The 13 Best Trivia Games That Pay Real Money

A few weeks ago I grabbed a drink with a friend at some local bar.

Unbeknownst to the two of us, the bar was actually having it’s weekly trivia night that evening. As we sat and enjoyed some drinks, we watched (and even participated to the best of our abilities) in 4 riveting rounds of questions.

Anyways, we weren’t any good, but the experience actually reminded me how much fun Trivia is and spurred the idea for this post.

So, if you are looking for the best trivia apps that you can play to potentially earn some free money or prizes, this is the post for you.

Onto the apps!

The Best Trivia Games That Pay Real Money

If you want to earn some free money in your spare time by putting your trivia knowledge to the test, these are the right apps to use.

Just note that playing with trivia apps for money isn’t going to replace your full-time job or make a serious change for your monthly income for most people.

If you’re looking for more lucrative ideas, I suggest using various gig apps or looking into more serious ways to make money online.

Looking for other fun & easy ways to make money? Checkout:

• Branded Surveys – Share your opinion to earn free PayPal cash and gift cards!
• Mistplay – Earn free gift cards for playing fun new Android games on your smartphone!

1. Swagbucks Live

Swagbucks Live, formerly known as Swag IQ, is another trivia app developed that is a branch of Swagbucks, a very popular passive income app and GPT platform.

Swagbucks Live is also one of the more stable ways to play trivia games for money because it is backed by a massive parent company, and the entire rewards system is built into the Swagbucks ecosystem.

With Swagbucks Live, players compete through 10 rounds of trivia for a chance at splitting the final pool of SB (swagbucks), which can be redeemed on the official site for gift cards or PayPal cash.

What’s nice about Swagbucks Live is that you can still earn small amounts of bonus SB for making it through a few rounds, so you are incentivized to play daily. Additionally, if you’re eliminated early on, you can purchase your way back into the round with additional SB of you own…a bit of a fun twist for a trivia app.

If you already earn Swagbucks from things like phone farming or a passive income setup on an old laptop, this could be a decent trivia game to add into the mix!

Signup for Swagbucks and start making money with trivia!

2. Lucky Trivia Live

Lucky Trivia Live is another money-making trivia app that’s available for Android and iOS if you live in the United States.

What’s cool about Lucky Trivia Live is that it’s similar to HQ Trivia and actually has live trivia shows where you can compete against other players to win prizes.

Trivia questions follow your typical categories like entertainment, sports, science, and history.

You win points for getting trivia questions correct, and you can use your points to enter various sweepstakes or eventually cash out with free gift cards.

Now, recent Lucky Trivia Live reviews on the Google Play store complain that the app shows quite a few ads between questions, so keep this in mind.

No trivia app is ever going to make you rich, but if you like competing in trivia games in your spare time and entering sweepstakes this could be the app for you (as long as you don’t mind ads!)

3. Trivia Crack

One newer trivia app to win money you can try out is Trivia Crack. This head-to-head trivia game matches you with online opponents, and if you win rounds, you win points.

Points you earn are eventually redeemable for a variety of prizes like free PayPal money and direct deposit, so it’s a pure quiz for cash type game.

There are six different trivia categories you can get questions from:

• Art
• Entertainment
• Geography
• History
• Science
• Sports

You have to watch a lot of ads between rounds and games, which is a downside. The game is also part of the Skillz platform, which has a bunch of other similar gaming apps like Blackout Bingo and Solitaire Cash.

The ads can be a bit much, but this is still one of the leading ways to play trivia games for money.

4. Givling

Givling is probably my favorite trivia app on this list because of the premise (and awesome logo).

On Givling, trivia players are automatically assigned to a 3 person team and have to answer true/false statements until they either strike out or reach the time limit.

As your team answers questions you gain points. The highest scoring team at the end of the time limit ultimately splits a cash prize pool. Givling hosts 2 games per day, and to date, the trivia app has paid out more than 3.3 million dollars.

However, Givling isn’t just cool because you can win money by playing trivia. It’s awesome because it also works to alleviate student loan and mortgage debt.

As Givling players play the game, they can earn Queue Points from the trivia rounds or sponsored offers that moves them towards the top of the Queue.

