Game Apps You Can Make Money On

If you have read our article; 16 Best Smartphone Apps That Pay You money 2018/2019, you probably would have found fun and entertaining ways to earn money using your mobile phone.

Earn Money apps are now more popular than get paid to sites as you can earn money while on the go and not limited to using a desktop device. The best money making apps allow you to make some extra cash for beer money.

When you make a deposit into your Long Game account, whether automatic or manual, Long Game will reward you with coins that you can use to play games for cash rewards. Founded by a California-based Millennial looking to inspire young people to save, Long Game offers a free 30-day trial and stays free as long as you use Direct Deposit. The amount of money you can make depends upon the type of game and the item you are farming. However, time required to farm gold can be too much. To give you an idea for earning $1, you have to farm around 1000 gold. For $100 you need to farm around 300,000 gold. Similarly, you can actively play games and buy & sell items making around $5 – $20.

This post shows you the 17 best smartphone apps that pay you money 2020 and includes both the top Android and iOS apps. The countdown is based on app reliability, the ease of use and the money making potential.

17 Best Smartphone Apps That Pay You Money 2020

17) Cash For Apps

Cash For Apps is a good stable app that pays you to install apps. When you install apps advertised on Cash For Apps offerwalls you can then delete them once you are credited points.

300 points on this app are worth $1 and points can be exchanged for gift cards for stores including Amazon, CVS, eBay, Target, Starbucks, Google Play and many more.

You can earn bonus points by referring friends, however as it is only limited to app downloads, the earnings potential will not be as good as other apps in our list.

The app is available from the iOS app store and Google Play store. If you have one account on either and have a device from both, they will be synched.

16) Ebates

The Ebates app is a good earning app for anyone loves to shop online. Ebates is one of the best cashback.

Ebates will give you $5 to sign up so that is a great reason for you to download this app on to your smartphone.

You can get paid for shopping at any of the 750+ approved shops including Microsoft, Sephora and Etsy.

You can also earn money by referring your friends to use this free earn money app.

15) cashKarma Rewards & Gift Cards

cashKarma is a popular app that will pay you for downloading apps, signing up for free trials and watching videos. For paid video views you get 1 point per video view and you can watch 50 per day.

You can redeem points for PayPal cash, Amazon gift cards of $5 and $10 amounts.

With cashKarma, you get rewarded to check in to the app daily and there are other bonuses when you achieve milestones.

There is a referral system to help you earn more points by having your friends sign up.

14) App Bounty

App Bounty has over 5,000,000 installs and over 100,000 5 star ratings on the Play Store. The way the app works is mainly by downloading and installing other apps. There are also offerwall offers for you to earn credits which you can exchange for gift vouchers.

The app is international in its reach so if you are from outside of the US, you can also benefit from downloading the app.

Overall the app is good and the payments are reliable. On the downside it can seem like forever to build your credits up.

You can swap credits for gift cards from iTunes, Amazon, Steam and more. This is one of the best apps that pay you money.

13) Make Money And Free Gift Cards

The Make Money And Free Gift Cards app makes our list for the first time! Over 30,000 reviews and most of them positive.

Over the past year a lot of apps have been removed from the Google Play Store for being scams and the fact that advertisers are no longer paying good money. As a result the quality of the apps are now better and actually pay you.

Make Money And Free Gift Cards say that you could reach your first cashout within 2 days!

12) Tapporo

Tapporo remains one of the elite rewards and money making apps. Consistently in our top 5 list, Tapporo is one of the oldest and reliable apps that you can find on the Google Play Store. This app was even listed in our 2015 list of best money making apps.

Based on the web version, Tapporo.com, they offer some of the best referral rates of $0.60 per sign up. If you have 100 friends, there is $60 free cash for you!

The high referral reward rate is one of the reasons we love this app. It can be a little difficult to earn money other than that however, it is easily one of the best apps that you can download that will earn you cash.

Rewards include PayPal cash, Amazon vouchers, mobile accessories and more!

