By Eric Esposito
Eric Esposito
Contributor
Full Bio »
Learn about our editorial policies
Reviewed by Jessie Moore
Jessie Moore
Editor
Jessie Moore has been writing professionally for nearly two decades; for the past seven years, she's focused on writing, ghostwriting, and editing in the finance space. She is a Today Show and Publisher's Weekly-featured author who has written or ghostwritten 10+ books on a wide variety of topics, ranging from day trading to unicorns to plant care.
Full Bio »
Learn about our editorial policies
Our editorial team uses a strict editorial review process to compile all reviews, research, and evaluations of any kind. Our company, WallStreetZen Limited, is supported by our user community and may receive a small commission when purchases are made through partner links. Commissions do not affect the opinions or evaluations of our editorial team.
In the “get-paid-online” niche, Swagbucks’ stature is staggering.
Get this: Over 10 million“Swaggernauts” (yes, that’s a real term) have already earned more than $900 million in payouts.
With stats like these, that must mean Swagbucks is legit —right?
Not so fast. Before you add some “swagger” to your side hustle repertoire, it’s a good idea to run through a thorough Swagbucks review. Even if Swagbucks is legit, that doesn’t mean using Swagbucks is worth it.
In this comprehensive review, we’ll get to the bottom of whether or not Swagbucks is legit or not by looking at the product’s features, services, consumer Swagbucks reviews, and more.
Is Swagbucks Legit? The Bottom Line
Overall rating:4 out of 5
Swagbucksis a goliath in the “get-paid-to” category for many good reasons. Here are just a few:
- Swagbucks has a long history of safe and reliable payments — it’s safe to say it’s legit.
- The platform offers a huge range of options to earn cash for your effort.
- Plus, Swagbuckshas low minimum payouts, and there are a lot of tantalizing rewards to choose from.
Just keep in mind that Swagbucks isn’t a viable strategy for part-time income.
That is to say, you can earn some side money on Swagbucks, but it won’t replace your day job.
Bottom line: As long as you go in with the right mentality, Swagbucks can be an effective way to earn spare change online.
Get Started with Swagbucks
What is Swagbucks?
Swagbucks is a popular “get-paid-to” online platform that has been offering cash rewards to members since 2008.
Of course, Swagbucks isn’t giving away money out of the goodness of its heart; it uses these incentives to get data from consumers and pass this info to its partners.
So, who’s gathering your info? The LA-based market research firm Prodege owns and operates Swagbucks (as well as a few similar brands like CouponCause and InboxDollars).
In addition to Swagbucks’ desktop platform, you can download the Swagbucks app on iOS or Android devices.
Confusingly, the “Swagbucks TRIVIA” appis not the same as the standard Swagbucks app, so be wary which you download.
Prodege also owns Swagbucks TRIVIA, but this app is a separate “game show-like” earning opportunity.
How Do You Earn Money on Swagbucks?
It’s easy to get info overload after logging into Swagbucks for the first time.
Unlike competing sites like Survey Junkie(be sure to check out our Survey Junkie review), there are so many ways to earn money on Swagbucks.
While this is great news for people who crave variety, it can take a while to adjust to Swagbucks’ overwhelming layout and explore all of its opportunities.
The “standard” way to earn money on Swagbucks is through taking online surveys, but don’t worry if surveys aren’t your style.
Here are a few of the other ways to put some cash into your Swagbucks account:
- Play games: Swagbuckspartners with many hot video games to offer cash-back rewards if you download and test these titles to specific levels.
- Shop online: Before filling your cart on eCommerce sites, check to see if Swagbucks offers cash-back rewards. You can also download the Swagbucks’ Chrome extension (called SwagButton) so you never miss rewards opportunities when shopping online.
- Search through special offers: When you scroll through your Swagbucks account, be sure to see if there are any limited-time offers to earn extra points, such as downloading an app or registering for a particular website.
- Swagbucks “Magic Receipts”: Before you toss your receipts in the trash, snap a photo and send it to Swagbucks for rewards!
