How to Make Passive Income with Raspberry Pi (EarnApp Guide)

Recently, I have been wondering if there are ways to generate extra passive income with my Raspberry Pi. I came across various methods, but I settled on one that wouldn’t require much of my time. In this post, I’ll show you how to give it a try yourself using EarnApp.

Installing EarnApp on a Raspberry Pi allows passive income generation by keeping the device connected to the internet and running 24/7 in the background.

I’ve tested this method myself, and I’m excited to share it with you. In just a few minutes, you’ll know exactly how to set it up and start generating passive income with your Raspberry Pi.

If you’re new to Raspberry Pi or Linux, I’ve got something that can help you right away!
Download my free Linux commands cheat sheet – it’s a quick reference guide with all the essential commands you’ll need to get things done on your Raspberry Pi. Click here to get it for free!

What is EarnApp?

EarnApp is an application that allows you to earn income by sharing your unused internet bandwidth.

Like you literally don’t need to do anything. You install the application and let it run in the background as you work on your other tasks.

The app has been there for a while. It’s owned by BrightData, a company that specializes in collecting and providing structured, reliable web data through proxy networks, web scraping solutions, and specialized data feeds for businesses.

To improve their service delivery, Brightdata developed EarnApp, an application that leverages your unused bandwidth and pays you for it.

How Does EarnApp Work? (The Theory)

You might be wondering, what exactly is bandwidth sharing, and how does it work?
Let me put it in the simplest way possible.

• Imagine you have a water pipe (your internet connection).
• Most of the time, you’re only using part of the water – checking email, scrolling social media, watching a video.
• EarnApp opens a small tap on the side of your pipe and lets trusted companies send a few drops of water through when you’re not using it.
• You still get all the water you need, and you barely notice the difference.
• Because you’re allowing this “tiny tap” to run, EarnApp pays you a small amount.

EarnApp uses this shared bandwidth to help businesses collect public data from the internet in a safer, more reliable way.

Which Payment Model Does EarnApp Use?

Previously (before August 20, 2025), EarnApp used to pay its users using a pay-per-GB model. That basically meant you were paid based on the amount of internet data (bandwidth) that passed through their network via your device.

If your device shared X GB of data, you earned a certain amount of money per gigabyte (GB). Rates varied depending on your location (e.g., the U.S. usually earned more per GB).

Since August 20, 2025, BrightData has changed the earning model to Pay-per-Time. That means, you’re now paid based on how long your device is online and meets the traffic/speed requirements, rather than how much actual bandwidth is consumed.

As of this writing, EarnApp pays $0.0138 per hour in the US (with a minimum speed of 100 Mbps) and $0.0069 per hour in the rest of the world (with a minimum speed of at least 10 Mbps).

Now you might wonder, is the new model (Pay-per-Time) better? From my experience and research on various forums, it depends on how you use your internet, but for most casual users, the new model is actually more predictable and safer.

How Does It Compare to Other Ways of Making Money?

If you’ve gone through some of the posts on this site, you will learn that there are other ways in which you can still make money with your Raspberry Pi.

For example, you can use your Raspberry Pi to mine cryptocurrency. I know that might sound funny, considering most people out here invest in heavy-commercial mining rigs, yet the Raspberry Pi comes with just a few resources. There are some cryptocurrencies that you can mine with the Raspberry Pi and still make some profit.

Another way you can still make money using your Raspberry Pi is by renting out your unused storage. Companies looking to build decentralized cloud storage use random computers around the world to safely store files, encrypted, and with redundancy. Here is a short video from STORJ that explains the entire concept.

Below is a comparison table that illustrates how EarnApp compares to other Raspberry Pi money-making methods in terms of setup, effort, and potential earnings.

Method	How You Earn	Setup Difficulty	Hardware Strain	Earning Potential
EarnApp (Bandwidth Sharing)	Get paid for sharing unused internet bandwidth.	Easy	Very Low	Up to $5–10/month per IP.
Crypto Mining	Mine specific coins (low-power coins).	Moderate	High (constant CPU use)	Very Low – mostly hobby level.
Decentralized Storage (STORJ, Sia)	Rent out unused disk space to store encrypted files.	Moderate	Medium (disk wear)	Variable – depends on storage and network availability.

Setting Up EarnApp on a Raspberry Pi

Now that you have a good understanding of EarnApp and how it works, let me take you through the whole process of installing and setting it up on your Raspberry Pi.

What You’ll Need

Below are some of the things you will need for this project:

• Raspberry Pi (any model, but Pi 3/4/5 recommended): In my case, I will be using a Raspberry Pi 4 model B.
• MicroSD card with OS installed: You’ll notice I didn’t specify which operating system to install. That’s because the EarnApp version for Raspberry Pi is Linux-based and can run on any Linux distribution.
  In my case, I will be installing EarnApp on my Raspberry Pi running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Here is a list of different Linux distributions that you can install on your Raspberry Pi.
• Reliable internet connection: Here, I would mainly recommend using Ethernet for maximum uptime.
• Reliable power supply (ideally with UPS or surge protection): A Raspberry Pi must be powered with a compatible power supply. You can check our article on how to power a Raspberry Pi and learn which power supply to use for your Raspberry Pi model in terms of Voltage and Amperes.

