Referral programs are a great way to make extra money on the side without having to get a second job.
All you need to do is share your unique referral link for products you use and love with friends, family and your online social following.
If they sign up or make a purchase with your referral link or promo code, you’ll earn a reward.
You can earn cash bonuses and free gift cards to popular places like Starbucks and Walmart with minimal effort.
But not all referral programs are made equal.
Some are low paying while others are high paying referral programs that will make you more money.
I’m only sharing the best paying referral programs with you on this list.
I’ve personally earned over $30k in combined cash rewards with many of these.
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What is a Referral Program?
A referral program is where companies reward you for recommending their products and services to others.
These rewards come in the form of cash bonuses, gift card vouchers, store credit, discounts and more.
Businesses use these programs to reach more people through trusted recommendations, and to introduce potential new customers to their products.
By sharing your unique referral link, you help others discover great products while earning rewards for yourself.
So the next time you decide to recommend your new favorite banking app or that trending TikTok product, make sure you do it using your referral link!
Referral Program vs. Affiliate Program
Referral programs reward you for recommending products to friends and family, which is perfect for everyday customers who love sharing what they use.
Affiliate programs, on the other hand, use special tracking software and are designed for bloggers and influencers who earn ongoing commissions by driving traffic and sales.
| Feature | Referral Program | Affiliate Program |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Reward customers for recommending products to friends/family | Reward individuals or businesses for driving traffic/sales |
| Typical Participants | Existing customers | Bloggers, Social Media Influencers, Marketers |
| Reward Type | Cash bonuses, gift cards, store credit, discounts | Commission based on sales or per lead |
| Target Audience | Personal recommendation to known contacts | Professional promotion to a wider audience |
| Payout | Often one-time per referral and capped bonuses | Ongoing, based on sales performance |
| Tracking Method | Unique referral links or codes | Affiliate tracking software with cookies |
Referral programs are great for making spare cash if you’re an existing customer of the product you’re promoting.
Affiliate programs will make you considerably more money.
As a Pinterest affiliate blogger, I use Pinterest to promote my blog and use affiliate links to earn upwards of $500 per day!
FREE Training: Prefer to make money with affiliate programs? This is the training I took that helped me drive traffic and sales to affiliate products using an affiliate website.
List of High Paying Referral Programs
Whichever program you choose to promote, you’ll always do better if you’re an actual customer of the product.
Sharing your genuine experiences helps your audience make informed decisions, increasing the chances they’ll buy from you.
This simple tip will increase your referral income tenfold!
1. Fiverr
When you refer friends to Fiverr, you’ll earn Fiverr credits for every new sign-up that makes a purchase. Fiverr rewards you with credits up to $100 per referral, and you can earn up to $500 in total.
Your referral will also get a 10% discount on their first order purchase, up to a maximum of $100.
Fiverr is an online marketplace where you can hire freelancers for just about any service, from graphic design to writing.
It’s a great referral program to recommend because it’s popular, easy to use, and offers a wide range of services.
I’ve been using Fiverr for years for blog editing, creating infographics for this site, and various other business needs.
The credits come in handy, especially if you’re a one person business like me and need to hire freelancers on the fly!
- Website: Fiverr Referral Program
- Referral Fee: Up to $100 per referral, $500 maximum
If you prefer uncapped commissions, you can join the Fiverr affiliate program instead.
2. Varo Bank
Varo bank will give you a $25 referral bonus when your referral opens a Varo checking account and spends $20 within 30 days of account opening.
Your friend will also get a $25 sign up bonus, which gives them more incentive to join!
Varo is a digital bank that enables you to do all your banking from your smartphone.
As a free online banking app they offer no hidden fees, a high-yield savings account, and early direct deposit.
Plus, with Varo Advance you can borrow up to $250.
I mainly use Varo for direct deposits from my gig work with Field Agent and other micro-task apps.
I love their high paying referral program, but I’m not a fan of the five-referral cap per calendar year.
At the current referral rate, you can only earn up to $125 in bonuses each year, which is why I prefer affiliate programs over referral programs.
