I used the Brave browser every day for a month to see if Brave Rewards is worth it. It is legit, but you earn very little, and you are paid in cryptocurrency. Below is what I found, and which passive income apps I recommend instead.
Tested by Mikael (EarnWithMike)Founder and lead testerMikael founded PaidFromSurveys in 2016 and has personally tested hundreds of survey and GPT sites since then. He shows his tests and payment proof to 555K+ subscribers on his YouTube channel, EarnWithMike. He tested Brave Rewards himself and does not earn a commission from it.Learn more about Mikael
Last retested · First published
Legit, but very low earnings, paid in crypto
You earn BAT tokens for viewing ads while you browse with Brave. Paid once a month, and the ads depend on your country.
On this page
The short answer
Brave Rewards is legit. You really get rewarded when you opt in to see Brave’s ads while you browse. You earn passively, without doing anything special.
But you earn very little, there is no guarantee you get ads in your country, and you are paid in a cryptocurrency called BAT, once a month. You also have to switch to the Brave browser to earn. If you want cash and still want to earn passively, the best passive income apps are a better choice.
- A passive way of earning: you just use the browser
- Moving to the Brave browser is surprisingly easy for Chrome or Edge users
- Works on desktop, Android and iOS
- Support on the Brave forum is quite helpful and usually replies quickly
- Very low earning potential
- You are paid in cryptocurrency (BAT), which is complicated if you are new to it
- You are forced to use a specific browser to earn
- No guarantee of ads in your country
- Each device counts as a separate account
- Long-term, it can hurt your access to free content by blocking ads from creators’ websites and videos
My experience with Brave Rewards
I installed the Brave browser, turned on Brave Rewards and used the browser every day for a month before I published this review. This is what I did myself, and what I did not test.
- First tested
- June 2021Review first published Jun 11, 2021
- Latest retest
- Checked: earning method, payout options
- Test length
- One monthI used the browser every day, but not all the time
- Ads I received
- Never 5 per hourOn many days, only a couple of ads at most
- What I earned
- A few centsAfter one month of testing
- Brave Rewards in the Brave browser, every day for a month
- The ad setting at the maximum of 5 ads per hour
- The auto-contribute and tipping options for Brave creators
- Support through the Brave community forum
- A cashout. My review does not show a BAT withdrawal to a crypto wallet.
- The sweepstakes and gift cards. Brave added these after I first tested it.
My Brave Rewards test on video
I made a video that explains and shows exactly how Brave Rewards works and how you earn from it.
Screenshots from my test
Brave Rewards earned me only a few cents in a month. These passive income apps pay more, and in cash.
See the best passive income appsBrave Rewards at a glance
| What it is | A feature of the Brave browser. You install the browser and opt in to Brave Rewards. |
|---|---|
| Ways to earn | Viewing Brave Private Ads while you browse |
| Ads per hour | You choose up to 5 per hour, but there is no guarantee you get that many |
| Paid in | BAT (Basic Attention Token), a cryptocurrency |
| When you are paid | Monthly, on the 5th day of the month |
| Ways to use your BAT | Transfer it to a crypto wallet that supports BAT, enter sweepstakes, get gift cards, or tip creators |
| Devices | Desktop, Android and iOS. Every device counts as a separate account. |
| Where you can join | Available globally, but the number of ads varies from country to country |
| Support | A basic FAQ page and the Brave community forum |
Is Brave Rewards legit and safe?
Yes, Brave Rewards is legit. You really get rewarded when you opt in to the ads. But that does not mean it is worth your time. Here is what you should know.
- You earn very little
Brave does not explain how much BAT you receive per ad. During my month of testing, I never got 5 ads per hour, and on many days I only received a couple. My earnings after that month were only a few cents.
- No ads, no earnings
How much you earn depends on how many advertisers run ads through Brave in your country. If there are no ads, you do not earn.
- You are paid in cryptocurrency
You earn BAT, not cash or points. To get cash, you transfer your BAT to a crypto wallet and convert it there. It is a bit complicated if you are new to cryptocurrency, and the value of crypto can go up and down.
- Not every region is supported for payouts
Some readers wrote in 2023 that their country or region could not be verified, so they could not get their rewards out. Check that your region is supported before you rely on it.
- You must switch browsers, and each device is a separate account
You can only earn in the Brave browser. You cannot share an account across devices, so you cannot combine your earnings from your laptop and your phone.
- It can hurt the creators you like
Brave rips out the ads and trackers from the pages you visit. Creators earn from those ads. If you want to support your favorite creators, consider turning a browser like this off when you visit their websites and videos.
My takeBrave Rewards can be an ok way to earn extra cash, provided you set your expectations properly. You just have to be very patient, because it only pays once a month and the rewards are very low. Overall, I do not think it lives up to all the hype I have seen about it online.
