4 Legit Ways to Get Paid to Text

Earning extra money can buy you freedom in more ways than one. If you’re looking to pay down debt faster, fund a vacation, or enjoy going out with friends more, working a side gig can help.

Sometimes the thought of picking up additional work on the side sounds exhausting. But using your phone, it is possible to make money texting.

How to Make Money Texting

You text every day anyway. You might as well get paid for doing a little more of it. Not all work from home opportunities are legit, but that’s why we’re here.

For help weeding out scams and finding the best places to pick up texting gigs, keep reading. We’ve found four legitimate ways to make money texting.

1. 1Q

1Q is a question and answer company that pays you for your responses. The texts you get on your phone are either market research questions, or an offer or coupon. The messages are sent using the 1Q app or by text using your native messaging platform.

After filling out your demographic information, the app matches you with companies.

If you enable location tracking on your iOS or Android device, you can have more questions sent to your phone. And that gives you the chance to maximize the money you earn.

Pay

Each question or offer is known as an Askvert. Each Askvert has a payout of 25 or 50 cents. Responding to the message will result in cash sent to your PayPal account.

The lower payment option will give you access to more questions to answer, and 1Q suggests you pick that.

Unlike most services, there’s no minimum you need to earn before cashing out.

2. IMGR

IMGR is an instant messaging platform. You transmit messages to friends and contacts, and points accumulate with each one you send.

The app makes connecting easy, with an option to invite friends to join in. The downside is you only earn a point if the person you’re messaging also uses IMGR.

Earning cash appears only to be available to iOS users. The company’s FAQ claims the app is available on Android, and the website has a link to download it from the Google Play Store. But the link takes you to an error page.

Pay

Attaching an advertisement to each message you send will earn you one point. Your points are only valid if you send and receive messages. If you send 100 branded messages and get 50 replies, you only get credit for the ones that received a response.

The minimum payout is 300 points, which is roughly $3. Your payments are sent through PayPal, which makes it easy to access. When you first start, the earnings can go up to $20 a month.

Your account gets an upgrade to premium status if you earn at least 2,000 points for six straight months. Premium users can make up to $40 a month.

3. KGB

KGB (the Knowledge Generation Bureau) pays you for answering questions. In case you’re wondering, yes, their name is a play on the Russian secret intelligence agency. Sticking with that theme, you’re given the title of “Special Agent” when you sign up.

It’s only open to U.S. citizens. To prove your citizenship, they might ask for proof in the form of your Social Security number. If you’re not comfortable sharing it, this isn’t the right opportunity for you.

Signing up to make money texting with KGB isn’t open to everyone. Not only do you have to be an American, but there’s also a screening process to assess your skill set.

They’re mainly looking for people with excellent research and communication skills. Because they provide in-depth information and directory assistance, you need to have a talent for fact-finding.

Pay

The two payout levels are 10 cents and 5 cents per response. You earn the higher 10-cent rate for researching and providing an answer on your own. If you find and forward a response from KGB’s information database, you receive the rate of 5 cents for each answer.

KGB doesn’t use PayPal like a lot of other money-making apps do. Instead, you can expect payments to go directly to your bank account.

4. AQA 63336

AQA 63336 is a question-and-answer text service based in the U.K. Because of its location, you need to be familiar with the English dialect when responding to inquiries.

The site claims to provide answers to any question, no matter how funny, serious or challenging “within minutes.” That means your response time has to be top-notch.

The application process is quite selective. Rather than submitting your information through a form on their website, you send a CV (resume) and cover letter to a company email address.

If you sign up with them, you get the title of researcher. A separate app isn’t required to access the platform. You’ll receive questions to answer on your phone’s messaging app.  When a user asks a question, it pops up on your phone, and you text back the answer.

Pay

Finding out how much you can earn with AQA 63336 isn’t easy. The website doesn’t have any reference to a pay scale. The outlook isn’t that promising, with comments in forums saying the pay is exceedingly low.

What to Watch Out For

Understanding the difference between a real opportunity and a scam is important. If you work with a shady company, you could compromise your privacy or you might not get paid.

It’s also essential for you to know that text message and data rates still apply, even if the service is free to join. If you don’t have a phone plan that includes unlimited texting and data use, this might not be the best way for you to make extra money.

If you still want to earn money this way, keep an eye on your monthly text limits to avoid additional charges from your carrier.

A few other things to watch out for:

• Guard your information. Your phone contains a lot of sensitive information, and you don’t want just anyone to have access to the data you have stored on it.
• Not getting paid. Take the time to verify the companies behind the apps to reduce your risk of not getting paid for doing the work.
• Too much time commitment. Pay attention to the amount of time it takes to earn money to make sure it’s worth what you put in.
• Beware of “adult” apps. If making money from flirting and sharing photos doesn’t interest you, make sure you know what you’re getting into before signing up.

Summary

There are lots of ways to use your phone to make money. Most of the opportunities center around an app you download to your smartphone. If you don’t have a smartphone, whether by choice or necessity, you might not be eligible for some of those paid opportunities.

But virtually every phone has texting capabilities. A couple of the companies that pay you for texting don’t have an app to download. Instead, the text messages are sent straight to your phone using traditional messaging.

Having this option makes it easier to earn money by texting.

It’s unlikely you’ll earn enough money to retire early. But texting gigs can give you a little extra cash while you’re doing mindless tasks, such as waiting in line or watching TV. With the added cash coming in, you might reach your goals faster.