There are many blog posts all over the internet promising you gazillions of ways on how to make $20 right now. At first glance, every method seems easy and doable. A $5 sign-up bonus? Sign me up! Instant cashback? I’m in! All these clickbait techniques are designed to make you believe that you can get that $20 in your pocket in no time.
But here’s the catch:
After taking the trouble signing up and painlessly going through whatever micro-task you need to complete, you find out that it’s practically impossible to cash in even a portion of the promised $20! Not only do you end up disappointed, but you also just wasted your time instead of finding a legitimate way to make $20 fast.
We’re not here to waste your time so in giving you our list of how to make $20 fast, we’re also giving you an estimated timeline of how much of your time you need to invest to earn that $20, PLUS when you can expect to receive the cash.
Some of the recommendations in this list allow for instant payments but you need to spend more hours working, while there are other methods where you can earn that $20 instantly but you’ll only get paid after a week. Of course, these are only time estimates meaning it could take you much faster or probably longer to earn $20 depending on different factors. Note that in building this list, we prioritized recommendations based on how quickly you can get the money.
1. Instacart
Time Investment to earn $20: 1-2 hours
When Can You Get Paid?
Instacart allows you to set up Instant Cashout so you can get paid after 30 minutes of completing your shift.
What Do You Need to Do?
Instacart is an online grocery delivery app where you can work to shop for groceries. You can earn $5 for each delivery only order and $7 to $10 for a shop and deliver an order. According to Instacart employees, you can earn a minimum of $10 per hour and up to $20+ per hour working as a shopper.
2. Pinecone Research
Time Investment to earn $20: 2-3 hours
When Can You Get Paid?
You can get paid instantly via PayPal
What Do You Need to Do?
Pinecone Research is a survey app but it pays $3 for each survey that you qualify for and complete. Just like other survey sites, you will need to answer a questionnaire and share your opinions. The catch? You need to be 18 years old, a resident of the United States, Canada, UK, or Germany, and you must qualify for the survey which may not be easy to get approved of.
3. Scribie
Time Investment to earn $20: 4-16 hours depending on the rate per audio hour
When Can You Get Paid?
You can cash out anytime via PayPal with a minimum of $1
What Do You Need to Do?
You need to transcribe audio or video clips on Scribie and they pay $5 to $25 per audio hour that you complete. Most of the jobs fall in the $5 per audio hour rate so you need to transcribe four hours of audio or video to earn $20. An average person takes 4 working hours to transcribe 1 hour of audio so that means it could take you up to 16 hours to finish.
The only reason why this transcription site is right on top is because of “instant cashouts” so if you need $20 in 24 hours and you've got nothing else to do, you can try this option. Other transcription sites pay much more but you cannot get the money immediately. Rev.com pays up to $18 to $60 per audio hour but you can only cash out weekly, while Way With Words pay up to $100+ per audio hour but you can only get paid monthly.
4. Mindswarms
Time Investment to earn $20: 20 minutes but you need to wait 24 hours after applying if you qualify for a study
When Can You Get Paid?
You can get paid within 24 hours through PayPal after your video is submitted and reviewed.
What Do You Need to Do?
With MindSwarms, you participate in a survey panel by taking a video of yourself and sharing your opinion. You have to create an account and apply to different studies. The applications take less than a couple of minutes. Within 24 hours, you will get notified if you get accepted for a study. Once you get accepted you need to record yourself, read the question (1-7 questions), and provide a 45-60 second answer for each question.
5. Rent A Friend
Time Investment to earn $20: 1-2 hours
When Can You Get Paid?
You can get paid instantly because you will agree on the mode of payment with the client either by cash or direct transfer to your account. RentAFriend does not process payments through their site.
What Do You Need to Do?
You list down yourself as a friend for rent at no cost. The starting rate is $10 per hour but you can charge more. You can offer different friend services as long as they are platonic, non-sexual, and non-physical. When you build your profile, you can list down what type of activities you can be available for like phone pal, an email pen pal, sightseeing, travel, going to bars, sports events, working out, pottery, etc. You can even offer virtual friendship services as well.
