Pawns.app Review UK: Passive Income or Just Surveys?
Making money passively sounds ideal. Add paid surveys into the mix and it starts to look even better. Pawns.app claims you can do both from one app. I’ve tested it properly to see how much you can really earn and whether it deserves a place on your phone.
Pawns.app review
As a survey app, Pawns.app isn’t actually too bad. The pay is reasonable and there are plenty of surveys. As a passive earner, though, it’s a letdown.
Pros
- Plenty of surveys available
- Decent cashout options
- Low cashout threshold ($5)
Cons
- You need to be picky with surveys to keep earnings worthwhile
- There’s a fee for withdrawing via PayPal
- The passive earning side is weak
Reviewed by Household Money SavingPawns.app
I’m a big fan of having multiple income streams. Not relying on just one source of money gives you more security, and when time is short, passive earners are especially appealing. If something earns in the background, that’s ideal. That’s exactly why I decided to give Pawns.app a proper test.
What is Pawns.app?
Pawns.app is primarily a survey app that pays you for sharing your opinions. Alongside that, it also offers a passive earning option where you share unused internet bandwidth through software installed on your device. In theory, you earn money even when you’re not actively doing anything.
Is it safe?
According to Pawns.app, the software doesn’t access your device storage or personal files and doesn’t collect sensitive personal data. All traffic is encrypted, and the information used is limited to what’s needed to operate the service, such as your IP address, network speed and general location.
That location data is IP-based rather than GPS tracking, so it’s used to determine your region, not your exact whereabouts.
Pawns.app is owned by IPRoyal, a company based in the United Arab Emirates, which is worth being aware of if you’re cautious about who you share data with.
What information does Pawns.app collect?
The app uses your internet connection to see how websites and online services appear from different locations around the world. That data is then sold to Pawns.app’s business partners to help them understand regional differences in online content.
In simple terms, what loads on my screen may look different on yours. Pawns.app monetises those differences.
How does it work?
You start by creating an account, which takes seconds. You then download the Pawns.app software.
You can install it on your phone or your computer. On desktop, the only earning option is passive data sharing. Surveys are only available via the mobile app.
If you use the phone app, you can both share data and complete surveys, and you can turn data sharing on or off instantly. Your dashboard clearly shows how much you’ve earned from surveys and how much has come from data sharing.
Once your balance reaches $5, you can withdraw your earnings.
How much can you earn?
Passive earnings depend on three main factors:
Location: Data from countries such as the US, Western Europe and Australia tends to be more valuable.
Internet speed: Faster connections allow more data to be shared.
Number of devices: You can install Pawns.app on multiple devices, but each must have its own unique IP address. Multiple devices on the same home Wi-Fi won’t increase earnings.
The current rate is $0.20 per 1GB of shared data. Pawns.app estimates that leaving a device running for around 12 hours per day will earn just under $5 per month.
In reality, my experience was far less impressive. Using my laptop for around eight hours a day, I earned just $0.17. At that rate, it would have taken close to a year to reach the $5 cashout threshold.
There are also two practical downsides worth mentioning. First, if you’re on a capped broadband or mobile data plan, sharing data could eat into your allowance. Second, leaving a device running for long periods slightly increases electricity usage, which further eats into already tiny passive earnings.
Because of this, I quickly stopped treating Pawns.app as a passive earner and focused on surveys instead.
Pawns.app surveys
The surveys are where Pawns.app performs much better. Each survey shows the estimated time, payment and a completion rating. A higher rating means you’re less likely to be screened out.
Most surveys are hosted by third-party providers, so you’ll often need to answer profiling questions again. That’s not ideal, but in some cases I was paid a small amount even after being screened out, which is more than many survey apps offer.
Survey pay varies a lot. I completed one survey that paid $0.35 for 12 minutes, while another paid $3.50 for around 20 minutes. The key is being selective and skipping low-paying surveys that simply aren’t worth the time.
Like all survey apps, you’ll still get screened out occasionally, even when the completion rating looks good.
Some surveys pay far better than others. As you can see from above, one survey paid $0.35 for 12 minutes of my time, whilst another paid $3.50 for 20 minutes.
It’s best to look through the whole list and stick to the better-paying surveys.
Withdrawal options
Once you reach $5, you can withdraw your earnings. In the UK, options include PayPal, Bitcoin, prepaid Visa cards, and Amazon or Google Play gift cards.
PayPal withdrawals include a 4% fee, while Bitcoin withdrawals cost $1.50. If you want to avoid fees, gift cards usually offer better value, assuming you’ll use them.
In my experience, withdrawals are typically processed within a few days, with PayPal usually being the quickest option.
Refer a friend
Pawns.app run a fairly decent referral scheme. For every friend that joins, you’ll receive a $1 bonus once they withdraw. And not only that, you’ll receive a further 10% from every cashout they make.
What other people think
When writing my reviews, I always like to take a look at other people’s thoughts. On Trustpilot, Pawns.app scores a ‘great’ 3.9 out of 5. However, as there are only a handful of reviews, you can’t read too much into it.
Over on the Play Store, the app scores a fairly average 3.1 out of 5 from over 2,000 reviews. Although some users praise the app for allowing them to make ‘easy money’, others have struggled with the software crashing.
My Pawns.app review conclusion
As a passive income app, Pawns.app simply doesn’t deliver. The earnings are too low to justify running it long-term, especially once you factor in electricity use and potential data limits.
That said, the surveys are genuinely decent. Pay rates have improved over time, and if you’re selective, you can earn at a reasonable rate compared to many survey apps.
If you’re serious about making money from your phone, Pawns.app is worth considering for surveys alone. Just don’t expect the passive side to do much of anything.
Further reading
Why not take a look at some other great ways to make money passively?
Or check out the best-paid surveys for some other options.
FAQs
Can you use the Pawns.app and Honeygain together?
Yes, both of these apps work together and you can earn from both.
