21 Cash Review: Is It Legit and Worth Playing?

21 Cash is an app where users can play card games and win real cash—if they’re lucky.

The app is based on a game that contains elements of several other card games, including Blackjack and Solitaire, as well as 2048 (a popular game that involves matching numbered tiles).

21 Cash is made by a company called Papaya, which is also behind other games that pay out cash prizes, like Bubble Cash and Bingo Cash.

The 21 Cash app has 15,400 reviews and a 4.7 rating on the Apple store. It’s a legitimate app, not a scam. But is it a good side hustle?

Does 21 Cash pay real money?

Yes, 21 Cash pays real money. If you win enough 21 Cash games—you need to accumulate more than $5 in withdrawable cash—you can receive your earnings via PayPal.

How much can you realistically earn?

Unfortunately, you probably can’t earn much on 21 Cash. In fact, you’re likely to lose money instead of making it.

We played 21 Cash for almost 2 hours. All told, we spent $8 and ended up with just $0.50 remaining in our account (which we couldn’t reclaim, as withdrawals under $5 are prohibited).

This means we lost $7.50 in total, with the remaining $0.50 inaccessible to us. Because 21 Cash charges a $1 fee to withdraw money, even if we’d deposited enough cash to get back to the limit, there was effectively no way for us to get back our remaining balance.

All told, our conclusion was that playing 21 Cash is not a viable way to make money.

Do you have to pay to play 21 Cash?

No, you technically don’t have to pay to play 21 Cash. In theory, you can earn credits (which you can use to enter games) just by completing tasks on the app.

However, this approach will require a great deal of patience and persistence. Realistically, most users will be tempted to fork over real cash to enter games more quickly.

If you use your own money to enter cash games, that’s your choice, but be aware that at that point, you’re essentially gambling.

21 Cash claims that it isn’t a gambling app, citing the element of skill involved in its games. However, there’s also a major element of luck involved (and many other gambling games also require a combination of skill and luck), so we don’t find that argument very persuasive.

The aim of 21 Cash is to stack up cards in certain ways. This will “clear” them and earn you points. You have one deck of cards to stack; once you go through the entire deck, the game will finish.

There’s also a three-minute time limit. If you don’t get through all of the cards in the deck and stack them before your time is up, the game will terminate.

You can clear a stack of cards (and score points) when:

• The stack “adds up” to 21: Most cards are assigned a score corresponding to the number on the card. Jacks, queens, and kings are assigned a score of 10 points each. Aces can score either 1 or 11 points (they’re assigned whichever value is required to reach a score of 21).
• The stack contains five or more cards: If you can stack five or more cards without going bust (i.e., without having more than 21 points of cards in the pile), you’ll clear the pile.
• The stack contains a joker: Jokers are “wild cards,” and they clear any column of cards you place them on.

Again, if you create a stack with a score of more than 21, you go “bust” (which is bad news for your score).

As you can see in the screenshot above, there’s also a space labeled “Hold.” You can use this space to reserve up to three cards you’ve drawn instead of adding them to stacks immediately. You can then use these reserved cards later in the game.

How to enter 21 Cash games

To enter 21 Cash games, you have to pay an entry fee. For some games, you can pay the fee with “Gems” (credits); for other games, you can only pay with cash. For still others, you can use a combination of the two.

In more detail, here are the types of currencies on 21 Cash:

• Gems: These are in-app credits you can earn without spending money (although you also get them when you deposit money into the app). You can earn Gems by completing bonus tasks or winning certain games. Games you can enter using Gems are called “Freeroll Tournaments.” These usually require 1,200 Gems for the entry fee, and they offer prizes in the form of “Bonus Cash.”
• Bonus Cash: This is another type of credit you can use to enter games on the app. It’s displayed along with your balance of actual cash (i.e., real money you deposited), but you can’t withdraw it; it’s for in-app use only.

Actual cash: You can also enter 21 Cash games using your own (real) money.

The only way to earn money on 21 Cash is by playing cash games. The app has a variety of high- and low-stakes games you can enter.

