PhonePaycheck App Review – Can You Really Make $240 Per Year?
There are a lot of apps that promise to pay you money out there, and honestly, it's difficult to find ones that are worth your time.
I've been using passive income apps and different reward apps for years at this point.
And, even since my phone farming days, I've loved the idea of earning passive income right from your smartphone.
So today, I'm covering a fan-favorite in the world of beermoney: PhonePaycheck.
In my PhonePaycheck review, I'm covering if this app is legit, how it works, and how much money you can make per year.
Let's get to it!
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What Is PhonePaycheck?
PhonePaycheck is a money-making Android app that pays you for using your smartphone's processor when you're not using your phone.
According to PhonePaycheck, the top users earn $80 per year if they run the program when charging their phone at night or $240 per year if they run the PhonePaycheck app on a phone that charges 24/7.
So, you might be wondering: why on earth would a company pay you to use your phone's processor?
Well, the PhonePaycheck app is run by the company Neocortix.
Neocortix uses phone and computer processing power from users around the world to help their clients with tasks like testing their websites or using computing power for different tasks.
This is similar in a sense to apps like Fluidstack and Honeygain that let you turn your devices into nodes in a VPN network to earn passive income.
So, in a nutshell, Neocortix wants to pay you to use your phone's processing power which they use to complete various tasks for their clients.
Neocortix states it doesn't have access to your personal information, doesn't collect information, and doesn't display any advertisements either.
How Does PhonePaycheck Work?
If the idea of making up to $240 per year with a spare smartphone sounds appealing, PhonePaycheck could be the right side hustle for you!
But, making money with PhonePaycheck is a bit confusing because the company often has a waitlist, and different phones can earn different amounts of PayPal cash.
I tested out the app for this review, and I'm going to explain how it all works and my personal experience.
Time to dive into how the PhonePaycheck app works so you can start earning passive income!
1. Meet PhonePaycheck's Requirements
Over the years, PhonePaycheck has gradually changed device requirements and rules for who can use the platform.
For starters, you have to be 18 or older to use PhonePaycheck. Additionally, the app is only available on Android, and only certain devices are eligible for the program.
PhonePaycheck device requirements include:
- Linux Kernel >= 3.8
- Number of Cores >= 2
- Minimum Clock Frequency >= 1GHz
- RAM >= 3.5 GB
- Free Memory >= 2.5 GB
- Device Performance Rating >= 38
Additionally, PhonePaycheck has a new Device Performance Rating (DPR) that determines if you have a Gold, Silver, or Bronze device.
And, the higher your DPR score, the more you can earn with PhonePaycheck since you have a better processor.
I'll cover earning potential later on in this PhonePaycheck app review, but just know that the better your device, the more money you can make!
2. Sign Up For PhonePaycheck
The first step to using PhonePaycheck is to download the app for Android and to create an account. Currently, the app has over 50,000 downloads on the Google Playstore and requires Android version 4.1 or higher.
When you download and open the app, you're immediately prompted to sign up with a Google account
Afterwards, the app displays one of two messages:
- A Welcome Message: There's a slim chance, but your phone might be eligible for PhonePaycheck as soon as you download the app.
- A Waitlist Message: Most users who download PhonePaycheck get put on a waitlist and can't start making money immediately.
Unfortunately, I've been on the PhonePaycheck waiting list for quite some time, and this is the case for many people.
This is because PhonePaycheck needs processors from around the world, but it doesn't need an unlimited number of them.
So, depending on your location and how many other PhonePaycheck devices are in your area, you might be on the waitlist for a while.
Currently, I believe the United States has the most earning potential for the PhonePaycheck app.
3. Complete The PhonePaycheck Activation
You automatically enroll in PhonePaycheck's waitlist when you download the app and connect your Google account.
Unfortunately, the only way to complete PhonePaycheck activation is to wait for a spot to open up in the program and for your device to activate.
The waitlist has been around since mid 2017, so it's very slow to get onto the program unfortunately.
4. Earn Money With Your Smartphone
On the off chance your PhonePaycheck activation happens quickly or you get into the program soon, the next step is to actually start making money!
The app only runs when you device is on WiFi and plugged in, so this is likely when you're asleep unless you leave your PhonePaycheck device plugged in all the time.
PhonePaycheck does this to ensure the app doesn't drain your battery or accidentally consume your mobile data when you're on the go.
