Money-earning apps and websites for your laptop

What counts as a money-earning app or website

The term covers a mix of very different things. A laptop makes several of them easier to use than a phone screen does, since you can have several tabs open, type faster, and work with spreadsheets or documents.

• Reward sites: you complete surveys or offers and collect rewards you redeem later, such as PocketsFull.
• Freelance platforms: you offer a skill, such as writing or design, and get paid per job, such as Upwork, Fiverr or Freelancer.
• Marketplaces: you sell items or handmade goods, such as eBay, Etsy or Amazon.
• Job boards: you apply for a real, paid position with an employer, such as LinkedIn, Indeed or Glassdoor.
• Content platforms: you build an audience and may earn from it over time, such as YouTube, TikTok or Instagram.

Reward sites and freelance platforms are the two types most people mean when they search for apps and sites to make money, and they work in very different ways.

What an online job application website actually is

An online job application website or portal is simply a site where employers post real, paid positions and you apply for them, often with a resume and a cover letter. LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor are examples people commonly use for this.

These sites do not pay you directly. They connect you with an employer, and the employer pays a wage once you are hired and working. That makes them a job search tool, not an earning app in the sense of surveys or offers.

If what you actually want is paid employment, a job board is the right tool. If you want small, flexible rewards alongside that search, a reward site such as PocketsFull is a different and separate thing.

How to tell a real site or app from a waste of time

Most legitimate earning sites share the same basic shape: free to join, clear about what a task pays before you start it, and paid only for completed work.

• Walk away from any site or app that asks you to pay, deposit money, or buy something before you can start earning.
• Be skeptical of promises of a fixed daily or monthly amount: real survey and offer rewards vary by task and availability.
• Check how you get paid, whether that is gift cards, PayPal or another method, before you invest time.
• Read what a task actually involves. An offer that asks you to install an app and play it to a certain level is normal. One that asks for your bank login is not.
• Expect to be turned away from some surveys. Being screened out partway through happens to everyone and is not a sign that a site is fake.

Surveys and offers on PocketsFull

PocketsFull is a free online rewards site. Members take paid surveys and complete offers, including game and app offers, and build up a balance they redeem for rewards.

Surveys come from market-research providers and add their reward to your balance once completed. Not every survey fits every profile, so being disqualified before the end is normal and happens to everyone. Keeping your profile complete and accurate helps you get matched with more surveys.

Offers are tasks from partners, such as trying an app or game and reaching the steps it lists, or signing up for a service. Each offer shows its own steps and reward on the page. Some offers take between a few days and about a month to confirm, since the partner has to check the completion first.

PocketsFull never asks members to pay or deposit anything. Joining and using it is free, and there is a separate free-games section for fun that does not pay rewards. PocketsFull works in a laptop or desktop browser as well as through its Android app.

How you get paid on PocketsFull

The redeem screen shows the payout options available to your account, and these depend on your country.

In most countries, local gift card brands are listed first, alongside PayPal and Litecoin as additional options.

A redeemed gift card is sent to the email address on your account, and the gift card catalogue you see depends on where you live.

One account, used honestly

PocketsFull allows one account per person. Using a VPN, fake details or running duplicate accounts is not allowed and can get an account restricted or suspended.