Is Swagbucks Legit or Scam? (2024 Swagbucks Review + Guide)

Swagbucks is one of the biggest and most popular survey and GPT sites (Get-Paid-To). But being a big company is not always a sign of quality.

So is Swagbucks legit and really a great free way to make money online or a scam to stay away from?

I have used the platform for several years myself, and let me just reveal right away that it is legit, and I have been paid by it many times myself.

However, it is not necessarily a site for all, and in this 2024 Swagbucks review, I will give you all the details about what the site has to offer, what you can expect, and what to be aware of so you have all the information you need to decide whether it is the right site for you or not.

I will also show you how to get a great joining bonus if you decide to join.

Disclosure: Some articles on this website contain affiliate/sponsored links. Click for more info.

What is Swagbucks, and what does it offer?

Swagbucks is owned by Prodege, which is a provider of digital services, including reward portals like Swagbucks.

It now has millions of registered users, so it is definitely one of the biggest and most popular rewards sites out there. At the time of updating this Swagbucks review, it has paid out millions of dollars in cash and gift cards.

So let me, right away, make it clear that Swagbucks is legit and it actually does pay – I have been paid many times by it myself and will also show you Swagbucks payment proof later in this review.

It has a lot of opportunities and ways to earn – just be aware that not all of them are available in all countries, but I will explain more about that later. But let's look into exactly what it offers so you can see if it is for you or not, as it is important to do it with the right expectations.

I have made a video that gives you a full guided tour and explains exactly how it works. You can also read all the details below the video.

Click to Join Swagbucks and Get Your joining bonus

Option 1 – Swagbucks paid surveys:

I personally think paid surveys are a great way to make some extra money and have your opinion heard at the same time, and Swagbucks surveys is one of the best ways to earn on the platform, in my experience.

Usually, there will be many daily opportunities. Because Swagbucks has so many members, it is also a popular platform for the companies that need to have surveys done to go, and that will lead to a good amount of survey opportunities.

When you log in to the site, it might not be clear right away where to find the surveys. Contrary to most of the sites that offer paid surveys, Swagbucks does not have a section that is called “surveys”. The section where you find the surveys is instead called “Answer”.

In this section, you can also find the daily poll. It is a short question that will only take a few seconds to answer, and you will get paid to participate.

Like with most other survey sites, you just have to be aware that you will not be able to qualify for every survey that is offered. That is just how it is with survey sites, but it can be good to be reminded about once in a while not to give up after having tried a couple of surveys that we do not qualify for.

There will definitely be many you qualify for, and after a while, you will figure out what type you most often qualify for, and then you just focus on trying out those.

And Swagbucks offers a very good number of paid surveys, and it is a section on the site that is definitely worth checking out.

You can right away also see the reward you will get for each survey and the estimated time (see image above) it will take to complete, which makes it easy to plan your time the best possible way.

Be aware that you can also, at times, find what is called “Swag Ups” in the side menu. These are bonuses you can activate that will give you a certain percentage of bonuses for the surveys you take for a certain period of time.

These are great to keep an eye on, as they can really boost your earnings.

Option 2 – Cash back when shopping:

Swagbucks has cooperation with a long list of companies, where you will earn Swagbucks rewards (called SB = Swag Bucks) when you shop online.

This applies to thousands of online stores and includes brands like Gap, Nike, Amazon, and Walmart, so if you ever do online shopping, you will likely find some familiar shops here. And there is also cash back for services and different local activities depending on where you live.

The cashback you will get is between 1%-50%. Luckily, most companies give more than 1%, and you can make some good deals this way.

So, if you like to do some of your shopping online anyway, doing it through Swagbucks' shopping portal can be a great and fast way to earn rewards and, that way, make some good online deals.

Be aware that the pictures below are just a few examples, and the offers are updated all the time, so the exact deals shown in the picture might not be available when you go to the website, but then there will be plenty of others.

If you are interested in the Swagbucks cashback option, make sure to also check out the part about the Swagbutton (Swagbucks Chrome extension) later in this review. This is very useful for keeping up-to-date on the online saving you can get.

Overall, if you ever do online shopping, it can be worth joining Swagbucks just for this option, as you will then earn while spending money you are going to spend anyway.

Also, one of the newer options Swagbucks has introduced in some countries is in-store cashback offers.

This means that if you link a card with your Swagbucks account, then you will automatically earn cash back every time you shop at selected stores with that card.

There are not many sites that offer in-store cashback offers like this, and it is definitely a great way to earn a bit extra without any effort, in my opinion.