You can monitor your device's status on the main page of the app. As it's connected and running, you gradually earn small amounts of cash.
Again, I'm still on the waitlist unfortunately, so I can't test out how much PhonePaycheck would pay me for my device's processor.
But the PhonePaycheck app is popular in the beermoney community, and various Reddit threads have earning reports where people share how much they earn from PhonePaycheck.
In this particular thread, popular beermoney fan u/themightyox (who I've actually interviewed before!) shares how he earns around $30 to $45 per month through PhonePaycheck.
So, you might earn a couple of pennies or tens of cents every night you run the PhonePaycheck app.
The company claims you can earn $240 per year if you run it non-stop, but remember, your device has to be connected to WiFi and plugged in.
5. Cash Out
PhonePaycheck lets you cash out through PayPal when you earn at least $10.
You can update your PayPal address in your account profile settings, so double-check this before cashing out.
PhonePaycheck also lets you donate your earnings to various charities, including:
- American Red Cross
- PETA
- Save The Children
- Unicef
- United Way
There's plenty of payment proof online from other PhonePaycheck reviews, but again, you have to get off the waitlist first to start making money on autopilot.
How Much Does PhonePaycheck Pay?
As mentioned, PhonePaycheck states you can earn $80 per year with your main phone if you run the app at night or $240 per year if you run the app 24/7.
But how much you earn largely depends on your Device Performance Rating (DPR) since the higher your rating, the better your processor.
PhonePaycheck has an extensive list of supported devices, but here are some popular phone models for each category:
- Gold: Google Pixel 4, Motorola Edge Plus, OnePlus, various Samsung S phones.
- Silver: Google Pixel 3, Asus Z, various LGE LM phones, some Samsung S phones.
- Bronze: Google Pixel 2, lots of Huawei phones, Lenovos, Motorola Moto G, some Samsung phones, Vivo phones.
PhonePaycheck also has two different modes: active and standby.
Active is when you're actually running the app and it's open, while standby is when PhonePaycheck runs in the background.
As you can see, your device level and the type of mode you're running impacts how much you make per hour.
Here are the different PhonePaycheck rates:
- Gold: $0.027397 in active mode and $0.000685 in standby mode.
- Silver: $0.013699 in active mode and $0.000342 in standby mode.
- Bronze: $0.006849 in active mode and $0.000171 in standby mode.
Now, from what I've seen on Reddit, most people are making around $20 to $30 per month with PhonePaycheck.
This works out to about $1 per day or slightly less, but keep in mind, many of these beermoney users run the app 24/7 on a burner phone.
If you only run PhonePaycheck on your main phone when you sleep, I think you can probably earn around $5 per month.
Tips For Making More Money
The main way to make more money with PhonePaycheck is to enroll more phones into the program.
You can activate up to five phones with a single account for PhonePaycheck. Your devices still need to pass the waiting list, but getting multiple phones active is the best way to make more PayPal cash.
And, of course, using better devices with better processors earns you more money per hour that you run PhonePaycheck.
You also want to run in active mode as much as possible since it pays much more than standby mode!
Other PhonePaycheck Reviews
Unfortunately, I'm still stuck on the waitlist, so I wanted to check other PhonePaycheck reviews to see what people have to say about the app.
For starters, the app has a 2.6 out of 5 star rating on the Google Play Store, so some happy users but also a lot of angry ones.
Here's what some recent PhonePaycheck reviews from active users say:
- Sam C says: “Waste of time this app. It can't activate my phone. That's why I give 1 star. Well change once it starts working.”
- Kool Kat says: “Have cashed out 3 times since I have had the app and money was in PayPal account shortly after cashing out. Doesn't interfere with phone functions. Love the fact that I make at least $10 per month without having to do anything but charge my phone while connected to WiFi.”
- Andrew Trumbull says: “this app is legit, only problem is they don't accept everyone who downloads it, which is probably the cause of 95% of the negative reviews. from my experience, they do waves every several months or so and a long as you've signed up you might get in.”
- Laura Wakeham says: “It wouldn't let me activate my device as they already have enough. The app said to wait to be notified for when new devices are needed. After 4 days, it has used 4MB of my data without letting me activate my device to earn anything… seems a bit like a scam.”
In short, it seems like people either really like the PhonePaycheck app and earn around $10 per month with it, or they absolutely hate it.
