Real Money Making Game Apps

Apps make a lot of money. Spending on Google Play and the App Store hit an incredible $39.7 billion during the first half of 2019 according to data from Sensor Tower. This was a 15.4 percent increase on the same period in the previous year.

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Additionally, app use is growing. In its most recent “State of Mobile” report, AppAnnie found that between 2016 and 2018, time spent in-app grew by 50 percent, while downloads increased by 35 percent. This suggests there are plenty of opportunities for people looking to create an app and make money.

If you want to try to take a share of the mobile app market, you’re in the right place to learn how. In this article, we’ll first look at how to create an app, and then explore six of the most popular app monetization methods.

Here’s a look at what is in this article.

• Mistplay is an app available for Android devices through the Google Play Store (there is a waitlist for iOS users). When you play, you can earn rewards that you redeem for gift cards to Amazon and iTunes and video-game outlets such as Nintendo and Xbox. If you’re able to play games on your phone, it can be a good way to earn extra money.
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Table of Contents

Best Money Making Apps for 2021. What are the best money making apps? Money making apps are apps that pay you real money for signing up, taking surveys, simply installing them, or a variety of different tasks that pay. Almost all of the best money making apps are free to use and are little known ways that people can make money.

• 1 How to Create an App
• 2 How to Create an App and Make Money
• 3 Six Ways to Monetize an App

How to Create an App

The first step towards making money from an app is to go ahead and build one. This means you’ll need a good idea that people will find useful and want to download. If you don’t have a specific idea for an app, you can always think about a problem you have and a way to solve it.

Alternatively, are there any popular apps that you like but think could be improved? If so, why don’t you release an app with the improvement?

The founders of Instagram released the app in part because they loved the filters of Instamatic but thought it would be better if it was easier to share photos. It’s now one of the most downloaded apps ever.

If you are planning to monetize your app, you should consider this at the start of the design process. For example, if you choose to monetize your app using ads, you’ll need to build in space to display banners while designing your app.

Likewise, if you want to run a subscription, you’ll need to consider the features that will be available to all users, as well as those will only be available to those who pay.

We have an in-depth article on how to build your own mobile app that you can read here. In the article, we broke the process down into several steps:

First, You Need to Plan Your App.

If you already have an idea, this could be the easiest part of the process. If not, the most difficult. You can check out these 12 ways to generate app ideas if you are struggling.

When planning your app, you’ll need to have an exact idea about what it will do and the problem it will solve. You should also think about the target audience and what will appeal to them. You can get good ideas about the type of app that is successful by looking at competitors or non-competing apps with the same target audience.

This is also a good way to choose a monetization strategy. If you notice most apps like the one you want to create are free, you will probably struggle to be successful if you want to charge for your app. On the other hand, this could suggest the kind of app you want to make can be monetized through adverts.

Next, Choose How You Will Build Your App.

Once you have planned your app, you need to start building it. You have two options here. The first is to go through the whole process of creating wireframes, graphical interfaces, and testing the front and back end processes yourself. Alternatively, you can use an app builder to take care of the process for you.

While the first option provides more customization, the second option is easier for those without experience in developing apps.

If You Choose to go it Alone, You’ll Need to Start by Wireframing.

If you choose the custom route, you’ll have to start by wireframing. This will help you create the structure of your app. There are plenty of tools that can help with wireframing, including Microsoft’s Visio and Axure. Be sure to test out these wireframes extensively.

Then Design the Visual Elements of Your App.

At this point, you can begin designing the visual elements of your app, including your logo, color scheme, and any graphics or animations you choose to use.

You’ll need to do this whether you choose to build it yourself or use a DIY app builder. If you don’t have the expertise required, you can always hire a professional to take care of the process for you. Sites like Upwork are great for this.

Sort Out Your App’s Back End and Front End

The next step is where things get complicated. First, you’ll need to build the back end of your app. Getting this right will ensure your app works as it should. If you have limited software development experience, this is where using an app builder can save you a lot of time and stress.

Following this, you can design the front end, which is the interface the user will see.

Finally, Put Your App Through Final Tests

While you need to test your app out as you are making it, the final step is to test the finished product.

You should test the app on numerous devices and give it to different people who fit your target audience. This will allow you to collect a variety of opinions about what works and what doesn’t.

If you notice there are any problems, be sure to fix them before releasing your app.