Once you refer someone to Varo and they complete qualifying actions, you’ll receive your bonus into your checking account within 4 – 7 business days.
You must be a Varo banking member in order to earn referral income. Join here.
- Website: Varo Referral Program
- Referral Fee: $25 per referral, up to 5 per year
3. Ibotta
Ibotta is a well known digital couponing app that launched in 2012.
You can use Ibotta to save money on groceries by clipping digital coupons, or earn cash back rewards on your online shopping purchases (similar to using the Rakuten browser!).
Their refer-a-friend program pays you $7 for each person you refer to the grocery savings app who submits a qualifying receipt.
The great thing about the Ibotta high paying referral program is that you can refer an unlimited number of people to the free app.
That means if you refer 5 people you’ll earn $35. If you refer 100 people you’ll earn $700. The potential is unlimited!
Personally, I’ve used Ibotta to earn over $22,700!
It’s amazing to think how a free app can earn you so much money if you take full advantage of all its money-making benefits.
Feel free to read my complete Ibotta review.
- Website: Ibotta App Referral Program
- Referral Fee: $7 per referral, no limit on amount of referrals
4. Fundrise
Fundrise is an online platform and app that makes investing in real estate simple and accessible.
With Fundrise, you can invest in a variety of commercial real estate properties tailored to different risk levels and investment goals.
You can even get started with as little as $10 through a taxable account.
For each qualified person you refer to Fundrise you’ll earn a $25 Fundrise referral bonus, up to a maximum of $900 in aggregate Share Vouchers within any 12-month period.
This means you can refer up to 36 people per year.
One of the reasons I love the Fundrise referral program is because it lets you grow your investment earnings without having to add your own money to your account.
You can simply use your referral Share Vouchers to passively grow your real estate portfolio. Not bad!
In order to earn your $25 bonus, your referral will need to link their bank account to Fundrise and become a client of Fundrise Advisors within 30 days of sign up.
I wrote a detailed blog post on the Fundrise Share Voucher referral program here.
- Website: Fundrise
- Referral Fee: $25 Share Voucher, up to $900 per 12-month period
5. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a money making website and app where you can earn gift cards and cash by completing simple online tasks.
These gigs include taking surveys, watching videos, and shopping online for cash back rewards using the Swagbucks browser extension.
You redeem your Swagbucks points (SB points) for rewards from popular retailers like Amazon and Walmart or cash out to your PayPal.
This is one of my favorite referral programs for passive income because Swagbucks pays you 10% commissions for the lifetime of each referral.
As you can see from the image below, my top referral has earned me $258 in referral income so far.
As long as they continue to stay active on the site, I’ll continue to earn from their activities!
There’s also a separate 300 SB bonus that you can earn when your referral signs up and earns 300 SB within their first 30 days.
The 300 SB sign up bonus and 10% lifetime commissions excludes points earned from:
- Sign-up bonuses (such as bank bonus offers)
- Courtesy Credit
- Swag Codes
- Buying Swagbucks Points
- Swagit
- Gambit
- Daily Goal Bonuses
- MyGiftCardsPlus Bonuses
- And Referral Bonuses that Your Referral Earns
Even with these exclusions, I’ve been able to earn over $1,600 in referral income with Swagbucks.
And that’s for simply letting people in on how to make money from home with a free website!
- Website: Swagbucks Referral Program
- Referral Fee: 10% lifetime commissions, unlimited referrals
Some money making activities on Swagbucks will earn you money faster than other activities. I wrote about this in my Swagbucks review.
And if you plan on joining, then read about how to earn the Swagbucks $10 sign up bonus.
Affiliate Programs to Earn More Money
Affiliate Programs that Pay Daily
List of 25+ Recurring Affiliate Programs
Best Pay Per Lead Affiliate Programs
Top Christian Affiliate Programs for Faith Based Bloggers
Final Words
High paying referral programs are a great way to make quick and easy money!
Use this list to start promoting some of the best programs to earn money online.
Ready to turn your referral marketing side hustle into a full-time money making machine?
Register for the FREE Affiliate Marketing Bootcamp, and start accelerating your results today!
