NAME: SWAGBUCKS
WEBSITE: SWAGBUCKS.COM
RATING: 4/10 
WOULD I USE THIS PRODUCT?: NO
I hear that a lot. The question so many people ask. Is the Swagbucks a scam or legit? Well no, it’s not technically a scam, it works. And by the way, its not THE Swagbucks. It’s just Swagbucks. Not sure why some people refer to it as THE swagbucks. I just thought I’d let you know that. The question now is, why did I write it as THE swagbucks??
But there’s a bigger question I’m guessing that you’re seeking an answer for. How WELL does it work? I encourage you to read this post all the way through, and give it some thought, before deciding if this is right for you. Let’s first quickly cover what Swagbucks is, before we get into if it works, how well, and if it’s worth investing your time with.
Swagbucks is, in simple terms, a site where you can go and use their search engine, play games, take polls/surveys and then get swag bucks, which can then be turned in for Amazon gift cards along with other types of gift cards. They used to offer cash as well, but I can’t confirm that at the time of this writing. But that’s basically what Swagbucks is and does.
Is The Swagbucks a scam or legit?
So, to your question. Is Swagbucks a scam or a money maker? No, its not really a scam. You definitely earn Swag bucks towards your Amazon gift cards (and other cards). If you’re the type of person who will use the site Swagbucks here and there throughout the day for searching the internet, and maybe playing a game or taking a survey, or watching TV/Movie clips, you can earn a $5 – $10 Amazon gift card in about a month. That’s not too bad I suppose. You’re just doing what you would do anyway. Why not earn some Amazon bucks for it? There are many ways to earn swag bucks, but I’m just touching on a few here, to give you an idea. And I’m not sure I’m sold.
I keep referring to Amazon gift card because I think it’s the best deal at Swagbucks. Amazon offers EVERYTHING under the sun, and also the $5 and $10 cards use less points as apposed to the higher denomination cards. So the $5 and $10 are your best deal. I’m not sure if you can still get cash from Swagbucks. There was a time you could cash in your swagbucks for cash instead of gift cards. That may not apply anymore as they have changed a few things around. But if it’s something you’re interested in, you could easily find out.
(Always do research first, as swagbucks may change their policy without me knowing and updating this article).
When you first visit Swagbucks, it could seem a bit overwhelming. There’s a lot to take in. But what Swagbucks does that other online “survey” sites don’t, is make it very easy to navigate. So in not much time, you’l figure out what’s what pretty easily.
I think the main – or maybe easiest thing to use and start with, is the Swagbucks search tool. It’s actually Yahoo, who’s run by Bing. I use Bing on occasion, and to be honest with you, I don’t see a big difference between Bing or Google. Maybe you will, if you’re really into using Google. The only reason I use Google more regularly, is because it’s what I started with. But give it a try. You’ll get swag bucks, simply for searching. Something most of us do on a daily basis. You’ll still need to do a lot of searches in order to see some real results, but it is possible over the course of time.
OK, so lets look at the games real quick. I have to say, I played a few and a couple of them were kind of fun. There were also a couple that weren’t so fun. But jump in, there’s bound to be a few you’d like as well. With that said, you don’t always earn bucks when you play the free games. But if you do earn bucks, you could earn quite a bit. I’ve gotten anywhere between $1 and $3 swagbucks after playing.
If you really want to rack up some serious bucks, you can play games by using your swag bucks. But make sure you’re good at the game. High scores will get you big bucks, like $20 bucks! But be warned, if you don’t make it in the high score rankings, you lose those swagbucks you used to play the game.
Lets Look at Polls & Surveys, quickly. They have a daily poll. You get to take one poll a day and they “pay” you $1 swag buck. As of this writing, a $5 Amazon card will cost you 500 swag bucks. There are 365 days in a year. In other words, it will take you over a year to get a $5 Amazon gift card, if all you did was take a poll once a day.
Surveys with swagbucks is crazy to me. I mean, I don’t know how anyone even has patience to take surveys to begin with. But to do this with swagbucks, it’s even more annoying just trying to TAKE a survey. You’ll need to answer a number of questions to see if you qualify for the survey. After that, they’ll show you all the surveys which you qualify for, but 9 out of 10 of them will be unavailable. Just seems like an awful waste of time to me.