How to Create an App and Make Money

Now you know how to create an app, we will look at how to monetize it. In this article, we’ve split monetization methods into six categories. These are:

• Paid apps
• Subscription
• In-app purchases
• Advertising
• Affiliate marketing
• Mixed monetization methods

The best way to create an app and make money will depend on the type of app you create. Games often do well with in-app purchases. On the other hand, many software as a service apps earn a lot of money through subscription programs. It’s also possible to use adverts to monetize your app.

The good news is, there are plenty of examples of successful apps no matter what monetization method you choose.

Before We Start: What Cut Do App Markets Take?

When setting the price of your app, a major factor to consider is how much the app marketplace you choose to distribute your app on takes. Both Google Play and the App Store have a very similar pricing structure. Here is a look at them.

Google Play

• Google Play takes a 30 percent cut of the cost of all apps and in-app products.
• It takes 30 percent of all subscriptions for the first 12 months of a customer’s subscription. After this, it only takes 15 percent.
• Developers have to pay a one-off $25 fee to create a Google Play developer account.

Apple App Store

• Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all apps and in-app purchases.
• Like Google, this reduces to 15 percent after a customer has subscribed for 12 months.
• Developers have to pay a fee of $99 per year to release apps on the App Store.

Six Ways to Monetize an App

Here is a look at six methods you can use to monetize your app.

Sell Your App

Creating a paid app is perhaps the simplest way to make money from your app. All you have to is create an app and make money from people who download it. Both Google Play and the App Store make it easy for users to pay for apps, so you have a ready-made audience.

However, being successful can be difficult.

If you want to encourage people to download your paid app, you will have to offer a lot of value. It can help if you have an existing audience, you can market your app to or if you have a budget you can spend on promoting your app.

You’ll also have to put a lot of effort into your app market listing as you’ll need to give people a good idea about your product without them actually being able to experience your app.

When pricing your app, there are plenty of things you should consider.

Take a look at the average price of competitor apps to see how much you can charge. If you want to use advertising to encourage people to buy your app, you’ll have to consider how much it will cost you to get one person to download the app.

As you can see from this screenshot, most paid apps are cheap. On the current list of top paid apps in the U.K., must are under £5 with only two in the top 21 costing over £10. Those are Site Audit Pro and FL Studio Mobile.

Things to Consider

While paid apps can be a good way to earn money from your app, it can be limiting. First, there is no way for people to try out your service. This can act as a barrier that stops them from downloading your product. This is even more likely to be the case if your brand is unknown, and you may struggle to convince people to pay for your app.

A slight workaround could be to offer your app to download for free and then offer customers the option to pay a onetime fee to unlock the whole app. Although, on both Google Play and the App Store, this counts as an in-app purchase as the user isn’t paying to download the app.

Overall, you may find that other methods of monetization are more effective. According to AppAnnie, the highest-grossing paid app on July 3 in the U.S. was Minecraft. However, it was only the 29th highest-grossing app overall. The second highest-grossing paid app is Heads Up, which isn’t even in the top 50.

If you are looking for a way to maximize app revenue, using a subscription or in-app purchases could be a better option than charging users to download your app.

Use a Subscription to Get Repeat Payments

Subscription is when developers charge users a recurring fee to use the app. The fee is usually monthly, although developers can give users the option to pay for a longer-term—for example yearly or quarterly—upfront for a discount.

This is a type of monetization is common with software as a service apps or apps that provide access to media. Think about streaming apps such as Spotify or Netflix, or productivity apps like Microsoft Office or Dropbox.

Subscriptions are great for app developers as they can get a consistent recurring income from the people using their apps. It works for users, too, as the monthly fee is often modest.

Unlike paid apps, subscription apps are usually free to download. This can be a good way for developers to gain a base of users. Having a larger number of downloads will also look good on the App Store and Google Play.

To encourage people to use the service, it is common for developers to offer a free trial. This will allow them to get an idea of what the app is about and how it can benefit them. Alternatively, apps that use a subscription model can offer a basic tier that provides some functionality for free, and then a paid tier that provides the full-service.

A good example of an app that does that is Medium, which offers users a limited number of premium articles per month, as well as access to the site’s free articles. If users want full access to the service, they have to pay a fee of $5 per month or $50 per year.

This can be a good way to keep people interested who maybe don’t want to sign up for the subscription now, but perhaps could be persuaded to do so in the future.

