Cash Giraffe Review: How Much We Really Made Playing Games

Cash Giraffe is an app where you can make money playing new games and taking surveys.

You can redeem your earnings for cash, gift cards, or discounts on certain brands.

Our independent app reviewer, Audrey, put 15 hours into Cash Giraffe to determine whether it’s worth your time.

In this review, we’ll will cover:

1. How Cash Giraffe works
2. How much you can earn
3. How to maximize your earnings
4. Alternatives to consider

We’ll also touch on if Cash Giraffe is legit and a safe app to use for making some extra cash. 

Ready? Let’s do it!

What is Cash Giraffe?

Cash Giraffe is owned by JustDice, a gaming company based in Hamburg, Germany. They’ve been in business since 2016 and have over 40 team members.

The Cash Giraffe app launched on the Google Play store in 2022.

Is Cash Giraffe Legit?

Yes, Cash Giraffe is legit.

Since launching in 2022, it has been downloaded over 10+ million times and has a 4.4-star rating on Google Play.

(An iOS version is not yet available.)

Payouts are made with through services like PayPal and Coinbase. 

These large companies have criteria in place for who they will work with and would be quick to cut off scam sites — especially a few years in.

How to Make Money with Cash Giraffe

Currency in Cash Giraffe are called gems, and there are a couple ways to earn them:

1. Playing mobile games
2. Taking surveys

Playing Mobile Games

To earn gems, you can download and play games available on the app.

Each game has gems per minute or gems per task assigned to it. This is what you earn when you first start playing.

For example, you can see that I can earn up to 37,000 gems per task playing Fishdom — up to 72,505 gems in total — and 233 gems per minute playing Happy Color. 

How much are gems worth?

Every 5000 gems is worth $0.50 via PayPal and $1 via Coinbase. So in real dollars, I could earn up to $14.50 playing Fishdom, and roughly $2.80/hour playing Happy Color.

To get started, click on the game you want to play and install it on your phone.

Then, go back into the Cash Giraffe app and select the game.

After the game opens, Cash Giraffe will track your progress as you play.

Taking Surveys

You can also earn gems by completing surveys through the app.

These only pay a few gems, and you’re limited in how many surveys you can do per day.

Our independent app tester Audrey found these to be extremely low paying. “It didn’t take long to figure out the surveys are definitely not worth your time,” she said.

How Much Can You Make On Cash Giraffe?

After about 15 hours of play, Audrey earned 169,890 gems. 

That may sound like a lot, but via PayPal, it’s only worth around $17. “Tracking my hourly rate, I didn’t make out well,” she explained. “If I cashed out via PayPal, I made a little less than $1.25/hour.”

But it’s still $17 she didn’t have before, and it wasn’t all bad.

“I did find some new favorite games I’ll continue to play outside of Cash Giraffe though,” Audrey added.

She also noted she didn’t “maximize” her earnings by:

• playing as many new games as possible
• taking good advantage of bonus times
• referring any friends

The bottom line: Don’t expect Cash Giraffe (or any other get-paid-to-play app) to replace your day job. But if you’re going to be playing games anyway, they’re an easy way to make a bit of cash. 

How to Get Your Money Out of Cash Giraffe

Once you decide to cash out, you can exchange the gems for money via Paypal, Coinbase, or you can choose a gift card.

Coinbase starts at $1 for 4999 gems.

PayPal payouts start at $0.50 for 4999 gems.

Audrey shared some info on the payouts:

When cashing out via PayPal, be aware that they pay in Euros. So don’t be surprised if the amount sent to you is slightly different than what you cashed out. It took about 8 hours for Cash Giraffe to process my reward. I claimed the $15 reward and in the end got $14.87 due to the current exchange rate.

If you get a gift card, you may enjoy up to a 20% bonus on the value of your gift card.

Gems can also be used to purchase offers and coupons.

How to Maximize Your Cash Giraffe Earnings

Be Willing to Play Lots of New Games

To maximize your Cash Giraffe earnings, Audrey advised playing the games with the most gems per minute or gems per task.

“You have to be willing to play new games frequently,” she explained. “This is because for the first few minutes you play the game, you earn lots of gems. However, the longer you play, the longer it takes to earn gems.”

