If you have ever searched ‘How to Make Money Online’ you’ve probably heard of 20 Cogs. 20 Cogs labels itself as a way to ‘make money in your spare time’. I’m all for making money online and I’ve tried and tested multiple ways to make a quick bit of cash but 20 Cogs just doesn’t sit right with me. Is 20 Cogs a scam? Read on to find out what I think of it.

How 20 Cogs Works

You need to complete 20 tasks and once you have completed all tasks you will receive a payout. The tasks can be anything from surveys and competitions to signs ups and gaming.

You are required to complete all 20 tasks in a set order to receive a payout. If you only complete 5 tasks you won’t be able to cash out the money you have accumulated. For every task you complete a cog will light up green to show you have completed that stage before you can move onto the next one.

On average people have earned around £100-£200 once all cogs have been completed.

I’m sure your thinking well this sounds great, complete a couple of tasks and earn some money. Here’s where my problem lies.

Sign Up Offers

Some of the Cogs you need to complete are sign up offers. They require you to sign up to a website for a trial period. Now if you forget to cancel your subscription after the trial period has ended you will be billed for the next month of that membership.

A lot of 20 Cogs promoters suggest setting alarms and reminders on your phones so you don’t forget to cancel the membership after the trial has ended. For me that’s quite risky as if you did forget to cancel them you will be charged for something you didn’t want to sign up to.

Unwanted Purchases

Some of the offers require you to purchase items such as a Taste Card or a Now TV Membership. If these are items you would have purchased anyway then great but for the sake of completing a Cog I don’t think it’s worth it.

Spam Calls and Emails

After completing just a handful of Cogs I was inundated with spam phone calls and emails. 20 Cogs is a marketers dream as they have access to all your information upon signing up. Once you complete a cog for a sign up offer for example they will then want you to continue as a full paying member and will call and email to try and sell you their service.

Slow Payout

If you have completed all the Cogs then you might be waiting a while for your payment. Cogs are individually verified and some can take 30+ days to show as approved. It is a slow process and not something I would advertise as a quick way to make money online.

These are the main reasons that I wouldn’t use 20 Cogs and certainly wouldn’t promote it as a way to make money. Money Bloggers have even gone to the lengths of telling their followers to set up new email addresses, pay as you go sim cards and separate bank accounts before signing up to 20 Cogs.

20 Cogs Account Suspended

You have 6 months to complete all 20 cogs. After this time your account will be suspended.

Why Does Everyone Promote 20 Cogs?

The answer is simple, Money! But not money from completing 20 Cogs, money for referring people to it. For every person you refer and who completes the 20 tasks the referrer gets 5% commission on all completed offers plus a further £20 bonus when they cash out.

So if I referred someone and they made a total of £200 as a referrer I would receive £30. That is the reason everyone promotes 20 Cogs.

20 Cogs Work from Home

I’ve recently seen 20 Cogs listed on a number of websites like Reed and Indeed as a ‘work from home’ job. 20 Cogs isn’t a long term income. It’s something you can do for a quick bit of a cash but there aren’t any long term financial benefits from it. It really is just a one off cash boost.

20 Cogs Sign Up

If even after reading this post you do want to give 20 Cogs a go they currently offer a £5 starting bonus when you sign up.

Cashback

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Real Ways to Make Money Online

If you are genuinely looking to make some extra money each month from home. Here are 11 tried and tested ways to make money online that are 20 Cogs alternatives.

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1. Matched Betting – Matched Betting is easily the most profitable side hustle there is. I’ve been Matched Betting now since 2016 and have made over £35,000 of tax-free cash in that time.
2. Orca – Get a free share worth up to the value of £200.
3. Ziglu – Get £5 cash for free!
4. Monzo – Get £5 cash for free!
5. TopCashback – Technically a way to save money. Get cashback every time you shop online. But they also have an amazing refer-a-friend programme that pays up to £25 for every friend you refer so keep an eye out for their boosted promotions.
6. Quidco – Another cashback website with a good refer a friend scheme. For every friend you refer get a £10 reward.
7. Airtime Rewards – Get money off your phone bill every month when you shop at selected retailers. Get a £1.50 bonus when you sign up with code ‘YBBNDX4K’ plus for every friend you refer get up to £1.50 added to your balance.
8. Isay – Isay is a survey website that pays in shopping vouchers. Get £10 of Amazon vouchers in exchange for 1000 points.
9. YouGov – Complete surveys and once you have enough points you can cash out £50. I’ve cashed out £250 since the 1st January.