Swagbucks
honestly rated.
A large US rewards site with a German version: you collect points for surveys, game tasks, videos and shopping cashback. Most reports say it pays reliably from about 5 €, but surveys earn little per hour and a persistent minority of reports describe accounts closed just before cashing out.
Fits you if you like to fill odd minutes, cash out small amounts early and often, and already shop through cashback portals.
Watch out for: Points are not really yours until you redeem them: the provider may close accounts and void balances at its own discretion, and users keep reporting exactly that.
- Payout
- PayPal · Gift cards (including Amazon, Zalando, MediaMarkt, Steam, Zooplus) · Charity donation
- Threshold
- Gift cards from 5 € (provider's app description). How many SB those 5 € cost is disputed: one test says 500 SB for 5 € via PayPal, another 1,799 SB for 10 € via PayPal, and Trustpilot users in 2025 mention 570 SB for a 5 € voucher and prices going up by about 10 %. The current price is only shown in the rewards store after login, which we did not check. The help centre also mentions a monthly redemption limit without saying how high it is.
- Timing
- Per the help centre, PayPal takes 2–5 business days and digital gift cards anywhere from minutes to 5 business days; the rewards page says up to 10 business days. Tests and user reports mostly mention 1–5 days. If a reward is held for verification, you have 7 days to complete it or the redemption is reversed.
- ID check
- sometimes
What the provider and reports actually say.
Every item has a source and a date. Where sources contradict each other, we show the conflict instead of picking the nicer number.
- Contracting party
- Prodege, LLC (California) runs Swagbucks alongside sites such as ySense, Poll Pay and BitBurst. For members outside the US, English law applies unless local law requires otherwise; contracts are concluded in English only. ↗
- Conflicting legal notices
- The German legal notice on swagbucks.com names BitBurst GmbH, Lerchenweg 3, Monheim am Rhein (HRB 89799, Düsseldorf local court). The French page names Swagbucks GmbH, Berlin, which register data show in liquidation since 2024 and now listed at the same Monheim address. ↗
- Who can join
- Residents of Germany, France, Spain, the UK, the US and a few other countries above the age of 13 may redeem rewards (help page). The terms allow one account per person and ban VPNs, proxies and single-use phone numbers. ↗
- Point value
- The provider equates 1,000 SB with 10 € (bonus wording in the app description), so 1 SB is roughly 1 cent. The real rate at redemption can be worse depending on the reward (see payout threshold). ↗
- Welcome bonus needs a purchase
- The advertised 10 € welcome bonus (1,000 SB) only applies if you activate it and spend at least 25 € in a partner shop within 30 days of signing up. ↗
- Inactivity
- Terms: accounts with no login, redemption or new earnings for 12 months may be closed without compensation. Source conflict: the opiniyo test says 6 months, an older test (myStipendium) 12 months. ↗
- Points expiry
- The terms set no fixed period but reserve the right to adopt or change expiry rules at any time. Several tests say SB expire 2 years after they are earned; we could not find an official source for that. ↗
- Identity check
- Before crediting or redeeming, the provider may ask for a passport, driving licence or SMS check, also via a third-party service. Refusing can lead to a block. Your PayPal account must be verified and the name and email must match. ↗
- Can be cut off for using support
- The terms allow the provider to end your participation and void unredeemed rewards if, in its sole discretion, you need an unusual amount of customer support. Read the wording yourself before you use the service; a legal assessment is not part of this research. ↗
- Support response times
- Tickets go through the activity ledger inside your account: the provider promises a first reply within 3 days, 10–30 business days via other routes, and up to 30 business days for account issues such as deactivation or SMS verification. ↗
- Games and offers
- Game offers require installing apps and hitting in-game goals; one test estimates about 40 hours for a 16,000 SB city-builder offer and says some goals are hard to reach without in-app purchases. ↗
- Cashback crediting
- Shopping cashback (a saving, not earnings) takes up to 32 days to show up according to two tests. Returns can be deducted again (terms). ↗
- Trustpilot
- 4.0 out of 5 from 43,365 reviews (global profile, page as of 11 Oct 2026); 65 % five stars, 9 % one star. The operator has replied to 77 % of negative reviews. ↗
- App ratings
- Google Play 4.2 from about 451,000 reviews (10M+ downloads). German App Store: main app 4.2 from 450 ratings, survey app "Answer" 4.1 from 5,245 ratings. ↗
What you need to bring.
Listed one by one, so you know upfront whether ID, camera or microphone are involved.
- Identity check: possible or required
- Screen recording: not typical
- Voice recording: not typical
- Camera recording: not typical
- App installation: required or task-dependent
- Purchase required: yes, money back only applies to purchases
- Devices: Smartphone · Computer
What we don't know for sure (yet).
- How many SB do 5 € or 10 € via PayPal cost in Germany right now? Tests range from 500 SB for 5 € to 1,799 SB for 10 €; the rewards store could not be viewed without logging in.
- Is there a fixed expiry period (2 years is often quoted), and is the inactivity limit 6 or 12 months? The terms we read only state 12 months of inactivity and no expiry period.
- Who is responsible for the service in Germany? The legal notice (BitBurst GmbH), the French page (Swagbucks GmbH in liquidation) and the terms (Prodege, LLC) disagree.
- How common are account closures with a balance specifically in Germany? The only systematic analysis covers US Google Play reviews.
- How high is the monthly redemption limit mentioned in the help centre?
Check the terms yourself before signing up.
Sign-up, checks and payouts happen at Swagbucks, not through EchtVerdient.