Swagbucks offers a lot of easy and even fun ways to earn extra cash online, but for new users, it can be a bit overwhelming. That's why I've written this Swagbucks review.
Below I'll go over each feature Swagbucks has to offer, I'll answer some commonly asked questions, and I'll show you how you can get the most out of Swagbucks without wasting a lot of time.
It's a review and earning guide all in one!
Table of Contents
Key Points ⚡
| Minimum Age | 13 |
|---|---|
| Countries | International |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android |
| Avg. $/hour | $1-$5 |
| Work Volume | Opportunities are almost always available |
| Ways to Earn | Surveys, sign ups, searching the web, videos, games, trivia, cashback, coupons, referrals |
| Payout Options | PayPal, gift cards, sweepstakes, charity donations |
| Minimum Payout | $1 |
| Payment Speed | 1-2 business days |
| Sign up Bonus | $5 if you sign up here and meet the bonus requirements |
Review Process
This Swagbucks review was written and researched by me. I've been using Swagbucks for years now (since 2009!), cashing out multiple times from the platform.
For this review, I did a bit of additional research into the safety, legitimacy, and reputation of Swagbucks, took an in-depth look at all of the features, saw what others online were saying, and editing everything together for a full overview. Enjoy!
I also interviewed a couple of Swagbucks users to get their thoughts, tips, and earning stats.
Notice something incorrect or want to add to this review? Leave a comment.
What is Swagbucks?
Swagbucks is a tasking/rewards program — also known as a GPT (get-paid-to) site — that offers a variety of ways to earn small amounts of money. This includes things like watching videos, searching the web, shopping, and more.
You don't get paid straight cash for these tasks though. Instead, you earn Swagbucks (that's where the name comes from). These strangely named rewards points (so 2000s) can be exchanged for gift cards, PayPal cash, and more.
Below we'll dive deeper into the features, earning methods, and rewards Swagbucks has to offer.
About the Company
- Founded: 2004.
- Parent company: Prodege, LLC.
- Located: P.O. Box 70 Manhattan Beach, CA 90267.
- Founders: Josef Gorowitz | Scott Dudelson
- Socials: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | LinkedIn
- Contact details: N/A.
- Other panels owned by Prodege: Inbox Dollars, ySense, MyPoints, ShopAtHome.
Is Swagbucks Legit?
Yes, Swagbucks is legit. They're one of the longest-lasting, largest GPT sites on the web, and they've paid out millions of dollars in rewards over the years to their users. If they were a scam, we'd know by now.
Keep in mind:
Just because Swagbucks isn't a scam doesn't necessarily mean it's worth using. There are positive AND negative Swagbucks reviews all over the web, and for good reason. The site isn't perfect, and it's not going to make you rich. Keep on reading to learn why.
Who Can Join?
- Age requirement: 13 years old.
- Country requirements: Swagbucks is available internationally in most countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, as well as some countries in Africa. The app is available in Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, and Spain.
- Device requirements: Computer or smartphone (iOS/Android) with internet.
- Payout requirements: If you want to cash out via PayPal, you will need to have a linked bank account. Gift cards have no special requirements.
Safety Inspection
- SSL certificate? Yes.
- Privacy policy: Here.
- Terms of Service: Here.
- Personal data collected from Swagbucks users:
- Name, location, credit card number, email address, mailing address, phone number.
- IP address.
- Do they sell user data? Yes, from their policy: “We may share or sell aggregate or individualized information about you that may include, without limitation, (1) your personal information, (2) your use of the Prodege Sites and Features and our Services, (3) websites you visit, and (4) your location and information derived therefrom which we believe reflects your interests.”
- Do they ever share user data with third parties? Yes, they may share your data with their affiliates and trusted partners.
- Do they protect user data? Yes, from their privacy policy: “We maintain security measures in place to help protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of the Personal Information under our control.”
- Can you delete your account and data? You can deactivate your account in your settings. It's not clear whether or not this deletes your data though.
