InboxDollars Review 2024: What I Like (and Hate) About It
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InboxDollars is a legitimate site for earning rewards and taking paid surveys. Here's what I like (and dislike) after having tested each and every feature.
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I’m always skeptical of paid survey sites. Any app or website that touts “free rewards for things you do every day” seems a little sketchy to me.
So I didn’t expect to like InboxDollars. But after testing all of the app’s features and casually earning $8 in rewards my first week, I’m sold on the app’s legitimacy.
In this review, I’ll explain the eight main ways you can make money with InboxDollars, walk you through my experience using each feature, and uncover the highest-earning activities (and the ones you should probably avoid).
Let’s start from the beginning.
What Is InboxDollars?
Founded in 2000, InboxDollars is a rewards site where member-users get paid to take surveys, redeem cash-back offers, read promotional emails, and complete other small tasks to make extra money on the side. InboxDollars boasts over 5 million verifiable users and claims $80 million in rewards paid to date.
InboxDollars can be accessed via desktop-based browsers or through their mobile application, making it a good way to earn extra money if you’re standing in line at the store or killing a few minutes between Zoom meetings. InboxDollars also offers an instant free $5 sign-up bonus to new users.
Prodege LLC, InboxDollars’ parent company, owns several similar sites, including Swagbucks, MyPoints, and Tada. If you’ve ever used any of these sites, you’ll probably notice some feature overlap with InboxDollars. However, InboxDollars does offer a few wholly unique features like Scratch & Win cards and WinIt codes, which we’ll talk about more later on.
One aspect of InboxDollars that I appreciate is that the site tracks your earnings in dollars and cents, not points. This makes it easier to know exactly how close you are to redeeming your cash.
InboxDollars is a rewards site with a mobile app that pays users for taking surveys, watching videos, playing games, redeeming coupons, and completing various online tasks. Redeem your points for gift cards, prepaid debit cards, or PayPal cash.
Show Hide moreIs InboxDollars Legit?
InboxDollars is a legitimate survey and rewards site. User reviews of InboxDollars on Trustpilot show a 4.2 out of 5-star rating with over 38,000 reviews.[1]
The app also has a 4.0 rating in the Google Play store and a 4.5 rating in the Apple store, with a combined 317,000+ reviews.
The company that owns the InboxDollars brand, Prodege, has a B rating from the Better Business Bureau with zero unresolved complaints.[2]
I’ve used some of Prodege’s other rewards sites, mainly Swagbucks, and received prompt payouts every time I’ve cashed in for a gift card, eliminating any further concerns the platform might be a scam. My experience with the company has always been positive, but at the very least I can attest that InboxDollars and the other Prodege brands are as legitimate and safe as any other reward or cash-back apps I’ve used.
How InboxDollars Works
InboxDollars offers several different ways for users to make money. You can pick and choose, or try all of them, depending on your time and interest.
To get started, simply sign up for a free InboxDollars account. You’ll earn an instant $5 bonus just for confirming your email address.
Then, fill out the profile questionnaire that asks for your demographic information, like your age, gender, and interests. This can take between 5 to 10 minutes to fill out and unlocks a $0.50 bonus.
You can’t cash out your $5.50 immediately, though. The minimum threshold to redeem your rewards is $15. You can keep earning through:
- Surveys
- Games
- Shop
- Magic Receipts
- Offers
- Search
- Refer Friends
Aside from these main ways to earn, you can get extra rewards through Sweepstakes, achieving Daily Goals, redeeming WinIt codes, and playing Scratch & Win.
Top Ways to Make Money with InboxDollars
Needless to say, there are a lot of options to earn with InboxDollars. However, not all of them are worth your time. I tested out all of InboxDollars’ features, and here’s what I learned about each of them.
1. Surveys
Before you can start taking surveys, you have to fill out your profile. You’ll earn $0.50 for completing this short questionnaire.
Surveys generally pay between $0.50 and $5.00 and take 10 to 30 minutes to complete. You’ll see anywhere from 10 to 15 surveys listed in your account at any given time.
InboxDollars recommends the one they think is the best fit for you, but you can take them in any order you like.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: This is one of the more worthwhile ways to make money with InboxDollars. But as with any paid survey site, it’s not going to make you rich.
Even though InboxDollars claims that users can earn up to $25 per survey, the ones in my account usually range from $0.50 to $3.00.
That said, I do have surveys of $4.50 and $15.00 currently listed in my account. They’re less common, but definitely on the higher side, which lends some credence to InboxDollars’ claim of $25 surveys.
At $15 for 105 minutes, the largest survey in my account approximates to $8.50 per hour — a reasonable ceiling that users can expect to earn per hour. Additionally, time doesn’t necessarily correlate to earnings. I have a survey in my account that pays just $0.75 for an estimated 25-minute completion time.
