Looking for Free Money? Check out Apps that Pay You Real Money to Use Them

They say there is no such thing as free money but if you are looking the best money-making apps to make money fast, this post will give you a great breakdown of apps that pay for different actions like signing-up, taking certain actions and referring friends. 

For example, Chime, is an online bank that will pay you $50 to open a Chime account and $50 for friends that open a Chime account and set up a direct deposit of $200 or more within 45 days of opening the account!

These money making apps will pay you through PayPal, gift cards of your choice or in cash that goes directly to your debit card. The other cool thing about these money-making apps is that you can refer a friend with your referral codes and continuing earning even more money when they signup and use the app, too. Plus, many offer cashback for shopping and options to take surveys.

Make sure you create your accounts below so you can get your sign up bonus and refer friends, too.

Short on time?

Check out the highest-paying money making apps below, then come back and sign up for the rest ASAP.

1) Chime

Chime is an online bank that offers low to no-fee banking and other perks. For example, if you open a Chime bank account and refer a friend, you'll both get $50 when the friend opens a Chime bank account and sets up direct deposit within 45 days of creating their account. As a bonus, you can also get your paycheck up to 2 days early and say goodbye to ridiculous bank fees with a Chime account.

Open an account with Chime to start saving and referring today.

2) Swagbucks

Open an account with Swagbucks and you get $5.00 out the gate. Most people redeem them for PayPal cash cards or Amazon gift cards, but there are plenty of other gift cards to choose  

With Swagbucks, you can earn more "bucks" by taking surveys, watching videos and referring friends. I've even heard of people covering their Christmas spending with their Swagbucks account!

Sign up for your Swagbucks account here to get your $5 and 10% of friends "bucks" you refer. 

3) Ibotta

Ibotta has a $10 sign-up bonus when you create an Ibotta account through a referral link. Invite a friend and they get a $10 Ibotta credit and you get a $5.00 Ibotta credit.  This money goes straight to you PayPal account.

Just so you know, Ibotta is an app gives you cash back on grocery purchases. Each week, Ibotta publishes different items you can get cash back on — varying from dairy, to fruit and packaged items. 

Just scan your receipts to prove you purchased the items and the money is credited to your account. You can get this money sent to your PayPal account at any time. 

Create your Ibotta account to claim your $5 and get $10 for every friend you refer. 

4) Ebates

​Sign up for your Ebates account today and you'll get $10, usually through a gift card. You can refer a friend with a referral code and you'll earn $25 for each friend that signs up.

 Plus, you can earn cash back shopping at stores and brands you already love. It's all added to your Ebates cash balance and paid out to every month to you through PayPal. Not bad, right?

Create an Ebates account and grab your $10 sign-up bonus plus $25 for referring friends.

5) Acorns

Acorns is a "micro investing app" that allows you to round up small amounts of change in your bank accounts and invest it on an automatic basis. Acorns smart portfolios do all the work of investing so you don't have to.  If you create an Acorns account, they'll give you $5 to start your investing journey. You'll also get $5 for every friend you refer to the platform. 

Create an Acorns account here and claim your $5 to start investing and referring friends today.

6) Stockpile

This is another investing app that will give you $5 to start your account. Stockpile lets you buy fractional shares of stocks as gifts. So if you don't have thousands of dollars to invest in some of your favorite stock, you can start with as little as $5.

You can get your first $5 when you open an account with Stockpile.

7) Fusion Cash

With Fusion Cash, a survey app, you can get $5 for creating your account, verifying your email address and signing up for a survey group. You are paid for other actions like taking surveys and referring friends.  Your referrals will give you payouts between $1 and $5 depending on actions taken.

Create your Fusion Cash account here to earn your $5 and bonus cash for referrals.

8) InBox Dollars

InBox Dollars is a survey app that actually pays you real money to use it. When you sign up for InBox Dollars, $5 will be added to your account and you'll need $30 to cash out of your account to PayPal.

There are usually tons of surveys but you may no qualify for each one. If you've got extra time to spare, it doesn't hurt creating an InBox dollars account to get you $5 and even more for taking surveys and referring friends.

9) Cash App

Cash app is a payment processor Square. It helps people send money between themselves quickly and easily. When you create your Cash app account with a referral link, you get $5.

Refer someone and you and your buddy get $5 each. This is a mobile app, so you’ve got to download it before getting an account. Download the app here and start referring friends today!

Finally, I can't talk about free money without letting you know about your state's unclaimed fund department. Many time, they will hold money that belongs to you. There are other websites where you can do this as well. Check out this article, 7 Sites to Find Money that Belongs to You, for more information on these websites!