Welcome to my review of Swagbucks.
Swagbucks is one of the leading consumer rewards websites and has been in operation for over a decade. There are many ways to earn cash and rewards with Swagbucks, the most popular method is taking surveys but you can also earn by playing games, shopping and signing up to special offers.
Swagbucks is a subsidiary of Prodege LLC, one of the leading consumer research firms in the USA, they also own several other loyalty programs including Inboxdollars and Inboxpounds.
Swagbucks Review
Before I carry on with this review, I must clear up a few questions that I regularly come up regarding Swagbucks.
Is Swagbucks legit?
Yes, Swagbucks is one of the most well-known rewards programs and has very favourable ratings on Trustpilot. They also have a 4-star rating from their members on the Better Business Bureau.
Is Swagbucks safe to use?
It’s completely safe, there is no fee and all you need to sign up is your name and a valid email address.
Is Swagbucks worth it?
Now, this needs a bit more explanation which I will do later down the article but the brief answer is no but only if you are aware that Swagbucks is a rewards program and not a business opportunity.
If you are looking for a way to earn a part-time or even a fulltime income, check out this program, it’s free to join as well.
With those questions out of the way, let’s get on with the actual review of this popular rewards program.
First, I want people to understand there is no way you will become rich by using Swagbucks, it doesn’t advertise itself as an online business opportunity but purely as a rewards program.
I say this because the internet is full of get rich quick merchants that make you believe you can quit your job by taking simple surveys and clicking on ads. It sounds ridiculous to me now, but when I first started trying to make money online, I fell for these mischievous schemes because they make it seem so easy and we as humans always want the easy way out. Don’t fall for them.
Swagbucks celebrated their tenth year in business last year and in that time they have become one of the largest and most reputable consumer rewards programs that have paid out over $200 million in cash and gift cards.
Swagbucks is free to sign up and there are many ways you can earn money, prizes and gift cards.
The following are the main ways you can earn with Swagbucks.
Surveys
Probably the most popular way of earning points or SB as they are known on Swagbucks is through taking surveys, however, in my opinion, it is not the most time efficient.
Swagbucks gives you a lot of surveys, with some you can earn as much as 500 SB ( which equals to roughly $5, but those are few and far between, most of the surveys will earn you less than 100 SB.
With each survey you get a rough estimate of how long it will take, a good way to earn as much point as possible is to look for the highest earning surveys that take the least amount of time.
However, you will have to be aware that there are some qualifying questions before you can take part in any of the surveys. This is where it can get quite frustrating, as many times you may not be eligible for many of the surveys.
It can also be a waste of your time because if you spend a couple of minutes answering qualifying questions and then find out you are not eligible, add these up and sometimes you’ll find you have just spent half an hour without actually taking a survey.
Swagbucks sometimes run promotions that will allow you to earn double points. It may be worth your while to complete some surveys during these promotional periods, otherwise, I would personally stay clear of them.
Shopping
This is probably one of the easiest ways to earn SB points, Swagbucks have a partnership with over 1000 online retailers including the juggernauts like Amazon, eBay and Walmart.
If you shop at any of their partner stores, you can get up to 20% cashback in the form of SB points which you can then redeem for cash or gift cards.
Not all stores offer such a high cash back rate, most will be between 2%-10%, however, if you shop regularly, these cashback points can quickly add up and by the end of a calendar month, you may have enough for a decent night out.
Special Offers
Swagbucks features a lot of offers from well-known global brands, if you sign up for any of their deals, you can earn a substantial amount of SB points.
For example, as of writing this Swagbucks review, there is an offer of earning 1000 SB if you sign up for a free 14-day trial of NOWTV. This seems like a pretty good deal, however, there are some terms and conditions for most of these offers. For example, to be eligible for the offer I just mentioned, you will have to continue on after the free trial period and stay on the plan for at least a month.
After that Swagbucks will transfer you the 1000 points after a period of 92 days. This seems like a long time but if you were going to purchase the offer even without the Swagbucks points, it shouldn’t really matter.
Using The Swagbucks Search Engine
Yup, you can SB points just by using Swagbucks search engine (which is Powered by Yahoo search). However, they only reward you points periodically. So, you will not be earning every time you use their search engine, that would be crazy, I mean if that was the case, everyone would be using Swagbucks search instead of Google! I know Yahoo isn’t the most useful search engine and their share of the search market is pretty low, however, if you are in that small percentage who do use them regularly, you may want to consider making Swagbucks your default search engine.
Watch Videos
This is another method that seems pretty straight forward and not much of a hassle to earning some easy SB points. However, it is kind of tedious, the videos you are supposed to watch are not entertaining, you can choose from a list of seven categories on what kind of videos you want to watch.
In my opinion, it is not really worth your time, just look at the image below, you’ll earn a meagre 3 SB for watching a total of 22 videos whose total watch time is 22 minutes. When I first came across this, I thought the best way would be to just start the videos and then continue with something more important, however, from my experience, the videos do not continuously play one after the other. When one finishes, you have press play for the next one to start and since most of the videos are usually less than a minute long and not very entertaining, watching them for 20+ minutes and earning only a few SB is not worthwhile.