In the last 7 days, I’ve taken three surveys. The profile questionnaire netted me $0.50. Then I took a one-question survey for $0.01 and a more in-depth one for $2.00.
The surveys I’ve taken so far have been surprisingly enjoyable. InboxDollars’ user interface isn’t as nice as some of the other survey sites I’ve used, but the surveys themselves are well put together, and the topics are pretty interesting.
Just be on the lookout for any “test” questions. Most survey sites throw these in to make sure you’re paying attention. If you get them wrong or answer demographic questions differently than you did in your profile questionnaire, your account might get flagged and you’ll stop receiving survey offers.
2. Games
InboxDollars offers free games like Solitaire, Candy Jam, and Pet Hop. They also offer cash games like Blackout Bingo, Cube Master, and Solitaire Cash, but those have moved into the Offer tab. For these, you make a deposit and compete in cash tournaments for the chance to win more money.
According to customer reviews, it’s hard to earn real money playing the free games through InboxDollars. That’s because you don’t get cash rewards for playing. Instead, every game you play goes toward your Scratch & Win progress, which allows you to scratch a virtual lottery ticket for random cash rewards.
Even though you don’t get cash for playing games through InboxDollars, it does seem to be one of the faster ways to earn Scratch & Win credit.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: I was disappointed to find that your time and performance in games don’t determine your earnings.
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I played this Monkey Bubble Shooter game for 30 minutes and got to level 10 before I realized my account balance wasn’t changing.
I thought maybe the reason I wasn’t earning anything was that I wasn’t winning. So I switched to Pyramid Solitaire. After another 30 minutes of play, I finally won a game! And still no payout.
The bright side is that the games are pretty fun, and InboxDollars offers more and better free game options than similar sites I’ve used, including Swagbucks. But if you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to get caught up in the games, lose track of time, and forget the point of what you’re trying to do: make extra money.
However, it depends on your goals. If you enjoy playing free games like this and earning the occasional Scratch & Win credit, then InboxDollars’ games could be a good way to kill time and earn a little while you’re at it. But if your goal is to maximize your earnings with InboxDollars, you probably want to stick with some of the other features.
Related: 23 Best Apps and Games That Pay Real Money
3. Shop
InboxDollars offers cashback from hundreds of stores, including Best Buy, Home Depot, Groupon, and Kohl’s. The deals vary from store to store, with some offering as low as 1% and others as much as 25% cashback.
You can shop directly through your InboxDollars account by browsing their list of retailers or search by name or category. Like many other cashback sites, they also have a cashback extension you can add to your browser called the Billy Button.
Whenever you’re shopping on a site where InboxDollars offers coupons or cashback, the Billy Button will let you know so you don’t miss out on a deal. It’ll also notify you when new surveys and other opportunities are available in your account.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: If you’ve ever used a cashback app like Rakuten, Capital One Shopping, or Swagbucks, InboxDollars isn’t much different, except for the deals. I find the Billy Button to be more convenient than shopping through their online portal.
Similar to what I’ve found with Swagbucks is that not all the deals are what they appear to be on the surface.
For example, Best Buy is listed at 1% cashback. But when I click the offer and expand the terms and conditions, I’m given a list of items that don’t qualify for any cashback, including any Apple products, video game consoles, drones, cameras, and more.
So before you shop through InboxDollars, make sure you read the terms of each deal.
Spending money just to get cashback is never a wise idea in my book. But if you shop online, then using the Billy Button can help you find coupons and earn cashback you may have otherwise missed out on.
I always love a good deal, so I have installed several different cashback extensions (Rakuten, Capital One Shopping, Swag Button, Billy Button, etc.) on my Chrome browser. Each one usually has different deals and coupons. They’ll each notify you when you check out if they have coupons or cashback available, so I choose the one with the highest offer.
Related: 7 Finance Experts Share Their Best Hacks for Saving Money
4. Magic Receipts
InboxDollars offers two different types of receipt uploads to earn cashback: Magic Receipts and Any Receipt.
I’ve you’ve ever used cashback grocery apps like Ibotta, the process of uploading Magic Receipts will be familiar to you. You choose from a list of deals on InboxDollars, add them to your cart, and buy the items from a participating store. Then, take a picture of your receipt and upload it to your account for immediate cashback.
Some deals are brand-specific, while others allow you to earn a set amount of cashback for any brand of milk, bread, eggs, produce, etc.
Any Receipt deals are just what they sound like. You can upload any receipt from over 1,100 different retailers that’s less than 14 days old. You’ll get $0.01 for each receipt you submit.
Most of the Magic Receipt deals require an in-store purchase, but you can submit Any Receipt offers for both in-store and online orders.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: I’ve used this feature on Swagbucks, and the experience was exactly the same on InboxDollars.
