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Best Passive Income Apps
Acorns
$5 minimum account investment with $1 monthly fee
Invests spare change automatically
Earn up to 5% cash back with a rewards checking account
Nielsen Panel
Install an app and earn $50 a year on autopilot
Superb customer support team for any queries or questions
BBB accreditation with an A+ rating
HealthyWage
Meet your weight lost goal and win your prize
Win up to $10,000 with the next challenge
Get prizes for achieving step targets
Did you know the key reason the rich get richer is that they own multiple sources of passive income? (R.Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad)
Many people think that passive income will make them rich overnight – which is not the reality. In fact, a steady, profitable source of passive income can build a solid stack of cash in the long term.
Generally, when we speak of passive income, we’re referring approximately a few thousand dollars monthly.
In this article, I will review 30 best, easy to use apps that can build up your passive income.
How Do Passive Income Apps Work?
Passive income is a means of income that doesn’t require much work from you on a daily basis.
Passive income apps let us set it up once and forget about them while streaming money into our pockets. Here are the 30 best apps you can utilize.
30 Best Passive Income Apps
1. Acorns
Acorns is a micro-investing app, well known for its Round-Up investing system. It virtually takes your spare change and turns it into investments automatically. Every time you make a purchase with your linked credit or debit card, Acorns rounds up to the nearest dollar and micro-invests the change.
Let’s illustrate how it works: You bought lunch for $10.25. Acorns will round this purchase up to $11 and deposit the change of 75 cents into your investment account.
With Acorns, you can expect an average of 7.5% return on your investments annually.
Acorns Summary
- Invests spare change automatically
- $5 sign up bonus
- $5 Min account investment
- Average of 7.5% return on your investments
2. Neilsen Mobile & Computer Panel
Nielsen is the number 1 global marketing research firm tracking the TV ratings. The company features Nielsen Mobile & Computer Panel to measure and build a picture of your usual internet behavior.
Once you register, you just have to keep the app installed and use your phone like you normally do.
Nielsen keeps your privacy safe as it separates the information from your name. The company then combines your internet surfing data with data from thousands of other users for research purposes.
Nielsen rewards you for helping them gather data for their research with up to $50 annually.
Nielsen Summary
- Earn $50 a year on autopilot
- Great customer service
- BBB accreditation with an A+ rating
- Possibility to win $1,000
3. PrizeRebel
PrizeRebel rewards you with points for providing your opinion.
You can turn PrizeRebel into a source of passive income and earn up to $500 per month by referring your friends. Once your friends join the program, you will get 30% of your earnings. The more friends you refer, the higher your income will be.
You can turn PrizeRebel into a source of passive income and earn up to $500 per month by referring your friends. Once your friends join the program, you will get 30% of your earnings. The more friends you refer, the higher your income will be.
PrizeRebel Summary
- Most surveys pay up to $1
- Earn as much as $50 each month
- Rewards are sent in 24 hours
- Up to 30% for referred user earnings
4. M1 Finance
M1 Finance is a great app for beginner investors allowing you to invest in fractional shares, i.e. lets you start investing with as low as $1. With fractional shares, you own stocks and ETFs regardless of the share price.
M1 Finance refers to investment portfolios as “Pies” and suggests you how to diversify your investments among multiple “Pies”.
Overall, micro-investing with M1 Finance won’t get you rich overnight, but if you contribute regularly, you will be able to generate passive income over time.
M1 Finance Summary
- No trading fees
- Choose from 80 portfolios
- You can choose individual stocks
- Low $100 minimum deposit
5. Stash
You can start inveting with Stash app in fractional shares of thousands of stocks and ETFs with as low as $1.
You can earn stock rewards when you spend with your Stock-back debit card. This means you will earn pieces of stock from Stash as rewards for your everyday purchases.
Your earnings from Stash depends on how much you will invest regularly. On average you can expect an annual 5% growth rate on your investments.
You can use the free Stash calculator to estimate your earnings more accurately.
Stash Summary
- Start investing with as little as $5
- Buy fractional shares of stocks in companies like Amazon or Apple
- Set automatic deposits on either a weekly or monthly basis into your account
- Only $1 monthly fee (for accounts under $5,000) or 0.25% annual fee for accounts over 5k
6. Drop
Drop allows you to effortlessly earn cash-back points on every purchase you make.
Here’s how to start earning with Drop:
Step 1: Get the App (on Android and iOS) and link your card at sign up.
Step 2: Choose 5 brands that you shop the most. Drop features most major retailers ones like Walmart, Uber, Starbucks, Target and more.
Step 3: Shop and earn points automatically.
