How To Make Money On Your Phone — 25 Easy Ways

How much time do you spend on your smartphone? There’s a good chance you’re spending hours a day on mobile devices.

So, if you’re spending so much time on your phone anyway, could you perhaps make some money?

When you’re ready for a side hustle to earn extra cash (or if you want to start working from home full time), consider how to make money on your phone, whether it’s an Android or an iPhone, with these 25 easy strategies.

The best part? There aren’t any special tech requirements for these apps; as long as you’ve got a smartphone and the desire to hustle, you can make extra money.

• Shopping gigs
• Focus group and opinion survey gigs
• Selling items from your phone
• More side hustles from your phone
• Plus: Final thoughts on how to make money on your phone

Shopping gigs

One of the easiest ways to make money with your smartphone is to do what you normally do when you go to the store: go shopping. Except with these apps, you can actually make money with your smartphone.

1. Ibotta
2. Shopkick
3. Mobee
4. Jobs2Shop
5. EasyShift
6. Paribus
7. Swagbucks

1. Ibotta

Earn cashback on things you buy anyway. Here’s how Ibotta works for in-person shopping:

1. Before you head to the store, open the app and complete a few tasks to find offers for your favorite products and brands.
2. Next, head to the store and purchase items you selected in the app.
3. Once you’re done, take a picture of your receipt to redeem the offers you selected.

And for online purchases, you simply need to have the app downloaded to your device. It will automatically calculate your cashback earnings.

You’ll be credited with your cashback, based on the activities you completed ahead of time. Ibotta is compatible with PayPal and Venmo, and it also provides the option to claim gift cards.

Offers range from 25 cents to $1 or more. You have to prepare ahead of time, but depending on the items you purchase from your grocery list, it’s possible to get between $5 and $50 back at the store each month. All told, Ibotta claims to have shelled out $600 million to 35 million users since its founding in 2012.

Ibotta also works with your desktop or laptop, but if you prefer online shopping this way, also consider browser coupon extensions.

2. Shopkick

Image: Shopkick

You won’t get direct cashback with Shopkick, but you can earn points to redeem for gift cards. Shopkick offers gift cards to popular retailers like Amazon, Old Navy, and Lowe’s.

You don’t even have to actually buy anything to benefit from Shopkick. Just walking into a partner store or scanning certain items can help you earn points.

3. Mobee

You don’t have to buy anything to make money on your phone using the Mobee app. You could simply answer questions or take photos while you’re browsing your favorite stores.

A “Mission” in the app might encourage you to visit a specific store, document what you find there, and, upon completion, redeem your rewards. They could take the form of gift cards to major retailers sent your way within 48 hours.

Like other apps on this list, you probably won’t break the bank by using Mobee. But if you accept missions where you like to shop anyway, you could earn gift cards for routine expenses without putting in a lot of effort.

4. Jobs2Shop

Today, mystery shopping is as easy as downloading an app, frequenting targeted stores or restaurants, and leaving feedback. There are other actions you can take in the Jobs2Shop app to boost your earnings before cashing out via PayPal.

How much money you make depends on the type of evaluation you do. The main downside is that you rely on there being a demand for mystery shopping in your area. If you live in a relatively small town that doesn’t have a huge need for it, you may not get these gigs very often.

If you live in a bigger city and are regularly sent out to evaluate businesses, you could make up to $100 a month or more. Jobs2Shop estimates that it’s paid out $1.25 million to its 1.7 million members.

5. EasyShift

EasyShift is another mystery shopping app that can help you earn money by following a checklist. In some cases, you only need to take pictures of products or check prices and share the information inside the app. You can also earn money for writing reviews of certain promotions.

How much you make depends on the demand in your area and the types of tasks you do. Just going in and taking a picture of product placement might make you $2. You might make $20 on an assignment if you’re required to make a purchase.

It’s a simple way to go about your business and earn a few bucks per month. However, you probably won’t get rich with this app, especially if you live in a sparsely populated area.

