How to make money with emails: 5 best paid-to-read email sites

If you’re like most people, you likely check your inbox several times a day. But did you know you can actually get paid to read emails? Yes, it’s an option if you’re looking for ways to earn extra money.

There are sites that will pay people to read emails—no experience or special equipment is required.

But be warned: there are also plenty of scammers out there. To help you avoid them, we researched these sites, checked user reviews, and made sure they were legit before compiling them in this list.

In this guide, we will share with you the best sites that pay, as well as some that you should avoid, to earn as much as $100 a week reading emails online.

Let’s get started!

Can you earn money by reading emails?

Yes, you can get paid to read emails.

These gigs come from GPT sites. “GPT” means “get paid to,” and is a legit business model that’s been around for decades.

These websites are an easy way to make money online by doing micro tasks like playing games, answering surveys, watching videos, and of course, reading emails.

How it works:

Advertisers send bulk emails to the GPT site.
Those emails can have different goals for the advertiser—they might want you to click on a link, watch a video, sign up, etc.
If a user completes the desired action, then the GPT site gets paid.
In exchange for your time, you can earn a small reward from the GPT site which you can exchange for cash or gift cards.

Most sites will pay you a few cents for each email you read. It’s not much, but it’s an easy way to monetize something you already do.

Some emails also contain links to other tasks, which can pay as much as $50 or more depending on how complicated it is.

As with any GPT site, the more tasks you complete, the more you can earn.

5 Legit Sites that Will Pay You to Read Emails

You’ll notice that this is a much shorter list than other “paid to read” roundups from personal finance websites.

The reason is that you won’t actually get paid to receive emails from the usual entries like MyPoints. You’ll need to complete other microtasks instead. But don’t worry, we also list them later on so you can earn more money online!

In the meantime, here are top sites where you can read emails for cash:

1. InboxDollars

InboxDollars will pay you $0.02 to $0.05 to read emails.

Is InboxDollars legit?

Yes, InboxDollars is legit with 29, 000+ TrustPilot reviews.

InboxDollars has been around for over 20 years, making it one of the oldest GPT sites on the internet. Since 2000, the company has paid out more than $59 million to its members.

Aside from reading emails, InboxDollars will pay you for playing games, watching videos, answering surveys, and more.

How to Get Paid to Read Emails for InboxDollars:

Sign up for a free InboxDollars account.
Verify your email address by clicking on the activation link sent to your inbox.
Once your account is activated, start reading emails sent to your inbox and earn cash.

Notes:

The minimum payout is $30, and you can request payment via PayPal cash or gift cards.
You’ll receive a $5 sign-up bonus as a new user.
Earn $1 for each family and friend you refer, plus 30% of their lifetime earnings.

2. Swagbucks

Swagbucks will pay you up to $50+ for completing tasks you receive through “Click and Earn” emails.

Is Swagbucks legit? Definitely.

Swagbucks is arguably one of the biggest and most trusted GPT sites on the web. Members have received over $358 million in cash and gift cards from Swagbucks.

Aside from thousands of positive reviews on TrustPilot, SiteJabber, and more, it’s been featured on Forbes, CNBC, NBC, and other trusted news outlets.

Like most GPT sites, Swagbucks offers a variety of tasks to make money ranging from taking surveys to using their search engine, but reading e-mails is one of its simplest tasks for earning cash.

How to Get Paid to Read Emails for Swagbucks:

Create a Swagbucks account. It’s free, and you can use your Facebook account or an email address to sign up.
Verify your email address by clicking on the link that Swagbucks sends you after signing up.
Go back to the site and log in to your account.
On the left sidebar menu on the homepage, click on “Discover.”
Click on “Email” under the “Earn” section.
Scroll down until you find an email from paid sponsors that says “Swagbucks Email.” Open them up and click on the links inside to get paid!

Notes:

You will use your Swagbucks inbox to receive emails, not your personal email account.
New users get a $10 bonus upon signing up.
Earn $3 for every referral plus 10% of everything they earn on Swagbucks.
No minimum amount to withdraw your points through PayPal, deposit, or gift cards.

