31 Legit Ways to Get Free Money with Little to No Effort

Free money. It’s something that no sane person would turn down.

But is there really such a thing as money that you don’t have to work for? If you have to earn your “free money” by completing a simple task or signing up for an app, is it really free?

While that depends on your perspective, there are a few simple ways to earn some quick cash with minimal effort. All it costs is a few minutes of your time.

What Is “Free Money”?

Definitions vary widely for what’s considered “free.” For our purposes, we define free money as cash or a reward you receive:

1. Without having to pay money upfront, or

2. For doing something you were going to do anyway.

Most of the items on this list don’t require you to make a purchase in order to receive the reward. However, some do.

For example, some items may offer a $10 sign-up bonus, but you have to make a $25 purchase in order to qualify. For those, we only consider it “free” if you were going to make a purchase anyway and the cash is an added bonus.

Keep that in mind as you decide which opportunities on this list make sense for you.

Get Free Money With No Catch

It’s not often you find legit ways to add truly free money to your bank account with no catch. That’s exactly what the first three items on this list do, the first of which is basically available in seconds of your time.

1. Learn about crypto

I did this myself and got about $50 in completely free money in less than one hour of my time.

Long story short, you’ll install the Coinbase app, and proceed to take short (less than 3 minute) lessons about the history and function of different cryptocurrencies.

You do not need to make a purchase to get the free money.

After each lesson, you’ll be presented with 4-6 simple questions (you literally can’t get them wrong), and then you’re rewarded in the specific currency you just learned about.

My Coinbase account had about 9 different currencies to learn about, after which I converted my currencies into USD to cash it out.

That simple.

To sweeten the deal, Coinbase offers a free $10 bonus to users that download the app and verify their identity. (Think of Coinbase as a traditional bank account in terms of complexity and security. You will be required to verify personal data and pay taxes on any earnings.)

2. Sell your data

Another free money hack that many might not know about is that you can sell your location data for money.

You know how every app you install on your phone always asks for permission to use your location?

Well, now you can actually get paid for it. To the tune of up to $25 every single month with Tapestri.

It’s completely passive income as long as you don’t care about yet another app following you around. Data sharing is totally anonymous, the app runs unnoticed in the background, and you simply set it and forget it.

You don’t have to interact with the app at all, but you’ll get a monthly cash deposit so long as you keep the app installed.

3. Check to see if you’re owed free money

Similar to those weird class action lawsuit notices you get in the mail offering the promise of free money, odds are there’s a company out there that owes you a few bucks for any number of reasons. When I checked with Found Money Guide, I was surprised to see that I was owed $48 from my local power company.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure why I was owed the money, but I’m not one to complain when I got a check for the exact amount. And money isn’t the only thing you might be owed, sometimes unclaimed stocks, bonds, or even property — including land parcels — can show up under a search for yourself. You might not be entitled to anything, but it can’t hurt to look.

Get Free Money for Opening an Account

Whether you shop online or in-store, the best cash-back apps will pay you for your purchases. Up-level your earnings by answering questions about your shopping habits on popular market research and survey sites. Most of them also come with a sign-up bonus for new users.

4. Earn completely free cash back

With inflation at levels we haven’t seen since the ‘70s, our wallets are starting to feel the pain.

One way to combat inflation, however, is to keep more of what you earn. Cash back apps and credit cards help do just that. Double dipping on these such rewards allows users to claw back 10% or more on goods and services that are seeing all-time high prices.

We created the DollarSprout Rewards browser extension with exactly that in mind. With the completely free desktop extension for Chrome or Safari installed, you’ll get instant access to cash back offers at over 15,000 popular retailers at the click of a button.

Better yet, the extension also searches the web for existing promo or discount codes and applies them to your cart at checkout. If you reach $5 in cash back earnings, the extension will automatically pay out your balance to PayPal during the following calendar month.

It’s completely free money in the easiest of ways possible. Just set it, forget it, and earn.

5. Go Fetch

Fetch Rewards is a free grocery rebate app. To use it, scan your receipt into the app and you’ll earn points on qualifying purchases. Once you accumulate 3,000 points, you can trade them for gift cards to stores like Sephora, Zappos, Petco, and even Hulu Plus.

If you’d prefer, you can redeem your points for a gift card to select charities.

