The undying millennial dream of making a living playing video games and earning digital currency by contributing to vast, expansive, and intricate in-game economies is slowly but surely becoming a reality.
Of course, there’s nothing new about games that allow players to earn money, with MMORPGs like Runescape having already done this in a fairly spectacular fashion more than two decades ago.
Today, play-to-earn (P2E) games are a lot more overt when marketing themselves as a potential side hustle. Whether you like solving puzzles, word games, action-packed adventures, or vast virtual worlds in MMORPGs, it is now possible to earn sizable sums by playing games online.
It’s worth noting, however, that not all P2E games are the same, some are outright scams, and most are a waste of your time. This is why in this article, we’ve identified 20 apps that we think are absolutely perfect for those looking to play games as a side hustle.
Get paid to play with these apps
1. Swagbucks
Swagbucks offers a dozen different games across role-playing, casinos, and puzzles that allow players to earn real money. This is in addition to the platform’s surveys, cashback shopping, and a string of other avenues to earn money.
It pays users and players in SBs, or Swagbucks. Once you hit 300 SBs, which is apparently quite easy to reach, you can redeem them as a gift card for Amazon, Target, and Google Play Store, among others, or withdraw the funds as USD directly to your PayPal account.
Earnings - According to the platform itself, most users average between $2 to $5 a day, which isn’t a lot. It is possible to make a more decent amount through its games, even though it may not be sustainable in the long run, with some users occasionally hitting $50 to $100 paydays.
App Store Review - 4.4 (iOS)/4.4 (Google Play)
2. KashKick
Similar to Swagbucks, Kashkick offers everything from surveys to mobile games that allow users to make money. All you need to do is download the app, start playing the games, and hit certain milestones to get rewarded with real money.
It offers a range of different games across solitaire, bingo, puzzles, and general arcade, with players being rewarded based on either time spent, performance, or hitting specific milestones.
Earnings - Users report earning up to $50 a month from Kashkick’s games alone, which could go higher depending on the frequency of playing and the level of skill possessed by players. Users can withdraw money as soon as it reaches a threshold of $10.
App Store Review - 4.3 (iOS)/4.0 (Google Play)
3. Freecash
Freecash is an increasingly popular choice, thanks to its intuitive interface and attractive design, alongside a broader selection of games.
Experienced users suggest playing games such as Bingo Blitz, Star Trek, and Gardenscapes to maximize your earnings. Apart from this, games like Scratch Magic and Dice Dreams are a lot easier to understand and master, but with limited long-term earning potential.
Earnings - This platform does a lot better on the earnings front, with $20 a day being well within reach for most serious users, with some earning as much as $1,000 per month in semi-passive income.
App Store Review - 4.1 (Google Play)/Not available on iOS
4. Scrambly
With a diverse set of games, Scrambly allows users to earn cash rewards by completing various in-game tasks and challenges across a variety of puzzle, arcade, and role-playing style games. It, however, only caters to users based in the US and Canada as of now.
Games such as Mafia City, Lords Mobile, and Mech Arena are known to have the best earnings potential, provided you spend some time to understand and get a hang of the gameplay.
Earnings - Users have reported earning between $100 to $1,000 using the platform and everything it has to offer. When it comes to games, however, the best you can aim for is about $400, and that too with hours of consistent play; the average is most likely around $100 to $150.
App Store Review - 4.5 (Google Play)/Not available on iOS
5. Mistplay
One of the most popular apps on this list that rewards you for casual gaming, Mistplay has over 10 million downloads despite being available only on Android. Since it first arrived on the scene in 2016, it has paid out over $60 million to users worldwide.
While its workings are rather similar to the others on this list, it focuses exclusively on gaming, which means you won’t find any surveys or other related offers to earn money here. Apart from this, the site is reported to have better games that truly focus on delivering quality experiences for players.
Earnings - The earning potential on this platform is quite thin, with some users having made just $75 after a year of continuous gaming.
App Store Review - 4.6 (Google Play)/Not available on iOS
6. Cash Giraffe
Another Android-only app with several play-to-earn games on offer, Cash Giraffe offers very engaging gameplay, something that helps players boost their intellectual and cognitive abilities when playing for extended periods.
