Swagbucks: How much can you earn & is it legit?

Consumer rewards and loyalty program Swagbucks is well worth checking out if you’re looking for a way to make money online. There are no special skills or qualifications required, and you can earn money by completing surveys, playing games, getting cash back when shopping online and more. It’s a legit provider that’s easy to use, but it’s worth noting that Swagbucks only offers a way to earn some extra cash—it’s not enough to provide a full-time income.

What is Swagbucks Canada?

Swagbucks is a loyalty and consumer rewards program where you can earn Swagbucks points, which are better known as “SB.” There are multiple ways to earn SB, including playing online and mobile games, completing online surveys, getting cash back on purchases and installing a browser extension.

Each SB is worth around $0.01. The SB you earn can be redeemed for cash via PayPal or used to buy gift cards from partner retailers like Amazon, Starbucks and more.

Is Swagbucks legit?

Yes, it is. Swagbucks was launched in 2008 and is based in El Segundo, California. It’s a subsidiary brand of Prodege, LLC, a marketing and consumer insights platform.

Prodege is BBB accredited with a B rating, and Swagbucks has an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars based on over 37,000 Trustpilot reviews. Swagbucks has also been mentioned in many reputable publications, including the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

How do you make money?

There are several ways to make money on Swagbucks.

Complete surveys

• How it works: You get paid for completing online surveys and questionnaires. Surveys cover a variety of topics ranging from personal finance to shopping and travel.
• Time and effort involved: Most surveys range from 5 to 60 minutes. You need to answer questions about yourself, which is easy enough, but it does take ongoing commitment if you want to see any decent earnings.
• Earning potential: Swagbucks says you can expect to earn 40 to 200 SB points per survey (100 SB = $1), but occasionally, there are opportunities to earn more.

Play games

• How it works: You earn SB by playing Swagbucks’ online library of games or by downloading and playing games to your iOS or Android smartphone.
• Time and effort involved: Varies depending on the game.
• Earning potential: You can earn approximately 100 to 25,000 SB depending on the game.

Shop online

• How it works: Shop online through Swagbucks at over 7,000 partner retailers and earn cash back on your purchases. Stores where you can shop include Expedia, Walmart, Best Buy, eBay, Old Navy and Gap.
• Time and effort involved: It only takes minutes and minimal effort.
• Earning potential: You can typically earn between 1 and 10 SB per $1 spent.

Buy gift cards

• How it works: You can also earn SB cash back when you buy gift cards from Swagbucks’ MyGiftCardsPlus store.
• Time and effort involved: It only takes minutes and minimal effort.
• Earning potential: Earn rates commonly range from 1% to 20%.

Scan receipts

• How it works: When you purchase specific grocery items from participating merchants and then upload your receipt, you can earn cash back on your purchases.
• Time and effort involved: It only takes minutes and minimal effort.
• Earning potential: Varies.

Install a browser extension

• How it works: The Swagbucks SwagButton browser extension provides automatic alerts about sales, coupons, promo codes and cash back deals at thousands of retailers.
• Time and effort involved: Minimal.
• Earning potential: Varies depending on the deals available. Get a $10 welcome bonus when you spend at least $25 at a store featured in Swagbucks.com/shop within the first 30 days.

Search the web

• How it works: If you make Swagbucks’s search engine your default search engine, you can earn SB by searching the web.
• Time and effort involved: Minimal.
• Earning potential: Varies.

Redeem Swag Codes

• How it works: Swag Codes are promo codes you can find on Swagbucks’ social media pages, in the Swagbucks app, in Swagbucks Daily Trivia and in notifications from its browser extension. To earn SB, paste these codes into the Swag Code box, the Swagbucks mobile app or the SwagButton extension.
• Time and effort involved: Minimal.
• Earning potential: 2-3 SB per code.

Enter Swagstakes

• How it works: These competitions provide the chance to win Swagbucks points, gaming consoles, laptops and other prizes. However, you’ll need to pay with SB to enter.
• Time and effort involved: Minimal time and effort, but, at the time of writing, the entry prices of open Swagstakes range from 3 to 25 SB.
• Earning potential: Varies.

Refer friends

• How it works: If you invite a friend to join Swagbucks and they use your referral link to sign up, you earn 10% of the SB they earn from the platform for life.
• Time and effort involved: Minimal.
• Earning potential: 10% of whatever your friend earns with no maximum limit.

Tips to maximize success

• Check your account often. Regularly open the Swagbucks app or log in to your account online to maximize your points-earning opportunities by completing daily polls and checklists.
• Make the most of promo offers. Keep an eye out for Swagbucks promo offers that allow you to earn bonus SB by performing specific tasks. These can provide a welcomed boost to your balance.
• Download the app. Downloading the Swagbucks app to your mobile device lets you earn SB when you’re on the go and have spare time on your hands (like if you’re riding the bus to work).
• Refer friends. If you refer a friend to Swagbucks, you will earn 10% of the SB they earn. It’s a simple way to keep earning without having to lift a finger.

