Earning cash in your spare time is a great way to get extra spending money or grow your savings. Better yet, you don’t need many skills to get started.
InboxDollars is a fantastic way to make money online or from your phone. The site provides a variety of ways to earn rewards by completing short tasks.
This InboxDollars review covers how you can make money and maximize your free time.
What is InboxDollars?
InboxDollars is a get-paid-to site (GPT) that rewards you for doing numerous online tasks. Most activities are less than 30 minutes, and you can redeem your earnings for cash rewards and gift cards.
The site launched roughly 20 years ago, and members have earned over $80 million in rewards.
Some of the ways to make money include:
Online surveys
Watching videos
Reading email
Shopping online
Playing games
Redeeming coupons
Creating a free account is easy. It takes several minutes to open an account, and you can start earning immediately.
You only need to be 18 years old to join InboxDollars.
Thanks to the multiple ways to earn, it’s one of the best Swagbucks alternatives to earn cash in your spare time.
How Does the App Work?
When you open an account, you fill out a profile survey by providing information about yourself. Then, the platform matches your details with relevant surveys and side hustle offers.
After you register and confirm your email, you receive a $5 sign-up bonus.
Once you finish the initial registration process, you can start completing online tasks to earn money. A to-do list highlights activities that can earn bonus rewards.
Tasks can be done using the InboxDollars mobile app, which operates on Android and Apple devices, or by accessing the website on your computer.
You can redeem rewards for the first time once your earnings balance reaches a $15 balance. After that, the minimum redemption is $30 for all subsequent payouts.
Your redemption options include:
PayPal Cash
eGift Cards
Prepaid Visa Card
Your gift card options may include Amazon, Applebee’s, Google Play, Nike, Target, and Walmart. There are approximately 35 participating restaurants, stores, and travel brands.
If you have a gamer in your home, you can even earn credits to use on Roblox. Read our guide on ways to get free Roblox gift card codes to learn more.
You can also take earnings via a free Shein gift card if you wish.
Features
There are numerous ways to make extra money with InboxDollars. Not every opportunity pays the same, so know that before getting started with the service.
You can try each option to decide which task works best for you.
Paid Surveys
Completing market research surveys online can be one of the easiest ways to make money on the side since no special skills or purchases are needed.
If you want to take surveys for money, you can attempt several each day with the site.
The platform is one of the best survey sites on the web because it offers many choices and competitive payouts for getting paid to answer questions.
Before you start, each opportunity tells you the topic and the amount you’ll receive. Most surveys pay between $0.50 and $5. Longer surveys tend to have higher payouts.
You will need to answer several profile questions to qualify for the full survey. If you aren’t eligible for the survey, you can earn a few points for each attempt.
Apex Focus Group is a similar option that focuses solely on focus groups. Read our review of Apex Focus Group to learn more.
Games
It’s possible to get paid to play games online for money with InboxDollars. Depending on the opportunity, you can receive cash earnings or Scratch & Win sweepstakes entries.
These virtual scratch-off tickets can win cash prizes.
You can play games on the computer, including classics like Mahjongg or Solitaire. The options in the “Games” tab earn sweepstakes entries based on your playtime.
However, these free games are not guaranteed to earn extra cash like the other micro-tasks.
Downloading new cell phone games and earning points by reaching a specific level is another option to make money with InboxDollars. You can find these games in the “Offers” section.
Some of the recent examples include Bejeweled or Plinko.
Many games are free to play. You can earn several dollars for your effort after reaching a certain level in the game.
Playing games online may sometimes require in-game purchases. In these situations, you earn rewards based on your purchase amount.
Watch Sponsored Videos
Instead of spending time on YouTube, you can get paid to watch videos with InboxDollars.
You can get paid to watch videos about these topics:
Current events
Cooking
Sports news
Health videos
Most videos only pay a small amount, such as $0.01 per video. Fortunately, these videos require minimal effort and time.
Look for sponsored videos from a market research company when possible. These are usually short TV commercials that you can watch and review. They tend to include a short survey and have higher payouts than the daily videos.
Shopping Portal
If you do a lot of online shopping, the site has a portal that lets you earn cash on the items you buy from your favorite online stores.
This can be one of the best ways to get extra money since you may receive cash back on your regular purchases.
You can earn up to four percent back at some of the following vendors:
Kohl’s
Priceline
Walmart
Select retailers award up to 15 percent back, but these stores are usually specialty stores.
The cashback site also lets you earn rewards by purchasing gift cards and signing up for product offers.
Coupons
What helps make this rewards site unique is the ability to earn shopping rewards from in-store purchases. You can print coupons and earn up to $0.10 on redemptions in addition to the instant savings.
Plus, you can enjoy discounts at the cash register by scanning your grocery store loyalty card. There are over 200 coupons to select from.
It’s also possible to double-dip by using Fetch Rewards to save even more money. Read our Fetch Rewards review to learn more about that app.
Read Sponsored Emails
Taking a few minutes each day to read emails is another easy way to make money on the platform. It’s as simple as it sounds. All you have to do is open emails and read the content.
You must opt-in to take advantage of this opportunity, and you can receive up to four sponsored emails per day.
Some of the more lucrative emails pay up to $25. The highest-paying emails typically require completing some sort of task.
To avoid clogging up your inbox, it’s best to use a secondary email address for these sponsored emails.
Uploading Your Receipts
You can earn from $0.50 to $10.00 back by activating Magic Receipts digital coupons and purchasing participating items.
Most offers earn several dollars, but they are store-specific. The higher-paying offers require buying name brands.
Make sure you add a coupon to your shopping list before uploading your store receipt with your phone camera.
