Foap is a very popular app that will pay you for your photos.  It’s one I have mentioned a few times, such as in my 37+ side hustle apps and how to make money from your phone posts, and I figured it was time to dig deep and see what this app is all about.

If you love taking photos and/or like the idea of making money with your photos, then this free app could be one to consider.

In this review, I will talk about how you can make money with your photos, how the app works and what you can make.  As always, my reviews are 100% honest and I would never recommend something I personally wouldn’t use.

With that out of the way, let’s explore the app, from beginning to the end and see what the hype is all about.

What is Foap?

Foap is a 100% free app that allows you to sell your photos, either on the company’s marketplace or to a brand looking for specific images through what’s known as a “Foap Mission.”

According to the company’s official website, they have worked with many prominent brands, such as Nivea, Volvo, IHG and Bank of America, to name a few.  Businesses often come to the company to buy images to be used for commercial purposes.  In this case, they will create a branding guide of sorts and Foap will ask the community to submit their best work, giving you money in exchange for your pictures.

While I couldn’t find much about the company’s history, I could only see that they have offices based in Sweden, New York City and Poland, according to the official website.

As I write this, they have more than 1,000,000 downloads with a measly 3.4/5 review on the Google Play store.

Is the Foap App Legit?

In the end, if you have any images you want to sell and/or you like the idea of submitting your photos to top brands, it could be one app to consider.  The company does seem to be legitimate and pay out, so there shouldn’t be any worry there.

It’s known for its very reputable stock photography marketplace, aimed at people who are looking to buy stock images.

Signing Up

To sign up, you can either continue by connecting your Facebook account or you can create an entirely new account.  It’s up to you what you want to do, but I usually don’t like the idea of linking my Facebook, so I just start a new account to be safe.

During the process, the app just asks for you to create a user name as well as provide an email address and password.  It’s very fast and takes less than one minute to do.

After you sign up, you can then proceed to upload your very first photo, however, this is optional.  You can access your dashboard immediately.

How Does Foap Work?

Immediately after creating an account, you can view your dashboard, which will look something like this…

You will be able to view the newsfeed, which is a news feed of sorts talking about the most recent winners, or you can explore the pictures that sold recently on the marketplace to inspire you.  Remember that most of your money will come from selling your pictures, so you will want to make sure that you’re taking pictures that people want.  The last tab, you “missions” tab is where you can check out the most current missions where you can win more than $100+ in rewards.

Most of the time, you will make your money in selling your photos, but some money can be made in missions as well if you submit the right picture.

At the top, you can view the people who are following your work as well as the people you’re following.  It kind of works like Instagram, where you can view other pictures and grade them if you choose to do so.  It’s kind of like a picture viewing social network.

How Do I Sell My Photos on Foap?

Selling your pictures on the platform is very straight forward.  All you need to do is go to your menu bar and select the “manage photos” tab to upload any photos you’re willing to sell.

Once your photos are uploaded, they are then available for sale via the Foap Market.  You can sell your photos as many times as you’d like.

You can upload your photos directly from your phone or you can choose from a file saved as well.  The nice thing about Foap is that you can choose multiple files at once, helping you save time.  In uploading your photos, just be sure to be descriptive in your descriptions as well as make sure you add tags so that potential buyers can find your photos on the marketplace.  Seeing that you’re competing with millions of photos, adding more words/tags can help increase your chances of selling.

When you’re able to upload your photos, you can see your published photos via the manage photos link mentioned above.

Anytime your photos sell, you will receive a notification, in which you can check your earnings on the “Your sales” tab located in the menu.  Your pictures will remain on your account since you can sell the same photos over and over.

How Much Money Can You Make on Foap?

For every photo you upload and sell, it will sell for $10, however, Foap will take 50% of it, leaving you with $5.

So, every time you put up a photo, plan on making $5 in profit.

As for missions, which I will get into next, this will greatly depend on the prize since the company needs to pick you as the winner.  Many times, prizes can range from $100 to as little as $10, but you can know all about the prizes in the description before you even submit your picture.  In some cases, a mission may want your picture as its own, meaning it will be exclusive to their brand.  In this case, Foap will pay you $30 for every photo sold in this regard.

Payments are made every month on the 15th.  All payments are made via PayPal.

Is There a Way to Increase my Earnings?

Of course.

Reading a few guides online, there are a variety of ways to increase your earnings.