Beyond this, it is even possible to offer multiple layers of pricing. For example, there could be a free layer, a low-cost layer with some added features, and a premium layer that contains everything.

Productivity app Airtable allows users to use the app for free. However, there is also a Plus version for $10 per month, a Pro version for $20 per month, and an enterprise version with custom pricing.

Another type of subscription you could consider is non-renewing subscriptions. These subscriptions provide access to content for a limited amount of time. For example, an app could provide access to seasonal content during a global event.

What to Consider When Monetizing Your App with Subscriptions

Subscriptions are a great way to earn consistent income from an app. However, your product has to offer enough value to make users willing to pay for it.

Unlike with advertising-based monetization methods, you won’t create an app and make money from people who use your service for free. Although, it is possible to display ads on the free version of your product and then take them away when the user signs up to a subscription.

In-app Purchases Can be Highly Lucrative

In-app purchases are one of the most effective ways to monetize an app. According to Apple, there are four types of in-purchase:

• Consumables are items such as in-game points or currencies that can be used within the app. These are common in games, and they can be used by players to buy new items or access new levels. As the name suggests, these items can only be used once.

A game that has been highly successful at using consumables is Pokemon Go. In the game, users buy Pokecoins, which can then be used to buy various in-game items. Reports from earlier this year suggest Niantic has earned a total of $2.3 billion from the game.

• Non-consumable items are those that do not expire once a consumer has bought them. Examples of this include extra options in a photo editing app. Once a user has bought these items, they can use them for as long as they own the app.
• The final two types of in-app purchase are auto-renewable and non-renewing subscriptions. As we covered subscriptions above, we won’t go into detail on these here.

The good thing about in-app purchases is there is essentially no limit to the amount people can spend. Paid apps which have a one-time fee, or even subscriptions with a recurring fee are highly limited in the total amount they can earn per user.

Games that use in-app purchases can be incredibly lucrative. In games, in-app purchases are often used to let users buy items to make their gaming experience better. This has led to free games like PUBG, Clash of Clans and Pokemon Go consistently being ranked among the highest-grossing apps.

However, it isn’t only games that can effectively use in-app purchases. Other types of apps that successfully offer in-app purchases include photo editor apps offering additional options or filters or messaging apps offering users the chance to buy emoticons or gifts.

For example, the messaging app Kakao Talk is one of the highest-grossing apps globally. While it is free to use, one of the ways it earns money is by selling emoticons that people can use within their chats.

What to Consider When Monetizing Your App with In-app Purchases

The most important thing to consider is whether or not your app can offer something enticing enough as an in-app purchase. If you can’t, it is unlikely that anyone will buy what you are offering. In general, games have a lot of success with in-app purchases

Another major consideration comes with the controversy around loot boxes. Look boxes are products users can buy that provide them with a random selection of in-game items. While these are an effective monetization tool, many countries are debating whether they are a form of gambling.

Because of this, loot boxes are heavily regulated and even illegal in some countries. You should be sure to check out the regulations of the country you plan to operate in if you want to offer this kind of item.

Use an advertising-based model

Mobile advertising is a huge business. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) recently said that in 2018, 65 percent of all digital advertising revenue came via mobile platforms. This includes browsers and text messages, as well as apps.

Advertising is commonly used by apps that offer content to users for free. For example, news apps or games. It can also be used by apps that also offer in-app purchases or paid versions as a way to monetize non-paying customers.

The best thing about advertising is that it’s a good way to earn money from your app without your customer having to spend any money.

The easiest way to get started is through a cost-per-click advertising platform. Some of these include Google’s AdMob or AOL’s SSP. Signing up to one of these will allow you to start placing ads into your app.

Most ads come in the form of banner ads, interstitial ads, or videos.

• Banner ads are interspersed around your content. They are fairly non-intrusive; this has the advantage of not interrupting the user experience, but they are easy to ignore.

In the screenshot below, you can see how podcast app BeyondPod uses a banner add within the user’s podcast feed. It is almost too unobtrusive, and it is easy to ignore.

On the other hand, YouTube shows much larger banner ads that fit in well with the content the user is already watching. If it wasn’t for the “Ad” marking in the bottom corner, it would be hard to work out if the recommendation was an advert or not.

• Interstitial ads take up the whole screen. They will usually be shown for a certain amount of time or until the user clicks to close the ad. These ads are effective as the user is guaranteed to see it.

