“Apps that pay you” sounds like a scam right up until you know where the money comes from. Once you do, the whole category gets easier to judge — including ours.
What “apps that pay you” actually means
Advertisers pay to reach people. An app that shows their ads gets paid for it, and a reward app passes a share of that back to whoever watched. That is the entire mechanism. No investment, no referral chain, nothing to buy, and no money changing hands until you cash out.
Knowing that also tells you what is realistic. You are being paid a slice of ad revenue, so the honest ceiling is pocket money — a few dollars for habits you already have, not a wage. Any app promising more than that is either paying for something other than your attention, or not paying at all. We have written up the economics of the category in how free reward apps make money, and how to spot the bad actors in are reward apps safe.
What each of our apps pays you for
Four free apps, on iPhone and iPad, all paying out through PayPal. The difference between them is only what you are paid for:
Todo and EarnA coin for every task you finish
Step and EarnCoins for the walking you already do
Daily: Learn and EarnCoins for a fact a day, across six categories
Play and EarnCoins for how far you get in a run
All four use the same coin system and the same redemption route, which is set out in full on how rewards work. Feature lists and screenshots live on our apps page.
Honest numbers: pocket money, not an income
Take Todo and Earn, where the whole calculation is public: a coin per completed task, capped at ten a day, 1,000 coins to the dollar, and the same 2,000 coin payout point every one of our apps uses. Used every day, that is a first payout of $2.00 in roughly forty days. Optional videos speed it up; they do not transform it.
We would rather you saw that number before you download than after. It also explains why every app is pinned to an existing routine. If earning demands a special trip, a stopwatch, or an hour of tapping, the maths stops making sense long before the payout arrives.
How to actually get a payout
The people who cash out are not the ones who grind hardest. They are the ones who picked a habit that needed no extra effort and then left it alone.
- Pick the app that matches a habit you already have. Walking to work, a to-do list you keep anyway, a few minutes of reading, a game on the bus.
- Let it run in the background rather than checking in. Step and Earn counts without being opened; a repeating task in Todo and Earn rolls forward on its own.
- Take the optional bonus only when it is genuinely free time. A video for bonus coins is worth it in a queue, not during your day.
- Ignore the balance for a few weeks. Checking it daily makes a slow number feel slower.
- Cash out to PayPal when you hit the threshold, which each app shows you on its redeem screen.
Which app should we build next?
This is the useful part, and it is why the form is here rather than buried in support. Every app we ship started from the same question: which everyday routine could quietly pay for itself? If you have an answer we have not thought of — or you want one of these on Android — tell us.
Frequently asked questions
Can you really make money from a free app?
Yes, but not much, and it helps to know where the money comes from. Advertisers pay to reach people, the app is paid for showing those ads, and a share of that is passed back to you as coins. That is the whole model — there is no investment, no referral chain, and nothing to buy. It also sets a ceiling: you are earning a slice of ad revenue, so the realistic figure is pocket money.
How much can I actually earn?
Enough for a coffee rather than a bill. Every one of our apps pays out at the same point: 2,000 coins, which is $2.00. Todo and Earn shows the arithmetic most plainly - a coin per completed task, capped at ten a day - so daily use reaches that first payout in roughly forty days. Step and Earn lands in about a month for a steady walker. Each redeem screen shows what your balance is worth as it grows.
Which app pays the most?
It depends far more on your habits than on the app. Step and Earn pays for walking you were going to do anyway, so it costs you no extra time at all; Todo and Earn pays for a list you were going to keep. The best earner is whichever one slots into a routine you keep anyway, because consistency matters more than rate.
Do I have to watch ads to earn?
No. Watching an ad or a short video is always optional and always a bonus on top. Declining every one of them still earns you coins and still lets you cash out — it just takes longer.
How do I get paid?
Through PayPal. You redeem your coin balance from inside the app and the payment goes to the PayPal account you give us. There is never a fee to withdraw, and we will never ask you to pay money in before taking money out.
Are the apps free?
Yes. All four are free to download and free to use, on iPhone and iPad, and none of them has a subscription or an in-app purchase.
Is there an Android version?
Not at the moment. All four apps are currently available on iPhone and iPad only. If Android is what you use, say so in the form on this page — it is the single most useful thing you can tell us.
What happens to the app idea I send you?
It gets read and it goes on a list we genuinely work from. The easiest suggestions to act on name a specific routine and what it would pay for, because that is how all four of the current apps started. We cannot promise to build any particular idea, and we will not reply to every message.