My Mistplay Experience: Cashing Out $15 in 3.5 Hours [2024]

What is Mistplay?

Mistplay is an Android app that enables you to earn money by testing new games, and you get paid based on how much time you log. 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 gift cards or cash rewards.

Mistplay isn't the only rewards platform that will pay you to try out game apps. Cash Giraffe is another one we've tested, and we prefer it to Mistplay because it can be easier to earn more money and cash out with Cash Giraffe. For even better payout potential, there's Testerup. This platform is similar to Mistplay in that you can get paid to play games, but it also pays you based on how you progress and not just how long you play (which can be more fun if you like to get good at one game). We'll go into more detail about Mistplay alternatives later on.

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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)

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. 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.

How Mistplay works

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.

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.

How units work

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. Even other game rewards apps that also focus on getting users to sample apps don't always provide a good range of options.

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.

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 tracking was working properly.

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. Certain games offered limited-time boosts, multiplying my unit earnings substantially. For example, Coin Master had a 16x boost, which was motivating. But many games featured fairly low rates for earning units, so progression felt slow.

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. 

Different types of earnings in Mistplay

While playing different games, I noticed 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 tough to track 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. And unlike Mistplay, this app is also available for iOS devices.

Earning limitations

Mistplay is set up so you try more games, not so you stick with one or two. When limited-time boosts expire, normal earning rates become very low. Mistplay also caps how many units you can earn per game, per day at two hours of playtime. So, no matter how much I played a game, those additional hours wouldn't accrue extra units.

Another big limitation is that you can only earn rewards on games you haven't downloaded or played before. New games have a level cap of 20 for each game. Once you hit that ceiling, you can no longer earn any units from that game.

I enjoyed trying a lot of different games, but Mistplay may not be a good fit for someone who prefers progressing in one or two games they like.

How to get paid from Mistplay

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.

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 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: I used boosted promotions to supercharge my unit earnings.
• Test out new games: With Mistplay capping how many units you can earn per game and 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.

Mistplay reviews and complaints

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.”

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.

PayPal

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

Cash Giraffe

Like Mistplay, Cash Giraffe is an Android-only app you download in Google Play 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, plus it has a less complicated payout structure. A lot of users familiar with game apps prefer the experience of using Cash Giraffe over Mistplay, and many also report earning more from Cash Giraffe. We recommend Cash Giraffe for anyone looking for a fun and easy-to-use gaming rewards app.

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

Testerup

Testerup is another rewards platform that allows you to earn money by playing games, but it'll also pay you to test apps and complete surveys. While its $70 minimum payout threshold is very high compared to 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. Mistplay's tracking can be more confusing. I'd also recommend Testerup instead of Mistplay for anyone who wants to mix up their rewards-earning experience with games and non-games. It’s a better option because it's available for iOS and Android devices instead of just Android, too.

Download Testerup | Find out more in our Testerup review

Bubble Cash

If you get hooked on one game at a time, you should probably try Bubble Cash. This game sucks you in with fun mechanics and simple play, and you won't have to spend any time hunting for boosts. You will need to pay entry fees to get into tournaments, though, but you can make that money back if you're good enough and stick with smaller tournaments. Bubble Cash is available for iOS and Samsung devices, but you can't download it on Google Play.

Download Bubble Cash | Find out more in our Bubble Cash review.

FAQ

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.

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.