How to avoid losing money on 21 Cash

Initially, when you begin using 21 Cash, you’ll complete a tutorial and a practice game where you’ll have the chance to learn the basic rules and earn Gems to get started.

After that, you’ll be invited to spend real money to enter cash games. However, our advice is to avoid doing this and, instead, look for ways to earn credits by completing in-app tasks (which we’ll go into more detail about later on) or by entering Freeroll Tournaments (which have Gem-only entry fees).

If you decide to spend money on the 21 Cash app, again, bear in mind that it involves both skill and luck. Don’t bet any money you aren’t prepared to lose, and consider adopting the strategy above at least until you’re comfortable with the game.

Our experience

When we tested 21 Cash, we saw many tournaments with different prize pools and entry fees. Generally speaking, the larger the prize for a tournament, the more expensive the entry fee seems to be.

The smallest cash entry fee we saw was $0.40; the largest was $12. As far as prize pools go, we saw games with prizes ranging from $1.50 to $35. (We saw one with an even smaller prize pool of $1.20 in Bonus Cash, but this isn’t the same as a cash prize, because you can’t withdraw it—it’s purely used as an in-app credit.)

As mentioned, the first game we played on 21 Cash was a practice game. It had three players, although they were bots, not real opponents. We won the game and earned 100 Gems. We suspect that everyone will get the same result and prize (i.e., the first game is rigged in your favor to pique your interest).

After the tutorial and practice match, we tried out the following 21 Cash games with varying success:

• Gems Exchange: This is a two-player game you can enter to win credits when you start using 21 Cash. We played once, paying an entry fee of 20 Gems for a chance to win part of a prize pool of $1.20 in Bonus Cash. We came second and won $0.50, also in Bonus Cash.
• Gems Factory: This is a six-player game you can enter to win credits. We entered four Gems Factory games, each of which had an entry fee of 20 Gems with a prize pool of 110 Gems. We came either fifth or sixth in the first three games we played, so we won nothing. In our last game, we came first and won 60 Gems.
• Champ Starter: This was a low-stakes 21 Cash game with a prize pool of $1.50 and an entry fee of $0.40. We came in third out of three players, so we came away empty-handed again.
• Rookie: This was another low-stakes game that we entered four times. It had seven players, the entry fee was $1, and the prize pool was $5. The first time we played, we came in second and won $1.40; the second and third times we played, we came fifth and won nothing. The last time we played, we came third and won $0.70.
• Diamonds Dash: This was a six-player game with an entry fee of $1 (in real cash) plus 600 Gems, with a prize pool of $10. We played twice and came third and sixth, winning nothing for our efforts.
• High Stakes: We played this six-player game three times. The prize pool was $12 and the entry fee was $3. We came fifth or sixth in all of our games, so we won nothing.
• Vintage Profits: This was a limited-time-only game with five players, a prize pool of $12, and a $3.30 entry fee. We played just once and came first, winning an impressive prize of $6.

After spending almost two hours practicing for and playing cash games (and completing other tasks to earn credits for entry fees), the outcome was still that we lost more money than we earned. Again, we spent $8 and ended up with a balance of $0.50, so we ended up $7.50 in the hole.

Although the following tasks won’t earn you money directly on 21 Cash, they’ll help you earn credits that you can use to enter games with cash prizes.

Here are some of the tasks you can complete to earn credits.

Collect Daily Rewards

You can get free “Daily Rewards” just for logging in to 21 Cash. The screenshot below shows some of the Daily Rewards available on the app, which include Bonus Cash and Gems.

In addition to Bonus Cash and Gems, you can also sometimes get “Experience Points” (XP). These are credits that you can use to “Level Up” and get more Gems, plus chances to complete additional tasks for yet more rewards.

Our experience

We collected Daily Rewards six times after logging in to the 21 Cash app. We got 30 Gems each time we did this, but we could have earned bigger rewards if we’d logged in multiple days in a row. Sadly, we weren’t committed enough to do that.

