18 Apps That Pay You to Sign Up

A signup bonus is a type of reward that companies offer new users to incentivize them to create an account. The bonus often comes in the form of a small amount of cash, a gift card, or reward points.

While some platforms will give you the bonus simply for signing up with them, others may require you to complete a few small tasks to earn it. For instance, a common requirement is that you must make qualifying purchases of a certain amount within a specific timeframe.

Without further ado, let’s get into our list of apps with signup bonuses. Whether you’re interested in cashback apps, survey-taking apps, gaming apps, or passive income apps, we’ve got you covered. We’ll give you an overview of each app and explain what requirements you have to meet to get its bonus.

Freecash takes the top spot in our list of signup bonus apps. This platform has an active online community, including the r/FreeCash subreddit, which is actively maintained by the game’s staff and has over 44,000 members.

The Freecash website is a little vague about the exact bonus amount you’ll get for signing up, but you should get a minimum of $5, and you might get even more (especially if you use a referral code). In addition to that, Freecash gets top marks for fast payouts.

Freecash doesn’t clearly specify exactly how much you can expect to receive from their signup bonus offers (since the bonus amount supposedly depends on various factors). However, we suspect that you’re more likely to get something at the lower end of the range their website mentions.

However, the good news is that you’ll get instant withdrawals (which many similar GPT apps don’t guarantee), so it’s a great option if you’re looking for surveys that will pay out on the spot. However, there’s a minimum threshold you’ll have to reach first, which, like the signup bonus, will vary.

We like the Upromise signup offer because of the minimal requirements for guaranteed rewards. Unlike with many other apps on our list, you don’t need to deposit anything (or receive a direct deposit) to get this signup bonus. However, the downside is that it could take some time for your bonus to materialize—possibly as long as a few weeks.

Upromise is a platform for microtasking (completing quick and easy tasks for money, gift cards, or similar rewards) and cashback rewards. Many similar apps and websites exist for users to earn general-purpose rewards in the form of PayPal cash or gift cards, for example. However, Upromise is unique in that it’s specifically designed to help families save for college.

You earn cashback rewards with Upromise when you shop through its portal, visit restaurants participating in its program, or use a linked card at partnered stores. There are also other ways to earn, including receipt-scanning, games, and surveys.

Once you join Upromise, you can link it to a 529 college savings plan, student loan account, or regular bank account. When you earn rewards, they will then automatically go to this linked account, and this generally happens during the first week of each month. Upromise says transfers usually take under a week, so this step shouldn’t take too long.

Upromise also usually offers a generous signup bonus. When you link your Upromise account with your financial account, Upromise gives you a $25 bonus. It also gives you another bonus of $5.29 when you verify your email, meaning you’ll get $30.29 altogether in welcome bonus rewards.

The speed of the bonus payout will depend on when you join Upromise plus other factors, but you’ll usually be looking at something between a few days and a few weeks (as Upromise says that, after it transfers rewards to your linked account, which happens each month, transfers usually take less than a week to complete—although it could be longer for some 529 plans).

People on Reddit recommend Acorns as a good way to get started with investing, and this app has a fairly decent reputation in general (although people also note that it has limits). Although there are small deposit requirements (i.e., you must deposit at least $5) and fees (starting from $3) that will offset some of the bonus, you’ll still get a decent chunk of free rewards.

Acorns calls itself a micro-investing platform, and it lets its users invest their spare change automatically. It offers a selection of pre-built investment portfolios for you to choose from, depending on your financial goals.

The way it works is that you’ll link your credit or debit cards to your Acorns account, and Acorns will set aside spare change from your every purchase (rounding it up to the nearest dollar). They’ll invest the money for you once it reaches $5 or more. You can also set recurring (daily, weekly, or monthly) deposits.

In 2025, Acorns has been offering bonuses for new signups to the platform. These offers usually involve deposit requirements—namely, to set up a recurring investment of at least $5. However, many similar fintech platforms require much larger deposits (or direct deposits) as part of their signup bonus deals, so Acorns’ requirements are relatively minimal.

Ibotta is an app that lets you earn cashback rewards when you shop at participating grocery stores or online retailers.

Here’s how to earn cash back on qualifying purchases with Ibotta:

• Shopping in stores: Take photos of your receipts and upload them, or link your store loyalty accounts to the app.
• Shopping on your computer: Just click the app to activate it, then check out normally from participating online stores.

You can find cashback offers by browsing products in the app or on your computer. Alternatively, you can download Ibotta’s browser extension, which will notify you whenever a retailer offers a cashback deal.

This app doesn’t guarantee a minimum welcome bonus amount before you sign up, but there’s a good chance you’ll receive a cash bonus, according to some reports. However, anecdotal reports vary, so we can’t confirm exactly how much you’ll get.

To qualify for the welcome bonus, you may also have to actually use the app by redeeming a certain number of offers. Refer to the “Bonuses” page in the app to find out how many (as the number can change over time).

Ibotta claims that any money you withdraw from the app will usually reach you within an hour. As such, it offers one of the fastest payouts among the apps on our list.

