How to earn free PayPal money fast (apps, online, no surveys)

Getting free PayPal cash sounds like a dream come true, especially for the 63% of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck.

The good news is that it's possible. From answering surveys and shopping online to signing up for free trials, watching videos, referring friends, and downloading apps – if you know where to look, these sites and apps can help you earn a few extra bucks.

Unfortunately, there are more scams than legitimate offers out there. At the very least, they'll waste your time. At worst, they'll steal your personal data, banking info, and get your PayPal account shut down.

To help you get started, we read user reviews, tested out the most popular platforms, and checked each site's legitimacy before compiling them into the list below.

If you skip this article and try to figure it out on your own, you may end up wasting a lot of time, money, and effort. So, we got you covered!

Let's dive in.

Can you really get free PayPal money fast?

Yes, but not in the sense of being able to withdraw money from PayPal to your bank account in just a few hours.

Most of these sites pay out small amounts at a time, so it may take weeks or months to amass enough for even just $5 or $10.

The “fast” part means it's up to you how quickly you get there. The more time and effort you put in, the faster you'll build up your PayPal balance.

Complete Tasks Online for Free PayPal Money

Lots of sites pay you PayPal money just for completing tasks, such as watching videos, doing online research, taking surveys, or trying out new apps.

Here are the sites that pay you most for your time:

PrizeRebel

PrizeRebel is an online platform that allows you to earn PayPal cash and other rewards by taking surveys and completing tasks. 

Some of these include watching videos, testing products, playing games, shopping online and more.

Is it legit?

PrizeRebel is legit and not a scam.

The site has been around since 2007, and they have paid out over $18 million in PayPal rewards to over 10 million members. TrustPilot rated them “Great” after getting an average of 3.9 stars from 294 reviews.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

On average, PrizeRebel pays about $1 per survey completion. Some high-paying surveys can pay up to $50 each. You can refer new members and get 30% of their earnings.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $5

Withdrawal: PayPal money rewards should arrive within 24 hours of the request.

MyPoints

MyPoints has been around since 1996 and has paid out over $235 million since then. The site pays its users to take surveys, read emails, shop online, and more.

Is it legit?

MyPoints is legit and a fan favorite among rewards sites.

It got 4.27 stars out of 1,027 reviews on SiteJabber, and ranks #1 among the site's list of Top Points Shopping Sites.

TrustPilot also rated it “Excellent” after getting 4.4 stars with 14,103 reviews.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

Most surveys pay $1, but the longer and more targeted ones can pay as much as $16. Other tasks pay a few cents. You can also refer MyPoints to your friends to earn more.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $25

Withdrawal: It can take 5 days to see the money in your PayPal account.

InboxDollars

InboxDollars is an online rewards site that pays members cash for the everyday things they do online. These include reading emails, taking surveys, playing games, shopping, searching the web and more.

Is it legit?

InboxDollars is one of the most trusted get-paid-to (GPT) sites on the internet.

It has 29,033 reviews on TrustPilot with 79% of users rating it “Excellent” or “Great.” Since 2020, InboxDollars has paid out over $59 million to its users.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

InboxDollars offers a wide range of rewards, from 3 cents to $10. For instance, answer surveys from brands like Target, Walmart and Home Depot for $0.50 to $5 per survey.

You can also read emails from InboxDollars' partners and get paid a few cents for each. Watching videos and playing online games will get you a few cents as well.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $10 (but you need $15 to cash out for the first time)

Withdrawal: It usually takes 3-5 business days to see the money in your account.

Grindabuck

Grindabuck is a market research, band loyalty, and rewards platform. Like most GPT sites, it pays its members with gift cards and PayPal money for taking surveys, testing services, watching ads, and more.

Is it legit?

Grindabuck is a legit site, but compared to other GPT sites on this list, there aren't many reviews out there yet.

Still, it has two five-star reviews on SiteJabber and 16th on its list of Top Sites for Free Stuff.