You may consider some of the other best apps for scanning grocery receipts to potentially earn more with participating name-brand items.
Some apps may accept online grocery delivery orders or not require you to activate offers before uploading your receipt.
Using Their Search Engine
The InboxDollars search engine helps you earn Scratch & Win tickets when you’re surfing the web.
Instead of typing a search query into your mobile browser bar, you can receive rewards for these search results:
Your sweepstakes entries progress bar advances after four qualifying searches. Additionally, you can receive $0.05 by completing eligible searches on four consecutive days.
Read our guide on ways to get paid to search the web to learn about other opportunities.
How Much Can You Make With InboxDollars?
Earning cash on InboxDollars is simple, but you won’t become wealthy. On average, you can earn several dollars a day. This assumes you’re active on the platform and take advantage of multiple opportunities.
Most tasks require 20 minutes or less to complete and pay between $0.01 and $5. Additionally, many don’t require you to spend money.
Some tasks can pay up to $30. However, these may require a purchase in order to test new products and services. They can also require more time and may not be worth the effort.
While you won’t get rich, you can earn small amounts of money in your free time. Once your balance reaches $30, you can redeem your earnings.
Cash-out options include PayPal, gift cards for popular retailers (such as an Amazon gift card), or prepaid Visa debit cards. Remember that your first redemption threshold is only $15. Subsequent redemptions are $30.
How Long Does it Take to Get Money from InboxDollars?
It takes approximately three days for most gift card and PayPal payments to complete. However, some gift card redemptions can require up to ten business days.
Members can have one pending redemption request at a time. Therefore, you must wait for an open request to close before cashing out again.
Since the minimum redemption is relatively high, frequent payouts aren’t a problem for most users.
In addition to the payment processing times, paid shopping offers may have a waiting period to verify your purchase and allow time for returns or refunds.
For example, it can take up to 60 days to receive cashback from online shopping trips.
Do You Have to Pay Taxes on InboxDollars?
Earnings you receive from any online survey platform or small-task site are taxable. InboxDollars will file a 1099 tax form for any user if they make over $600 in a calendar year.
If you do not earn that much, you’re responsible for keeping track of what you earn and reporting it on your taxes. It’s best to track the income you earn so you can refer back to it when you file taxes.
Is InboxDollars Safe?
Yes, this paid survey site is a legitimate app to make money in your spare time. The platform is a safe cash rewards website with over 20 years of experience.
InboxDollars has a 4.2 out of 5 Trustpilot score. This is proof that people make real money.
While you won’t share personal details like your bank account information or Social Security number, the platform learns about your daily habits and basic background to provide personalized offers.
The company doesn’t sell, use, or rent your personal information to third parties.
Pros and Cons
As with all side hustles, you should keep some things in mind when it comes to using survey sites. Here are some of the pros and cons of InboxDollars.
Pros:
Easy to use
Free to join
Multiple, short tasks to make money
Cash and gift card payment options
An extra $5 just for signing up
Cons:
$30 payout threshold ($15 on your first time)
Some tasks require a purchase
Won’t qualify for every survey
May receive lots of promotional emails
You won’t become wealthy using this rewards site, but it’s a simple way to earn a little extra spending money with minimal effort.
Top Sites Like InboxDollars
Overall, this side gig opportunity is a user-friendly get-paid-to site that pays in cash. Other paid survey sites might be better if you want to focus on a specific activity or need a lower payout minimum.
Here is a preview of the top apps like InboxDollars.
These are some alternatives to consider.
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is one of the leading online survey sites in the space. You can take multiple surveys daily and get PayPal or gift card payments with a $10 rewards balance.
Users can be as young as 16 years to join and need to live in the United States, Canada, or Australia.
Depending on your profile, you may also qualify for online focus groups and extended studies, which pay more. Installing the SJ Pulse app lets you make money by anonymously sharing your internet usage data.
Counsult our Survey Junkie review for more.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a competing short-task site that pays you to answer surveys, shop online, play games, and redeem in-store coupons for points.
Amazon gift cards start at $1, while PayPal payouts start at $5. Other gift card redemptions start at $5 as well.
Furthermore, new members only need to be 13 years old to join. It’s also possible to earn a $10 sign-up bonus after completing qualifying activities.
Read our Swagbucks review for more.
Branded Surveys
You can earn points by answering opinion surveys and daily polls through Branded Surveys. Active panelists can earn bonus points after receiving Branded Elite loyalty program badges.
Gift card, PayPal, and Branded Pay direct deposit redemptions start at $5 (500 points). The minimum age requirement is 16 years.
InboxDollars Review
Bonus
Ease of Use
Flexibility
Earning Potential
Support
InboxDollars Review
InboxDollars is a good way to make money online in your free time, but you won’t earn a lot.
Pros
✔️ Simple to use ✔️ Free to join ✔️ Multiple ways to earn ✔️ $5 bonus✔️ Cash and gift card redemptions available
Cons
❌ Higher minimum redemption amount ❌ Some tasks require purchase
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Summary
InboxDollars is a legit way to make money in your free time. As with any rewards site, it’s important to determine if it’s worth your effort.
If you want to make extra money on the side, InboxDollars is worth trying. Join today and receive $5 to start.
How do you earn cash in your free time?
Josh uses his personal experience of paying off over $130,000 in personal debt and changing careers to write about saving money, investing, and paying off debt. He has regularly written for notable outlets including Wallet Hacks, Well Kept Wallet, and Debt Roundup.
Josh was previously an operations supervisor for a Fortune 500 company for seven years. He is married with three small children.
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