Is Swagbucks Safe?
Swagbucks is just about as safe as any other survey or GPT site. If you use a site like this, just know that your data is probably getting shared around a bit. If that's okay with you — and you're careful about the data you share — then Swagbucks should be fine to use.
Keep in mind, many of the offers on Swagbucks (and GPT sites in general) come from 3rd parties. When you complete 3rd party offers, your data is protected under that 3rd parties privacy policy, not Swagbucks/Prodeges.
I will say, the Swagbucks/Prodege privacy policy was a lot more difficult/annoying to read than many other privacy policies I've read before. It was basically just a block of small text.
Obligatory disclaimer: Anything on the internet is never 100% safe or private. The above are my own opinions based on my own research. Please take caution and do your own due diligence.
Swagbucks Support Quality
It's surprisingly difficult to get in contact with an actual human representative from Swagbucks. They don't have a support email address easily visible on the site.
To submit a support ticket, you need to find an activity on your activity log that you're having a specific problem with, and contact them through there:
It's nice they at least have this option, but responses can take 3-10 business days or longer, which is a bit long. Some people report never getting a response at all, or getting an unhelpful/generic response.
Overall, Swagbucks customer support definitely has room for improvement.
How Does Swagbucks Work?
The way Swagbucks works is pretty simple. After signing up, you'll find multiple ways to start earning points, including:
- Surveys
- Cashback offers
- Paid videos
- Games
- Referrals
- and more
Some of these opportunities are provided by Swagbucks themselves, others are provided by third parties that Swagbucks has partnered with.
For each task you complete, you'll earn Swagbucks. 1 Swagbuck = 1 cent.
After earning at least 100 Swagbucks (worth $1), you'll be able to cash out your bucks for a reward. Rewards include PayPal cash, a variety of gift cards, charity donations, and sweepstakes entries (if you're feeling lucky).
More info on the ways you can earn, features, and tips below.
Swagbucks Guide: Ways to Earn + Tips
There are quite a few ways to earn Swagbucks, but they're not all equal.
Let's go over each one:
Daily To-Do List
The Swagbucks to-do list is a list of tasks that you should try to complete every day. If you finish 6/7 tasks, you'll earn bonus SB.
If you do this every day for an entire month, you should be able to earn a minimum of 200 SB per month.
Tip: Make sure to click the task on your to-do list so that you get credited for it!
Daily Goal
Your daily goal is the next big thing you'll want to focus on completing every day if you want to earn the most Swagbucks possible. Each time you complete your daily goal you'll be awarded bonus SB.
There are also winning streaks for hitting your daily goal multiple days in a row:
- 7 days in a row: 25 SB Bonus.
- 14 days in a row: 100 SB Bonus.
- 21 days in a row: 200 SB Bonus.
- Entire month: 300 SB Bonus.
Daily Poll
The daily poll is an easy way to earn 1 SB every day. Simply click through to the daily poll from your to-do list, and answer the question to earn your SB.
I had one recently about surprise parties:
(I'm really not sure how I feel about surprise parties.) As you can see I earned 1 SB for answering. Not a lot.
Surveys
The Swagbucks gold surveys are a good way to earn Swagbucks, but there's one catch:
You won't qualify for every survey.
Some surveys will disqualify you part of the way through and you won't get paid the full amount. This is frustrating, to say the least.
To avoid disqualifications, make sure to fill out surveys honestly and accurately. Don't just rush through them clicking random answers.
Also, even more importantly:
Make sure you fill out your survey profile. You should see it on the right of the screen next to the gold surveys, it looks like this:
Filling it out will help Swagbucks recommend relevant surveys for you, and you'll also get 2 SB for every 10 questions you answer.
Tip: If you want to earn Swagbucks fast, pay attention to how long each gold survey takes to complete. You don't want to take a 40-minute survey that only pays 10 SB.
