inboxdollars review
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on InboxDollars's website

Rating

4.2

Our rating
4.2/5

Sign up bonus

$5
upon sign up

Pros

  • A lot of ways to make money — InboxDollars hits every category of ways to make money on a rewards website. You can earn by shopping, taking surveys, completing offers, watching videos, using coupons, playing games, referring friends, and a variety of other fun ways.
  • Mobile app allows you to earn on-the-go — The InboxDollars mobile app is available for both Apple iOS and Android. The app works smoothly and allows you to earn while away from your computer.
  • Good sign up bonus — By using this link, InboxDollars will pay you $5 just for signing up for the service. It’s a great bump to get you started.

Cons

  • Very high payout minimum — You have to earn a minimum of $30 before you can request a payment. This is very high compared to other rewards websites.
  • Some activities pay very little — There are some activities on InboxDollars that don’t pay enough for the amount of effort you have to put in.
  • Some offers are misleading — For example, the 100% free offers are definitely not 100% free. Oftentimes you end up having to enter credit card information to get your reward.

Full InboxDollars review

InboxDollars was founded in 2000, making it one of the oldest rewards websites behind MyPoints.

InboxDollars website in 2001

InboxDollars has millions of active members earning rewards daily. They have paid out over $60 million in cash, PayPal deposits, and gift cards.

InboxDollars was acquired by Prodege in 2019. Prodege owns many other rewards websites that you may be familiar with.

My experience with InboxDollars was good overall. They offer the most ways to earn money than any other service that I’ve used. I go into depth about all the ways you can make money with InboxDollars below.

InboxDollars, like any rewards website, is not going to get you rich. The idea of InboxDollars is to earn you some extra money on the side in addition to your current job.

If you use the service long enough, you’ll find that you can eventually earn enough money to buy groceries, pay for smaller bills, or just put toward your savings.

I did experience a few hiccups while using InboxDollars. For example, some of the activities don’t pay out a lot of money for the amount of effort you have to put in. A few of the offers are even a bit misleading, such as the 100% “free” offers. I go into detail about that later in this review.

Overall, InboxDollars is a solid service with many fun features that help it stand out, such as Scratch & Win. If you are looking to earn extra side cash, then consider using InboxDollars.

InboxDollars is best for you if

  • You want to earn money using the internet like you normally do — InboxDollars allows you to make money while shopping online, watching videos, reading news articles, and playing games. These are all things that you would normally be doing anyway. With InboxDollars, you can get paid for it!
  • You have the free time to play games and take surveys — Most only take a few minutes and if done consistently, can earn you decent rewards. Although InboxDollars won’t make you a fortune, it can definitely put some extra spending money into your pockets.
  • You want cash back for shopping online — InboxDollars allows you to earn cash back while shopping online at popular retailers. It’s essentially free money, especially if you planned on shopping regardless.

Ways to earn with InboxDollars

InboxDollars has more ways to earn money than any other rewards site I’ve reviewed.