Don’t try creating multiple accounts to get more than one bonus; if Ibotta catches you, your accounts will be deactivated.

Formerly known as Ebates, Rakuten is another platform that lets users earn cashback rewards when they make eligible purchases online at participating stores.

To earn cash back on Rakuten, you must shop on its official website or use its app or browser extension.

Although Rakuten usually gives you a signup bonus when you join the platform, you have to make a qualifying purchase that will usually exceed the bonus amount, which means the signup bonus is more of a signup discount.

The exact amount you’ll receive depends on Rakuten’s welcome promo at the time you sign up. In the past, they’ve variously offered bonuses of $10, $30, and $50.

Fetch is one of the most popular receipt-scanning apps out there. In addition to scanning and uploading receipts, you can earn redeemable points by playing games.

Fetch often has good signup bonus offers. But you’ll usually have to earn thousands of points before you can cash out your rewards.

Fetch point values vary a bit based on the gift card you want, but the website states that 1,000 points are worth around $1. You can use your Fetch points to redeem gift cards from a store of your choice. Fetch partners with a variety of brands, including Starbucks, Amazon, Target, and Barnes & Noble.

Fetch says that rewards redemption has a 72-hour processing period, so it has a pretty quick redemption process.

You may be able to earn additional Fetch bonuses by signing up using a referral code. Note that, if you missed entering your referral code when signing up, you can add it later, but it will only be effective if you enter it before scanning any receipts. (If you don’t have any friends who use Fetch, search for referral codes online.)

BeFrugal is a cashback platform that lets you earn up to 40% back on eligible purchases with their 5,000+ partnering stores.

BeFrugal has an extension you can add to Chrome so you can keep up with the latest offers.

As well as the website and browser extension, BeFrugal has apps for Android and iOS (Apple) devices.

It also usually has signup bonuses for new users. However, you must earn $20 in cash back (within one year of becoming a BeFrugal member) before you can cash out.

BeFrugal says that you can expect to get withdrawals the day after you request them, so once you reach the threshold, cashing out should be very fast. You’ll also have lots of convenient methods available for cashing out, including checks, direct deposits, PayPal, Venmo, and more.

Bear in mind that, if your account remains inactive for over a year, it may become dormant. BeFrugal may debit a monthly maintenance fee on dormant accounts until their balances reach $0.

RebatesMe is another cashback platform that gives you the opportunity to earn cash back on eligible purchases. It claims to have 8,500+ partnering stores.

In addition to downloading the RebatesMe app, you can add the RebatesMe Chrome extension to your browser, which will give you updates on their latest offers.

RebatesMe often has signup bonus offers, but, as with many similar cashback apps, these usually involve a minimum purchase. For example, you may have to spend $15 to receive $5, meaning that the signup bonus is more of signup discount.

An important point to note is that RebatesMe has a list of merchants whose gift card orders and purchases you can’t use to activate the app’s signup or referral bonuses.

Swagbucks is one of the largest online shopping rewards programs out there.

You can earn “swagbucks” (SB) by making eligible purchases, taking paid surveys, playing games, watching videos, and completing other small online tasks.

You’ll probably need to earn the equivalent of $15 in SB the first time you redeem your points for rewards. The cashout threshold may be lower for subsequent withdrawals.

Swagbucks usually offers a $10 cash back (in SB) when you make an eligible purchases of $25 or more through their platform. As such, this is more like a discount than a real bonus.

When we used the platform, we also received other bonuses (for verifying our email, which gave us a $2 bonus, and completing a short profile quiz taking around 3 minutes, which gave us a $0.50 bonus). However, you may or may not get the same deal.

Survey Junkie is an online market research platform that lets you earn points by taking paid surveys and participating in focus groups. It’s very similar to Swagbucks, but with a tighter focus on surveys.

When you earn $5 in rewards, you can redeem them for cash or e-gift cards from partnering brands.

Survey Junkie usually offers small signup bonuses. To earn your bonuses, you must confirm your email address, and you’ll usually also have to complete some small tasks.

You’ll potentially earn as many as four small bonuses when you join the platform. When we used Survey Junkie, we earned:

• $0.25 for providing our email and filling out a few pieces of basic personal information (age, location, etc.)
• $0.50 for taking a short survey about job, hobbies, and so on
• $0.05 for taking a short tour of Survey Junkie’s site
• $0.05 for completing a tutorial demonstrating how to take surveys

All told, we earned a bonus of $0.85.

Like Survey Junkie, LifePoints is an online market research platform that rewards its members for taking online surveys.

LifePoints gives you points, which you can redeem for your choice of reward. These points are worth a bit less than 1 cent each.

When we used the platform, we calculated that we got 0.87–0.97 cents per point. Points were slightly more valuable when redeemed as gift cards and donations.

LifePoints doesn’t offer a very large signup bonus, but they don’t have additional requirements you need to meet to earn it. You just need to create an account with them to receive your reward.

MyPoints is yet another online platform that lets you earn points by completing small, minimal-effort “microtasks,” such as shopping online, taking surveys, watching videos, and playing games.