Videos
Swagbucks videos are an easy way to relax and earn some Swagbucks. As a bonus, some of the content on the Swagbucks videos section is actually pretty entertaining.
Tip: If you're binge-watching Netflix, let Swagbucks videos run in the background for easy, hands-off earnings.
Discover
The discover tab on Swagbucks is a gold mine if you're willing to sign up for some trial offers or services. As you can see from the image above, you can earn up to 5000 SB with some of the offers.
There are also offers on the discover tab that will give you Swagbucks for doing things like playing mobile games and visiting websites, which is pretty cool.
Tip: Look for services you can actually use and check Swagbucks BEFORE signing up for services online. The Swagbutton is handy for this too as it will alert you when a promo is available on the site you're browsing.
Swagbucks Search
Yep, you can actually get paid to use Swagbucks as your search engine.
Each search you make with the Swagbucks search engine has a chance to earn 1-1,000 SB.
It's completely random how many SB you'll get, and it won't work if you just spam the engine with random searches, but hey, it's better than a slot machine. At least it's free to use!
Tip: The best way to earn with Swagbucks search is to set it as your default search engine. Once you sign up for Swagbucks, you just need to download the Swagbucks search extension.
Games
If you're like me, when you hear that you can earn money by playing games you get PUMPED. However, it's not exactly what it sounds like.
The majority of the games you'll get paid to play on Swagbucks require you to spend money in order to earn any Swagbucks.
The games that don't require you to spend money just flat out suck. They have one called Swagasaurus run and it's awful; BUT, supposedly if you play enough you can earn up to 10 SB a day with it.
Tip: The key with games like Swagasaurus run is that your score doesn't matter. Just keep playing and dying and eventually, you'll earn the 10 SB.
Swag Codes
Swag codes are codes that Swagbucks hides around their website and social media profiles. If you find a Swag code and enter it in on your account, you'll earn some free Swagbucks.
Tip: Download the Swagbucks browser extension and you'll receive a notification (pictured above) whenever there's a new Swag code.
Swago
Swago is the Swagbucks version of bingo, and there are some big prizes to be won for playing.
When you take a look at your Swago board, you'll notice each box has a different action written on it. For example, one box might say “Finish a gold survey.”
If you complete an action on your board, the box will change color and you'll get a small reward.
You'll also notice there are patterns on the right side of your Swago board. Here's a preview of some of them:
Your main goal is to match one of these patterns and submit your board, but you can only do this once. You need to be careful and make sure you submit the best pattern you can get, as each pattern gives different rewards.
As you fill up your Swago board you'll notice that you're also earning spins. You can use these spins on the Swagbucks Spin & Win.
Swagbucks Spin & Win
The Swagbucks spin and win is a fun little wheel you can spin to earn random rewards. I've won things like entries into giveaways, Swagbucks, and survey bonuses.
It's honestly pretty fun to use the Spin & Win even though I still have yet to win a big prize from it.
Tip: Make sure to use up all of your spins before they expire! You can see how long you have left at the top right of the wheel.
SwagUps
SwagUps are power-ups that give you a special bonus for a limited time. You can receive SwagUps through the spin & win wheel, team challenges, and you can also just get them randomly.
According to Swagbucks, there are two main types of SwagUps:
SB Award SwagUps
These will allow you to earn more Swagbucks when you do certain tasks. Some examples of this kind of SwagUp:
- Earn double the SB for completing surveys
- Earn a flat amount of SB for completing a survey
- Earn double the SB for shopping online
Rebate SwagUps
These types of SwagUps are like an IOU for Swagbucks. For example, you might get one that is worth 500SB towards your next gift card redemption. That means you could redeem a $5 Amazon gift card for free.
Remember to use your SwagUps before they expire!
Swagbucks Live (Previously SwagIQ)
Swagbucks Live (previously Swag IQ) is a trivia game show app created by Swagbucks.
