CashGiraffe

CashGiraffe review

CashGiraffe is one of dozens of smart phone apps that pay you to play games on your device. If it sounds too good to be true, realize that they don’t pay you enough to make this a dream job — and they’ll keep you on your toes trying to get paid at all.

How it works

Like most get-paid-to-play apps, the site’s goal is to help introduce new users to new games. Thus, you get paid more when you download a new game and are new to playing it. If you get hooked on a game and want to play for fun, you’ll get fewer points, which translates to less money.

And, to be clear, the money isn’t much to start with. Although you’re likely to get what looks like a huge bonus for signing up — some 4400 points, those points are worth about 40 cents. Once you build up more than 20,000 points, the conversion rate of points to fractions of pennies goes up somewhat. But under no circumstances will you earn a reasonable return for your time.

Details

This app only works with Android technology. So, you can’t play if you have an iPhone.

You must download the games you play through the app; and sign in to CashGiraffe when you’re playing. Be sure to disable any battery-saving technology when you play because this interferes with the app tracking your game-playing time and can cause you to not get paid at all.

(That said, your phone battery life may have more value than CashGiraffe’s gems, so don’t play this game when you don’t have access to a charger.)

Redemptions

When you build up enough “gems” to cash out, you’ll be given the choice of a gift card or PayPal. These can be had in appropriately tiny denominations, like 75 cents and $1.

However, you’ll need to verify your identity to cash out. And some reviewers say the app is unresponsive when they do.

Moreover, the rewards may vary and sometimes only include discount coupons for restaurants and retailers.

Recommendations

If you love playing games on your phone, we like Mistplay a bit better because it doesn’t cut you off from earning rewards, if you get hooked on a particular game. Rewarded Play is also a good option, if you have an Android phone.

But don’t do it for the money because the pay per hour is abysmal. One reviewer says she earned $20 in a month.

If you’re into computer role-playing games, like Dungeons & Dragons, check out StartPlaying. They enlist freelance “gamemasters” to organize games. Gamemasters determine how much to charge for a seat at their table; the site takes a commission from bookings.

Or take the SideHusl Quiz to find a better option that suits you.

What their users say (from Google Play)

Editor’s note: We’ve dated these reviews because ratings for pay-to-play apps can swing dramatically over short periods because these sites can alter their payout formulas and payment options at will. 

Pay attention to when you stop receiving points. When you first start a new game, the points are AMAZING! It does eventually stop, though, so keep track. I’ve had the app for 4 days. I’ve played 4 different games. Once you reach a certain amount each day it stops adding up… so I played each game for roughly 30 minutes on day 1 and 5 minutes everyday for 3 days. I just received my first $10 gift card! Being paid for something you more than likely already do is awesome. (June 27, 2023)

Worst customer service. Ever

Of all the apps that claim to pay rewards for playing their games this has got to be the slowest the worst customer service of any I have tried in the past year. I’ve been playing a little more than a month. I’ve earned over $20 in rewards. No cash out. It asks for a face verification that is difficult to accomplish and then it just keeps saying waiting for verification. No ability to do anything but wait over a month for manual verification. Email response is generic FAQ I’ve read on the app. (July 15, 2023)

This app started off as one of my favorites! It actually paid my PayPal like it advertised and kept up accurately with game progress. However, after about a month of playing (and cashing in MAYBE $10), I have a $2.50 payment pending FOR TWO MONTHS! Not only that, but any option to cash out to my PayPal no longer exists…just HORRIBLE coupons. Of course, any email sent to customer service has gone unanswered. It’s a shame, really. (June 20, 2023)

Discount coupons

PayPal payment feature is no longer available at this time. Similarly to AppStation, the only option for payout “limited time offers” where you supposedly receive 10x more for the same amount of coins. But the rewards are in form of what is essentially a coupon for a small percentage off (10-30%) from your order / purchase with the vendors provided (ie: AliExpress, Domino’s, Target, Nike, EBay, Netflix)—which can also have a minimum total for the coupon to be valid. (July 10, 2023)

Face verification

So far so good. None of the issues anyone else has had. Payout was a bit tricky because after passing face verification it doesn’t automatically process the payout you requested, you have to go back in and request the payout again and then it processes and sends the payment rather quickly. It’s definitely not a get rich quick kind of thing. Starts off giving points rather frequently, but the longer you play a particular game, the longer it is between points distributions. Cashed $20 so far. (June 4, 2023)

I’ve got enough points to cash out, but the app won’t do it. At first it said it couldn’t do the photo verification, then it tried twice to take pictures but said they were blurry and to retake, never got the option again to do that, and now it just says it’s waiting on verification only nothing ever happens. It’s frustrating! (June 29, 2023)

Longer you play, the less you earn

Yes, this app does reward users with real gift cards. I cashed out for a handful, but what isn’t mentioned is that earning gets much harder as you keep playing. Games will first reward every minute, but then these intervals for points get longer and longer. For example, one of my games now rewards me with points every 80 minutes. It’s a good app to keep if you game a lot and want to cash out for $5 gift cards every so often, but don’t expect to make quick money. (June 23, 2023)

Starts out giving points and then by design it spans the points distribution farther and farther apart. The games aren’t bad and I’ll continue playing a couple of them, but this app sucks. I’ve been playing random games a few times a day for a week and I’m up to about $6… I tried to do a payout but it won’t let me verify. It requires a face photo and even though everything is clear it says it’s blurry. Total Scam. (June 8, 2023)