The downside here is that they are very intrusive. Because of this, you should think carefully about when you place an interstitial ad. Good times could be when the user has finished editing a photo or when they are about to start a new level in a game.

An excellent example of this is the advert below from the video editing app PowerDirector. When the user clicks to leave the app, a pop-up appears showing an advert. The advert is almost impossible to ignore as the user has to perform another step to leave the app.

However, it isn’t too annoying because it only appears when the user is leaving the app, not mid-way through a project.

• Video ads are often either short ads or longer ads that the user can skip after a certain amount of time. Clicking on the add will take the user to the advertiser’s product. Video ads are useful for advertisers as they are a good way to get across the message of the product.

Video ads are often shown while another video is loading, or before a level in a game. Perhaps the app most well known for video adverts is YouTube, which shows an advert before many videos on the service.

Things to Consider When Monetizing Your App with Advertising

While it is easy to get started with mobile ads, there are some downsides. The most obvious one is that to make good revenues, you will need to have a lot of users.

According to Businessofapps.com, the average CPM (the amount an advertiser pays per one thousand people who see its advertisement) for banner ads is $1, interstitial ads is $3.5, and video ads is $3.

This means it is hard to create an app and make money unless your app has a lot of regular users.

Another thing to consider is that whenever a user clicks on an advert on your app, they will be taken away from your app. This will reduce the amount of time they spend on your app and could even introduce them to a direct competitor.

Earn Through Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a common type of marketing on the web, although perhaps less commonly found in apps. With affiliate marketing, the app developer will advertise products on their app and then take a cut of the sale when a customer makes a purchase.

Booking or comparison apps are a common type of affiliate marketing. For example, Skyscanner makes it easy for people who want to buy a flight to check prices from a range of providers.

The company gets a percentage of the cost of the flight whenever a user books a journey after being redirected to the booking website through Skyscanner. You can see how it works in the screenshot below.

Another example of how this could work would be a fitness app directing users to the website of a nutrition shop or exercise equipment store and then taking a cut of any sales made. Or a financial planning app that suggests financial products to its users.

The good thing about monetizing apps in this way is the amount of data apps have about users. For example, in the above example of a financial planning app, the app developers can offer the exact type of product that the user will find useful based on the data they have about the user.

Things to Consider When Monetizing Your App with Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing suffers from many of the same issues as advertisements – you’ll need a lot of users before you can make money.

It can also help if the product you are affiliated with is an expensive one or one that offers a large cut of the total cost of the purchase. While receiving ten percent of a £1,000 flight will get you a nice payday, receiving 3 percent of a pair of £50 running shoes is less impressive.

Use a Mixed Strategy

Many of the most successful apps use a variety of monetization methods. This way, developers don’t have to rely on one strategy. Here are some examples of how mixed monetization strategies could work in practice.

• A common mixed monetization strategy is to ask users to pay to remove ads. This is good as an alternative to a paid app. It means app developers are still able to monetize free users, while also offering a more lucrative option to those who can pay. To make the paid option more appealing, you can even choose to add in some extras for those that pay. This could work for both one-off payments and subscriptions.
• Some paid apps, especially games, charge a fee for the app, and then offer in-app purchases on top of the price of the game. Minecraft, NBA 2K19, and the Moment Pro Camera are all apps that have successfully used this strategy.
• If you plan to rely on adverts as your monetization strategy, it could be a good idea to experiment with both affiliate marketing and regular adverts. If you do this, you can see which type of advertising is most lucrative and then focus on that.

Wrapping Up

This is the end of our guide on how to create an app and make money. Hopefully, you found it useful.

As you can see, there are plenty of methods you can use to monetize your app. In-app purchases and subscriptions can be incredibly lucrative due to the potential for recurring income. However, many apps can successfully use other monetization methods such as advertising or charging the user upfront.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. We may receive a commission when you click on them, but this is at no extra cost to you. Read our privacy policy for more information.

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There are plenty of ways to make money right from your phone, especially with apps that pay to play games.

While it may sound like a scam, we assure you that these apps will legitimately pay you money to play games, take surveys, and interact with the app.

You’re not going to make enough to quit your day job, but you can easily make enough for some extra spending money or to put aside into your savings.

These apps pay anywhere from a few pennies to a few dollars for your efforts.

With so many apps out there offering cash for your time, we decided to go through and find the top apps that pay you to play games.

