7 Apps That Pay You to Do Straightforward Activities

Most people appreciate having some extra cash. If you’re among them, it’s not as difficult as you may think to boost your bank account balance or get items for free. Here are seven apps that pay you to do things that may already be part of your daily routine.

1. Receipt Hog

If you love shopping and want rewards for doing it, this app is an ideal choice. It lets you earn money for scanning your receipts into the app — no matter what you buy and where you shop. 

Users can also earn bonuses by taking part in other activities, such as filling out surveys or entering contests. You accumulate coins while using Receipt Hog and redeem those for cash sent to your PayPal, magazines or Amazon gift cards. 

2. GymPact

Many people find it hard to commit to a gym regimen. They sign up at local facilities and hope that merely having access to them will make it easier to stick to a fitness plan. Things often don’t work out that way, though. 

GymPact is an app that asks you to buckle down and decide you’ll go to a gym for a specified number of workouts per week. You’ll get cash by doing so. The catch is that missing a day requires you to pay an amount you chose in advance. Rewards are generally 50-75 cents per workout, and the funds come from a pool of money associated with people who missed their gym visits. 

3. Gigwalk

Are you looking for ways to feel some free time in your schedule while earning money? There are some apps that pay you for completing simple jobs in your area. Gigwalk is one of them. 

You use the application to find and apply for jobs — often by assisting retailers. After getting accepted for a gig, you’ll receive instructions. You may need to take photos on your phone to verify that a store has correctly labeled shelves, for example. Your earnings for completed tasks get deposited into PayPal. 

4. Apperwall

Apperwall lets you earn money by using apps and writing short reviews about them. Content on the site says people can get up to $30 per month by only submitting one review per day. 

The app currently pays people through PayPal. It also intends to eventually provide perks via gift cards if you prefer that option. 

5. Ibotta

If you want to benefit from apps that pay you to buy things you need anyway, make sure Ibotta is on your radar. It alerts you to cash-back offers from participating retailers near you. For example, a phone notification could tell you about a deal on hand soap at Target, prompting you to buy it and get cash in the process. 

Besides downloading the app, you can use a browser extension. There are offers for in-store shopping and online purchases. People can earn even more by paying for items with the cards stored in the app. Have your earnings transferred to PayPal or a bank account or convert them to gift card credit. 

6. BuzzBreak

Do you appreciate staying as up-to-date as possible about current events? BuzzBreak gives you money to read news articles through an Android app. 

This is another one of the apps that pay you via PayPal, but the site doesn’t give details about average or maximum earning amounts. Users mentioned that people could earn more by referring friends, though, so keep that in mind. 

7. Seated

This option is a bit different than the other apps that pay you on this list. That’s because it gives you points to redeem at stores or on in-person experiences. For example, you might spend them on a cooking class or a Sephora gift card. 

Seated is an app that gives perks for in-person dining. After you eat out, scan the receipt to verify the restaurant visit. You’ll then get a percentage of the overall cost back as points to spend later. 

Apps That Pay You for Familiar Activities

Earning money often means making significant adjustments to your routine and going through a formal hiring process. As these seven apps show, you can do things differently by downloading apps that pay you to participate in things that are more than likely part of your schedule. 

Before using any of these applications regularly, read the fine print to learn about cash-out thresholds. Most companies impose them to stop from people transferring tiny amounts, but some have relatively low associated limits, such as by allowing cash withdrawals of $5 or more. Knowing details like those will help you know what to expect with these earning options.