Can I tell you about my new favourite kind of side hustle? The kind where most of the work is already done.
I started using reward apps a while back — the ones where you download mobile games, hit certain milestones, and earn cash or vouchers for doing it. And honestly, they’re fun. There’s something genuinely satisfying about getting paid to play Monopoly Go at eleven o’clock on a Tuesday night. As side hustles go, it’s not exactly gruelling.
But the part I’ve become quietly obsessed with isn’t the playing. It’s what happens when you share them.
The bit most people don’t know about
Almost every reward app has a referral programme built in. You get a unique link. Someone signs up through it and starts earning. You get a cut of what they make — automatically, without doing anything else after you’ve shared it. No managing anyone, no customer service, no follow-up texts asking if they’ve downloaded it yet.
It’s passive income in its simplest form, and it’s sitting inside apps that people are already downloading for free anyway.
I use three of them regularly, and all three have referral programmes worth knowing about.
TesterUp
TesterUp is the one I started with, and it’s still my favourite for the actual playing side of things. You download games, complete tasks and milestones, and earn real money for it. The game selection is decent and the payouts are legitimate — I’ve had no issues cashing out.
The referral structure is what makes it interesting beyond just the playing, though. For every person who signs up through your link and starts completing tasks, you earn 10% of whatever they make. Indefinitely. You share the link once, and as long as they keep using the app, you keep earning a slice.
Freecash
Freecash is broader than TesterUp — it’s not just games. You can earn through surveys, watching ads, completing sign-up offers, and more. Which actually makes it easier to recommend to people, because it doesn’t require any interest in gaming specifically. It’s genuinely for anyone who wants to make something from their spare time rather than nothing.
The wider the appeal, the easier the referral. If you mention it to a friend who couldn’t care less about mobile games but loves a survey, Freecash is the one to send them.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks has been around long enough that most people have at least vaguely heard of it, which is surprisingly useful. When you’re recommending something with a referral link, half the job is convincing people it’s legitimate — and with Swagbucks, that conversation is mostly already had. People trust it because it’s been around for years and it has a solid reputation. That familiarity means more sign-ups, which means the referral side works better without you having to do much extra convincing.
So how does the passive income part actually work?
The honest answer is: you put your referral link somewhere permanent and then mostly leave it alone.
A blog post. A Pinterest pin. A saved Instagram story highlight. Somewhere that keeps getting found after you’ve posted it, rather than disappearing down a social media feed after 24 hours. Every time someone finds that content and clicks through, your link is right there doing its thing.
You can also stack it — the same link can live in multiple places at once. One link, several different spots online, working quietly in the background while you get on with everything else.
Is it going to change your life?
Probably not on its own, no — and I’d rather be straight about that than paint an unrealistic picture. Referral income from reward apps is genuinely low effort, but it’s one layer of a bigger picture rather than a standalone income stream.
What it is, though, is a very low barrier to entry. There’s nothing to set up, nothing to pay for, and nothing to manage. You use the apps, you share the links, and whatever comes in from referrals is just a quiet bonus running alongside everything else.
For a side hustle that mostly takes care of itself? I’ll take it.
Want to give them a try? Here’s where to sign up:
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-using-a-mobile-phone-11594551/