Instant Money Guide: How To Make 5 Dollars Fast in 25 Profitable Ways

Are you interested in making $5 in an instant? Who wouldn’t, right? Here are some tips on how to make 5 dollars fast. 

Sometimes you need a few quick bucks to pay a bill, buy something you need, or take care of some emergency expenses. Life happens, yes? Whatever your reason for getting extra cash, numerous sites and apps offer opportunities if you need money now or earn instant cash with minimal effort.

On some of these sites, you simply have to sign up, answer questions, watch a video, or provide basic information. Some would require a bit more effort as quick-paying gigs do; some could, in turn, be for the longer term and kick off a new, lucrative, steady income stream. 

Let’s explore these options, and then you decide which one or two is most suitable for you.

How To Make 5 Dollars Fast

1. Start a Blog

Are blogs still a thing? Blogging is a great way to share your opinions. Many bloggers earn more than $200 per month. Find an interesting topic and create engaging content to make $5 or more in less than a day.

Here’s a guide on how you can start your own blog with Bluehost as your hosting platform. Bluehost is great for beginners and very cheap. 

2. Participate in Surveys

An easy and quick way to make extra cash online is by taking surveys that pay almost instantly. Most sites offer free money for registering and providing basic information about yourself. 

Some of the best sites in the market include:

  • Swagbucks. Signing up with Swagbucks is completely free. Your points are then converted into free gift cards or cash-backs. Read our full Swagbucks review here.
  • InboxDollars. Take the surveys, redeem coupons, play games online, watch videos, and search the web with InboxDollars. Read our full InboxDollars review here.
  • Survey Junkie. You can earn extra cash through Survey Junkie by completing online surveys or sharing your data. Read our full Survey Junkie review for more information. 

3. Use Cashback Apps

Spend money to earn money. The cash comes in the form of discounts or coupons, allowing you to get more for spending less. Cashback apps allow you to save time and money every time you shop, as long as you have a receipt. 

Here are some legitimate and reputable cashback platforms:

  • Rakuten. A $30 bonus awaits you when you sign up with Rakuten and receive cashback while shopping at over 3,500 stores with Rakuten. Read our full Rakuten review here.
  • Fetch Rewards. The Fetch Rewards cashback platform requires you to scan your payment receipts for reward points. You can get 3,000 free points using this Fetch Rewards link and code APREWARDS! Learn more in our complete Fetch Rewards review.
  • GetUpside. If you want quick cash from restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations, try GetUpside. It lets you get 25 cents per gallon cashback from the gas station. Earn a few dollars when you refer a friend.
  • Ibotta. One of the highly-rated apps, Ibotta offers sign-up bonuses and other limited-time promotions for new users and referrals. Check out our complete Ibotta review.

4. Sell Your Unwanted Stuff 

You can generate some extra cash right from the comfort of your house. Try Decluttr if you want to get rid of items that no longer serve you the purpose and might be useful for someone else. 

Start your own C2C chain by selling books and magazines, clothing, paintings, and electronics with numerous other things you no longer use. 

5. Use Meal Delivery Apps 

Go for a part-time job as a food delivery guy, a flexible job that pays $5 almost instantly. There are high chances of getting extra cash during the job due to peak hours.

 You will only need to complete one delivery to earn $5. Make sure you have a proper conveyance before you sign up. 

We recommend you sign up for Postmates or DoorDash to start your meal delivery job today. Check out our Postmates vs. DoorDash review to see which is more suitable for you. 

6. Get Free $10 With Fundrise 

Looking to invest in real estate without purchasing any property? Fundrise is one of the best options to grow your money, helping you buy shares of properties managed by the app. 

To get $5, you will only need to create an account. Once you finish the sign-up process, the app will offer you $10 for free. The app is legit, as it has over 20k positive reviews online.

Read the complete Fundrise review for more details.

7. Become a Part of a Focus Group

Focus groups test a product’s market potential. If you become a part of such focus groups, you can make much more than $5 without investing much time. A general group would pay around $30 to $150. 

Some can pay up to $450. For more options, check out Respondent, American Consumer Opinion, and other best-paid focus groups.

Young Woman Typing On Her Laptop In A Coffee Shop
Image credit: DepositPhotos

8. Use Acorns

Acorns is a great platform to earn free money. It helps you round up your stock purchases to the nearest dollar. 

The app automatically uses the extra amount saved to make further purchases. The process is a bit slow, but a great way to invest if you start with little money. 

