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Best apps to make money in Switzerland

If you are looking for money-making apps in Switzerland that residents can actually use, the safest starting point is to ignore the hype. The real question is which platforms pay reliably in CHF or a usable foreign currency, fit your language skills, and do not create tax, permit, or work-contract problems.

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Last updated28 September 2026

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In this guide, making money means real side income from paid studies, freelance work, resale, or local services rather than cashback that only lowers your shopping bill.

Key takeaways

Research and testing: TestingTime is Switzerland-focused, while Prolific is English-friendly and pays through PayPal. Both can pay real money, but invitations and study volume are irregular and profile-based.
Freelance work: Upwork suits skilled custom projects and supports direct-to-local-bank payouts, while Fiverr is built around packaged services and offers PayPal or Payoneer-based withdrawal routes. Fees and competition matter on both platforms.
Local resale: Ricardo is CHF-based and useful for selling unused items locally, but selling fees and Swiss or Liechtenstein domicile requirements can affect how practical it is.
Local childcare: Babysitting24 connects caregivers with families and does not take a platform commission from wages, but employment, AHV/AVS, accident-insurance, and employer duties may apply.
Cashback is excluded: Cashback apps reduce spending rather than create the same kind of side income as paid studies, freelancing, resale, or childcare.

Manage Your Multi-Currency Earnings With Wise

Freelancing on global platforms often means receiving USD, EUR, or GBP. Wise helps Switzerland-based remote workers hold multiple currencies, avoid high bank conversion markups, and transfer funds directly to local Swiss accounts with transparent, mid-market exchange rates.

Open a Wise account

Top money-making apps at a glance

App	Best for	Payout and currency	Minimum cash-out or fees	Swiss watch-outs
TestingTime	Switzerland-focused user tests	Wallet withdrawal, timing and threshold vary by country, study examples often show CHF	No signup fee, current threshold shown in wallet	Invitations are irregular, language needs vary by study
Prolific	English-friendly remote studies	PayPal, usually USD and GBP	Cash out from a combined approved balance of $6 or £6	ID checks apply, volume still varies
Upwork	Skilled freelance work	Direct to local bank in CHF or EUR, plus other methods	Freelancer fee of 0% to 15%, direct to local bank withdrawal costs $0.99	Competition is high, recurring work may look like self-employment
Fiverr	Packaged freelance services	PayPal, bank transfer via Payoneer, or Payoneer account	You keep 80%, minimum withdrawal depends on method	English helps, but German or French can improve discoverability
Ricardo	Selling unused items locally	CHF marketplace with Swiss buyer tools	Listing is free in most categories, selling fee is 8% to 12%, capped at CHF 290	Private sellers generally need Swiss or Liechtenstein domicile, scams and shipping disputes happen
Babysitting24	Local childcare work	Families pay wages directly, no platform commission	No signup fee on the matching platform, work can trigger extra costs and insurance rules	AHV/AVS, accident insurance, and employer duties may apply

TestingTime

For Swiss residents who want paid product research rather than random survey roulette, TestingTime is one of the stronger options. The platform treats Switzerland as a core market and is upfront that invitations are irregular, so it works best for occasional extra income, not daily earnings.

Swiss fit, payout timing, and selection odds

You sign up, answer profile questions, and get email invites when a study matches. TestingTime runs online surveys, moderated calls, and in-person sessions, and its public participant examples recently included roughly CHF 45 to 60 for a 60-minute in-person study and about CHF 5 for a short 10-minute survey, but offers vary by study.

Payouts are not automatic after every invitation, though. TestingTime says compensation lands in your wallet, withdrawal thresholds vary by country, and payment is made within 10 business days after a withdrawal request. Practical tip: Switzerland is a core market, but English-only expats should still check whether a study needs German, French, or Italian.

Prolific

If English is your main working language, Prolific is often easier to use than Swiss local platforms. It is also clearer than many survey panels about cash payouts and participant rules, but it still works best as variable side income because study volume depends on your profile, approval status, and the studies available that day.