Their sign-up bonus changes, but you can typically find a code on the site. When you download the app and sign up using the current code, you’ll receive a bonus that normally ranges from 2,000 to 4,000 points.

Fetch also has a referral program. If someone signs up with your link and scans a receipt, you’ll both earn 2,000 bonus points. There’s no limit to how many people you can refer or points you can earn from your referrals.

6. Earn rewards doing micro tasks

Swagbucks is a popular rewards site that compensates users via “Swagbucks” (or SB) when you complete short online tasks.

You can earn rewards with Swagbucks when you take surveys, watch short videos, shop online, use their search engine to browse the web, and more. Exchange your SB for PayPal cash or gift cards to retailers like Amazon, Target, Best Buy, or Sephora.

While you won’t make a significant income with the app, you can earn a few gift cards each month. Use them for yourself or save up your rewards to pay for Christmas or birthday gifts.

As an incentive for signing up, Swagbucks offers $10 for new users.

In order to qualify for the bonus, you’ll need to make a purchase of $25 or more from one of Swagbucks’ qualifying retailers within 30 days of creating your account. If you already have your eye on something from Amazon or one of their other partner sites, then you can get $10 off by signing up and making your purchase through Swagbucks.

For more details on the platform, read our full Swagbucks review.

7. Start walking

Shopkick rewards are called kicks. As a user, you can earn kicks by walking into stores, scanning bar codes of certain products, visiting online shops, watching videos, making a purchase with a linked card, and more.

So if you already plan to make a trip to Target, you could earn kicks not only for the things you buy, but also just for being in the store and scanning a few items with your phone along the way.

Every 250 kicks you bank are worth $1.

Redeem your kicks for gift cards to Amazon, Target, Starbucks, TJ Maxx, Uber, and dozens of other popular stores.

You can get a free $5 if you sign up with code DOLLARSPROUT and make an in-store scan within seven days of installing the app.

8. Go grocery shopping

While Ibotta was originally designed to give users cash back on grocery purchases, the app now supports over 300 retailers, including restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, clothing brands, and more.

Users new to Ibotta can receive up to a $10 welcome bonus by creating an account and redeeming offers within the first seven days of signing up.

Before you go shopping, you’ll need to log in to Ibotta and select your offers. Once you’ve chosen your deals, there are two main ways to earn rewards with Ibotta. You can either scan your receipt after shopping or link a store loyalty card and have Ibotta deposit your rewards automatically.

Regardless of which method you choose, you’ll see a credit to your Ibotta account within 48 hours. When your rewards balance reaches $20, you can transfer it via PayPal, Venmo, or convert your earnings into a gift card.

Our Ibotta review covers more ways to earn rewards by creating a team, completing tasks for bonuses, or inviting friends to sign up.

9. Share your opinion

Prodege, LLC — the company that owns Swagbucks — is also the parent company of MyPoints. Both sites work similarly.

You can earn rewards with MyPoints for shopping online, playing games, taking surveys, and reading emails from their partner companies. When you create a MyPoints account, you’ll receive a $10 bonus after you make $20 worth of qualifying purchases in your first 30 days.

You can cash in your rewards for a gift card, travel miles, or PayPal cash.

10. Refer friends to apps

Dosh’s website describes the app as “the easiest money you’ve ever made,” and it’s hard to disagree.

Unlike other cash-back apps where you have to choose your deal before you go shopping, Dosh links directly to your credit or debit card.

When you shop at any of their thousands of partner restaurants or retailers, you’ll receive up to 10% cash back on your purchase.

You can also get a free $5 for every friend you refer who signs up and links a card to their Dosh account.

For more ideas on how to get the most from Dosh, check out our complete Dosh review.

11. Watch videos

InboxDollars pays you for taking surveys, watching videos, and shopping online.

One thing that makes InboxDollars unique is that they give you rewards just for reading their emails. Every time you confirm you’ve read one of their emails, they’ll reward you with cash.

InboxDollars also gives a $5 sign-up bonus for new members. If you don’t already have an account, simply create one and fill out the new member survey and you’ll receive a $5 credit.

There is a small catch — you need $30 in order to withdraw your earnings. But with all the options for earning rewards, that shouldn’t take long to achieve.

Get Free Money by Investing

If you’re looking for ways to create additional revenue streams, these investing apps can help.

