Testerup review: is it legit, and what does it take to cash out?

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

Testerup is legit in the way that matters first: aestimium GmbH in Hamburg runs it, and it pays real money from $60. What trips people up is the rest. There's a face check before your first payout, a 5% fee on PayPal and Venmo, and a set of terms that changed on October 16, 2026.

We have not used Testerup ourselves. No account, no install, nothing cashed out. We read its terms, its privacy policy, its payout page and 63 help articles from a US server on October 23, 2026. We also read both app store records, its Better Business Bureau file and a German court ruling on its face check.

Who runs Testerup?

Its terms are an agreement with aestimium GmbH, Rödingsmarkt 39, in Hamburg, Germany. Its imprint gives the Hamburg register entry HRB 144566. Its App Store record goes back to December 21, 2017.

The same company runs empfohlen.de, the same service in German for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Testerup's Android app carries the package name de.empfohlen.

Testerup says it's "Trusted by 28.7M+ activated users worldwide". Google Play shows 10M+ downloads. On October 23, 2026, the app held 4.2 stars from 75,601 ratings on the App Store and 4.0 from 228K reviews on Google Play.

The tasks come from advertisers. Its terms call them tasks "arranged between you and external advertising partners". A Hamburg court described its business as providing survey and test results to partners such as app sellers, mobile game makers and website owners. Our guide to games that pay real money explains that model.

Who can use Testerup?

You must be 18 or older. Its help center lists three places: the US, Canada outside Québec, and Great Britain outside Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. You'll also need a PayPal account registered in your country and a working camera for the face check.

Both app stores rate the app for all ages: 4+ on Apple and Everyone on Google Play. Its terms still require 18.

Canada is the odd one out. Testerup's new terms list payout methods for US and UK members only, and they don't name Canada anywhere. Its payout page still sets amounts in Canadian dollars.

Abroad, you can't start new tasks. Tasks you started at home keep running, but their progress only updates once you're back.

How does Testerup pay you?

Testerup pays in fixed amounts: $60, $75, $100, $150, $250 or $500, or the same in pounds or Canadian dollars. "Custom amounts cannot be requested," its help center says. The rest stays in your balance, with no expiration date.

Its home page FAQ still says the minimum is $55. Its terms and its payout page both say 60.

Apple Pay and Cash App aren't supported. Each payout arrives as an email from its payout partner. PayPal and Venmo money isn't sent on its own: you redeem it from that email first.

How fast? Its pages give four answers. The App Store text says "within 24 hours via PayPal". One help article says processing usually takes up to 48 hours, and up to five business days in some cases. Another says the email usually arrives in 2 to 3 business days. The home page says up to 3 business days.

How do you earn on Testerup?

Testerup pays for testing mobile games and for surveys. You install a game through its link, then reach goals inside the game, each with its own reward. A task's window is usually 30 or 60 days from the download.

The rules are strict. You can only take a game you've never installed before, and only on one device. Goals usually confirm within minutes, but they can take up to 48 hours. Rewards for goals you haven't reached yet can change.

Some goals reward spending. "Many tasks include cashback goals," its help center says, and those pay for a specific purchase inside the game. A survey can screen you out, and then the reward may shrink or vanish. Our guide on why surveys disqualify you explains that part.

Referrals pay $2.50 when a friend installs a first game and $5 when that friend makes a payout. Only the first 5 sign-ups from one IP address count.

Does Testerup ask for ID or a face scan?

Yes to the face scan. Before your first payout, Testerup asks for a one-time face check. Its terms say the check "may involve the collection and processing of biometric data", and it may refuse payouts until you pass. Its privacy policy calls it a "facial scan".

Attempts are limited, and its staff "cannot override or influence the verification results". Face checks on more than one account lead to deactivation, even if the other accounts are closed.

An ID document is optional. Its terms let you upload one, and they let Testerup open some tasks only to members who've verified their identity.

What did a court say about Testerup's face check?

Testerup's terms carry a payout clause on that check, and empfohlen.de's terms had the same one in German. Germany's national consumer federation, the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband, sued aestimium over that clause in February 2025.