TrustPilot gave it an “Average” rating for getting 3.7 stars from 21 reviews.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

Grindabuck works on a point system. Some tasks, like answering long surveys, can get you up to 200 points. Watching videos, testing services and more will earn you a few points per task.

125 points are equal to $1 in PayPal cash.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $10 (for level 1 VIPs), $5 (level 2 VIPs), $1 (top-level VIPs)

Withdrawal: 3 to 5 days is the average wait time.

Use Apps that Pay to Walk, Run, or Loose Weight

Want to get paid for getting fit? These mobile apps would be happy to help. When you download them on your phone, they'll start tracking your physical activity, such as walking and running.

The benefits go beyond getting your steps in—these apps also monitor your progress, encourage you to connect with friends for support, and even let you collect badges as you go.

Best of all, they'll reward you with points, gift cards, and free PayPal cash for your hard work.

Sweatcoin

Does walking count as a workout? Sweatcoin, the first cryptocurrency for fitness, thinks so.

This new app works like any other step counter. The difference is that each step you take earns you Sweatcoins (SWC). You can exchange the coins for free PayPal money.

Progress is tracked automatically through your phone's GPS, which collects data about your movement. The more you walk, the faster you earn coins.

Is it legit?

Yes, Sweatcoin is legit. It's a verified company on TrustPilot with a 74% Excellent rating out of 776 reviews.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

Every 1,000 steps earn you 0.95 Sweatcoins. 1 SWC is worth around $0.05. That works out to 20 SWC for $1.

Sweatcoin also works on a tiered system. Users on the highest tier can earn up to $20.

You can refer friends to earn $0.25 for each successful referral.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $0.10

Withdrawal: Within 1 to 2 days.

Love the idea behind Sweatcoin? Here are more apps that pay you to walk.

HealthyWage

HealthyWage is a reward/weight loss platform that pays you to reach your goal. How does it work? You place a bet on yourself to hit certain goals with real money.

For example, you can place a bet on yourself to lose 25 pounds in three months. If it works, you'll earn your money back plus more.

If you lose, you forfeit the money you wagered.

Is it legit?

HealthyWage is a legitimate company, with an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau, A+ on ScamReport, and 4.14-star average from 700+ reviews on SiteJabber.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

It depends on your goal and bet. For example, you can wager $100 (minimum bet) that you can lose 50lbs in 10 months. Winning will give you up to $351.

You can also join challenges and win up to $10,000. Naturally, these challenges are harder to achieve. You can join up to 10 activities on the Challenge List at a time, and you can always start a new one.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: Varies by bet

Withdrawal: Varies by bet

Answer Surveys Online for PayPal Money

Paid surveys are the bread and butter of the GPT world. Brands pay GPT sites to get feedback on products, ratings, and new ideas.

GPT sites pay you to answer these surveys, which you can redeem for PayPal cash.

Below are our top picks for the best online survey sites:

Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is a market research company that lets you take lots of surveys, focus groups, all the while being compensated for your input.

Anyone can join, and you’ll earn points for each survey you complete. Points can be redeemed for cash or e-Gift Cards.

Is it legit?

Survey Junkie is one of the most trusted online survey sites. It's been BBB-accredited since 2017.

It's also a verified company on TrustPilot with 30, 000+ reviews and an Excellent rating.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

You can make anywhere from $1 to $100 per survey, depending on how long it takes you, your experience, and how much effort you put into it.

Regular surveys pay out $1 to $5 on average. Focus groups are the highest-paying, with earnings as high as $100.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $5

Withdrawal: 24 hours to 3 days.

Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research Panel is a marketing research firm that offers members cash incentives for participating in consumer surveys.

They offer some of the highest payouts in the paid survey market. However, it's invite-only. You can apply to become a member via their site by answering a comprehensive questionnaire.

Is it legit?

Pinecone Research is fully legitimate and owned by the New York-based marketing agency Nielsen Company.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

You can expect to receive $3 to $5 per survey. You can also get paid $9 to test products.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $1

Withdrawal: 48 hours average

LifePoints

The LifePoints app allows you to earn e-rewards for participating in surveys, research and more.