  • Offers — InboxDollars offers allows you to earn cash and get deals on your favorite services at the same time. When you are on the InboxDollars website, go to the “Offers” page and sort through various offer categories, including New Offers, Club Favorites, Making Money, Saving Money, and Sponsored Offers. Each offer will have a button that shows how much you can earn by completing the offer. For example, “Earn $20.00” for opening a new bank account with Varo bank.
  • Surveys — Surveys are a popular way to make money online. InboxDollars offers dozens of survey opportunities daily that you can take and earn cash. Surveys are updated daily on the “Surveys” page of the website or mobile app. InboxDollars will also email you survey opportunities if you are signed up for the newsletter.
  • Videos — You can watch videos on InboxDollars and earn additional income while doing it. To get paid for watching videos, you’ll need to disable your ad-blocker on your browser if you have one installed.
  • Cash back shopping — Cash back shopping allows you to shop online at your favorite stores and earn cash back on your purchases. InboxDollars has close to 100 stores to choose from. If you want more cash back deals, consider trying out Rakuten and Ibotta.
  • Discount codes — You can save money while shopping online or by getting discount codes from InboxDollars. If you install the Billy Button browser extension, Billy will find you discount codes automatically while you shop online.
  • Coupons — Coupons are different from discount codes. Coupons are meant to be printed and used for in-store purchases. InboxDollars has an abundance of coupons in several different categories, including food, beverages, pet care, and household.
  • Games — Get paid to play games on InboxDollars. Play popular games like Monkey Bubble Shooter, Candy Jam, and Solitaire. The longer you play games, the more you’ll earn.
  • Easy cash — Easy cash is a section on InboxDollars’ website that shows you all the easy ways you can make a quick buck. Most of the tasks include watching videos, taking quick surveys, and signing up for free services.
  • Search — Use InboxDollars search instead of Google or Bing and get paid. With InboxDollars search, you can search the web, images, videos, and news. You can even set InboxDollars search as your default search engine in your browser to earn money without ever thinking about it.
  • Refer a friend — You can refer your friends and family and earn $1 for every qualified referral. Also, you’ll earn 30% of their lifetime earnings.
  • WinIt — WinIt is a fun feature on InboxDollars that allows you to find codes on InboxDollars social media networks and redeem them for prizes.
  • Billy Button — Billy Button is InboxDollars browser extension. When you install Billy (that’s his nickname), he will find you deals, coupon codes, and promos while you shop online. Additionally, Billy can alert you of new surveys and offers to help you earn some additional cash.
  • Scratch & Win — Scratch & Win is a fun feature on InboxDollars that allows you to win additional prizes and money. The more activities you complete on InboxDollars, the more Scratch & Win opportunities you will get.
  • PaidEmail® — PaidEmail® is an InboxDollars feature that pays you for reading emails. It’s relatively simple. InboxDollars sends you emails throughout the day, and all you have to do is click on the email and follow the link. That’s it. You then get paid cash just for looking at the email.

InboxDollars alternatives

There are other services that are similar to InboxDollars. Some of these services are the same, but others are different enough that you can earn double the rewards for using more than one service.

InboxDollars top features

InboxDollars has a lot of great ways for you to make extra income. Let’s go over some of the top features that separate InboxDollars from other rewards websites.

Refer friends

InboxDollars allows you to refer your friends and family to join InboxDollars so that they can also make money online. By doing so, you’ll earn a $1 cash bonus and 30% of their lifetime earnings.

For example, if you invite your friend to InboxDollars and in his first week he earns $20, you’ll earn $6 of it. The more friends you invite, the more you can earn.

To start inviting friends, on the InboxDollars website, look at the top menu where it says “Refer Friends” in pink. You’ll be taken to a page where you can invite your friends using Facebook, Twitter, email, or a unique link.

I’d recommend using your unique link to invite friends because you can use it anywhere. It works on social media, email, forums, and blog posts.

Billy Button

inboxdollars billy button

Billy Button (referred to as Billy) is InboxDollars’ official browser extension. Billy allows you to earn money with InboxDollars easier.

When you install the browser extension, it will begin notifying you whenever there are new surveys, new shopping deals, coupons, and other great ways to earn money.

When you are shopping online, Billy will alert you if it finds any deals, coupons, or promo codes for any of the sites you are visiting. If it does find a coupon or promo code, it will automatically be applied for you at checkout.

Billy Button allows you to continue browsing the web without having to think about visiting the InboxDollars website to find deals and offers. Instead, the deals and offers come to you.

Cash back shopping

inboxdollars cash back

Cash back shopping on InboxDollars works similarly to Rakuten or Ibotta (you should check out both these services if you haven’t already—they compliment InboxDollars).

Whenever you plan on shopping anywhere online, you first visit the InboxDollars website or app. Then, go to the “Shopping” menu option and then “Cash Back Shopping”.

You will find a list of close to 100 different stores that offer cash back through InboxDollars. For example, say you wanted to shop at Walgreens.

First, you would scroll down to the w’s on the list and find Walgreens. Then, you would see if they have a cash back offer. In this example, they have a 2% cash back offer.

To make sure you actually get 2% cash back from your purchase, click on the “Earn Cash Back” button. Clicking this button will take you to the Walgreens site. Now, anything you purchase on Walgreens.com will give you 2% cash back.

InboxDollars WinIt

inboxdollars winit

WinIt is a fun InboxDollars feature that allows you to win prizes. The way it works is you find WinIts on InboxDollars social media channels. They post them at random. A WinIt is just a code. A series of letters and numbers that you can use to earn prizes.

