Microsoft Rewards alternatives: 6 apps like Microsoft Rewards, compared on what they pay

We build PaysFair, an earning app that competes with every app on this page. Judge our bias accordingly, and check the numbers below against the sources at the bottom.

On our map, the apps closest to Microsoft Rewards are Swagbucks, which pays for searching, and Pie, a browser extension. Google Opinion Rewards and Amazon Shopper Panel are Google's and Amazon's own reward apps, and Freecash pays to PayPal in 124 countries.

We read every app's own pages on October 23, 2026, and we haven't used any of them ourselves. Where an app's pages disagree with each other, we print both.

Why do people leave Microsoft Rewards?

Its points never turn into cash. Microsoft's terms say they "have no cash value, and you may not obtain any cash or money in exchange for them." You redeem them for gift cards, donations and other rewards. Microsoft and Xbox cards go straight to your Microsoft account balance. Google's suggestions include "does microsoft rewards have paypal" and "can microsoft rewards give you money".

Each qualifying search pays 5 points. On its US Rewards site, Gold members earn points for up to 20 searches a day, Silver members for 10 and regular members for 5. Its support page still describes two levels, with up to 10 searches a day at Level 1 and 30 at Level 2.

Its US catalog prices gift cards in thousands of points. On October 23, 2026, it listed a $10 Amazon.com card at 13,000 points, 1,300 points to the dollar. The cheapest gift card we found was a $1.25 Microsoft gift card for 1,625 points. By our math, a Gold member's 100 search points a day buy that Amazon card in 130 days, before bonuses and other tasks.

The rules are strict. Its terms allow one account per person and six per household, and a VPN can cost you the account and its points. Redeeming needs a phone number that isn't a VoIP line, and it only works in the region you signed up in. An account Microsoft flags is "temporarily restricted", with the advice to "Use Bing correctly for regular searches."

On Trustpilot, its rewards site had a TrustScore of 2.0 from 38 reviews on October 23, 2026. Several reviewers wrote that their accounts were restricted or suspended.

Points expire if you don't earn or redeem any for 12 months. Monthly bonus points expire if you don't claim them within 30 days. Its terms also cap redemptions at 550,000 points a year for other companies' rewards. Its catalog lists Roblox cards too, which our page on Microsoft Rewards and Robux covers.

What are the best apps like Microsoft Rewards?

Five apps on our map, then ours. Every fact is the app's own, read on October 23, 2026, unless a date says otherwise.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks pays SB points for searching the web with its search engine, and for shopping, receipts, games, offers, surveys and a daily poll. Prodege runs it. It takes members from 13, and says it's live in most countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Search wins come at random, from 1 to 1,000 SB, its help center says. When we priced its US catalog on September 22, 2026, a $5 gift card cost 500 SB and $5 through PayPal cost 530 SB. PayPal cash takes 2 to 5 business days.

What it does better than Microsoft Rewards: PayPal cash for points you earn by searching. Microsoft's points can't become cash.

Our review: Swagbucks review

Google Opinion Rewards

Google Opinion Rewards pays for short surveys, and Google runs it. You'll need to be over 18. Its Android app works in 39 countries, India among them, and its iPhone app in five.

On Android it pays Google Play credit, and each credit expires a year after you earn it. On iPhone it pays PayPal cash each time your balance reaches $2.00. Surveys come when Google has them, and you can't ask for more.

What it does better than Microsoft Rewards: you don't save up points on Android. Credit lands after each survey, where Microsoft's cheapest gift card costs 1,625 points.

Our review: Google Opinion Rewards review

Amazon Shopper Panel

Amazon Shopper Panel pays for receipts from purchases outside Amazon and for short surveys, and Amazon runs it. It's invitation-only, for Amazon customers 18 or older in the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Japan. Everyone else can join a waitlist.

Receipts earn up to $10 a month, and each survey shows its reward before you start. You pick Amazon Balance or a donation to a charity on its list, one type a month.