If you make it to the top of the Queue, you get up to $50,000 of your loan paid off by Givling, who crowdfunds this money from advertisers, sponsors, and people who pay to play.

Now, there are technically hundreds of thousands of people in line waiting for their loan to be paid off, and Givling has only paid off 35 loans thus far (as of March 2019).

But…this isn’t the point.

Givling is one of the best trivia apps because you can win in a lot of different ways (there are random jackpots aside from the ability to earn cash from the trivia games) and the app is just cool on it’s own merit.

Statistically, you probably won’t get your loan paid off by Givling, but you might have some fun and earn a bit of extra pocket change for your time along the way. Besides, a person can always dream!

Extra Reading – The Best Freebies For Students.

5. Dabbl

While Dabbl is one of the newer apps in town, this rewards app is growing in popularity and has a 4.5 star average on both the Google Play store and IOS app store.

Now, Dabble doesn’t have live trivia games for cash. In fact, there’s a number of ways to earn free gift cards with this app, including:

• Answering surveys.
• Watching videos.
• Playing short trivia games.
• Telling brands about yourself.
• Complete offerwall tasks.

Overall, this app is really a mix of trivia apps and get-paid-to platforms that let you complete micro tasks for money.

To date, Dabbl has paid out nearly $3 million. You can redeem a range of free gift cards, including Walmart, Target, Amazon, Starbucks, and more!

Plus, you only need $5 to cash out, making Dabbl one of the more realistic apps for earning rewards.

If you want another quiz game that pays money and don’t mind other features like surveys and videos, Dabbl is worth trying.

Extra Reading – The Best Android Apps That Pay You.

6. HQ Trivia – The Former King of Trivia Apps

I’ve actually mentioned HQ Trivia before in my post on the different ways to play video games for money, and this app is really what sparked the massive rise in popularity for the trivia app genre.

HQ Trivia is simple: play 12 rounds of questions, and if you make it to the end, you get to split the prize pool with the other remaining contestants. This is the general formula of most trivia apps, and it provides a pretty fun way to try to make money online.

The best part about HQ Trivia is that the app runs daily games on a set schedule, so you and your friends can easily pick a time to all tune in for a few minutes.

My college buddies and I played fairly consistently for their nighttime rounds for a few months, and while I never won anything, a friend of mine did make $15 from making it through to the end.

Plus, some people are just really good at Trivia, apparently:

HQ Trivia is free to play, and the app is available for IOS and Android devices.

If you want to try your luck at plying trivia for cash, this isn’t a bad place to start! Plus, the app sometimes brings out special celebrity guests (like The Rock or Robert De Niro) and their regular hosts do their best to be entertaining.

Checkout HQ Trivia to learn more!

7. Cash Quiz Live

While Cash Quiz Live is currently in beta, this is one of the more interesting trivia apps on this list because they have a different monetization method than many of the other apps (which rely heavily on sponsors or venture capital).

Answering questions on Cash Quiz Live is simple. Simply watch a commercial/video challenge, answer quiz questions related to the video/mentioned brands, and win some cash.

Cash Quiz Live hosts live games every Sunday at 10:00 (not sure of the timezone), but they also host impromptu games and random giveaways every so often.

This isn’t one of the highest paying trivia apps around, but I’m definitely curious to see where the community is headed!

Cash Quiz Live is available on IOS and Android devices, and you can checkout their website to learn more.

Extra Reading – The Best Apps That Pay You To Play Games.

8. RipKord.Tv (Now Known As Tellie)

Tellie, formerly known as RipKord.tv, is another up-and-comer in the world of trivia apps that pay, and the app is sort of like HQ Trivia but with a twist.

On Tellie, users can tune in to a rotating lineup of talk shows and game shows and actually influence what goes on through Tellie’s audience-driven entertainment model.

Users can play a variety of games like a wheel spinning reward game or ‘Word Up,’ which involved completing fill-in-the-blank puzzles to potentially win prizes.

I think Tellie is one of the most innovative trivia apps I’ve seen in a while, so if you want to get in on an interactive experience and potentially win some cash, this is definitely worth checking out!

Visit Tellie’s website to find the Tellie app for download!

9. TheQ

TheQ is another HQ Trivia style app with live hosts, daily rounds, and some decent amounts of money up for grabs.

