Swagbucks Review: Is It a Legitimate Way To Earn Gift Cards and Cash?
GOBankingRates Score
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Money-Earning Options
4.5
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Transparency
5.0
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Ease of Use
4.0
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Mobile App
4.5
Pros
- Make money from your online activity
- Joining is free
- There is no waitlist to get started
- Get gift cards or cash back to your PayPal account
- You can also earn money using the mobile app
Cons
- It probably won't replace your monthly income
- There are four different apps to keep track of, depending on the activity you choose
- Taking surveys can be time-intensive and you may not qualify for many
What Is Swagbucks?
Swagbucks is an online rewards program that allows members to earn gift cards and cash back through their online activities. So far, Swagbucks has already paid out over $855 million in cash back to users and claims to give out 7,000 free gift cards every day.
Is Swagbucks Legitimate?
Swagbucks is a legitimate platform where you can earn real cash or gift cards by completing a range of tasks. While you can earn money, it’s unlikely to replace a full-time income.
Ratings are generally high for Swagbucks. Most users appear to be happy with how Swagbucks works and seem to get paid for the points they earned. Here’s a look at user ratings from top sources of customer reviews:
- Trustpilot: 32.5K reviews, 4.3 out of 5 stars
- App Store: 85K reviews, 4.4 out of 5 stars
- Google Play: 115K reviews, 4.2 out of 5 stars
As long as you don’t go in with big expectations of making hundreds of dollars per month, you should be pleased with the extra side cash you can make by passively taking part in a few random online activities.
How Does Swagbucks Work?
There are several ways to earn points that can be redeemed for free gift cards or cash on Swagbucks. The first step is becoming a member. You can sign up for Swagbucks using your email address, and the membership is free. You can start earning points by participating in the activities of your choice.
How To Redeem Swagbucks
If you’re wondering how Swagbucks pay users, the answer is through Swagbucks points, called SB, which you can redeem for gift cards and cash back through PayPal.
The ratio of points to dollars earned is typically $1 for every 100 points, so you could get $25 from PayPal with 2,500 Swagbucks points, or a $10 Amazon gift card for 1,000 Swagbucks points. Swagbucks sometimes runs sales on gift cards, allowing you to earn them with fewer points.
To cash in your Swagbucks points for rewards, simply visit the rewards store to browse what’s available for the points you have earned.
You could also donate your Swagbucks rewards to numerous charities, including Unicef, the Wounded Warrior Project, The Humane Society and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
How Much Can You Earn?
According to Swagbucks, hundreds of users have earned over $20,000. It would be difficult to make that much, unless you commit to the platform full time. Once you hit the mark, you earn Level 10: Diamond status through the Swagbucks Member Recognition Program.
Earning over 2,000,000 points takes a lot of hard work. Realistically, more casual Swagbucks users can earn between $25 and $100 in PayPal Cash or gift cards every month.
7 Ways To Earn Money on Swagbucks
There are many different ways you can earn money on Swagbucks. It’s one of the reasons the app is so popular. Here’s a look at each of the seven ways:
1. Online Shopping With Swagbucks
One way to earn points is through online shopping at over 1,500 popular companies, including:
- Amazon
- Target
- Starbucks
- Walmart
- Best Buy
- eBay
- Hotels.com
- Expedia
- Macy’s
- Old Navy
- Sam’s Club
- Kohl’s
- HP
- Nike
- JCPenney
- Groupon
You’ll earn cash back in the form of points for every dollar you spend when you shop. Additionally, you’ll get access to exclusive deals and retailer coupons.
You can also submit your receipts from pantry staples — like milk, eggs, bread and pasta — from hundreds of participating grocery stores.
2. Swagbucks Answers
Fill out surveys to earn free gift cards. You can earn about 100 to 300 Swagbucks points per survey. It’s an easy way to make money online.
3. Swagbucks Watch
You can also earn points by watching online videos. The videos span topics including news and politics, TV and film, food, sports and fashion. The videos vary in length, with some as short as 10 minutes and others longer than an hour. The amount of points you’ll earn per video is clearly marked.
4. Swagbucks Discover
You can earn points when you buy or read more about one of Swagbucks’ featured deals. These deals are usually for membership services, such as Blue Apron, or “click and earn” to learn about services in exchange for 1 SB per day or varying amounts for a single click.