Cash-out rules, PayPal, and study volume

Prolific matches participants to academic, AI, and product research studies, then pays real money rather than gift cards. Switzerland is on Prolific’s supported country list, and you can cash out once your approved balance reaches a combined $6 or £6, with both currencies sent to PayPal together.

That does not make the income predictable, though. After your first four cash-outs, payments are typically instant to PayPal, but the number of studies you see can swing widely, so Prolific is usually better than generic survey sites for payout clarity and study quality, not for stable weekly income.

A freelancer is working on their laptop in front of the window of an office building

Upwork

Among the apps on this list, Upwork has one of the highest earning ceilings, but it is not quick money. For Switzerland-based writers, designers, developers, marketers, translators, and admin specialists, it can become a strong long-term option, but the trade-off is setup time, proposal work, and heavy competition before you land a repeat client.

Payout routes, fees, and client competition

Winning on Upwork usually takes more than just opening a profile. You need a clear service offer, a credible portfolio, and enough patience to send proposals before the first client says yes. Upwork’s freelancer fee ranges from 0% to 15% per contract, and its Direct to Local Bank option supports Switzerland in CHF and EUR for $0.99 per withdrawal, with payouts usually arriving within four days after setup.

If you plan to freelance alongside a main job, check your Swiss employment law and whether repeated client work starts to look like self-employment for taxes for freelancers in Switzerland. A Wise account may help if a client or payout route leaves you with USD, EUR, or GBP and you want more control over when to convert to CHF, but only after you confirm your live withdrawal options and current Wise availability in Switzerland.

Self-Employment

Becoming a freelancer or self-employed in Switzerland

Fiverr

Fiverr makes more sense when you can package a service clearly. Instead of pitching for every project, you list fixed offers, which can suit people selling translation, voiceover, design edits, tutoring, video clipping, or short-form content. If your offer is standardized and easy to explain, Fiverr can feel simpler than a proposal-led platform.

Gig setup, withdrawal rules, and Swiss caveats

Fiverr lets you build a storefront around clearly packaged work, while Upwork is better for custom briefs and longer scopes. On Fiverr, you keep 80% of each completed order, and official payout methods include PayPal, bank transfer via Payoneer, or a Payoneer account, with different fees and minimum withdrawals depending on the route.

Before choosing a payout route, understand how foreign-currency receipts fit into banking in Switzerland and whether your main account with UBS, PostFinance, Raiffeisen, or Zürcher Kantonalbank will convert or receive them the way you expect. Fiverr can work well for bilingual sellers in Switzerland, especially where English plus German or French helps people find the service, and a Wise account can be useful for supported foreign-currency payouts if you verify live compatibility first.

If you expect regular foreign-currency payouts, compare the withdrawal route, provider fees, and CHF conversion costs before you start delivering client work.

Ricardo

Selling one used phone or bike can beat hours on survey apps, and that is why Ricardo matters in Switzerland. If you have electronics, household items, bikes, baby gear, or niche collectibles, it is often one of the fastest ways to earn in CHF because you are selling locally, not chasing micro-payments.

Fees, scams, and bilingual listing tips

Ricardo keeps the structure fairly simple: most listings are free to create, then a selling fee of 8% to 12% applies when your item sells, capped at CHF 290. Private sellers generally need a domicile in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, and parcel sales with Buyer Protection+ rely on Swiss addresses, a Swiss IBAN, and buyer payments through TWINT or debit or credit card.

Resale margins shrink faster than many new sellers expect. Fees, shipping, returns, and failed buyers can eat into your margin quickly, so photograph items well, decide upfront between Swiss Post shipping and pickup, and price in CHF from the start. Worth noting: clear German or French keywords alongside simple English can help a listing travel better across Swiss language regions.

Taxes

How to file your income tax in Switzerland in 2026

Babysitting24

Need local, flexible work rather than remote tasks? Babysitting24 is a serious option, but not a casual one. It may suit students, part-time workers, and experienced caregivers who want local childcare jobs, yet once real working hours and pay are involved, Swiss employment and insurance rules start to matter.