Play Video Games
If you are a keen video game player, there is a way for you to earn some SB points by downloading and playing any of the recommended video games. However, like everything else, there is a catch, you will have to make some in-app purchases to be eligible for the SB points.
This is a good way to accrue some points if you are an avid video game player and make in-app purchases on a regular basis, however.
Purchase Gift Cards
If you are a regular shopper with one of the many retailers that have partnered with Swagbucks, you can earn cashback through any gift cards that you purchase through Swagbucks. The type of gift cards on offer will depend on which country you are in, for example, I am in the UK and currently, there are 10 gift cards available from some of the most popular high street retailers in the UK.
Referral Program
Another easy way to get some SB points is through referring other people to Swagbucks because it’s free it shouldn’t too tough getting people to sign up. However, you do not earn any points by just referring, your referrals must be active and earning SB points, your reward is receiving 10% of whatever they earn for life.
The Swagbutton
The Swagbutton is Swagbucks Chrome extension, once installed it will alert you of any cashback opportunity on any site you visit. This is a pretty cool feature as it means you will never miss a chance at getting some cash back, the Swagbutton also alerts you of any valid coupon codes that may be available and applies them automatically when you check out.
I think this is probably the best feature of Swagbucks, if you do a lot of online shopping, you will always be altered of any cashback opportunity or coupon codes availability. Plus you will get to build up your SB points total.
Who Is Swagbucks For?
If you like taking surveys and do a lot of online shopping, Swagbucks provides the perfect opportunity for you to earn some rewards in the forms of gift cards and cash.
Do not treat it as a business opportunity, it will never earn you enough for a part-time job let alone making a full-time income from it.
People who promote taking surveys as a business opportunity are not ethical and only want you to sign up to the dodgy system that they are promoting. Remember, no legitimate companies ask you to pay them to take part in surveys.
Final Thoughts
Swagbucks is probably the best online rewards program, they provide lots of opportunities to earn gift cards and cash. If you have a couple of hours a day to spare, take a few surveys, many of them can be rewarding if you manage to complete a few.
However, I really think the best course of action is to install the Swagbutton and claim any cashback or coupon codes that may be available when you shop online. If you are a keen gamer, then taking advantage of the gaming offers may also be a good way to accumulate some SB points.
However, do remember, that this is a rewards program, it is not a way to quit your job, just a good way to earn some extra cash and gift cards in your free time. Click here to sign up with Swagbucks.
If you are looking for a way to earn a decent income from the comfort of your home, click on the button below and find out how you can do this.
Thanks for this honest review on Swagbucks
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with you about how much you can actually make with these survey sites. I think it’s a good way to earn a little side income in your spare time and maybe even win something but that is all it should be used for. I really like the advice you gave about not believing sites that say you can make a good amount of money by just taking surveys, it’s just not that easy and people should be warned. I might check out Swagbucks, I like the cashback feature, seems like I can make some money by just shopping, which is always fun.!!
Hi Vicki
Thanks for your comment, yes legitimate survey sites provide a good way to earn a little extra cash in your spare time but you should never spend hours upon hours on sites like these to earn as much as you can, it’s just not worth the effort.
All the best
Hi Minhaj! Thank you for your very honest review of Swagbucks. You have outlined things clearly from the very start. I’m looking for both: a site where I could once in a while have some fun and earn something and also for a business opportunity. I know that I can have the former with Swagbucks. And will check the other site you recommend for the latter.
Hi Henry
Thanks for your comment and I am happy that you found this article helpful, yes, Swagbucks provides a good way to earn some cash and gift cards in your spare time and that is what its there for, never spend too much time on rewards sites trying to earn as much as possible, you will end up wasting a lot of your time.
All the best
It definitely has its place. At the very least, one gets rewarded for their free time if they undertake Swagbucks, which looks like there will be some cash savers down the road. Surveys and ad clicking isn’t going to give anyone much and yes, I’ve seen so many scams promoting business opportunities via ad clicking and surveys and while there are some good names out there in this regard, it’s not making anyone enough money to survive.
I know I’d much rather be rewarded for my free time with even just a little compensation than not be rewarded at all. So if I had free time on my hands, Swagbucks would be something I’d participate in.
I always appreciate a good review and you really delivered here with Swagbucks. Typically I’m not the biggest fan of surveys but when I come across one that’s worthwhile it peaks my interest and draws me in like you’ve done well here. I’m glad to hear that in addition to surveys this product has things like shopping, special offers, videos and games. I agree I think the Swagbutton sounds interesting, especially in that it alerts you of cashback opportunities. I’ll be checking this out further here and forwarding your post to a few friends, but in the meantime I recommend everyone check out your link to see what Wealthy Affiliate is all about, well done!