How you earn on Brave Rewards
There is one way to earn: viewing ads while you browse. Tap it to read more.
Viewing Brave Private AdsVery low
Install Brave on your computer, go to the Brave Rewards section and enable the ads. Then choose how many ads you want to see per hour. I chose the maximum, 5 ads, which is the best way to get the most from it.
After that, you just use the browser as you normally do. You earn passively. The more you use the browser, the more you can earn, so someone who browses for 8 hours a day earns more than someone who browses for 2.
There is no guarantee you get the number of ads you chose. In my experience, it will mostly not be that many. It depends on the country you live in.
The way it works is similar to Gener8. The main difference is that Gener8 uses a browser extension, while Brave Rewards is built into a browser.
How you get paid
| Option | What to know |
|---|---|
| BAT to a crypto wallet | Any wallet that supports BAT. Brave recommends Uphold, where you need at least 25 BAT to create an account. Binance and Coinbase also offer BAT. |
| Sweepstakes | Use your BAT to enter sweepstakes |
| Gift cards | Use your BAT to get gift cards |
| Tips and auto-contribute | Optional: send part of your BAT to verified Brave creators |
Brave Rewards processes payments once a month, on the 5th. For example, what you earn in May is sent to your Brave wallet, which is your account balance, on June 5.
To cash out, you transfer your BAT to another crypto wallet and convert it to regular money with that wallet’s exchange. If you are new to cryptocurrency, read up on how to convert it before you decide to use Brave.
You can also set Brave Rewards to contribute part of your BAT to verified Brave creators every month, or tip a creator when you visit their website. Neither is mandatory. If you prefer a simpler way to get paid, see the top sites that pay via PayPal.
What 18 comments told me
This review has 18 comments since November 2021: 10 from readers and 8 replies from me. These are the three things readers talk about most.
Readers debated my point that blocking ads hurts creators. Some say Brave’s privacy is the main reason to use it and Rewards is a side feature.
Readers could not get their rewards because their country or region could not be verified or was not supported yet.
Readers asked if anyone has a Brave creators account. I have one.
“Brave rewards is a scam. They show that my country cannot be verified despite me having a Gemini account that is fully verified.”
Mikael: Thanks for sharing your experiences.
“Brave Rewards has undergone many changes (EG. EToro is supported), but I haven’t tried it yet, partly because the region I live in is still not supported.”
Mikael: I will try to get the review updated asap to reflect the changes that have been. However, it does not change my main point of the review, which is that it can hurt content creators to use something like this…
“The following is related to Brave Shields and has nothing to do with Brave Rewards.”
Mikael: I agree.
Brave Rewards alternatives I have tested
| Site | Best for | Min. cashout | My rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawns | Games paid per minute, plus surveys and passive earning | $5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Honeygain | Passive earning on more or less all devices | $20 PayPal; $0.50 through JumpTask | 3.7 / 5 |
| JumpTask | Earning crypto for free with small tasks | $0.50 | 3.4 / 5 |
| EarnApp | Earns in the background from your unused internet | $2.50 PayPal and Wise | 3.1 / 5 |
If you want to earn cash, or gift cards, and still earn passively, see the best passive income apps. You will not have to wait as long to withdraw your earnings.
How I scored Brave Rewards
I use the same 100-point system for every platform. See how I test and rate.
Brave Rewards scores 52 out of 100. If you want to earn passively and get paid in cash, start with these apps.
See the best passive income appsBrave Rewards FAQ
Is Brave Rewards a scam?
No. Brave Rewards is legit: you really get rewarded when you opt in to its ads. But the rewards are very low.
How much can you earn with Brave Rewards?
Very little. Brave does not say how much BAT you get per ad. In my month of testing, I earned only a few cents. It depends on how much you use the browser and how many ads there are in your country.
How does Brave Rewards pay?
In BAT (Basic Attention Token), a cryptocurrency, once a month on the 5th. You can transfer it to a crypto wallet that supports BAT, enter sweepstakes or get gift cards.
Do I need a crypto wallet?
To cash out your BAT as money, yes. Brave recommends Uphold, where you need at least 25 BAT to create an account. Binance and Coinbase also offer BAT.
Can I use Brave Rewards on my phone?
Yes. The Brave browser works on Android and iOS. But every device counts as a separate account, so you cannot combine your earnings.
Who can join Brave Rewards?
It is available globally. You install the browser and click “Start Using Brave Rewards”. Some readers say their region was not supported for payouts, so check yours first.
How do I contact Brave?
Check the FAQ page first, then ask on the Brave community forum. That is where the support team answers.