Step 4: Redeem your Drop Points to gift cards from Amazon, Netflix, Starbucks and more.
Here’s how much you can earn on each purchase:
- Walmart (2 points per $1 spent)
- Target (8 points per $1 spent)
- Dunkin Donuts (14 points per $1 spent)
1,000 points = $1
7. Dosh
Dosh is another passive income app that allows you to earn on average 1-5% cash-back automatically.
For example, you could earn $2.64 on your $26.44 Sephora purchase.
Using Dosh is simple: you just need to download the app (on Android and iOS), link your card at sign up and earn cash-backs on your regular purchases automatically.
Apart from most popular brands (Walmart, Asos, Sephora and more), Dosh partners with hotels so you can earn up to 40% cash-back when you travel.
Once your earnings reach $25, you can transfer money to your bank, PayPal or Venmo.
Dosh Summary
- No need to scan receipts
- $5 intro bonus
- Earn bonuses for referrals
- Payments processed quickly
8. Rakuten
Rakuten is the largest online shopping marketplace partnering with gigantic brands like Amazon, Sephora, Macy’s and others. The app allows you to earn up to 10% in cash-backs on your regular online purchases.
- To start earning cash-backs, first sign up to Rakuten.
- Secondly, choose a store you want to shop on the Rakuten website.
- Lastly, shop as you normally would and watch how cash-backs stack up in your account.
How much you can expect to earn from Rakuten depends on your expenditures. Let’s say you spend $1,000 on your regular purchases monthly. If you earn on average 5% cash back, it means you would make an extra $50 without any effort.
Rakuten Summary
- Up to 40% cash-back
- Close to 2500 stores available
- Get $25 for each referred friend
- Free $10 sign-up bonus
9. Truebill
According to Truebill, 84% of people forget that they are subscribed to several services and get charged periodically. This is where Truebill comes into play – it helps you find those forgotten subscriptions and cancel them.
As a one-stop-shop focused on saving you money, Truebill also helps you lower your bills. Truebill negotiates with your cable TV, security and other service providers to offer you lower monthly prices.
As TrueBill users report, you can save on average $500 annuallly.
Truebill Summary
- No savings, no fee
- Can save on average $96 per year
- Tracks your balance for overdrafts
- Monitors subscription renewals
10. Fundrise
Real estate has always been one of the most profitable investment assets. That’s why it is a core part of most successful investors’ portfolios.
Fundrise is a crowdfunded real estate platform that lets you invest your money in a portfolio filled with real estate investments. Portfolios have the potential to generate dividends quarterly, while shares also grow in value over time.
Investing with Fundrise, you can expect at least a 9% annual return.
Download Fundrise App on Android or iOS to check your dashboard and see how your investment portfolio progresses. The insights include developments such as new construction updates, occupancy reports, market data trends, and project completions.
Fundrise Summary
- $500 minimum initial investment
- Historical annual return varies from 8.8% to 12.4%
- Low annual fees: advisory – 0.15%; management – 0.85%
- High investment diversity
11. Mobile Xpression
MobileXpression lets you get paid to contribute to improving the mobile internet as it tracks and collects internet data usage from your phone for market research purposes.
To earn credits, you don’t need to do anything other than activating it once and continue using your smartphone as usual. You will earn a sign-up bonus of 15 credits and can earn on average 5 credits per week.
- 10 Credits = $5 gift card
- 15 Credits = $10 gift card
Overall, you could earn around $173 annually.
You can redeem your earnings for gift cards from Amazon, Target, Dunkin Donuts, AMC Theaters, Home Depot and Cold Stone Creamery.
12. Robinhood
Robinhood lets you roll up your investing returns faster by offering you to trade commission-free on stocks, ETFs, options and cryptocurrency. Its account minimum is $0, making it a great fit for beginner investors.
Additionally, Robinhood offers a competitive interest of 0.30% on your uninvested cash to get more flexibility with your brokerage account. Let’s say you have $1,000 in Robinhood partner bank, you will earn an additional $3 following year if you don’t spend or add cash to that account.
Robinhood Summary
- Free trading
- No minimum deposit
- Access cryptocurrencies
- Get stock news alerts
13. HoneyGain
Honeygain is another great passive income app requiring you to share your internet data for research purposes, to help big companies improve their online presence.
When you share your internet connection through Honeygain, business partners can access the web from your location. They use this connection to test how their content is shown in different parts of the world and make improvements.