Focus on quality and be sure to edit right

For starters, consider uploading high-quality images.  Simply put, your photos should be clear with good lighting and have a great composition.  It’s also important to edit your photos carefully so that they look as professional as possible.  Don’t heavily edit your pictures to make them look natural, but focus more on cropping your photos and/or adjusting the color levels.

Check out the most recently sold

Be sure to also take advantage of the most recently sold pictures found when clicking on the explore icon.  See what kind of pictures selling?  What’s popular?  What do these pictures look like?  It may give you an idea as to what’s hot or not at the time.

Use your descriptions and tags

Lastly, pay attention to the description and tags.  It’s important to make sure these are as accurate as possible so that potential buyers can find your work.  Take a minute to think about what people are searching for and try to include these terms.  If you’re having a hard time doing this, consider using the free keyword generators out there such as WordStream.

Missions

Another way to make money with Foap is through what is known as “Foap missions.”  These are missions created by popular companies, such as the ones mentioned prior.  And, in these missions, these brands will ask for a specific image, asking for you to submit your best work.  Don’t worry.  They do offer examples so that you know what they are looking for.  It’s easy to know what they are looking for.

While you’re not guaranteed the payment, you will only receive the payout if they choose you as the winner.  It’s a contest of sorts.  Many Foap users do this often, seeing the top prize can sometimes be as much as $300+.  But, before you get excited in submitting, do let it be known that Foap charges you “Foap coins,” which I will get into next.  For now, let me quickly show you how to find these missions as well as how you can apply to them.

To find these missions, just look for the “Missions” tab located at the bottom of your phone screen.

In clicking on this, you can then view the many missions available at the moment.

For instance, as I was writing this, there were more than nine missions, with payouts varying from $100 to $500 in rewards.  The app always seems to add more missions, so be sure to check it out every once in a while to see what has been added.

If interested in any of the missions, just click on the mission for more information.  Before you do, however, you can see how many photos have been submitted as well as the rewards and deadline.  The number of photos that were submitted can often be an indicator as to how competitive the competition may be.

So, in the “Liquids” mission mentioned above, I was given the following description…

In that mission, I would need to take a picture showing different liquids in different states and different situations.  If I were to come in first place, I would win $100 as well as 500 Foap coins.  Be sure to scroll down in the descriptions as they do include example pictures, basically showing you what they are looking for in a picture.

Earning Foap Coins

The thing about missions is that you have to spend what are known as “Foap coins” to participate.  And, to earn these coins, you will need to watch video ads in order to earn them.  You can also buy them, but I wouldn’t recommend this route as the math doesn’t seem to make sense.

To start earning them, you will need to go to your menu once again and click on the “Foap coins 25” to start watching ads.

For every ad you watch, you will get five Foap coins.  You can watch as many ads as you want and they tend to last 30 to 60 seconds.  This can be a downfall to many as earning these coins does take time.  Plus, you’re not even guaranteed a payout as it should be looked at as a way to buy a raffle ticket, that’s all.  If you do waste your time watching the ads, just make sure you pay attention to the time invested to ensure it’s worth it to you.

The Pros and Cons

As always, I love to comb the internet and see what other users are saying.  Below, I list both the advantages as well as the disadvantages of the app to give you a better idea as to whether or not it makes sense to you.

The Pros

• It’s free to use
• Great way to connect with big brands
• Ability to upload photos straight from your phone
• Earn $5~ per photo sold
• Can sell photos more than once
• Nice networking community
• Can win $100+ in contests

The Cons

• You have to earn Foap coins to participate in missions
• There’s a TON of competition
• Probably won’t make much
• Missions can be a waste of time
• 50% commission rate can be seen as a con to some
• Only paid once a month
• You can only use your smartphone to upload pictures

Final Thoughts

If you want to make a ton of money with your photos, I don’t think it can be done with Foap.  However, it doesn’t mean you should at least try it.  Keep in mind that if you do, it can be very time consuming to upload your photos as well as add descriptions and tags.  Let’s not even get started with the missions.

As long as you have the mindset that you won’t get rich, it doesn’t hurt to at least add a few of your favorite photos.  You never know who may want to buy them.

As for the missions, I don’t see much going here.  For one, you have to watch a ton of ads to even participate.  To me, that’s pretty sleazy.  Plus, even if you can submit your photo, you’re competing with hundreds, if not thousands of other photographers.  It could waste hours of your time.

Most photographers don’t make a ton on this app.  Maybe $5 to $25 if that.  I’m not going to stop you from using it as it is a legitimate app, but don’t expect it to pay a bill.