Wondering where you can get free money in the UK?
First of all I just want to say that sadly money does not grow on trees. So while many of the opportunities listed here will give you money for relatively little effort on your part, they all want something in return.
The key for many of these companies is getting hold of your personal contact details, getting you to set up an account or asking you to spread the word to families and friends so that they can get more contact details on their database. Your data is a powerful tool, whether it’s used to sell more stuff to you or used to analyse your habits.
So it’s important to note that there are no companies that will literally just give you cash with no questions asked. They all want something, and generally your data, and the data of other people you can procure for them, is top of that list.
Having said that there are a huge number of opportunities to get your hands on hundreds of pounds of free cash for very minimal effort on your part every year.
Some of these opportunities require a small spend on your part, but I’ve only included deals that are really worth it.
Please always remember with any deal that requires you to part with some cash that it’s only a deal if you were going to spend the money anyway! So any time a company offers you a discount, only consider it if it actually is something that you were going to spend anyway. Otherwise you’re not saving, you’re just spending.
I’ve not included survey sites in this list. These are a cool way of making a few extra quid, but take time on your part as you need to sit through the surveys. I’ve got a complete list of genuine survey sites here for making extra cash, so do check those out!
This list of free money opportunities will be updated, but some offers may expire suddenly. Do always double check small print before going ahead with any purchases or signups.
If you fancy earning £1000 extra a month I have lots of great ideas on this post.
This post contains affiliate links.
Ways to get free cash in the UK
Refer friends
You can earn extra cash or money off your bills by referring friends to the brands that you already love.
Many companies have referral links or codes they will encourage you to share after you’ve become a customer with them.
Some will reward you for getting others to sign up and purchase by giving you money off your own services, or actual cash in your pocket.
It’s well worth keeping an eye out for these whenever you sign up to a new business, but some companies that offer this type of incentive include:
- Plum – This app automates your savings for you. You can get £15 in cash by referring three friends!
- Bulb – This is a energy company. They will offer you £50 if you refer a friend who signs up to switch their gas and electricity to Bulb, and they will also get £50!
- Octopus Energy – £50 credit for you and for your friend after you refer them and they sign up
Use cashback sites
If you are shopping online and not signed up to at least one cash back site then you are missing out on some easy free money!
All you need to do is create an account and then you can shop deals through thousands of recognised brands include eBay, Virgin Media, Sky and M&S.
My favourite is Top Cashback.
Be smart with your cash
If you have money in savings then put it in the best possible place to earn you interest.
The lists of best savings accounts tend to change over time, as incentives or interest offers change. So always research the best savings accounts for your needs – taking into account whether you need easy access to your savings or are happy for it to be shut away for a while where you can’t touch it.
I’ve had good success recently with premium bonds. You can have up to £50,000 worth of premium bonds with NS&I.
Your money is safe and every month you’re entered into a draw where you can win between £25 and £1million. I’ve won £75 in the last nine months with £6,000 of premium bonds. Plus your winnings on premium bonds are not taxable.
Browse and earn
I have not included survey sites in this list, because this is about free money – ie money that you get without needing to spend much time to get your hands on it!
Qmee is a survey site but it also has a browser extension you can add to Chrome. This means it works in the background as your personal online shopping and saving companion. You’ll see a Q in your browser toolbar that you can click on to see your balance at any time. Brands pay Qmee to appear in the search results, and Qmee then rewards you for using their browser extension.
Bills and savings
Customer loyalty is not always rewarded and you will often find you can make big savings on your regular bills by switching to a new provider.
Visit one of the big compare sites or try a different provider that offers incentives for new customers.
Doing this with your utilities such as gas and electricity and your car and home insurance, as well as your current account, can earn you hundreds of pounds a year!
Another way of saving money on your phone bill is to download the Airtime Rewards app. This is such a low maintenance way to earn savings on your monthly phone bill!
All you need to do is download the app, connect your debit card to your account and then every time you spend on that card with a brand that is partnered with Airtime you will earn money off your phone bill! It’s that easy. Brands signed up to the app include Boots.
You can download Airtime Rewards on the Apple or Android app stores.
Free investments
Get bonus cash and watch your money grow with these cool investment deals.
Freetrade
You get a free share worth between £3 and £200 when you sign up to Freetrade.
It’s very normal if you’re new to investing to feel a little nervous about it, but Freetrade is a brilliant option for beginners!
It makes investing simple, plus it has no fees for its general investment account. It gets a great review from Which?.
Luno
I recently received £10 worth of Bitcoin just for creating an account with Luno by using the reward code from this crypto expert.
It took me around 10 minutes to get the account set up and the £10 was showing up within an hour of me using the reward code.
You do then need to wait a month for the £10 to be available to withdraw and be visible in your wallet, but the key here is you do not need to spend a penny to get access to it. It is free money!
Coinbase
You can get free Bitcoin when you invest in crypto with Coinbase using my referral link. You need to buy more than £75 to get the bonus £7.41.
I’ve written all about my experience buying Bitcoin through Coinbase here. I’ve tripled my money in less than six months, although Bitcoin is a very risky investment so one to stick with for the long haul rather than expect a huge immediate return.
Scan your receipts
Some apps will pay you simply for uploading images of your shopping receipts.
You will not earn oodles of cash from this, but considering it’s pretty low effort having to upload an image of your latest receipt it’s worth doing to top up your income even by a little bit.
Try these apps for getting extra cash:
- Snap My Eats. Pays you for uploading pictures of receipts you get after eating out. You get £1 for every five receipts you submit per month. So the earnings potential is limited here, but coupled with other methods of earning it can help you hit your goal.
- Shoppix. This app will pay you for uploading photos of your receipts. In exchange for this you will be given tokens that can be used to get rewards, such as cash via PayPal or Amazon vouchers.
Free food
You can make a decent saving on your weekly grocery bill if you take advantage of the offers supermarkets have to get you to try their grocery delivery services.
You’ll need to keep switching supermarkets to take advantage of another deal, however you can save quite a bit of money off your big shops by doing this.
Here’s a list of deals you can take advantage of from supermarkets:
- Iceland – £6 off when you spend £40 with code ICELAND6OFF
- Sainsbury’s – £5 off when you spend £60 with code CATFVEHNCA
- Waitrose – £5 off when you spend £80 with code AQ5MNT621
- Morrisons – you need a Amazon Prime account to take advantage of this one. Get £10 off when you spend £60 using code 10FIRSTOFF. You’ll need to double check if your postcode is covered by the delivery area first.
And while we’re talking about food you can also get money off your takeaways if you give Deliveroo a try!
They will give you £10 your first order of £15 or more with the code WEHAVEARRIVED4.
Final thoughts on free money UK deals
There are free money offers everywhere you look. Always check for a voucher code or referral code before you purchase anything, as there could be money off or cashback that’s ripe for the taking!
If you don’t have a friend who can give you a referral code then try Facebook groups for money savers, as there will always be someone happy to share their referral code with you!