What it does better than Microsoft Rewards: rewards arrive on their own. Amazon adds them to your Amazon Balance "within the first 48 hours of the following month".

Not tested yet.

Pie

Pie pays points for cash back at partner stores through its Pie Shopping extension, and The People's Internet Experiment, Inc. in California runs it. You'll need to be 18 or older. Its terms say the program may not be available in all countries.

Every 100 points cash out as $1 to PayPal, from 1,000 points. Points expire after 12 months without earning, though Pie says it'll try to warn you first and give you 30 days. Its ad blocker used to pay for seeing ads on Chrome, and Pie says it stopped after Google changed how it reads its extension rules.

What it does better than Microsoft Rewards: cash back at "thousands of stores", paid to PayPal. Microsoft's purchase points come from its own store, up to 20,000 points a month.

Not tested yet.

Freecash

Freecash pays for games, offers and surveys, and Almedia GmbH in Berlin runs it, by its terms. It takes members from 16. Its own list of PayPal countries has 124, India and the Philippines among them.

Your first cash-out needs $5 to $20, depending on your region, and an ID check with a selfie. PayPal, Venmo, Visa and bank transfers carry a 5% fee, plus $1 on small PayPal cash-outs, and gift cards don't carry one.

What it does better than Microsoft Rewards: cash to PayPal in 124 countries by its own list. Microsoft's points have no cash value.

Our review: Freecash review

PaysFair

PaysFair is ours. It pays for surveys, games and campaigns. In a campaign, you post clips and content on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and X. The smallest cash-out is $1.00, paid as a gift card by email. We check the first cash-out by hand.

It's for people 16 or older, and what there is to do depends on your country. It runs on the web and in an Android app on Google Play. Obsidian UG in Germany runs it.

What it does better than Microsoft Rewards: campaigns. You can get paid for posting clips, which Microsoft's rewards don't cover.

We build it, so we don't review it.

Which one has the smallest cash-out?

Microsoft's points buy fewer dollars at Amazon than at Microsoft: 1,300 points to the dollar for an Amazon.com card, 1,100 for a Microsoft gift card of $5 or more.

Which apps like Microsoft Rewards pay cash?

Swagbucks, Pie and Freecash pay to PayPal. Google Opinion Rewards pays PayPal on iPhone and Google Play credit on Android. Amazon Shopper Panel pays Amazon Balance, and PaysFair pays gift cards by email.

Microsoft Rewards doesn't pay cash. Its terms also cap redemptions at 1,550,000 points a year for Microsoft's own items, while an error message on its order page says 1,500,000.

Is Microsoft Rewards available in India, Pakistan or the Philippines?

Yes, they're all on Microsoft's list of 235 countries and territories, and so are Bangladesh and Nigeria. Offers and rewards vary by region, and you'll have to redeem in the region you signed up in. Google suggests "is microsoft rewards available in india" and "microsoft rewards alternative in india".

Among the alternatives, Freecash's PayPal list includes India and the Philippines. Google Opinion Rewards' Android app works in India. Swagbucks lists India among the countries where people above 13 can redeem, in an article it last edited in 2019. Amazon Shopper Panel doesn't take any of the three.

Who can join, and from where?

Microsoft doesn't state a minimum age for Rewards. Under 13, a parent consents when the Microsoft account is created. Swagbucks' two help articles don't agree: one says most countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia, the other lists 11 countries.

How we picked these apps

Our map of the market holds more than 1,100 earning apps, sorted into lanes by what they pay for. Microsoft Rewards sits in the search-rewards lane. Most apps in that lane pay in crypto, and one pays only the top of a leaderboard, so we took one app from it, Pie. The other four pay for searches, surveys, receipts or offers: Swagbucks, Google Opinion Rewards, Amazon Shopper Panel and Freecash.

We read the apps' sites and Microsoft's catalog on October 23, 2026, from a server in the US, signed out. We read Google's help pages and the app stores directly. We read Trustpilot's page twice that day, through a web page reader.