The formula is what you’ve heard before: make it through all the rounds of trivia, and split the money with all the players that are left standing.

TheQ hosts 2 games at 5:30 EST & 8:30 EST during weekdays, and 8:30 EST on Sunday, which is more often than many trivia apps are offering these days. However, The Q does has implemented a subscription model that definitely shakes up the playing field.

Users can upgrade to Q VIP Gold, Platinum, or Diamond through a weekly subscription to unlock bonus lives during trivia rounds, so you may find that your competition sticks around a while longer than some other apps.

While this isn’t a huge deal, it does suck if you have to split the prize pool with more players. However, The Q is one of the higher paying and more frequent trivia apps, so this makes up for that fact.

Checkout their website to learn more!

Extra Reading – The Best GPT Apps & Websites.

10. Ready Games

As another new entrant to the industry, Ready Games isn’t exactly your normal trivia app. Rather, Ready Games allows players to compete in mini games against other real players for a chance to win prizes.

On Ready Games, mini games occur every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3pm EST. Players have a chance to practice the game but only one shot at the live event, and the pot is split among the top 20% of players who make it.

Games can include target practice games, side scrollers, and other popular mobile app games, so be sure to try this one out if you have a mix of knowledge and skill!

Visit The Ready Games to learn more about download the app on IOS or Android!

11. HOFr

If you’re looking to play sports trivia for money, HOFr is an absolutely must-download app.

Available for IOS and Android, HOFr is an interactive game show that rewards sports fans for their knowledge with cash prizes! Games run every day, and cover main events in the NFL, MLB, NBA, Premier League, and major college leagues.

On HOFr, players have to make predictions based on questions the host asks, and users with the most correct predictions can split the prize pool (usually $1,000 in cash).

Visit HOFr to learn more!

Extra Reading – The Best Beermoney Apps & Websites.

12. Societi

Societi is a live, 24/7 TV gaming network that pays players to follow along and engage with reality TV shows.

Users can select their favorite show from a list of premier reality TV programs (if that’s your thing) and answer questions as they watch.

Now, Societi isn’t traditional trivia as you’re predicting future events in the reality TV show you’re watching, not fan facts. However, this is still a reliable and fun way to play trivia for money if you’re actually into reality TV.

The top 100 players can win cash, and payments are made to PayPal. Plus, there are some decent shows on the platform, Hell’s Kitchen, The Voice, and Survivor being some of the more notable ones.

Visit Societi to learn more or download the app for IOS or Android!

13. Lucktastic & Lucky Trivia Live

EDIT – After trying out the Lucktastic app for a longer period of time, I can no longer recommend downloading this app. You can checkout my reasoning in my latest Lucktastic review, but the bottom line is, tread with caution here. Other trivia apps are more worthwhile.

Lucktastic is a new scratch and win app for Android that has daily contests to win cash prizes, grocery money, paid vacations, and free gift cards.

The concept behind Lucktastic is fairly simple. Users unlock free scratch tickets by watching ads, and they have a chance to win prizes. It’s a fairly common monetization model, and you’re basically exchanging some free time for a chance to win prizes.

Now, Lucktastic also has a live trivia app known as Lucky Trivia Live. If you want to play trivia games for money, this is an app worth considering.

Lucky Trivia Live hosts live trivia games through their app, and asks players a questions you’d expect. Entertainment, history, sports, and random facts are some common question categories.

Players earn stars for correct answers, and over time, you can exchange stars for sweepstake entries or free gift cards to companies like Amazon.

Just note, the app reviews for Lucky Trivia Live are mixed since this is a newer app from Lucktastic. It seems like there are some bugs and it takes a while to earn stars.

However, if you’re a trivia fan and want to make use of some spare time, it still a decent quiz app for money to try out.

Download Lucky Trivia Live today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Before jumping into trivia apps that pay you cash, here are some of the most common questions people have about this particular side hustle idea.

1. Can You Really Make Money Playing Trivia?

Yes, you can make money with these trivia apps. These are reputable companies, and there’s plenty of payment proof online of users who have won cash prizes or free gift cards for playing.