5. Swagbucks Search
Earn points just by browsing the web when you make Swagbucks your search engine.
6. Swagbucks Play
Get Swagbucks points when you play online games like Angry Birds and Tetris. You’ll typically get 4 points for every $1 you spend in gameplay or earn points for playing select featured games.
7. SwagButton
Add the SwagButton Chrome extension to your browser. The extension will notify you if you’re shopping at a site that offers cash back for shopping through Swagbucks. It will also help you find relevant coupons when online shopping, give you Swag Code alerts for additional discounts and alert you when there is a new earning opportunity.
Swagstakes
You can also use your earned SB to join Swagbucks Swagstakes for the chance to earn specific prizes, from gift cards to laptops, or enter the SB Lottery for more points.
Pro Tips To Maximize Your Earnings
The Swagbucks Reddit thread and Swagbucks Facebook groups are great places to go to learn from other seasoned members how to make the most money using Swagbucks. Some ways to max out your earnings include the following:
- Set time aside every day: Make it a habit to spend some time to earn points during breakfast or before bed.
- Download all the apps: Get each of the four apps — Live for trivia, Answer for surveys, Watch for viewing videos and the general app for everything else — so you can use them while you’re on the go to make cash while you commute, take a lunch break or wait in line.
- Install all the features: Adding the SwagButton and enabling Swagbucks to work as your search engine could help you earn money while you’re doing other online activities.
- Sign up for free trials: The Discover section of the website has offers that pay large sums of up to 10,000 points.
How Swagbucks and Other Options Compare
If you’re looking for a way to make extra cash, there are lots of options. How does Swagbucks compare to other alternatives?
Swagbucks vs. InboxDollars
Like Swagbucks, InboxDollars allows you to earn money for taking surveys. You can also shop, watch videos, read emails and redeem coupons for cash.
Swagbucks has more ways to earn money and more ways to redeem points, but InboxDollars pays its users through PayPal or gift cards rather than points, so it may be a better option for those who want a simpler system.
Swagbucks vs. BestMark
While most everything you do with Swagbucks is online, BestMark is a mystery shopping service that may require you to sometimes try out actual products sent to you or to go out and work as a secret shopper by trying new restaurants or shopping at a store. Some jobs pay you cash while others reimburse you for products or a meal.
Swagbucks may be a better option if you’re looking to earn cash from home, but if you’re interested in trying new products and experiences, BestMark might be a good fit for you.
Swagbucks vs. Rakuten
Both companies offer ways to earn cash back on your shopping and help you save money by offering easy access to coupon codes. But when it comes to user ratings for their Chrome extensions, Rakuten has the edge with its higher average. Here’s how their ratings compare:
- SwagButton: 12.2K reviews, 4.2 out of 5 stars
- Rakuten: 43.5K reviews, 4.9 out of 5 stars
On the other hand, if you’re trying to make some extra cash without having to spend money first, Swagbucks may be the better option for you.
Is Swagbucks Worth It?
Swagbucks is worth it if you have a little spare time each day and already spend time online as a favorite way to unwind.
Making hundreds of dollars per month is harder to do and could require most of your time — and probably some money, as some of the more lucrative ways to earn involve shopping and trying out subscriptions — but if you’re just looking to make a little cash on the side, Swagbucks is worth a look.
Swagbucks FAQ
Here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about Swagbucks.- Is Swagbucks legitimate?
- Swagbucks is legitimate. The points you earn can be redeemed for gift cards, and the cash equivalent of the points can be transferred to PayPal.
- How old do you have to be to join Swagbucks?
- You'll need to be 13 years or older to sign up and earn.
- Does Swagbucks pay cash?
- You can opt to redeem your points for PayPal deposits. You can forward the cash to your bank account or withdraw it if you have a PayPal debit card. Visa Rewards prepaid cards and Walmart or Amazon credits are also as good as cash.
- Does Swagbucks pay real money?
- Swagbucks rewards your time and effort with points, which can be redeemed through PayPal if you just want the money rather than a gift card. So while you won’t receive cash directly each time you take a survey or watch a video, you can receive real money from Swagbucks.
Cynthia Measom, Daria Uhlig, Gabrielle Olya and Amber Barkley contributed to the reporting for this article.
Information is accurate as of March 9, 2023, and subject to change.
The article above was refined via automated technology and then fine-tuned and verified for accuracy by a member of our editorial team.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
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