The workings of the app are pretty straightforward. You download it and start playing games. You collect tickets for hitting various milestones and achievements, which can then be redeemed with gift cards.
Earnings - On average, players make $7 a day by actively playing on Cash Giraffe, but there seem to be issues with its payment processing. Many people report having to wait for weeks with multiple requests for support before having their funds released.
App Store Review - 4.1 (Google Play)/Not available on iOS
7. Super.com
One of the most popular and versatile apps on this list, Super offers boundless opportunities for users to save money, earn rewards, and, of course, make money, which happens to include games.
Unlike a few others on this list, the platform has a paid tier to unlock some of its more advanced earning features, which costs $15 a month. Once you’re in, you can start earning small but certainly not insignificant rewards by hitting milestones and clearing different levels in each game.
Earnings - Users report earning $2 to $7 a day depending on the time spent and their gaming skills.
App Store Review - 4.6 (iOS)/4.6 (Google Play)
8. Testerup
Testerup is an app that pays users to test a wide variety of apps, games, and products, even gadgets and cosmetics. A vast chunk of its offers, however, pertain to gaming, where users get paid to help developers perfectly test their games before release.
The app further offers reimbursements for certain in-app purchases that help you progress in the game, which is rather unique. However, there have been reports of multiple bugs within the games themselves, some of which fail to track progress, leading to lost time and money.
Earnings - The site claims that users can make as much as $120 per test, with each new user being presented with over 50 offers worth $800 or more. Most users dispute this claim and report making just about $90 to $150 after 6 months.
There are also concerns regarding Testerup’s payment threshold of $75, which means it will be a while before you can cash out.
App Store Review - 4.0 (Google Play)/4.1 (iOS)
9. InboxDollars
A popular name in this space, InboxDollars has 2.2 million active users and features offers from surveys to shopping cash backs to P2E games.
Many of the gaming-related offers on the platform essentially involve visiting and downloading games using the URL provided by InboxDollars and then reaching a certain level in the said game to get your reward.
Earnings - People have reported varying levels of earnings on the platform, but $50 a month seems to be very achievable, even for players without a lot of time to spare.
App Store Review - 4.3 (Google Play)/4.5 (iOS)
10. Rewarded Play
Rewarded Play is another service that is only available for users located in the U.S. and Canada as of now, with even a few U.S. states not supported.
The platform essentially pays you to download certain games, install them, and start playing. It offers a much wider range of games, which are supposed to be a lot more engaging. So, it doesn’t feel like work and can be a great stress reliever like most games, while you get paid for it.
Earnings - Many users claim to make as much as $15 following 3 hours of gameplay, which isn’t a lot, but is definitely worth something for what you get playing video games.
App Store Review - 4.4 (Google Play)/Not available on iOS
11. Coin Pop
Coin Pop is a popular app with over 10 million downloads, which essentially pays you based on the amount of time you spend playing a game. Its model is fairly similar to the likes of Mistplay and Rewarded Play, in that users are required to download and play sponsored games to earn money.
It offers a wide variety of games, starting with the usual puzzles and board games, followed by surprisingly engaging role-playing games.
Earnings - The platform advertises a pay of 482 coins per minute. You need to hit 4,444 coins, which is worth about $0.50, to withdraw your earnings. All in all, you’re not going to make a lot of money with this, but it's a nice side hustle for those who love mobile games.
App Store Review - 4.0 (Google Play)/Not available on iOS
12. MyFreeApp
MyFreeApp pays you to try out new games and apps. This includes gambling apps, browser extensions, and, of course, games.
You stand to earn money for downloading the games, followed by incremental sums for each level you clear and achievement you unlock. So, it takes a bit of time and involvement to start earning meaningful sums using the app.
Earnings - Your earnings with gaming alone are structured based on your levels and achievements. It starts with a mere $0.10 for downloading a game, going all the way up to $15 for clearing all levels.
