Idle·Ledger
Some links here are referral links and pay me if you sign up. It does not change what you pay, and it does not decide the order of the ledger, which is sorted by measured payout. Apps I removed for underperforming stay listed, with the date I removed them.

The 2-app starter stack

If you're starting from nothing, run two apps, not nine. EarnApp first because it pays out fast, then Honeygain because it earns the most. In September 2026 those two made $12.01 of the $15.35 my whole stack made.

Figures from SEP 2026, recorded 01 OCT 2026 · host Geekom GT1 Mega, 24/7
Line 30 Mbps, region Ohio, US, residential · n=1

Why only two

Every bandwidth app in the ledger is reselling the same thing, which is your IP address's reputation as a home connection. A third, fourth or fifth app splits that same demand into smaller pieces. It doesn't add new demand.

On my line, everything else in the ledger added $3.34 between them in September. That's real money, but it isn't where the money is, and every extra app is one more dashboard to check and one more container that can die without telling you.

Start with these two. Add more later if you want to, once you've seen what the first two actually pay on your connection.

First: EarnApp, because it pays out

EarnApp's minimum on my dashboard is $2.50. That's low enough that it has paid out repeatedly, while Honeygain hadn't paid me anything as of the 1 October reading. It earned $2.98 in July, $5.39 in August and $4.62 in September.

Getting paid early matters more than it sounds. Seeing real money land in the first few weeks is what tells you whether this is worth continuing, before you spend months watching a number climb on a dashboard.

One caveat: I've seen that minimum quoted at $1, $2.50, $5 and $10 by different sources. Check yours when you sign up.

It's run by Bright Data, a publicly traded company, so you're selling to a real business. Install the desktop app, or run it in Docker on a machine that's always on, then register the device on the EarnApp dashboard. Skip the registration and it runs and earns nothing. The full steps are in the EarnApp setup guide.

Open EarnApp

Second: Honeygain, because it earns the most

Honeygain is the biggest earner in the ledger: $6.77 in July, $5.25 in August, $7.39 in September. The catch is the $20 standard minimum. Mine sat at $19.41 after three months, so plan on about four months before the first payout on one US connection.

If that wait bothers you, JumpTask mode drops the minimum to $0.50. I stayed on standard to measure how long the climb takes from zero. You don't have to. Pick the mode before you build up a balance, because switching later is annoying.

One install per home connection. Honeygain allows ten devices on an account but only one per IP, so a second device behind the same router earns nothing. The full steps are in the Honeygain setup guide.

Open Honeygain

Setup order

  1. Read your ISP's terms of service. Many residential plans prohibit reselling the connection, which is what these apps do. Enforcement is rare and usually a warning, but decide knowingly.
  2. Pick a machine that's already on 24/7. If you'd be leaving it on just for this, the power comes off the top. My estimate is $2.88 to $2.98 a month at 25W and 16¢/kWh.
  3. Install EarnApp and register the device. Confirm it shows as online on the dashboard, not just registered.
  4. Install one copy of Honeygain and pick a payout mode. Standard at $20, or JumpTask at $0.50.
  5. On Docker, run both with --restart always. A node that dies on reboot and sits dead for three weeks is the most common reason people decide these apps don't pay.
  6. Write down both balances on day one. That's your baseline for the monthly check.

The 10-minutes-a-month routine

Once a month. I do it on the 1st, the same day I record the ledger.

  1. Open both dashboards and check each device shows as online.
  2. Write down each balance and subtract last month's. That's what it earned.
  3. If either one earned zero, check it's still running before you blame the app. A row can go quietly to zero and stay there, which is what happened with PacketStream for a month.
  4. If a balance is over the minimum, withdraw it.
  5. On Docker, docker ps should show both containers up.

That's it. If it's taking longer than ten minutes, something is broken.

What to expect, honestly

Between them these two paid $9.75 in July, $10.64 in August and $12.01 in September on my line. That's gross. If the machine is on anyway, it's close to what you keep. If it's on only for this, take off $2.88 to $2.98 a month for power at my rate.

For comparison, my full nine-app stack netted $12.47 in September after estimated power. Two apps get you most of the way there with a fraction of the upkeep.

It's found money on hardware that's already running. It isn't an income, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. Rates also vary a lot by country, and US residential IPs sit near the top of the range, so if you're somewhere else expect less. The ledger has every app, every month.

About those two links

Both "Open" links above are referral links. If you sign up through them the platform pays me, and it doesn't change what you pay. EarnApp and Honeygain are on this page because they're the top two in the ledger by measured payout, not because of what they pay me. The full disclosure is on the about page.