Inside Cash Giraffe you can see how much you’ve earned so far playing that game and the gems per minute.

Pay Attention to Bonuses or Specials

Cash Giraffe often runs promotions or “boosts” to on certain games for a limited time.

Playing during those periods can increase your earnings by 50% or more.

Refer Friends

Cash Giraffe has an interesting referral program where you can earn:

• a 250 gem bonus when your friend signs up (worth up to a whopping $0.05)
• 100% of the gems they earn for as long as they play

Getting 100% of the gems is a clear sign that the gems have very low money value. Otherwise, Cash Giraffe couldn’t pay you 100% of your friend’s gems and still make money! 

How Does Cash Giraffe Make Money?

Cash Giraffe gets paid by the apps/games advertised on their app.

The more games you try, the more money they make. This is why they offer higher gem rewards when you play a new game versus a game you’ve played before.

What We Like About Cash Giraffe

Wide Variety of Games

There are games ranging from coloring apps to sorting games to casino games. “It can be a fun way to find new games you enjoy,” Audrey shared.

Easy Way to Earn Some Extra Money

If you’re playing on your phone anyway, you may as well get paid for it.

Low Minimum to Cash Out

You can get $0.50 for just 4999 gems. You can also get a bonus amount if you redeem your gems for gift cards instead of cash.

Good Referral Program

Earning 100% of what your referrals earn could add up quickly if you have active referrals.

What We Dislike About Cash Giraffe

Gem Currency is Ridiculous

I hate it when apps like this insist on using their own nonsense currency. I believe it’s intentionally confusing and disguised to mask how little they’re actually paying you.

Must Constantly Try New Games to Maximize Your Earnings

You don’t constantly earn more gems after playing the same game for a while.

This means you have to switch to a different game, even if you really like the game you are playing, if you want to maximize what you earn.

Earning Potential is Limited

This is pocket money. It won’t replace your income.

Android Only

Cash Giraffe isn’t available for iOS users at this time.

You Have to Download the Apps Individually

The game apps aren’t directly available through Cash Giraffe. This takes up more space on your phone.

Ads Can Interrupt Playing Experience

Since each app is standalone, you have to deal with whatever ads the app may have.

Is Cash Giraffe Worth It?

So yes, Cash Giraffe is a legit app and it’s safe. But is it worth playing?

If you like trying new games or getting paid to play games you’d play anyway and are looking for a little extra spending money, Cash Giraffe can make sense for you.

If you expect to make any real money, scroll through our past podcast episodes and find a side hustle that will be a good fit for you!

Cash Giraffe Alternatives

Cash Giraffe is just one of several apps that pay you to try new games. 

Freecash

According to Freecash, players can earn around $17.53 per day just playing games. Freecash has game offers for iOS, Android, and PC, with some paying out hundreds of dollars.

(The app itself is only available on Android and web.)

At press, the app had over 2,700 different games to choose from, offering plenty of variety for players.

As is common, you’ll earn more the more you play in each game, and reaching the highest tier may require some in-game purchases.

(But even if you don’t reach the highest level, you should still earn milestone payouts for however far you do get.)

KashKick

KashKick is a newer gaming and survey site gaining attention.

Surveys are the core focus here, and KashKick serves up plenty to keep you busy.

KashKick keeps things easy with clear payouts, so you know exactly how much you earn each time.

In addition to surveys, KashKick offers other ways to earn by watching videos and trying out new apps.

With a cash-out minimum that’s not too hard to reach, it’s perfect for those wanting a quick reward without a long wait.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks stands out as one of the most popular survey sites around.

It offers quick tasks for anyone wanting to earn a little extra cash.

Surveys are the main thing, and they provide plenty of opportunities to share your thoughts.

If surveys get a little boring, Swagbucks also pays you to:

• watch videos
• play games
• scan receipts

When it’s time to cash out, you can redeem your points for gift cards or cash.

Swagbucks has built a solid reputation for a reason—users love its easy options and cash earnings.

Serious About Making Extra Money?

• Start Your Free $500 Challenge. My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
• Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.
• Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes.