Mistplay Review [2024]: How I Made $15 in 3.5 Hours

Key takeaways

• Is Mistplay legit? Yes, Mistplay is a legitimate platform for earning money by playing mobile games. The app quickly paid me out after I redeemed my earnings.
• Can you actually make money? Yes, while the earning potential is modest, I was able to cash out $15 after around 3.5 hours of gameplay. With a couple of hours of gameplay per day, I could realistically earn around $70 per week on Mistplay.
• How do payouts work? You can redeem in-app units for gift cards or PayPal cash, and in my experience, payouts are processed within one to two days. The minimum redemption for gift cards is $5, while the minimum redemption for PayPal cash is $10.

What is Mistplay?

Mistplay is an Android app that enables you to earn money by testing new games. Mistplay partners with mobile game developers looking to promote their apps and gain new users. In exchange for trying out these games, you earn units that can be redeemed for popular gift cards or cash rewards.

Using Mistplay is straightforward — simply download Mistplay, browse through its selection of free games spanning genres like puzzles, multiplayer battles, casual games, and more, and start playing. Keep in mind that you can only earn with games that you never downloaded or played before.

As you spend time in each game, you'll accumulate units at a rate specific to each game. You don’t need to be a pro gamer or win tournaments. Earning is based purely on your playtime and in-game progress.

Mistplay’s Android app was released in July 2016. Today, it has over 10 million downloads on Google Play, with a solid 4.6 out of 5 rating from over 475,000 reviews. Mistplay also has a 4.4 out of 5 on review platform Trustpilot.

Availability	Google Play (Android only)
Ratings	4.6/5 on Google Play 4.4/5 on Trustpilot
Redemption options	Cash via PayPal 30 gift card options (Amazon, eBay, Spotify, and more)

My earning experience with Mistplay

To properly test out Mistplay, I tried my hand at various games across different genres, including puzzles, survival challenges, multiplayer battles, and more. The titles I spent the most time on were Puzzles and Survival, Block Blast, Coin Master, and the popular match-3 game Merge Dragons.

Right off the bat, I earned 200 units as a welcome bonus. To understand what 200 units mean, I checked how many units I needed for my different redemptions.

I noticed that $5 redemptions require 1,800 units, which is roughly 0.28 cents per unit. However, redemptions starting at $10 or higher provide a higher value of 0.33 cents per unit. That means at higher redemptions, 200 units are worth 66 cents or $0.66. With this in mind, it was time to begin earning more units as quickly as possible.

My favorite games

The game library offered good variety, which was a big plus for me as someone who gets bored easily with mobile games. Being able to constantly switch between different gameplay styles kept things feeling fresh during my testing period.

Many of the games were genuinely fun and addictive, making it easy to sink chunks of time into them without realizing it. Merge Dragons, in particular, had me hooked with its simple yet satisfying mechanics of matching colorful combinations. I’d find myself thinking, "Just one more round..." and end up spending another 20 minutes glued to my phone.

Certain games also offered limited-time boosts, multiplying my unit earnings substantially. For example, Coin Master had a 16x boost. This was motivating as I could clearly see my rewards rapidly accumulating.

While playing each game, I received notifications from Mistplay every 10 or 15 minutes that informed me of my progress and made it clear that Mistplay’s tracking was working properly.

As you use Mistplay, keep an eye out for these notifications. If you don’t see any notifications, go back to the Mistplay app to relaunch the game since you may not be earning any units.

How much money can you make?

Despite the entertaining games, consistently earning a decent rate of units (Mistplay's in-app currency) was a grind. Many games featured fairly low rates for earning units, so progression felt slow unless a limited-time booster was active.

It took me around 1.5 hours of dedicated playtime to accumulate the 1,800 units needed for a $5 Amazon gift card redemption. I then spent another two hours earning 3,000 more units to cash out $10 via PayPal. Higher redemption tiers offered better unit value but required more upfront effort.

While earning is certainly possible, the modest rate makes Mistplay better suited for earning a bit of extra beer money while enjoying games you might play anyway. At my earning rates, I could make about $70 a week by playing for a couple of hours a day.

Mistplay’s various in-app tokens

While playing different games, I noticed that I was earning various things:

• Units: These are Mistplay’s main tokens and are redeemable for money.
• Game experience points (GXP): These tokens accumulate with longer gameplay or progress. Their main value is providing a unit bonus every time I reach a new checkpoint.
• Player experience points (PXP): These tokens track your overall time spent across all games. Just like with GXP, their main value is providing a unit bonus every time I reach a new checkpoint.
• Loyalty gems: These tokens accumulate with spending money on items, level-ups, or other digital goods in each game. Their main value is that they’re redeemable for units.