Hi
Thanks for your comment, really appreciate it, yes one of the appealing things about Swagbucks is the many ways you can earn rewards and not just through surveys. You should definitely check it out.
All the best
It’s been years since I’ve personally used Swagbucks, but I can definitely vouch that they’re legitimate. The reason I haven’t used it though is because it took so long to hit $25 to cash out. I personally felt like I was wasting time, and not getting approved for enough surveys so I just gave up.
With that being said Swagbucks is DEFINITELY worth trying out and it may have changed some since I used their program. Something I did notice they have and that you pointed out… is that you can earn rewards on shopping on certain sites which is a major plus because it’s money you get back on items you’ll probably buy anyway.
I may once again start using Swagbucks because the Swagbutton seems like a really useful feature, and if I site will give me some points on something I’ll purchase anyway…. why wouldn’t I take advantage?
Hi Josh
Thanks for your comment, they don’t have the $25 threshold any longer, it’s just $5 now, which should be easy enough for anyone to reach. Yeah, shopping is definitely the best way to earn with Swagbucks and having the Swagbutton installed is great because it notifies you whenever there are earning opportunities.
All the best
Thanks for writing this review on Swagbucks Minhaj. I have been registered with Swagbucks for some years now. Like you rightly said it is a great reward program but not an income opportunity. I agree with you that the best way to earn is through shopping and maybe even playing video games, however, watching videos, and answering surveys can be really time-consuming and the income from them is not worth the time spent doing them.
Hi Juliet
Thanks for your comment, yeah playing video games is definitely another way to earn some money and if you don’t like playing games, you can always ask a family member to play for you, while you rack up the points.
All the best
Hi Minhaj,
I agree with your assessment about Swagbucks. It is certainly legit, but you won’t become rich doing it!
I was like you when I first started to pursue making money online. I found lots of platforms that could offer me ways to make very small amounts of money, and I thought that if I joined enough of them I’d be well on my way to making quite a bit of money. It turns out it doesn’t really work that way. The good thing about Swagbucks though (and others like it) is simply for the reward component – getting rewards for items that you would be buying anyway. People can get lost in playing games and doing other mindless stuff for very small returns.
I have learnt that doing surveys and playing games is not where the real money is at. You’re much better off creating your own online business, such as in affiliate marketing.
I’m very glad I found your review of swagbucks because I’ve only just read a review on another site which was gushing in its endorsement and made it sound like a bit of a goldmine.
I’m pleased to see a more realistic assessment of it so thanks for that. I have tried doing online surveys before and it rapidly became tiresome and it seems like it would be a lot of work for mediocre rewards. It’s maybe something to consider for a quiet time in your day but maybe there are more productive things to do.
Thanks again for the review – it’s given me plenty to think about
Hi Minhaj, I must say that this review is very helpful and accurate. I was a member of Swagbucks 2 years ago and they are very trusted and legit. It is a great source of some extra cash but it cannot replace a full-time job. After reading this I plan to start again with it as it can bring some nice cash, they even improved it a lot.
The only information I have had about Swagbucks is from what my sister told me. It really seemed, from her description, a neat benefit, but I am a very cautious person and if something looks too good to be true I like to check it out first.
I did not know how reputable it was until I read your review, but from your descriptions and information it seems like a deal that I do not want to waste a lot of time with. I did not research it to replace my income but there seems to be some benefit to being a member and using the Swagbutton Chrome Extension to find special coupons when shopping online. The only drawback I see is that it works with Chrome and I generally don’t use the Chrome browser.
In my opinion I am sure some people would get some benefit out of Swagbucks but for myself it does not appear to offer enough benefit to help over the long run.
I do appreciate your review. At least when people talk about Swagbucks now I will not be totally in the dark.
Hi Raymond
Appreciate your comment, I agree with you, it’s not for everyone, I dabble once in a while but not that much, like I have said others who have commented, the best way to earn is by adding the Chrome extension, but since you do not use Chrome, that’s really not an option. However, to be totally honest, you are not missing much, it could be of benefit if you do a lot of online shopping but if you do not, the other stuff is just not worth the time and effort.
All the best
I am registered with Swagbucks and you are right about constantly being rejected from surveys, that is annoying. However, I play a lot of video games and find it the easiest way to earn points, it is definitely one of the best sites to earn some extra cash but should never be used to try and earn a good income.
Hi Fahim
Thanks for your comment, yeah playing video games is definitely a good way to earn a lot of points and then redeem them for cash or gift cards.
All the best.
I have heard so much about swagbucks, that I decided to give it a try, but after a while, I had to give up as it takes ages to accumulate the SB. Unfortunately, I don’t do a lot of shopping online, so using their portal doesn’t really favour me.
You are right, to say it shouldn’t be treated as a business because one can barely make enough to make ends meet.
And being a point based system doesn’t cut it for me, I prefer to use a system that I can know how much I am making.
I do want to start earning consistent income online, I will definitely check out your recommendation to see what it has to offer.
Cheers..