Welcome to my SwagBucks review.
One of the first things that we would want to know about the SwagBucks program is to see if it is a safe and legit program that you can use and make money with from home.
This will be one of the first things we will answer for you in this review to not waste your time if this is all you want to learn about.
But, if you stick around for a while you will learn more about the program itself, some history and background on how the program got started to how it became the program it is now, including some questions that you may have like:
- How does it work?
- How do they payout?
- What to expect.
- What to do after you join the program.
- What are the complaints people have?
- My personal pros and cons.
By the time you finish my SwagBucks review, you will learn everything you will need to know to make a decision on whether or not this program is right for you or a waste of time.
With that said, let’s dig in and see what we can learn.
SwagBucks Review – What Is It?
Well, SwagBucks is a website that you can join and earn reward points that are called “SwagBucks” by doing some of the various activities that you normally already do online.
Some of these activities include:
- Shopping online
- Searching the web
- Watching videos
- Playing games
The program also offers additional ways to earn these SwagBucks that include printing out coupons and doing surveys that is one of the more popular activities members do.
Membership to get started is absolutely free and when you get started the program actually awards you with a $10 dollar welcome bonus!
Not too shabby if you ask me.
The Company Overview
Here is a bit of background of the company that I’ve included because I felt it was quite interesting how successful companies get started.
SwagBucks was founded in 2008 in Los Angeles, CA in the United States and operates as a subsidiary of Prodege, LLC.
The company started out as a free program and continues to be free to join.
The name alone offers some interest for the younger crowd with the word “swag” in it.
The reason why the company became so successful is that it offers a freeway for people to make additional income online with many of the normal every day many of us do online.
Over the years they have added additional ways to earn reward points that you can redeem for gift cards and PayPal money which many of you are used to and familiar with.
Is SwagBucks Safe and Legit?
In this section of the review, we are going to answer the big question that many of you have which is…
Is SwagBucks a safe and legitimate way to earn online?
After taking the time to research many sources, and looking at many reviews, and testimonials online from various sources that include my own experience with the program, I can confidently say that it is a legitimate program that is safe to use on your computer or cell phone.
What I have come to learn is that SwagBucks has paid our members over $241 million in rewards and in PayPal.
Although there are some complaints that I’ve run across, they include the most general complaints that are typical in all similar programs like SwagBucks which are from people that are just new to how these programs work.
Other than those complaints, there are no major complaints that would set off any red flags that would tell me that this program is a scam.
So, no, SwagBucks is not a scam.
Is SwagBucks Accredited With The BBB?
Yes, SwagBucks is accredited with the Better Business Bureau.
The BBB rating is another reason why this program is a safe and legit opportunity.
Here are some of the stats that is available on the BBB website:
- The company “Prodege, LLC” is accredited with an A- rating.
- Accredited since 5-21-2010.
- They have 305 customer reviews with a 4-star rating.
- They have a few complaints.
Let me first say that I skimmed over many of the complaints and read reviews that shared many of the typical complaints that people have about these types of programs.
One is that they don’t pay out that much which is very normal.
I will go into how SwagBucks works later on so that you can get a good idea of what you are able to earn compared to what you might think you can earn.
Another great review: Opinion Outpost Review – Scam or Legit? How It Works
How Does SwagBucks Work?
The way that SwagBucks works is really straightforward.
The first thing you are going to do is simply sign up, it is free and it’s a simple process.
Once you sign up you will notice a few things which are a $10 dollar welcome bonus that you will get and various options to earn rewards which are called SwagBucks also known as “SB’s”.
Everything that you have access to can be started right away except for the surveys.
With the surveys option, you will need to fill out some survey questions that are mainly about you.
Some of the questions that will need to be answered are:
- How old you are.
- Marriage status.
- Children’s status and ages.
- Online and offline shopping habits.
- Questions about your computers and phones.
- Yearly earnings.
These questions will help determine which surveys you can initially qualify for so that you can get offered surveys by the companies that are associated with the Swagbucks paid survey panel.
Other than the surveys, everything else is very simple to get started and start earning SB’s.