To claim your $10 free sign-up bonus, login to your account and complete your first purchase with the linked card. You may also read our full Acorns review for more of the platform’s services.

9. Play Games To Earn Money 

Many game apps pay real money. It is the best way to entertain yourself and earn some dollars simultaneously. Platforms like Mistplay have the most exciting games for playing and earning.

Read our full Mistplay review and start playing while earning.

10. Freelancing

You can get countless freelancing projects if you have skills such as designing, writing, photography, editing, programming, web designing, etc. Make sure that you can show your experience by sharing your past work with the client to secure the job. 

Some great freelancing platforms are Fiverr, Upwork, and Flexjobs.

11. Test Websites To Make Money

Website testing does not require any special expertise to get started. You can earn $10 for completing every 15 to 20-minute test. A computer with a stable internet connection and a proper microphone is required. 

Your earnings will increase once you qualify as a certified website tester. Here are the platforms that offer handsome amounts for testing their websites:

12. Become a Pet Sitter

If you prefer being in the company of pets, there are plenty of opportunities to make money by hanging out with friendly animals. 

Apps like Rover can make you more than just $5 by caring for someone’s lovely pet in your free time. To get a pet sitter job, check out dog walking jobs apps and sites.

13. Invest in Stocks To Get $5 

Investing in stocks doesn’t require having a load of money in your bank account. You can start with as little as $10. However, investing more money can get you $5 much easier and quicker. 

Invest in stocks with more than 7% ROI (Return on Investment). At 7% ROI, you will have to invest around $30 to make $5. 

The following investment platforms can help you get started in your stock market today:

  • M1 Finance – A U.S. robo-advisor with no trading or account fees, M1 Finance, is one of the most flexible investing apps that allows you to create unique portfolios and purchase fractional shares. Check out our complete M1 Finance review.
  • DEGIRO – DEGIRO is available in 18 countries in Europe. DEGIRO is a low-cost European broker that you can use to invest in stocks, obligations, options, and index funds. Read our full DEGIRO Review here.
  • Empower. A digital wealth platform that provides investment planning and management tools, Empower can help you with your finances. Here’s a complete Empower review for more details.

14. Get $5-$300 by Referring Friends 

Make easy money by referring friends to online apps. Many apps offer free money as a referral bonus to people who share it with friends. It helps their business grow through word of mouth. 

The legit apps that can help you get cash or credit instantly with easy sharing are: 

  • Acorns – With its Get $5 and Give $5 promo, Acorns offers a $10 time-limited referral bonus for both you and your friend. 
  • DoorDash. Dashers can get $300 for every friend who signs up as a DoorDash driver and completes 50 deliveries during their first 30 days. 
  • Airbnb. Refer a friend, and a $30 bonus will be yours; you can earn as much as $300 from further referrals.
  • Empower. Members can get from $50 to $500 referral bonuses depending on the amount invested on the Empower platform. 

15. Do Odd Jobs

Working odd jobs can be the fastest way to make $5 or more. In this growing digital world, finding a job online to make quick bucks has become easier. Thanks to the online websites and apps that now provide multiple earning opportunities. 

Some popular odd jobs include pressure washing, pet sitting, childcare, online retail, etc. 

16. Use Honeygain Money App

An excellent app for earning passive income, Honeygain lets you make money from your unused Internet, which businesses use to generate market information. 

With Honeygain, you not only get a $5 sign-up bonus, but you can also refer your friends and get a 10% bonus on their daily earnings. Here’s our complete Honeygain review for more details.

17. Join a Nielsen Panel

If getting paid to do nothing attracts you, this research company is an ideal place to start earning. Just explore the internet as you normally would, download the Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel app, and let it run in the background to make free $50 per device.

Woman With Glasses Holding A Phone Sitting In A Business Class Airplane
Image credit: DepositPhotos

18. Sell Gift Cards for Quick Cash 

You can turn your unwanted gift cards into cash instead of letting them go to waste. To sell gift cards online, find resale sites that will buy unused gift cards from you. 

Some sites from which you can earn money instantly anytime by card selling are CardCash, GiftCash, and Raise.

19. Sell Your Photos Online

If you are skilled at photography and have a collection of incredible pictures, you can make quick bucks online by selling photos on stock photo sites. 

Just sign up as a contributor and list your photos for sale. You can earn a percentage of each purchased photo from websites such as Getty Images, Shutterstock, Pexels, and Pixabay. 

