Ultimate Swagbucks Review and Earning Guide (for 2020)

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!

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. But first:

Is Swagbucks Legit?

I've been using Swagbucks for years and I can confirm that Swagbucks is legit.

They've paid out millions of dollars in rewards over the years and being one of the biggest GPT sites on the web, if they were a scam, we'd know by now.

Keep in mind that 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 for good reason:

The site isn't perfect, and it's not going to make you rich. 

My Personal Experience & Honest Swagbucks Review

I joined Swagbucks all the way back in December of 2009, and it was a lot simpler back then. Many of the features you see there today didn't exist. It was mostly just paid surveys as far as I can remember (although my memory isn't great).

Anyway, even back then I didn't really enjoy it very much. I was a kid and surveys were super boring compared to the video games I had access to (and the rest of the internet).

I saw value in the referral program they offered but I didn't know how to get enough referrals, so that was a dud too.

Nowadays most of my Swagbucks earnings come from shopping and promotional offers, and the Swagbutton extension. I don't really waste my time with the survey side of things.

Others have had a lot of success with the surveys though, so I'm not necessarily bashing them. I just don't like getting disqualified and the hourly rates are typically not good at all.

Please leave your own Swagbucks review in the comments by clicking here!

How Does Swagbucks Work?

It's as simple as signing up, earning points (more info on the ways you can earn below), and then cashing out those points for gift cards, PayPal cash, or other rewards.

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.

How to Earn Swagbucks Fast

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. 

Swagbucks 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.

Swagbucks 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.

Swagbucks 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.

Swagbucks 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.

Swagbucks Swag Code

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.

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:

1. Earn double the SB for completing surveys
2. Earn a flat amount of SB for completing a survey
3. 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:

1. 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.
2. You'll get notified whenever a Swag code is posted. Free Swagbucks.
3. It will find you coupon codes when you're shopping online.
4. 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 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!

How Many Swagbucks Equals a Dollar?

All this talk about earning Swagbucks and we haven't even mentioned how much a Swagbuck is worth!

One Swagbuck equals out to one cent, so you'll need 100 Swagbucks to make a dollar. That being said, sometimes you can find sales on rewards which means you can get more bang for your (swag)buck. 

Swagbucks Rewards

After you've racked up some Swagbucks, you can redeem them for various gift cards and rewards. Here are your options:

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:

1. Your Paypal email must be the same as your Swagbucks email
2. You must have a verified Paypal account
3. 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.

Thousands of Gift Cards

When it comes to redeeming gift cards with Swagbucks, you've got a lot of options, such as Amazon, 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.

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.

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.

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
• Reduce downtime; and
• Find better opportunities

Here are some sites similar to Swagbucks:

• PrizeRebel
• RewardXP
• GamerMine
• TreasureTrooper (review) | Sign up
• InstaGC

For more sites plus in-depth earning potential and tips, check out my guide on the best GPT sites and apps. Or, if you want to make more money taking surveys, check out these top survey sites that pay cash.

Is Swagbucks Worth It?

I can easily say that Swagbucks is worth my time. However:

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.

Remember that if you sign up here and earn 2,500 SB in your first 60 days, you'll get $5 for FREE!

Good luck Swagbucker! (Lamest name ever, sorry)