The way to win is to answer all the trivia questions correctly. If you do that, you get to split the pot of Swagbucks with the rest of the winners.
You can also earn Swagbucks for answering certain questions. For example, in the photo above the question awards 1 SB if answered correctly.
I like Swagbucks live because it's a fun way to earn Swagbucks and you also learn some random stuff while you're at it.
PS: If you sign up with my referral code – DeeyHouli – I'd really appreciate it!
SwagButton
The SwagButton is a pretty handy tool for increasing your Swagbucks earnings.
Here's what it can do:
- As you browse the web, it will notify you if there's a cashback offer available. I use the Ebates cash back extension along with the Swagbucks button as sometimes Swagbucks offers a better deal.
- You'll get notified whenever a Swag code is posted. Free Swagbucks.
- It will find you coupon codes when you're shopping online.
- You can also use the Swagbucks button to watch videos and earn Swagbucks.
After you sign up, install the SwagButton to earn 50SB.
Referral Program
This is where some good money can be made. By referring someone to Swagbucks, you can earn a 300-500SB bonus if they earn a certain amount within 30 days, and you'll also get 10% of their earnings for life.
That means if one of your referrals earns 1,000 Swagbucks, you'll get 100 just because you referred them.
Note: You'll need a lot of active referrals to really reap the rewards of the Swagbucks referral program. Try starting a blog or a Youtube channel to build an audience, and then refer them!
Swagbucks Earning Potential
As you can see, there are a lot of different ways to earn and save money with Swagbucks. For that reason, it's not easy to determine an exact hourly rate or monthly earning potential.
That said, based on my experience and the feedback from the Swagbucks users I interviewed, the average earnings seem to be anywhere from $1-$5/hour.
Of course, you could earn more or less, and that hourly rate only really applies to the active tasks on the site like the paid games, surveys, and others. For the more passive tasks (search) and money-saving opportunities (cashback), with consistency, you could rack up anywhere from $5-$50+/month.
Swagbucks Rewards: Ways to Cash Out
After you've racked up some Swagbucks, you can redeem them for various gift cards and rewards.
Here are your 4 main options:
1. PayPal Cash
Paypal is the best reward that Swagbucks offers if you're looking to redeem your SB's for cold hard cash. However, there are a couple of things you need to know before you redeem your Swagbucks for Paypal money:
- Your Paypal email must be the same as your Swagbucks email
- You must have a verified Paypal account
- The first and last name on your Paypal account must match the first and last name that appears on your Swagbucks account
If you follow those 3 rules you'll have no problem redeeming Swagbucks Paypal rewards, just make sure to allow 10-14 business days for the payment to be transferred.
2. Gift Cards
When it comes to redeeming gift cards with Swagbucks, you've got a lot of options: Amazon, Starbucks, Steam, iTunes, and more.
The values range from $1 to over $100.
If you need cash you can spend almost anywhere, just redeem a prepaid Visa card.
Tip: Look out for gift card rewards that are on sale if you want to snag a really good deal. I've seen $50 Amazon gift cards being sold for 3900 SB's, which is equal to $39.
3. Charity Donations
If you're feeling generous and you want to do good with your Swagbucks, you can donate them to a charity of your choice.
4. Sweepstakes
If you're a gambler and you want to play the Swagbucks lottery, the sweepstakes are the place to be. Here, you can win anything from cold hard cash, to gift cards, to massive amounts of Swagbucks.
The catch is that you need to risk some of your own Swagbucks to enter into the sweepstakes. Are you willing to risk a small amount for potentially big rewards?
Personally, I enter into a few sweepstakes every now and again, but I've never won, and I don't ever expect to win. I'd rather save the majority of my precious Swagbucks for a guaranteed prize.
Swagbucks Review and Rating Breakdown
- Earning Potential
- Work Volume
- Payout Options
- Payout Minimum
- Payout Speed
- Accessibility
- Support
- Usability
- Safety
Overall
Summary
Swagbucks can be a bit overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of it, you can earn some extra dollars a month for things like gift cards, prepaid Visas, or PayPal cash. It won't be much, but it's easy money!
