You may have heard of Swagbucks: the free rewards app that pays you cash and free gift cards for various online activities like playing games, searching the web, or taking surveys for money.

You may be tempted to give Swagbucks a try. But does Swagbucks even pay? Who uses Swagbucks? Is Swagbucks a legit survey site? And is Swagbucks safe?

The answers are yes, tons of people, yes, and yes. Swagbucks is very safe. Since launching in Southern California in 2008, Swagbucks is one of the most reputable online rewards programs there is.

This article has some quick, helpful information about how Swagbucks works, who uses Swagbucks, and how to get paid. It covers some of the most popular questions users have about the Swagbucks site.

Is Swagbucks legit 2022?

Yes, Swagbucks is legit in 2022. (And it was legit in 2021 too. And in every year prior, going back to 2008 when the parent company Prodege was founded.)

Swagbucks is one of the best paid survey sites you’ll find, but it’s not just a survey site. Swagbucks is an online rewards site and app that offers members fun ways to make money for activities they already do online.

Swagbucks connects consumers who want to earn extra cash with brands and market research companies who want:

  • Consumer feedback (via opinion surveys)
  • More users (to install and try their free apps)
  • More exposure (people who want to learn more about their products and services, including viewing their ads and signing up for newsletters)
  • More leads (for insurance quotes or home repair projects)
  • More shoppers (who can earn cash back rebates on their purchases)

Complete different opportunities or activities that are interesting for you, and you can get paid. Most activities pay $0.25 to $10.00.

Swagbucks has paid over $780 in free gift cards, PayPal cash, and other rewards to its members. In fact, every day over 7,000 free gift cards are redeemed on Swagbucks.

Swagbucks has been praised in Forbes, Refinery29, NY Times, and hundreds of other finance journals and blogs as an outstanding way to earn extra money.

What’s the catch with Swagbucks?

There’s no catch with Swagbucks; it is a legitimate way to earn extra cash every month with fairly minimal effort. You cannot get rich using Swagbucks, but it is a reliable way to earn an extra $100 to $300 a month.

A regular, part-time job could certainly pay more than Swagbucks. But Swagbucks is a side gig you can do from your couch, in a coffee shop, or wherever you have your phone or laptop and internet connection.

Personally, I like doing Swagbucks while I’m watching TV or in bed at night. Since I’m already scrolling through my phone anyway, I figure that I might as well “cash in” and earn Swagbucks rewards for my downtime. It feels like I’m getting free cash to watch videos.

Can Swagbucks be trusted?

Swagbucks can be trusted and Swagbucks is trusted; you can read over 100,000 reviews from members who use the Swagbucks app or the Swagbucks.com website to earn real money. Visit the Swagbucks review page in the app store or online.

Additionally, Swagbucks has robust consumer protections in terms of Privacy, Advertising, and Terms of Use.

Is my data safe with Swagbucks?

Yes, Swagbucks goes to extraordinary lengths to maintain your privacy and keep your data safe. Swagbucks complies with all state, local, and federal laws for safe data storage, and with local country laws in international jurisdictions like GDPR.

You can read more about Swagbucks’ Privacy Policy including more specifics about data collection and storage.

In terms of personal data you provide when completing surveys, that data is always kept anonymous. Marketers want overall feedback from a demographic; they do not want or need personally identifying information.

Is Swagbucks safe for 12 year olds?

Swagbucks is safe for all of its users, including members under the age of 18. However, you must be 13 years of age to join Swagbucks.

If you’re 12 years old right now, sit tight until your next birthday.

Can you make $100 a day with Swagbucks?

Yes, you can make $100 in a day in Swagbucks but you cannot consistently make $100 a day on Swagbucks for multiple days in a row.

To reasonably make $100 in a day with Swagbucks, you would need to complete one or more high paying offers in the Swagbucks “Discovery” section.

There are many Swagbucks offers that pay $100 or more, but there is not an endless supply. As a Swagbucks member myself, I’ve completed 4 different offers that pay $100 or more in the past year and a half.

Swagbucks Offers

Visit the Discover page to find several “Offers” you can complete to earn free money. Offers can range from earning a couple cents for reading a sponsored article to earning $100 or more for completing one single offer.