However, a lot of negative PhonePaycheck reviews come from the waiting list time, and I'll admit, this is the worst part about the app in my opinion.
Overall, people on Reddit seem to like PhonePaycheck if they get into the program, and it's definitely been a staple in the passive income app community for a long time.
Pros & Cons
If you're wondering if PhonePaycheck is worth using or not, here are the main pros and cons to consider.
The Pros:
- Earn up to $240 per year with a spare Android phone
- Works with a wide variety of smartphones
- A global passive income app
- Earn free PayPal cash
The Cons:
- A very slow waitlist that most users end up on when they sign up
- There aren't multiple earning options
The waitlist is definitely the main drawback of PhonePaycheck. And I'm frustrated that after months, I'm still not able to join the app.
Additionally, some users only use this app on an old burner phone since they worry using it on their main phone puts too much stress on its processor.
This is a common practice for beermoney apps, and personally, I wouldn't run the app 24/7 on my main phone for this reason.
Other Apps Like PhonePaycheck
If you want to try some apps like PhonePaycheck, some alternatives include:
- Nielsen Mobile Panel – Earn $50 per year for connecting your device to Neilsen.
- Mobile Performance Meter – Earn $0.10 per day for sharing your phone's data.
- Panel App – Earn $1 per month for sharing your data.
- S'more – A popular money lockscreen app that pays you $0.10 per day.
- MobileXpression – Earn $3 to $5 per month for sharing your data.
- UpVoice– Earn up to $75 every year for browsing the web.
These PhonePaycheck alternatives won't make you rich, but you can probably earn $50 to $100+ per year without much effort.
And, of course, you can also try other reward apps to make even more money with your smartphone.
For example, the Bumped app pays you in free stock, Drop lets you earn gift cards for shopping, and apps like Fetch Rewards pay you for buying groceries.
Extra Reading – Is Fetch Rewards Legit & Worth It?
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who Can Use PhonePaycheck?
You can sign up for PhonePaycheck if you're 18 or older and have an eligible device.
2. Is PhonePaycheck Legit?
PhonePaycheck is legit and has plenty of payment proof and positive reviews online from users.
The company provides a real service to other businesses and is willing to pay you for your smartphone's processing power, which is similar to companies that let you sell your internet bandwidth.
3. Is PhonePaycheck Safe?
According to PhonePaycheck. the platform doesn't “have access to any of your personal information. We can't see your photos or videos, we can't listen to your conversations, and we don't use your precise location.”
From all the PhonePaycheck reviews I've seen, this app is safe and legit, and the company does what it says.
But, you should still be comfortable with sharing your data, and I think it's important to read the terms of services and privacy policy so you understand what this company is all about.
4. Does PhonePaycheck Drain My Battery?
You have to plug your phone in to use PhonePaycheck so the app doesn't technically drain your battery when you use it.
5. How Many Devices Can I Connect To PhonePaycheck?
You can connect up to five accounts to PhonePaycheck, and this is the best way to make more money with the platform.
Who Should Use PhonePaycheck?
In my opinion, PhonePaycheck is worth using if you're comfortable sharing your data and want to earn some easy passive income.
However, if you want to make some serious money, it's not the right side hustle.
This is because the waitlist takes forever and the earning potential is quite low.
If you need money fast, you're better off using gig apps like driving for DoorDash or Uber Eats as an example since the hourly wage is much higher.
Extra Reading – Can You Live Off Of DoorDash?
Final Thoughts
I hope our PhonePaycheck review lets you decide if this passive income app is worth using or not.
There are plenty of ways to make money with your phone, and apps like PhonePaycheck should appeal to anyone who wants a nice passive side hustle.
It's unfortunate I haven't gotten off the waitlist yet, and I know this is the experience for many users.
But, hopefully you can get off the waitlist quickly and begin earning money with a spare phone and treat yourself to something nice!
Looking for more smartphone side hustles? Checkout:
- 14 Best Apps That Pay You To Play Games.
- Survey Sites That Pay Cash Instantly.
- How To Make $10 Fast.
PhonePaycheck Review
Name: PhonePaycheck
Description: PhonePaycheck is a passive income app that pays you for using your smartphone's processing power.
Operating System: Android
Application Category: Passive Income Apps
Author: Tom Blake
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Earning Potential
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Ease Of Use
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Reward Options
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Waitlist