Create Your EarnApp Account

The first step is to create an EarnApp account.
Open your browser and go to EarnApp.com and create your account.

You will see two main options you can use to sign up:

• Sign up with Google.
• Sign up with Apple.

Select one that fits you and create an account.

Install EarnApp on the Raspberry Pi

After successfully creating an account, visit the EarnApp dashboard and sign in with your account details. You will see a pop-up window or a section to download EarnApp for your device.

Currently, EarnApp is available for Windows, macOS, Android, Linux, Raspberry Pi, and iOS. Whether you are running Linux or Raspberry Pi OS, follow the steps below to install EarnApp on your Raspberry Pi.

• Launch the terminal from your desktop.
  Alternatively, you can also connect to your Raspberry Pi via SSH, as I did.
• Execute the command below, which downloads EarnApp’s installation script from Bright Data’s website:
  wget -qO- https://brightdata.com/static/earnapp/install.sh > /tmp/earnapp.sh && sudo bash /tmp/earnapp.sh
  

Link Your Device to Your Account

After EarnApp is successfully installed, you will see a line at the end of the terminal that says “Open the following URL in the browser.”

Now, this is the link that will connect your EarnApp account with your currently installed EarnApp application.

Copy the entire URL and paste it into your browser. Use the same browser you used to create your EarnApp account, so you won’t have to keep signing in again.

You will see a message on your dashboard saying “Device successfully linked.”

Verify Everything Is Working

Up to this point, you should’ve accomplished three things:

• Created an EarnApp account.
• Installed EarnApp on your Raspberry Pi.
• Linked the EarnApp application to your account.

Next, confirm everything is working and your EarnApp account is making money.

Access your EarnApp dashboard and scroll to the Lifetime earnings section. Now, in my case, I have been running EarnApp for several days and have accumulated a few cents. For you, your dashboard might still show 0 (zero) earnings.

But don’t worry, give it one or two hours, and you will start seeing some figures appear on your dashboard.

You also need to check the devices section. This is where you can see all the devices connected to your account. I will explain to you why you need to connect more devices to your account in the next section.

In the section below your earnings, select Passive Income, and you will see a section labelled Devices. As you can see in the image below, I have two devices connected to my account, with the recent one being the Raspberry Pi I just added.

How Much Can You Actually Earn? (Realistic Expectations)

Earlier on, I mentioned that EarnApp switched from paying-per-bandwidth to pay-per-hour of uptime. That makes earnings more predictable, but it also means your income depends on how long your device stays online.

• United States: Up to $0.0138 per hour (about $10/month if online 24/7) with a minimum speed of 100 Mbps.
• Rest of the world: Up to $0.0069 per hour (around $5/month with 24/7 uptime) with a minimum speed of 10 Mbps.

These are ideal figures assuming your connection meets the speed requirements and EarnApp has enough traffic demand in your area.

Variables That Affect Income

There are a few key factors that determine how close you get to the maximum rate:

• Country or Region – One thing you need to know is that traffic demand varies. Countries with more advertisers or research needs (like the US or parts of Europe) usually pay higher rates.
• Connection Type – A residential IP is preferred because companies want real consumer traffic. Hosting providers, VPNs, or mobile hotspots may reduce or block earnings. Actually, as you will learn below, the use of VPNs, Cloud platforms, and Virtual machines is prohibited.
• Uptime Consistency – The more hours your Raspberry Pi stays connected, the more you earn. Using a UPS or a stable internet connection helps maintain 24/7 uptime.

Tips to Boost Your Earnings

When you do the math, EarnApp will roughly pay you $10 monthly if you are in the US and $5 if you are outside the US.

However, there are ways you can boost your earnings.

Legit Ways to Maximize Your Income

Stay Online 24/7

Earlier, I told you that EarnApp now pays by time online instead of the bandwidth you share. Therefore, to maximize your earnings, the most important factor is to stay connected as long as possible.

The longer your device is active and reachable, the more you earn, whether or not there’s heavy traffic passing through.

To get the most out of this model, aim to keep your Raspberry Pi (or any device you’re using) running day and night. A Raspberry Pi is perfect for this because it uses very little electricity and can run quietly in the background without interruption.

Use Multiple Devices (the Right Way)

Yes, you can install EarnApp on multiple devices. For example, you have installed EarnApp on your Raspberry Pi. You can still go ahead to install EarnApp on your Android phone, laptop, or desktop PC and sign in with the same account. However, there is a catch.

