11 easy ways to earn rewards on Swagbucks

There is much more to Swagbucks than many people realise! Knowing where to spend time is key. Our review of Swagbucks reveals the best ways to earn.

Swagbucks is pretty much the definition of 'easy money'. Whilst it doesn't promise to bring in the big money, it's easy to earn points on anything from watching videos to completing short surveys. All from your sofa. 
Once you've created your free account you can start earning points immediately, which can be exchanged for cash or rewards.
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What is Swagbucks and how does it work?

Essentially, Swagbucks is a portal that offers users reward points for doing simple tasks online like searching the web, watching videos and completing surveys.
You’ll be ‘paid’ in Swagbucks points (shortened to 'SBs') which can then be redeemed for gift cards or cash. The gift cards they offer come from over 1,500 retailers including Amazon, Starbucks, Argos, M&S and iTunes.
But if you’d rather make money from Swagbucks, there’s an option to convert points straight into your PayPal account as cash. Or you can donate to charity if you're feeling generous.

How much can you earn?

To give you an idea of what SB points are worth, a £5 Amazon gift card will cost you 620 SB and you’ll need to cough up 16,000 SB for £100 cash (via PayPal).
But they accumulate quicker than you might think, simply because there are so many tasks and activities looped into Swagbucks – many of which you probably do already!
Here are some of the main ways to start accumulating your Swagbucks on the daily...

11 ways to earn Swagbucks

1. Make Swagbucks your default search engine

   
   The easiest way to start earning is to switch your default search engine to Swagbucks (rather than Google or Bing).
   You’ll automatically start racking up points just for surfing the web like you normally do, but using their browser instead (in case you're worried about efficiency, it's run by Yahoo so don't sweat!).
   You can expect to tot up around 10–20 SB points for every 10 to 20 searches, but the final total will depend on the search queries. After six months of everyday searching, this can equate to around £300.

2. Watch videos

   Yes, you really can earn Swagbucks points just by watching a few videos.
   The payouts here aren’t that high, but you're getting paid to be entertained! The type of content you're sent to view varies massively, including everything from adverts to news content and viral clips.
   If you're really unenthused by the content you've been sent, you can also do a sneaky and just have videos running in the background as you get on with other stuff and not actually watch it (it's not like you'll be tested on it!).
   Expect to earn 2 or 3 SB per playlist (each of which typically lasts 15–30 minutes), and there's a limit of 150 SB per day up for grabs for this particular task.

3. Download apps and games to your phone

   
   You can earn a really broad variety of points for downloading, installing and opening certain apps on your phone, tablet or computer.
   Although you'll occasionally get rewarded for simply installing the app, you'll usually have to complete some kind of action – be it reaching a certain stage in a game or depositing cash.
   Often these opportunities will be available via one of Swagbucks' partners (Revu or Fyber), but you'll still be paid in Swagbucks – usually several hundred SBs, if not more, depending on the offer.
   But as ever, we'd recommend sticking to the free apps at first. There's no point in paying to download or use an app just to earn Swagbucks, as you're likely to earn far less than you spend!

4. Complete surveys and polls

   Time-rich but cash-poor? Filling out a few short surveys each day through Swagbucks can be a really nice little earner.
   They usually take between three and 20 minutes to complete and you’ll earn around 40–100 SB depending on the survey. There’s also a daily poll to complete which literally takes two seconds and will earn you an extra SB.

If you're particularly keen on the survey route as a way to make cash, we've got a whole guide to the best paid survey sites.

5. Shop online and earn cashback

   
   Now, obviously we wouldn't advise shopping online purely for the sake of getting more points (again, that just wouldn't make sense really, would it?). But if you're planning to buy something online, go via the Swagbucks website and earn some points (similar to mainstream cashback sites).
   Receive easy SBs from online stores like Argos, Tesco, Tui, Carphone Warehouse, Currys PC World, Hotels.com and even Just Eat! So before you part with your cash, do a quick search to find out if they're a participating Swagbuck earner.
   For example, if you're planning a holiday through Secret Escape, access the site via Swagbucks rather than going directly and you’ll earn 5 SB per £1 spent. As holidays tend to cost a fair whack, you could end up earning hundreds of points that you can turn into rewards or cash later.

