There are many ways to make money online and getting paid to read emails is one of them. Now, you might wonder if this is legit or even worth your time.
After all, it does sound too good to be true.
The short answer is that you can absolutely get paid to read email.
The long answer is that you are not paid to read your own emails, but emails from advertisers. You won’t get rich from doing this side hustle. However, it’s easy and won’t take much time out of your daily schedule.
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Can You Really Get Paid To Read Emails?
Yes, you can get paid to read emails.
Keep in mind that you won’t get paid a lot of money for reading emails. This side hustle is not meant to be your main source of income, but only as a side hustle to earn a few bucks on the side.
The key is to find the right GPT (Get-Paid-To) sites that actually pay to read emails. There aren’t too many GPT sites that pay to read emails, most of them pay you to do other activities such as take surveys, play games, and shop online.
While there is nothing wrong with getting paid to take surveys, in fact, you can earn more by taking surveys, but the purpose of this article is to find sites that pay you to read emails.
Why Do Companies Pay You To Read Emails?
You might be skeptical and wondering why these companies are paying you just for reading emails. It sounds like a scam but I can assure you that it is very legit and you can absolutely get paid to read emails.
Here is how it works:
- Advertisers send bulk emails to GPT (Get-Paid-To) sites such as Swagbucks and InboxDollars
- GPT sites then send those emails to their users (GPT sites work as middlemen between advertisers and you)
- You open the email -> GPT site pays you a commission
According to MailChimp, the click-through rate for emails is less than 3%. Advertisers want to give potential customers a reason to actually open their emails, and what better way to do that than with monetary incentive.
Sometimes opening the email is all that’s required, and other times you’re prompted to answer a short survey or carry out some simple task to verify that you have read it.
How Much Money Can You Make From Reading Emails?
Getting paid to read emails from GPT (Get-Paid-To) sites can be an easy way to earn some extra money or free gift cards, but you won’t earn a significant amount or even a part-time income from it. So don’t quit your day job just yet!
The pay for reading emails varies across sites, but you can expect anywhere between 1 to 5 cents per email. Additionally, you can also earn more by answering surveys, watching videos, and referring friends. On top of that, you can also earn $5 to $10 bonus when you sign up as a new member.
Get Paid to Read Emails – The Only Legit Sites
There are many sites that claim to pay you to read emails, but only a handful of them actually do. Most of the time, you have to sign up for the products or services in the email to get points instead of getting paid to just read the emails.
Here are a few sites that actually pay you to read emails. I have tried a few of them personally and these are the only ones that actually paid me to read emails. I also use Swagbucks and InboxDollars on a regular basis to play games and take surveys.
1. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is one of the largest well-known Get-Paid-To (GPT) online rewards sites. The site has paid over $784 million in free gift cards and PayPal cash to its members.
While Swagbucks is mostly known for paid online surveys, you can also earn money by reading emails, surfing the web, playing games, taking polls, and earning cash-back for online shopping from well-known brands.
⚠️ Note: You can only get paid for reading emails that are sent to your Swagbucks inbox. They are not sent to your regular email address.
Signup bonus: $10 signup bonus for new members after they spend at least $25 on a single purchase on the shop page.
Referral bonus: $3 for you + $3 for your referral (when they earn 300 Swagbucks points within the first 30 days) + 10% of their lifetime Swagbucks earnings.
Minimum cash-out: No minimum payment amount for gift cards. However, you need a minimum of $25 in order to redeem for PayPal cash.
2. InboxDollars
InboxDollars was established in 2000 and has paid more than $80 million in cash to its users for completing tasks online. In addition to getting paid to read emails, members can also earn cashback for shopping online at thousands of well-known online retailers, taking surveys, watching videos, and playing games.
You can earn 2 to 5 cents to read emails. One of my favorite things to do on InboxDollars is to play Mahjong while binging on Netflix. It’s something that I already did for free before, so it’s nice to get a few cents just to play games.
Signup bonus: $5 signup bonus for new members.
Referral bonus: $1 for every person you refer + 30% of your referrals’ lifetime earnings.
Minimum cash-out: The minimum threshold for payment is $30, and you can choose to be paid via check, PayPal cash, prepaid VISA gift card, or many other gift cards of your choice.
3. Unique Rewards
Unique Rewards is available in the US, UK, and Canada and has been around since 2003. The site pays you to read emails and simple tasks like other GPT sites.
You will receive 1-3 emails per day with special offers to your email address. Open the email and click on the message and you will be directed to the advertiser’s website and you will earn $0.01 just for doing that. You can also earn more when you complete the offer from the advertiser and this can range from $.25 to $50.
Signup bonus: $5 signup bonus for new members.
Referral bonus: $5 for each referral.
Minimum cash-out: The minimum payment is $20 and you can choose PayPal cash or a check in the mail.
4. PaidToReadEmail
Just as its name suggests, with PaidToReadEmail, you get paid to read emails! The site has been around since 2005 and is available worldwide.
After you sign up, you will receive emails daily, just read, confirm, and earn $0.02 per email.
Signup bonus: $3 signup bonus for new members.
Referral bonus: 2 referral levels.
Minimum cash-out: The minimum payment is $15 and you can choose PayPal cash or gift cards.
5. Cash4Offers
Cash4offers has been paying its members just to read emails since 2003. Besides reading emails, you can also play online games and take paid surveys to increase your earnings.
Generally, you will receive 1-2 paid emails per day. Simply click the confirmation link and your account will be credited instantly.
Signup bonus: $5 signup bonus for new members.
Referral bonus: $6 for each referral
Minimum cash-out: No minimum and you can withdraw your earnings through e-check or PayPal cash.
How To Tell Whether a GPT Site Is Worth Your Time
There are a lot of GPT sites that claim to you pay to read emails, but most of them don’t actually pay you to read emails. Rather, there are tasks in the emails that you must complete in order to get paid.
You want to go for sites that have been around for a long time and have great reviews on Trustpilot. With over 30,000 reviews each on Trustpilot, Swagbucks and InboxDollars would be good options to start. I personally use them both for different purposes and have cashed out with both.
Other Ways To Earn Money From Home
If you want to make some extra money without having to work hard, reading emails or taking online surveys might be an easy way to do it. And if you’re looking for other ways to make extra money, you can also try:
And if you’re looking for ways to work from home and earn a full-time income, you can try some of these:
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