With all these different token systems, it was really tough to keep track of what each one did and how they impacted my actual earnings. The values seemed to vary across games as well, making it hard to judge a game's earning potential to optimize my gameplay rewards ahead of downloading it.

Mistplay could really streamline and simplify this aspect. Having just one universal currency that clearly shows your real-world earnings would make it much more straightforward to understand your progress.

Testerup is a similar platform that enabled me to earn money for testing mobile games while providing a clear structure showing earnings in dollar terms for in-game progress. You can see this structure before downloading a game, so it’s easy to judge whether it’s worth your time.

Earning limitations

Firstly, Mistplay frequently offers limited-time boosts on specific games, drastically increasing the unit earnings for a set period. However, once that boost expires, the game's normal earning rate becomes very low in comparison.

For example, when I first started playing, Coin Master had a lucrative 16x unit multiplier active. This allowed me to rack up a decent amount of units quickly. But once that boost ended, the earnings became too low to be worth my time.

On top of the temporary boosts, Mistplay also caps how many units you can earn per game per day at two hours of playtime. So no matter how much more I played a game, those additional hours wouldn't accrue any extra units.

Finally, only those games that you have not previously downloaded or played will allow you to earn rewards. New games also have a level cap of 20 for each game on the Mistplay app. Once you hit that ceiling, you can no longer earn any units from that specific game.

With these restrictions in place, it was clear that Mistplay’s main goal is for its users to try out various games without spending too much time on just one or two. This is something I personally enjoyed, but it may not be a good fit for someone who prefers progressing in one or two games they like.

How to get paid

Earning units with Mistplay is only half the battle — the real payoff came when I redeemed those units for actual cash and gift cards. Here’s how.

First, I navigated to the "Shop" tab within the Mistplay app. This tab showed me all the available redemption options, such as Amazon, PayPal, Spotify, and more.

Higher reward tiers offer a better cents-per-unit ratio. The minimum gift card redemption is $5, while the only cash option, PayPal, requires a minimum of $10. For my first redemption, I chose an Amazon gift card worth $5. Then, for my second redemption, I chose $10 cash via PayPal.

Redemption	United required	Value
$5	1,800 units	0.27 cents per unit
$10	3,000 units	0.33 cents per unit
$15	4,500 units	0.33 cents per unit
$25	7,500 units	0.33 cents per unit
$50	15,000 units	0.33 cents per unit
$100	30,000 units	0.33 cents per unit

Mistplay required me to verify that I was a human through a quick process that used my phone’s camera.

Once I completed the verification, I received an email stating that my redemptions were in progress. My Amazon gift card came through in about a day, while the PayPal cash took slightly longer at two days to process. But both were smooth experiences without any holding up on Mistplay's end, which showed me that the earning opportunity Mistplay offers is legitimate.

Tips for earning more units and money

While using Mistplay and playing different games, I found several strategies to maximize my unit earnings. Here are my top tips:

• Watch for boosted games: Occasionally, Mistplay will run promotions to heavily boost the unit earnings for certain games over a limited period. I used these promotions to supercharge my unit earnings.
• Test out new games: With Mistplay capping how many units you can earn per game and per day, your best strategy is to rotate through their library of titles. Don't get too attached to any one game, as you'll quickly hit the earning limits. Using this strategy, I managed to earn from multiple games on the same day.
• Earn bonus badges: Mistplay incentivizes specific gameplay actions by offering bonus unit rewards for achieving different badges. For example, the Pro Gamer badge gave me 150 units for playing after reaching checkpoint 15.
• Check the events tab frequently: Located at the bottom, this tab refreshes regularly with additional ways to quickly earn lump sums of units, like playing for a specific amount of time, referring friends, or watching ads.

What are other users saying?

Mistplay has garnered a largely positive reception from users on Trustpilot, with 64% of over 2,200 reviews giving it 5 stars and an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5. On Google Play, the app has a rating of 4.6 out of 5, with over 475,000 reviews. Many reviewers confirm that the app genuinely pays out rewards as promised.

What other users liked

"Mistplay is the best. I earn my points quick and pretty easy. Plus they have special [boosts] where you can win lots of points. I love making those $25 Amazon cards," wrote Jacob S. on Trustpilot.

