Swagbucks Review – Earn Free Gift Cards & Cash

Swagbucks is a company that allows you to earn free gift cards when you shop online, watch videos, take surveys, and discover deals and promo codes. Over $150 Million paid to members.

Pros & Cons

If you’ve spent more than five minutes on the internet researching side hustles and ways to make money online, then you’ve probably run across Swagbucks. 

It was one of the first sites out there to pay you for taking surveys and completing everyday simple online tasks. And 10+ years after its inception, it’s still the top-rated site on the market.   

There are tons of rewards programs and survey sites out there promising to make you rich quick… which seems too good to be true.  (Even I’m a bit skeptical of all those articles claiming quick, easy ways to make money from home.) 

Swagbucks won’t make you a millionaire overnight, but it’s a great way to pad your pocket with extra spending money. 

• So, what is Swagbucks?
• Is Swagbucks legit?
• And exactly how much money can you earn through the site? 

We’ve answered all these questions (and more) so you can see if Swagbucks is a good way to earn extra cash.

What Is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is a rewards platform that gives you free gift cards in exchange for completing everyday tasks online. Earn points when you take online surveys, shop online, watch popular videos, search the web, and more.

Once you have enough points, cash them out for e-gift cards to more than 140 retailers, including Amazon and PayPal.

Swagbucks is completely free to join and has quickly become the web's most popular rewards program.  It's headquartered in El Segundo, California, and its parent company is Prodege, LLC. 

As of 2022, Swagbucks has over 25 million users and has paid out nearly $679,000,000 in rewards since it started in 2008.  On average, it gives out 7,000 free gift cards per day.

Is Swagbucks Safe?  

Yes. Swagbucks is a safe and legit company.  Here are a few ways you can tell it isn’t a scam:  

• Registration is free (Swagbucks doesn’t make you pay to use its service).
• You’re not asked to enter credit card or bank account information (Swagbucks has zero access to your financial accounts).
• You can google the company and read positive online reviews (It has thousands of positive reviews on major sites like Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau (BBB)).
• It’s established through the BBB (Swagbucks parent company, Prodege, LLC has established an A+ rating on the BBB—the highest rating a business can receive).
• You can read its privacy policy and terms of use on its website (Swagbucks’ website clearly states how and when it uses your personal information).

With these five points of proof in mind, you can have confidence knowing Swagbucks is a legit way to earn money. 

What Do Customers Say About Swagbucks? 

If you check out the Better Business Bureau (BBB), you’ll see that Swagbucks has earned an A+ rating and has over 1,00 reviews with a 3.97 out of 5-star customer rating. 

The company has nearly 25,000 reviews on Trustpilot with a 4.3 out of 5-star rating.  Here’s what people love (and don’t love) about the company...

Positive Reviews

Customers love that Swagbucks gives them an easy, mindless way to earn some extra cash.  You’re always paid on time and it's easy to cash out funds for gift cards when you’re ready. 

Unlike other sites that only pay you to take surveys, Swagbucks pays you for a wide range of activities.

Customers love that they can earn points while watching videos about celebrity gossip, playing the latest online game, and discovering brand new apps and services. 

Many customers say that, without Swagbucks, they wouldn’t have the extra spending money they need to treat themselves or buy holiday and birthday gifts for their families.  

Negative Reviews

Even with glowing reviews, Swagbucks still has its areas of improvement.  One common complaint is that the Swagbucks system can have glitches that result in missed reward payments.

For example, the system may error out and not track your online purchase like it's supposed to.  Although this can be annoying, customers say the company is quick to award points as long as you submit a ticket with sufficient proof.

Another common complaint is that, while the site is still better than most, it’s not as good as it used to be.  For example, users used to earn 5 SB for watching a 7 to 10-minute video, but that reward has dropped to 2 SB for hour-long videos.

Although Swagbucks has reduced points in certain areas, it’s also increased points in others.  Check out some of Swagbucks’ latest reviews below...