20. Amazon and eBay Selling

Reselling on Amazon and eBay is not just a part-time business nowadays, as people have started pursuing it as a full-time profession. It is mostly because no specific skill is required to be a professional seller on these platforms.

You can buy products from online flea markets or wholesale markets and resell them online at huge profit margins.

21. Get Free Cryptocurrencies

You can sign-up on crypto exchanges and get cryptocurrencies for free by depositing or investing a particular amount within the specified period. 

Here are some of the platforms that allow you to earn bonuses ranging from $5 to $250 in cryptocurrencies: 

ExchangeBonusRequirementsSign Up
Crypto.Com Logo Stock$25 in Crypto.com Coin (CRO)Must use our link, open account with referral code usmefwh2jp, and stake CROGet FREE Crypto!
SoFi Logo Stock$5 in Free CryptocurrencyMust use our link and open SoFi Invest Android or SoFi Invest iOs account, then redeem a $5 bonus to a new SoFi Crypto accountGet FREE Crypto - Android

Get FREE Crypto - iOs
BlockFi Logo StockUp to $250 in Free Bitcoin, depending on deposit amountMust use our link and make an initial deposit within 30 daysGet FREE Crypto!
Celsius Logo Stock$50 in Free BitcoinMust use our link and deposit at least $400 of crypto within 30 daysGet FREE Crypto!
Nexo Logo Stock$25 in Free BitcoinMust use our link and buy at least $100 of crypto within 30 daysGet FREE Crypto!
Gemini Logo Stock$10 in Free BitcoinMust use our link and buy at least $100 of crypto within 30 daysGet FREE Crypto!
Coinbase Logo Stock$10 in Free BitcoinMust use our link and buy at least $100 of crypto within 30 daysGet FREE Crypto!

22. Get Free Stocks

Among the personal finance apps and investing platforms that offer free stocks or fractional shares for signing up include:

  • BUX Zero. Sign up with the BUX Zero app and get a free random share valued up to €200. Check out our full Bux Zero review here.
  • Stash. This personal finance platform offers a $5 stock bonus after you deposit a minimum of $5.
  • Webull. A commission-free investing app, Webull gives you one (1) free random stock worth $8 to $1,600 upon opening an account and depositing at least $100. 

23. Save $5 from bills with bill-negotiating apps

In this growing digital world, many new apps have been developed to help people reduce their overall bills. These apps track your spending pattern and come up with ways you can use to save money. By using such apps, you can easily save $5. 

Some of the best service providers:

  • Trim
  • Billcutterz
  • Billshark
  • Rocket money

24. Rent out your stuff for $5 or more

There are many things that we own and don’t use very often. All these can be rented out for a quick $5. 

The renting apps allow you to easily list your items and find a potential renter. One important thing to remember is that you should always use the app targeted towards a particular product. For example, Airbnb (for the property), Hyrecar or Turo (for the car), AirGarage (for parking spaces), etc.

25. Donate Plasma to get $5

Donating plasma is not as difficult as it used to be. You can earn way more than $5 by just donating your blood plasma. Just ensure that you check the guidelines on how often you can donate. 

For donation, if you use apps such as Hemarus Plasma, they offer $5 for only entering the club.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – How To Make 5 Dollars Fast

Woman Thinking And Holding A Wallet With Cash And Card MSN
Image credit: DepositPhotos

How Can I Make a Few Dollars Right Now?

Some strategies and jobs that can help you get instant dollars include reselling products, selling purchased shares in the stock market, and renting out your equipment.

How Can I Make $5 in a Day?

Making $5 a day is quite easy. You can download a survey app that allows you to earn $5 in less than a day. 

Many other activities are listed on these apps, such as playing games or watching videos, offering even more money for your time.

How Can I Make $20 in 5 Minutes?

Making $20 in 5 minutes seems a long shot, but it isn’t. 

Here are some of the ways to make $20 almost instantly:

  • Sign up with Rakuten and get a $30 sign-up bonus. You can also earn $20 cashback for certain purchases.
  • Rent out extra space at your house and get $20 instantly.
  • For cash back or gift cards, complete multiple sign-up offers, such as Mistplay, PrizeRebel, and BeFrugal

Conclusion – How To Make 5 Dollars Fast

Regardless of your reason for needing fast cash, knowing different ways of making quick bucks is a handy skill we could use in times of need.

The options above may not make you rich, but it can get you $5 instantly and legitimately. Engaging in one or more of these side hustles may jumpstart a new career or a money-making venture that could help you attain financial stability and eventually achieve your financial goals.

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