Collect Daily Gifts

Daily Gifts are different from Daily Rewards. They require a couple of extra clicks to pick up, but they’re well worth a few seconds of your time to collect.

To get your Daily Gift, click on the “Shop” tab. You will then see a “Daily Gift” option you can click on to collect your reward.

Our experience

We usually remembered to collect our Daily Gift when we logged in to 21 Cash. Each time we did, we got 30 Gems.

Watch videos

You can earn Gems on 21 Cash by watching short videos.

Our experience

We used the video feature on 21 Cash four times. The videos we watched were about a minute long each, and we earned 10 Gems for each one.

Level up

When you play in tournaments on 21 Cash, you’ll earn XP (Experience Points). The higher the entry fee, the more XP you’ll get.

The XP you earn is shown on a meter at the top of the 21 Cash app interface (alongside your level). As you earn XP, the meter will fill up. When it’s completely full, you’ll level up and get Gems.

As your XP level increases, it will take more tournaments for the meter to fill up.

Our experience

We got as far as level 6. Each time we graduated, we got a reward of 20 Gems, and we also got the chance to complete bonus tasks (described in the next section) to earn even more rewards.

Complete special tasks and special offers

When you level up on 21 Cash, the app will offer you new tasks and special offers you can use to earn bonus rewards. These may include cashback offers, games, and challenges (e.g., to complete a certain number of games or advance a certain number of levels within a set timeframe).

Our experience

We leveled up five times and were offered several ways to get bonus rewards, although we didn’t take advantage of all of them.

Among the tasks we completed was a minigame called Piñata Craze, which we played and won a prize of 100 Gems for. We also completed an easy task called Hidden Treats, which gave us another 5 Gems.

In addition to these games, there were a couple of challenges like the one shown in the screenshot below. However, our tester didn’t have time to complete these before the deadlines.

Finally, there was a cashback offer available when we reached level 6. We didn’t take advantage of this, either.

Win Stars Tournaments

21 Cash says that you’ll be entered into a “Stars Tournament” as soon as you win any cash tournament on the app. You can then get the chance to rank on the Stars Tournament leaderboard and potentially win prizes.

According to the 21 Cash help pages, you should see the current Stars Tournament at the top of the lobby (which, unsurprisingly, is the page you see when you click on the “Lobby” tab).

Our experience

We won a cash tournament on 21 Cash, but we didn’t see anything indicating that we had been entered into the Stars Tournament afterward, so this feature left us confused.

Use the Clubs feature

Like the other Papaya games we’ve tried, 21 Cash has a feature called “Clubs,” which you can use to earn extra rewards. However, you have to get to level 8 to unlock it.

Once you’ve reached level 8, you can go to the “Clubs” tab to join a club and get the chance to win extra rewards if you win enough games to become eligible.

Our experience

We didn’t reach level 8 on 21 Cash, so we weren’t able to test this feature.

Collect Seasonal Cards

Seasonal Cards are special cards you can collect on 21 Cash (and other Papaya games). You’ll earn extra rewards every time you complete a full set of cards.

There are several ways to get your hands on Seasonal Cards. For example, you can win them in certain tournaments, swap them with friends, or purchase them yourself.

However, you have to reach level 15 to unlock the Seasonal Cards feature.

Our experience

We only got to level 6 on 21 Cash, so we weren’t able to unlock the Seasonal Cards feature.

Find promo codes

21 Cash lets you earn rewards by finding and entering promotional codes. Many similar apps publish these codes on their social media accounts or send them to users via email or push notifications, and our assumption is that 21 Cash works the same way.

If you manage to get your hands on a promo code, go to the purple main menu icon at the top right of the screen, and then click on “Gifts.” Next, click on “Promo Code,” enter the code, and click “Submit” to get your reward.

Our experience

We checked 21 Cash’s Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts, but these weren’t up to date and didn’t feature any recently published promo codes. We also checked our email, but we didn’t find any free rewards there, either.

Refer friends

You can get Bonus Cash for referring people to 21 Cash—but only for the first two people you refer, for whom you’ll get $1 each.