Pros and cons of Swagbucks

Pros

• Multiple ways to earn. From playing games to completing surveys and surfing the web, there are several different ways to earn Swagbucks points.
• Supplement your income. Swagbucks provides a legit way to earn some extra cash online, and you don’t need any special skills or experience to start earning.
• User-friendly mobile app. The Swagbucks app has an average rating of 4.3/5 based on over 247,000 Google Play reviews and an average of 4.4/5 based on over 128,000 App Store reviews.
• Low minimum cash out. You can cash out your SB for gift cards starting at $3, while the minimum amount for cashing out via PayPal is 2,500 Swagbucks points ($25).
• Member Recognition Program. The Swagbucks Member Recognition Program provides bonuses and benefits as you reach earnings goals on the platform. There are 10 membership tiers available ranging from Pearl ($2.50 in platform earnings) to Diamond ($20,000 in earnings). Rewards include discounts on gift card redemptions and the ability to earn bonus SB.

Cons

• Won’t make you rich. Earning Swagbucks points is not a way to get rich quick or replace your regular income.
• Can be difficult to qualify for surveys. Some users complain about being screened out of surveys after answering a few questions.
• Low value. 1 SB is worth around $0.01, so it may take you some time to accumulate a balance worth cashing out.

Reviews for Swagbucks

Swagbucks user reviews are generally positive, but the platform has received some mixed feedback too. Users who leave positive reviews mention factors like the legitimacy of the platform, the fact that there are multiple ways to earn rewards and helpful customer service. However, people who leave negative reviews sometimes complain about being disqualified from surveys, having their accounts deactivated and poor customer service.

The BBB details in the table below are taken from the page for Prodege, the company behind Swagbucks.

As of December 1, 2024

What does Reddit say about Swagbucks?

Swagbucks reviews on Reddit are mixed. On the positive side of things, posters mention that Swagbucks offers a legitimate way to make money online, usually by playing games or getting cash back on purchases. However, getting screened out of surveys is a common complaint, while several users also mention that earning SB is no longer as easy as it has been in years gone by.

Is Swagbucks safe?

Swagbucks is a legit platform run by a BBB-accredited company, and it’s picked up hundreds of thousands of customer reviews in total across Trustpilot, Google Play and the Apple App Store. Its members have also received more than $617 million in cash back since Swagbucks was launched in 2008.

For added security, you can set up a security question on your account to confirm your identity and prevent your account details from falling into the wrong hands.

If you decide to complete surveys through Swagbucks, Swagbucks says you won’t need to provide personally identifying data, and all data is kept anonymous. Check out the privacy policy on the Swagbucks website for details on how your data is collected and used.

How to sign up and start earning

You can sign up for a Swagbucks account by visiting the Swagbucks website and selecting Sign up now. You need to be over the age of 13 to join, and you can sign up by providing your email address and creating a password. Alternatively, you can sign up using your Google or Facebook account.

Once you’ve verified your email address, log in and explore ways to start earning SB from your account dashboard.

How to get paid

When you’re ready to redeem your SB for cash or a gift card, here’s what you need to do.

1. Log in and click or tap the profile icon.
2. Click or tap Redeem your SB.
3. Select the reward you want from the Swagbucks Rewards Store.
4. Confirm your email address and account details.

Bottom line

Swagbucks offers a legit way to make money online. It’s simple to use, and there are several different ways to build your SB balance. But you’ll need to be realistic about how much you can earn—while you’ll earn some extra pocket money, you’re not going to become filthy rich.

Frequently asked questions

• Does Swagbucks work in Canada?

  Yes, residents of Canada are eligible to open a Swagbucks account and earn rewards. You'll need to be over the age of 13 to sign up.

• Is Swagbucks worth it?

  It depends on what you're hoping to get out of using Swagbucks. If you're looking for an easy way to earn a little bit of extra cash by completing surveys, playing games and getting cash back on purchases, it's worth it. But if you want to earn a large amount of money and even replace your regular income, using Swagbucks is not a viable option.

• Does Swagbucks have a mobile app?

  Yes. The Swagbucks mobile app is free to download from the Apple App Store for iOS devices and from Google Play for Android devices.

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Leanne Escobal as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Tim Falk

Writer

Tim Falk is a freelance writer for Finder. Over the course of his 15-year writing career, he has reported on a wide range of personal finance topics. Whether you're investing in stocks and ETFs, comparing savings accounts or choosing a credit card, Tim wants to make it easier for you to understand. When he’s not staring at his computer, you can usually find him exploring the great outdoors. See full bio