These days, there are seemingly hundreds of apps and companies that let people make, spend, and save their money. Because of all this competition, many apps offer referral bonuses and sign up bonuses just for sharing a quick link with a friend.
So, if you’re looking for the best apps with instant referral bonuses, you’re in luck!
In this post, I'm sharing 40+ apps with referral bonuses that you can use to earn free money just for signing up for something new and sharing it with your friends.
The Best Instant Referral Bonus Apps
Table of Contents
1. Freecash
Freecash is a new rewards website that's quickly becoming one of the more popular players in the space. And it lets you earn with paid surveys, cash games, shopping online, and by installing apps.
But new Freecash members also get entered into a $250 cash sweepstake which is pretty cool. And you can earn even more bonuses and lifetime referral payments if you invite your friends to join or use Freecash bonus codes.
I also like Freecash since it pays you to PayPal. Alternatively, you can cash out with 12+ gift cards, crypto, and free Steam games and prizes.
Start earning with Freecash!
2. Pawns
Pawns is a newer rewards website that lets people make money by completing online surveys and sharing their internet bandwidth with other people.
It's a fun and easy way to make money online, and survey payout rates are competitive. Plus, I like that you can make money overnight completely passively as you share your unused bandwidth.
Pawns also has a lucrative referral program that pays you $1 when you invite someone to join and they cash out. The person you invite also gets a $1 bonus. Plus, you earn 10% of referral earnings for life when someone cashes out.
Cashing out only takes $5 as well, and Pawns offers PayPal, BTC, and various free gift cards.
3. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a GPT (get-paid-to) site that allows you to earn rewards for answering paid surveys, watching videos, playing games for money, shopping online, and more.
I've also been using Swagbucks since college to earn money online. It's a legitimate website, and it actually hasover 10 million members and a 4.3 star rating on TrustPilot.
The Swagbucks referral bonus pays you 300 SB (SwagBucks) and 10% of your friend’s lifetime earnings when they earn 300 SB within their first 30 days. This is a nice way to earn passive income while sharing a nice money-making platform with your friends.
For reference, 300 SB is equal to $3, which you can redeem for gift cards or free PayPal cash on the platform.
Swagbucks also offers a sign up bonus of $5 when you create an account or $10 when you spend at least $25 at one of Swagbucks’ partnered brands.
Get started with Swagbucks!
4. Fundrise
Fundrise is an online real estate investment platform that lets you invest in fractions of a property with as little as $10. And it's also one of the best apps with instant referral bonuses if you and your friends are eager to begin investing for income.
The Fundrise referral bonus offers you between $25-$100 in bonus shares for every friend you invite to make their first investment.
Take a look at how the Fundrise referral bonus works based on your account value:
- $25 Share Bonus: account value between $10-$999.99
- $50 Share Bonus: account value between $1,000-99,999.99
- $100 Share Bonus: account value is at $100,000+
Fundrise also has a $10 sign up bonus sometimes, so you can enjoy some free starting cash. And it's a popular way to make money on autopilot by investing in income-generating real estate.
Learn more about investing with Fundrise!
Note: This is a Fundrise endorsem*nt, and we receive compensation if you sign up with the provided links.
5. Rakuten
Rakuten is a popular online shopping platform that pays you to shop atover 3,500 different online stores.
I've been using Rakuten for a few years. It's a nice way to earn money pretty much anytime you shop online, and the platform pays you with PayPal cash or check every quarter.
As for the app referral bonus, Rakuten pays you and your friend $30 each when your friend signs up with your link and makes an eligible purchase.
Rakuten is one of the best instant referral bonus apps because it’s high paying, easy to redeem, and enters your account quickly. And getting a fast $30 for shopping online is a pretty sweet deal!
Get $30 for free with Rakuten!
6. Bank Bonuses
Plenty of banks are willing to pay new customers for joining them and for inviting their friends. Some of the most popular bank referral bonuses worth checking out include:
- Current: Enjoy a $50 sign up bonus as a new customer. Check out our post – is Current legit? – to learn more.