11) Storm Play – Earn Free Bitcoin, Ethereum & Storm (Was Bitmaker)

Do you want free Bitcoin or Ethereum? Bitmaker Free Bitcoin, now renamed Storm Play can help you get free cryptocurrency. The app was built initially by cakecodes but has since been sold. This app pays you blocks which can then be exchanged for Bitcoin (This was satoshi before an update in March 2017). You must do a number of different tasks like answer surveys, install games and more to earn blocks.

The payout is low so you get paid on Fridays when you reach the threshold (this keeps changing depending on cryptocurrency trading prices. Remember to receive Bitcoin, you must have a Bitcoin wallet and a separate wallet if you want to receive Ethereum. You can find Bitcoin wallets online and easily sign up to them.

Recent updates have made this app worse. We had at number 2 on the best apps that pay you, but no longer!

10) Survey Mini

Survey Mini features in our run down for a second year. It is a survey app, however it is best if you are living in the United States. The app is available to both iOS and Android users.

How you get paid is by visiting local places where you have been to and you will receive surveys based on your experiences at those locations.

If you love going to restaurants, shops or visiting local attractions then you could benefit from using this app

You can receive rewards from Survey Mini for free food, discounts and points for gift cards for the stores that you visit.

9) Ibotta

Ibotta is one of the oldest apps on the Google Play and Apple App Stores.

The way that Ibotta works is that you get cashback based on purchases that you have previously made. Overall it is a reliable app and is used by millions to earn cashback on purchases that they make online.

US users can enjoy taking advantage of free coupons for top online stores.

8) Make Money Earn Free Cash

We said in 2016 & 2017 that Make Money Earn Free Cash had a lot of potential and it still has. Now with over 1 Million installs it is one of the most popular get paid to apps on the market. Last year the app was rated on the Play Store at 4.6 and in 2020, it remains the same.

There are numerous ways to earn however it can be slow and tedious. The rewards are earned by watching videos, filling in surveys and taking advantage of free trials.

PayPal is the only option to cash out your rewards, which for most is a good thing.

7) App Karma

App Karma makes it debut on our top paying apps list. With App Karma you can earn daily rewards easy by using your smartphone. With over 1 million installs, it is easily the most popular app that you can download for free from the Google Play Store. There is also an iOS version of the app also available for you to download for free.

Gift cards are available worldwide and not just for the US making this app appeal to a global audience. When you redeem your rewards, App Karma give you 5% of the points back to you!

Rewards include Amazon gift cards, PayPal cash, Starbucks vouchers and Google Play gift cards.

6) Earny

Earny is a free app that pays you when price drop on purchases with a price guarantee.

Earny works to claim money back on purchases made on:

• Online shopping
• Travel bookings
• Credit card purchases

Instead of having to make claims on previous purchases, Earny scans best prices based on receipts that you have scanned.

5) CashPirate

Cashpirate is one of our favourite apps. It has been consistently in the top 5 in past years, however, the app and its payouts remain reliable. At the start of 2016 we were earning $15-50 per month and this still remains the case. We have never had any problems with payments ever! We are not affiliated with this app and just telling the truth!

With this app, you can earn PayPal cash, Bitcoins and Amazon Vouchers. The minimum payout is $2.50 PayPal cash.

Points are earned in this app by downloading new apps and completing offers.

You earn by watching videos but the number of videos available for you to watch is now limited. The referral program is probably the best of all apps as you get 10% of your referrals earnings and 5% of the referrals referrals earnings.

The interface of this app is extremely dated when compared to others.

The reason it is remains on our top 10 list is the fact that Cash Pirate does pay on time when you request. We have never had any bother regarding payments from CashPirate.

Click here to download and use referral code OANTJM

4) GiftPanda – Cashback Shopping

GiftPanda is an earning app where you get paid to:

• Play games
• Download apps
• Get paid to Shop online
• Refer friends

The app is moving towards becoming a cashback app for those who shop online often.

GiftPanda is an app created by the team at Aye-T Studios who have also created CashPirate.

3) Swagbucks

Swagbucks is one of the best apps that you can install to make money. This is one of the best apps that actually pays you. You can sign up to their website and earn money by going surveys, playing games, shopping online and more.

The rewards range from gift cards and much more. If you want to get paid by Paypal, this is also an option available to you.