You will have to complete the tasks required in their specified entirety and then you will be credited your SB points.
Once you have accumulated enough points, you will be able to cash them out for various prizes.
Some of the prizes offered are gift cards that you can get for Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc.
You will also be able to cash out your SB points for cash to your PayPal account in $5 increments.
Another thing you can do is donate your SB’s to a charity as well if you feel that you are in a giving mood.
Getting Started
In this section of the review, we are going to share how to get started and the various ways to make money with SwagBucks.
When you sign up to SwagBucks, it will be absolutely free of charge and on top of that, you will be given a $10 welcome bonus.
You can choose between a variety of options that the program offers to earn your SwagBucks that include:
- Doing paid surveys
- Shopping online
- Swagbucks browser search engine
- Watching videos
- Playing games
- Discovering deals
- Purchasing gift cards
There are also additional ways that you can start earning with the program and signing up is fast and easy.
The complexity is taken out of the equation and the navigation is very easy to understand as well.
How Do You Make Money With SwagBucks?
In this section, we are going to break down the various ways that you can make money with SwagBucks.
As we explained in earlier sections the program offers several ways that you can choose to earn what the program calls SwagBucks or “points” that you can redeem for rewards.
The rewards include gift cards for various popular online and offline stores and also by redeeming your points for actual cash that can be deposited into your PayPal account to later be withdrawn into your bank account or used through PayPal.
This section is going to break down the various ways that you can earn your SB’s in more detail.
How to Make Money with Paid Surveys
One of the more popular ways to make money with SwagBucks is by taking paid online surveys to earn additional SB’s.
Anyone has some time throughout the day to take one of the paid surveys that the program offers.
Whether you are in the middle of a commercial break watching your favorite show or just sitting on the toilet, there is always time to complete one of the many 5-minute paid surveys that the program offers.
Just like we mentioned before, you will have to answer some of the demographic questions before you can start getting access to surveys so that they can match you up with the best ones that fit you.
Simple questions that ask about your age, marital status, children and age status, and shopping habits are basically the full extent of it.
Once you can fill out your profile questions for the paid surveys, then you can do start completing the surveys that are matched up close to your profile.
Once you complete that, then SwagBucks will send you surveys that will match you.
When you complete one of the SwagBucks paid surveys they will award you with SB points.
This will range anywhere from 1 to 1,000 SB points.
The higher amounts are the paid surveys that take longer to complete and before getting started the paid survey will have an estimated time of completion before getting started just in case you are on a set schedule.
These surveys can be completed on both desktop/laptop computers including tablets and even on your smartphone.
Swagbucks has an app where you can log in to your account from an Android or iOS device so you can do these paid surveys from essentially anywhere you have access to the internet.
Earning Swagbucks for Cash Back
Another way that you can earn SwagBucks points is through the program’s own online shopping portal which is very similar to Ebates if you are familiar with how that program works.
All you have to do is log in to the online shopping platform and then click on one of the programs that are partnered with SwagBucks.
The platform offers over 1,500 various stores that you can shop in and get cashback rewards.
Some of the stores include Amazon, Macy’s, Starbucks, Groupon, and Kohls just to name a few.
Once you click on one of the partnered online stores you simply shop as if you were to go to the store directly online.
There is no difference in any of the store’s functionality or look compared to the original since it is just a portal used to get there and track the things that you purchase.
You will earn up to 20% cashback in the form of Swagbucks points for every dollar that you spend as long as you go through and use SB’s cashback portal.
Get Paid To Search The Internet
You can also earn reward points by searching the Internet using Swagbucks’ search engine.
The search engine that SwagBucks uses is off of the Yahoo search engine.
For those that are already accustomed to using the Yahoo search browser then this will not be much of a change at all but in this case, you can earn SB points that you can redeem later for cool prizes and money.
The number of points that you can earn is not really known when you perform searches.
Many users are reporting that the points are earned by the time you spend searching around and not by the search queries you perform.
We know that you do earn points because the SwagBucks platform will send you notifications for the points you’ve earned that details that the points came from searching the web, but doesn’t give much more details than that.
