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Side Hustles, Making Money Online, & Finance

How To Make 5 Dollars Fast – 19 Free & Easy Methods That Work!

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If you’ve ever found yourself in a a pinch and need to make $5 fast, you’re not alone.

Sometimes you’re out and about and need to make money quickly, or sometimes, you’re just flat broke and need a bit of extra cash.

Whatever the case, today I’m covering how to make 5 dollars fast so you can enjoy some quick cash when you need it most.

Of course, this isn’t a life changing amount of money, but every bit counts!

I’ve also used plenty of these methods during my time in college or even afterwards to make some extra cash. So, if you’re ready for some legit ideas, this is absolutely the post for you.

Let’s get to it!

How To Make $5 Dollars Fast

There are lots of ways to get $5 fast. Some involve making money online while others are in-person side hustles.

Additionally, some methods to make $5 dollars fast can be done instantly and pay you with free money, so there are plenty of options on the table!

I tested out dozens of these side hustles during my time in college and afterwards, so I know they’re legit. Here are some of my favorite ideas that can also make a fast $5.

1. Use Branded Surveys

One of the best ways to make five dollars fast is to answer online surveys for cash.

And, out of all the survey sites, one of my absolute favorites is Branded Surveys. I’ve used it for over a year, and it’s incredibly easy to use and a realistic way to get $5 fast.

Branded Surveys website

This popular survey platform has millions of members, and it lets you answer online surveys to earn cash and gift cards. All you have to do is create a free account, complete your profile, and then you can begin answering questions to earn.

I’ve used Branded Surveys in the past while I was in school, and it’s one of the larger survey sites out there.

What’s cool about Branded Surveys is that you can earn bonus cash every month through its Branded Elite Program. Essentially, if you answer enough surveys each month, you get some free cash as a bonus thanks to this program.

I also like Branded Surveys since it lets you cash out at just $5, so you can get paid pretty quickly.

Try out Branded Surveys or read our Branded Surveys review for all the details.

2. Use Food Delivery Apps

There are lots of lucrative gig apps out there, but some of the most popular are definitely food delivery jobs.

And, if you want to earn $5 fast, you really need to complete one food delivery order to make that amount of money since it’s easy to earn $5 to $10 per delivery in most cases.

There are also numerous companies in the space you can deliver for, including:

The video above from gig worker Nuggs shares how much money you can make with gigs like Uber Eats in a single day. But you can make 5 dollars fast with any of these gigs just by completing a delivery or two.

Just note that jobs like Instacart require a car because you’re delivering groceries, but DoorDash and Uber Eats can be done on bike or scooter. And my post on the best no-car side hustles has some similar ideas you can use.

The bottom line is that any food delivery gig is a great way to make 5 dollars fast. Just remember the sign up process can take a week or two!

Sign up for Uber Eats or Instacart today!

3. Play Games For Cash

Another way to make $5 dollars fast is to try apps that pay you for playing games.

Some game apps pay you with PayPal cash while others just pay you with gift cards. But, in any case, this is a more fun way to get $5 fast, and if you already play mobile games, it’s kinda like passive income.

Some popular gaming apps that pay include:

  • Mistplay – A leading Android gaming app that lets you earn gift cards for playing new games.
  • Rewarded Play – This app like Mistplay also pays you for playing new Android games.
  • Cash Giraffe – Download new Android games and cash out with PayPal and gift cards!
  • Gamehag – Play leading PC titles for free gift cards and rewards like free Steam games!
  • Flash Rewards – Another Android gaming app that lets you earn various prizes.
  • AppNana – Play mobile games and cash out with PayPal or gift cards.
  • Gamekit – A platform like Gamehag that lets you earn rewards for playing PC games.
  • Buff Gaming – A gaming platform that pays you with small amounts of rewards passively for gaming.

I also made a YouTube video that shares some of my favorite paid gaming apps you can use to get $5 fast.

For Android, Cash Giraffe is definitely my new favorite app, while Gamehag is my favorite for PC gamers.

It might take a few games to get your 5 dollars fast, but if you want to play video games for money, this is the right idea for you!

4. Use Pinecone Research

If you want to get 5 dollars now, another option is to answer surveys with Pinecone Research.

This premium survey site pays you $3 for every survey you complete, and you get to cash out instantly for free PayPal money and gift cards to companies like Amazon.

Pinecone-research

You have to apply to join this survey panel, so there’s a chance you can’t make money with it immediately. But if you get in and need $5 now, it’s a reliable way to make quick cash in a short amount of time.