Honeygain rewards you with:
- $1 for every 10MB of traffic that goes through your devices for Default Network
- $10 per hour for Content Delivery
Honeygain Summary
- Earn up to $67 passive income each month
- $5 for each referral who signs up using your unique link
- Does not store your personal data or internet habits
- 150+ countries covered
14. Sweatcoin
If you want to get paid for walking, Sweatcoin is another great passive income app ( Android and iOS) to consider. As Sweatcoin’s mission is to support a healthier life, it rewards you when you walk.
On average, you can earn 5 Sweatcoins for 5,000 steps per day.
20 Sweatcoins = $1
Sweatcoin is a digital currency, letting you purchase clothing, healthy food, excercise equipment or Amazon credit with your accumulated Sweatcoins.
Sweatcoin Summary
- Earn up to $20 per month once you reach highest membership tier
- Get $0.25 per referred friend
- You can transfer Sweatcoins between users
- Accurate step counting
15. UpVoice
UpVoice rewards you with passive income for spending time on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn.
UpVoice is an innovative market research firm helping top brands make better marketing decisions. On the other hand, it rewards you for just being present on social media daily – what you’re already doing.
You will earn tokens when you complete the following activities:
- Visit Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and Amazon daily. Make sure to disable an ad-blocker if you have any, or your user activity won’t be recorded.
- Reach certain token amounts over time.
- Complete specific actions like signing up to UpVoice panel, filling out surveys and more.
According to UpVoice, you can expect to earn at least $75 USD in rewards in your first year.
You can redeem your earnings for gift cards from Amazon, BestBuy, Adidas, AMC Theaters and more.
16. Paribus
Paribus helps you save big on your purchases by monitoring the prices of more than 25 major retailers for you. It then helps you get your money back when the prices on your purchased items drop.
Imagine you purchased a sweater for $90.98 from Nordstrom. After a few days, the store applies a discount and the price drops to $78.24. This is when Paribus comes into a play and transfers the difference – $12.74 – into your account.
Using Paribus is easy – you just need to:
- Download the Paribus app on iPhone
- Link your card at sign up
- Shop as regular. Paribus does all the job for you and returns money back into your account when prices drop.
17. LendingClub
If you’re interested in earning interest by investing in peer-to-peer lending, LendingClub helps you become an investor.
Here’s how it works:
- People apply for loans.
- You as an investor can spread your money across multiple notes. Each note corresponds to a fraction of the loan. The more notes you invest in, the more diversified your portfolio will be.
- You can either choose the default investment plan or create it manually and select the loans that can pay you the best interest.
- Every month you receive principal and interest as borrowers pay back their loans
LendingClub suggests you can get a 5% NET return on your investments annually.
18. Turo
If you own a car that you don’t use often, you can make it work for you while you sleep. Turo is one of the best options to rent out your vehicle for cash to someone who needs it.
You can set the daily price for your listing manually, or let Turo automatic pricing feature set it for you.
For example, you can earn $56 per day with the 2010 BMW 3 Series. You can use a Turo Calculator to estimate your potential earnings.
19. AirBnb
Real estate has always been the best stream of passive income. If you own an apartment or a house that you don’t live in, you could rent it to travelers. Even if you don’t own an extra apartment, you could list your extra bedroom and host travelers into your home.
AirBnB is one of the most popular platforms travelers use to find accommodation.
As a host, you set the daily price for your property. For example, a 1-bedroom apartment, accommodating 2 persons on New-York Avenue (Washington DC, USA) would cost approximately $151 per night.
You can check out the AirDNA calculator to estimate earnings based on your property type and location.
AirBnb Summary
- 30+ million of users in USA alone
- Set your own prices
- Rent the place when you want
- Meet interesting people
20. Seated
If you dine out frequently, Seated can be a great way to earn some passive income. The app (for Android and iOS) offers you up to 30% cash-back when you dine in the best restaurants in town.
The list of Seated partner restaurants include:
- Rosa Mexicano – reward 22%
- Boqueria – reward 24%
- Philippe Chow – reward 17%
You can redeem your earnings for gift cards from:
- Amazon
- Uber
- AirBnb
- Sephora
- Nordstrom
- Delta
21. SavvyConnect
SavvyConnect is another app that rewards you for sharing your internet browsing experience. The data you share is used to help companies improve their marketing efforts.
Earning with SavvyConnect is easy:
- Install the SavvyConnect app
- Browse the internet as you normally would
- Earn money – $5 per device each month
- Claim your earnings via check
22. Fronto
If you’re an Android user and don’t mind watching ads on your phone for extra passive income, Fronto app might be a good option.
The way Fronto works is simple:
- Install the Fronto app – the app will automatically become your lock screen. Sliding your finger towards the right shows you ads, paying up to $2 per interaction.