One of the great features that you can do is set SwagBucks as your default search engine in your browser setting which is a convenient way to not even think about earning SB points while you are normally searching the web.
Playing Games To Earn SB Points
There are many people that like to play games as a form of “passing the time”.
Whether it is on a popular console or through an app on your phone.
Maybe the game is called Candy Crush or the popular puzzle game that my wife plays all the time.
If games are your “cup of tea” then why not get paid for it?
When you become a member of SwagBucks you will have access to a TON of free and popular types of genres of games to pick from.
Some of the games include:
- Solitaire
- Wheel of Fortune
- Trivial Pursuit
- Tetris
- Bejeweled
- Deal or No Deal
- and many more…
When it comes to earning SwagBuck points while playing games, it’s not as much compared to using some of their other methods for earning SB’s.
With that said, if you normally play any of the popular games within the SwagBucks gaming platform then why not make a little money while playing games.
SwagBucks Hack 1
Your kids love to play games, and if your kids are like mine and are always trying to grab your phone whenever you’re not looking so they can play games then this will be perfect for them.
Tell your kids that they are only allowed to play the large assortment of games that SB offers only.
The assortment of games should be more than enough entertainment for them and are very comparable to the fun factor of any popular game on the market right now.
Watching Videos To Earn With SwagBucks
Another way that you can make money with SwagBucks is by watching videos.
This is one of the easiest ways to earn some SB points within the program.
Each video that you watch will earn you between 1 to 4 SB points.
The videos they offer are in many categories that include music, generic entertainment, health, and politics.
This is another one of the ways to make money with SwagBucks that is not going to earn you that much.
When you think about it, watching about 20 videos will earn about 5 cents.
SwagBucks Hack 2
Another way that you can hack this method to earn points is to let the videos run in the background while doing other things that you normally would do.
This is a simple but effective way to make some easy money.
Discover Deals & Offers To Earn SB’s
Another way that you can make money with SwagBucks is to take them up on any of the deals that they offer in the “Discover Offers” section.
You are bound to find something that you like or were thinking about purchasing in this section.
For example, say if you were thinking about signing up to Hulu then yup, SwagBucks offers that as one of their deals.
Just for signing up for the free trial of Hulu will award you with 272 SwagBucks!
There are a ton of offers that you can find great deals on in this section and it is always worth taking a look from time to time.
When you take the time and find a good deal, you might as well earn some points at the same time that you can cash out later.
Word of caution with these offers…
Many people are complaining that they are not getting credit when they complete many of the offers here so unless you legitimately want to use the offer available, I wouldn’t just try it just to gain some SB points.
Buying Gift Cards To Earn!
In the back office of your SwagBucks account, you will find a section where you can purchase gift cards to many of the popular offline and online stores.
Some of these stores include:
- Amazon
- Overstock.com
- Burger King
- Olive Garden
- Target
- Bed Bath and Beyond
- and a TON more…
When you purchase a gift card you get a cashback amount that will be awarded to you in SwagBucks that you can cash out later.
Christmas just past and this was the perfect place to go for stocking stuffers!
SwagBucks Hack 3
The way you can earn additional SB’s is by purchasing a gift card and using it to shop inside the SwagBucks shopping portal to earn double the points!
Another great review: Opinion Outpost Review – Scam or Legit? How It Works
How Much Can I Make With SwagBucks – Is It Worth It?
The short answer is, “not that much”.
I would say there are actually 2 types of people that use SwagBucks which are:
- The casual user
- The hardcore user
The Casual SwagBucks User
The casual user will use the search engine and occasionally play some games like crosswords and bejeweled from time to time and maybe fill out the occasional survey.
These users are looking to earn a $10 gift card every 2 months or so depending on how much they use SwagBucks, but that is an average.
You are not going to make a job quitting money or be able to retire anytime as early as the casual user.
Earning $5 a month isn’t much but I know of a lot of people that are happy making that extra money they can use on Amazon.
I mean “it is” free money!
The HardCore SwagBucks User
The hardcore SwagBucks user is the person that is going hard at earning as many SB points that they can possibly earn in the shortest amount of time.
