There are so many ways to get PayPal money instantly. From using reward apps to finding clever online side hustles, there are tons of methods out there that are legit and working. And I've personally tested out dozens of these ideas over the years to make some extra money on the side.
In fact, some of these instant PayPal methods can even make $100 a day or more if you play your cards right. And many others are super simple, beginner-friendly ideas you can try in a single afternoon.
How To Earn PayPal Money Instantly
1. Use PayPal Reward Apps
One of my favorite strategies is to use reward apps that let you cash out with PayPal. And this is something I've been doing for over 7 years to keep on earning.
Some of my favorite apps and companies you can use include:
All of these platforms are free to join. And they let you cash out via PayPal instantly starting at only $2.50 in some cases, which doesn't take long to earn at all!
2. Answer Surveys For PayPal Cash
Answering surveys for PayPal money is something I've also done for years. In fact, I've earned a few thousand dollars in my lifetime with this particular hustle.
Some legit survey companies you can check out include:
- Branded Surveys
- InboxDollars
- TopSurveys
- NiceSurveys
- Prime Opinion
- KingOpinion
- YouGov
- Surveoo
- Five Surveys
- SurveyLama
I also made a video covering some of my all-time favorite survey companies that you can check out for more options!
Get a nice $1 bonus from Branded Surveys!
3. Play Games For PayPal Cash
While it might surprise you, there are actually numerous game apps that pay PayPal cash you can use to also chip away at this income target.
I've tested and covered plenty of apps that pay you for playing games over the years. And if you're an avid mobile gamer, these apps are a fun way to turn that hobby into extra money.
Several leading cash game apps you can try include:
- Cash Giraffe: My favorite Android money game that has fast PayPal payouts.
- Bingo Cash: A cool competitive gaming app with larger prizes.
- Solitaire Cash: A fun way to play this classic card game to earn rewards.
- VYBS: A new gaming rewards app I really like using right now.
- Blitz Win Cash: Compete in over 12 exciting mini-games for prizes.
- Bubble Cash: A competitive iOS game for money that lets you win real money by playing bubble popping arcade games.
- Rewarded Play: Another Android gaming app with dozens of games you can play.
- Mistplay: One of the most popular gaming apps that recently added PayPal cash prizes.
I also made a video sharing even more gaming apps with PayPal rewards that you can check out.
Again, you probably have to stack this side hustle with other ones to reach $100. But you can use these apps to get paid by PayPal daily while also having some fun.
Start earning with Cash Giraffe!
4. Earn Instant PayPal Bonuses
It might surprise you, but there are tons of sign-up bonus apps and companies out there that give away free PayPal money when you try them out. And this is another one of my favorite tactics to get some freebies.
Right now, some top bonuses you can claim include:
- Swagbucks (get a $10 free sign up bonus)
- InboxDollars (get a $5 sign up bonus)
- Rakuten (get $30 when you complete a shopping offer)
- ShopBack (get $10)
- Pogo (earn PayPal money when you shop and share your data)
- PayPal Sign Up Bonus: You can actually get a $10 sign up bonus if you invite some of your friends to join, and you can earn up to $100 with this method!
In my opinion, side hustles like freelancing or starting an online business are better ways to make PayPal cash fast. If you want some ideas to get free money, you can check out my YouTube video on getting free PayPal cash!
Extra Reading – The Best Ways To Make $3,000 Fast.
5. Freelance Writing
When it comes to making money online, I feel like I always have to mention freelance writing.
Writing is my main source of income now that I've quit my day job to write and blog. In fact, I now make most of my money by writing, all while traveling the world and earning a living on my laptop.
See, the thing about freelance writing is that writers are usually paid per word. Here are some of the rates I've experienced myself/know about from my writing friends and what it would take to reach $100 a day:
- Beginner ($0.03 to $0.07 per word) – At this rate, you would have to write approximately 1,450 to 3,300 words to make $100 a day.
- Intermediate ($0.07 to $0.15 per word) – At this rate, you would have to write around 670 to 1,450 to make $100 a day.