Sign up for Pinecone Research!

5. Sign Up For Rakuten

There are lots of shopping browser extensions that pay you cash back when you buy products online from certain retailers.

And, out of all of them, Rakuten is my favorite one. In fact, I’ve used it for over four years and have made over $1,000 on the platform, so I know it’s legit.

total-Rakuten-earningsRakuten lets you earn real cash back at thousands of stores, including popular retailers like:

  • CVS
  • Disney+
  • Macy’s
  • Michael Kors
  • Old Navy
  • Shein
  • Target
  • Walmart
  • Verizon

Cash-back rates often range from 1% to 10%, so you can make $5 quickly if your online purchase is large enough. Plus, right now, Rakuten is giving new users a free $30 sign up bonus if they sign up and spend at least $30 at a Rakuten partner.

This is probably one of the easiest ways to make a quick 5 bucks, and you can use Rakuten to keep earning whenever you shop online.

Sign up for Rakuten today or read our Rakuten review for even more info!

6. Use Passive Income Apps

Like reward apps, another easy way to earn 5 dollars quickly is to use various passive income apps.

I used passive income apps for one of my first college side hustle, and I still use one or two today on an old Android phone.

You can actually make more than $5 per month with a variety of apps, but most of the best apps are only available in the U.S. and Canada, so keep this in mind.

Popular passive earning apps include:

One of my latest YouTube videos also shares even more options you can use to get $5 fast.

As you can see, independently, these apps don’t really make that much. But you can make $5 fast if you try out a few apps, and this is a realistic way to earn $100+ in free money per year in my opinion!

Extra Reading – How To Make $40 Per Day.

7. Cash Odd Jobs

If you’re still wondering how to get 5 dollars right now, another option is to use odd job apps to make fast cash.

I’ve done this throughout school to make some extra money on the side. And there are plenty of lucrative apps out there that can help you find gigs, including:

  • Steady: This side hustle app helps you find new part-time and full-time gigs to make extra income.
  • Taskrabbit: One of the largest gig marketplaces in the world.
  • Wonolo: This U.S. app helps you find temporary work that pays upwards of $20 per hour.
  • Instawork: A popular app like Wonolo that has plenty of temporary positions.
  • Oppizi: This gig pays you to walk and deliver flyers.

Steady gig app

If these apps fail, you can also try tactics like going door-to-door to offer services like landscaping, window washing, or similarly labor-intensive gigs.

8. Sell Stuff You Own

If it’s been a while since you did a closet purge or some Spring cleaning, you can probably sell stuff you own to make 5 dollars fast.

My advice would be to look for things like brand-name clothing, electronics, toys, or books to sell on The Facebook Marketplace.

I like Facebook because it’s local and sales are done in cash, and I’ve sold guitars on Facebook in the past. Overall, it’s very easy and fast to find local buyers, and you don’t have to worry about the hassle of shipping anything.

If Facebook isn’t for you, you can also try various online selling options like:

My YouTube video shares even more ways you can make money by selling things you don’t need.

Of course, other options like Craigslist or eBay are viable too. There’s really no shortage of selling platforms, but my advice is to take multiple, nice product photos and to spend some time on your description so buyers are incentivized to buy!

Extra Reading – The 14 Best Websites & Apps Like Poshmark.

9. Test Websites For Cash

While it might surprise you, there are numerous companies that pay you to test websites. And these sites are a perfect way to make 5 dollars now.

All you have to do is sign up as a user tester for these companies. If a client needs their website or app tested, you get an email inviting you to complete the test to get paid.

Tests typically take 10 to 20 minutes and pay $10 to $20 in PayPal cash, so you’re making more than $5 in barely any time. Some popular user testing websites include:

UserTestingIt’s common practice to sign up for multiple websites since it can take a while to get testing opportunities.

But when you do, this is a reliable way to make $10 fast or even a little bit more without much effort!

10. Use Cash-Back Reward Apps

Another method you can use to earn 5 dollars fast is to use various reward apps that pay you to shop. 

If you’ve read This Online World for a while, you know I absolutely love reward apps that pay. I experimented with pretty much every reward app during my time in college, and there are several I still use today.

Basically, reward apps pay you for shopping at partner retailers or even uploading your shopping receipts.