Employment status, AHV, and household work rules

Babysitting24 is basically a matching platform, not the employer, so families and caregivers usually arrange the actual work and payment themselves. The platform says families pay wages directly and that babysitters keep 100% of their pay, but this also means you need to understand who employs whom.

Unlike remote app work, babysitting or nanny work can trigger accident insurance, social-insurance registration, and formal employment steps surprisingly quickly. Babysitting24 notes one narrow exception for a pocket money job, if the babysitter is under 25 and earns no more than CHF 750 a year, but outside that, families may need to register the worker within 30 days and arrange accident cover. Good to know: check whether the family employs you directly, how the work is reported, and whether your permit allows it before you accept regular shifts.

Family & Pets

Childcare in Switzerland

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the best apps to make money in Switzerland

Are cashback apps the same as money-making apps in Switzerland?

No. Cashback apps can still help in an expensive country like Switzerland, but they lower what you spend rather than pay you like freelance work, paid studies, resale, or childcare. That is why they are kept out of the main ranking.

Do I need to declare app income in Switzerland?

Often, yes. Side income is not automatically invisible just because it came through an app, and recurring activity may still need to be declared depending on the income type, scale, canton, and whether you are employed or self-employed. Use the official ch.ch tax-return guidance as a starting point if the income becomes regular.

Can expats with Permit B or Permit C use money-making apps in Switzerland?

Sometimes, but do not generalize. Rights differ by nationality, permit type, and whether the activity looks like occasional secondary income or like self-employment, so check the KMU guide for foreign nationals setting up a business and your cantonal migration authority via SEM before relying on app income.

Which apps pay in CHF or to Swiss bank accounts?

Local platforms like Ricardo are the most naturally CHF-based, while global platforms may pay through PayPal, Payoneer, or direct bank routes in CHF, EUR, USD, or GBP. The key question is not just whether an app pays, but how the money reaches your account and what conversion costs apply once it lands in Switzerland.

Sources

Expatica’s experts are all about providing the most up to date and accurate information. All guides are fact checked, and whenever we use external sources (like government websites or research papers) we’ll make a note of them here so you can check them out too.

Self-employment guidance in Switzerland, ch.ch — Self-employment in Switzerland
Swiss tax-return guidance, ch.ch — Tax return
Social-security contributions for self-employed people, AHV/IV — Leaflet 2.02
Business setup guidance for foreign nationals, SME Portal — Foreign national setting up a business
Cantonal immigration and employment-market authority contacts, SEM — Cantonal authorities
Paid user-testing participation and study invitations, TestingTime — Become a paid test user
TestingTime participant terms and payout conditions, TestingTime — Terms of use
Paid online research participation, Prolific — Participants
Supported countries for Prolific participants, Prolific Help — Who can participate?
Prolific cash-out rules and thresholds, Prolific Help — How do I cash out?
Freelancer service-fee information, Upwork Help — Freelancer Service Fee
Direct-to-local-bank withdrawal information, Upwork Help — Direct to Local Bank
How Fiverr calculates freelancer earnings, Fiverr Help — Your earnings page
Fiverr payout methods, fees, and withdrawal minimums, Fiverr Help — Withdrawing your earnings
Ricardo mobile-app listing, Google Play — Ricardo app
Ricardo seller fees and selling-fee cap, Ricardo Help — Selling costs
Ricardo requirements for private sellers, Ricardo Help — Becoming a seller
Ricardo Buyer Protection+ conditions, Ricardo Help — Buyer Protection+ terms
Babysitting24 platform and childcare matching, Babysitting24
Employment and household-work guidance for babysitters and nannies, Babysitting24 — Employment help
Wise availability and services in Switzerland, Wise Switzerland

Gary Buswell

About the author

Based in London, Gary has been freelancing for Expatica since 2016. An expert writer with experience in social research and community development, he focuses on topics such as politics and current affairs, healthcare, recruitment, human rights and migration.