Every survey has a point value, which is the amount of LifePoints you earn when you complete it. The point value varies based on length, subject matter, and the demographics required to take the survey.

Aside from surveys, you can also earn points when you agree to behavior tracking, daily challenges, and product testing.

You can redeem LifePoints as PayPal cash or gift cards.

Is it legit?

LifePoints is legit. It ranks 7th on Sitejabber's list of Top Work from Home Apps. It also has a 4/5 rating on TrustPilot.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

It's possible to make up to $20 a month doing just three to five surveys a week on top of daily challenges.

As for minimum cash out, you can get paid as low as $1.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $5

Withdrawal: 1 day to 72 hours

Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys is a market research site used by many companies, including Fortune 500 organizations, to conduct market research studies.

The company offers a suite of online surveys for you to take for cash or rewards to help businesses improve everything from packaging and branding to new product development and advertising.

Is it legit?

Yes, Branded Surveys is legit.

Branded Surveys, formerly MintVine, is an online survey panel owned and operated by Branded Research Inc., an audience technology company located in San Diego, CA.

It has nearly 48,000 reviews on its TrustPilot verified profile with a 4.3-star average.

How much PayPal money can you earn?

It pays $1 per survey on average, but can go as high as $10.

You can cash out your earnings via PayPal or direct deposit to your bank account. You also have the option to redeem your points for gift cards from brands like Amazon, Starbucks, and iTunes, or donate your earnings to a charity you support.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $1

Withdrawal: 24 hours average

Shop Online for Cashback and Free Cash

Cashback sites have long been popular among budget-conscious shoppers who want to save money while they shop.

They're also terrific for those who simply enjoy shopping since you get a portion of every purchase back.

All of the sites on this list are verified legit through sites like TrustPilot, SiteJabber, and BBB.

Here are some popular cashback sites:

BeFrugal

Befrugal is a cashback shopping site that also offers coupons and promo codes. They were founded in 2009 and have been helping people save money on their online purchases ever since.

You can earn up to 40% cashback when you shop through the Befrugal website, plus they offer printable grocery coupons and promo codes for online stores.

How to get cashback on BeFrugal

• Sign up for a free account. 
• Start with the “Shop” tab at the top of the page. This will take you to all the retailers who participate with Befrugal.
• Click on one of these retailers. A new window will pop up (or a new tab if you have it set that way) taking you to the retailer’s website. 
• Browse their products as you normally would and make your purchase.

No limit on cashbacks

Your cashback for that purchase should appear in your Befrugal account within 2-10 days depending on the retailer. There’s no cap on how much cashback you can earn.

They have a cashback guarantee, which means if you don't get the cashback you're owed, they will pay it to you out of their own pocket.

Ibotta

Ibotta is a cashback app that allows you to get money back on everyday purchases at over 400 stores and restaurants. 

You can use the app to save on groceries, beer, electronics, clothing, health products, baby items and more.

Pick offers from your favorite retailers like Walmart and Target or popular brands like General Mills. 

After completing an offer (which only takes a few seconds), you'll receive cash into your Ibotta account.

How to get cashback on Ibotta work

• Download the app. You can use it on your iPhone or Android device.
• Browse the savings available in the “Rebates” section of the app. These are offers that require nothing more than a simple purchase—no special action required.
• You can also see “Bonus Cash” offers. These are rebates for taking extra steps like watching a video or answering a quiz question about a product or even a store where you're shopping.

Shopkick

Shopkick is a mobile shopping app that rewards you with points, called kicks, for stepping into certain stores, scanning items, or making purchases.

It's free to use, but the only way to earn kicks is by spending money.

How Shopkick works

In order to collect kicks, you'll need to open the app and go on a “shopping trip.” While walking around different stores, you can scan barcodes of select products to earn more kicks.

You'll also get extra kicks for every $1 spent in-store and $0.25 spent online.

Shopkick rewards

Once you've earned enough kicks, you can redeem them for gift cards from participating retailers or donate them to charity.