- Yotta: A fun and free bank account that pays members with cash prizes with a unique lottery system.
- Chase Bank: Get a $50 bonus per referral that opens a checking account.
- Chime: Get a $100 bonus when referral opens any account through the link.
- Central Bank: Get $50-$400 bonus depending on which account your referral opens.
- Bankers Trust: A $100 bonus when a referral opens up a new checking account.
- Axos Bank: Get a $50 bonus for you and your referral when they open up a new checking account.
- Discover: Get a statement credit of $50 or $100 for referring your friends to Discover.
Again, check with your specific bank to see what referral programs they have. You can also take advantage of credit card sign up referrals!
Extra Reading – The Best Instant Sign Up Bonuses With No Direct Bank Deposit.
7. Kashkick
Kashkick is another rewards and loyalty platform that pays you for completing certain tasks online and playing games for PayPal cash.
It's also a nice way to get paid to refer people since Kashkick's referral bonus pays you 25% of your referral’s lifetime earnings on the platform.
As a sign up bonus, you earn $1 once you complete your profile. And I've used Kashkick before, and the paid offers and survey rates are pretty competitive.
Plus, this cash referral bonus is much more unique because it relies on the earnings of others. So, if you have a lot of friends that are into GPT sites, Kashkick is certainly worth sharing.
Sign up for Kashkick!
8. Cash App
Cash App is a popular digital wallet that allows you to send payments, trade stocks and Bitcoin, use banking features, and file taxes. If you’ve used apps like Paypal or Venmo, then the idea is very similar.
It's also one of the best cash referral bonus apps since it pays $5 to you and your friend when they sign up with your referral code, link a bank account or debit card, and send at least $5 within 14 days of entering the code.
To access your referral code in Cash App:
- Select your profile icon in the top right corner
- Tap on “Invite Friends”
- Enter a phone or email
- Click “Send Invite”
If you’re signing up from a friend's referral code, the bonuses are the same. Overall, this is a nice free Cash App money hack and pretty easy cash referral bonus you can use.
9. JumpTask
JumpTask is a new crypto rewards platform that I've been testing out recently. It lets you earn $JMPT tokens, its own crypto token, for completing a range of tasks like playing games, answering surveys, and sharing your internet bandwidth.
I also like JumpTask since its referral program pays you 10% of someone'slifetimeearnings if they sign up with your link. The person who signs up with your link also gets a 20% boost on the first task they complete.
Lifetime referral bonuses are hard to come by. And with JumpTask, I like that it's a win-win for both you and the person you invite to join. The platform also has some nifty passive earning options. Overall, it's worth checking out if you want a free way to earn crypto.
10. Acorns
Acorns is a micro-investing platform that helps you invest your spare change in the stock market by rounding-up your daily purchases.
The Acorns referral bonus offers $5 to you and your friend when they sign up, make their first investment of at least $5 within 14 days, and keep their account in good standing.
Occasionally, Acorns offers better cash referral bonuses. For example, it recently had one where you invite 3 friends within 30 days and earn $100. As a sign up bonus, you also earn the $5 reward and you can cancel your account at any time after you receive it.
Learn more about Acorns!
11. MyPoints
MyPoints is a rewards platform that pays you for shopping online, watching ads, taking surveys, playing games, and downloading apps for money.
It’s one of the most popular GPT sites out there. And the MyPoints referral bonus pays you between 480-750 points and 10% of your friend’s lifetime earnings when they sign up.
Plus, MyPoints also lets you earn a $5 bonus when you sign up.Between the instant referral bonus and the potential sign-up bonus, MyPoints is a pretty comprehensive beermoney site.
12. InboxDollars
Like Swagbucks and MyPoints, another popular app that pays you to refer people is InboxDollars.
This leading U.S. rewards website lets you make money by answering surveys, scanning barcodes, shopping online, reading emails, and more.