2) American Consumer Opinion

American Consumer Opinion, also known as ACOP, is the best iOS app that pays you, however, it is only available on Apple devices unfortunately.

Should the developers extend to Android, which it is likely that it will eventually, it will certainly be a contender to be the best paying app of all.

ACOP are a leading survey panel and are known as one of the best paying survey sites for people in the US, UK and Canada.

The app has a decent interface and is straight forward to use. You will get alerts when you get an invitation to participate in a survey.

American Consumer Opinion are quick to pay when you get to the payout threshold. You can choose a variety of rewards upon payout, however PayPal is the best choice as it is cash in your pocket.

We did a review of the survey panel, see this post for details of ACOP that pays you cash.

Game Apps You Can Make Money Onto

1) PanelPlace

PanelPlace was the number 1 app in our countdown last year and remains the best paying this year. The app is 100% survey based and you get surveys from the popular survey sites including Toluna.

The survey app has a pleasant interface and is really simple to use. With this app you will never miss a survey as you get notifications of new panels.

Surveys are generally simple to answer and offer the highest payouts in the survey panel market.

To get started it is best to sign up via the website and sign in on your smartphone once you have registered.

That is the run down of the 17 Best Money Making Apps 2020. We recommend that you download most of the apps in the list above to maximize your chances of earning cash with payouts on a weekly and monthly basis.

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Do you have an idea for a free mobile application but you doubt whether it's worth investing? How do free apps make money?

Your doubts are quite clear: the development of a top-notch mobile app requires a lot of time (typically, several months) and, more importantly, money. Before kicking off the development process, you should clearly understand how you’ll recoup your investments and how to make money with apps in 2020.

We’ve decided to help you get your idea off the ground and show how exactly you can make money on free apps.

Free Apps Grossing Big Bucks

According to Sensotower, the App Store and Google Play users spent a total of $39.7 billion on mobile apps and games during the first half of 2019. This is a huge market you don’t want to miss out on

If you think that it’s the paid apps that bring the lion’s share of this huge revenue, you’re wrong. In fact, if you check the list of the top grossing mobile applications (including games) in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, you’ll notice they’re all free.

The vast majority of users on all continents prefer free mobile applications. In fact, the number of free app downloads is constantly rising. Statistics provided by Sensotower show that in the first half of 2019, free mobile apps downloads in Google Play increased by 16,4 percent and made up $41,9 billion. Whilst the App Store lost 1,4 percent in downloads. However, the overall tendency remains positive.

Developing a free mobile app is definitely the right business strategy.

Before shedding light on how to make money with apps, we’d like to draw your attention to another matter: correct app presentation. Remember that users must be able to quickly find your app and understand what it’s designed for.

Incite User Interest Through Accurate App Packaging

As of the second quarter of 2019, there were 2.46 million apps (of all types) in the Google Play Store and 1.96 million in the Apple App Store. The competition is really strong!

How many users will find your free mobile app? How many of them will download it? No matter how good your app is and what monetization methods you use, you may still fail to attract customers without a clear app packaging.

Potential users of your app should be able to quickly find it through search in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. To make your mobile app visible and easy to find, you should provide it with an attention-grabbing name, an informative description, and screenshots

Want to get the first ranks on mobile app stores? Check these effective pre-launch marketing strategies.

Here are tips that will help you create a top-class app description:

Choose a Clear and Catchy App Name

Your mobile app should have a snappy name that reflects its major functions. Though many applications have names that convey nothing about their functionality, your app is likely to attract a lot more users if it has a name that hints at what it does. It’s particularly useful to include keywords in the app name.

For example, let’s look at LINE, one of the most popular non-gaming Android apps on the Google Play Store. As you can see, the full title contains an explanation of what this app does (i.e. it offers free calls and messages):

Here’s another example: Hulu for iOS. The full name of this app is “Hulu: Watch TV Shows & Stream the Latest Movies.” With this title, any user can easily see what Hulu is for, namely for watching TV shows and movies:

In general, the name of your app shouldn’t be too long – 100 characters at most. Think carefully about the name, as it’s the first thing people see and pay attention to when they’re considering whether your application is worth downloading.

Come up With an Informative App Description

The next step is to provide your app with a meaningful and informative description.