These people will take a TON of time watching videos, surfing the web, and trying to find surveys to complete to earn those valuable SwagBucks.
I personally think this is a big waste of time and would rather go about it as the casual user, and here are my reasons why:
- The minimum amount to cash out is 450 SwagBucks for a $5 Amazon Gift Card.
- Each SwagBucks point is roughly 1 penny.
- All of the freeways to earn SB’s will pay out 1 – 15 SB’s.
If you think about it, how much time is each video you watch?
How much time will it take to find surveys that you qualify for and can complete along with searching around the internet and playing games to earn the small number of SwagBucks that is offered for each task?
This will take a TON of time!
The real question to ask yourself is, are you willing to take most of your day to earn a couple of dollars with SwagBucks?
I know I’m not willing to do that, and that is the reason why I promote bigger and much higher paying affiliate programs to pay all my bills and live comfortably.
I am not saying that SwagBucks is not worth it, heck my wife and I personally use it almost daily!
But we use it for what it is, and not to get rich or make any WOW type of money with it because we understand how the program works.
We just find it nice to earn the occasional $10 gift card to Amazon every 2 months for not really doing anything out of the normal things we do online.
Want To Learn What I Promote Online That Make Me Job Quitting Income?
How Does SwagBucks Pay You?
The way that SwagBucks pays you will be in 3 ways, which are:
- PayPal cashout
- Gift Cards
- Donate Your Earnings
PayPal Cash Out
The first way that SwagBucks pays you is in PayPal money.
They offer different options that you can “cash out” starting with a minimum of $25.
The denominations include $25, $50, $100, and $250.
It takes at least 10 days to get your money after requesting and processing and up to 14 days depending on the time and day of cash out.
This is not the most popular method that most people use of the minimum withdrawal amount that it takes to get paid.
Gift Card Cash Out
The next and most popular way to redeem or cash out your SB’s is by getting Gift Cards for all your hard work.
Getting Gift Cards will take the least amount of points to basically “cash-out”.
You can get gift cards worth just $1, and the way up to $100.
SwagBucks also will give you a 12% discount on the 1st $25 gift card you redeem Each Month!
A $25 Gift Card will cost you about 2,200 SB’s.
Some of the gift cards that you will have the option to get include:
- Amazon
- Target
- Walmart
- Bed Bath and Beyond
- and a TON more…
The gift cards will come in the form of “E-Cards” that will be sent to your email.
You can either use them yourself or send them to a friend or family with the code.
You get the gift cards within 3 – 7 days of requesting them.
Donation Cash Out
The last way and probably the least popular way that people cash out their SwagBucks points is by giving them a way to a charity.
This is a good thing to do that will leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside but for most people, they want what they originally set out to do which is…
To make some money!
If you do decide to donate your SB’s, they have a few good charities to choose from that include:
- The Red Cross
- Doctors Without Borders
- Unicef
Another great review: Inbox Dollars Review – Scam or Legit? How It Works
Some of my SwagBucks Pros
There are a few things that I did like about the program personally so I wanted to list these pros here.
These pros are most likely different from your pros, but this is just my personal opinion.
Here are a few of the pros that I’ve found with SwagBucks:
- The program is 100% free to join!
- A TON of different ways to earn!
- Very clean and easy navigation that includes an app that is also easy to use and works!
- Many of the tasks to earn doesn’t require any additional habits that I don’t already do online!
You can’t really hate on “free money”!
Some SwagBucks Cons
These are the cons that I’ve found in the program.
The cons are my personal opinion about the SwagBucks program and might not line up completely with your cons.
Here is a small list of my cons:
- To earn enough SB’s to cash out is a long and slow process!
- Not knowing how the search engine points work is a con for me.
- Finding qualified surveys really takes a long time as well.
My cons don’t amount to much compared to others just because I feel that I am more accustomed to how these programs work and what to expect when it comes to payout and the length of time it takes to earn.
Some SwagBucks Complaints
In this section of the review, we are going to take a look at what complaints people have about SwagBucks.
