18 of the Absolute Best Freebies We’ve Ever Found Online
Man, there’s nothing better than free stuff. Like when you’re walking through a mall’s food court and an employee offers you a bite-sized morsel of bourbon chicken impaled on a toothpick?
Always take the bite-sized morsel of bourbon chicken. Always. Every single time. You don’t even have to be hungry. Right?
The point is, we all love free stuff. But not all free stuff is worth loving.
We’re always finding freebies — from email newsletter perks to free stuff on your birthday — but we decided it was time to round up the best of the best.
After extensive research, our crack staff of freebie-ologists have put together this sweet list of quality freebies for you. Only the finest freebies are allowed in this list. From coffee to coconut oil to diapers, here’s the ultimate list of our favorite free stuff online.
1. Free Pancakes, anyone?
Sign up for MyHop (that’s IHOP’s loyalty program) to get a free stack of pancakes. Once you create your account, you’ll get an email with your coupon.
A few tips: Be patient for the email; we received it several hours after signing up. Also take note of the expiration date, which was two weeks out for us.
2. Earn up to $83 Every Time You Win This Viral Game
Lots of us already play Solitaire on our phones for fun. Want to see if you can win money at it?
A free app called Solitaire Cash lets you play for real money — up to $83 per win.
For each game of Solitaire, you’ll compete against at least five other players. Everyone gets the same deck, so it’s all about skill. The top three players can win real money.
You can play free practice games or enter tournaments for as little as $1. Right now, Solitaire Cash will give you a $5 bonus to use toward tournaments when you add $10 to your account.
And no, this isn’t one of those spammy apps. There aren’t even any annoying ads. Over on the App Store, it has over a million downloads and more than 15,000 ratings, averaging 4.7 stars (out of 5).
Want to see how much you could win? You can start playing right now to find out. Download the free app and get your $5 bonus when you add $10.
3. Free Bagel and Shmear
Welcome to the Shmear Society! OK, that sounds a little weird, but Einstein Bros. Bagels has a pretty legit rewards program. When you sign up, you’ll get a free bagel and shmear (or cream cheese).
Plus, you’ll start earning points — two points for every $1 — good for more freebies. It’s super easy to join, and who doesn’t need a good carb kick?
4. Free $225 in Cash (While Watching the Movie Previews)
If we told you that you could get paid while watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.
It’s too good to be true, right?
But we’re serious. By signing up for a free account with InboxDollars, you could add up to $225 a month to your pocket. They’ll send you short surveys every day, which you can fill out while you watch someone bake brownies or catch up on the latest Kardashian drama.
No, InboxDollars won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight, wasting time on your phone.
Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.
Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately receive a $5 bonus to get you started.
5. Get Up to Free $200 in Free Stocks
An investing app called Robinhood will give you up to $200 worth of free stock in companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Walmart, just for downloading its app and opening a free account.
Robinhood is free and easy to navigate, which is why more than 10 million people use it.
How to claim your free stock: Sign up using this unique referral link. Once you create your account, Robinhood will give you a free share of stock.
The share is chosen randomly (hence why it could be worth anywhere from $5 to $200) and can fluctuate with the stock market.
6. Win Up to $83 When You Play This Cell Phone Game
Lots of us already play games on our phones for fun or just to pass the time. Want to see if you can win money at it?
There’s a free app called Bubble Cash that pays you for popping bubbles!
The game is based on a classic bubble-shooter format, and you’ll battle it out against other players within your skill level to see who can clear the board fastest. Everyone gets the same layout, so winning is totally a matter of skill. The top three players who clear their board fastest can win real money — anywhere from $1 to $83.
Over on the App Store, it has more than a million downloads and more than 12,500 ratings, averaging 4.6 stars (out of 5).
To get started, just download the free app and start playing your first game immediately.
7. Free Pizza
You can get a free personal one-topping pizza on your next visit when you sign up for Chuck E. Cheese’s More Cheese Rewards program.
In addition to free pizza, you’ll get a $10 reward for every three visits when you spend over $20 and unspecified treats on your birthday and half-birthday.
Everyone forgets the half-birthday.
8. Free Credit Score
No, really. Hear us out.If you’ve ever tried to get your credit score, you know most services make you sign up for a trial or charge you an outrageous amount of money. But it’s your credit score! Where do they get the nerve?
Enter your email address here and Credit Sesame will give it to you for free. And it takes about 90 seconds.
You’ll also see a credit report card, so you can check for errors. Finding and correcting just one could give your credit score a significant boost.
9. Free Amazon Gift Cards
Grocery shopping was never exactly pleasant. But these days, it’s a downright struggle. Fighting crowds; keeping six feet of space — just buying toilet paper is a feat. Shouldn’t you have something to show for it?