MyPoints lets you redeem your points for gift cards or coupons from a variety of partnering online stores, as well as other businesses, such as airlines, hotels, and restaurants.

Signing up with MyPoints should be very straightforward. Sadly, its signup bonus has decreased since we tested it. However, it’s easy enough to claim, as it should take you just a few minutes to sign up to the platform and get your free credit, so the offer is still worthwhile.

InboxDollars is an online rewards platform that lets you earn cash by participating in simple activities, such as taking surveys, playing games, reading emails, and shopping online or at grocery stores.

According to InboxDollars, most of their online surveys pay around $0.50–$5.00 and take approximately 3–25 minutes to finish. They say that some surveys may pay up to $20, provided that you match their demographic profile.

You’ll also usually get a welcome bonus. You shouldn’t need to jump through many hoops for this—just providing and confirming your email address.

After that, the minimum threshold for redemption may vary, depending on whether you’re cashing out for the first time, as well as other factors. You’ll probably need at least $10–$15 in your account.

Branded Surveys is a fairly standard paid survey platform. Like the others we’ve listed, it rewards you for completing online market research surveys.

Branded Surveys rewards you in points, which you can then redeem as cash or gift cards when you reach the minimum threshold (which was 500 points when we used the site).

It should be fairly easy for you to get the Branded Surveys signup bonus. When we used the platform, we simply needed to sign up; provide a few pieces of basic personal info (e.g., age and ZIP code); and take a short questionnaire about our interests, hobbies, et cetera.

Opinion Inn is an online platform that rewards you for taking surveys and sharing your opinions on various topics with companies.

The payment for each survey varies, ranging from $0.50 to $100.00 (although highly paid surveys like this are rare). You may qualify for more lucrative surveys if you have specialized knowledge or professional experience in an in-demand field, such as IT (because companies in that industry will be more interested in soliciting your opinions).

OpinionInn usually offers signup bonuses and also referral bonuses. These can be very generous and easy to claim. However, to actually cash out your bonus money, you’ll probably need to accumulate quite a lot of rewards. In 2025, for example, the platform had a rather high minimum payout threshold of $25.

Mistplay is a mobile app that lets you earn by playing games, participating in contests, and completing various other challenges and tasks.

Mistplay rewards you with “Units,” which you can redeem for rewards like gift cards, as well as in-app perks, like special display pictures.

They’ll usually give you free Units immediately when you start using the app. To get their welcome bonus, you just have to sign up, set a display picture, and answer a few questions about what games you like.

You can also often get referral bonuses if you join with a referral link, which may give you extra rewards (with the person who referred you also getting some free rewards) when you join and, potentially, when you reach a certain level in games you play.

If you don’t have any friends who use Mistplay, search online for a referral code.

Robinhood is a commission-free trading and investing app (i.e., a brokerage). You can buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies with just $1.

Robinhood will often give you a small amount of free stock when you register and link your bank account.

You may even get to pick the company you want shares in. However, usually, the amount you’ll get will be randomly determined, ranging from $5 to $200 (where, unsurprisingly, most bonuses are on the lower end of that range). If the stock you pick is worth more than the amount you’re awarded, you’ll get a fractional (partial) share.

To get your free Robinhood stock, you need to sign up, link a bank account, and you may also need to deposit money into your brokerage account. Robinhood doesn’t specify a minimum amount for this deposit, but information online suggests that it will likely be around $1–$10.

Because Robinhood is a stock brokerage, you’ll have to jump through a few hoops to verify your account, including uploading a picture of a valid government-issued ID.

Fundrise is an “alternative investment platform” that allows you to invest in real estate funds, startup companies, and other assets that aren’t listed on public stock exchanges.

The shares you earn on Fundrise are meant to be held long-term; therefore, they limit when you can withdraw your earnings from certain shares.

Specifically, you must hold on to your eREIT and eFund shares for at least 5 years. If you liquidate your shares before that, you’ll have to pay a penalty fee of around 1% of your total share value (at the time of redemption).

Fundrise often has signup bonuses, but sometimes changes the amount on offer. In late 2025, the bonus was worth $10. However, Fundrise reserves the right to completely terminate this promotional bonus at any time, so check whether it’s still current before you sign up.

To get the Fundrise signup bonus, you must be new to the platform, sign up via their promotional page or an advertisement, and make an initial investment of at least $10 within 30 days of opening your account.

It’s certainly worth it to use a signup bonus app if the app is genuinely useful to you. Say you’re looking for a cash-back app to earn rewards on your everyday purchases—you might as well sign up for one that offers you a welcome bonus.

Just be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully before creating an account with any app. Pay attention to whether they have any requirements for receiving the signup bonus, and if so, what these are. You don’t want to end up purchasing items you don’t need just to get a signup bonus, especially if they cost more than it’s worth and will ultimately end up putting you in the red.

Note that the signup bonus apps we listed here are just some of the many money-making apps out there. Consider looking into other options that align with your interests, such as dog-walking apps like Rover and Wag! or delivery driver apps like Uber Eats or DoorDash.