So, if you have an upcoming shopping trip, you can probably make 5 dollars right now if you shop through the following apps:

  • Drop – My favorite cash back app that lets you earn free gift cards at hundreds of stores.
  • Fetch Rewards – A leading grocery reward app that lets you upload receipts to earn free gift cards.
  • Upside – One of the best ways to earn cash back for your gas.
  • Ampli – A Canadian cash-back app that pays you passively as you shop.
  • Dosh – An American version of Ampli that pays you with easy, passive income for shopping.
  • Pogo – Pays you with PayPal cash for shopping and sharing your location.
  • Receipt Hog – Another receipt-scanning app where you can earn PayPal money or gift cards.

I also made a video that shares some apps and methods you can use to get $5 dollars fast as well as some free gift cards.

But this is honestly just scratching the surface as well. You can try even more reward apps like Checkout 51, Ibotta, or ReceiptPal for earning cash back on groceries.

Furthermore, you have apps like Bumped that pay you with bits of stock for shopping or the Pei app, which can earn you free Bitcoin!

Point is, if you’re wondering how to earn 5 dollars fast, the answer might be to just shop through your smartphone.

11. Answer Surveys With Survey Junkie

The funny thing is, I don’t really like paid survey sites because the earning potential is low and surveys can take a while to answer. But for getting $5 fast, there’s nothing wrong with using different get-paid-to websites and survey apps.

And, out of all paid survey sites, Survey Junkie is one of the most popular.

SurveyJunkieSigning up for Survey Junkie is free, and you only need to earn $5 to cash out rewards. Rewards also include PayPal cash and a healthy variety of free gift cards.

Surveys typically take 5 minutes to 20 minutes and usually pay $0.25 to $2. Overall, I’ve found it’s one of the easiest survey sites to use, and it’s also more consistent than many other sites.

You can’t use Survey Junkie to quit your day job, but if you grind out a few surveys and try some Survey Junkie hacks, you can definitely earn 5 dollars fast with the platform.

Get started with Survey Junkie!

12. Shop With MyPoints

Rakuten is my go-to for shopping online to earn cash back. But, another way to make $5 online fast is to sign up and shop through MyPoints to take advantage of the $10 sign up bonuses.

MyPoints website

MyPoints is actually a popular beermoney website that lets you earn cash and gift cards for answering surveys, watching videos, and playing games.

But you can also shop at hundreds of MyPoints partners and earn cash back, like Rakuten.

Right now, MyPoints is giving new users a free $10 Amazon gift card or Prepaid Visa Card if you sign up and spend $20 or more on a qualifying offer.

So, if you’re doing some online shopping, consider using MyPoints to take advantage of the sign up bonus!

13. Try Other Paid Survey Websites

If you like the idea of using Survey Junkie to get five dollars quickly, you can also use other survey sites to make some fast money.

Popular survey sites with low cash-out requirements include:

  • Swagbucks – Lets you cash out with gift cards at $1 and PayPal cash at $5.
  • Kashkick – Get paid for answering surveys, shopping, and playing mobile games. You can read our Kashkick review for more details.
  • Toluna – Another option you can use to make easy money in your spare time.
  • Grindabuck – A popular GPT website that lets you cash out for crypto, gift cards, or PayPal money at $5.
  • InboxDollars – Another leading rewards platform that also has a free $5 sign up bonus.

It’s actually a decent idea to use multiple survey sites so you can pick the highest offers for the day so it’s more worth your time.

I’d still start with options like Branded Surveys and Survey Junkie, but you can easily make $5 quickly with any of the sites in this list.

14. Play Trivia For Money

If you’re knowledgeable in categories like history, entertainment, music, and history, you can probably make $5 fast by using different trivia apps that pay!

There’s actually several apps out there that host daily or weekly trivia competitions that let the winners split a cash prize pool.

One of the most popular ones is Swagbucks Live, a live trivia game show from Swagbucks where you can test your trivia knowledge to win bonus Swagbucks points.

SwagbucksLiveThere are other apps out there too, like Cash Quiz Live or Givling, which actually helps students pay off student debt.

Granted, you need to be pretty clever to earn $5 quickly with trivia apps, but it’s another fun side hustle idea to consider.

15. Make Money With Reddit

You might think that Reddit is just useful for looking up internet news and looking at memes. But there are actually lots of ways to make money on Reddit, some of which are ideal for making a fast $5 bucks.

For example, you can try completing micro tasks on subreddits like r/slavelabour or r/ForHire.

You can also find niche-specific freelancing work on subreddits like r/DesignJobs or r/HireAWriter.

Finally, if you run a blog or online business, you can also use Reddit as a free traffic source and push people back to your website where they can convert as customers.

In the past, I’ve found freelance writing gigs on Reddit and also promoted my blog, so I know it’s possible to make decent money with it.

