12 Best Apps to Sign Up and Get Money [Best Instant Bonuses]

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Everyone needs quick cash once in a while. Thankfully, all businesses want more customers — and they’re often willing to pay to acquire them.

That’s why many apps and services offer cash bonuses for signing up, even if signing up is free; companies hope you’ll find their service valuable and stick around.

Most of the time you’re under no obligation to do so — your bonus is yours to keep regardless of whether you become a regular user.

On this page, you’ll find a comprehensive list of the best current sign-up bonuses available.

Our top picks include:

• Branded Surveys: Best PayPal instant withdrawal — get 100 points (valued at $1) for signing up, then you can easily reach their $5 minimum payment and withdraw instantly to PayPal.
• MoneyLion: Best instant withdrawal bonus — get $5 immediately upon signing up, no deposit required.
• Swagbucks: Best $10 bonus — earn the bonus after making a qualifying purchase of $25 or more.
• Stash: Best $20 bonus — open an account via a referral link and deposit at least $0.01 to receive a $20 cash bonus.
• Rakuten: Best $30 bonus — sign up and make a qualifying purchase to receive the $30 bonus.
• Chime: Best $100 bonus — register with a referral link and add a qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more within the first 45 days.

Best Bank & Investment Account Sign Up Bonus Offers

Financial institutions like banks and investment brokerages are known for offering some of the most generous sign-up bonuses around. These are our favorites.

#1. MoneyLion: Get a $5 Instant Bonus and a $50 Direct Deposit Bonus

MoneyLion offers a complete suite of financial services — including banking, investing and loans — within a single app. 

Signing up for the MoneyLion app through this referral link gets you a $5 instant bonus. No deposit is required, and opening an account doesn’t impact your credit score. Using our link should auto-activate the bonus, but if you’re asked to enter a promo code for MoneyLion, be sure to enter thewaystowealth.

You can earn an additional $50 bonus when you sign up for direct deposit, plus another $5 crypto bonus upon purchasing $10 worth of cryptocurrency. 

All in all, you can earn $60 in bonuses from MoneyLion. While the account has a $1 per month admin fee, you can close it at any time and keep your bonus funds.

Sign up for MoneyLion.

#2. Acorns with Swagbucks Hack: Earn $45 Fast 

Acorns is one of the most popular investing apps, with hundreds of thousands of positive reviews on the App Store. 

Currently, Acorns offers new users a $10 sign-up bonus for linking a bank account.

But aside from that generous $10 sign-up bonus, Acorns’ best feature is that you can invest spare change automatically. So if you spend $4.25 at Starbucks, Acorns will set aside 75 cents to invest. (The actual deposit is made once your spare change reaches $5.)

But don’t head over to Acorns just yet.

First, sign up for the popular rewards site Swagbucks (more on them below).

Once signed up, do a search for Acorns in the search bar. You’ll find an offer for $35 when you sign up through the Swagbucks affiliate link. 

This is a nice trick for earning an extra $35 for a minute or two of your time. 

If Acorns isn’t for you, make sure to cancel your account, as there is a monthly fee (starting at $3).

Sign up for Swagbucks.

#3. Stash: Get $20 in Free Stock When You Deposit $0.01

Stash is a beginner-friendly investment app that offers a variety of automated investment options, $5 minimums and a user-friendly experience.

Sign up for a new account through our Stash referral link and you’ll get a $20 cash bonus when you:

1. Link an external bank account.
2. Add at least $.01 to your Stash Banking account or Stash Personal portfolio.

Stash does have monthly fees, ranging from $3 to $9. You can cancel at any time, and there are no penalties or fees for doing so.

Download Stash Invest.

#4. Chime: Get $100 After Signing Up For Direct Deposit

Chime offers a $100 bonus to new members who sign up and receive a qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more within the first 45 days. The deposit must come from your employer, payroll provider, gig economy payer or benefits provider. 

Some deposits that do not qualify include:

• ACH transfers from other banks.
• Peer-to-peer payments through services like PayPal and Venmo.
• Mobile check deposits.
• One-time direct deposits, such as tax refunds.

Chime is known for its fee-free banking services, early direct deposit feature, and credit builder card. 

Overall, it’s a great platform for those who find themselves paying fees from a major bank.

Sign up for Chime.

#5. Webull: Up to 12 Free Stocks with Any Deposit

Webull is a popular platform for those interested in active stock trading, known for its zero-commission trading and a suite of analytical tools.

To get the maximum number of free shares, open a Webull account and verify your identity. Then, deposit any amount to receive between six to 12 free stocks.

The number of shares you’ll get is random, and they can be valued between $3 and $3,000 each.

Important: Make sure to claim your free stocks in the “My Rewards” tab of the Webull app within 30 days, as they won’t be automatically added to your account.

A few things to know before signing up:

1. Odds of High-Value Stocks: The chance of receiving a stock valued at $1,000 or more is extremely low (0.0001%).
2. Retirement Accounts: Deposits in IRAs do not qualify for this promotion.

At the very least, you’ll receive 6 free shares valued at $3 each, totaling $18. This makes it a solid offer, especially considering you can deposit as little as $0.01 to qualify.

For a comprehensive breakdown of this offer, including all the fine print, see our detailed write-up on the Webull free stock promotion.

Sign up for Webull.

#6. moomoo: Up to 16 Free Stocks and Cash Rewards with Varied Deposits

moomoo is a fast-growing, commission-free brokerage that offers one of the most generous free stock bonuses. Depending on your deposit amount, you can receive up to 15 free stocks, a full share of either Tesla or Google, and a $100 cash reward that can be used as a deduction on stock purchase orders exceeding $1,000.

