Can You Actually Get Paid to Watch Ads? I Tested 6 Apps for a Full Day

Karynn Snow
4 days ago
5 min read

If you’ve ever searched YouTube or Google for ways to make money online, you’ve probably seen headlines claiming you can get paid to watch ads or videos. It sounds almost too good to be true- and honestly, that’s exactly why I decided to test it myself.

I spent a full day testing six popular apps and platforms that claim to reward users for watching ads or videos. In this post, I’m breaking down what actually happens, how these apps work, and whether watching ads is a realistic way to earn money.

Quick disclaimer: This post is based on one personal test. Rewards, availability, and results vary by user and over time.

How “Get Paid to Watch Ads” Apps Actually Work

Most apps that advertise “getting paid to watch ads” don’t only reward video watching. Instead, they usually offer multiple ways to earn, such as:

Surveys
Playing games
Completing offers
Watching ads or short videos
Referral bonuses or streaks

For this experiment, I only focused on watching ads or videos, not surveys or other higher-paying tasks. The goal was to see if watching content alone is worth your time.

1. TimeBucks

TimeBucks is a platform that comes up frequently in “make money online” conversations, so it felt like a good place to start.

My first impression? It’s not very beginner-friendly. Finding where to actually watch videos took some digging, and the layout isn’t intuitive. If your goal is something simple like watching ads, this platform makes it more complicated than necessary.

While TimeBucks does offer video-related tasks, the experience felt clunky and inefficient, especially compared to other options.

Ways to watch ads or videos:

Go into the Task section and search for tasks mentioning watch ad or watch video
Go into the 'Offerwall', click on 'Lootably' and from there click the video button. Heads up you'll likely need to sign up for another platform to start watching videos.

My Experience:

There were no tasks available to watch ads or movies when I went on and I wasn't comfortable signing up with the 3rd party site so after an hour of digging around I made $0

Verdict: Possible, but frustrating and unclear.

2. Eureka Survey App

Use my code A3363D on Eureka Surveys and unlock a short $1 survey just for signing up!

Eureka is primarily known as a survey app, but it also offers small rewards for watching ads.

I’ve used Eureka before and generally think it’s a solid app, just not for ad watching specifically. Ads typically pay 1–2 cents, and availability is limited.

During my one-hour test:

I could only watch a handful of ads
Ads ran out quickly
Total earnings from watching ads alone came out to about $0.06

To be fair, I’ve successfully cashed out from Eureka using surveys, but watching ads is not where the value is.

Verdict: Legit app, but ads pay very little.

3. WeAre8

WeAre8 was new to me and feels similar to TikTok in style. It combines short-form videos with social impact and brand engagement, and users can even apply to be creators.

Here’s the catch: you only earn rewards when a video has a brand-sponsored ad attached. These are marked with a small indicator (red dot by the present icon on the screen), but they don’t appear often. Here's a help center article that can better illustrate it.

After scrolling through dozens of videos and spending about an hour on the app, I didn’t earn anything.

Verdict: Interesting concept, but earning opportunities are rare, at least in my case.

4. PrizeRebel

PrizeRebel doesn’t host video ads directly. Instead, it relies on third-party offer walls, which redirect you to other platforms.

To watch videos, I had to:

Navigate to an offer wall
Choose a third-party provider in this case it was AsScend, go to 'Videos'
Create a separate account (PixelPoint.tv)

The way it's supposed to work is any video you watch in PixelPoint with ads is supposed to rack up points, however only the first video I watched gave me points after that I either didn't see ads all together or I saw ads but received no points. After nearly an hour of watching videos, I earned 6.9 points, which translates to less than one cent (1000 points = $1 so I made $.0069). I also didn’t see those earnings reflected in my PrizeRebel account during the test.

Verdict: Too many steps for very little reward.

5. JumpTask

JumpTask offers a wide range of earning options and is often mentioned as a popular platform. However, it pays out in a crypto token called JMPT. While crypto itself isn’t necessarily bad, it adds extra complexity.

It was very easy to navigate to where you could watch videos but the process felt off- you had to:

Open up Youtube
Paste a title in the search bar
Look for a specific video with a thumbnail they give you
Watch the whole thing on 1x speed and like it
And it made it clear you couldn't leave comments
Then go into the description of the video click a link at the bottom of that description to submit it and that only paid $.02

Some just felt off. Watching videos required multiple steps, connections, and approvals, making the process feel more like engagement farming than a simple rewards system.

Verdict: Overcomplicated for casual users.

6. PaidWork

PaidWork was the most straightforward platform I tested, especially when using the mobile app.

There’s a clearly labeled “Watch Ads” section with simple instructions: watch the full ad to earn rewards. Heads up you can only watch ads on mobile not desktop

At first, ads paid around 3 cents, which was the highest rate I saw during testing. However:

Rewards decreased after the first few ads
Earnings became fractions of a cent
Confirmation messages stopped appearing, even though rewards were still tracking

After one hour, I earned about $0.16, making this the highest-paying app in the test, though still very low overall.

Verdict: Best layout, but earnings drop quickly.

I did a full video on the K Drama app that claims they pay you to watch called NiceDrama you can check that out below!

Final Results: Is Watching Ads Worth It?

After spending approximately 8 hours total across all six platforms, here’s what I earned:

Total rewards: $0.227
Average rate: About $0.028 per hour

So yes- you can technically get rewarded for watching ads or videos. But the payouts are extremely small, often one cent or less per video, and availability is limited.

None of these apps are necessarily scams. Many are legitimate platforms with real payouts. However, watching ads alone is not an efficient or realistic way to earn money.

If your goal is maximizing side hustle income, you’re much better off focusing on:

Surveys
Freelance or gig apps
Skill-based side hustles
Content creation

Final Thoughts

Apps that reward you for watching ads can be fun to test, but they’re best viewed as micro-reward platforms, not income streams.

Have you tried any of these apps yourself? Or have you found one that actually felt worth your time?

Let me know- I’m always curious to hear real experiences.

⚠️ Disclaimer

This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or professional advice. Some links on this site may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. While I strive to keep information accurate and up to date, I cannot guarantee that all information is complete, correct, or current. Always do your own research and use your best judgment before making any decisions.