Best apps to make money in the UK

Making money from the apps on your phone is a legitimate way to boost your income.

There are loads of money making apps out there right now that will pay you for shopping, answering surveys or performing small tasks such as taking pictures or watching videos.

For simplicity’s sake, we have selected what we believe to be the best apps that pay you on the market today, all available in the UK from either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

The best thing is that most of these apps are so quick and easy to use.

Got five minutes to spare? Open up one of these money apps, and see how much you can make!

You can earn free Amazon gift cards and cold hard cash! You’ll be surprised how much a few minutes here and there can add up.

Tasking apps

Tasking apps give you small jobs, including surveys, cashback, mystery shopping, watching videos and playing games.

1. Roamler

Roamler is a tasking app, which means you will be set small tasks in exchange for a cash reward.

Roamler app logo

The tasks in Roamler are divided into categories as follows; Checks, Mystery, Couch, Experienced, Training and others.

An example of a Check task is as below:

“You must go to the Italian Sauce aisle of the store and count the number of bays with Italian Sauces, Traditional Sauces & Food plus Rice & Grains. This will also include Pizza bases.. You will then take 1 photo per bay overview photos of each section making sure that all relevant bays are visible in the photos.”

So as you can see, it’s quite full-on. This particular task pays out a reasonably generous £7.

In order to make the best returns, owning a car would be essential as any public transport fares would wipe out your profits pretty quickly.

Mystery tasks are where you will act as a mystery shopper in a store or restaurant.

You will more than likely have to take photographs when visiting the destination and then answer questions relating to your visit and experience. Current mystery tasks on my dashboard pay from £7 – £12.

Couch tasks mostly involve accepting a task before you order a takeaway meal and paying up to £10.

Experience and training tasks can be a real mixed bag and none of these currently on my dashboard offer cash incentives.

You can however earn XP (Experience Points), which can increase your level and lead to getting better tasks


2. Premise App

Premise is a relatively new app that offers a number of ways of earning.

Locate available tasks by pressing the ‘Market’ button. Within this section, you will see tabs labelled Survey, Locate and Explore.

The Survey section does what it says on the tin. Three to four-minute surveys paying up to 10 pence per go.

These are fairly high-level surveys from what I’ve seen. I’ve just answered one on the subject of foreign governments and their effects on my own country.

Running down the list, there are other questions on Covid-19, health and wellness and financial institutions.

Screenshots from the Survey and Explore tabs in the Premise App
View surveys and tasks in the Market section of the Premise App.

The surveys require some thought so you can’t really zip through them.

Locate tasks ask you to report on items or places that you find.

This task works by asking you to locate and take a picture of a certain building or place, for example, a currency exchange. The payment for this task is 50p.

The third tab is titled Explore.

On this tab, you will see a map in which you can zoom around to look for tasks. All the tasks I’ve seen so far have concerned Western Union.

The task description is as follows; Verify the location of a Western Union in your area, take a photo of its operational hours and answer a few additional questions. If the location is open, ask an agent about the services they offer.

If you don’t find a Western Union location or it’s temporarily closed, don’t worry; you’ll still be paid for the task, just not the full amount. If it’s temporarily closed, you’ll find a follow-up task at the same location.

The payout for this task is a generous £12.02. This will be for completing all parts of the task. You will earn less if you only complete the task partially.

In summary, Premise offers a range of ways to earn. But you’ll probably get the best value if you live in the city as many of the ‘Explore’ and ‘Locate’  tasks will require some travel.

The minimum payout in the UK is £7.00, and you can be paid via PayPal or Coinbase.


3. Be My Eye

Be My Eye is another tasking app. However, it doesn’t have the same scope as Roamler.

The closest task I’ve been given is 11 kilometres away, and the majority seem to relate to the chemists’ chain Boots.

I even have tasks listed in Edinburgh and Northern Ireland, so I’m unlikely to get moving with this particular app.


4. Field Agent

Field Agent is another mystery shopping app with lots of opportunities to get paid by snapping products in shops.

Using Field Agent can involve taking surveys and doing store audits, which can involve taking photos of in-store displays and answering questions on products, displays and more mystery shopping.


Which Apps Make You Money from Ads and Surveys?

Citizen Me, Swagbucks, Google Opinion Rewards and Slidejoy are great apps if you have some spare time. You can answer surveys or get paid for watching adverts every time you unlock your phone. These are some of the best money-making apps in the UK.

5. Swagbucks

You have probably heard of Swagbucks before. It was one of the original money-making websites founded way back in 2008, and claims to have paid back over £1m to its customers over the years. It now, of course, has its own app.

You earn Swagbucks shortened to SBs through performing various tasks such as watching videos or taking part in polls or surveys.

Each Swagbuck is worth 1p and can be exchanged for vouchers once you have reached a threshold.