3. FusionCash

FusionCash will pay you $.02 to read emails.

FusionCash is a legit site that pays its members for GPT microtasks. While not as popular as InboxDollars and Swagbucks, it has an average reputation on sites like TrustPilot.

Aside from clicking on emails, you can also answer surveys, get cash back from your online shopping purchases, and play games to earn money.

How to Get Paid to Read Emails for FusionCash:

Create a FusionCash account.
Confirm your account via the email they send you.
Log back into the site and complete your profile.
Click on emails that FusionCash sends to your inbox.

Notes:

FusionCash is only available for people who are physically in the USA. Using a VPN won’t work—you won’t be able to access the site at all if it detects you’re using one.
You need a minimum of $25 to cash out through check, gift cards, or PayPal.

4. InboxPays

InboxPays will pay you up to $100 for every task you complete after reading emails.

It’s a legit GPT site with a fair rating on SiteJabber.

In business for more than a decade, InboxPays is well-known for paying users for reading emails and other easy tasks online.

The site primarily works with companies to conduct market research through its huge user base.

How to Get Paid to Read Emails for InboxPays:

Sign up for free at InboxPays.
Confirm your email address by clicking on the link sent to your inbox from InboxPays.
Start clicking on emails for cash.

Notes:

Only US residents are accepted at InboxPays.
You can only cash out $25 at a time through PayPal.
Aside from cash, you can also earn discounts, coupons, and participate in giveaways on InboxPays.
Users get paid a 10% commission for every successful referral.

5. InboxPounds

InboxPounds will pay you the equivalent of $0.02 to $0.05 to read emails.

InboxPounds is the UK arm of InboxDollars. It has great user ratings on TrustPilot and SiteJabber.

Aside from reading emails, members can earn up to $35 per survey, and a few cents to a few dollars doing simple tasks like finishing sponsored videos.

How to Get Paid to Read Emails for InboxPounds:

Create your free InboxPounds account.
Once you’re signed up, look for the “Earn” tab on the top menu bar and click on “Read Emails.”
Open the emails you receive from InboxPounds and read them to earn your rewards.

Note:

The minimum payout is £20, which you can request in the form of gift cards, e-Payment, or PayPal cash.
New users will receive £5 upon signup and email confirmation.

6 Sites that WON’T Pay You for Reading Emails

Many people are still confused whether getting paid to read email is real or fake. The truth is that some sites recommended by other articles don’t actually offer that option.

Here are a few:

Cash Crate

Cash Crate is not a GPT site and doesn’t have paid offers on the site itself. It simply rounds up and recommends other GPT sites like Swagbucks and InboxDollars.

Daily Rewards

This GPT site used to be active, but you will now be redirected to InboxDollars.

Send Earnings

Similar to Daily Rewards, you will now be redirected to InboxDollars if you try to access Send Earnings.

Vindale Research

You’ll often see Vindale Research as a site where you can get paid to read emails without investment. Unfortunately, no, Vindale Research will not pay you to read promotional emails.

In fact, the site has already been shut down since November 2001. But before that, Vindale Research used to reward users for completing paid surveys.

Points2Shop

Points2Shop will send you promotional emails, but it will not pay you for reading them. Instead, it offers paid surveys, lotteries and contests, playing online games, and other tasks.

MyPoints

Unlike the company that owns it, InboxDollars, MyPoints will not pay you for reading emails.

To get paid on MyPoints, you’ll need to complete surveys and other tasks. You can earn promo codes, coupons, and cash back when you show with MyPoints’ affiliate sites.

Paid to Read Email Sites to Avoid

Finally, here are some sites which we recommend you avoid:

Paid to Read Email

Despite the name, Paid to Read Email has tons of negative user reviews. For instance, it has a poor rating on TrustPilot.

