Do you want to make money in your spare time without having to spend money? If the answer is yes, then these money making apps without investment are up your alley.
I've been testing out ways to make money with phones for years at this point. And in this post, I'm sharing 12 of my all time favorite ways to make money with your phone without investment.
I'm covering a mix of survey, reward, and gaming apps. And there's also a mix of Android and iOS apps to ensure anyone can begin earning.
The Best Money Earning Apps Without Investment
The following phone side hustles are some of my all-time favorite ways to begin earning, even without spending a penny!
Table of Contents
1. Branded Surveys
Branded Surveys is a leading survey website that's available in the United States, Canada, and the UK. And it has a new mobile app that lets you answer surveys while on the go.
Surveys pay anywhere from $0.25 to $1 to $2. You only need $5 to cash out, however, so it's a nice way to get quick cash without spending your own.
Branded Surveys lets you cash out with a variety of gift cards and PayPal cash. And you can earn bonus cash each month through its Branded Elite loyalty program.
There's also a $1 sign up bonus going on right now, so it's a perfect time to try out this leading survey app.
2. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a leading money-making app that you can use to earn cash and gift cards in your spare time. And I've been using this platform for the last 5+ years and have cashed out dozens of times.
With Swagbucks, you can earn with cash surveys, gaming offers, shopping online, and by watching ads. You can then cash out with dozens of gift cards at only $1.
PayPal cash is also available at $5. And Swagbucks has even more options to earn like scanning receipts, answering daily polls, and referring your friends to join.
Its app is also available on both Android and iOS. Overall, it's one of the most popular ways to make money with your phone without investing out there, and for good reason.
3. Cash Giraffe
Cash Giraffe is another Android gaming app that lets you make money by playing new games.
What's unique about this app is that you can cash out at only $0.20. And when I tested out Cash Giraffe, it was one of the easiest real money apps I've ever used.
The game variety is also a selling point, and Cash Giraffe has plenty of genres to choose from. Plus, the team adds new games all the time to keep things fresh.
4. Honeygain
Passive income apps are one of my favorite categories of money earning apps without investment. In fact, I've tested out dozens of these apps over the years ever since my phone farming experiments.
And out of all of these apps, Honeygain is one of the easiest to use. It lets you sell your internet bandwidth to other people, turning your smartphone or laptop into a node in a VPN network.
Honeygain pays you with small amounts of passive income as you share your bandwidth. All you have to do is let the app run in the background, so it's perfect for a spare device.
I like Honeygain since it's globally available. You can also cash out with PayPal at $20 or with JumpTask, a new crypto platform, anytime you want.
5. InboxDollars
If you live in the United States, another leading money app without investment you can test out is InboxDollars.
This popular rewards website has a lot going for it. For one, you get a $5 sign up bonus right off the bat. You can then make money by completing surveys, watching videos, reading emails, shopping online, and more.
You need $15 to cash out the first time, which is the main downside in my opinion. But future cash outs only take $10. For rewards, PayPal cash and a wide range of gift cards are available.
6. Nielsen Panel
Do you want to earn even more passive income? If the answer is yes, then the Nielsen Mobile Panel is one of the top money earning apps without investment you should use.
Nielsen is a massive market research company that's willing to pay for your data. All you do is download its mobile panel app, register your device, and then you earn as you share data about how you browse the web.
The panel pays $50+ per year in free money, all for just sharing your data. And you can enable it on your desktop or laptop as well for additional cash sweepstake entries.
I used Nielsen Panel during college, and it's an easy way to earn money each month without having to invest or lift a finger.
7. Rewarded Play
If you have an Android phone and enjoy mobile games, then Rewarded Play is for you.
This is one of the leading ways to earn money by playing games. All you have to do is download Rewarded Play and then look through its library of games you want to play.
From there, Rewarded Play pays you with coins as you discover and play new games. You can then cash out with a range of free gift cards at only $5.
In my experience, this is a nice way to snag a few gift cards each month while checking out new games. And I like that you can cash out quickly at only $5.
If you have an iPhone, don't fret! Instead, check out our post on the top iPhone money games that pay.
Start earning with Rewarded Play!
8. AttaPoll
AttaPoll is a leading survey app for Android and iOS that's available in dozens of countries. And like other survey companies, it's an easy way to get paid for your opinon and without having to spend money yourself.
I like AttaPoll in particular since its mobile app is very easy to use. In contrast, a lot of survey apps I've tested are glitchy and irritating to use.
Surveys on AttaPoll also pay you anywhere from $0.10 to $1 to $2, or even more if you get lucky. You can cash out with gift cards at $2.50 and PayPal cash at $3.
9. Money Well
If you like the idea of playing video games to make money, then Money Well is for you.
Like Cash Giraffe, Money Well lets you earn cash and gift cards by playing games. All you do is download Money Well and then choose additional games you want to play from its library.
You can redeem your earnings for PayPal cash at just $0.50, which is a low cash out threshold. And I like using this money making app since it has a decent mix of game genres.
Personally, I stick with puzzle, strategy, and action games the most with Money Well. But there are dozens of games to try at a given time.
Start earning with Money Well!
10. Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is another money making app without investment I've used over the years. And let me tell you, this app is super simple to use.
All you have to do is create a free account with Survey Junkie and then answer some questions about yourself. From there, you answer additional short surveys to begin earning.
Surveys can pay upwards of $1 to $3, making it one of the highest paying survey companies in the business. And my favorite part is you only need $5 to cash out.
In terms of rewards, dozens of gift cards and PayPal money are available. So, most people can cash out in just a day or two of using the app.
11. Mistplay
Mistplay is yet another popular way to play Android games for cash and gift cards. And this is actually one of the first money earning apps without investment I've ever tried.
The app is similar to Cash Giraffe and pays you to try out new games. The best part is how extensive Mistplay's gaming library is, so there's always new games to try.
I like apps like Mistplay in particular since you can cash out at only $0.50 for prizes like Amazon gift cards. The company also added PayPal rewards recently at $10.
12. Cash-Back Apps
One final category of ways to make money with your phone without investment I want to cover are reward apps.
Now, these types of apps do require you to spend money on purchases to earn cash back. But if you have to buy everyday essentials anyway, why not get paid to shop?
Some of the top cash-back apps I've used for years and suggest checking out include:
With just a few apps, you should be able to earn a steady stream of passive cash and gift cards. And again, you can earn these rewards for buying products you normally buy anyways.
How Much Can You Earn?
In my experience, making $10 to $50 a month with these no investment money apps is realistic. You can earn more if you spend more time with surveys and cash gaming apps, but this isn't a full-time income opportunity.
At the end of the day, these types of apps are an easy side hustle anyone can start. But you should have realistic expectations about earning potential. Additionally, stick with passive earning apps if you don't want to spend more time on your phone each day.
Extra Reading – The Best Apps That Pay Real Money Instantly.
Final Thoughts
Well, there you have it: 12 of my all-time favorite money earning apps that don't require investment.
There are so many ways to make money online without spending anything. This includes phone hustles, and I hope at least one of these apps lets you get started.
If you want even more ideas, you can also read my post on the 25+ highest paying apps. This guide includes apps for both Android and iOS devices, so you're sure to find something that works!
