70+ Places To Get Free Stuff Online

“Sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make”

They say that you get what you pay for, but online that isn’t necessarily true…

When you know where to look, you’ll find that there are dozens of places to get free stuff online – so over the last few weeks we’ve made it our mission to track down the very best that the web has to offer and list all 70+ resources here for you.

What follows, then, is an extensive list of places to get free stuff online. We’d love to hear of any resources we missed out – just leave a comment at the end with your recommendations 🙂

Free Music

We’ve all heard of the dangers of file-sharing sites where music is shared freely – though not always legally.

Due to the inherent risks involved, we strongly recommend you stick to the more “respectable” suppliers of free music online where you’ll still found thousands of free tracks – without the risk of viruses or wandering into legal hot water.

Amazon may be in business to sell you products, but to attract new customers to their MP3 service, Amazon also offer thousands of free tracks to anyone that wants to download them. In addition both Last.fm and iTunes list huge numbers of free-to-download MP3s.

Free Books

Sure, libraries are a great way to get your hands on all sorts of free books, but the two downsides are that the selection can be limited (especially if you have some specialist interests) and of course you have to give the books back at the end.

That said, there are a number of websites focused on helping bookworms to get free stuff online without having to break the bank.

Amazon Kindle

You don’t need to buy a Kindle to be able to download Kindle ebooks. You can simply download the Kindle app for your computer or smart phone and get downloading straight away. The free titles on Kindle change all the time so it’s worth bookmarking their free ebook listings so can can revisit on a regular basis.

Booksneeze

The purpose of Booksneeze is to allow authors and publishers to gain additional visibility by encouraging bloggers and website owners to review titles online. You simply register for the site and decide which book(s) you’d like to receive. Soon enough they’ll arrive in the mail where you can review them on your site and you get to keep the books afterward.

Note that it goes without saying that you’ll need your own site to use this source of free stuff online and the larger your readership the more opportunities you’ll be offered. That said, as someone who has tried out the service myself, I can confirm that they’re a great source of free books.

Bookswapping Sites

The idea behind book swapping is simple; they’re a “trading post” for people with books they longer want. Simply put, it enables you to list your unwanted books and in exchange receive books from other community members. In other words you can leverage any existing books that you have into a never-ending library of new titles just by signing up to these free services.

Some of the most popular examples of book swapping sites include Paperback Swap, Books Free Swap, Book Mooch, Title Trader, Book Crossing and Read It Swap It.

Cashback Sites

If you shop online regularly, cashback websites will allow you to buy exactly what you normally would – but earn extra bonuses along the way in the form of cash, Amazon gift cards and so on. Your shopping won’t cost you any more than you’d have spent anyway, so why not make use of them?

Examples of popular rebate/cashback sites include Top Cashback, Quidco, rPoints, eBates, MyPoints and MrRebates.

Freecycling

Welcome to the so-called “freeconomy” where community-minded individuals freely give away products they no longer want or need. It’s a great way to find new furniture, upgrade your garden or start a new hobby – in other words free stuff online for nothing but the travel costs of going to pick the objects up.

Many of these are location-based services, so take the time to find groups local to you, where you’ll receive not only listings of items available but you can also be sure the travel-distances are respectable. Some of the most popular examples include Freecycle, Snaffle Up, Efreeko and I Love Freegle.

In addition, try looking on Facebook for local sharing groups, as well as for “free to collect” adverts in shop windows or your local newspaper.

Exchange Sites

Admit it: if you go through your shed, loft or cupboards you’ve got all sorts of things that you don’t use and – if you’re honest – don’t need. So rather than leaving them to rot in the darkness, why not swap them for things you do need and save money along the way.

Swap.com, Swap It, Swapz, Care To Trade, Trashbank and Swapace are all fantastic places to list your unwanted clutter and find other things to swap them for.

Online Classifieds

Many popular classified advertising sites also maintain areas where people can offer free stuff online. If possible, set up alerts, so that you don’t need to keep returning to the page in order to see what’s available as many free items move very quickly indeed and you’ll want to be at the front of the queue.

For examples of classified ad sites that have free sections, take a closer look at Craigslist, Gumtree and Friday Ad.

Free Seeds

Just as it’s possible to exchange your unwanted books for titles you haven’t read, it’s also possible to exchange seeds from your garden for new varieties. Check out your local gardening/horticultural society for details of any local seed swaps, or use their online alternatives. Seed Swappers, Dig’N’Swap, VegBlogs, Garden Swapshop and Seed Swaps all offer free seed swapping services.