If you find a WinIt on InboxDollars social media, you can use it on the WinIt redeem page. This page can be found on the InboxDollars site on the main menu under “More” and “WinIt.

To redeem the code, enter it into the redeem box and then press the “Redeem” button. You’ll receive a message telling you what you won.

Scratch & Win

inboxdollars scratch and win

The Scratch & Win is another fun InboxDollars feature that lets you win additional prizes and cash.

The way it works is when you complete certain activities on InboxDollars, the progress meter (as shown in the screenshot below) will start to fill up.

Each level completed unlocks a new scratch card. The more you fill up the progress meter, the more potential you have to earn larger prizes.

This means if you hit the first “$” and choose to not redeem a scratch-off, your meter will continue running to “$$” and then finally “$$$”. However, if you hit the first “$” and choose to redeem a scratch-off, your meter will reset back to zero.

Here’s a list of activities that will earn you progress on the progress meter:

  • Winits
  • Learn & Earn
  • Search
  • Free Games
  • Other features as determined
  • PaidEmails

PaidEmail®

inboxdollars paid email

PaidEmail® is an InboxDollars feature that allows you to earn rewards and Scratch & Win progress for reading emails.

The way it works is InboxDollars will send you emails about special offers, updates on blog articles, and more. When you open the email, you’ll know it’s a PaidEmail® because there will be a button that says “Confirm This PaidEmail”.

All you have to do is click this button. No further action is required after you click.

Playing games, watching videos, taking surveys and reading articles

Probably some of the most common and popular features on InboxDollars are the surveys, games, videos, and articles.

These are all great because they allow you to earn money while using the internet like you usually would.

If you find yourself relaxing at night playing games on your phone or computer, why not get paid to do it?

The same thing with videos—if you find yourself watching videos online hours at a time, why not at least get paid for it?

These are things that take little to no effort but will put some extra cash in your pockets.

The surveys are another popular feature of InboxDollars. While the surveys can earn you money, I personally found better success with sites like Survey Junkie and Vindale Research. If you plan on taking surveys, I would recommend using those two sites.

Features to avoid

Although InboxDollars has a lot of great features that do work and can earn you money, there are some features that should just be avoided.

100% free offers

inboxdollars 100% free offers

InboxDollars has a section in their offers category called 100% free offers. These should be avoided at all costs.

For the sake of this review, I tried a total of five offers to see if they were, in fact, 100% free. They were not. In fact, 100% of the “free” offers eventually required you to enter a credit card number.

Here’s how it works. On the 100% free offers page, you’ll see dozens of different boxes. Each box tells you how you can receive the “free” offer and how much you can earn by completing the task.

For example, I saw a box that said sign up and receive free McDonald’s samples. By doing so, I would receive $5 on InboxDollars. Sure, why not? I like McDonald’s sometimes.

inboxdollars 100% free offers scam

However, the moment you click on the earn $5.00 box, you are taken down an endless rabbit hole of different surveys that redirect you to different websites where you then have to answer more questions before you can unlock access to another site to answer more questions to then finally receive your “free” McDonald’s samples.

In the end, you wind up having to pay for something or start a free trial on a service or magazine subscription that you don’t want… and just to get your “free” McDonald’s samples.

On top of that, you are having to enter your email, name, and phone number on several different sites. So now you can plan on receiving a ton of emails and phone calls from marketers.

The 100% free offers should be avoided. Don’t even set foot on that page, and you’ll be good to go.

How you get paid

When you have reached the $30 minimum payment threshold, you can request a payment. There are three different ways to get paid on InboxDollars—let’s go over each.

InboxDollars eCard

inboxdollars gift cards

InboxDollars eCards are just a fancy way of saying gift cards. If you want to redeem your InboxDollars cash for a gift card, you have plenty of options to choose from.

In fact, you have over 50 options from top retailers and brands like Target, Walmart, Amazon, and Nike.

Additionally, you can also choose to donate your InboxDollars money to a charity of your choice.

Prepaid Visa

The Prepaid Visa payment option allows you to receive either a physical card in the mail or a virtual card in your email.

If you plan on using the Prepaid Visa card in-store, then you should request the physical card. Otherwise, for online shopping, you can just request a virtual card and start using it immediately.