Swagbucks also partner with big-name brands such as Amazon, Starbucks, and Best Buy to offer their customers more options to earn and cashback shopping is also part of the deal.

Users are paid with voucher cards for stores such as Amazon or with a deposit to your PayPal account.


6. Citizen Me

Citizen Me works by asking you personal surveys in exchange for payment. The survey questions can include your employment situation, family situation and so on.

There are also more in-depth surveys on as wide-ranging topics as OCD, self-esteem, mental health, astrology, and chips!

You are in effect selling your personal data anonymously in exchange for cash rewards which can be deposited in your PayPal account

Citizen Me Home Screen
? This is the home screen for Citizen Me

Unlike other apps, you don’t have to build up to a threshold such as £5 before being reimbursed and can get small amounts of 10p, 30p or 50p paid straight into your PayPal account right after answering a few short questions, which is nice.

The best payout I have had is £4.76 – straight into my PayPal account for taking a ten-minute survey.


7. Qmee

Qmee is a popular survey app that partners with some of the big names in the survey world such as Ipsos.

Qmee gets some great reviews from users, however, my own personal experience has been less than great.

Qmee screens showing available surveys and the rewards for completion. You can see from the right-hand screen that I have had 4 surveys rejected recently.

The first survey I tried took so long (around 20 minutes) that I gave up. 

I have since tried four or five more surveys, but after a preliminary round of questioning, I am told that my survey has been rejected and I get no money for the few minutes I have spent on it.

I have only had one survey approved after starting six or seven with a grand total of 20p earned.

Qmee tries to engage its users by encouraging them to go on a ‘streak’. This can be done by answering a simple poll every day, which in turn, should increase earning potential for surveys.

As survey apps go, Qmee can take a lot of time for little reward. That’s my experience anyway. Try Google Opinion Rewards or Citizen Me for an easier survey experience.


8. Google Opinion Rewards

Google Opinion Rewards asks you short surveys (usually 3 or 4 questions tops), which take seconds to complete.

You accumulate funds that can only be spent on Google Play products – so you can use them for music, movies, apps, etc.

I have been using this for about a year now and have earned just over £14. So – the earning potential isn’t great, but the surveys are super quick and easy to do, and the Google brand brings with it a sense of assurance.

Rewards home screen
This is the Rewards home screen
Google opinion Rewards History
And this gives you an idea of the frequency of the rewards – never more than ten per month.

9. Slidejoy

Slidejoy Logo

With Slidejoy, you’ll see an ad featuring news or promotions pop up on your lock screen whenever you check your phone.

You can swipe left to learn more, swipe up for more ads, or swipe right to ignore. You earn money by accumulating ‘Carats’ – and the current rate is 1,000 carats = $1.


10. Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research Logo

Pinecone Research collects data for market research. You’ll only be notified when a survey meets your demographic.

They pay £3.00 per survey, and each one takes about 10 to 15 minutes. This is a great rate compared to other survey companies.


11. Toluna

Toluna is a well-known paid survey company that mainly does market research for big brands including Amazon, Kellogg’s and Coca-Cola to name a few.

Earn points by sharing your opinions and answering surveys on brands and services.

Your opinion feedback to the brands via Toluna with the aim of improving services for everyone.

Toluna payouts come in the form of PayPal payments or Amazon gift cards.


12. Neilsen

Neilsen is a well-known company in market research and has been in the surveys game for over 90 years. World leaders in this field, their reach now extend to mobile apps.

This app works by firstly having you install it on your mobile device. It then transmits information back to Neilsen detailing your demographics and internet browsing habits including time spent on websites etc.

Needless to say, it will be transmitting sensitive personal data, but will not collect user IDs or passwords.

Be careful though as a number of the reviews on the Google Play Store speak of a reduction in device performance after installing the app.


Which Apps Pay You for Performing a Job?

Crowdville, Foap and Spare 5 will all pay you for performing tasks.

If you feel like going the extra mile, these are the best apps to make money from “job” opportunities with some juicy rewards.

13. Crowdville

Crowdville Logo

Crowdville is relatively new to the UK, having previously been established in Italy where it claims over 30,000 members.

Crowdville users are called ‘Crowders’ and can ‘contribute to the creation and improvement of digital products and services according to their website.

Once signed up, you are given ‘missions’ which can involve providing feedback to participating companies on their products or apps.

In some cases, you are acting as a product tester for new services. So if you are particularly interested in new technologies and are super keen on tech, this could be a great app to try out.


14. Spare5

Spare 5 pays you to carry out various micro-tasks. I’ve had tasks such as captioning photos and writing questions for a customer service bot.

The tasks typically help programmers to develop new apps and technology, so it’s quite exciting to help out! You’ll be paid every week as long as your balance is over £1.

Most of the tasks don’t pay a lot, but they only take a few seconds to complete.