The first several sentences (up to the “Read More” or “More” buttons) of an app description should give general information and illustrate the app’s main idea. This part mustn’t be long – up to 225 characters. Few people read further, so make sure to tailor this part of the app description to perfection.

Let’s have a look at a great example of a brief yet informative description for Scrummer, a handy planning poker app for Scrum development teams that’s available in the Apple App Store:

Learn more about Scrummer’s endearing features and its lively interface.

In the main body of the description, you should mention what problems your mobile app helps to solve as well as go over its most important functions. Take a look at the description of Google Drive (in the Google Play Store). As you can see, it effectively explains to users what they can do with the help of Google Drive:

Make Eye-Catching App Screenshots

An app’s name and description are important, but users want to know how your app will look on their mobile devices. That’s why you should include several screenshots – and make sure you pick the best.

We recommend that you add some text to your screenshots, describing some functions of your application. Take a look at a screenshot for the LINE app on Google Play:

As you can see, this screenshot shows that the app can work on smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches.

Here are screenshots for the Uber app for iOS:

Note that Uber uses verbs in their screenshot descriptions, which is the correct approach. Verbs are the parts of speech used to describe actions.

People are more likely to act (i.e. to download your free mobile app) if they see verbs.

How to make money with free apps?

Now that you know how to package a five-star app, we can move on to explaining the strategies you can leverage to make money on free apps.

Strategy #1: In-App Purchases

In-app purchases is an extremely popular strategy used by thousands of apps in both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. In-app purchases allow users to buy something right in the app.

There are three major types of in-app purchases:

• Consumable. Consumables are products that a user can use only once: for example, virtual money or health points. Such in-app purchases are usually used in mobile games.
• Non-consumable. Non-consumables are features that users buy for permanent use: for example, additional functions or ad blocking (this is how free apps make money without ads).
• Subscriptions. Your mobile application may offer subscriptions that unlock some content or functions for a certain period of time. Subscriptions can be either non-renewing or automatically renewing.

Are you considering to implement in-app purchases in your app? We have a great guide on how to build a mobile payment app like Starbucks.

Strategy #2: In-App Ads

Ads are a driving force of the global market. They’re literally everywhere, and mobile apps aren’t an exception. In-app ads are actually tools of affiliate marketing. With in-app ads, you advertise your affiliates’ products (apps, games, etc.) inside your app and get paid if your users interact with those ads.

There are several types of campaigns used in affiliate marketing, so let’s mention the most popular:

• Cost per click (CPC). This model means that you get paid for each click on ads displayed in your mobile application. Typically, a single click is nearly worthless, so revenue is calculated on a cost per mille basis (mille is Latin for thousand).

• Cost per view (CPV). These campaigns are usually applied to video ads. The more times users of your app watch video ads, the higher payout you get.

• Cost per install (CPI). With this model, you get paid whenever a user of your app installs an advertised application.

If you wish to monetize your application through ads, there are many networks to work with, such as AdMob and Flurry. Most ad networks support apps on iOS and Android, as well as on some other mobile platforms. Also, don’t forget to check what kinds of campaigns they offer, since you need to understand what exactly you’ll be paid for.

There are several ways to display ads in your mobile app:

• Banners. Banner ads usually appear at the top or at the bottom of a screen and have some text and graphics. Banners are considered to be relatively unobtrusive, as users are able to keep using your mobile app even if a banner is active. However, banners have low click-through rates (CTR) and heavily depend on brand recognition (users are far more likely to click if a banner advertises some well-known brand).

• Native. Most people don’t like ads and try to block them completely. How can you reach out to the users of your mobile application, then? Use native ads that don’t really look like ads. Native ads are seamlessly integrated into mobile applications, making them subtle but quite efficient.

• Videos. According to an article by Invesp, the CTR of video ads is 1.84%, so they’re quite effective. Typically, video ads appear automatically when users interact with apps.

• Interstitial. These ads take a whole screen and typically appear when users launch or close an application. However, interstitial ads may also look like pop-ups appearing from time to time.

