OhmConnect is closing. The notice on the OhmConnect homepage reads “After 10 years, OhmConnect will be closing.” The platform is being wound down, so there is no new signup, no OhmHour to earn from and no referral bonus to claim. Our own referral link now returns an offer that is no longer available.
OhmConnect has not published a final shutdown date. If you still have an account with a points balance, cash it out now while the site is up, because we cannot tell you how long that window stays open.
If you came here for an OhmConnect referral link, there is nothing left to sign up for. This page now covers what happened, what it means if you still hold points, and what actually pays instead.
What happened to OhmConnect
OhmConnect paid California households to cut their electricity use for about an hour at a time, during a window it called an OhmHour. It was open to PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers, it did not change your utility plan, and it paid out in cash and prizes. The money came from the grid rather than from advertisers, because keeping a peaking plant switched off is worth real money to a utility.
In December 2023 OhmConnect agreed to merge with Google Nest Renew, backed by a $100 million investment from Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, and the combined company took the name Renew Home. That deal closed in 2024. Renew Home carries on as a virtual power plant business built around smart thermostats. The OhmConnect consumer platform is the part that is closing.
So this is not a company that vanished overnight. It is a product being retired inside a larger business, which is why the website is still up while the signups and the referral program are not.
Is there a replacement
Not a direct one, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. OhmConnect worked because a grid operator paid for the electricity you did not use. Nobody replaces that with an app. The nearest equivalent is a demand response or peak savings program run by your own utility, and your utility website is the place to check whether it has one.
If what you actually wanted was a payout rather than a way to save energy, the rest of this page is the honest answer.
What pays instead
Two different things are worth separating. One is cash back on spending you were going to do anyway. The other is a bonus paid for signing up, which does not need you to buy anything at all.
Upside
Pays cash back for going to a specific gas station, grocery store or restaurant rather than for buying a particular brand. You claim the offer in the app before you pay and the cash arrives once the transaction clears. Gas is where it pays best.
Get started with Upside and check what it pays at the stations you already use.
Apps that pay a bonus up front
| App | Bonus we track | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Bigcash | $15 | Games, offers and surveys |
| Freecash | $10 | Offers and app testing, pays in cash or crypto |
| Testerup | $5 | Paid app and game testing |
| Branded | Varies | Surveys, as seen on CBS |
- Bigcash pays the largest of the four at $15 and has the widest mix of ways to earn
- Freecash starts you at $10 and pays out in cash or crypto, with a low withdrawal threshold
- Testerup pays $5 to start and suits anyone who would rather test apps than answer survey questions
- Branded is a survey panel that has been seen on CBS, and is the steadiest of the four
Frequently asked questions
No. OhmConnect says on its own site that the platform is closing, and the signup and referral routes are gone. If you have an existing account with a balance, cash it out now rather than waiting, because no final deadline has been published.
No. The referral offer we used returns a message saying it is no longer available, and there is no new signup for a referral to point at.
Not exactly. OhmConnect merged with Google Nest Renew in a deal announced in December 2023, and the combined company, Renew Home, closed the deal in 2024. Renew Home is still trading. It is the OhmConnect consumer platform that is being retired.
Where to go next
OhmConnect is not the only program on this site that closed. Our writeup of the Drop referral code covers another one, and the GetUpside referral code page explains how the Upside offers work before you install it.