6. Paribus

Image: Paribus

This app is all about making sure you didn’t overpay for something you bought. Connect the app to your email account, and Paribus will scan your recent purchases and receipts. If a retailer owes you a refund based on price protection policies, the app sends a letter to the seller and notifies you when the money is returned. For example, if the price drops on a qualifying purchase, you’ll get money back.

Paribus doesn’t monitor all stores, though. It can help to check to see if the stores you frequent are on the list. The app also only monitors retailers that have price-match policies.

Can you do this yourself without the app? Yes. Does it take extra time? Sure does. So you might as well have Paribus do the heavy lifting.

7. Swagbucks

One of your new favorite ways to make money using a phone could be Swagbucks. You might earn points, or “SB,” for shopping as usual online and by using the mobile app. You don’t get direct cashback when converting SB, but there are plenty of gift cards to choose from.

You could net about $100 a year in Amazon gift cards depending on your regular shopping habits and doing small tasks, such as taking short surveys or answering the daily poll question in the mobile app. Not bad for doing what you might already do, especially when combined with other loyalty and rewards programs.

For what it’s worth, Swagbucks says on its website that it awards 7,000 free gift cards per day and has paid its members more than $484 million in rewards overall.

Focus group and opinion survey gigs

It’s not always exciting, but filling out online surveys can be a way to earn extra money. Not only that, but you could make even more money if you’re part of a focus group or engage in other activities that result in helping marketers better understand their audiences.

8. UserTesting
9. uTest
10. Nielsen Digital Voice
11. Survey Junkie
12. Pinecone Research

8. UserTesting

For every 20-minute session you spend testing out apps or products, you can receive $10. That’s right, you can make $30 an hour by trying new things on your phone with UserTesting.

You probably won’t be able to find enough projects to replace your full-time job, though. Chances are that you won’t be offered enough projects to be busy for five or six hours a day. Instead, you’re more likely to see between two and six projects a week.

It’s still a pretty good way to make a little extra money each week, even if it’s just another $30 in spending money. They pay you exactly one week after you complete a test.

9. uTest

The user testing platform uTest pays you based on offers. You can look for available projects, ranging from creating bug reports to creating usability testing reports. Each of these projects takes different amounts of time and payouts are based on the way the customer perceives the quality of work.

You might get paid anywhere from $3 to $50, and there are bonuses available as well. If you have a few hours to spend each week, you could make between $10 and $100 without too much trouble.

10. Nielsen Digital Voice

In the past, Nielsen ratings used to put small electronic monitors (they looked a lot like DVRs) on TVs to get an idea of what families were watching.

Now Nielsen is involved in all sorts of rating information. Join its platform, and Nielsen will track your smartphone use as part of its efforts to find out more information about how consumers use their phones to communicate with others, use apps, and even surf online.

The main downside is that the points you earn might not translate directly into cash. Instead, it translates into extra chances to win prizes. You have a chance to get cash in the monthly sweepstakes, where you’re entered to win your share of $10,000.

It’s not a guaranteed way to make a ton of money, but it can be a way to get a little extra cash without any added effort.

11. Survey Junkie

With Survey Junkie, you can either answer survey questions or share your online browsing data to reap rewards. After each survey, for example, you earn points that can be redeemed for cash or gift cards toward retailers like Walmart. Surveys could ask you about your thoughts and feelings on a range of topics.

It’s not the kind of work that’ll stimulate your brain necessarily, but you could be making money on your phone during downtime, such as when you’re commuting to your day job or waiting on a load of laundry.

12. Pinecone Research

If you’re more interested in product-testing, you can earn $3 per survey from Pinecone Research. That might not sound like a lot of dough, but it could add up quickly if you’re especially keen on providing input on product development and you’re quick to complete one survey after another.