Our experience

We didn’t refer anyone to 21 Cash, so we didn’t test this feature.

You need an iOS device to play 21 Cash. If you have one, you can go to the 21 Cash homepage and scan the QR code to open the page to download the app to your mobile device.

Alternatively, use the button below to download the game directly from the App Store.

Download 21 Cash

How to make payments on 21 Cash

Again, we recommend resisting the urge to buy credits on 21 Cash. However, if you want to do this, you can choose from several payment methods:

• PayPal
• Apple Pay
• Credit or debit card

You can usually deposit money in denominations of $5, $15, $25, $35, $50, or $75.

You might also get special offers, as 21 Cash wants to encourage you to spend money on the app. For example, we received a special offer that gave us $3 in credit, $0.90 in Bonus Cash, and 80 Gems for the price of $3. We also got an offer that gave us $5 in credit, $1 in Bonus Cash, and 100 Gems for the price of $5.

You can withdraw money from the 21 Cash app via PayPal.

Note about withdrawals: Your account balance usually includes both Bonus Cash (if you have any) and withdrawable cash. Bonus Cash isn’t withdrawable; you can only use it to pay entry fees for games (and hope that you’ll win real cash).

The conflation of Bonus Cash with real cash makes matters a little confusing, as illustrated in the screenshot below. The upshot is that you’ll be able to withdraw less cash than you appear to have in your account.

What’s the minimum amount you can withdraw on 21 Cash?

The minimum amount you can withdraw on 21 Cash is $5. If your balance falls below that level, your money will be trapped until you either win or deposit enough to reach the threshold again.

How long do 21 Cash withdrawals take?

21 Cash provides conflicting information about how long withdrawals take.

Their page on withdrawals says that they take 2–14 business days to pay you. However, one of the help pages on the app says that withdrawals are usually processed within 2–5 days. To be safe, it’s best to allow up to two weeks for your withdrawal to process.

Withdrawals may take even longer if you already have a previous withdrawal pending; this is because you can only initiate one at a time, so the first withdrawal has to be completed before the second one can go through.

Are there fees for withdrawals from 21 Cash?

Yes, 21 Cash charges a $1 fee on all withdrawals by users. As such, it’s best to avoid withdrawing smaller amounts from the app, as this will mean you’ll lose a larger proportion of your earnings to fees.

Is there anything else I need to know about 21 Cash withdrawals?

One disadvantage of 21 Cash is that you lose all of your Bonus Cash when you withdraw money from your account. Moreover, it’s impossible to use up your Bonus Cash without also spending your withdrawable cash, since the app automatically uses your withdrawable cash to fund at least 80% of any entry fee you pay.

This sneaky disincentive to withdrawing money from your 21 Cash account is a major downside of the app.

Anyone can play 21 Cash, but because it involves real money, certain US states don’t allow cash games. The screenshot below shows the places where cash games are available.

You also need to be at least 18 years of age to enter cash games on the 21 Cash app.

If you like the sound of getting paid to play games but you’re not sold on 21 Cash, here are some alternative apps and websites you can try:

• Solitaire Cash: Like 21 Cash, Solitaire Cash is a card game made by Papaya that you can play to win cash prizes. The interface on the two apps is similar, and many of their features are the same. However, Solitaire Cash works on Samsung Galaxy devices as well as iOS devices. (It’s not available on the Google Play store—just the Samsung Galaxy store).
• Mistplay: This is a gaming app that gives you PayPal gift cards for playing a variety of games. Since Mistplay only works on Android devices, it’s a good alternative to 21 Cash for Android users.
• InboxDollars: This is a rewards site where you can get paid (via PayPal, prepaid cards, and gift cards) to play games and complete other tasks, such as taking surveys, scanning receipts, signing up for offers, and other tasks you can read about in our InboxDollars Review.
• Swagbucks: This is another rewards site similar to InboxDollars that also pays you for playing games (via PayPal, prepaid cards, and gift cards), along with completing many other tasks (which you can read about in our Swagbucks Review).