I don’t know. Is swagbucks a scam? No, it isn’t. Can you make a living using swagbucks? Not even close. If I’m to be honest, I think it would take a lot more of your time and energy trying to redeem $5 than it’s actually worth. I suppose if you have the type of job where you can play on the computer all day without your boss catching you, then by all means, search away.
But for me, I just don’t see my time being used that way. There are other legitimate ways to make money online, which I use, and the payoff is WAY higher. I was able to create an online BUSINESS (swagbucks is NOT a business) that made more money in it’s FIRST month, than 8 months worth of using Swagbucks. That’s no lie. And with my online business, I was able to create it, working just a couple hours a few days a week. You would need to use swagbucks for THOUSANDS of hours each month for the same return.
When I first started, I had NO IDEA what I was doing. I never created a website, let alone tried to build an online business. But I was able to find some really amazing training that showed me how to do it, using very easy steps along the way.
This is why I find swagbucks a waste of time. I got my online business up and running within a week. Why would I want to waste months and years on swagbucks earning pennies at a time? Why not put my energy into something that will make money for me while I’m not even there. Not just while sitting for hours, staring at a stupid computer screen? That’s the beauty of an online business. You don’t need to be there in order for it to continually make you money. Maybe if I didn’t know any better.
If you’re someone who is interested in making REAL money and not pennies, take a look at what Wealthy Affiliate has to offer, in comparison to swagbucks. Then you’ll see why I went to them instead, and started my online journey to success.
I think swagbucks is not a scam however if you are thinking of making it as a primary source of income then it is not the one for you. Actually I have tried to join in it before. I have answered several surveys before but I didn’t get that much. By the way, have you also joined in swagbucks before?
Hi Stephen,
Thank you for clarifying this with your interesting article on Swagbucks. I have to agree after reading this that it seems like a big waste of time.
It seems like Swagbucks is the one winning here with collecting all this information on their survey’s and such. Wish I thought of that! Good for you for moving on and finding a way to utilize your time with a real internet business. Best of luck to you.
Hey Rachel, Thanks for the kind words! I hope my review of is the swagbucks a scam enlightened you. Stick aroud and read some of my posts. You’ll be on your way to making money online in no time. No need for swagbucks. Is the swagbucks a scam? I don’t think so, really. Just a lot of wasted time 🙂
– Stephen
I mostly see Swagbucks as just a way to make some little side cash every month rather than a real, legitimate business opportunity.
I know people that made some money with it but never any significant income which can be scaled and turned into a full-time thing.
I love WA though, been a member 4 years now and it made all my dreams come true hehe 🙂
Good job on the review 😉
Hey hey! Thanks for leaving a comment on my post for ‘is the swagbucks a scam?’ I love seeing other WA members finding my page and it’s useful information! All the best to you 🙂
I love your comparison.You can see the big difference between the two, especially with your comparison chart. As you said, there are several different ways to make money money and seeing your comments, we can easily make an idea.
NB: It’s always depend on the amount of time somebody want to put in the business, always
Thank you for your constructive review
Thanks for taking the time to leave your comment. I for one am not about putting in hours of work for pennies on the dollar. I’m sticking with Wealthy Affiliate and building my niche sites. The rewards are tremendous.
All the best,
Stephen
Hey Stephen thanks for your Swagbucks Review.
You’re right that Swagbucks is not a site that you can use to build an online income. I have to disagree a bit on how low the score is though.
I do like that you say it’s not a scam, because it isn’t. In my opinion it’s one of the better “extra income” sites out there. But when your thinking of it as a large income it’s 100% not a site to recommend!
Thanks for the honest Swagbucks review man.
Brok
Hey Brok,
Maybe I did go a little shy whit the low number I gave swagbucks. I’ll go back and reconsider giving it a digit or 2 higher. I guess I just think it’s a lot of numbers away from where I consider Wealthy Affiliate to be. I really appreciate your feedback. All the best to you!