However, you need to be aware that in some countries, you will find very few cashback offers, while in others, there will be a lot of options. So whether this is a great opportunity for you or not really depends on your country.

Option 3 – Searching the web:

Swagbucks Search Engine is a section where you can go and search online. It also has it as an extension for Chrome browsers. If you are using this, you will get a chance to win rewards every time you do a search.

If you win, you will see it immediately on the screen. You can win between 1-1000 SB, and the winners are picked randomly. It does not say anything about how big the chances are of winning, but Swagbucks is making it clear that they will not use any search information to sell your information or collect personal information.

So, if you are searching the web anyway (as we probably all are), it might be worth giving it a try.

Option 4 – Watch videos:

You can earn some rewards by watching videos on Swagbucks.

Let me say right away that it is not a lot you can make from this. Also, they used to have a separate section for this, but that has been removed, and for that reason many people think you can no longer earn by watching videos on Swagbucks.

But you still can, but you have to go to the “Discover” section and find the videos on one of the offerwalls (Adscend Media is one of the offerwalls that has this option).

Overall, you should, however, not use this feature only for the money, but only if you find the videos interesting anyway, in my opinion, as the rewards are very low.

But if you find videos you will like to watch anyway, then why not get paid a little to do it?

Option 5 – Earn by playing Swagbucks games:

There are a couple of ways to earn rewards by playing games. One is to play one of Swagbucks' own free games, and the other is to play a game on an external site.

Swagbucks has a few games you can play on their site, and win up to 10 SB by playing. It is, for example, a memory game or similar nice little games.

The games on external sites are also games you can mostly play for free, or you can choose to play real cash games. It is, for example, games like playing slots, poker, wheel of Fortune, Angry Birds, and more. You will, however, only earn SB if you make in-game purchases while playing. So it is more of a cash back option you get here.

But if you like playing these games anyway, it can be a great way to get some cash back for purchases you would have made anyway.

Option 6 – Deals/offers:

Swagbucks has a lot of offers/deals you can get access to. You can find them in the section they call “Discover”.

It is offers where you will get points for taking a certain action. It can be to sign up for a certain website or service, visit a website, download an app, sign up for a free product sample, sign up for a newsletter, etc.

Compared to other GPT sites that have offer sections, Swagbucks has a really good selection, in my opinion.

Usually, you will mostly find what is called offer walls that are offered on many different sites. You can definitely find some good offers here, but Swagbucks has even more opportunities.

It offers many deals that are more or less only offered through Swagbucks. And if you keep an eye on them, you can find some amazing deals and make some really easy money. Let me give you a couple of examples of the kind of deals you can find there.

The image above shows a service you can sign up for. By signing up and depositing $5, you will get another $5 into the investment app you will sign up for. In addition to this, you will get 1000 SB as a bonus for signing up. That is equivalent to $10.

So by investing $5, you will get $10 to invest for in the app + $10 into your Swagbucks account.

Another great offer I found was this charity you can donate to.

Here you will get $25 into your Swagbucks account as a bonus if you donate $20 to the charity. So you basically earn $5 by making a positive difference and donating to a charity. That is, in my opinion, a great deal.

Be aware that new offers come and go all the time. So, the above are just a few examples I found.

The exact offers might be different for you, but as you can see, there are some really good opportunities and easy ways to make money by using the offers.

Option 7 – Upload receipts / in-store deals

Also, you can find in-store deals and get access to coupons on Swagbucks, which is something I have not seen on many GPT sites.

This means that you can get coupons you can use in-store in a lot of different stores.

When you use these to buy certain items, you will get cashback into your Swagbucks account.

They also have the opportunity for you to earn by buying certain items in physical stores and then uploading a receipt to Swagbucks and earning cashback rewards like this.

Some of the rewards for this are quite high, and new items are added all the time, and it is items you are likely going to buy anyway, like coffee, magazines, cereals, bread, mayo, and a lot more.

So it can definitely be worth keeping an eye on this section as it can be an easy way to save a lot of money when saving.

If you do not buy any of the items listed, you can still earn just by uploading any receipt for a shopping trip to a grocery store or if you have bought fast food.

Just be aware that this is also one of the earning options that is not available in all countries.

Option 7 – Invite friends:

You can invite your friends to join Swagbucks, and that way, make a bit extra. If you invite somebody that joins, you will get a 10% commission of everything they earn.

This 10 % will not be taken from your friends' rewards but be paid by Swagbucks as thanks for inviting somebody else to join.