Here are some sample payout ranges for different types of offers you can find:

  • Offers that pay 2-cents to 10-cents: Clicking and exploring content (which can include watching videos
  • Offers that pay 10-cents to 99-cents: Signing up for free eNewsletters, installing a free app (like General Mills BoxTops for Education), or downloading e-Recipes.
  • Offers that pay $1 to $10: Signing up for freebies or print coupons, getting free insurance quotes, getting a free credit score,
  • Offers that pay $11 – $29: Cash back rebates for trying a new service or product (this can include signing up for a free trial and staying past the initial signup window), playing a featured game and reaching a certain achievement level (i.e. reach level 20 within 7 days of installing the free game app), or signing up for a an investment account or app and getting a joiner bonus.
  • Offers that pay $30 – $130 or even more: Signing up for a gig economy app (i.e. Wag, Uber, DoorDash and completing your first trip) or signing up for an investment app and deposit $5 to $10 to earn a $50 to $100 bonus.

Many of these offers are completely free; they are a free way to make money. You literally just have to make one click of your mouse to explore featured content and earn money.

There are cash back bonus offers for paying for a product or service you were already going to buy. (i.e. Sign up for a meal kit and get a special Swagbucks member rate and get $25 cash as an additional incentive.)

Super high-paying offers are more involved. For example, there are a number of game offers with high payouts: for installing and playing the free game and reaching a certain level within so many days. That can be time consuming, but a great way to earn if you already play games.

You can find very high payouts for gig economy offers. Like signing up to deliver for DoorDash and making at least one delivery within 30 days in order to get a $100 reward.

Then there are some unicorn offers. Usually these are tied to fintech apps or banks, like signing up for an account at a certain bank (well-known) and getting at least one direct deposit made and getting a $200 bonus.

Where does the money come from for these high paying offers? How does Swagbucks have the money to pay me?

The advertiser or company attached to the offer is paying you. It’s part of their budget to find and acquire new customers.

Banks, for example, have new account bonuses. Some banks will give you free toasters or coolers as sign-up gifts, or even a cash bonus. It’s the same concept here, but the bank is paying Swagbucks for the new customer referral. The business pays Swagbucks and Swagbucks shares the reward with you – that’s your payout.

These businesses have a marketing budget to get new customers so they’ll work with programs like Swagbucks Rewards. They know that Swagbucks members are solid potential customers and that they are motivated by a high cash bonus.

For games, game developers want more players. They monetize their game within in-app ads and offer in-game purchases. If they are offering you a reward of say, $50, for reaching level 10 it’s because they know that the value of a player who reaches level 10 is at least $51.

Often you don’t have to spend any money in the game apps. They are hoping that you like the game so much and get so into it that you will willingly spend money to buy boosters and that you will invite your friends.

How can I earn money on Swagbucks?

In addition to discovering offers for new products and services, there are many other ways to earn cash and Swagbucks rewards.

You earn rewards in Swagbucks points called SB. 100 SB from Swagbucks are worth $1.00. Cash out your SB for PayPal or gift cards. If you opt for PayPal, the funds are deposited to your PayPal account. Gift cards are electronically delivered and can be used for shopping online or added to your digital wallet.

Here are some of the ways you can earn SB:

  • Search the web (results powered by Yahoo).
  • Set Swagbucks to your default search engine.
  • Set the Swagbucks website as your homepage.
  • Take paid online surveys about a range of topics; most paid surveys take 5 to 25 minutes and pay $0.25 to $5.00. Answering surveys is one of the most popular ways to earn money.
  • Shop online at over 10,000 eligible merchants (including Home Depot, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Lowe’s) and earn cash back for online shopping – anywhere from 2% to 12%.
  • Scan your store receipts, earn cash for purchasing featured products or products in featured categories.
  • Redeem Swag codes (prize codes you can find on Swagbucks’ social pages and in the member blog).
  • Play free games.
  • Invite friends. Get an upfront bonus and then 10% of their earnings for life. Automatically earn points when your friends answer Swagbucks surveys or play games.
  • Buy discounted gift cards (from partner gift card reward site), earn SB points you can cash out.
  • Dine out – earn cash back for dining out at thousands of featured restaurants.
  • Complete simple online tasks like installing the free SwagButton or answering daily polls.

Bottom Line on How Safe is Swagbucks

Swagbucks is an incredibly safe way to earn free gift cards and make money online. You can visit the Swagbucks review page in the Google and iTunes app stores to read thousands of reviews from real life members who earn cash with this free online rewards program.

If you ever fidget on your phone while watching videos, or you’re just interested in a low-key side hustle to save money, Swagbucks is a great way to score cash rewards. It’s free to open a Swagbucks account on Swagbucks.com or with the Swagbucks app. It takes less than a minute to sign up. 

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