- Use Swagbucks Search: Instead of Google or Bing, take Swagbucks Search for a spin. Every time you use Swagbucks’ proprietary search engine, you can earn a few points in your profile.
- Referral bonus:Invite friends or family to join the “Swagbucks sensation” to get some extra points in your account.
- Enter Swagstakes: If you feel like Lady Luck is on your side, spend some of your points on a sweepstakes (or, rather, a “Swagstakes”). While this isn’t a guaranteed way to earn cash, who knows when your swaggy stars may be in alignment?
Get Started with Swagbucks
What are Swagbucks Points?
Swagbucks points(or SB points) are the rewards you’ll earn in your Swagbucks account before you convert them to cash rewards.
Thankfully, you don’t need to be a math wiz to convert SB points to dollars. 1 SB point equals $0.01, so you need 100 SB points to get $1.
There are different minimum withdrawals depending on your country and preferred reward, but you usually need 500 SB points to redeem cash via PayPal or a gift card.
You could also use your SB points to send Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) to a private crypto wallet (our favorite crypto wallet is the CoolWallet Pro) via the Crypto Voucher portal.
Get Started with Swagbucks
Is Swagbucks Safe?
Swagbucks review posts are mostly positive, and this site has strong accreditations and a long history in the industry.
While you should always take online rankings with a grain of salt, here’s how Swagbucks reviews currently stack up:
- Trustpilot:4.2 stars out of 5 from over 34,500 reviewers.
- App Store: 4.3 stars out of 5 from 32,500 reviewers.
- Google Play:4.4 stars out of 5 from 82,600 reviewers.
Swagbucks doesn’t have an official Better Business Bureau (BBB) page, but you can take a peek a Prodege’sBBB portalfor more insight into Swagbucks.
Currently, Prodege has 3.16 stars out of 5 and a “B” rating on the BBB.
Although there are complaints about glitches or slow payouts from Swagbucks, Prodege takes the time to respond to most of these issues, and many of them have a “Resolved” check.
Swagbucks is also transparent about its Privacy Policy, and it promises to abide by state and federal laws for online privacy. While you will have to trust Prodege with any data you provide, there’s no news of significant data breaches from Swagbucks.
Get Started with Swagbucks
Is Swagbucks Worth It?
Swagbucksis safe and legit, but it’s not a super opportunity for high earnings or passive income.
You canearn $1 – $5 on Swagbucks each day, depending on your time commitment and the available offers. However, you’ll get paid below minimum wage to complete Swagbucks tasks.
So, is Swagbucks worth it?
In a word: Possibly.
You just have to go into the Swagbucks app with the right mindset.
For instance, Swagbucks is a great way to earn side money in situations where you wouldn’t be earning anything (think a boring waiting room). Plus, if you already do things like shop online (who doesn’t?), Swagbucks offers a way to earn from these activities.
Thanks to Swagbucks’ reputation and plethora of earning options, it’s a solid pick for people who just want an easy way to earn side cash.
However, you should go beyond this Swagbucks review if you want more lucrative ways to earn money with your phone.
Get Started with Swagbucks
Pros and Cons of Swagbucks
Pros | Cons |
Swagbucks offers a wide variety of ways to earn money, so you’ll always have multiple opportunities to make side cash. | Although there are dozens of ways to earn money on Swagbucks, you probably won’t make more than a few dollars each day. |
Swagbucks has been around since 2008, so it has a great history as a legit “get-paid-to” site. | Even though Swagbucks has a strong reputation for security, you have to trust Prodege with your data. |
The average minimum payout for most rewards on Swagbucks is $5, so you don’t need to wait too long to request payouts in your account. | Some of the most common complaints about using Swagbucks have to do with slow payouts or glitches. |
Swagbucks offers plenty of cash-out options, including money, gift cards, and even cryptocurrency. | Users have to be extra careful about playing games for SB points because sometimes you need to buy in-game items with cash to get Swagbucks rewards. |
Swagbucks offers a convenient and highly-rated mobile app to keep earning while you’re on the move. | It often takes multiple tries before you qualify for a Swagbucks review or survey, and you won’t get much compensation when you answer pre-qualification questions. |
Get Started with Swagbucks
Other Ways to Earn Passive Income
Every Swagbucks review confirms this site is legit, but it takes a lot of time and effort to earn just a few SB points.