• Rich media. If you’re wondering what type of in-app ads is the most efficient, here’s the answer: rich media ads that, according to the previously mentioned eMarketer article, show a CTR of 0.44%. Rich media ads use multiple methods to reach out to users, including audio, video, text, and more.

In-app ads allow you to make money off free apps, but this monetization strategy works well only for applications with big audiences. If your app is a startup, don’t expect it to bring big bucks this way.

Strategy #3: Freemium

To benefit from the freemium monetization strategy, you need a second, paid version of your application. If users like a free version, they’re likely to opt for a paid one that has some extra functions.

With a freemium model, users are typically offered to upgrade an app to a paid version, and if they agree, they’re directed to an app store.

For example, have a look at MX Player, a popular video player available on Google Play. This mobile app has a free version, but it contains ads:

Users are offered a paid version of this app, called MX Player Pro. It’s the same in terms of functionality, but comes without advertising:

This monetization option is quite efficient, but you shouldn’t provide too many functions in your free app; otherwise, few users will shell out for the paid one.

Strategy #4: Sponsorship

Finding a sponsor is a really lucrative monetization model. Usually, it works this way: you create a mobile app that gains quite a lot of users, after which you contact a sponsor company and offer to update the design of your app to match the sponsor’s brand.

There are two types of sponsorship deals: you can either split the revenue with your sponsor or receive a monthly sponsorship fee.

The main difficulty of sponsorship is finding a sponsor. Needless to say, your mobile app should be good enough to be interesting to potential funders.

Strategy #5: Email Marketing

Email marketing has always been and still is a powerful money-making strategy. You can leverage this method and ask the users of your mobile app to provide their emails and, later, send them messages.

Adding a Facebook login option to your free app is a great way to subtly collect user emails. However, give users a chance to cancel email notifications, as this will make your app more credible and people will know they won’t be receiving loads of spam.

Tips for Choosing the Best App Monetization Methods

As you can see, there are many ways you can make money from free apps. You can pick one or opt for several strategies at once. However, there are several handy tips that will help you monetize your free app in the most effective way possible.

Game Apps You Can Make Money On Spotify

Consider the Business Goals of Your Free App

Any application has a business goal, which means it helps its users solve their problems. Therefore, you should select a monetization strategy based on your app’s business purpose.

For example, let’s say you wish to create a cool audio player with lots of sound adjustments. Can in-app purchases be an effective profit generating method? Probably not. Instead, you can opt for ads or offer an ad-free version with a subscription.

Or imagine that you launch an educational app. It can offer in-app purchases, such as access to additional functions or paid tips. Needless to say, such apps can contain ads as well.

Define Your Target Audience

Game Apps You Can Make Money On Money

You should clearly realize who you’re creating a mobile app for. Draw a user portrait and decide what functionality users need, how much time they’re likely to spend using your app, and so on. A clear picture of your target users allows you to create an app tailored to their needs.

Though your free app may boast large download numbers, the truth is that only a small part of your users (you may call them the money-spending core) will actually bring you profit by clicking on ads or making in-app purchases. The majority of users won’t spend a cent in your app. You may not like it, but that’s how it is in reality. Therefore, set a goal of attracting as many users as possible and do your best to succeed.

Research Your Competitors

Game Apps You Can Make Money On

If you’re thinking of launching a mobile application, you should carry out a competitor analysis. Explore the app stores you’re going to offer your free app in and search for similar apps. Next, find out what your competitors offer, what kind of designs they have and, more importantly, what monetization methods they use.

This information will help you learn from your competitors’ experiences and see what mistakes they’ve made so you can make your free app better and more helpful to customers. In the end, a better app means higher profits for you as its creator.

Don't Overuse App Monetization Methods

You shouldn’t make your free app inconvenient for users. If it’s full of ads or in-app purchases, your audience may stop using your app and install a similar one. App creators should always remember that their apps bring profits only as long as people use them.

Your users should feel comfortable when using your app, so be prudent and make all ads and offers in your app as subtle as possible.

What Game Apps Really Pay You

Now that you know how free apps make money, you can give your idea a go and turn it into a real-life application.

Game Apps You Can Make Money On

Can’t handle the development process? Reach RubyGarage and our experts will help you build a successful and competitive mobile application.