15. Foap

Get paid for taking pictures. That’s right, with Foap you can make up to 5 pounds for every picture you sell.

You can also enter to win rewards of up to £100 by joining “missions,” where users are tasked with submitting pictures of specific items or scenes.


16. TaskRabbit & Handy

TaskRabbit and Handy work in similar ways.

They can both help you to find paying odd jobs such as handyman work, help with moving house, cleaning work and chores. Some have a small joining fee.


17. StreetBees

If you are looking to make cash rather than redeem gift vouchers, another task-based App is Streetbees.

This is another market research app. Tasks can be anything from recording short videos of you using a product, survey-based tasks, or tasks that involve taking photos – perhaps of a coffee machine you have and how you use it.

You can earn around £1 for a quick 5-minute task.

StreetBees has a super impressive website showcasing their work and the brands they partner with.


18. Gigwalk

If you live in a busy area with plenty of shops and retail outlets near you, you could earn extra money using Gigwalk.

This App is used as a market research tool by leading companies checking shops and stock availability.

Best to use for making some extra money if you are out and about. Money is paid straight to your PayPal account and it then you can transfer your extra cash to your bank account.


Which Receipt Scanning Apps Are Best?

Get paid for scanning shop receipts by using the apps Shoppix and Shopkick.

19. Shoppix

Shoppix Logo

With Shoppix, you can earn points just for uploading pictures of your receipts after shopping.

Once you get enough points, you can cash out via PayPal or receive Amazon vouchers, iTunes vouchers or Love2Shop vouchers.

The receipt must be printed (not handwritten) and unmodified. The receipt must clearly show:

  • The shop or service provider
  • The date which MUST be within the last seven days of you snapping the receipt
  • The items or services paid for
  • The total price paid

You get tokens for each receipt – up to 30 receipts each week. The terms state that some receipts may not be accepted – but snap them all anyway.

Shoppix Screen

20. Shopkick

Shopkick is another receipt scanning app, but you also earn by scanning items in a store.

You can earn around 10 to 50 points just by scanning items and walking into stores – no purchases necessary.

When you buy certain items online and in-store, you’ll earn even more points. You can start cashing out for £2.00 gift cards for only 500 points.


Any other money-making ideas for me?

21. AirTime Rewards

A neat way to help pay your monthly mobile phone bill is to earn money using Airtime Rewards. You receive cashback on your shopping, which is linked directly to paying off your monthly phone bill.


22. Acorns

Finally, I’d like to mention my personal favourite money-making app, which doesn’t quite fit into any of the above categories.

Acorns is a unique app that pays you to invest your spare change. They use your change – we’re talking pennies – and invest in the stock market.

You can also link your credit cards and round up your purchases to the nearest dollar, and Acorns saves your spare change for you.


23. Music Magpie

Music Magpie is a name that may be well known to UK shoppers. It’s an app that allows you to buy, sell, and trade in used electronics and media.

If you’re looking to upgrade your phone, Music Magpie is a great option. You can get an instant quote for your old device and receive a payment within two days.

Best of all, there’s no need to haggle over price – you’ll get a fair and honest offer for your phone, guaranteed.

Not only does Music Magpie make it easy to sell your old stuff, but you can also use the app to buy pre-owned items at great prices.

Whether you’re in the market for a new phone, tablet, or game console, you can be sure to find a great deal on Music Magpie.

If you’re simply looking to declutter, Music Magpie can help with that too. You can trade in your old stuff for cash or even donate it to charity. It’s a win-win!


24. Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace give users the chance to buy and sell items within their local communities.

To use Facebook Marketplace, you first need to create a Facebook account and log in. Once you’re logged in, you can access Marketplace by clicking on the “Shop” tab on the left-hand side of the screen.

From there, you can browse through the listings or search for specific items. When you find an item you’re interested in, you can contact the seller and arrange to meet up and purchase the item.

Facebook Marketplace is a great way to buy and sell items locally. It’s also a great way to connect with people in your community.

So, if you’re looking to declutter your home or find some great deals, Facebook Marketplace is a great option.


25. Wallapop

Wallapop is yet another decluttering app. But how is it different from the others?

Well, for starters, Wallapop is completely free to use. There are no listing fees or commissions. That means you can sell your stuff without having to worry about losing any money in the process.

Another difference is that Wallapop is designed specifically for people who want to sell their stuff locally.

So, if you’re looking to sell an item, you can search for buyers in your area. This makes it easy to arrange a meeting and complete the sale.

Finally, Wallapop also has a built-in chat feature that you can use to communicate with buyers and sellers. This makes it easy to ask questions, negotiate prices, and arrange meeting times.

Overall, Wallapop is a great option for people who want to declutter their homes and make some extra cash. It’s quick, easy, and completely free to use!


Enjoyed this article? Why not check out our guide on the best UK money saving apps.

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