Table of Contents

• 10 Best Apps That Pay To Play Games For Free

10 Best Apps That Pay To Play Games For Free

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With that said, let’s get started.

Here’s our list of the 10 best apps that pay to play games for free from your smartphone.

For each of the apps listed below, we cover how it works, how much you can make and how to maximize your earnings.

1. Swagbucks

• Registration Bonus: $5 – $10 (varies by country)

With over 15 million users, Swagbucks is one of the top apps for getting cash and gift cards.

In fact, the app has already paid out over $500 million in gift cards and prizes, meaning there’s a real opportunity to make money through this app.

The app tracks your activity and awards you “Swagbucks” (hence the name) for all of your activities.

You can use those Swagbucks to cash in on gift cards to top retailers such as Amazon, PayPal, Target, Walmart, Starbucks, and so much more.

There are some very simple ways to earn your Swagbucks right from your phone, including:

• Watching videos
• Playing games
• Taking surveys
• Shopping online
• Researching online shopping deals
• Searching the web

This app rewards you for things you’re already doing on your phone, so it’s a great app to take advantage of.

Why not get rewarded for the things you’re already doing on your phone? After you’ve earned enough points, you can cash out and redeem gift cards valued anywhere from $5 – $25.

We did notice that the app can quickly become complicated and overwhelming – there are tons of categories and ways to earn money through your phone.

With so many options, it can be tough to find which activities and categories work for you.

Once you do find what works, we recommend sticking with one or two activities to make the earning process easier.

2. MistPlay

• Registration Bonus: 50 units

Mistplay launched in 2017 and is already one of the best apps that pay you to play games.

The goal of MistPlay is to become the number one loyalty program for mobile gamers. In short, you get to discover new games and earn rewards at the same time.

MistPlay rewards user in the form of units. The longer you play, the more units you receive which can be exchanged for free rewards such as free Steam credit or Visa gift cards among other options.

At the time of this writing, MistPlay has successfully give away $9,519,189 to its users and is quickly growing.

You can earn even more by entering their weekly contests in which prize drawings are conducted.

Join using our link and receive a 50 unit bonus just for registering as a new user.

For me personally, I enjoy using MistPlay because it allows me to play with friends and meet new ones at the same time. This makes the gaming experience that much more enjoyable.

As of now this app is currently only available to Android devices.

3. Rewardia

• Registration Bonus: 100 points

Rewardia is an online platform that plays you to play a wide variety of games.

This includes solving puzzles, watching videos, playing games, voting on polls, answering trivia, taking surveys and more.

You even get a 100 point bonus for registering as a new user.

We’ve found that we frequently are screened out of any survey offers, but the games tend to be quite fun and somewhat addictive to earn some extra cash.

They even have a nice referral program. For every friend you refer, you get 10% of their earnings for life without taking away anything at all from their earnings.

You need a minimum of $5 before you are able to cash out for a gift card of your choice or a withdrawal to your bank account.

4. InboxDollars

• Registration Bonus: $5

If you’re more interested in earning cash than rewards points, Inbox Dollars is an excellent option.

This app pays cash for doing the things you already do on your phone and has paid out over $30 million since 2006.

You’ll find a vast selection of games to play in order to earn cash, including both free and paid games.

You only need to spend a few minutes every day for the savings to add up – average earnings per activity range from $0.25 – $5.00, so it’s easy to accumulate a significant amount of savings very quickly.

This app is unique because you can redeem your earnings for actual cash instead of gift cards and physical prizes.

That means you can pull out your earnings from the app and put it right into your savings or investment accounts. Accessing the app every day can lead to some significant earnings.

Other simple ways to earn on Inbox Dollars include taking surveys, shopping online, and performing web searches – all activities that you might already do on a daily basis.

5. MyPoints

• Registration Bonus: $10 when you earn your first $20

MyPoints is one of the longest-standing small task sites out there. Get paid to play games, shop online, watch videos, complete surveys and more.

The best part? You get a $10 bonus when you earn your first $20 in prizes. Payment methods include a gift card or a direct PayPal deposit. You need a minimum of $25 to cash out.

MyPoints also has one of the best referral programs out there. Each time you refer a friend that signs-up using your link, you earn 10% of their earnings for life without taking away from their earnings.

This app is available for both iOS and Android devices. You can claim gift cards from over 75 different retailers.

6. Coin Pop App

• Registration Bonus: 4444 coins

Out of all of the apps on this list, the Coin Pop app is probably the one that most resembles actually playing games.