Every company in the world that is successful and has been running for many years is bound to run into some complaints.
When it comes to the SwagBucks complaints that I’ve found online through other review sites, forums, and testimonials left I have come up with a list of complaints here.
The Pay Is LOW
Many people complain that the pay is very low, in fact too low for what they expected.
But here is the thing, the pay is supposed to be low, the pay is low is all of the similar programs to SwagBucks.
It is a typical payout structure whether the program is using points like SB is using or actual cash amounts.
SB’s are worth just over a penny, and the points or cash amount on other sites are also only worth over a penny.
You just have to come to terms that these types of programs will not pay you anywhere close to making what you can earn working for 1 hour at your normal job in a comparable time frame.
So, if you are looking to try to retire from your job, then SwagBucks is not going to be right for you, but if you are looking for a little extra here and there, then it’s perfect.
Why Is Swagbucks Not Available In My Country?
If you are not in the supported list of countries that SwagBucks supports then you are out of luck sorry to say.
This is true for many of the other programs that are just like SB.
This is also a very common complaint that people have.
If you don’t live in these countries:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- Australia
- Ireland
Then, unfortunately, SwagBucks cannot support you.
Not Getting Credit When Completing Offers In Swagbucks
This complaint is a legitimate one in my opinion.
Not getting credit when completing trial offers really sucks.
I can only imagine that people are trying to game the system by only trying out the offer just to cancel before the trial expires for the sole purpose of earning SwagBucks.
I feel they are cracking down on many of the users that are using this tactic, but the triggers that they use to find these people are affecting legitimate users as well.
This is just an assumption I came up with.
However, on the other side of the token, the offers do say, “try it out” and if you don’t like it, cancel, so why wouldn’t this be OK?
Either way, just know that the “Discover Offers” tasks might lead to you not getting credit for a trial you take on.
Getting Disqualified For Many Surveys
This is probably one of the most complained about things about all of the paid survey programs.
This complaint stretches to all of these types of programs.
You see, this is one of those complaints that people have because they simply don’t understand how it works.
The companies want the perfect person that has a particular demographic to complete these surveys and they don’t want people that don’t relate to what they want to learn.
I totally understand when coming from the company’s point of view.
The company is paying for this information and over the years, has learned how to get rid of the people that don’t truly qualify which is not so good for us that are just trying to make some money.
But it is what it is, to be honest.
When you get a survey that passed the initial qualifying questions that you fill out, you will then need to qualify AGAIN by answering more questions at the beginning of each survey.
You can see how much time it would take if you are simply filling out 4 surveys in a row and keep getting disqualified.
I complained at first too because it is quite frustrating.
But after you understand how it really works and what the surveys are for, then hopefully this won’t stay as one of the complaints you have.
The Customer Service Takes Forever To Answer Questions
This is another common complaint that many people have but I can only imagine how many support tickets SwagBucks get on a daily basis.
Either way, among all similar legitimate program like SB, the support ticket system and email is very slow for a reply.
Yeah, this will be one of those complaints that I don’t see going anywhere.
Related articles: Paid Survey Program Reviews, Scams, and Apps
My Final SwagBucks Review and Thoughts
In the final section of this review, I am going to share my personal thoughts and opinion on the SwagBucks opportunity as a whole.
So, we have covered a lot of information in our review about SwagBucks!
We have covers information on what it is and how it works, is it safe and legit, how you make money with it, how you earn and get paid, and some complaints and hacks.
I hope by the time you are reading this you know now what SwagBucks is really all about and if it is something that you can see yourself doing.
What are your thoughts?
But here is the real question…
Do we recommend SwagBucks?
YES, we do recommend SwagBucks as a legitimate way to earn additional money within your spare time.
We recommend SB as long as you understand you are not going to make a lot of money with it!
We are recommending it for what it is, a program that doesn’t really interfere with many of the things that you already do online, but gets a small commission now for doing it.
With that said, I hope you enjoyed my SwagBucks review.
Make sure to click on the social share buttons on this review to share it with others so that people can learn exactly what the SwagBucks opportunity is really all about.
Thank you for your support!