Common complaints include:

Not getting paid at all after reaching the payout minimum
Users stop receiving points when they get close to the payout minimum
Users get blocked from their account after reaching the cashout minimum
Many reviews have called it a scam

Unique Rewards

Another mainstay on paid to read email roundups, this is another site to avoid based on user reviews. Unique Rewards has a poor rating on TrustPilot and a poor rating on SiteJabber.

Common complaints include:

Spending years to reach $20
Users not receiving payment after cashing out
Despite offering PayPal as a cashout option, many users were told they can withdraw using Bitcoin only
Unresponsive customer service

PayPerMails

PayPerMails is a scam site. Before earning money from reading emails, users will be asked to pay $165 to activate their lifetime gold membership and recruit referrals. After paying the fee, users stop receiving any updates or communication from PayPerMails.

Can you get paid by sending emails?

Yes, you can earn money by sending emails.

The easiest way to do it is as a virtual assistant who sends emails on behalf of their clients.

You can also sign up for email marketing side hustles, where you can earn money by sending emails, free promotional offers, and other content on behalf of companies that are trying to sell products or services.

Unfortunately, most GPT sites that offer compensation for sending emails are usually scams, so you should avoid them.

Important Tips for Getting Paid to Read Emails Online

Excited to earn some cash by reading emails? Don’t rush into it just yet. Keep a few tips in mind before you begin:

Confirm the site’s legitimacy

There are many sites out there that offer you the chance to get paid for reading emails online, but few of them will turn out to be legit.

Do research on the company before you sign up and make sure they have a good reputation among users.

If you see poor reviews or complaints about payment issues, you’ll want to avoid that company and find one with better reviews.

Go through review sites like TrustPilot, SiteJabber, and the Better Business Bureau.

Create a new email address for your GPT sites

The first tip is to create a new email address that you’ll use only for reading paid emails, and nothing else.

This will help protect your primary email address from unwanted messages and spam, while also dedicatedly keeping track of all your earnings.

Sign up for multiple paid-to-read email sites

Don’t rely on just one site to provide you with opportunities to earn money.

You can even set up separate email addresses so you can easily check your messages from each company without having all of your email accounts mixed together.

Watch out for scams

Unfortunately, scammers infiltrate just about every money-making program on the internet. Paid email sites are no exception.

If GPT sites promise too much upfront (earn $100 for just five minutes work!), it’s probably a scam.

Some common tactics include:

asking for personal information like your social security number or credit card information immediately after signing up
promising more than $1 for purely clicking emails
asking you to download a file that turns out to be malware
offering things like “free PayPal cash” if you click a link
charging you to receive payment

It’s always better to be extra cautious than to be sorry.

Here’s a great article from Reader’s Digest about ten common online scams and how to protect yourself.

Activate your email notifications for new paid tasks

If you’re signed up to read emails, it’s important to activate your notifications so that you instantly know when there’s a new one for you to read. Otherwise, you might not see them in time and lose out on getting paid.

Check your inbox regularly as well. Some notifications may fail to get through, such as when you get disconnected from the internet.

Keep an eye out for referral bonuses from GPT sites

Referral programs are a major part of how the best GPT sites work, so it makes sense that they would offer incentives for getting new members.

Some will give you a flat amount for every referral who signs up and confirms their email address. Others will credit you with a share of what your referrals earn as long as they remain active members of the site. Some sites offer both options.

These bonuses can add up quickly depending on how many people you refer and how often they complete offers and surveys through the site’s platform.

Increase your earnings by completing other tasks

Getting paid to read emails is just one of the many ways you can earn a few bucks from GPT sites.

To reach the payout minimum faster, complete other paid offers like answering surveys, watching ad videos, creating free accounts on the site’s partner companies, playing mini games, and participating in in-site contents.

Conclusion

And that’s it! Now you know how to get paid to read emails without any investment or special skills—and all from the comfort of your own home.

But before you get started, set your expectations. Most of these sites only pay a few cents per email that you read, which means it’ll take a lot of time to make enough money for it to become an actual source of income.

One last thing: As with any online opportunity, be cautious and research before signing up. A lot of these sites are scams, so do your homework and only sign up with reputable companies.