You can play scenarios such as building a city of your dreams, fixing up a home and more.

The only downside is that these games become quite addicting and you won’t want to stop. Each day there will typically 1-3 different games you can play.

The best part?

You automatically get a 4,444 coin sign-up bonus just for registering as a new user.

Refer friends and increase your earnings.

For each friend that you refer that joins Coin Pop, you get 250 coins plus an additional 25% of all of the coins that they earn for a lifetime.

Don’t worry, you don’t take away from their earnings at all.

You can cash out to PayPal once you reach a minimum of 4,999 coins – by just signing-up you’re almost there.

7. PointClub

• Registration Bonus: $5

PointClub is particularly known for one of the best survey sites around, but they also give you cash for playing free games. Most of these games are short.

The best part about PointClub is that you get a $5 bonus just for registering as a new user. As soon as you hit $25 in your account, you can cash it out for a gift card or PayPal payment.

PointClub also increases your earnings by 10% progressively each time you log-in daily. Log-in for 10 days straight and you will receive 100% on your earnings (the maximum). However, forget a day and it resets to zero.

8. Toluna Opinions

• Registration Bonus: $1

Similar to PointClub, Toluna Opinions is also primarily known as a survey site. However, they do have the opportunity for you to earn cash by playing games.

Each time you complete a survey you earn automatically $1 in cash, no matter what the survey. On top of that, you get a $1 bonus just for registering as a new user.

Toluna has short and fun games for you to complete as well. Once you reach the minimum amount you can choose to either cash out for a gift card or via PayPal.

9. Swag IQ (Now Swagbucks Live)

• Registration Bonus: $5 (part of Swagbucks)

Swag IQ is a fun and addicting live trivia show right on your phone. While it’s not as widely played as HQ, it’s definitely just as fun.

You play through a minimum of ten trivia questions on a wide variety of topics, with only ten seconds per question to answer.

The best part about this trivia game is that each question is harder than the last.

Swag IQ airs every weekday, so you have tons of chances to win. Prizes start at $500 a game but are often much higher.

You can easily challenge your friends and family and play together to see who reigns supreme in Swag IQ trivia!

This trivia game is unique because it pays out prizes in digital coins – while you can certainly convert those coins to cash, there are tons of unique prizes that you can purchase by redeeming your in-game coins.

10. Bananatic

• Registration Bonus: None

If you really love mobile gaming, Bananatic is a great app for you.

Not only can you win money and prizes for playing games through the app, you’ll also earn by testing and leaving reviews on the games you play.

You’re helping game developers by testing their free games, all while earning cash and prizes.

Bananatic has created a fun community of mobile game lovers – here, you can meet other like-minded players and discuss games, bugs, and game development.

When you complete activities such as downloading and playing games, progressing levels, and writing reviews, you receive in-app currency that can be redeemed for digital content, paid games, and even gift cards.

While some apps allow you to play free games to earn prizes, few offer a community like Bananatic.

It’s great for aspiring developers and those interested in reviewing content in addition to playing the games. With Bananatic, you’ll find a fun, interactive community and a simple way to earn rewards.

11. iRazoo

• Registration Bonus: 1,000 points with promo code UTK8R5

iRazoo is one of the most popular get-paid-to sites out there. Earn free cash for playing games, completing surveys, searching online, completing offers, downloading apps and much more.

This app has so many offers available that it’s very comparable to Swagbucks – the #1 item on our list.

Start your registration off right by using the promo code UTK8R5 upon registration to earn a bonus of 1,000 points. Refer your friends to earn anywhere between 100 – 500 points based on the country that they’re from.

iRazoo is one of the simplest apps/websites out there that plays you to pay games and gives you free cash at a great rate.

12. Play And Win

• Registration Bonus: $.10 cents with promo code jwuerch

Play and Win pays you cash to participate in trivia questions. Each time you decide to participate, you answer a set of 50 questions. At most you can only play one set per hour.

Keep in mind that the faster you answer questions, the more points you will receive. You also only get points for correct answers and no points for incorrect answers.

Receive power ups to increase your earnings even further. Receive bonus points with each achievement.

Play and Win is 100% free to join and gives out a game prize of $10 every hour.

Want to earn even more? Refer a friend with your referral code and earn $.10 cents for free. While it isn’t much, it’s an easy way to earn free cash by quickly posting your code to social media or emailing your friends.