- Advanced ($0.15 to $0.50+ per word) – At this rate, you would only have to write around 200 words to 670 words to make $100 in a day.
Now, when I started out with freelance writing, I was earning $0.07 per word for most of my contracts.
I now have some in the $0.15 to $0.25 per word range, and a lot of my clients actually pay me through PayPal. This means that I can usually make $100 a day with PayPal if I spend most of my morning writing an article. The best part is, you don't need to spend money to make money as a writer.
Pro Tip: Get the exact blueprint I used to go from $0 to $100,000+ in writing income with my new course, Freelance Writing For Freedom!
6. Use Microtask Sites
If you want an easy way to make money with PayPal, another option you have is to use various microtask sites that pay you for completing quick online tasks.
This is one of the most common ways to earn money online for beginners. And I've personally used dozens of these platforms over the years since being in college.
Some leading platforms you can try out include:
- Clickworker: One of my favorite microtask sites that pays you with PayPal cash.
- Appen: Another popular site like Clickworker that can pay $7 to $15+ per hour.
- Swagbucks: This gpt site pays you to complete surveys, shop online, watch ads, play games, and download apps.
- Amazon MTurk: Another leading microtask site that pays you to your bank account.
- DataAnnotation.Tech: A newer site in the space where you can earn by training AI models.
Now, making tons of PayPal cash is tough with just these sites. But I like that they're flexible and free to sign up for, so you can stack them with other side hustle ideas to reach your daily income goal.
7. Blogging
Another one of my favorite ways to make money online with PayPal is to make money by blogging. And this is largely because blogging has incredible income potential.
For example, I started my blog in 2018, and in its first year, it only made $1,700. But in 2022, five years later, and I made $272,000 from my blog!
My YouTube video shares the exact steps I took to scale my blog. And these days, it makes $1,000 a day in affiliate income and even more through display ad programs like Mediavine. Plus, a lot of this is passive income now since I've outsourced some help.
In fact, in recent months, I have made $50,000 a month between all of its income streams. And much of this income gets paid right to my PayPal account from various brands and partners I work with.
Plus, there are plenty of ways to make money blogging, including:
- Display advertisements with companies like Monumetric and Mediavine
- Affiliate marketing
- Email marketing
- Selling sponsored posts
- Selling your own products or digital downloads
In terms of expenses, a blog doesn't have to be a money sink either. In fact, you can start your own blog with a free or cheap blogging theme and affordable SiteGround Hosting for around $7 a month.
I'm confident that if you learn the basics of SEO, write valuable content, and pick one social media platform to focus on, you will be able to make money blogging.
Ultimately, this is one of the slower ways to make PayPal money online. But, if you like writing and want to develop an asset, I think blogging is the way to go!
8. Sell Stuff Online
If you're in the mood for some spring cleaning, you can use apps to sell stuff to make some quick PayPal cash online.
The idea here is pretty simple: find stuff in your house you don't use anymore, list it online, and find buyers to make additional income.
Some popular selling apps and websites you can try include:
- eBay – One of the most popular online marketplaces for sellers.
- Poshmark – Great for selling clothing, sneakers, accessories, handbags, and shoes.
- Worthy – A reliable platform for selling watches, jewelry, wedding rings, diamonds, and more.
- Decluttr – An easy way to sell old phones, electronics, DVDs, video games, and Lego for PayPal cash.
- Facebook Marketplace – This is one of the easier options if you prefer local selling for cash instead of PayPal.
- Mercari – This is one of the easiest selling apps around and lets you sell everything from furniture to apparel.
- SidelineSwap – One of the best ways to sell used sports equipment and apparel online.
I made a YouTube video that shares some of my top selling platforms that I use. I also mention some seller tips and red flags to watch out for as well.
Pretty much all of these platforms pay you through PayPal or direct deposit, and payments process relatively quickly.
9. Other Freelancing Gigs
Freelance writing is my go-to freelancing source of income. But you can also use other freelancing skills to make money on PayPal and reach $100 a day or even more.
