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In this post, we curated a list of popular passive income apps.
We also unearthed some real user reviews from Reddit and YouTube to make sure they’re not scams.
Generally, the way these apps work, you’ll install them on your Apple, Android, Windows smartphone and they provide residual income.
Usually, you’re getting paid because you’re enabling companies to track your behaviors.
Earning Potential?
How much can you earn? We listed out some income claims, sourced from the websites themselves- so take them with a grain of salt. Plus- the Redditors and YouTuber vloggers we profile provide some earnings proof.
That said, there’s definitely some mild-to-moderate income potential using some of the passive income apps below.
21 Passive Income Apps
1. SavvyConnect – $180/Year
If you’re familiar with SurveySavvy, a popular survey website, you’ve probably heard of their passive income app – and no, this one doesn’t require you to fill out any questionnaires, promised!
As long as it’s sitting on your smartphone, it will track some of your habits, such as what kinds of entertainment you like to enjoy, what apps you prefer, and what you shop for online.
Even though it only has an earning potential of $5 per month, there’s a neat little trick you can use to multiply it by 3: simply install it on your desktop and tablet computer as well.
Worth It?
Over on r/beermoney, one user said it’s not a scam, saying he’s made some decent monthly cash using it:
Video Guide: Survey Savvy Review with Proof of Earnings
2. Mobile Performance Meter – $72/Year
This app was designed to track your smartphone’s performance. It measures not only what you use it for (such as browsing and apps), but also tracks other metrics such as your internet speed and the number of messages you exchange.
The earning potential of this app is limited to $6 per month, but if you have multiple phones lying around your home, you can install more than one instance of it, since there are no rules to stop you from increasing your earnings even more.
Scam?
Over on Reddit, a user said that it’s legit and he’s getting 10-40 points. That amount will vary depending on where you live. Plus, he says, he also gets a monthly survey worth 100 points.
Video Guide: Android App Review
3. Smart Panel – $110/Year
Smart Panel is an app that’s available for Windows, iOS, and Android smart devices. Allegedly, the data it collects (such as how long you use your phone, the kind of apps you use, etc.) is used to make the internet a better place.
Before being able to install it, however, you’ll be asked a series of questions. The only thing you need to be careful about when answering is that you indicate your ownership of a smart device. Apart from that, you should be fine.
$5 A Month?
Video Guide: How To Make $15 Passively On Your iPhone
4. Data Wallet – $150/Year
The special thing about Data Wallet is that, unlike some of its contenders, it doesn’t really analyze the typical things you might do on a phone (such as your app usage or browsing activity). Instead, it analyzes how you use your social media accounts.
Now, please keep in mind you’re going to have to submit your social media usage data a couple of times before it gets purchased. But once it does, you earn $50. Hence, the exact yearly earnings you can expect from it cannot really be measured accurately, so expect to be able to make anywhere between $50 and $200 per year.
Legit?
Over on Reddit, users had mixed reviews- with one Redditor saying that he’s had it running in the background of his smartphone for several months and hasn’t earned anything. Plus their earnings leaderboards also haven’t seemed to change much if at all.
5. Ibotta – ?/Year
Want to get paid for going shopping? Ibotta allows you to do just that. But how does it work?
Well, to get you started, the app suggests a couple of products. These range all the way from food to cleaning products.
If you like something and decide to buy it, you may be asked to share it on social media, upload the receipt you got with your purchase, and wait for the money to be sent to your Paypal account.
Positive Reviews
One Redditor said that it’s a simple, non-time-consuming way to get some decent deals that eventually add up over time. They recommend it as a way to do ‘couponing’ for groceries.
Video Guide: How to Use the Ibotta App! (Thousands in Cash Back So Far!)
6. Cross Media Panel – $144/Year
If you don’t mind revealing your browsing history, Cross Media Panel (now owned by Google Opinion Rewards) is willing to pay you quite a hefty chunk of change for it. The developers want to study what kind of websites you visit and how often you do so.
To achieve the maximum possible yearly earnings potential, you should install the app on more devices than one (3 is the maximum, though).
You can install it on your PC as well. The payment comes in the form of electronic gift cards of your choosing.
As we’ve seen- many of these apps may monitor your browsing or shopping activity. But on the flipside, they’re 100% free and don’t take a lot of work to set up. Moreover, most claim that your personal data is being treated with integrity- but remember there’s always a risk when you begin revealing your private information.
Good Reviews
Users over in the Beer Money Subreddit had near unanimous praise for this app- saying it’s not a survey site. Instead it’s about data collection- you’re basically pulling in $3 a week for having it connected to a phone tablet and computer.
Video Guide: Make $150+/yr Using Google Chrome – Easy Money, No Extra Effort
7. BillsBoard – $60/Year
This app is one of the best options for those who really like their income to be as passive as it gets. In return for displaying a couple of ads on your phone (and the app only does so when you unlock the screen of your phone), you get to earn around $60 per year, without even being required to interact with the ad.
Granted, this won’t earn you as much as some of the other apps mentioned here, but hey – $60 per year for doing nothing? No convincing needed there.