Free Software

Microsoft may be one of the most valuable companies in the world, but there’s also a growing movement in open source software, designed by passionate programmers purely to further the cause rather than make a copy.

What’s more, much of this software is easily as good as their “premium” alternative. For example consider Inkscape instead of Photoshop, Open Office instead of Microsoft Office or AVG as a free alternative to Norton.

When you add in all the freeware titles, released to try and gain market share for programming companies, the amount of free software available is truly mind-blowing. Sourceforge, Freeware Files, Snap Files and Tucows are all excellent jumping-off points for your journey into the wonderful world of free software.

Heck, even Wikipedia has a list of free software while Giveaway Of The Day gives away one premium application per day – but for free.

Free Events

From fitness groups to dogs walks, scientific lectures to book groups, there are huge numbers of free events going on all the time. Try checking your local newspaper, library and university for listings of free local events, or use Meetup to quickly find loads more activities in your area.

Clothes Swapping

Swapping your unwanted clothes can be a free way to fill your wardrobe with new garments – without the standard price-tag. While there are some locally-based clothes swapping events, log onto one of the specialist swapping sites for the best selection of free stuff online.

Simply list your (good quality) items on these swapping sites, and open up a whole new (free) world of fashion. Some great places to start your clothes swapping include Swap Style, Rehash Clothes and Swap Treasures.

Free Sites

While you may need to carefully pick and choose the offers you take up, dozens of sites exist purely to help their visitors find free goods such as product samples, special offers and downloadable goodies. Some of the most reputable free sites include Totally Free Stuff, Free Stuff Times, Magic Freebies and The Free Site.

Win Free Stuff Online

Companies both big and small are constantly running contests and competitions as a way to boost their marketing efforts and increase awareness of their products. And while entering competitions certainly doesn’t guarantee you’ll receive free stuff online, we’ve ended up winning all sorts of stuff over the last few years including cash, two camcorders, USB memory sticks, t-shirts, business consulting and more.

Some of the better places to find extensive listings of free contests and competitions include Sweepstakes Today, Contest Girl, Win Prizes Online, Contest Alley and Contest House.

For bloggers with an active community, there are also a number of special “blogger contests” in existence, designed to increase traffic to the originating site. Blog Contests and My Blog Contest are both great places to find out about the latest opportunities.

Mystery Shopping & Focus Groups

Companies want to hear what you think about their products; and they’re willing to pay for your opinions either in cash or in terms of free products to try. Be aware that there are a range of “mystery shopper” scams around so try to stick to the more reputable companies for security.

None of these marketing firms should ask you to part with cash before taking part in their opportunities, though many will ask you for detailed information about yourself to help them target specific demographic groups.

For up-to-date opportunities, take a look at BzzAgent, Mum Panel, Tesco Home Panels, Focus Groups and Super Savvy Me for product review opportunities. About Face and Secret Shopper are examples of companies offering mystery shopping opportunities where you may get to keep whatever you buy depending on the task required.

Free Holiday Accommodation

Thought that vacations had to be expensive? Then think again! All round the world, thousands of people are willing to provide you with free accommodation – either in exchange for a few hours work each day or simply for the fun of meeting new people.

Take a look at Couch Surfing, Global Freeloaders, Hospitality Club, Belodged and Help X for vacancies in the area you desire.

If you own your home rather than renting it, you can increase your options even further by taking part in home exchanges such as that run by U Exchange.

Complain Or Flatter

When something goes wrong, it’s all to easy to just ignore it. To simply throw that faulty product away and/or decide you’ll never use that company again. But these companies want your business – and they’re often willing to bribe you to stay loyal.

You’d be surprised how the simple act of writing a letter or an email to the customer service department of a company can not only make you feel a lot better, but can also result in refunds, vouchers or free gifts by way of apology. So while you shouldn’t take liberties just to get free stuff online, when something happens that you’re not happy about, use a website like this to find the contact details of the company in question and let them know about your experiences.

The opposite can equally get you results. When you’ve been thrilled by a product, or by the service you have received from a company, why not write and tell them what a great job they’re doing? Positive feedback is nice to give, and a surprising number of people end up with freebies as a way to thank you for your custom.

So what resources did we miss? Leave a comment with your favorite sources of free stuff online…