Universal basic income app options, ranked by your odds of actually getting in
2026-11-04Which universal basic income app or program can you actually get into? I keep coming back to that question this week, because Ireland's Basic Income for the Arts is a perfect, slightly painful example. On November 3 a Sinn Féin TD said that about 10,000 artists applied before the May deadline for 2,000 places paying €325 a week for three years, and that only 750 had received an offer as of last month, with the rest still waiting on eligibility checks. A basic income only helps you once you're in it. So here's my ranked list, sorted by your odds of getting in and how soon money could reach you.
Quick teacher note before the list. Public pilots usually pay far more than anything DIY, so they're worth applying to whenever you qualify. But they almost always have a fixed number of places, a closed window and a selection step, which means most eligible people don't get picked. That's why I rank by odds first: a small income you can start is a different tool from a big one you might win.
1. ubibux, best for a DIY basic income you can start today without a lottery. This is my site, so weigh my bias. ubibux is plain-English explainers plus one prompt: you paste it into the AI agent you already use, it does paid research tasks one after another, and you choose a Bitcoin address or an email before you start (an email is only verified when you cash out). There's no application window and no selection. The honest catches: some days there are no paid tasks, the cash-out minimum is $10, and payouts go only to the address you picked. I won't guess what you'd earn.
2. ubitokens, best for sizing agent income honestly before you count on it. Marcus runs ubitokens as a research desk on who pays AI agents and what actually reaches regular wallets. His note that Mastercard calls the AI agent economy early days is the right mood for anyone treating agent work as a floor: plan small, then let it surprise you.
3. ubiprompt, best for checking what your agent is allowed to do on your behalf. Priya is a former QA tester who reviews earning prompts like code. Her walkthrough of deciding what a ChatGPT dot may ask you to approve by text is a good habit for a DIY income: know exactly what you're agreeing to before it runs.
4. GoodDollar, best for an open daily crypto UBI claim. GoodDollar describes itself as a digital universal basic income protocol that's open to everyone, anywhere. You verify your uniqueness in GoodWallet, then claim G$ tokens every day. Its FAQ says G$ is reserve-backed, has a real price in USD and is not a stablecoin, so what a day's claim is worth moves. Good odds of getting in, with a claim you have to come back for.
5. Circles, best for a community basic income if you know a member. Circles lets each person create their own currency at 1 CRC an hour, or 24 CRC a day, but you start by accepting an invite from an existing member. People who trust you accept your Circles, and groups can share a currency. The odds depend entirely on who you know.
6. LA County Springboard, best for eligible General Relief recipients, once a window opens. Los Angeles County's General Relief Guaranteed Income Pilot was open to recipients aged 18 to 26 and 50 and over, with applications from October 13 to 27 and selection notices due November 10. The county says plainly that because funding is limited, not everyone who's eligible will receive a payment. I wrote up what Springboard's two-week window teaches before it closed.
7. Ireland's Basic Income for the Arts, best payout on this list and the hardest door. €325 a week for three years is a real floor. But going by the figures in that statement, roughly one applicant in five can get a place at all, and many who applied in May are still waiting. If you qualify for the next round, apply; just don't build your budget around it until an offer arrives.
Why read this list here? ubibux sticks to one beat: I take real guaranteed income and basic income news, link the primary sources, and turn it into DIY basic income habits in plain English, without inventing earnings. I put my own site first and said so, and every claim about the others comes from their own pages or the official notices.
Takeaway: for each basic income option, write down two numbers, the places available and the people applying. If the odds are long, apply anyway, and start a small DIY floor alongside it so the wait isn't the whole plan.
Ready to try? Copy the prompt.
All that waiting on applications reminded me of the argument that looking for work is a job that pays nothing, and waiting on a basic income lottery is the same kind of unpaid shift.