The InboxDollars referral bonus pays you $1 per referral (up to 5 referrals) and 30% of their lifetime earnings when they sign up and become active users.
To access your referral link on InboxDollars, click on the “Refer Friends” tab in the menu and follow the sharing instructions on the screen.
Get $5 from InboxDollars!
13. Broker Bonuses
Aside from apps with instant referral bonuses, there are also brokers that have referral programs to take advantage of. This isn't too surprising when you consider how popular investing is these days and how valuable customers are.
Some of the most popular broker referral bonuses you can consider include:
- Charles Schwab: $100-$1000 bonus when referral makes a qualifying deposit.
- Merrill Edge: $100-$600 when referral makes a deposit within 45 days.
- M1: $100 bonus when referral deposits $5,000 within 30 days.
- Webull: Earn 2-3 free shares of stock when referral completes first deposit.
- ETrade: Get a $50 Amazon gift card for every eligible new referral that signs up.
If you use a specific investment broker, look around to see what kind of referral bonuses they offer. Chances are, they’ll have something!
And if you're on the market for a new broker, you can always consider moving to one with a referral bonus that pays.
14. Honeygain
Honeygain is a popular passive income app that lets people make money by selling their Internet bandwidth.
At the time of writing, the Honeygain referral bonus pays 10% of your referral’s earnings and 500 Honeygain credits (approximately $0.50) when your referral shares at least 2GB of traffic.
To access your referral link with Honeygain, select the “Refer a friend” tab in the menu and copy your unique link to send to others New users also earn a $5 sign up bonus and an additional 10% of the earnings by the person who referred you.
Ultimately, apps like Honeygain don't make anyone rich. But it's a fun side hustle and a pretty nice cash referral bonus you can try.
15. Public
Public is a commission-free investing app, and it's also one of my favorite referral bonus apps you can use if you're looking for free stocks.
With Public, new members can get a free slice of stock worth anywhere from $3 to $300. And if you transfer money from another brokerage account, you can earn between $150 to $10,000 in bonus cash with a large enough deposit.
You also get a referral bonus by inviting your friends to join Public. For every friend who joins and deposits at least $1,000, you both get $20in an asset of your choice.
All-in-all, Public is an excellent investing app that pays you free money for signing up. And I love that it doesn't sell customer data through payment-for-order-flow and that it offers commission-free trading on 9,000+ equities.
16. Dosh
Dosh is a passive income app that lets you earn small amounts of cash back automatically whenever you shop at its partner brands.
It's also a popular instant referral bonus app since it pays you $10 when you invite someone to join Dosh and they link their card. Plus, your referral gets a $1 bonus.
Apps like Dosh don't pay very much. But if you want an easy online side hustle and passive income app, it's worth adding to your smartphone. And you can always stack Dosh with other apps, like MobileXpression and Pogo, to earn even more.
17. DoorDash
DoorDash is the leading food delivery app in North America, and it's a popular gig economy job you can use to make money delivering food in your spare time.
The DoorDash referral bonus also pays you when you invite your friends to become Dashers and they complete a certain number of deliveries.
These cash referral bonuses are often $100 to $200, but it all depends on the promotions DoorDash is running.
Food delivery apps like Uber Eats and Grubhub often have similar cash referral bonuses. So, you and a few friends can potentially make a lot of quick cash by completing these delivery promotions.
18. Fetch Rewards
Fetch Rewards is a leading grocery reward app that lets you earn free gift cards for buying products from partner brands and then scanning your receipts.
The app also pays you $2 to $3 when you invite your friend to join the app. All your friend has to do is upload one receipt for both of you to get the referral bonus.
The app lets you redeem gift cards at just $3, and it's one of the highest paying apps in the grocery rewards space. Plus, you can try out other apps with instant referral bonuses, like Ibotta and Checkout 51, to earn even more from daily shopping trips.
Sign up for Fetch Rewards!
19. Drop
Like Fetch rewards, Drop is a popular rewards app that lets you earn gift cards by shopping at your favorite brands.