Not A Scam
According to the Beer Money Redditors, it’s not a scam, but not a high-earner:
Video Guide: How To Make $70+ From Your Lock Screen With Earnings Proof
8. Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel – $150/Year
In exchange for tracking how many messages you send per day, what kind of browser you use, and certain other data, this app pays you for the data provided.
The app is available for desktop, mobile, and tablet devices.
The more devices you install it on, the more you earn, and the desktop version is said to be the highest paying version of them all.
Earnings Report
One Reddit user posted an earnings report- the Nielsen app is included in the rundown. Not a huge earner- but there’s some potential there:
Optimizing your smartphone for passive income from r/beermoney
Video Guide: Nielsen Mobile Rewards | Passive Income from Your Phone
9. Digital Reflection Panel – $170/Year
Technically speaking, this is not an app, although you need to register your smartphone in order to take part.
Here’s how Digital Reflection Panel works: first, you’re going to be asked a couple of questions in order to determine your eligibility (if you provide honest answers, all the rest shouldn’t be a problem). After getting accepted, you’re going to be asked to install an internet meter on your router.
When you install it to your first device, you also get a $50 extra.
Decent Payouts
One Redditor posted their earnings results:
10. MobileXpression – $20/Year
MobileXpression certainly isn’t a top earner by any means, but given the fact that so little is required to get it running, even $20 is the kind of money that’s too good to pass up.
Apart from that, you’ll also be entered in their sweepstakes; even though it’s hard to get lucky enough to earn money through them, you’ll get paid big time if you do, and there’s no real downside for taking a shot.
Note: you must have a VPN installed in order to use the app.
Scam?
One user had a negative experience and claimed that it’s a scam:
Video Guide: How To Make $25 By Downloading MobileXpression To Your Android
11. Media Insiders Panel – $72/Year
By tracking your social media usage, internet browsing activity, and the type of ads you watch, the app pays you $2 per month ($6 in case you’ve chosen to install it to 3 smart devices).
In case you want to earn even more, make sure to use a VPN (just make sure there’s no conflict with the other similar apps).
Positive Reviews
One Redditor said he made an easy $10 using it- letting them track audio bits recorded from your device to see the songs you listen to and the television you watch.
Media Insider Panel: Getting payed with minimal effort required. from r/beermoney
12. DataCoup – $60/Year
DataCoup is painstakingly easy to use – in fact, you don’t even need a smartphone to use it. You do, however, need to connect it to a social media account you’re willing to let it siphon data from.
You have the option of increasing your earnings even more if you decide to plug in your bank account. Don’t worry, the app has absolutely no way to access sensitive data such as your credit card numbers. The only data it can access is the one pertaining to the purchases you make online.
Reddit Reviews
One user with some experience using it explained that Datacoup calculates the value of your social profile and will sell it for such. If you’re unhappy with your remuneration you can deactivate your account.
13. SlideJoy – $120/Year
For those who don’t mind seeing an add every time their smartphone locks up, SlideJoy is a great way to earn a decent amount of passive income per year. If you want to learn more about the offer, swipe left, otherwise, a right swipe will do.
But the best part? You get paid regardless of which way you swipe, so it’s truly one of the best ways to earn a side income without doing much.
Thirsting to earn even more? Well, with the help of their referral program, you can. How does earning 20% of your friends’ earnings sound?
Worth Your Time?
I couldn’t find any Reddit reviews for SlideJoy- though one review I found online said you could probably make a couple bucks an hour if you really worked at it. But there’s better ways to spend your time.
Video Guide: How To Get $30 From Slidejoy
14. Fronto – $120/Year
Fronto is another screen locker app that displays ads. The trick with this one is that the earning potential is somewhat unclear since some people are reporting earnings that reach $20 a month, while others are earning merely $5 a month.
Still, the earning potential is sweet enough so the app deserves its spot on the list. Unlike other similar apps that display ads on unlocking the screen, this one comes with a twist – if you decide to interact with the ad, you will get paid more (which is probably the reason why some people earn more with this app compared to others).
Good Reviews
One Redditor said that Fronto has treated them well- providing him redeemable points and a variety of useful apps that he uses to this day.
Video Guide: How To Make Money Quick With Fronto | Tips And Tricks
15. Whaff Locker – $120/Year
Available for Android and iOS, Whaff Locker is another screen locker app that displays ads. Unlike its competitors, this one is a little bit less passive than others, since it requires you to unlock your screen at least a couple of times per day to reach the full earning potential.
You earn $0.03 every time you unlock it, regardless of interacting with the add or not. That being said, you can’t simply keep doing that indefinitely – there’s a daily earning limit. So take the $120/year earning potential with a grain of salt, but if you’re a prolific smartphone user (or at least as active of one as most people these days), that’s how much we estimate you’re going to be able to earn with it.
16. Panel App – $12/Year
Sure enough, Panel App won’t make you a millionaire. However, you can earn a little bit extra on the side with it, and even if it’s merely $12 a year, it’s worth installing due to how hassle-free and easy it is to get it running.