App Store Review - 4.1 (Google Play)/Not available on iOS
13. Wealth Words
If you have a way with the words and enjoy playing word games such as Wordle, crossword puzzles, and quick quizzes, then Wealth Words is the place to be. Not only are these games fun, engaging, and a great way to build your verbal skills, but you can also win sizable cash rewards.
The beauty of this app, unlike many others on this list, is that there is absolutely no limit to how much you can play and win.
Earnings - You can play the games for free and earn $1 to $5 if you win, this is only allowed for your first time, and the next time you play the same game you will have to pay in tokens that cost money.
App Store Review - 2.7 (iOS)/Not available on Google Play
14. Givling
While it follows a model similar to several other apps on this list, a key twist lies in its social component.
Givling allows you to channel your winnings toward your student loans, but that’s the least of what it does; it also allows players to start crowdfunding campaigns for pretty much anything, no sob story required!
Earnings - Givling’s patented crowdfunding system allows players to earn a maximum of $100,000 using the platform, but rising up the queue takes investment, with users on average spending about $7 each month to further their chances of hitting the jackpot.
In many ways, this is like the lottery: a very sophisticated lottery that does seem to be working, with $10 million being funded to players thus far.
App Store Review - 4.6 (iOS)/3.5 (Google Play)
15. Buff
A relative newcomer to this space, Buff has quickly made a name for itself owing to its unique and rather renewed approach to play-to-earn gaming.
The platform essentially allows you to play some of the most popular desktop and mobile games such as CS Go, League of Legends, and DOTA 2, among other Buff partner games, while passively earning money for the same.
All you need to do is download and install the Buff client on your desktop and mobile app, which does not have any impact on your gaming experience.
Earnings - You stand to earn Buff points for various in-game achievements, which can be converted into gift cards, steam games, or various in-game rewards for different games.
App Store Review - 3.4 (Google Play)/4.6 (iOS)
16. VeryDice
VeryDice has a very simple approach to P2E. You download an app, roll a dice to win tickets, and then exchange said tickets for various rewards, including electronic gadgets, concert tickets, and home goods.
While you don’t earn money outright, you can always sell the items you do win for money, so it's not all that different from the others on this list.
Earnings - Each time you roll the dice, you stand to earn between 2 and 120 tickets. You earn these rolls by watching ads, referring friends, taking surveys, and downloading apps among other things. A grand total of 4,000 tickets gets you a $25 Amazon gift card.
App Store Review - 3.8 (Google Play)/Not available on iOS
17. PlaytestCloud Games
PlaytestCloud essentially pays you to test mobile games in various stages of development and provide accurate feedback to developers.
The app offers a great way to make money while playing and trying out the latest games that are yet to be released to the masses. Many of these games tend to be truly innovative, creative, and novel concepts, but you will have to bear with certain bugs.
Earnings - The app pays between $5 and $9 for a 15-minute playtest and review. In a way, PlaytestCloud is one of the best payers on this list.
App Store Review - 2.7 (iOS)/2.9 (Google Play)
18. Drop
Drop is popular as a shopping rewards and loyalty app with over 7 million monthly active users, but it recently added a play-to-earn section, which makes it a lot similar to the likes of Mistplay and Cash Giraffe, along with several others on this list.
The app offers a remarkably wide variety of games, across strategy, simulations, arcade, puzzles, and card games.
Earnings - Drop’s gaming section has a few lucrative opportunities that can earn players as much as $28 to $35 for simply downloading a game. Other offers include reaching certain levels and unlocking in-game achievements.
App Store Review - 4.3 (iOS)/3.7 (Google Play)
19. Rocky Rabbit
A creative new game built on the Telegram messaging platform, Rocky Rabbit takes the concept of play-to-earn to the next level. Here, you’re not just doing simple tasks to earn bits and pieces of money, you’re instead required to strategize and put your brain to the test in order to compete with others.
The in-game coins you earn can be reinvested into training your rabbit or other venture opportunities, and the game plans to add a battle functionality going forward. It’s no surprise that it managed to attract 25 million players in such a short span of time.
Earnings - Rocky Rabbit is a crypto-based game, so you will be paid in cryptocurrency. This also comes with regular airdrops and a string of other features commonly associated with the crypto economy.