How Does Swagbucks Work? 

Here’s the rundown on how Swagbucks works.  First, you’ll create your account and complete any sign-up bonuses the site is offering at the moment.

(At the time of this article, you can earn up to $31.58 in bonuses when you create your account.)  Once your account is set up, scroll through your dashboard and begin diving into opportunities.

Start with surveys if you’d like. Or, earn points by watching videos, playing games online, discovering new products, surfing the web, and more.

How Are Points Awarded?

100 SB = $1. So, if you take a survey and earn 50 SB, you’ve earned $0.50.  Once you’ve earned enough points, cash them in for a gift card of your choice in the Swagbucks Rewards Store.

There are currently over 140 retailers to choose from, including Visa Rewards cards, Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Or, redeem points for Paypal cash.

8 Ways To Earn Money Through Swagbucks

Swagbucks packs a punch when it comes to variety. There are tons of ways to earn rewards. Let’s look at eight...

Complete Surveys

Watch Videos

Play Games

Earn Cashback

Refer-A-Friend Program 

Complete Goals

Surf The Web

Discover Deals

How Much Can You Earn On Swagbucks?

There’s no limit to the amount of money you can earn through Swagbucks. Some tasks earn you 1 SB while others go as high as 20,000+ SB.

Generally, certain tasks pay less than others, and the highest paying opportunities are the ones that require you to spend money. 

For example, you can earn 12% cashback (or 12 SB for every $1) when you shop online with certain retailers. While watching videos may earn you 2 SB for every 30 minutes. 

Truthfully, there's no such thing as free money - but if you give Swagbucks a few hours of your week, you can expect to earn at least a $25 or $50 gift card every month. 

For many customers, this is all they need to get a jump start on birthday or holiday presents.

How Can I Cash Out My Earnings?

With Swagbucks, you can earn cash from those SBs as free gift cards through its reward store. Swagbucks current has over 140 brands in its rewards store, including PayPal, Amazon, and Walmart.  

You can’t cash out SBs for actual cash, which may be a bummer at first glance.

But Swagbucks makes up for its lack of cash by offering preloaded Visa cards and Paypal cash (paid to your PayPal account), which you can then use however you’d like.

Discounts On Gift Cards

Traditionally, 100 SB = $1, but Swagbucks often has gift cards for discounts.  At the time of this article, iTunes gift cards are 20% off, so you can get a $10 gift card for 800 SB.

Amazon cards are 12% off, making a $25 card cost only 2200 SB.  This is yet another way you can earn points and save money through Swagbucks.

Swagbucks vs. Competitors

How Do I Get Started With Swagbucks?

Okay, so you’ve done your research and you’re ready to give Swagbucks a try. Congratulations!  Sign up for Swagbucks using the 3 simple steps below (and don’t forget to snag your bonuses):

When you sign up, Swagbucks gives you a jump start on earnings through bonus offers.

These include:

• 1800 SB ($18.00) for trying Hulu
• 1000 SB ($10.00) when you shop online through Swagbucks
• 300 SB ($3.00) for signing up for four offers
• 50 SB ($0.50) for adding the SwagButton extension to your web browser
• 5 SB ($0.05) for taking a 3-minute profile quiz
• 3 SB ($0.03) for joining Swagbucks Recognition Program

FAQ's

We searched the internet for your top questions about Swagbucks and answered them below. 

Should I Try Swagbucks?

Swagbucks won't be the side-hustle that rakes you in a ton of cash, but it is a great way to earn extra money for things you already do. 

You’ll never get bored with the site because there are multiple ways to earn money - answer surveys, play games, watch videos - etc.

Take a few surveys, then switch it up with video games, online shopping, and advertisements.  At the end of the month, treat yourself to a free gift card with all those SBs you collected.

Have questions about Swagbucks we didn’t cover in this review? Drop them in the comments below.