The most valuable rewards are worth $10 each when redeemed for gift cards or $20 when donated to charity.

Rakuten

Rakuten is an online shopping portal that gives you cashback when you shop at a variety of retailers, such as Walmart, Macy's and Sephora.

Rakuten also has an app and a browser extension that can help you find the best deals.

How to get cashback on Rakuten

• Sign up for an account.
• Browse through Rakuten's partner stores.
• When you click on a retailer that you want to shop with, your purchases will be tracked by the site, and then you'll get money back in your account.

Rakuten has over 1,000 partners—including big names like Best Buy, Groupon and Nordstrom—so there are plenty of ways to earn cashback when you shop.

Rakuten rewards

The average member gets more than $250 in cashback a year.

You can sign up for free and get a $10 welcome bonus when you spend at least $25 through Rakuten within 90 days of becoming a member.

The minimum payout balance is $5.

If your balance is less than $5 when Rakuten sends out payments, it will hold onto your earnings until you earn enough for full payment. 

Play Games to Earn Free Money

Love to play games online? You can take advantage of apps that pay you for playing games.

Like most GPTs, these sites partner with brands to drive traffic to their sites and get feedback on their games or products. Every time you complete an activity, you earn points that lead to cash or rewards.

Mistplay

Mistplay is essentially a loyalty program for mobile gamers. It connects players and brands to drive downloads for new games.

After you sign up, you'll see a list of available games. Each one has required play periods or achievements to unlock the offer.

After playing, you also need to submit your response or feedback to receive your points.

Is it legit?

Mistplay is legit. It has a 4.2 rating on the Google Play Store with more than 200,000 user reviews.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

Each game is worth 200 points on average, and you need 1,500 points to make $5.

You can also earn 100 points for every friend you refer to Mistplay.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $5

Withdrawal: Within 48 hours

Swagbucks Live

Swagbucks Live is a live trivia game show hosted by Swagbucks where you can win free PayPal money for answering questions correctly.

Is it legit?

Yes. Swagbucks is one of the most reputable rewards platforms in the world. It was established in 2008 and has since paid out over $300M to its users.

The Swagbucks company has excellent ratings on review sites like TrustPilot.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

It depends on the trivia game you win and join.

Cash prizes for Swagbucks live trivia games can go from $3 to $1000 and more.

You also get $5 PayPal cash free when you sign up.

Minimum Payout for PayPal Cash: $3

Withdrawal: Within 24 hours to 2 days

Deliver food, groceries, or packages

Answering surveys, watching videos, and playing games may be fun, but they're not going to pay the bills.

Side hustles like delivering food and packages are a great way to have some cash coming in while you earn PayPal money or search for free Visa gift cards.

Driving apps like Instacart and Shipt don't have a lot of requirements and you can choose your own schedule.

Here are some of our favorite apps for making money with your car. All of these are 100% legit and legally registered companies in the US.

Instacart

Instacart is a same-day grocery delivery service. Shoppers work as independent contractors and choose which batches to claim.

The company subcontracts with both in-store and full-service shoppers.

In-store shoppers are responsible for fulfilling orders and bagging items, while full-service shoppers are responsible for driving to customers' homes and delivering the order.

Is it legit?

Instacart is a 100% legit company. It's incorporated in Delaware and is SEC-registered.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

Most shoppers earn $15 to $25 per hour. Instacart doesn't have an exact rate listed online, but it does say that earnings depend on your location, the size of the order, and how fast you work.

Minimum Payout: No minimum.

Withdrawal: Instacart pays its workers weekly and deposits earnings directly into employees' bank accounts.

Postmates

Postmates is a same-day delivery service that allows customers to order anything they want — groceries, fast food, meals from restaurants, or even items from the liquor store — and have it delivered to them ASAP.

As a Postmates driver, you can make deliveries via car, bike, or scooter. You can also earn tips from customers as well as bonuses from Postmates itself.

Is it legit?

Yes. Postmates is an established company with a strong presence on industry sites like Consumer Affairs and Indeed.