Swagbucks is one of very few programs that can be called legitimate and you can really earn some extra cash or win some prizes. The bad news is that swagbucks search bar is not supported in all countries which means many people can’t take the advantage of this program. The good thing is that you can refer other people to swagbucks and earn credits and also it’s free to join. But this opportunity is very limited and you can’t make serious money with this program. If you are looking for something that can help you make a consistent and full time income then swagbuks is not the right option.
Hi Rufat,
Thanks for stopping by. Is the swaybacks a scam? Nah. But its not a full time income.You and I know it. Thank you for your input. Much appreciated.
Personally, I would not bother with something like this. It’s maybe fine for someone wanting to earn a little something extra while having a bit of fun online, but it’s not the way to make a lot of money online. The person who is making the real money is whoever created the Swagbucks website. Often, the key is to watch what people are doing, rather than do what they tell you to do. So you would probably earn more money long-term by setting up a site similar to Swagbucks than by participating in Swagbucks yourself. And setting up a website is super easy these days with WordPress. You can create your website super fast with just a few clicks.
Marcus
Right on, my friend. The only person making real money with Swagbucks is the guy who created it. Anyone can create a website. I honestly think it’s going to be very common for people to own their own sites. Thanks for your comment. All the best to you!
Hello Stephen,
Hell yeah it works, I have been a member for a couple of years now, I do not earn a lot but it gives me some money to keep me going.
I hear others say it is a scam because you do not earn much and they don’t pay you in money. You can sell the gift cards, that is money LOL.
Most of the time it is all about effort, are you willing to put the effort into something and make it work or not?
If not then you really have nothing to complain about now do you?
And if you do want to put the effort in, you will be too busy to complain, so it is a win win there.
Thanks for your explanation of Swagbucks. Not THE Swagbucks LOL.
San
Thanks San! I used THE for keyword help! Hahaha. I appreciate your comment. Take care!
wow… what an amazing article this is, very informative and easily understandable…
Awesome insights on scams. Great recommendations too on WA… I love the article 🙂
I certainly love the information you outlined and this is probably one of the best sites when it comes to Exposing scams
Thank you for sharing this amazing information man
Nadeem 🙂
I never heard about this Swagbuckss; oh well maybe I live under a rock. Maybe there are people out there who are making big bucks or vouchers from it but from what I read it seems like a lot of work. I will have to dedicate most of my time just to get $10 dollars worth of vouchers. No thank you! But as they say that people are different you might find there are people who are actually making a living from it but it is definitely not for me
Hey Francina! Thanks for coming by my site and leaving your comment. Swagbucks is way too much work in my opinion. I can’t see anyone actually ever making a living at it They’d need to sit in front of the computer 24 hours a day. All the best to you!
Thanks for sharing your views and a review of the Swagbucks. I hadn’t really come across this before reading your page and it sounds like a lot of work for very little reward especially as you can only redeem in vouchers by the sound of it. Have you found out whether or not you can actually get cash yet? That would be interesting to know. It’s good to know these things exist and someone is researching and helping people make decisions about online ways of making money. Thank you.
Hey Neil,
Thanks for your comment. I’m looking into the cash thing. I’ll let you know what I find out. Glad I was able to help you make a decision.
Best
-Stephen
I like the fact that you do not simply label Swagbucks a scam the way so many people just jump on the band wagon to label something they do not understand.
For myself I have never used it but I do see how some could figure they already search, play games etc and could get a little more for there time doing it.
Like you I believe there are better ways to spend time on the internet and especially if you want to earn any serious money Swagbucks is not the way to go.
H Travis,
I really appreciate you stopping by my page and leaving a comment. I guess swagbucks could work for some, but I just don’t have that kind of time or patience for that little bit amount of pay out. I want to earn an income, not garage sale money.
I have tried similar things with other schemes myself and the time spent on them is ridiculous. Regarding surveys, you certainly hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that some of those still advertised to complete suddenly become not available any more which frustrated me so much.Very open and honest review, thank heavens we have people like you around to keep us informed of no-hoper schemes like this.
Hi Paul
Yeah man, I just can’t find the time or energy to spend taking surveys, let alone just trying to be approved to take the survey, just to make pennies. I don’t get it. I’m glad I can help when I can!
-Stephen