13. FanDuel

• Registration Bonus: $5 when you make your first deposit (also a free version)

Love fantasy sports and sports betting? FanDuel may be the right option for you. While this app does have a paid option, there’s also a way to play 100% free.

If you do decide to participate in the paid version, it offers a great way to earn some extra cash online through watching games and betting on basketball, football and other types of sports.

For new players, they offer special contests that are designed to help you learn how to use FanDuel while you earn cash at the same time.

FanDuel is incredibly simple to participate in and consists of 3 easy steps:

1. Choose a contest.
2. Make your picks.
3. Watch and win.

The best part? You get a $5 bonus when you make your first deposit if you decide to participate in the paid version.

14. HQ

• Registration Bonus: Referral code jwuerch

One of the most popular apps out there, HQ is a fun and exciting live trivia game that allows you to compete for some great cash prizes.

The average prize is $5,000, but some special events set the prize upwards of $25,000 or more.

When you log in to play, you’re up against hundreds of thousands of other players to take the top prize, with most games reaching over 1 million players at a time.

You answer questions on the screen one at a time and have the chance to see how many players remain after each question.

Get every question right and you split the prize with everyone else still left in the game.

In some high-stakes games, there can only be one winner, so you have to answer every question correctly until you’re the only one left in order to win the cash prize.

HQ has taken the world by storm, with millions of downloads between both Android and iOS.

It’s a simple, addicting game that’s very entertaining – the live show has excellent hosts and even some celebrity guests from time to time.

Even if you don’t win, it’s still fun to try. There are typically two games per day, with games on Sundays offering the highest cash payouts.

15. Pogo

• Registration Bonus: None

If you want to earn playing games across multiple consoles, Pogo allows you to do just that.

This incredible app has paid and free games that are available for your phone, PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and more.

You’ll find games for every style of play – whether you’re interested in poker or arcade games, you’ll find it on Pogo.

Very few apps offer this vast of a selection of games. There are two ways to earn – you can enter to win the daily drawing of $50, and you can also win a $500 jackpot just for playing games.

The app offers a free and paid version. The free version gives you access to a ton of games that you can play to earn points and enter drawings.

With the paid version at $6.99 per month, you can enter tournaments to compete for additional points, and remove ads from the app. You’ll also get access to an additional 40 games.

While we don’t recommend paying monthly just for the chance to win more money, if you’re into gaming and want some additional games to play, it’s not a bad deal.

The tournament option adds some fun and excitement and you’ll have access to exclusive games that free users don’t have access to.

16. PCHGames

• Registration Bonus: None

You’ve heard of Publisher’s Clearing House, but did you know that they have an app that pays you to play games?

You have the chance to win real cash prizes by playing games such as slots, mahjong, and solitaire.

By playing any one of the fun and exciting games found in the PCHGames app, you’ll earn tokens that you can use to enter prize drawings.

Prizes range from $1 to $1 million, so it’s a great way to win some serious cash if you’re lucky. You can also connect the PCHGames app to your PCHrewards program.

When you register as a PCHGames player, you’ll get four times the amount of tokens that you can use in the PCHrewards exchange.

Aside from cash prizes, you can redeem your points for fun giveaways such as gift cards and merchandise.

Linking your game account to your Publisher’s Clearing House a great way to increase your chances of winning a substantial cash prize.

17. Lucky Day

• Registration Bonus: None

Lucky Day brings the casino right to your phone. You’ll get to play fun casino games including slots, raffles, and scratch-offs to try and win real cash prizes.

There’s a chance to win $100,000 every day just by playing one of the hundreds of fun, free games that Lucky Day has to offer.

If you don’t win money, you’ll still earn points that you can use to enter sweepstakes, raffles, and daily lottery pulls. You can also earn gift cards to places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart.

The best part about this app is that you can play for free every day. You’ll get free scratch cards and lottery entries every day, with new entries and scratch-offs refreshing overnight.

Lucky Day is a simple and fun way to pass the time and potentially win some money or prizes.

18. Big Time Cash

• Registration Bonus: 2,500 tickets and $.10 cents with promo X72ZW

Unlike some apps that allow you to earn by playing games, taking surveys, and watching videos, Big Time Cash focuses solely on games.

With over 600 fun games to choose from, you’ll be able to play for hours and redeem your rewards for some great prizes.