I made a video recently that covers how to make money on Reddit, so you can check that out for even more ideas!

16. Try Freelancing Gigs

If you’re still thinking: I need five dollars right now, you’re not out of luck because I still have ideas!

Selling your skills online is another way to get $5 quickly…or even much, much more if you land enough work and charge higher rates, of course.

Personally, I do this as a freelance writer, and this is actually how I make a lot of my monthly income while traveling the world, making money with my laptop.

Lions Head hike South Africa
From Lions Head hike in Cape Town, South Africa this year.

But, lots of skills translate well to freelancing, including:

  • Graphic design
  • Digital marketing
  • Online tutoring
  • Programming
  • SEO
  • Social media management
  • Video editing
  • Virtual assistant work
  • Website design

There are also lots of remote job sites where you can look for work. Finding jobs on Upwork or Fiverr is also a great starting point.

In my experience, you have to price your services a bit low or accept everything that comes your way in the early days to build up your portfolio.

But, after a while, you can increase your rates and land better clients as you learn the ropes.

This is what I did with freelance writing, and I’ve gone from earning $20 an article to writing for $300 to $500 per article for certain clients.

Again, growing your freelancing career takes time, but to make a fast five dollars, it’s a viable route.

17. Sell Empty Cans & Bottles

If you want one more idea on how to earn $5 fast, you can always collect bottles and cans and return them to your local beer store.

Cans usually go for $0.05 and bottles go for $0.10 to $0.15, or even more if it’s a large bottle or wine bottle. So, a few neighborhoods of can collecting should get you your $5, especially if you go on a Sunday right after a busy weekend!

18. Rent Out Stuff

Another passive option for this list is to rent things out for extra money.

The obvious examples here are platforms like Airbnb or Turo, where you can rent out your home or car. Both these platforms pay more than $5 per day, so it’s actually surpassing your goal quite a bit.

But there’s even more creative ways to make money renting things out to people.

For example, websites like SpotHero let you rent out unused parking spaces, and charging $5 per day for a spot isn’t unheard of in busy areas.

You can also rent out extra storage space by using Neighbor. This is a perfect side hustle you can start, and it basically lets you make money on autopilot every month just for sharing a bit of your extra space!

Become-Neighbor-HostSo, if you have some unused closet space, an empty shed or garage, or even a spare room, you can list it on Neighbor for free and begin earning some passive income for your time.

If you get a single renter, that’s a quick $5 right there, and it doesn’t require any effort on your part!

19. Walk Dogs With Rover

One final method for how to make 5 dollars fast is to walk dogs with Rover.

This popular gig app connects pet owners with walkers and sitters. And as a Rover worker, you can usually make about $15 to $20 per hour by walking dogs in your area.

Rover Pricing
Examples of some Rover prices.

I like Rover since it lets you set your availability, prices, and the kinds of animals you work with. And with a few steady clients, you can easily make a few hundred dollars per month in additional income.

Extra Reading – The Best Jobs To Do From Your Phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Make 5 Dollars Instantly?

If you want to make $5 right now, your best option is to leverage sign up bonuses for different reward apps and programs.

For example, if you shop through Rakuten or MyPoints, that’s an easy $40 in cash and gift cards, which is free money if you’re online shopping anyway.

Aside from that, some survey sites like InboxDollars pay $5 sign up bonuses, so you can explore that option as well!

How Can I Get 5 Dollars Instantly On PayPal?

If PayPal money is your goal, I think survey sites like Branded Surveys and Swagbucks are the best option to get a quick $5 in PayPal money.

Survey sites usually let you cash out through PayPal, and it’s a faster route to this small amount of money than something like freelancing.

How Can I Make $5 Dollars For Free?

If you want to get $5 for free, using instant sign-up bonuses is your best bet. For example, apps like Steady pay you cash for trying out apps and services from different partners.

You can also sign up for different reward apps that pay you with bonuses for joining. For example, using a Drop invite code can pay you $5 for free or more, and this just requires trying a new cash-back app.

Extra Reading – The Best Ways To Make $3,000 Fast.

Final Thoughts

I hope this guide on how to make $5 fast helps you make a bit of extra cash if you’re in a pinch.

You have a lot of online and in-person options here, so pick a few fun side hustles that sound viable for you and go get that money!

Again, these ideas won’t make you rich. But they’re legitimate ways to get some extra money without much effort, and the income potential is higher for some of the ideas I’ve covered.

Best of luck with your side hustling, and thanks for reading!

Want even more ways to make extra money? Checkout:

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