- Use your smartphone as usual.
- Earn 20 cents daily for just checking the app.
- Cash out your earnings via PayPal or redeem for gift cards from Amazon, Google Play, Target, Walmart, iTunes and Steam Wallet.
23. Public.com
Public.com is another great passive income app for when you’re interested in investing.
Public.com lets you invest in:
- Stocks – either the entire stock or a just a slice with as little as $5.
- Funds – invest in popular ETFs by the slice.
Unlike other micro-investing apps, Public.com lets you connect with thought leaders within the app to learn about investing. If you’re a beginner and wonder where to start, Public.com might be a good fit for you.
Public App Summary
- Possible to buy shares in small dollar amounts
- Free investment platform – there are no commission or membership fees
- 2.5% interest rate on your uninvested cash
- Ability to trade fractional stocks (or the whole thing) in real-time
24. Native
Native can be a great app to generate some passive income just by sharing your data, habits and behavior with companies you shop with
Considering your location, Native gives you simple tasks, such as – “check prices in a specific supermarket”. To earn rewards and payments, you need to complete the tasks and provide feedback.
Native rewards start at 3 cents per task and vary based on the task difficulty.
Native App is currently available only on Android devices.
25. Constant
Investing in peer-to-peer lending with Constant is another great way to generate passive income.
How Constant works is simple:
- You invest in multiple notes (note = portion of the loan) that are then used to lend money to borrowers.
- As borrowers return the borrowed money monthly, you profit by earning the interest.
As Constant promises, you will earn up to 11% APR (Annual Percentage Rate).
Remember, that all investments involve risk. If you want to avoid risks, the best choice would be to choose government-backed savings account. This account pays relatively lower interest, but your funds are insured.
On the other hand, if you want to earn higher interest, you can avoid risks by:
- Setting realistic investment goals
- Understanding your tolerance to the risks
- Diversifying your investments
26. Earny
Earny gets you up to 20% cash-back on things you already buy online.
Using Earny App is simple:
- Install Earny Chrome Extension and sign up
- Shop online as usual and earn cash-backs
- Track Amazon lists – link your account to allow Earny track cash-back offers on items in your wish list
The amount you will get back on a monthly basis depends on your shopping needs. On average, if you spend $1,000 monthly, you could get $100 back with an average 10% cash-back rate.
27. Embee Meter CX
Embee Meter CX Is another great passive income app for Android, rewarding you to share your smartphone usage data.
Earning points with Embee Meter CX is simple:
- Download and activate the app on your smartphone
- Use your phone as you normally would
- Earn 20 points per day
- Cash out your points via PayPal or redeem for gift cards or Mobile Airtime
1,000 points = $10
28. OnMyWay
If you’re driving on a daily basis, OnMyWay offers the easiest way to earn some extra passive income. OnMyWay’s mission is to eliminate the tendency of texting and driving. To accomplish this mission, OnMyWay pays you 5 cents per mile if you don’t use your phone while you drive.
To earn cash, simply download the OnMyWay app (for Android and iOS) and sign up.
- OnMyWay will automatically activate when you drive over 10 MPH
- To earn, simply keep your phone locked while driving
- Passengers earn rewards as well
29. Ibotta
Ibotta is a savings app offering you up to 15% cash-backs while doing your regular shopping either online or in-store. The company partners with various gigantic brands like Walmart, Target, Sephora and more.
In order to get a cash-back on your purchases, you need to upload a photo of your receipt after you finish shopping.
The amount of returns you will get absolutely depends on how much you spend in a month. However, with $1,000 in expenditures and an 8% average cash-back, you could get $80 back into your account.
Ibotta Summary
- The average Ibotta user earns $150 a year
- Up to 30% cashback
- $5 bonus for each friend referred
- Close to 1500 stores available
30. Betterment
Betterment is one of the robust investing apps recommending you a portfolio and offering you an automated investment process.
As a robo-advisor, Betterment will provide the best investment strategy based on your personal goals.
However, you can earn more after-tax money in retirement compared to investing on your own.
Let’s say your goal is to save money for retirement; Betterment could lead you to a 38.8% return on your investments.
Betterment Summary
- Transparent portfolios
- No account minimum and low fees
- Quick and easy account setup
- Perfect for young investors
How Can I Make Passive Income Fast?
I suggest you try out different passive income apps in order to increase your earnings.
My personal favorites are cash-back sites like Rakuten, Ibotta and Honey as they allow you to earn some money on the side as you do your regular shopping.
If you are looking for more advanced options and have resources, AirBnb might be the most lucrative source of passive income.