Also, the users report the app doesn’t consume a lot of your phone’s resources. At any time you desire to earn more, you can achieve this through one of the following; either by referring a friend or completing surveys (obviously, this requires some active effort on your part, but it’s a nice option to have at your disposal).
Really Slow Rewards
One Redditor shared his Panel App accomplishment: $25 for 2 years. All passive!
I finally reached 20K points in the Panel App! from r/beermoney
Video Guide: A Completely Passive Paying Smartphone App
17. Sweatcoin – ?/Year
Let’s just say that whether this app makes you passive income or not really depends on you. Well, on your lifestyle, to be exact. In other words, if you’re a hiker, a runner, or happen to travel around a lot, you can make quite a hefty chunk of change just by having it installed on your smartphone.
Every 1000 steps you take, you will earn 0.95 sweatcoins you can exchange into cash later on (or fitness gear if you so prefer). The prices typically vary between $0.05 and $0.10 per coin, so it’s impossible to give an estimate how much you can earn. But if you consider yourself physically active, it could potentially be quite a whole lot.
TechCrunch profiled this unique proposition, explaining that the way it works, users register and then connect their smartphone’s physical fitness and health data and GPS location to the application.
The app then monitors the number of steps you take in a day and rewards you a monetary “sweat” value based on your physical movements.
For each 1,000 steps registered, the app can pay out .95 in “sweatcoins.” Customers can later trade these coins in for fitness gear, workout classes, gift cards and a number of other products and promotions.
Over on Reddit, one user said the following:
Video Guide: Sweatcoin App Review + Tips and Tricks
18. Swagbucks – ?/Year
There can hardly be a passive income apps list without mentioning Swagbucks, right? Just like the previous one, its earnings potential depends on your lifestyle. This app, however, does not require you to be nearly as physically active (or fit) to enjoy its monetary benefits.
Swagbucks claims that you can earn by searching the web, watching videos online, or even after completing surveys if you want to put a little bit of extra effort into it. After that, you can withdraw the money straight to Paypal. Simple and easy!
Still Good?
One Redditor said he’s made over $9,000 lifetime between him and his wife. However, he says it’s not worth his time anymore because they recently canceled his Gold Survey account which was one providing him some of his highest earnings rates.
Video Guide: Making Money As A Kid | Worth Your Time?
Another Resource: Survey Cool
19. Earny – ?/Year
Are you an avid online shopper? Then Earny can help you get money back on every purchase you make. As an added bonus, the app is very helpful and will let you know immediately when the prices drop, so you can get the product you’ve been eying even cheaper.
Mixed Reviews
There wasn’t a ton of Reddit feedback- I did find one user who shared his experiences:
Video Guide: How To Save Money on Amazon Using Earny
20. Paribus – ?/Year
In this day and age, who doesn’t shop online? But let’s be honest with ourselves here; whenever we need something, we tend to pull the trigger immediately, without waiting for a discount or a price drop. And once we’ve purchased it, the price is set in stone.
Well, this used to be the case… at least until Paribus came along. Here’s how it works: the app checks the purchases you’ve made, and if it founds out there was a price drop at a later time, it refunds you the difference. You probably won’t make a fortune that way, but nonetheless – who’s crazy enough to say no to free money?
Overall Good Experiences
One reviewer explained how it works in real life. They explained that it will get you money back on websites when they have had a price drop within a certain window of your purchase. This will work on a variety of eCommerce sites including Amazon, Newegg, Walmart, and more.
Paribus – Get Money Back on Online Purchases from r/beermoney
Video Guide: What Is the Paribus App and How Does It Work?
21. Swelly – ?/Year
According to their ProductHunt submission, “Swellyhas thee world’s opinions in your pocket. It rewards you for sharing your opinion with crypto currencies.”
Swelly has partnered with the cryptocurrency token Kin to reward Swelly users for their participation. According to HackerMoon, similar to Bitcoin, Kin’s main purpose is to transfer value between users.
It isn’t engineered as a platform for other tokens. It’s not a coin, though- unlike Bitcoin it is not a coin, as it is not “its blockchain’s own native digital asset.” Instead, it’s an application built on top of another blockchain.
A User Explains
Video Guide: Social Voting Bot- How It Works
Summing Up
There’s definitely some earning potential here if you’re willing to reveal some of your private or social data. I haven’t seen reports of huge earnings with these apps- and some of them do make you do a bit of legwork.
That said, there’s some potential to earn some beer money with these passive income apps- and there’s no need to be tech-savvy either!
Earning a couple of grand on the side might take a year or two- from what I’ve seen. If you want to try it out- install one of the apps we’ve listed and experiment.
In the past, it was possible to create a nice little income stream online; however, doing so would typically require you to invest a significant amount of time into it, which is the kind of effort you could simply spend on a “real” side job (and potentially earn even more that way).
Fast forward to 2019 and beyond, and making money online is not only easier, but more accessible to people who aren’t as tech-savvy as some of their peers.
Last Updated on September 14, 2021 by Ryan Nelson