Who tested Brave Rewards for this review
Founder of PaidFromSurveys.com since 2016. Mikael has tested hundreds of survey and GPT sites and shares his tests with 555K+ subscribers on YouTube (October 2026).
If you have any comments, questions, or experiences with Brave Rewards, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.
You are forced to use a specific browser to earn:
Legit in the title. Rewards is limited to Brave. Other browsers do not offer a privacy-focused rewards ecosystem and this is not a negative remark.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
The following is related to Brave Shields and has nothing to do with Brave Rewards. Ad blocking is not rewards….
Long-term, it can hurt your access to free content by blocking ads from creators’ websites and videos
I agree.
Does anyone have brave creators account
Yes, I have one.
Brave rewards is a scam. They show that my country cannot be verified despite me having a Gemini account that is fully verified.
They show you ads, pocket the money and you get nothing. Waste of time.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I would add that Brave Browser is popular and most used for its innovation and privacy, and Brave Rewards are so to speak just a secondary thing that users don’t have to use anyway if they don’t want to. But it is obvious that programmers and developers are investing heavily in it because they emphasize this way of doing business and viewing private ads, so they will have to work even harder on it. The improvements are commendable, but they are just the beginning.
I agree that privacy is an issue online and is something to be aware of. But the reality is also that if we completely block ads, we will eventually get less access to free content. Free content, whether it is TV, YouTube, websites, or however you find free content, is only possible because creators can earn from ads. So by blocking all ads, you are also blocking the creators’ way to earn and then they cannot create content anymore, and this is an important point browsers like Brave does not deal with.
Yes, I know people can donate to creators but the reality is that most people will not. So my big concern about browsers like this is that we eventually will not get access to great free content anymore. Then all content you will get access to will be controlled by huge companies and advertisers and no independent creator will have a chance. Just something to think about.
Yes, and that is absolutely true. Everything you said about Brave (which is a wery good as the web browser) also applies to other similar browsers like Decentr, the aforementioned Cocoon and maybe BitTube which I don’t know if it still exists because they have already changed several sites none of which are available anymore. Blockchain, P2P, end-to-end… promise a lot, but in practice it is not so easy and simple. Privacy and decentralized platforms are coins with two sides.
Hello,
I apologize for being so late in commenting, but a lot has changed.
The good thing is that the Brave Community is open and new ideas and suggestions are always welcome. When you open their home page, you will see new news or notifications that are currently in focus. Brave Rewards has undergone many changes (EG. EToro is supported), but I haven’t tried it yet, partly because the region I live in is still not supported. Some suggest using a VPN as a trick for this problem, but I haven’t tried that either.
As for Brave adBlocker, it is possible to turn it off partially or completely for all or only some sites, but the problem is that in the latter case those sites load very slowly.
Apart from Brave and Decentr, another browser that offers something similar is Cocoon, but I don’t know if you’ve written about it.
With best regards,
Nikola
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I will try to get the review updated asap to reflect the changes that have been. However, it does not change my main point of the review, which is that it can hurt content creators to use something like this, and that can also eventually hurt the access you will get to free content.
Yes, I totally agree with you. Brave Rewards can be a good way to earn some small pocket money, but everything you pointed out still stands despite all the changes. By the way, one of the users on the Brave forum even forwarded this review of yours, suggesting to the Brave authors to take everything is written here.
As far as I know, the same applies to Decentr or Presearch, while perhaps the biggest problem with Cocoon is that it is impossible to earn outside the US, and using a VPN is not at all recommended, despite the fact that the browser is available worldwide – in terms of that it is the best for travelers. But I hope you will write about that in a separate review.
So much from me and thank you.
Thanks for sharing. And I might look into Cocoon at some point and write about it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Do you have brave creators account
Note the main motivation of the brave browser is to get rid of the obnoxious adds on websites. Currently, add blockers and advertisement companies are trying to one up each other with software preventing or forcing adds to be shown. In an ideal world, brave contributions will offer an alternative revenue to websites and content creators, removing the need for them to show you adds. Not sure this is realistic, but hey, we can dream. The brave rewards may be a bad way to make money, but for people like me, how are either too poor or too lazy to buy crypto to use for brave contributions, brave rewards serve as an extremely easy way to automatically support website you visit, even though you block their adds.
Unfortunately, I do not think it is realistic that people will start donating. As I see it, ads are kind of a way to pay for free content. Without that, we would not have all the great websites, YouTube content, and also Tv and radio shows would have to be paid for or not available if it was not for ads. Yes, they are annoying but would you rather pay or not have access to all that at all? That is how I see it anyways.
As for ways to earn crypto for free, then there are many free methods that are more effective than Brave, in my experience. You can, for example, check out this list of free ways to earn Bitcoin.