Option 8 – Daily goal bonus:

By having a certain activity on Swagbucks, you can earn an extra bonus. Once you are logged in, you can see what the daily goal of earnings is to fulfill the daily goal that day.

If you do this several days in a row, you will get a bonus depending on how long a streak you will have. 7 days will give you 25 SB, 14 days 100 SB, 21 days 200 SB, and 31 days 300 SB. So that can be a nice little extra bonus to go for if you are using Swagbucks every day.

Option 9 – Daily to-do list bonus:

You can not only get a daily bonus by getting the goal bonus. Swagbucks also shows you a daily to-do list. If you make complete this, you will get an extra bonus that day.

There are 8 items on the list, as you can see in the image above. If you complete 6 of these items, you will get a 4 SB bonus. If you complete all 8 items, you will get an even higher bonus.

Option 10 – Free points with Swagcodes:

Quite often there are codes or special offers posted on the Swagbucks' Facebook page or other social media channels.

These codes will get you free SB, so it can be a good idea to keep an eye on the social media channels for some free rewards.

The codes will not give huge rewards, but it will also only take a few seconds to do, so it can still be worth using this option.

Option 11 – Get free SB on your birthday:

On your birthday, you will receive 55 SB for free through an email. This amount will be given as a rebate if you redeem a reward within 30 days after your birthday.

So to get this birthday gift, you have to click the link you get sent by email and then make sure to redeem a reward within 30 days.

Option 12 – Free contests and Swagstakes:

Swagbucks regularly runs contests. Some of them are announced on their blog, and others you can find after you log in to the site. Most of these are free to participate in.

You can, however, also find contests on Swagbucks that you have to use your SB to participate in – these are called Swagstakes.

It can, for example, be a contest for $250 where you have to pay 2 cents. There are also contests like this to win things like coffee machines, AirPods, PayPal cash, and more.

So if you feel lucky, these contests can be a chance to win some great rewards.

Option 13 – Swagbucks Trivia for Money:

Swagbucks has a separate app called Swagbucks Trivia for money.

You need to create a separate account for this, but since it is still the same brand name, I wanted to include it here.

Here, you can participate in daily quizzes and potentially earn very big cash rewards.

Just be aware that this app is not available in all countries, so even though you might be able to join Swagbucks itself, you might not be able to use this app.

But if you can join it from your country, it can definitely be a fun way to potentially win great prizes.

Option 14 – Get great joining bonus:

Usually, you do not get a cash joining bonus on Swagbucks.

But because I have this website, I have been able to get an invitation link that will give you a $5 joining bonus by using the link below. You will get the bonus once you have earned your first 2500 points.

Not only that, but you will also get an extra $10 into your Swagbucks account if you join through the link below if you decide to use Swagbucks' shopping portal. The first time you purchase something through the shopping portal, you will get the $10 into your account.

However, be aware that the $5 joining bonus is only available if you live in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany, France, or Spain since these are the countries where Swagbucks has the most opportunities. And the shopping bonus is usually only for the UK and US.

In all other countries, you can still get a Swagbucks joining bonus through my invitation link. However, the bonus will then instead be $3, and you will get these after you have earned your first $3 – it just has to be within the first 30 after joining you earn these points.

Overall, this is a great way to get some free cash from the beginning, no matter the country you live in.

Like any other legit survey site, Swagbucks is free to join and use.

Click to Join Swagbucks and Get Your joining bonus

Swagbutton – Swagbucks Chrome Extension

An extra thing Swagbucks offers is the Swagbutton, which is Swagbucks' Chrome extension. It can be very useful if you would like to get some good savings when shopping online and get access to coupon codes that can save you a lot of money.

Once you have installed the Swagbutton, you will automatically get an alert in your Chrome browser when there is a new coupon code and cash back offer available on Swagbucks.

The Swagbutton also makes it possible for you to easily see if the site you are on has any coupons or deals.

When you make your first purchase and get a cash back through the Swagbutton, you will get a $10 bonus. So if you like shopping online, it can definitely be a great way to get some savings to have this Chrome extension installed.

You can also watch movie trailers, small video clips, and more through the Chrome extension, and it can thereby help you to earn extra Swagbucks while surfing the web.

You also get exclusive Swag Codes with free points when you are using the Swagbutton.

It is very easy to install and use the Swagbutton. Once you have registered for Swagbucks on the website (see link at the bottom of this review), you can just go to the Chrome store and search for the Swagbucks extension.

It is free to install, and once you have installed it, all you need to do it to activate the Swagbutton in your browser, and you will be able to start using it.