If you’re looking for more ways to generate cash online, consider adding a few passive income apps to your smartphone.
1. Invest in Stocks
Thanks to online brokers and commission-free trades, it has never been a better time to dive into stock investing.
While there are no guarantees you’ll see returns in the stock market, buying blue-chip equities and well-diversified ETFs is a traditional recipe for long-term financial success.
Not sure how to put your money to work on Wall Street? WallStreetZen is here to help you out.
With features like our intuitive Stock Screener and Top Analyst Picks, you can easily see the risk profile and past performance for thousands of stocks and ETFs.
Start Your Watchlist Today
If you’re not quite ready to trade yet, consider paper trading. You can use platforms like eToroto buy and practice trading stocks with a paper trading(simulated) account to test trading strategies before using real money.
Try out paper trading on eToro
eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.
Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
This communication is intended for information and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or investment recommendation. Past performance is not an indication of future results.
Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more
eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.
2. Save Small Change
If you want a more passive way to earn small amounts of cash, consider adding Acorns’ “Round-Ups” feature to your spending routine.
After linking your debit or credit cards, you’ll automatically round up every purchase and send the spare change to your Acorns account.
While this trick won’t make you thousands overnight, it’s a painless way to set some money aside for investing or a rainy day fund.
Check out Acorns
3. Save Smarter
It’s convenient to stash your cash in a big bank’s savings account, but this usually isn’t the wisest way to store extra funds.
In fact, the average bank savings account only yields a paltry 0.4% APY.
With a high-yield savings account, however, you could earn way more than these benchmark rates and still enjoy protections like FDIC insurance.
For example, Empower offers a suite of professional financial services and products, including a high-yield “Personal Cash” account.
Check out Empower
4. Ditch Unwanted Subscriptions
Whether you love binge-watching Netflix shows or trying Blue Apron dishes, there are so many tempting subscription services today.
On the positive side, subscriptions let us manage our monthly expenses —on the downside, many of us forget how much we’re spending on things we no longer use.
If you feel like subscriptions are siphoning off potential savings, consider downloading the Rocket Money app.
Rocket Money has magical algorithms to automatically filter through your bank and card payments to alert you to potential savings opportunities.
Check out Rocket Money
Final Word: Swagbucks Review
Here’s our TL;DR Swagbucks review:
Swagbucks is a legit site with many ways to earn money, but it’s only good for pocket change.
So, while Swagbucks is a safe way to earn some extra change, you should incorporate it into other investment and side hustle opportunities for max earnings potential.
For instance, check out our guide to the Best Passive Income Apps for awesome ways to earn money while you sleep.
FAQs:
Does Swagbucks pay real money?
Swagbucks pays real money to a linked PayPal account. You could also request prepaid Visa cards, gift cards, or cryptocurrency.
What is the downside to Swagbucks?
The biggest downsides mentioned in Swagbucks reviews include its low earnings potential, slow payouts, and occasional glitches.
Can Swagbucks be trusted?
Swagbucks has a long track record for solid security and reliable payouts to its members.
Is it worth doing Swagbucks?
If you want an easy and legit way to earn a few extra bucks each week, it may be worth your while to sign up for Swagbucks.
Where to Invest $1,000 Right Now?
Did you know that stocks rated as "Buy" by the Top Analysts in WallStreetZen's database beat the S&P500 by 98.4% last year?
Our August report reveals the 3 "Strong Buy" stocks that market-beating analysts predict will outperform over the next year.
- Share
- Share
- Tweet
About the author
Eric Esposito
Contributor