Swagbucks Pros and Cons
The Good
- Reputable – Swagbucks has been around for ages.
- Lots of ways to earn – Variety is always nice, plus there are bonuses available for extra earnings.
- The site is easy to navigate
- Many payout options – Gift cards, PayPal, prepaid Visas, donations, and more.
- Available on desktop and mobile
The Bad
- Won't earn you a fortune – Top earners can expect maybe $50-$200/month.
- Can be a bit overwhelming – Swagbucks has a lot going on so there's a teeny bit of a learning curve.
- You won't qualify for every survey – This is a problem with most survey sites. Just part of the game.
- Payouts can be slow – One morning I tried to get a Starbucks gift card before going to Starbucks. I was quite disappointed to learn that my gift card wouldn't arrive for a few business days.
- Offers sometimes won't credit – You can contact Swagbucks support if this happens to you, but they might not be able to help.
Swagbucks Reviews From the Web
To give you an idea of what others are saying around the web, here are some 2021 reviews of Swagbucks from Trustpilot and Sitejabber:
Positive Reviews
- “I'm thankful that I found Swagbucks. It is a legitimate [site] and [I] have found lots of great opportunities here.”
- “I am a recent user of Swagbucks started a month ago, and have earned $35 worth of points, without access to a phone too. The surveys are either hit or miss, though the ones from Remesh have amazing payout. The discover offers have lots of money makers and ones for free trials and apps. The offerwalls are pretty high paying on Swagbucks especially Revenue Universe. Will definitely continue using.”
- “I have been using Swagbucks for over 10 years. Swagbucks is very simple and fun to use! I love all the different ways to earn Swagbucks. I also like the numerous gift card options when cashing out your Swagbucks. I typically use my Swagbucks to purchase gifts for others, but this last cash out was for a gift for me!!!” – From the US.
Average Reviews
- “Swagbucks is the best site I've used to earn money for gift cards. Its customer service is either 4 or 5 stars. My rating of 3 stars was given because out of every survey I'm able to complete, I usually get blown out of 8-10 (and sometimes more).”
- “A great way to earn a fiver a month, can be frustrating when you spend ten mins on a survey and get chucked out or do a discover like a game that doesn’t track but in general a little bit of pocket money if you do the daily tasks”
- “Most surveys will kick you out after answering a bunch of questions. Frustrating that you get to complete only 10% of the surveys you start. Otherwise, it’s fun.”
Negative Reviews
- “They are very hit and miss with support. Sometimes they solve the problem and it's no big deal, other times you get a [condescending] email that implies you can't follow directions, despite the fact that you clearly stated the issue in your initial email and made it clear that you tried to follow the procedure properly.”
- “Extremely poor customer service. Failed to give me my new member bonus, have raised 5 tickets and each advisor simply doesn't bother fixing the issue. Avoid.” – From the UK.
- “I redeemed my gift card and I needed to log in to access the code but now I can’t. I have tried several times, changed my password but still nothing. Very disappointing!” – From the US.
- “Have not credited me on two deals (160$ total) even after multiple tickets were submitted.” – From the US.
Summary
Here are the aggregate ratings for Swagbucks at the time of writing:
- Trustpilot – 4.3/5 (21,525 reviews)
- Sitejabber – 4.5/5 (9,009 reviews)
Due to Swagbucks being one of the most popular GPT sites on the web right now, they receive a lot of reviews each day. And overall, most of them are pretty positive. Way more positive than I was expecting.
Common complaints include bad customer service, offers not crediting/disqualifying (this problem exists on all sites like this), getting locked out of accounts, and there not being enough ways to earn/cash out.
See more reviews in the comments or leave your own!
Is Swagbucks Worth It?
I can easily say that Swagbucks is worth my time.
Why?