Some popular and lucrative freelancing gigs include:
- Programming
- Virtual assistant work
- Digital marketing
- Editing and proofreading
- Social media marketing or paid advertising
- Graphic design or web design
- Online tutoring
- App development
- Quality assurance and website testing
- Video editing
- SEO work
Now, there's no correct way to get into these types of freelancing gigs. Additionally, you'll need the skills to build a portfolio and it generally takes time (and practice) to pitch and land long-term clients.
However, one good starting point is to use remote job boards like FlexJobs to look for work.
Personally, I've used UpWork to make money this year, and while UpWork doesn't pay through PayPal, plenty of similar freelancing marketplaces do.
Alternatively, you can negotiate with clients directly and just ask to get paid through PayPal for the work you complete.
Overall, freelancing is one of the best ways to make quick money, and most clients are happy to pay you with PayPal cash for your efforts.
👉 Find your next job with FlexJobs!
10. Research Studies
If you're still wondering how to earn PayPal money instantly and want a high-paying hustle, you can always consider taking part in research studies.
Unlike cash survey sites, research studies and focus groups can pay $50 to $200+ or even more for sharing your opinion and helping researchers.
For example, websites like User Interviews, Prolific and Respondent let you find medical and consumer surveys that pay quite well for a few hours of your time.
Respondent is particularly lucrative, and even advertises that you can earn upwards of $150 an hour for your time.
Prolific is a tad different and requires a minimum hourly rate of $6.50, although you can sometimes find higher-paying studies on the website if you get lucky.
Your demographics and career also play a role here since researchers are usually interested in hearing from a very specific group of people. Ultimately, my tip is to apply to both Prolific and Respondent and create profiles for both companies.
If a paid research study matches your profile, they'll email you the opportunity. You can also try websites like Apex Focus Group to find opportunities. But I suggest starting with the two websites above.
Extra Reading – My Top Apps That Pay $100 A Day.
11. Online Coaching
If you're an expert at something and have the credentials to back it up, online coaching is another viable way to make money on PayPal.
Granted, this is a saturated space, and you really need to know what you're talking about and have some sort of existing audience to pitch your services to.
However, as a blogger, I know several people who make money coaching people in areas like:
- Financial management
- How to run a blog or online business
- Social media marketing
- Paid ads coaching
- Fitness coaching
Of course, there's also other coaching niches like personal development, life coaches, business mentors…you get the idea.
And, while I don't personally like a lot of different coaching niches, there's no denying that many people are willing to pay for expert help.
If you're interested in coaching, my advice would be to start a blog, YouTube channel, podcast, or some outlet where you can provide real value to people.
As you grow an audience and actually improve the lives of the people who follow you, you can branch out into one-on-one coaching sessions or selling ebooks.
This option might take a while, but hey, it's another viable way to get paid through PayPal.
12. Sell On Etsy
Etsy is one of the largest marketplaces for anything vintage, handmade, or artsy.
Several popular categories on Etsy include:
- Accessories
- Artwork
- Clothing
- Craft supplies
- Jewelry
- Stickers
- Toys
And, one of the advantages to selling stuff on Etsy versus launching your own online business with something like Shopify is that you gain access to a marketplace of millions of buyers already on the platform.
Plus, you can get really creative with selling on Etsy, and you don't even have to make products yourself!
For example, one college side hustle I tried was selling print on demand products on Etsy to make money with meme merchandise.
I used Printify, a popular POD provider, to handle all of the shipping and manufacturing of my meme mugs.
This is just one example of how you can sell on Etsy, and people also make money by selling digital downloads like art prints or printables.
The bottom line is that Etsy has the potential to make $100 a day in PayPal cash if you get enough eyeballs on your storefront.
Extra Reading – How To Make And Sell Digital Stickers.
Final Thoughts
I hope this list of ideas for making PayPal money instantly helps you out. There's honestly so methods out there, and I've used plenty of them over the years to begin earning. At the end of the day, this is just a payment processing system…if it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work.
Personally, I use PayPal for a lot of my online work and businesses, but hey, that's just my preference for now!
And remember, you can always try other gig apps that pay you for shopping, like making money with DoorDash or Instacart, while you work on making free PayPal money on the side.
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