If you request a physical card, you’ll have to pay a $3 processing fee. This means if you redeem $30, you’ll only receive a $27 Prepaid Visa card. This is only if you request a physical card. This fee does not apply to the virtual card.

PayPal

Receiving your InboxDollars payment via PayPal is my favorite method of payment. It allows you to get instant access to your money if you have it linked to your bank account.

If you don’t have a PayPal account, InboxDollars will allow you to create one during the payment request process. PayPal accounts are 100% free forever.

Check

The last way you can get paid on InboxDollars is by requesting a traditional check by mail.

This way may take a little longer than the other methods. If you don’t have a PayPal account and prefer cash instead of a gift card or Prepaid Visa, then checks are your only option.

Nowadays, most banking apps have technology that allows you to scan your checks from the app.

Unless you bank with a small community bank that doesn’t offer that technology, you should be able to access your money from your check immediately.

InboxDollar checks are voided after 90 days, so be sure to cash it before it expires.

How to get started using InboxDollars

Let’s walk through the exact steps of how to get started earning with InboxDollars. The process is simple and quick and shouldn’t take you longer than 5 minutes.

Signing up

To get started, you’ll need to enter your email address and create a new password. Sign up using this link to receive a $5 bonus when you create your account.

inboxdollars sign up

When you click on the “Sign Me Up button, you’ll be taken to a page that asks you to confirm your email address.

inboxdollars confirm email

You’ll want to go ahead and confirm your email immediately so that you can get your $5 bonus.

inboxdollars earn $5 bonus when you sign up

To complete your registration to InboxDollars, you’ll be asked some basic questions about who you are, your demographic, and other basic information.

It’s important that you answer these questions honestly. InboxDollars will be able to better connect you with top brands like Netflix, Walmart, and Target when sending you surveys and other offers.

There are 30 questions in total. After completing your profile survey, InboxDollars will give you $0.50.

inboxdollars complete profile survey and get $0.50

Also, you may run into a Scratch and Win while taking this survey for a chance to win up to $10. I got one and only won $0.02.

After you sign up

After you’ve completed the registration, you’ll be taken to the InboxDollars homepage. From here, you’ll be able to view all the various activities you can do to start earning money.

inboxdollars homepage

You’ll want to quickly familiarize yourself with the InboxDollars site. Knowing where to go on the website (or app) will allow you to quickly navigate and earn money faster.

At the very top of the InboxDollars site, you’ll see your available earnings. If you click on it, you’ll be taken to your account page. You’ll see information about your account as well as your total available earnings.

From this page, you’ll also have access to request a payment. You must earn at least $30 before you can request a payment.

Additionally, the account page also includes your profile surveys. Profile surveys are short surveys that allow InboxDollars to deliver relevant offers to your home page and your email inbox.

There are several different profile surveys that you can take. Each of these surveys will pay you $0.10.

Start making money with InboxDollars

InboxDollars has a variety of ways for you to make money. The service reminds me a lot of MyPoints or Swagbucks (both services you should check out if you haven’t already).

You can earn money by taking surveys, watching videos, playing games, shopping, referring your friends, and more.

InboxDollars even has a category called “Easy Money.” This is an entire category devoted to getting easy money by completing easy tasks.

To earn money even faster, I’d recommend you install the InboxDollars browser extension called Billy Button. Billy Button alerts you when new surveys, deals, and coupons become available. 

It’s a great way to earn extra cash because many times, you may miss out on opportunities if you aren’t notified fast enough. For example, surveys sometimes only have limited seats and can get filled up quickly, especially if they pay good money.

When you are shopping online, Billy Button will alert you to the site’s best deals, coupons, and promo codes, similar to Honey.

Is InboxDollars worth it?

Yes, InboxDollars is worth it, but also, no, it’s not. Let me explain.

InboxDollars, like any rewards website, can definitely make you some extra cash. But will it be enough to change your life? To be honest with you, no.

Life-changing money can only come from working hard, making more money, and investing money, which I teach you how to do on this blog.

If you are not looking to make a fortune and only want to get paid for doing things you normally do on the internet anyways, then yes, InboxDollars is definitely worth it.

If you are using your spare time watching videos, playing games, and reading articles, you might as well get paid for it, right?

About the author

Joshua Mayo is the founder of The Investor Post, runs a self-branded YouTube channel, and is an avid investor and entrepreneur.