If all your devices use the same Wi-Fi or home network, they share the same public IP address. EarnApp sees them as one “source” of traffic. Adding more devices to the same IP won’t multiply your earnings; instead, the system splits the available traffic between them. You might notice only a small increase in your earnings.

To boost your earnings, each device needs its own unique IP. This tells EarnApp that each device is independent, so each one can receive its own traffic and earn separately. A different IP simply means a different internet connection, such as:

• A second home internet line or router.
• A mobile hotspot using cellular data.
• A Raspberry Pi set up at a friend’s house or office.

Choose the Best Network

Your internet connection can make a big difference in how much you earn.

EarnApp works best on a fast, stable residential broadband network, because these connections are in higher demand and are less likely to be filtered or flagged.

If you have access to more than one internet provider (for example, fibre and a mobile hotspot), always pick the one with the higher speed and better reliability.

Residential connections are preferred because they look more natural to the network, while mobile hotspots, corporate Wi-Fi, or public networks may earn less or sometimes fail to qualify for traffic. If your area supports fibre or cable internet, that’s usually the top choice.

Even if you already have a good plan, make sure your speeds meet the minimum requirements—at least 100 Mbps in the US and 10 Mbps elsewhere. Faster upload and download rates won’t necessarily increase the pay rate, but they do help you get more consistent traffic, which means steadier earnings.

Monitor Your Dashboard

Don’t just set up EarnApp and forget it. Your dashboard is your best friend when it comes to keeping earnings on track. Log in regularly (even once a day) to check the following:

• Uptime metrics – Make sure every device is online and sharing bandwidth as expected. A device that goes offline for hours means lost income.
• Hourly earnings – Keep an eye on how much each device is making. Sudden drops might signal a connection problem or a slowdown in traffic.
• Payout settings – Double-check that your payment method is active so you don’t miss a payout.

Catching small issues early, like a Raspberry Pi that’s frozen or a router that needs a reboot, can prevent days of lost income. Think of the dashboard as your earnings health check. A glance can save you from unpleasant surprises.

What’s Not Allowed (Avoid Getting Banned)

Let me save you from the mistakes I almost made.

EarnApp has strict rules to keep the network safe and valuable. Break them, and you risk losing your account and all your earnings – no appeal, no second chances.

When I first started, I thought, “Easy money, what if I just run it everywhere?” Maybe you’ve had the same thought. But here’s what you cannot do.

• No Virtual Machines or Containers – I once thought of spinning up a few VMs on my Proxmox server. Nope. EarnApp’s terms explicitly forbid running inside VMs, Docker containers, or emulators.
• No Cloud Servers – AWS, Azure, Google Cloud—forget it. Hosting services are considered commercial environments, and EarnApp will block them.
• No Business/Commercial Networks – Your local cyber café? Your office network? Off-limits. EarnApp only works on personal, residential hardware like your home PC, phone, or Raspberry Pi.

EarnApp is a simple way to turn your idle internet into passive income, especially if you already have a Raspberry Pi or spare device lying around.

Just remember, it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. Your earnings depend on uptime, connection quality, and your location, so think of it as extra pocket money rather than a full-time income.

FAQ

What are Other Bandwidth Sharing Apps?

Other apps that pay you for sharing unused internet bandwidth include:

• Honeygain: One of the most popular options, with both desktop and mobile apps.
  And the good news is that you can install it on the same device as Earnapp to multiply your gains!
• Pawns (formerly IPRoyal Pawns): This app lets you earn cash or gift cards by sharing your connection.
• Peer2Profit: Similar to Honeygain, it pays per GB of traffic you share.

Each platform has its own payout rates and rules, but the idea is the same. Your unused internet is rented out to trusted networks in exchange for passive income.

Will EarnApp Slow Down My Internet?

No. Since payments are now based on uptime rather than bandwidth usage, it has almost no noticeable effect on your internet speed.

Does EarnApp Work With Any Raspberry Pi Model?

Yes, but newer models (Pi 4, Pi 5) handle 24/7 uptime more efficiently. Lower models (Pi Zero, Pi 3) also work if they stay connected.

Am I Exposing My Data?

No, it only shares bandwidth.

Whenever you’re ready, here are other ways I can help you:

Test Your Raspberry Pi Level (Free): Not sure why everything takes so long on your Raspberry Pi? Take this free 3-minute assessment and see what’s causing the problems.

The RaspberryTips Community: Need help or want to discuss your Raspberry Pi projects with others who actually get it? Join the RaspberryTips Community and get access to private forums, exclusive lessons, and direct help.

Master your Raspberry Pi in 30 days: If you are looking for the best tips to become an expert on Raspberry Pi, this book is for you. Learn useful Linux skills and practice multiple projects with step-by-step guides.

Master Python on Raspberry Pi: Create, understand, and improve any Python script for your Raspberry Pi. Learn the essentials step-by-step without losing time understanding useless concepts.

You can also find all my recommendations for tools and hardware on this page.