The first time I submitted a receipt, I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth the process was. I thought it would take a few days for my cashback to hit, but InboxDollars scanned my receipt as soon as I uploaded it and credited my account on the spot.
One tip I figured out the hard way: pay attention to which stores are offering the deals you add to your list. If you have a primary store you shop at, filter the deals for that store.
That way you don’t accidentally buy a bunch of things because you think you’re getting a good price only to realize when you upload your receipt that Target offers that deal, but you bought it at Kroger.
5. Offers
Offers are some of the highest-paying tasks on InboxDollars. They typically require you to sign up with a third-party app or website.
Some offers require that you place an order or open a new account and make a deposit, but you can filter for the 100% free options. You can click on each offer to see the requirements.
Cashback from offers can take anywhere from 7 days to a month or longer to show up in your InboxDollars account.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: I’ve said this about Swagbucks and I think it’s true for InboxDollars as well: most of these offers are spammy.
Some, maybe even all of them, are legitimate. But they’re usually not as simple as they seem.
One deal in my account, for example, says all I have to do is complete a short survey to earn a $10 reward. But after completing a short survey, I’m redirected to a page where it says I have to claim additional deals from other third-party sites (or fourth-party, at this point) in order to get the reward.
And most of these deals require me to pay for something.
Suffice it to say, I didn’t get any rewards for deals.
I’ve read other reviews from Reddit users who say they love claiming these offers. But in my opinion, unless you see a site or product you’re genuinely interested in, you’re better off taking surveys, uploading receipts, and completing other activities with InboxDollars.
6. Search
Using InboxDollars’ search engine doesn’t count toward your dollar earnings. Like with the free games, it gives you progress toward your next Scratch & Win ticket (which we’ll talk about more below).
Some days you can earn credit for 4 searches, while other days you could earn rewards for 20 or more.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: I don’t think the InboxDollars search engine algorithm is as sophisticated as Google’s. However, it’s an easy way to earn credit for Scratch & Win cards, which are admittedly addictive.
You can get multiple credits for the same search term by toggling between web, images, videos, and news.
I wanted to try a few Scratch & Win cards to see how they work and what type of reward you can expect. I got to the second tier of cards quickly just by doing a few searches.
7. Refer Friends
With the InboxDollars Refer Friends Program, you’ll earn a $3 cash bonus for each referral that earns $3 in their first month. Plus, you’ll earn 10% of your referral’s lifetime earnings.
The bonus will be credited within 24 hours of the user reaching the $3 threshold, so it may not appear immediately.
With no earnings cap for how much you can earn from your referral(s), this is a potentially great way to earn passive income.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: Having worked in this industry for nearly a decade, it never ceases to amaze me how lucrative revenue share programs can be. Getting 10% of your referral’s earnings is an easy way to earn rewards around the clock without ever having to put in a second of work.
Related: 17 Best Passive Income Apps to Earn Extra Money
Other Ways to Earn with InboxDollars
Aside from surveys, Magic Receipts, and the other primary methods of earning cashback on InboxDollars, you can earn bonus rewards with Scratch & Win, WinIt codes, and by meeting Daily Goal streaks.
Scratch & Win
We talked about these a little earlier in the games and search sections. As you complete surveys, play games, and participate in other activities on InboxDollars, you’ll earn progress toward a Scratch & Win card, which is basically a digital lottery ticket with a random reward.
There are three milestones of Scratch & Win. Each one has the potential for a maximum $10, $25, or $100 reward.
The more activities you complete (i.e. surveys, games, searches, etc.), the higher-tier scratcher you get. According to an InboxDollars blog post, most scratchers vary between a couple of cents and $0.25.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: Scratch & Win is fun and, just like lottery tickets, can be addictive.
The fastest way I’ve found to earn Scratch & Win tickets is by performing searches. Just four searches got me to the first tier in less than a minute.
While Scratch & Win can be fun and exciting, I wouldn’t rely on it for the bulk of your earnings. The points are random. I’ve gotten 10 Scratch & Win cards so far — some from each of the three tiers — for a total of $0.28.
My lowest four cards all paid $0.01 (one of which was a tier 3 Scratch & Win), and my highest paid $0.08 at tier 2.
Cash in your cards when you have them, but if your goal is to maximize your time with InboxDollars, focus on higher-earning activities like surveys.
WinIt Codes
Sometimes InboxDollars will post “WinIt” codes on their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.
Each code offers a different reward. Some are worth a few cents, and others give you sweepstakes entries or progress toward your next Scratch & Win.
These codes expire at 11:59pm CST the day they’re posted, so you have to check in with their social media accounts on a regular basis to catch them.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: I scoured the company’s social media and found a WinIt code on Facebook for the day I was writing this, worth Scratch & Win credit.
