The fastest free way to get coins in Crossy Road is to open every free gift as soon as it’s ready, take the 20-coin video ads when they’re offered, and finish your quests. If you’re willing to pay, the Piggy Bank character ($2.99 on the US App Store) gives you 1,000 coins at once and permanently doubles ad rewards to 40 coins, makes free gifts worth more, and adds red coins worth five during runs.
Here’s what every coin source pays and how to stack them.
Every way to get coins in Crossy Road #
| Source | What it pays | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Coins in runs | 1 each; red coins are worth 5 (Piggy Bank owners only) | Every run |
| Free gift | A random amount of coins | On a timer that grows, then stays at 3 hours |
| Video ads | 20 coins, or 40 with the Piggy Bank | When the game offers one |
| Quests | Coins for completing set tasks | As quests appear |
| Piggy Bank purchase | 1,000 coins at once | One time |
Details of the gift and prize systems come from the community-run Crossy Road Wiki. The Piggy Bank price is from the US App Store in September 2026.
How do free gifts work? #
Free gifts are the cheapest coins in the game, because they take seconds. The wait between gifts grows with each one, then stops growing at the seventh gift, so from then on a new gift is ready every three hours. After a run, the game offers to open your gift if one is waiting; tap it to open.
The practical routine:
- Turn on notifications for Crossy Road so you know when a gift is ready.
- Open the app, claim, close. You don’t need to play a run to collect.
- Check in a few times a day. At three hours per gift, even three or four check-ins a day adds up over a week.
Are the video ads worth it? #
Each ad lasts 10 to 30 seconds and pays 20 coins, or 40 if you own the Piggy Bank. That’s five ads, or two and a half minutes of video, per 100-coin prize machine spin without the Piggy Bank. Whether that’s worth it depends on how much you want new characters versus playing. Ads need an internet connection, so they won’t appear when you play offline.
Is the Piggy Bank worth buying? #
For regular players, it’s the best value purchase in the game. The Piggy Bank can’t be won from the prize machine; it’s only available as a purchase. Buying it:
- Adds 1,000 coins right away, enough for ten prize machine spins
- Makes red coins, worth five each, appear during runs
- Doubles video ad rewards from 20 to 40 coins
- Makes free gifts worth more
These bonuses are permanent and apply whichever character you play. If you’ll only play for a week, skip it. If Crossy Road is your daily game, it pays for itself in time saved.
How does the prize machine use your coins? #
The prize machine costs 100 coins per spin and gives you a random character. Duplicates are possible, and they get more likely as your collection grows. Once you’ve collected every character except the ones that are only sold for money, the machine stops offering prizes.
That shapes how you should spend:
- Early spins are good value. Most of what you win is new.
- Late spins mostly return duplicates. Collectors who want one particular character may find it cheaper to buy that character directly, since some are sold as in-app purchases from $0.99.
Which run tactics earn more coins? #
In-run coins are worth only one each, so the tactic is less “collect everything” and more “live long enough to pass more coins”.
- Skip coin bait. Coins between fast cars or in front of a train are tempting on purpose. One coin is never worth the run.
- Keep moving. Crossy Road’s eagle takes you if you stall, so plan a step or two ahead instead of waiting for perfect gaps. See what happens if you stay still.
- Get good at rivers. Rivers end a lot of runs early. Our guide to crossing rivers in Crossy Road-style games covers log timing.
- Read your quests before you play. Quests ask for specific actions, and one run can often clear more than one.
For how coins and speed work across the genre, see endless runner mechanics.
Should you change your phone’s clock to skip timers? #
We don’t recommend it. Moving the date or time forward to collect gifts early can confuse the game’s timers and other apps on your phone, and it isn’t worth risking a save you’ve spent months building. The three-hour gift timer is short enough that checking in a few times a day gets most of the value.
Rather choose characters than gamble on a machine? #
Crossy Road’s random prize machine is part of the fun, but it’s also why collecting everything takes so long. In Capybara Crossing, our capybara road-crossing game, the shop has fixed prices instead: you pick the capybara you want, from Baby Capy at 100 coins to Space Capy at 3,500, and there are no duplicates and no in-app purchases. Optional videos pay 50 coins each. Our Capybara Crossing characters guide lists every price and perk, and how to get every character in mobile arcade games covers other games.
Frequently asked questions #
How often do you get a free gift in Crossy Road? #
The wait grows with each gift until the seventh. After that, a new free gift is ready every three hours. Each gift contains a random number of coins.
Does the Crossy Road prize machine give duplicates? #
Yes. Each 100-coin spin gives a random character, and the chance of a duplicate rises as you collect more. Once you own everything except the paid-only characters, the machine stops offering prizes.
Can you get coins in Crossy Road while offline? #
You can still pick up coins during runs. Video ads need a connection, so the 20-coin ad rewards aren’t available offline.
How much does the Piggy Bank cost? #
It was $2.99 on the US App Store in September 2026. Prices vary by country and can change, so check the in-game shop.