On May 13, 2026, the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg dismissed the suit. It found that members agree to the check freely, so their consent holds. The court allowed no further appeal on points of law.

The judgment also describes how the check works. A face image, usually from the phone's camera, is used to check that a human started the payout. A "3D FaceVector" made from it is compared with those from other accounts, to catch one person cashing out for several accounts.

The face image itself isn't kept, the judgment says. What's stored is the result, the time and the vector, tied to no account. There's no other way to pass: aestimium offers no alternative to the check, which nobody disputed.

What changed in Testerup's terms on October 16, 2026?

Its terms of October 16, 2026 differ from the version last updated May 22, 2026, which we read in an Internet Archive copy of August 9. A review updated on October 8, eight days before the change, still gives the old $70 and the old fee.

The old fee hit US balances after 12 months without activity. In Canada and the UK, the old terms let it close an account after three idle months. Under the new terms, an account idle for 12 months can be deleted after a four-week notice. Any eligible balance is then paid within 14 days, whatever the threshold, once you've passed the face check and given payment details.

Disputes moved too. The old terms sent US claims to the courts in New York, with local courts for Canada and the UK. The new ones send them to confidential arbitration in Stockholm, and they cut the time to bring a claim from two years to one.

What does Testerup do with your data?

Its privacy policy says it may collect information about the apps installed on your device, to match you with tasks. It typically deletes payout data after 7 years. If you review Testerup on another site, it may show your name and star rating in its app.

Its Google Play record says it may share your email address and device IDs with other companies for advertising or marketing. Its App Store label says your usage data may be used to track you across other companies' apps and websites.

California residents can opt out of "sharing" or "selling" through the fingerprint symbol on its website, its help center says.

Why do Testerup accounts get blocked?

Its terms and help center name these causes:

• VPNs, proxies and Tor. They're not allowed, and they can interrupt tracking.
• A second account. Testerup may permanently suspend all of them.
• A new login method. Signing in a different way can create a new account, and earnings can't move between accounts.
• A new phone. Progress doesn't carry over, and unexpected device or location changes may block an account.
• One PayPal on two accounts. That can keep a payout pending or get it declined.
• Tasks done abroad. Its terms say they may end an account, except on temporary trips.

The Better Business Bureau doesn't rate Testerup. Its file, at a Wilmington, Delaware address, shows 4 complaints in the last three years, all from the last 12 months. Testerup isn't accredited.

Its help center says every support request goes through the help center, and it aims to answer within 48 hours. Its App Store text promises support "available 24/7".

Who is Testerup for?

It suits an adult in the US, Great Britain or Canada outside Québec who plays mobile games on one phone. You'll need to accept a face scan, and the Visa card or an Amazon gift card spares you the 5% fee.

It doesn't suit anyone under 18, anyone on a VPN, or anyone who changes phones often. If you won't spend money inside a game, expect fewer goals to count, since some reward a purchase.

Is Testerup worth it? Our verdict, October 23, 2026

Testerup pays real money, names its company, and charges nothing to join. A German court turned down a consumer group's challenge to the clause behind its face check. The catch is the $60 floor in fixed steps, the 5% fee on PayPal and Venmo, and rules that can stop tracking over small slips.

Use it the careful way. One phone, your own connection, one login method, and the Visa card or an Amazon gift card if you want the whole amount.

We build PaysFair, which competes with Testerup, so weigh that. PaysFair pays out as a gift card by email, from $1.00.

What we couldn't check about Testerup

We didn't use the app, so there's no first-hand payout time here.

We couldn't tell which minimum the app shows today, the $55 of its home page or the 60 of its terms. We couldn't tell whether its new terms cover Canada, which they don't name. Nor could we see whether another version of its terms stood between August 9 and October 16.

The court ruled on empfohlen.de's clause. We couldn't confirm that Testerup's check works exactly as the judgment describes, or whether the federation took the case further.

The BBB doesn't publish the four complaints, and we read its file through a page renderer. We'll check all of this again by January 23, 2027.