Just be prepared for a new bother to your email inbox. You can make money on your phone using Pinecone, but the company notifies you of new projects by sending email notifications. If you’re looking for an all-in-the-app, on-demand experience, you might be better suited to a different company.

Selling items from your phone

One way to make money quickly and easily from your phone is to sell items. How much you make depends largely on your items’ quality, plus the cost to ship them. But with the right apps, it’s pretty easy to make a little extra cash.

13. Foap
14. Poshmark
15. Depop
16. Decluttr
17. BookScouter

13. Foap

Do you like taking photos with your phone? Use Foap to sell those images. Deborah Sawyerr, the founder of financial literacy website Sawyerrs’ House, sells all kinds of photos on Foap for $5 a piece (that’s her cut of the 50-50 split with Foap).

“I can upload any of my own photos, from selfies to food, landscape, pets and practically any object that can be photographed,” Sawyerr said. “There are additional money-making rewards ranging from $100 to $2,500 when I participate in specific missions.”

Plus, in some cases, Foap transfers photos to partners, such as Shutterstock and Adobe. This results in even more opportunities to make money. The higher quality the images, the more likely it is that you can use them to make money from your phone.

14. Poshmark

Do you have in-demand clothing brands cluttering up your closet? If so, snap pictures and post them for sale on Poshmark. If you’re trying to make money by selling your clothes, this is an easy way to do it.

You can set up your own boutique or closet and take pictures. It’s a lot like having your own consignment store. There are also Poshmark parties that give you a chance to highlight your wares. Being social can help you get higher visibility.

Poshmark keeps $2.95 of each sale of $15 or less and 20% of larger sales, but you could still come out ahead. If you clean out your child’s closet, for example, you might be surprised to see how well-preserved clothes can fetch significant earnings.

15. Depop

Don’t limit yourself to clothes. Clear out the clutter and use Depop to sell items that are unique and of interest to someone else. It’s true that one person’s trash is another’s treasure.

You can make anywhere from $5 to $100 or more on items that you don’t want to keep. You set the price and see if anyone’s willing to pay it.

The app charges a 10% fee on the total cost, including shipping. So, if you sell an item for $20 and charge $10 shipping, Depop will charge you $3. However, since you do this through PayPal, you’ll be subject to those fees, too.

16. Decluttr

Decluttr specializes in electronics and other items. You can find a market for old CDs, DVDs and games as well as books; there’s even a Lego marketplace if you have an unwanted set somewhere around the house.

All you have to do is enter the barcode for your item into Decluttr; this works well for CDs and DVDs. The app makes it easy to scan the barcodes. For electronics, you can simply search for the item and describe it.

With Decluttr, all you have to do is accept an offer and print out a shipping label. You won’t have to pay shipping or any other fees.

Once Decluttr receives your merchandise, you receive payment via PayPal or direct deposit. You don’t have to worry about commissions. What Decluttr offers is what it pays you — as long as you haven’t misrepresented the condition of your merchandise. The company points out that it’s paid out $400 million to its sellers to date.

17. BookScouter

Image: BookScouter

Do you have old textbooks? If you can find the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) on the back cover, you can sell them back using BookScouter. You can’t set the prices, though. Basically, the app uses the ISBN and the condition of the book to provide an offer. Then, you can decide whether to accept the offer and send in your book.

The company has 30-plus buyback vendors included in one search. Shipping is free, so you don’t have to worry about those costs eating into the amount you receive.

And if you’re a recent grad or a recovering hoarder, trying other ways to sell back textbooks from college.

More side hustles from your phone

“Let’s be honest. Many of the apps you download and use aren’t going to provide you the big bucks,” said Tom Drake, a financial analyst and the founder of financial education website MapleMoney.

“Really easy money isn’t going to replace your day job or even give you a way to keep up with a part-time income,” Drake continued. “The good news is that you can make some solid cash by using your phone with a side hustle.”

Here are some side hustle ideas that can help you make the most of your smartphone.