If you’re already on Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook, then it’s probably worth following InboxDollars to stay up-to-date with new codes. But similar to Scratch & Win, they’re more of a bonus than a reliable earning opportunity.
Daily Goal
Whenever you meet your daily earnings goal or complete your daily to-do list, InboxDollars rewards you with a $0.03 to $0.10 bonus. InboxDollars sets your daily goal based on your previous earnings history.
When you meet your daily goal or complete your daily to-do list several days in a row (known as a streak), you get an even bigger bonus.
🔍 Reviewer’s Note: I wish InboxDollars shared more about how they set your daily earnings goal, but it is a nice perk. So far, I’ve earned $0.06 in bonuses, which is mostly from printing coupons and taking a couple of surveys.
And, while it is one of several ways to earn free money on the platform, the real perk is that it quasi-reminds you to participate in higher-earning activities.
How Much Can You Make with InboxDollars?
How much InboxDollars pays ultimately depends on the types of activities you engage with and how frequently you use them.
For example, I spent 30 minutes playing a Monkey Bubble Shooter game, which helped me earn a tier 2 ticket. I scratched it and got a $0.02 reward.
Then, I took a 13-minute survey that paid $2.00.
The game worked out to about $0.04 per hour. Not a great rate.
Taking surveys came out to just over $9.00 per hour. Not bad money, and certainly above average for survey sites, in my experience. That said, successfully qualifying for and completing consecutive surveys like this is highly unlikely, and “true” Survey earnings will more likely fall in the $1 to $5 per day range.
Surveys, earning cashback, and receipt uploads are the best-paying activities on InboxDollars. If you stick to those, you can reasonably expect to earn $10 to $30 per month.
No survey or cashback site is meant to be a high-earning side hustle. But if you want to make easy money for simple tasks, that’s where InboxDollars fits in.
InboxDollars Alternatives
If you’re having trouble getting approved for surveys through InboxDollars or just want to explore other options, consider these alternatives to InboxDollars.
Branded Surveys: Unlike InboxDollars, which offers multiple ways to earn, the only way to make money with Branded Surveys is through taking surveys. You’ll earn your first 100 points for creating an account. At 500, equal to $5, you’re eligible to cash out for gift cards to your favorite restaurants, travel sites, or online retailers. If you’d rather have the cash, you can transfer your earnings to PayPal or have them directly deposited into your bank account.
Survey Junkie: One of the original survey sites, Survey Junkie, still remains popular among users. As the name suggests, this site focuses solely on surveys. The minimum payout is just $5, and you can redeem points for e-gift cards or cash through PayPal.
Swagbucks: Swagbucks is one of the most popular survey and side hustle sites. Like InboxDollars, you can make money by taking surveys, redeeming coupons, and completing other small activities. Swagbucks also offers a $10 sign-up bonus for new members. You can cash out your earnings for as little as $1 (initial cashout minimum is $15). Your redemption options include PayPal cash or gift cards for popular retailers such as Amazon or iTunes.
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| US only | US, Canada, and UK | US, CA, UK, and AU | US + International |
| Multiple ways to earn | Surveys only | Multiple ways to earn | Multiple ways to earn |
| No bonus program | Bonus program | No bonus program | No bonus program |
| No email customization | Email notification control | No email customization | No email customization |
| $15 min. to cash out | $5 min. to cash out | $5 min. to cash out | $15 min. to cash out |
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$5 sign-up bonus |
$1 sign-up bonus |
$1.70 sign-up bonus |
$10 sign-up bonus |
FAQ
The Bottom Line: Is InboxDollars Worth It?
InboxDollars is similar to a lot of survey sites, especially Swagbucks. That’s not surprising since they’re both owned by the same company.
InboxDollars, and really any survey site or app, is best if you want to make some extra money with very little effort. If your primary goal is to make the most money you can with the app, then stick to the surveys, printing coupons, and uploading your receipts.
If you’re just looking for a fun app to fill your time, then you might get a lot out of it just by playing the games on your phone and getting random rewards with the Scratch & Win tickets.
You won’t make hundreds of dollars per month. But for the occasional $15 gift card, it’s not a bad way to spend your time.
Related:
- 18 Best Places to Take Paid Online Surveys
- 20 Best Money-Making Apps for Earning On the Go
- 50+ Legit Ways to Make Money Online from Home
Sources:
[1] “InboxDollars.” Trustpilot, www.trustpilot.com/review/www.inboxdollars.com. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023. [2] “Prodege, LLC: Better Business Bureau® Profile.” BBB, www.bbb.org/us/ca/west-hollywood/profile/internet-service/prodege-llc-1216-100088742. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023.
