The idea of earning money by playing games might sound too good to be true, but there truly are various mobile game apps that pay real money. I’m not talking about in-game credit or entries into a sweepstakes contest either.Instead, most of the apps on this list offer the chance to accumulate points, which you can then withdraw through gift cards, PayPal, or sometimes a check.
Lucktastic
Lucktastic takes a different approach to this field. You’re completing scratch cards within the app, ones that could potentially pay out with real money. I saw some scratch cards that could reward $50, $500 or even $1,500.
Scratch cards could still be considered a type of game, although the process relies entirely on luck (rather than skill).
The main way to earn from Lucktastic is to win one of the scratch cards. You do also accumulate tokens over time, which can be cashed out for gift cards. Just be warned – you need a lot of tokens to get a gift card, much more than with most other apps.
Lucktastic earns its money from ads, so you need to watch video ads regularly to be able to complete the scratch cards. The style isn’t as frustrating as it could be and the scratch cards are somewhat entertaining, so it isn’t all bad.
Lucky Day
Lucky Day is a sweepstakes app. It includes daily scratch cards and lotto games that you can play, along with raffles, contests and similar approaches. This type of app is often referred to as simulated gambling, as many of the processes are similar to gambling, but there is no need to spend any money.
Just like with Lucktastic, Lucky Day users mostly get points for their efforts, rather than cash prizes. The points are enough to keep users engaged and coming back for more, even though it will take a long time for you to earn enough to cash out even once.
One reviewer mentioned that you’re generally earning 1,000 points most of the time, which ends up being around 1/1000th of a dollar. Whether the app is worth your time entirely depends on whether you enjoy the process.
Swagbucks Live
Swagbucks Live is a live trivia app that was once called Swag IQ. The app is part of Swagbucks, so you earn SB points rather than cash.
Games often have prizes of around $1,000, which is divided amongst the winners. When the game is easy and lots of people win, then you might only get 25 SB or so from the process. When there are fewer winners, your prize will be higher.
The biggest problem seems to be a buffering issue with the app. This may sometimes prevent you from taking part in a given round. Even so, the app seems to perform well and is fun (if you enjoy trivia quizzes, that is).
Swagbucks itself is also one of the more reliable survey and offer companies out there, so there should be few issues in cashing out any money that you earn.
Givling
Givling is another trivia app, but it has a few unusual features. For one thing, you need to get the app from the Givling site itself rather than through the Google Play store.
The trivia game itself can be played twice a day. You do so as part of a three-person team. The highest scoring team for each competition period splits the cash reward for that competition.
There is also a queue feature to Givling. The idea is that you work your way up a queue to get your student loan paid off from crowdfunded money.
It’s almost impossible to know how well this idea works in practice, especially as there are no app store reviews to look at. Some users have made headlines in local news publications for winning and getting their loan paid off, but such success stories may not happen very often.
Lucky Money
Not surprisingly, Lucky Money is another luck based app. Features include a spinner, a lucky egg, lotto and virtual scratch cards.
Once again, there is the chance to earn actual money from the various games, but the odds are low. You’ll mostly be earning points instead. Even when you do make money, you need to accumulate enough to be able to cash out.
There have also been some problems with the cash out aspect of this app. Some users mention that gift cards often aren’t restocked. This limits your options for getting money.
Personally, I recommend avoiding any app that is heavily luck-based. The cash prizes are mostly a way to get users hooked. It’s easy to spend much more time on the app than you mean to, while making little money. At least with other types of apps, you have some idea about what you’ll be earning from each task.
Brain Battle
Brain Battle has a retro feel to it and the games are often simplistic. In fact, the initial screenshots from the company show a case where you are just answering basic math problems like 2 + 1. Even with the potential to earn, such games could get boring fast.
Thankfully, Brain Battle doesn’t seem to be competition based. Instead, playing the games gives you entries to a draw. If you win the draw, then you get a prize. Prizes tend to be in the form of points, so you might need to win more than once to be able to cash out.
Brain Battle is using a portion of its advertising revenue to provide prizes, so you can expect a decent number of ads as you play the games.
Math Cash
Here’s an unusual entry in the field. Math Cash literally allows you to earn money by completing math problems (so it won’t appeal to everyone!). The app is heavily ad supported, so you can expect to be wading through ads as you try to play the games.
The main way to earn points is to win matches. This means that you’re competing against other players. Competing to win can be frustrating, as you may be faced off against opponents who are much more skilled than you are.
You might be able to get some points if you don’t win, but even so, you’re faced with the typical problem of needing to collect points over time before you can cash out.
Big Time Cash
The name Big Time Cash is incredibly corny, but the app itself does seem to be legitimate. It is another one where you are earning entries in draws by playing games.
The games come from Big Time Cash itself, so their quality varies significantly. Users mention that some are simple and fun, while others are incredibly difficult. Still, at least you’re not playing the same series of games that do the rounds in most other apps.
Some users mention problems when trying to cash out. Sometimes they’re told that they have no internet connection, then the process doesn’t work properly. Such issues are sometimes due to user error, but the number of similar complaints suggests that there is an underlying problem.
Vittal