To qualify, complete the account verification steps and make a deposit based on the following tiers:

• $100 deposit: Receive five free stocks plus a $100 cash reward.
• $1,000 deposit: Receive 15 free stocks plus a $100 cash reward.
• $5,000 deposit: Receive 15 free stocks, a full share of either Tesla or Google, and a $100 cash reward.

Your average daily balance must meet the deposit requirement for 60 days to unlock the bonus.

While the deposit requirement is higher than Webull’s offer, the potential for receiving higher-value stocks is greater, especially if you can deposit more. For a comprehensive breakdown of this offer, see our write-up on the moomoo free stock promotion.

Sign up for moomoo.

Reward Sites and Apps With a Bonus

Reward sites allow you to earn money while shopping online, taking surveys, watching videos and much more. As it’s a competitive market, companies in this space are competing aggressively for new customers, and many offer lucrative sign-up and referral bonuses.

Here are the top three sites to get started on.

#7. Rakuten: Earn $30 After a Qualifying Purchase

Rakuten is one of the top cash-back sites, and a reader favorite.

To get the $30 bonus, sign up through this link with your email address. Then, make a $30 online purchase (which can be from any of their thousands of partnered stores) within 90 days.

Rakuten also has one of the most generous referral programs around. You’ll earn a $30 bonus for referring just one friend (this could be your spouse, sibling or parent). Since you’ll both save, it’s an easy win for each of you.

Rakuten is known for consistently offering some of the highest cash-back rates for online shopping, but be aware that the company pays quarterly, so you’ll have to wait to get your earnings.

Learn more: Get the details on the latest Rakuten referral bonus and read our Rakuten review to learn how to make the most of your time on the site.

#8. Branded Surveys: Get a 100-Point Signup Bonus Instantly

Branded Surveys is one of the best online survey sites. By completing surveys, you can earn points that can be redeemed for cash or gift cards.

When you sign up, you immediately receive a 100-point bonus, which is equivalent to $1. This can be a quick and easy way to earn a bit of money today, especially since the bonus can be withdrawn instantly via PayPal once you hit the low minimum to cash out, which is just $5.

Beyond the signup bonus, you’ll earn points for each survey you complete. The amount of points you earn per survey varies, but most surveys take around 15 minutes to complete and offer between 50 and 500 points.

Download Branded Surveys.

#9. Drop: Link and Verify to Get $5

Drop is a cash-back rewards app, available for iOS and Android, that gives you points for purchases at participating merchants, including Whole Foods, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Walmart, Lyft and more.

When you sign up using referral code kkj8i, you get a $5 bonus upon linking your first payment card and confirming your email address. 

To earn with Drop, simply link your debit and/or credit cards to the app, then activate offers within the app before making a purchase. Drop automatically adds the points you earn to your account.

You can redeem these points for cash rewards via PayPal, or for gift cards to various brands, including Amazon, Uber, Starbucks and Best Buy.

Drop has a minimum payout of $25, and you can withdraw your rewards instantly once you hit that threshold. 

Download Drop.

#10. Swagbucks: Sign Up and Get $10

Swagbucks is one of the most respected companies in the reward space, with over $830 million paid out in rewards. 

In addition to surveys, you can earn money by playing games, watching videos, shopping (both online and in-store) and completing an array of other tasks.

Cash-back shopping is one of the best ways to make money with Swagbucks.

They also have a large inventory of surveys to complete, which are updated daily.

To qualify for the $10 bonus, you have to use this link and spend $25 via the shopping portal within the first 30 days of membership.

Learn more: Check out our in-depth Swagbucks review to learn more about how the platform works, and read through our list of the best Swagbucks hacks.

#12. MyPoints: Sign Up and Get $10

MyPoints is another one of the top money making apps. 

You can make money on MyPoints by shopping online, completing surveys, watching ads and even printing coupons (you’re paid around 1 cent for printing the coupon, and then around 25 cents for using it).

So, you can save money on your grocery bill plus earn a few bucks for using the coupons.

If you spend at least $20 on purchases using the MyPoints shopping portal within your first 30 days of membership, you’ll get 1,750 points (worth $10). 

The site has a low minimum payout of around $3, depending on the rewards option you choose.

Sign up for MyPoints.

Tip: It’s worth checking for high-paying surveys, but your focus should be on using the paid coupons (which you can stack with other apps, like Ibotta). Also, read through our MyPoints review to learn more about how the site works.

Sign-Up Bonus FAQs

Summary of Best Sign-Up Offers

Best Sign-Up and Get Money Sites: Final Thoughts

Taking advantage of the offers on this list is a great way to make personal finance fun. 

After all, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting free money — especially when you’re on a tight budget. 

But it should go without saying that you’ll never pay your rent with these types of deals. At the same time, I think they’re valuable because they can help you build your money-making muscle. 

It can be hard to make progress on your financial goals when you’re struggling just to make ends meet, and it can feel like there aren’t any good options for improving your situation.

But the reality is that today, there are more ways to make and save money than at any time in history. You just have to know how to leverage them. And sometimes, getting started is the hardest part.

That’s where offers like these come in: they’re small wins that can take some budget stress off of your shoulders or boost your spirits with a little extra spending money, which can in turn help you focus on the next step in your financial journey. 

Want more sign-up bonuses? Check out our articles on how to get free Bitcoin and the best crypto sign-up bonus offers to learn about sites that will give you crypto just for becoming a member.

R.J. Weiss, founder of The Ways To Wealth, has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ since 2010. Holding a B.A. in finance and having completed the CFP® certification curriculum at The American College, R.J. combines formal education with a deep commitment to providing unbiased financial insights. Recognized as a trusted authority in the financial realm, his expertise is highlighted in major publications like Business Insider, New York Times, and Forbes.