I've been using Drop for years, and I've cashed out numerous times in this period. And Drop also has a nice cash referral bonus that's easy to obtain.
With Drop, your friend gets a $10 credit when they sign up to Drop with your link and spend at least $50 or more on a qualifying purchase. You can also get free money by inviting your friends to join Drop with an invitation code depending on the promotional period.
20. PayPal
PayPal is one of the leading payment processing platforms in the world. And it's also a platform I use almost every single day to run my business.
But did you know you can get paid to refer people with PayPal's referral bonus? That's right: PayPal actually pays you $10 in free PayPal cash for inviting your friends to join the platform.
Your friend has to spend $10 for you to get the bonus, and they get $10 as well. Overall, it's a pretty easy way to make money referring people, and you can always transfer your money out of PayPal once you're done.
Extra Reading – Apps That Pay You Real Money Instantly.
Even More Instant Cash Referral Bonus Apps
Now that you know some of the best apps with instant referral bonuses, here are even more apps where you can get paid to refer people to join:
- Shipt: A leading grocery service that pays you $50 for inviting other shoppers to join.
- Branded Surveys: My favorite survey site that lets you earn passive income by referring your friends.
- Venmo: Get $10 for inviting your friends to join and use Venmo.
- BeFrugal: A cash-back platform like rakuten with a $10 referral bonus.
- Titan: Get $50 for inviting your friends to join this new robo-investing platform.
- PrizeRebel: A popular site like InboxDollars with a 30% referral bonus structure.
- TopCashback: Another easy $10 referral bonus.
- Shopkick: This reward app pays you $5 for inviting your friends.
- Sweatcoin: This app pays you to workout and also for referring enough friends to join.
- Fiverr: You and a friend can save 10% on Fiverr orders with this referral bonus.
- Neighbor: Get a $50 referral bonus for inviting someone to become a Neighbor host.
- Upgrade: You and a friend get a $50 cash referral bonus when they open a rewards checking account.
- Rover: This instant referral bonus pays you $50 when someone you invite joins rover and completes a stay within 90 days.
- Wise: Get cash bonuses for inviting your friends to join this international money-transfer app.
- Slide: A popular reward app with a free $20 bonus.
- Instacart: Get a $10 credit when you invite someone to order groceries with Instacart.
- SiteGround: Get a $50 bonus when you invite someone to launch a website with SiteGround hosting.
- Mailerlite: This email marketing provider gives a $20 credit as its instant referral bonus.
- Betterment: This robo-advisor lets you enjoy fee-free management for a limited time with its referral bonus.
- Unifimoney: Get a $25 bonus paid in Bitcoin for inviting your friends.
Tips For Getting Started
Instant referral bonus apps are a nice side hustle I've used for years to make money. However, it's important to follow these tips to ensure you actually get paid and you don't accidentally void your referral bonuses:
- Follow Instructions: Cash referral bonuses generall have specific requirements you have to follow to get paid. So, always read terms and conditions carefully.
- Leverage Several Bonuses: Hopping between referral bonus apps is an effective way to keep getting paid, so don't be afraid to try out a few bonus ideas.
- Split Prizes: To incentivize your friends, consider splitting cash referral bonuses. I've done this with my housemates and family before for things like bank and cash-back website referral bonuses, and it's nice when everyone wins.
Extra Reading – How To Get $500 By Tomorrow.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully you can use these apps with instant referral bonuses to reap some rewards during your free time.
Just remember that while a lot of these platforms don’t have a limitation on how many friends you can refer, some do. Additionally, these platforms update their referral programs regularly, so be sure to check within your own app to see what’s new with their terms.
I think leveraging apps that pay you to refer people is a fun online side hustle. So, go out there and claim some free money for signing up with your friends!
Looking for even more money-making ideas? Checkout:
- The Best Apps With A $100 Sign Up Bonus.
- How To Make Money Doing Nothing.