Tamara W. added to her Trustpilot review, "To my amazement, this game ACTUALLY PAYS!".

Users frequently highlight Mistplay's variety of games and ease of cashing out rewards via gift cards or PayPal cash. As Tamara W. shares, "Received my first Gift Card and already spent it so I know this site is REAL."

This very much matches my experience, as it only took two days to receive my redemptions.

What other users didn’t like

However, some negative reviews mention difficulties with technical issues like games not tracking properly and frustrations with Mistplay's earnings pace slowing down over time.

Nia D. had issues with time tracking, stating on Google Play, "Sometimes if there's ads it'll make the Mistplay app stop recording game time." Shanna T. wrote in her Google Play review, “Seems to take (much?) longer than it says it will to rack up enough points to get any meaningful reward. Not uncommon for these play-to-earn apps, sadly.”

Is Mistplay worth it?

While I didn't experience issues with progress tracking or games not counting towards my earnings, I do agree with some users that the earning potential on Mistplay can feel slow-paced. Racking up enough units for higher-tier rewards like $25 or $50 gift cards requires a time investment across multiple games.

That's why I think Mistplay is best approached as a nice way to unwind after a long day and make a little money rather than a serious income stream. The modest earnings are almost secondary — for me, the real draw was getting to try out new mobile games that I may have overlooked otherwise.

Alternatives to Mistplay

If you're looking for ways to earn extra cash by playing games but don’t like Mistplay’s earning potential or complex in-app token system, you might enjoy Cash Giraffe or Testerup as two alternatives that I liked while testing and reviewing.

Availability	Android	Android	iOS and Android
Minimum Redemption	$5	$5	$70
Earning Activity	Playing various games	Playing various games	Playing games, testing apps, and completing surveys
Reward Options	Gift cards and PayPal cash	Gift cards and PayPal cash	PayPal cash
	Visit Mistplay	Visit Cash Giraffe	Visit Testerup

Cash Giraffe

Much like Mistplay, Cash Giraffe is an Android app that rewards you with gems for playing a variety of free mobile games. You can then redeem those gems for popular gift cards or PayPal cash. While the premise is very similar, Cash Giraffe has a simpler in-app token system that only uses gems and provides you with a clear earning rate per minute for each game.

Visit Cash Giraffe | Find out more in our Cash Giraffe review

Testerup

Testerup is a platform that allows you to earn money by playing games, testing apps, and completing surveys. While Testerup's $70 minimum payout threshold is high compared to some other platforms, it offers solid earning potential and provides a clear rewards system that displays the exact dollar amounts you’d earn for each task you complete. Unlike Mistplay, it’s available for iOS and Android devices.

Visit Testerup | Find out more in our Testerup review

FAQ

How does Mistplay work?

Mistplay is a free Android app where you can earn units (Mistplay's in-app currency) by playing various mobile games. These units can then be redeemed for gift cards to popular retailers like Amazon, or for cash via PayPal. The earning rate differs across games, with some offering limited-time boosts.

Does Mistplay support PayPal?

Yes, one of the redemption options on Mistplay is PayPal cash. I was able to successfully redeem my units for a PayPal payout during my testing.

How long does it take to get a gift card from Mistplay?

You should receive your gift card within 48 hours. For me, it took around one day to receive an Amazon gift card after redemption and two days for the PayPal cash to hit my account. So fairly quick turnaround overall.

Is it easy to make money on Mistplay?

Playing the games on Mistplay can earn you some extra pocket money, but earning any significant income can be challenging due to its modest earning rates. I mainly played Puzzles and Survival, Block Blast, Coin Master, and Merge Dragons and made $15 in about 3.5 hours.

How many games are available on Mistplay?

Mistplay doesn't provide an exact number, but they offer a rotating selection of games across genres like puzzle, strategy, casual, and more. During my testing, I had access to dozens of different titles to choose from.

Mistplay review: bottom line

Mistplay proved to be a legitimate way to earn a little extra cash and gift cards by playing fun mobile games. I appreciated the large library of games to sample across various genres.

Like many similar platforms, the actual earning potential isn’t high, making Mistplay better suited as a way to make some beer money rather than any serious income. Building up enough units for higher-tier rewards like $25+ gift cards required a significant time investment across multiple games.

If you're looking for more ways to make a little bit of money in your free time, check out our legit gaming apps list.