How much PayPal cash can you earn?

On average, drivers can expect to make between $10 and $20 per hour after subtracting vehicle expenses.

You can also check average earnings for Postmates workers on Glassdoor.

Minimum Payout: No minimum.

Withdrawal: Postmates drivers can cash out their earnings weekly direct to their PayPal or bank account.

Refer Friends to PayPal

PayPal has a referral program that lets current users invite friends and family to create a PayPal account. If you’ve ever wondered how you can get $10 from PayPal for free, this is a good way to do it.

You can earn up to $50 when you invite five friends, which is the limit on the number of referral bonuses you can claim.

PayPal is a 100% legit company. It holds a Money Transmitter license in all 50 states.

Pros:

• both you and your referral can receive $10 each
• it's easy to earn the maximum referral payout
• you can withdraw your earnings instantly

Cons:

• your referrals must use PayPal with a bank account, not just a credit card or debit card
• Not available everywhere
• Available for a limited time only

What else can you get besides free PayPal cash?

Aside from giving out free PayPal money, you can also get the following from reward sites:

• Free gift cards (Walmart, Amazon, Visa, etc.)
• Coupons to your favorite stores and brands
• Discounts at popular retailers
• Cashback when making purchases at select merchants
• E-checks sent directly to your bank account
• Paper checks sent to your address

Some sites even offer crypto as payment. You can choose to receive Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin for completing surveys and offers on some sites. Other sites have their own coins.

You can also donate all of your rewards to a charity of your choice.

Don't Become a Victim of PayPal Scams

As much as you want to make money online, don't fall for the PayPal scams that are all over Craigslist and YouTube.

A lot of these ads promise full-time money with very little work involved.

What's really going on?

Scammers will ask for your phone number, email address, bank account information, and personal details.

Then, they'll try to trick you into signing up for sketchy websites that steal your information and money.

Common PayPal Cash Scams

1. Fake PayPal cash-out scams

Scammers will say they need your information to pay out the supposed PayPal earnings that they “accidentally” sent to your account.

When you hand over your personal information, they'll withdraw any money in your PayPal balance and use it for themselves.

2. PayPal cash code scam

There's no such thing as a free PayPal money code.

Scammers will create fake ads that try to convince people they can earn free money just by entering the code.

Once you click on the ad, you'll be taken to a website that'll ask for your PayPal information, banking information, and personal details in exchange for cash, code you can withdraw to your PayPal account.

3. PayPal cash generator scam

Similar to cash codes, there's no such thing as a PayPal cash generator.

Scammers will try to convince you that their tool can magically generate free cash for your PayPal account on any website you want.

They'll ask for your personal information and bank account details to “activate” the cash generator, which will just steal money from your account.

How to avoid PayPal cash scams

Do your research.

Before you provide any personal information to an ad you see online, make sure it's legitimate.

Take some time to read about the company on reputable review sites such as the Better Business Bureau and Glassdoor.

Never give up your banking log-ins and passwords.

If a site asks you for personal banking information, such as log-in details, log out and find a different way to make money online.

Be careful about what you click.

Don't click on ads for PayPal cash generators, code, or instant pay-out scams, even if they appear to be from PayPal itself. In addition, PayPal will never ask for your password to be sent via email.

Report anything you suspect to be a scam.

Report any suspicious activity by submitting a complaint through the FTC website or calling toll-free numbers listed on PayPal's official website.

Remember, you're not getting anyone in trouble. Legit companies will investigate your complaint and take action if necessary.

If it's too good to be true, it's probably a scam.

Finally, this is the golden rule of making money online: if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Like we mentioned earlier, there's no way to get instant PayPal cash with no time or effort involved.

Any site or app that makes that promise is trying to scam you.

Conclusion

Earning free PayPal cash is a fun way to monetize all the usual activities you already do online.

They're easy, free to use, and you can do the tasks anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Just remember to manage your expectations. These sites are only good for a few dollars here and there. If you want a more solid cash flow, we recommend taking up side hustles or applying to fun jobs that pay well.