App Store Review - (a mini app on Telegram, available on both iOS & Android)
20. Cashyy
Cashyy is an app that falls under the same broader category as Freecash and Mistplay. You have several games to choose from, across all genres such as action, adventure, simulation, RPG, and more.
All you have to do is download the Cashyy app, start playing the games sponsored by Cashyy, level up, and hit as many in-game milestones as you can; you should start seeing your earnings add up day after day.
Earnings - Like most other similar apps, your earnings depend to a great extent on whether there are any lucrative offers at the time, which can help you bag a quick $10 to $25 for a simple download. Failing this, you stand to make about $90 to $100 after 2 to 3 months of continuous activity.
App Store Review - 4.3 (Google Play)/Not available on iOS
Other ways to make money online
As wonderful as it seems to be able to make a living by playing games, it’s going to take a while longer for this dream to become a reality. Unless you're a streamer or gaming influencer, you won't earn a lot playing online games. As evidenced by the earnings we’ve shared for the above-mentioned apps, none of them can help replace a full-time job, at least not just yet.
Even as far as side hustles go, these options leave a lot to be desired, given the amount of time many of these P2E apps demand and the minuscule pay offered in return. So, as of now, play-to-earn is a niche concept where you can earn some "beer money" during your downtime playing games.
If you’re serious about a side hustle, consider something that not only complements your day job but also has the potential to scale up and eventually replace said job. Here are some other options to help you make money online:
Survey apps
While we’ve covered quite a lot of survey apps on this list, there is a whole other level of surveys that pay top dollar, for users who truly stand to add value. Platforms such as Swagbucks, Kashkick, and Survey Junkie, while great, only offer surveys within the range of $3 to $10.
However, there are platforms such as InCrowd, ZoomRx, and MedSurvey that can pay respondents, who mostly comprise medical professionals, as high as $500 for their time and effort.
Similarly, Sago (which caters to experts and professionals in other fields) can help you earn as much as $300 to $500 a month by responding to relevant surveys. There are also physical and virtual focus groups that take more of your time but can help you earn $150 to $300 for a few hours of effort.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping essentially involves selling products on popular ecommerce sites such as Amazon, eBay, and Etsy, or your own ecommerce site, without actually holding any stock or handling the product yourself. As soon as you receive an order, you place a request with your supplier, who ships the product directly to the end customer, while you pocket the difference.
The low complexity and learning curve, alongside the scalability of this concept, have attracted a lot of people to this business over the past few years.
If you’re interested in trying your hand at this, consider joining an online dropshipping community to learn the ropes of this trade from those who have already found success with this business model.
Freelancing
The perfect side hustle for most people is good old freelancing. Consider using your skills and knowledge to help people and businesses during your downtime for extra cash.
There are plenty of apps and platforms that can help you land gigs, with the most popular options being Fiverr and Upwork. Apart from this, there are more advanced platforms for experts and professionals, such as TLG and AlphaSense.
You start earning next to nothing, but over time, as you build your reputation, your income from freelancing could rival your day job.
Selling digital products
One of the best side hustles or businesses to pursue in this day and age is selling digital products.
Whether it's an ebook, a video course, a podcast, a newsletter, or any other digital medium, and whether it's in the parenting niche or something as obscure as perfume blending, you will always find buyers.
Here again, you can consider setting up shop on Whop, which caters to a wide variety of digital products, from ebooks and courses to private communities and coaching programs.
This is a side hustle that can truly be scaled beyond your wildest dreams and beyond what any job can ever pay you.
Why Whop is the best way to make money online
If you’re truly serious about making money online and are looking to get started right away, consider entering the world of ecommerce. Without much in the way of lead times or investment, you could start dropshipping or even sell digital PLR products.
We would argue that this would take less effort than even downloading and playing video games since that can prove to be inefficient financially. You can even find free PLR digital products and then sell these on - just add your own branding and market your products, then start earning passive income as you sell these over and over again.
If you're ready to start your ecommerce journey, join Whop, set up your hub in minutes, and start earning real money.