Swagbucks membership levels

As something fairly new, Swagbucks has introduced membership levels. You will level up just by being active on the platform.

You have to apply once you are logged in, and you can apply once you have earned 250 SB or more. They call it their membership recognition program, and it is a way to reward you if you are a long-term active member.

There are 10 levels of membership, starting at Pearl and all the way up to Diamond.

Which each level, you get certain benefits, like free points, more rewards for surveys, rebates on rewards, and more. Once you get to the highest level, you can get some really great benefits.

At this level, you, for example, get a one-time bonus of $250 and double rewards for the next 3 surveys + some additional benefits, as you can see in the image above.

To get to this level, you, however, have to earn a total of 2,000,000 SB, so it will take some time to get there.

But the first few levels are quite easy to reach, and with continuous effort, you can also get to the highest level, and it does not take extra effort in addition to just using Swagbucks, so it is a great extra reward to get for your loyalty, in my opinion.

Just be aware that this Membership Recognition Program is currently only available in the US, Canada, England, and Australia, even though Swagbucks itself is available in more countries (more about the available countries later).

Can you use Swagbucks on a phone?

Once you have signed up for Swagbucks, you can download the Swagbucks app if you like using the platform on the go.

It is available for Android, iPhone, iPod, and iPad/tablets. It, in general, runs best on newer devices, but usually, it can be used if the device is less than 2-3 years old.

Using a survey and GPT site that has an app makes it a lot easier to earn, as you can do it on the go. I often do it when I am waiting in line, waiting for a friend, or when I have a few minutes to spare, etc. Therefore, it is great to use sites that are available on the phone and that have an app.

Using the Swagbucks app also has the advantage that you will be able to see offers in your local area and thereby, in some cases, earn when you eat or shop locally.

You just need to be aware that the full app is not available in all countries, so do not be alarmed if it happens to not be available in your country – then you can just earn through the website instead.

In some countries, there is also just a limited version of the Swagbucks app available where you will only get access to the surveys and not the other earning opportunities (called SB Answer).

How do you get paid?

You get paid in SB (Swag Bucks), which is basically Swagbucks points, every time you do an activity.

These SB can then be exchanged into Swagbucks rewards – They have a big variety of gift cards, cash through PayPal, or sweepstakes, you can choose from.

In general, 100 SB is worth $1. Sometimes, there are, however, gift cards with discounts, so you, for example, only have to spend 1900 SB to get a gift card worth $25.

If you want to get paid through PayPal, the payout threshold can vary from country to country, but in general, it is only around $5/$5/€5 depending on the country you live in, so it is a nice low threshold.

But you can redeem your rewards even earlier for many other rewards, and you can find gift cards you can get as soon as you have earned 100 SB in some countries.

Compared to many other survey sites, Swagbucks has a really good selection of free gift cards.

You can, for example, get free gift cards for Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Target, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, iTunes, hotels, airlines, and much more. So, it should not be difficult to find a way to redeem the rewards on something that suits you.

The sweepstakes (which are called Swagstakes) is another way you can spend your SB. Here, you can, for a small number of points, buy entries into different sweepstakes, and that way, have a chance to win a bigger prize.

Some of them are time-restricted, and others have a very limited number of entries, so if you keep an eye on the sweepstake section, there can be some good chances to win some extra rewards.

As mentioned earlier, I have been paid by Swagbucks many times myself, and below you can find a video with Swagbucks payment proof so you can see for yourself and see exactly how to withdraw.

Click to Join Swagbucks Yourself

How much money can you make?

As with any other survey site or online rewards site, this is the big question. But unfortunately, also one that is impossible to give a specific answer to. It depends on so many different things.

How much time are you willing to spend, how many of the opportunities are you interested in using, where do you live, and many more factors.

A general thing that can, however, be said about survey sites and sites like Swagbucks is that they will not make you rich. So you should not join with that as the goal.

Swagbucks does, however, give very good opportunities to make some nice extra cash or get some extra rewards depending on your preferences.

Personally, I like the survey part of it, as I, in general, think surveys are a great way to make a bit extra and have my opinion heard. But Swagbucks offers many other great ways to earn, and as you have shown earlier in this review, some of the methods can be a very easy way to earn, and it has great bonuses and offers that can really boost your earnings.

Swagbucks, in general, has good earning potential compared to many similar sites, and it is one of the biggest and most popular sites in the world because of the many opportunities it gives.

