12 Free Apps For College Students To Make Money Online

Just because you are in college, it doesn't mean that you don't need money for various things.

Starting a part time job to earn extra money in college can also make it difficult for you to focus on studies and do well in college.

Thus, part time jobs or offline jobs in general might not sound good to you. 

Thus the idea of working online and also focusing on college at the same time sounds appealing to all college students. And that's exactly what we have to talk about today – the numerous genuine money making applications that are available online to help you earn money as a college student. 

12 Free Apps For College Students To Make Money 

Want to make money as a college student without spending money? Check out these 12 awesome and free apps that will help you earn cash online!

Whether you make money as a college student using your note taking skills, or photography skills, here are some creative ways and side jobs using free apps to earn extra money!

Some of the apps below are only available on Google Play or the Apple Store. Be sure to do your due diligence before downloading them.


This post may contain affiliate links. It means that at no additional cost to you, I might be compensated from your purchase. I only recommend products and services I personally love and trust.


  1. Notesgen
Already have great note taking skills as a college student? Put them to use on Notesgen to earn some extra money online!

Now we all want to have someone who will help us get the correct notes for all classes that we can use to study during exam period.

If you are someone who writes detailed notes that can be useful to other college students, then this app can help you earn extra money in college. 

Based on the course you are doing in college, or any competitive exam you are preparing for, you can upload your notes on the Notesgen applications as well. 

That way, other Notesgen users can utilise your notes and you can get paid for your efforts to create those notes for others. This application enables you to earn money as a college student for the notes that you are jotting down sincerely during your classes. 

Get the free Notesgen App on Google Play here.

  1. Bookscouter

College students often have tons of books that they don't even use anymore and don't know how to get rid of them correctly. If you have so many old books as well, it can be one of the ways to earn money as a college student for you. 

Bookscouter enables you to connect to more than 20 companies who are looking for people selling their old books. You can compare the purchase price from all these different companies and select the ones that seem more profitable to you. 

You just have to fill out a simple form selecting the means in which you would like to receive the payment and all those details. Then all you need to do is to ship the books to those companies and earn extra money in college by using books you have.

Grab the Bookscouter App on the Apple Store right here.

  1. Foap

There are many college students who genuinely enjoy taking photos. Foap is an application that allows students to earn extra money in college by simply taking photos of anything they like. 

This application is pretty flexible – that means it depends on you how much you want to charge for every photo that you upload for others to buy.

You can upload pictures of anything you find interesting during your college time and you are bound to find people who would like to buy such pictures. 

You might think this is some fake application, but there are many people who are willing to buy excellent quality pictures of different things for a good price. So if you are passionate about photography, you can try out this free app for a supplementary income as a college student.

Turn your photos into money with Foap.

  1. Lemonop 
Have a busy schedule as a college student? Try out Lemonop to fit it in within your school schedule to make extra money!

If you are someone who is looking for a legit application where you can do gigs and earn money as a college student, Lemonop is the perfect match for you. You can find all sorts of gigs on this application based on what you like to do in your free time. 

You can find internships in your field of choice, part time jobs, or even clients who are looking for employees looking from home on this application. There are various different categories on Lemonop – content writing, food, programming and many more than you look through as well. 

You just have to browse through the categories and decide what kind of services you wish to offer. Once you find clients, you can do what you like in your free time and make extra money for your skills. 

Download the Lemonop app on Google Play.

You might also like:

Free Cash Back Apps To Make Extra Money Online

  1. Survey Junkie

You are going to love this application if you want to work when you have free time in-between classes or have nothing else to do on the weekends. Survey junkie is one of the most popular applications to make some side income during your free time. 

There's no fee or anything to sign up to this application and the process is extremely easy and quick as well. Once you sign up, you can just browse through the surveys they have on the app and start taking any that you find interesting and fun. 

The more surveys you take, the more you can earn through this application. It's something that you can do when you are relaxing on the couch, sitting in front of the television, etc. It's one of the best ways to earn extra money in college doing something that is easy and flexible based on your schedule. 

You can start by joining Survey Junkie right here.

  1. Ibotta
Ibotta is one of the best free apps perfect for college students to earn cash back during their spare time!

As a college student, you might like to shop a lot or have to shop for many things that you need while living on your own. Ibotta offers you a way to earn extra money in college using the receipts of your shopping spree. 

The application is free to download and you can also join it for free through a simple sign-up procedure. Then all you need to do is click pictures of your receipts through the application and earn “rebates” in return with every picture you take. 

Then you can exchange those rebates for gift cards and such once you have a certain amount of them collected. The rebates you get for each receipt is based on the offers that particular store is offering, but you can earn extra money in college simply by scanning your receipts which is amazing. 

Download the free Ibotta browser extension to start getting cash back.

7. GigIndia

Another money-making application for college students that has been popular recently is Gigindia. It's also an application where you get to do gigs for companies and clients looking for freelancers. 