Because I don't spend hours every day grinding it out trying to earn as many Swagbucks as possible. I've got other things to do like work on my blog.
Instead, I use Swagbucks as a way to earn some extra money, find interesting offers, and save money online.
Occasionally I'll also do the daily to-do list, sign up for offers, and I'll play the Swago board whenever it's available cause it's pretty fun.
And that's the key:
Swagbucks is about having fun while you earn. It's not about trying to earn the most Swagbucks as fast as possible. If you try to do that you're going to end up hating it.
Instead, take it slow and don't burn yourself out. You may not earn as fast but you'll last a lot longer.
How to Get a $5 Swagbucks Sign Up Promo
If you want to receive a $5 Swagbucks bonus, start by signing up for Swagbucks using this link.
Next, in order to earn the free $5, you'll have to earn 2,500 Swagbucks within 60-days of signing up.
It's not a walk in the park, but below I'll show you how to earn Swagbucks fast enough to reach that goal. If you choose the right tasks you should be able to hit it.
Other Sites Like Swagbucks
If you enjoy filling out surveys and doing other similar tasks for money, signing up for multiple sites can help you increase your earnings.
Here are some Swagbucks alternatives to check out:
For more ideas and opportunities, check out these guides:
- Best GPT Sites (Get Paid To Sites) – Full list of sites like Swagbucks + tips and tricks to help you earn more.
- Top Free Online Survey Sites – If you prefer just taking surveys, these are the sites for you.
- Focus groups – These are essentially higher-paying surveys. Try Respoindent.io or User Interviews.
- Sites That Will Pay You to Test Websites and Apps – A step up from surveys and GPT tasks. Higher pay, but more work (still easy though).
For more ideas, check out these ways to make extra money, ways for teens to make money, and my guide on how to start working from home.
Final Thoughts
I hope you found this review helpful. If you did, please consider sharing it!
- Are you a Swagbucks user? Click here to leave your own short Swagbucks review below.
- Have questions or feedback? Click here to leave a comment below.
already try for a week
but always get not qualified for the survey
any tips for get the survey?
thx
Sorry to hear that. Best thing you can do is make sure your profile is filled out fully and accurately. Other than that it just comes down to your demographics.
I’ve heard all the different ways Swagbucks can help you earn SB, then redeem it for gift cards or cash. But I signed up for it a while ago and barely got any options like this.
I signed up for it in the first place because a lot of GPT sites doesn’t support my country and I found out that Swagbucks does. But all I see are the giftcards, shopping, and survey profile questions. And last time, it came up in all sorts of different languages, for who knows what reason. I also tried to use the search bar feature, but nothing. I have no videos to watch or games to play other than the ones you sign up for and such. I never got any surveys to answer. I attempted to contact the support team, but no response. So I closed my account.
Now, I’ve signed up again, hoping this time will be different. So far, the only difference is that the survey profile questions come in English. Could the problems be because of my location?
Hey Saadat, yeah lack of surveys/offers could be due to your location. Unfortunately, if you’ve filled out your survey profile questions/etc. fully and accurately and you’re still not receiving any surveys, you might be out of luck.
One last thing you could do is contact the support team to see if they could help. Let me know how things go.
Prizerebel is way better than swagbucks
Haha fair enough! Everyone has their preferences. I’ll be doing an in-depth review of PrizeRebel soon enough.
Sounds cool, maybe I’ll try it.
Good luck! Let me know how it goes.
I have been using swagbucks for years. I do all my shopping on line thru them and get tons of money back: also print grocery coupons and make cents off those. But every penny helps:
That’s awesome Jamie I’m glad you’ve had a good experience with it. Those small savings really do add up!
Swagbucks is great but like you said it is nothing to go crazy about. It is great for some cash on your free time but I won’t spend hours grinding away on Swagbucks, there are things better worth my time. With that said, I still do think Swagbucks is good for people who want some quick cash!
I agree Michael! Thanks for the comment.