18. Uber (and Lyft)
19. Amazon Flex
20. Working Solutions
21. JustAnswer
22. Airbnb
23. Handy
24. Gigwalk
25. Grubhub

18. Uber (and Lyft)

Depending on where you live and the times you drive, it’s possible to make pretty decent money driving for ride-sharing services, such as Lyft and Uber. For instance, you could earn a couple hundred bucks by shuttling people around town during the annual beer festival.

Plan out your availability to coincide with special events, airline departures and arrivals and weekend bar crawls. You might be able to make a solid part-time income. However, keep in mind that gas and wear and tear on your car will eat into your profits.

19. Amazon Flex

You can make $18 to $25 an hour delivering for Amazon Flex. Use the app to schedule your availability ahead of time, or check to see if there’s an open block. Then, make your deliveries and track your earnings using the app. You can work around your own schedule, and there’s potential to make a part-time income each month.

20. Working Solutions

This side hustle entails literally talking on the phone and helping with customer service. Working Solutions outsources call center activities to agents who work from home. The average agent earns $15 per hour.

However, you might have to maintain some sort of a regular schedule if you expect to make this side hustle work. Some of the jobs require you to answer calls during certain hours or be available for other work.

21. JustAnswer

Are you an expert in some field? If so, you can make money by being available (on your own schedule) to answer others’ questions through JustAnswer.

Your rate is actually set by the person asking the question. The client sets what they’re willing to pay and you submit an answer. If yours is accepted, you get paid a portion of the fee, depending on your expertise level. So, you could potentially answer questions and not get paid.

You do have to go through an approval process before you can start offering your expertise or professional opinion. However, once you get set up, you could potentially make hundreds of dollars a month, depending on how often you’re available.

JustAnswer promotes that you could earn an average of $2,000 to $7,000 per month, though that’s a lot of variability and depends on numerous factors.

22. Airbnb

If you have an empty property or room, you could make money with Airbnb. The Airbnb app makes it easy to manage everything from your phone, no matter where you are.

If your home is in an in-demand area, you could make a few hundred dollars a month or more. It’s one of the best ways to use your home to pay off student loan debt.

23. Handy

Users who are skilled at handiwork can earn money through the Handy app. From cleaning to small fix-it projects, you can make between $22 and $62 an hour by signing up with Handy. Use the app on your smartphone to manage your gigs. After receiving a few reviews, you could start earning even more money.

24. Gigwalk

Image: Gigwalk

Looking for simple side jobs to do around town? Download the Gigwalk app to get access to various tasks that can be taken care of almost anywhere.

Some gigs are simple and take five minutes. Others might require a commitment of a few hours. However, no matter what you do, you could earn between $3 and $100 per gig. So, depending on what’s available in your area, it’s possible to make a solid income, just from using your phone.

25. Grubhub

Deliver food from various restaurants to their customers with Grubhub. You can create a schedule that makes sense for you, allowing you to work when it’s most convenient.

Manage your pickups and deliveries from your phone. You get to keep 100% of the tips you receive on top of typical wages. Grubhub bases your pay on your location and the market.

Glassdoor puts the average Grubhub delivery base pay at $13 an hour. Compare your potential earnings with other options like Postmates, Instacart and DoorDash before choosing one side hustle over another.

Final thoughts on how to make money on your phone

In the end, it’s all about what you make of the situation and how you focus your time.

“Pay attention to the activities that provide you the highest return for the time you invest,” said Drake. He suggested combining different strategies to boost results, as well as seeing if you can use multiple apps to make more off your side hustles.

“Realize, too, that sometimes it’s not about making a ton of money. If you can make a quick five bucks while you’re standing in line at the grocery store, that’s something,” Drake pointed out. “After all, that’s money you wouldn’t have made otherwise.”

It’s also money you otherwise might not have been able to put toward your education or other debt. To see the power of extra loan payments, trying out our student loan prepayment calculator.