6. Tell your friends

   Get SB points stacking up while you sleep by getting your friends to sign up to Swagbucks with your referral code.
   Not only will you and your friend get 300 SB when they sign up (you'll get yours as long as they earn at least an extra 300 SB within their first 30 days), but you’ll earn 10% of your friends’ SB earnings for as long as they’re a member, too!
   This is a great way to earn points passively – and your friends will obviously benefit too.

7. Watch out for Swag Codes

   

   Credit: Dimension Films
   Download the SwagButton browser extension to receive notifications about 'Swag Codes' as soon as they become available (and get 50SB just for installing the extension!).
   Swag Codes are simply codewords or phrases that the company releases to create a bit of buzz around the site and get members back onto the homepage.
   The notifications you get from the browser extension will tell you where to go to find the code – on the Swagbucks blog, Twitter or Facebook page – which you’ll then input into the 'Swag Code' box at in the sidebar on the left side of the page. Super easy instant SB points!

8. Complete daily goals

   On the left-hand side of the screen, you'll see a 'to do list' with eight different daily tasks that the site recommends you complete.
   Not only will you accumulate points for each task you complete, but you'll also get bonus points for crossing off everything on your list in a day (or a smaller bonus for completing at least six of the eight tasks).
   Similarly, if you activate the Swagbucks 'daily goal' option (you'll see the button in the header), the site will set you a target amount of SBs to aim for that day. If you manage to reach your goal, they'll stick some extra bonus points on top for you!
   Again, though, don't spend actual money on the 'Deal of the Day' unless it's something you're genuinely interested in. The SBs you'll get in return are worth a lot less than the cash you'll part with!

9. Enter competitions

   

   Credit: Swagbucks
   If you fancy yourself lucky when it comes to entering competitions, you can enter yourself into Swagbucks' regular limited-time giveaways.
   Prizes can be anything from tech gadgets, like Apple products, to a bigger bundle of SBs, but note that this is a bit of a gamble as you need to actually spend SBs to enter into each competition.
   So, for example, you can enter a competition to win 50 SB, but it'll cost you 2 SB to take part.

10. Play games online and on mobile

    Your addiction to playing games on your phone is finally about to pay off!
    Aside from paying you to download and play games, Swagbucks also host a few games of their own (you'll know which ones they are as they all contain the word 'Swag'...).
    You can earn up to 10 SB per game just for giving it a whirl. But as some games rely on you getting to a certain level before you can earn any SBs, it (literally!) pays to be good at these things.
    If general knowledge is more your thing, why not try Swagbucks Live – one of the few remaining live quiz apps that were once the next big thing (HQ Trivia, anyone?).
    It's free to take part in the game and all you have to do is download the app. As with most live quiz apps, your goal is to correctly answer a handful of multiple-choice questions. Make it to the end and you'll win a share of the total prize fund (up to $500 paid out in Swagbucks), but as soon as you get an answer wrong, you're eliminated.
    From experience, some of the questions can be obscenely difficult, so we'd recommend you refer your friends to the app. Each time you get someone to sign up, you'll get a free 'rejoin' which will throw you back into the game if you're knocked out.

11. Sign up to services

    

    Credit: HBO
    Signing up to free trials and subscribing to services like TV and online gaming can come with quite a substantial reward.
    However, as with cashback opportunities, you should only use this option if you're planning on using the service anyway. This is because some of them require you to shell out some cash of your own to sign up.
    But if they're free (like a credit report or a trial of a streaming service), it could be worth your time since they tend to pay out a pretty decent number of points!

Why not earn even more by making money with Toluna surveys too?

So now's your chance to go forth and get signed up to Swagbucks so you can start earning SBs straight away. It’s free to join, so you’ve got nothing to lose and tons of rewards waiting to be snatched up.
Just make sure you don't let the sight of high SB points draw you into spending money you wouldn't otherwise spend – otherwise, it's a false economy!
If you're keen to get involved in more of these sorts of money-making tricks, have a look at our guide to passive income methods.