Freelancing has always been one of the ways to earn money as a college student and GigIndia offers you a legit platform for the same. The amount you get paid depends on how good you are at a particular service and how much the clients like your work. 

You can set aside time every day to work on gigs in your favourite niche and earn extra money in college that you can use for your various needs. You get to work with popular brands and build a portfolio which will help you land a job in future after you finish college. 

Download the GigIndia Android app on Google Play.

8. Swagbucks

Swagbucks is another great cash back app that offers coupons, cash back as well as surveys you can do during your spare time to earn extra money.

By trading some of your time each week, you can get Amazon, Target, Starbucks and Walmart gift cards. With Swagbucks, you can also choose to get cash out on Paypal or via Mastercard.

In a nutshell, this is how Swagbucks works:

With just 3 simple steps, you can sign up to Swagbucks for free, earn points and redeem them for free gift cards!
Image from swagbucks.com

Sign up with Swagbucks now to start earning cash back. You can also start by downloading the free Swagbuck mobile apps.

  1. SquadRun

Though there are many applications where you have to do certain tasks and earn points to make money, SquadRun is an application that has been known to work legitimately for Indian students. 

The app's mission is to turn business activities of big brands like Flipkart, Ola, etc into smaller tasks that college students can easily complete to earn extra money in college. The tasks vary from tagging different images, to giving feedback of certain products or things, and many other things. 

You can transfer these SquadCoins to your Paytm wallet and then use them for online transactions. It's one of the money-making apps where you don't need to be skilled in a certain area to earn money as a college student. 

Download the free SquadRun app on Google Play.

  1. OfferUp 

The concept of selling your items to people who need to earn money has been around for a long time. OfferUp enables you to sell anything you want to strangers and get paid correctly for those items. 

You have to have a PayPal account to receive the money you earn from OfferUp.

You can opt to ship the items to the buyers instead of meeting them in person if the concept of meeting a stranger makes you nervous. With a solid 4.8 out of 5 rating on the Apple Store, OfferUp is one of the biggest mobile marketplace to buy and sell items.

So overall, the application is really flexible and enables you to sell in any way you like. 

The application works both ways – you can have your own items to sell, or you can checkout what the buyers are looking for and see if you have those items to sell. This application enables you to resell things you already own and earn extra money in college through that process. 

The OfferUp mobile app is available on both the Apple store and Google Play. Note that this app has in-app purchases, as well as a $19.99 monthly fee for a Promote Plus subscription.

  1. Pocket Bounty

Most college students use their mobile phones for similar activities like watching videos, taking certain surveys or even downloading and trying apps that seem interesting to you. Pocket Bounty helps you earn extra money in college doing all these things. 

Though taking surveys is considered one of the best ways to earn money through this application, there are many other things you can try out on here. There are certain terms of the app that you need to follow to earn money as a college student, but overall it's a nice app to try out. 

You get paid coins for doing things that you are already doing regularly, so you don't have to worry about not being skilled enough to take any of the tasks available.

There are 3 options for you to get paid, namely Amazon or Playstore gift cards, or withdraw cash on Paypal. It's one of the most popular money making applications that is definitely worth a try. 

Get the Pocket Bounty Android app on Google Play.

Using your mobile phone and laptop, you can earn extra money with Pocket Bounty by working around your schedule.

    11. Instacart

Do you know that you can get paid to grocery delivery or pickup with Instacart? If you are a college student with a driver's license and consistent access to a reliable vehicle, being an Instacart shopper is a great side hustle for college students like you!

As a personal shopper for Instacart, your job is to pick and deliver items customers want and get paid for it. The best part is, you get to create your own schedule and decide how much you want to work.

Sounds great to you? Check out these requirements to be an Instacart shopper to see if this is the right fit for you:

  • Must be 18 years old or older
  • Eligible to work in the U.S.
  • Access to a mobile phone(must be iPhone 6s / Android 5.0 or newer) and able to effectively use it for work
  • Driver's license
  • Consistent access to a reliable vehicle
  • Ability to lift 50 lbs with or without accommodation

Sign up as a full-service shopper with Instacart; alternatively, you can check out the Instacart app here.

You might also like: 6 Ways To Get Paid To Grocery Shop

12. Poshmark

Do you have a knack for fashion, beauty or have a great eye for interior design? Poshmark is a great online marketplace to buy, sell or discover fashion, designer handbags, home decor. As a seller, you have the potential to get cash in your pocket by simply selling fashion items you know are popular and in high-demand.

Poshmark handles all the shipping via Sendle and makes it super easy with a pre-paid label. Check out how sellings works on Poshmark below:

Image from poshmark.com.au
Image from poshmark.com.au

Download the Poshmark app for free on the Apple Store or Google Play.

Conclusion :-

It can be difficult to find money-making apps that actually enable you to earn a decent income as a college student and not waste your time doing something fruitless. The extra cash can always be nice to have for buying new stuff or just saving purposes. 

In this article, we talked about ten amazing apps that you can try out to make extra money in college during your free time. I hope that this article makes the task of making money in college less daunting for you!