A free app called Fetch Rewards will reward you with gift cards just for buying toilet paper and more than 250 other items at the grocery store.
Here’s how it works: After you’ve downloaded the app, just take a picture of your receipt showing you purchased an item from one of the brands listed in Fetch.
For your efforts, you’ll earn gift cards to places like Amazon or Walmart.
You can download the free Fetch Rewards app here to start getting free gift cards. Over a million people already have, so they must be onto something…
10. Free Godiva Chocolate
Free Godiva chocolate — what could be better? We’re pretty sure free Godiva chocolate is handed out every day in heaven. Probably those chocolate salted-caramel truffles.
Even better: This offer isn’t a one-time deal. Once you sign up, you get free chocolate every month at participating locations, plus birthday chocolate!
11. Free Ice Cream
We’ll never, ever pass up an opportunity for free ice cream. If we ever do, you should go ahead and start making our funeral arrangements. This is free ice cream we’re talking about!
When you download the Slab Happy Rewards app from Marble Slab Creamery, you’ll get free ice cream just for signing up. After that, you’ll earn points for each dollar you spend, and you can cash them in for $5 off future purchases.
12. Free Electronics
Remember the Nielsen company? The one that’s always tracked TV ratings? Well, now it wants to know what’s in your fridge.
Once you sign up to be on the Nielsen Consumer Panel, you’ll gain access to the NCPMobile app. (If you don’t have a smartphone, Nielsen will send you a scanner.) As you unload your groceries after your next shopping trip, simply use the app to scan items’ barcodes.
Nielsen will reward you with points, which you can redeem for free gift cards, electronics (new TV, anyone?) and household items.
Applying to become a panel member is straightforward. You’ll answer some basic questions about you and your household, then Nielsen reviews your application and will contact you when you’re eligible to join.
13. Free Coffee
Want to try a bag of some of the best coffee in the country — completely free?
You can get a 2-ounce trial of Blue Bottle’s famous beans for nothing at all.
It’s part of their monthly subscription service, so you’ll need to enter your credit card info, but you’ll get an email before Blue Bottle charges you and sends you more coffee. Just cancel your subscription if you don’t want to keep getting coffee.
14. Free Bare Minerals Makeup
It’s safe to say that lookin’ pretty ain’t cheap. Whether you’re purchasing lipstick or foundation, blush or primer, you’re bound to rack up a pretty penny — especially if you want the good stuff.
Before you buy anything else, check out Bare Minerals. The company wants to give your wallet a well-deserved break with a free five-piece customizable Everyday Minerals makeup kit sample (based on your skin tone). You’ll just pay for shipping.
Not interested in a makeup kit? It’s giving away free eyeshadow samples, too!
15. Free Roast Beef Sandwich
Hungry? Arby’s has an email list. If you sign up for it, you’ll get a free Roast Beef Classic with the purchase of a drink. (Arby’s will also send you coupons.)
This is one of the only offers on this list that requires you to buy something to get something else for free. But hey, you’re going to need something to wash down your free roast beef sandwich.
16. Free Dunkin
Do you run on Dunkin?
Join the DD Perks program to get a free beverage when you sign up and on your birthday. Plus, you’ll earn points for every purchase and get a free beverage for every 200 points.
17. Sephora Beauty Products
Oooh, Sephora.
Become a “Beauty Insider,” and you’ll have your choice of a free beauty kit from Fresh or Marc Jacobs on your birthday.
18. Get $5 in Amazon or Google Stock
Imagine if you had bought one share of Amazon for $18 when the stock first went public. Today, it would be worth more than $20,000 — despite all the ups and downs in the stock market.
But if you work for a living and don’t happen to have millions of dollars lying around, that can sound totally out of reach.
That’s why a lot of people use the app Stash. They’ll give you $5 of stock in Amazon (or another company of your choice) just for opening an account.
The best part? When these companies profit, so can you. Some companies even send you a check every quarter for your share of the profits, called dividends.
How to claim your free bonus: It takes just a couple of minutes to sign up and get your bonus stock — you may even just get a share of the “next Amazon.”
With Stash, all your investments are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) — that’s industry talk for, “Your money’s safe.”2
1Not all stocks pay out dividends, and there is no guarantee that dividends will be paid each year.
2To note, SIPC coverage does not insure against the potential loss of market value.
For Securities priced over $1,000, purchase of fractional shares starts at $0.05.
*Offer is subject to Promotion Terms and Conditions. To be eligible to participate in this Promotion and receive the bonus, you must successfully open an individual brokerage account in good standing, link a funding account to your Invest account AND deposit $5.00 into your Invest account.
The Penny Hoarder is a Paid Affiliate/partner of Stash.
Investment advisory services offered by Stash Investments LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. This material has been distributed for informational and educational purposes only, and is not intended as investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. Investing involves risk.