12. Invest in fine art

No one — or almost no one — has the cash lying around to purchase a $72,000,000 Van Gogh hoping to flip it for $108,000,000 a few years later. That said, nearly everyone has $20 they could scrounge up to buy a fraction of that $72,000,000 painting. A fractional share, if you will. This is the exact sort of arrangement that Masterworks aims to provide.

Their company purchases multimillion-dollar paintings and then registers them with the SEC (securities exchange commission). After doing so, they let you invest in shares of paintings on their platform. This lets everyday folks get the benefits of art as an investment without spending millions.

Then, they hold the painting as it appreciates over time. Once they sell the painting, you get a prorated share of the proceeds from the sale.

Historically, art has done well as an asset class, contemporary art prices have outpaced the S&P 500 returns by 164% from 1995-2021. In other words, art can be an incredibly smart way to diversify your portfolio and get some great upside.

13. Invest your spare change

The Acorns app is for the non-financially savvy investor. The app connects to your checking account and credit cards.

Whenever you spend with a linked account, Acorns will round up the transaction to the nearest dollar and transfer the change to your Acorns investment account.

Once your account is set up, Acorns will add $10 for free to help you get started. Then you’ll need to answer a few questions so Acorns can put together your portfolio.

If you’re interested in getting started with Acorns, you can learn more about the costs and how it works in our Acorns review.

14. Invest in real estate

Investing hands on is a great way to learn the ins and outs of the stock market and take control of your portfolio earnings. However, high stock prices are a deterrent for many would-be investors.

That’s where Stockpile comes in. With Stockpile, you can buy and sell fractions of shares at a much lower price point. For example, if 1 share of a stock is $1,000, you can buy 0.05 shares for $50. This allows you to invest in major companies like Amazon and Netflix at a more accessible price.

Stockpile even offers mini-lessons to help you get started and continue building your portfolio. Your Stockpile account comes with $0.99 trading fees, no account minimums, and zero management fees. They are also currently offering $5 of free stock when you buy your first stock or sent a $10 e-gift.

Get Free Money from Banks or Your Employer

When looking for ways to make extra cash, don’t forget to check your bank accounts.

15. Open a high-interest savings account

One of the easiest ways to get free money is to upgrade your savings account. If you currently use a brick-and-mortar bank, you could earn 25+ times more in interest by switching to a high-yield online savings account.

Many brick-and-mortar banks offer interest rates of 0.01%. Since online banks don’t have the costs of operating physical locations, they can afford to pay customers 5 to 6x the national average interest rate — or more — on a regular savings account. Over time, this can add some extra cash to your savings. CIT Bank offers a savings accounts with rates that crush their brick-and-mortar competitors.

16. Snag bank account bonuses

Many banks offer a cash bonus when you open a new checking or savings account. The terms vary from bank to bank. You’ll likely need to open an account, set up direct deposit, and keep it open for a few months.

As long as you set up direct deposit and meet the terms, it’s legitimate free money.

The offers change often, so you’ll want to check frequently with the bank you’re interested in using. Before you sign up, just be sure to read through the offer conditions. And keep in mind that your bonus is subject to taxes, so you’ll need to report it come tax time.

17. Leverage your employer-sponsored 401(k)

If it’s offered where you work, one of the easiest ways to get free money is to sign up for your employer-sponsored 401(k) plan. A traditional 401(k) is a tax-free way to contribute to your retirement.

If your employer offers a match, you can earn even more. For instance, if you earn $2,000 per month and contribute 3%, or $60, your employer might add another $60 bringing your total monthly contribution to $120.

That’s an extra $60 towards your retirement, completely free.

Make sure you check your company policy regarding how much you need to contribute to get the match, vesting period, and match limits as these vary from company to company.

Get Free Money for Things You Already Do

In addition to signing up for accounts and taking advantage of cash bonuses, there are a number of ways you can get free money for daily activities like shopping, exercising, and sharing your favorite products with your friends and family.

18. Use a rewards card

Another way to get cash back on your purchases is to use a rewards debit or cashback credit card. Depending on the card you have, you might get rebates for certain categories of purchases like groceries or clothes or accumulate points you can cash in for travel and gift cards.

Sometimes you might even get a statement credit if you spend a certain amount of money in a fixed time period.

If you use a rewards card, make sure you check the terms and conditions, as well as the interest rate, and try to only use the card for purchases you were going to make anyway.