And if you like to do shopping online, Swagbucks can give you some huge savings, if you do your shopping here, and it also has a great daily activity bonus.

Can your points expire?

Yes, your points can expire at Swagbucks. If you have not logged in to your account and made any points or redeemed any rewards for 6 months, then your account will become inactive. The points (SB) you earn will expire after 2 years from the day you earn them.

I assume that most people would want to get their rewards out sooner anyway, but if you like collecting as many points as possible before cashing out, just be aware that they can expire if you wait too long.

Who can join Swagbucks?

Swagbucks used to only be available in very few countries. But it has now opened up, and it is now possible to join more or less from all countries.

However, in many countries, it will still have limited options.

So, to get any really good options and be sure you can get access to all the opportunities explained earlier in this review, you have to live in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, or Germany.

In theory, you can also join from India, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, UAE, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Spain, France, and many other countries.

But in these countries, it is still quite limited how many options you will have to earn. So unless you live in one of the 6 countries it was originally available in (mentioned above), you will get more options on other sites in your country.

It is also only in the original 8 countries you will get the biggest Swagbucks bonus I mentioned earlier. However, you can join and get a joining bonus almost no matter the country you live in.

You can join Swagbucks from you are 13 years old, but this can vary from country to country. And if you are below 18 years old, you will, in some countries, need the consent of your guardians.

Some similar sites have it as a restriction that more members of the same household (with the same IP address) cannot join. This is not the case for Swagbucks.

As long as you make an individual account for each, more members of the same household can join, which I think is great. Of course, you are not allowed to make several accounts for yourself using a fake name, as this will be considered cheating, and you will be banned if they detect it (and they probably will).

Swagbucks complaints?

So far, Swagbucks looks like a pretty good way to make a bit of extra money, right?

But I decided to also include other opinions about the site to give you are broader perspective, and I have therefore researched further and been in contact with other members to hear other peoples’ experiences as well.

In general, people are pretty positive about Swagbucks, and it has been able to get this many members for a reason. With any survey site or GPT site, there will always be some complaints. A general complaint about survey sites is that people sometimes can be frustrated about not qualifying for enough surveys, which I have also heard about Swagbucks.

But you should not expect to qualify for all surveys on any site that offers paid surveys, and after a little while, you will figure out what type of surveys you are most likely to qualify for, and then you will just focus on these.

But overall, Swagbucks is getting really good feedback, and people have many good experiences with the page, and most people are talking about Swagbucks in a very positive way. Thousands of my viewers on my YouTube channel and visitors here on my website also have told me about their great experiences.

Can you get support?

Being able to get in contact with support is important for any GPT site or survey site. Hopefully, you will never need to, but it is good to know the option is there if you should ever need help.

I have been in contact with Swagbucks myself several times, and I have received very good service, and the support has been very fast at getting back to me. So in my experience, it offers excellent support.

You can either submit a support ticket on the website or send a message on the Facebook page.

Final Verdict – scam or legit?

From the above review, it is clear that Swagbucks is not a scam.

It has been around for many years and has millions of members that are earning rewards and earn money and get paid every day, and I have been paid by it many times myself also.

But let's finish this Swagbucks review by summing up the pros and cons so you can get a better overview before deciding if it is the right site for you or not:

Pros:

• Reliable and experienced company behind it
• Great joining bonus
• Pays out through PayPal and has many other great prizes
• Many different opportunities
• Has great app that makes it easy to earn on the go
• Chrome extension makes it easy to earn while surfing the web

Cons:

• In some countries, it has limited options
• Sometimes, it can take patience to find the surveys you qualify for

As you can see, my overall impression of Swagbucks is very positive.

It has many ways to earn money, and the Swagbucks rewards you can choose from are very good, whether you want cash or free gift cards.

Because of the many opportunities, it can, in the beginning, take a bit of time to find your way around the platform, but it is not too difficult.

The downside is that it has quite limited options in some countries, but they have recently opened up, and you can join from more or less any country, which is great.

And especially if you live in the US, the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, or France, it is a great site to join and one that I would highly recommend joining.

It can also give decent options in other countries, but just not as many, so then you can instead check out the best survey sites in your country, as these sites give better options in other countries.

How to sign up for Swagbucks and get your joining bonus?

It is easy and only takes a minute to sign up for Swagbucks. You just click the button below, and you will go to Swagbucks' sign-up page, where you can register with your email or your Facebook account.

By using the link below, you will also get your joining bonus (terms explained earlier) when you sign up.

If you have any comments, questions, or have any experiences with Swagbucks yourself, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.