After playing a game you’ll receive tickets – these tickets are used to enter drawings for cash. The more tickets you put in the drawing, the higher the chance you have to win.

The best part about this app is that there are no in-app purchases needed and it isn’t a pay-to-win system. The games are completely free to play and you don’t have to pay anything to enter the drawings.

Big Time Cash uses part of its advertising revenue to fund the drawings, so the more people that join and play, the bigger the cash payouts.

If you love playing games on your phone, this is a great app for you – there are tons of games to choose from and you can get paid doing what you already do.

The interface is simple to use and the rewards system is very straightforward.

19. Lucktastic

• Registration Bonus: None

If you like playing the lottery, you’ll love Lucktastic. This simple and fun game allows you to scratch off an assortment of digital lottery tickets with the chance of winning cash.

Some prizes are as much as $10,000. This free app is a great way to pass the time and potentially win some money.

Lucktastic has a fun rewards system that you can use to redeem for gift cards and other prizes. After selecting your ticket, you simply need to watch a 30-second advertisement.

Then you’ll have the chance to scratch off your ticket – each ticket includes a bonus scratch off, where you’re guaranteed to win either points or cash.

Most cash payouts are under $0.25, but hit enough cash payouts and that can add up quickly.

Other bonus prizes are points that you can use to redeem for prizes in the prize store. You can redeem points for physical prizes or exchange them for gift cards to countless popular retailers.

Scratching off tickets takes just a few minutes out of your day, and every ticket is a guaranteed win, so what do you have to lose?

20. SendEarnings

• Registration Bonus: $5

SendEarnings works exactly like InboxDollars – the tasks are about exactly the same and even the layout is extremely similar.

Get paid to read emails, play games, take surveys, participate in polls, refer friends and more. The best part? You get a $5 bonus just for registering as a new user.

Keep in mind you do need a minimum of $25 in your account to cash out for a gift card or a PayPal deposit. However, it usually doesn’t take that long to reach this long. Expect about a week to receive your prize.

When you refer a friend, you earn 10% of all of their earnings for life without taking away from their earnings.

21. Long Game

• Registration Bonus: 500 coins when you link your account

Long Game is an app that rewards you for making the right financial decisions – it also rewards you for playing fun and addicting mini-games right in the app.

By linking up your savings account to the app, you get in-game rewards whenever you add money to your savings account.

You can use these rewards to play fun games and have the chance to win real money, up to $1 million.

The app is great for anyone looking to save up for a large purchase, trip, or a rainy day fun. You’re rewarded for sticking to your savings plan and can win money to help you on your savings journey.

You get bonus coins just for signing up and can automatically win coins by setting up AutoSave, which automatically moves money into your savings account.

You’ll also learn great financial tips and tricks from leading financial experts.

From savings accounts and retirement accounts to mortgages and loans, there’s a wealth of information in the app that you can access while playing fun and interactive games.

22. VeryDice

• Registration Bonus: 30 rolls when you use promo code 1228038 to sign-up

VeryDice is both simple and addicting.

In this simple game, you click the screen to roll a pair of dice.

From there, you earn a certain amount of points depending on the total that you roll.

However, that’s not all.

You can choose to use a ‘multiplier’ to earn points quicker as well as earn extra points for rolling doubles.

I guarantee that it will be difficult to put this game down once you get started.

Points can be exchanged for actual prizes (that all can be found on the Amazon website) or for a gift card of your choice.

Something for Everyone

Best Money Making Apps

These are just a few of the countless apps out there that you can use to play games and win real money and prizes.

However, it’s important to know that not all apps claiming to offer prizes are legitimate or even worth your time. The apps on this list all offer great prizes and a lot of fun.

Even if you don’t win any money, these apps are worth downloading just for the games and entertainment.

From scratch-offs to arcade games and everything in between, you can easily turn your gaming into cash, prizes, and gift cards.

Just a few minutes each day will let you build up your winnings and potentially win a large cash prize.

Be wary of any apps that require you to pay for the chance of winning money – you shouldn’t have to pay for the chance to win, and it’s a sign that it may be a scam.

With so many free alternatives out there offering excellent prizes, you don’t need to pay.

Real Money Making Game Apps 2020

Living a frugal lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice on fun – as you can see, there are plenty of ways to have fun playing games on your phone while also making some money.

Legitimate Money Making Game Apps

For more great ideas on making money through apps, check out our other blog posts in the Apps & Websites section!