19. Help with entertainment research

Nielsen, the TV rating company, will pay you $50 a year to keep their app on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. You’ll also be entered into the Nielsen sweepstakes for a chance to win even more prizes.

The app itself collects statistics on your internet usage anonymously in order to learn more about consumer trends.

For instance, it might look at your search habits and see that you love reading about sports and shopping online for Pittsburgh Penguins gear. By tracking real-life examples of “buyer personas,” they can help companies better understand their customers.

Everything with Nielsen is done anonymously, so you don’t have to worry about any data being linked to you. The app only requires a small amount of space, so it shouldn’t slow down your phone or tablet.

20. Take advantage of welcome bonuses

Rakuten is one of the biggest and most well-known cash-back websites. Similar to other cash-back sites, Rakuten offers a free gift for new users.

When you create your Rakuten account, you’ll receive a $10 welcome bonus once you spend your first $25 through the site. Since Rakuten offers cash back at over 2,500 retailers, that isn’t difficult to do.

Another great way to earn with Rakuten is to install the Google Chrome browser extension. Whenever you’re shopping at a Rakuten partner retailer, the extension will alert you of any deals or opportunities to receive cash back. All you have to do is click the alert and continue shopping.

You’ll get free money in the form of cash back to your Rakuten account. It can take a few hours to several days for your Rakuten rewards to update.

Every three months, you’ll receive your cash back via paper check or PayPal credit, whichever you choose.

Take a look at our Rakuten review if you still have questions.

21. Share information about your shopping habits

Similar to Fetch, NCPMobile Shopping Rewards is a grocery app that rewards you for sharing data about your purchase with market research companies. The premise is simple, the more they know about what products are popular at local grocers, the easier it is for them to tailor advertising campaigns towards other consumers.

Furthermore, you can earn additional rewards by answering surveys about your shopping experience. As a panel member, you’ll also earn entry into weekly, monthly, and yearly sweepstakes giveaways worth as much as $10,000.

Turn Your Car into a Free Money Machine

There are a few ways you can use your car to bring in some free money to offset gas and maintenance costs.

22. Rent our your car

Getaround allows you to rent your car to other individuals. When someone wants to rent your car, they can do so straight from the app. You don’t have to worry about meeting up to exchange keys or handling the logistics.

As a car owner, you can make $5+ per hour just by letting someone else borrow your car. Getaround takes a 40% commission, and the rest is yours to keep. You benefit from 24/7 roadside assistance and $1 million in primary insurance coverage, so you don’t have to worry about damages from renters.

Payout is once per month on the 15th for your earnings from the previous month.

23. Turn your car into a billboard

Wrapify turns your car into a moving billboard. Companies pay to advertise their brands on your vehicle. The more space you give them, the more free money you can make. Drivers who choose a full wrap can earn up to $450 per month.

First, you’ll need to download the Wrapify app. Inside, you’ll find instructions on how to drive with the app to ensure you meet minimum qualifications. Once qualified, Wrapify will alert you when campaigns are available in the area. They’ll wrap your car so you can start to earn money for the driving you already do.

When your campaign is complete, the wrapping comes off clean. There won’t be any permanent damages or marks to your car.

Related: 6 Companies That Will Pay You to Advertise on Your Car

Get Paid Free Money to Exercise

If you already have a goal to lose weight or be more active, then free money can be a good incentive to get and keep you motivated.

24. Get paid to lose weight

HealthyWage is an app and website that allows you to bet on yourself with a weight loss challenge.

With a personal challenge, you get to choose your entry fee and dates. If you meet your goal, you’ll get the predetermined prize amount. If you don’t quite make it, HealthyWage will keep your money to pay future successful challenge winners. Check out the HealthyWage prize calculator to see how much you could win based on your weight loss goals.

Team challenges require five willing participants. You can either create your own team or be matched with one. The team that loses the greatest percentage of total weight wins the grand prize of $10,000.

For more details on how the weight loss challenges work, read our HealthyWage review.

25. Share your fitness achievments

The Achievement app rewards users for things like logging your food, water intake, or connecting a wearable fitness tracker like your FitBit. There more healthy habits you track through the app, the more points you can earn. Once you’ve accumulated 10,000 points, you can redeem your $10 reward.

This requires a little more work than some of the others on this list, but if you track your steps and activity with your FitBit or Apple Watch, this is a simple way to earn some extra cash for something you’re already doing.