2. How Much Money Can You Make?

Many trivia apps that pay you generally let you ear $10 to $20 for winning a match. Take Swagbucks Live for example; the platform gives away $1,000 per game all the time, but you’re usually splitting the prize pool with a few dozen finalists.

So, while these apps can pay a lot of money, I think the earning potential is low because you usually split with other players.

3. Do You Have To Be A Trivia Pro?

You don’t have to be amazing at trivia to use these apps, but it certainly helps your odds of making money.

Apps usually ask questions under popular trivia topics like entertainment, pop culture, history, sports, and movies. So, knowing a lot about common trivia categories will help your efforts.

Extra Reading – Game Apps That Pay PayPal Cash.

4. Is Playing Trivia For Cash Worth It?

In my opinion, this side hustle has very low earning potential. Gig jobs like driving apps that pay or working for DoorDash are going to pay you way more than any trivia app can.

Similarly, various online business ideas like starting a blog or even trying out various micro task websites have more long-term earning potential than using trivia apps.

In my opinion, I’d only play trivia games for cash if you enjoy trivia and want to pass the time while potentially earning some quick cash.

But, if you aren’t a huge trivia fan, there are way better side hustle ideas.

Extra Reading – Best Jobs That Pay $5,000 A Month.

Pros & Cons

If you want to make money playing trivia, here are some additional pros and cons you should consider before potentially wasting your time.

The Pros:

• Fun and easy way to potentially win money
• Zero risk
• Can potentially earn a few hundred dollars if you’re good at trivia
• You can learn new facts/information

The Cons:

• No guarantee for earnings
• Low hourly rate if you do win
• You generally split the prize pool with dozens of other players with these apps

So again, if you like trivia, these apps might be fun and worth it.

But, if you’re looking to seriously boost your monthly income, I suggest other side jobs that I’ve already mentioned.

Can You Actually Play Quiz Games For Cash?

Time for a bit of insight into the wacky and somewhat disturbing rise and fall of trivia apps.

See, when HQ Trivia pioneered the concept of having a trivia app give out massive amounts of cash to hungry contestants in order to build sustainable viewership, venture capitalists went absolutely bonkers.

This is because trivia apps, for all their fun, are not game development companies.

Rather, they are tech/digital media companies.

HQ Trivia was actually founded by the founders of Vine, and after exploding in popularity, the app secured massive amounts of venture capital funding with a valuation of more than $100 million.

So, with all this juice behind them, it was easy for HQ Trivia and copycat apps from China (with similar levels of funding) to pump out $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 rounds of trivia for millions of fans around the world…this kind of thing just hadn’t been seen before, and honestly, it was pretty ridiculous at the time.

But…people get bored, and there’s only so many ways you can shake up your quiz game before people decide to quit or move on.

And, since the only value these tech companies have is in their user base (much like other tech enterprises, like Facebook), this kind of spells the beginning of the end. No amount of in-app purchases, celebrity guests, or freebies can really change that.

After one of the CEOs of HQ Trivia passed away after a suspected OD, you can imagine that things continued to take a turn for the worse.

Currently, none of these trivia apps are paying out like they did in the ‘glory days,’ and it seems that venture capital firms are licking their wounds after coming to the stark realization that 12 rounds of questions doesn’t make for a $100 million dollar company.

But, you can still make money playing these games.

You might not break the bank, and you may have to watch some sponsored content to help app owners cover the costs of their prize pools, but it is possible. There are plenty of examples and testimonies online, and the Reddit Trivia Community is still somewhat active.

Plus, there are plenty of new ways to earn money through Trivia since new apps are constantly being released, and existing apps are even making improvements or upping their prize money!

Again, the whole point of this post was to provide a bit of a quirky and fun way to potentially make some pocket change every now and again. If you are a trivia lover, I hope you have appreciated it!

I won’t be quitting my day job anytime soon to pursue my mobile Ken Jennings daydreams, but I might download a few of these apps again and have some fun!

Looking for more legit money-making ideas? Checkout:

• How To Make $3,000 Fast.
• The Best Online Jobs That Pay You Daily.
• The Best iOS Games For Money.

Tom Blake

Tom is a full-time blogger and freelance writer with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and the gig economy. His work has appeared on dozens of personal finance websites like Money Crashers, The College Investor, Investor Junkie, and more. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!

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