Related: 13 Legit Apps That Pay You to Walk by Tracking Your Steps

Share Your Space

Although becoming an Airbnb host can be a good source of income, there are more passive ways to make money from the free space in and around your house.

26. Rent out your garage or empty space

An alternative to traditional storage facilities, Neighbor.com lets you monetize your unused garage, shed, attic, or basement as available storage space to people in your community. You can offer space for things like furniture, clothes, even cars and RVs. Perishable food, weapons and ammunition, and controlled substances are not permitted to be stored.

Advertising your space is free, and you set your own prices, the level of access the renter has to the space (e.g., 24/7, business hours, or upon request), and how often they can access their belongings. You also get to approve or deny any reservations.

Neighbor.com takes care of payments, and you receive your payment at the end of the rental month. Note that they do charge a 4.9% processing fee and $0.30 for each payout.

27. Lease out office space

StoreAtMyHouse lets you earn passive income by renting out your unused storage space, including commercial space. You get to set your prices, renter access to the space, and the site claims to conduct background checks to ensure the safety of the renter and the tenant.

It’s free to list your property on the site, but you can pay $35 for a featured listing. They also charge a 15% fee for handling all transactions through their automated billing system.

Refer Friends and Family

If you have a particular product or business you like, you might be able to earn some extra cash or get some free products for referring friends, family, or social media followers.

28. Share your favorite online sites and business

Many of the sites on this list offer you the chance to earn money by referring people to their program. For each person that signs up with your unique link, you’ll receive a bonus, typically in the form of cash or extra points you can redeem, depending on the program.

29. Make in-person referrals

Depending on where you work, you might be able to earn a cash bonus for any new hire you refer. This is a good opportunity for you to make some extra money and help a friend or family member find employment or pick up a side hustle.

And if you have a membership to a gym, dance studio, or other business, you might be able to cash in for referring new members. Some gyms might offer cash, an account credit to spend on products or classes, or a combination of the two.

Find Free Money in Your Budget

One of the first places to look for free money is in your budget. Even if it feels like you’re living paycheck to paycheck, there might be expenses you can eliminate or incentives you can take advantage of.

30. Solicit a trained bill negotiator

Most people know their bills are too high or they have unwanted or unused subscriptions, but they don’t have the time to cancel or negotiate with their service providers. Fortunately, a service like Rocket Money can help.

After signing up, you’ll authorize Rocket Money to scan your bank account. They’ll identify all of your recurring expenses like gym memberships, Netflix subscription, and your cell phone bill. You can scan that list within the app and select what you’d like them to cancel or negotiate on your behalf.

Rocket Money can also help you create a budget, monitor your credit report, and get money back from reported service outages. For a complete overview of what the app can do and how you can register with them, read our Rocket Money review.

31. Talk to your utility company

Although your electric company might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of free money, some companies provide just that.

For instance, Delmarva Power, through their Energy Wise Rewards program, offers customers a one-time $80 installation credit and a free energy-saving device for allowing the company to cycle their air conditioners on and off during peak demand days. They also have an appliance recycling program, which gives $50 for recycling an old, working refrigerator or freezer.

Another place to look is your health insurance company. They might offer you a one-time incentive for doing something like getting routine blood work or completing an online health assessment.

How to Avoid Free Money Scams

While there are lots of legitimate opportunities to earn money for free, there’s also no shortage of scams.

Here are few things to look out for to make sure you aren’t falling for scams offering free cash:

• Any legitimate free money opportunity will not ask you to pay upfront fees.

• Be careful with sharing your personal information. Don’t give your Social Security number to just anyone.

• If you’re looking for government assistance, make sure the sites you’re visiting are trustworthy sources such as .gov and .edu domains.

• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Even the companies with sign-up bonuses are very transparent that the bonuses are meant to attract new users.

Opportunities Are All Around You

You just have to know where to look and which options make the most sense for you. If you don’t normally shop online, then spending $25 on something you wouldn’t typically buy to get a $10 bonus probably isn’t your best option. You’re better off renting out your car or cashing in on savings account sign-up bonuses.

All “free money” opportunities require at least one of two things: time or money. Before you choose how to earn free money, decide which one you’re willing to give. Are you okay with spending money to make money? Do you prefer not to spend anything, but don’t mind investing some time?

Answering those questions will help you decide which opportunities are worth your effort and which ones you should avoid.

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