6. Walk Dogs
Time Investment to earn $20: 30 minutes – 1 hour
When Can You Get Paid?
Get paid in cash after walking the dog
What Do You Need to Do?
This is one of the most overlooked but lucrative side gigs that you can do around your neighborhood. Plus, you can get paid instantly after your task. The rate for walking one dog for half an hour is $15 to $30, so if you walk two dogs, that will earn you $30 immediately. Walking dogs is not as stressful as babysitting, plus it is also a good exercise for you.
7. Car Wash
Time Investment to earn $20: 1-2 hours
When Can You Get Paid?
Get paid in cash after washing the cars
What Do You Need to Do?
Go around your neighborhood and find the dustiest, dirtiest car out there and offer to wash it. You can even start with the cars your family members own! Charge at least $10 to $20 per car so you only need to find 1-2 willing customers. If you’re desperate, offer a $5 quick body wash to four cars in your street.
8. Virtual Tutor
Time Investment to earn $20: 1-2 hours
When Can You Get Paid?
Clients can pay you directly before or after the lesson depending on the payment method you agree with the client
What Do You Need to Do?
If you are good at algebra or science, put that to good use and offer your services as a virtual tutor. List down your service on Thumbtack.com as a tutor to find potential students. List down your rate for $10 to $20 per hour to quickly get students.
9. Clickworker
Time Investment to earn $20: 2-4 hours
When Can You Get Paid?
Payment is made once a week between Wednesday and Friday via PayPal
What Do You Need to Do?
Clickworker is a microtask website where you complete a variety of tasks like translation, writing, and research. You get paid per task and according to the Clickworker FAQ page, it is possible to make an average of $9 per hour meaning you can get to $20 after just a couple of hours. Since you’re just a beginner, you probably need to double or even triple that time frame to earn your goal amount.
10. UserTesting
Time Investment to earn $20: 40 minutes – 1 hour
When Can You Get Paid?
You will receive the payment via PayPal 7 days after you complete the test
What Do You Need to Do?
UserTesting is a testing website where you need to record your computer screen while testing a website or a mobile app. You have to share your opinion and your recommendations about the website that you are testing so clients will gain insightful feedback. Each test pays $10 and only takes 10 to 20 minutes each. This means that to earn $20, you only need to spend less than one hour. However, this will depend on whether there are tests available to you immediately.
11. TryMyUI
Time Investment to earn $20: 40 minutes – 1 hour
When Can You Get Paid?
Payments are sent every Friday via PayPal
What Do You Need to Do?
TryMyUI is also a testing website so you would need to test websites and apps similar to UserTesting. You will also need to record your screen while performing the tests that also take around 20 minutes to complete. You get paid $10 so by completing two tests, you can get your $20.
12. PingPong
Time Investment to earn $20: 30 minutes
When Can You Get Paid?
You will get paid automatically 7 days after the interview via PayPal
What Do You Need to Do?
You need a computer with a camera to participate in an interview for product research. As a tester, you can get paid $25 for a 30-minute interview and $50 for a one-hour interview. PingPong accepts users all over the world so this is a good option for non-residents of North America.
13. Cambly
Time Investment to earn $20: 2 hours
When Can You Get Paid?
Payments are made every Monday via PayPal
What Do You Need to Do?
Have English conversations with non-native speakers trying to learn the language and get paid $10 per hour. This is a very easy way to make $20 fast because as long as you can speak good English and you are not shy speaking to people on camera, you can earn money. You don’t need formal teaching skills to apply.
14. TaskRabbit
Time Investment to earn $20: 1-2 hours
When Can You Get Paid?
Payments are approved 24 hours after the task is submitted and takes 3-5 business days (around one week) for you to receive the payment on an active checking account
What Do You Need to Do?
You can do odd jobs and set your own rate at Taskrabbit. It really depends on what types of jobs you can do. Some tasks with hourly rates include delivery($20), running errands ($35), assemble furniture ($40), house cleaning ($50), and even waiting in line /reserving a spot for someone else ($35).
15. Fancy Hands
Time Investment to earn $20: 3-6 hours
When Can You Get Paid?
Payments are made every other Tuesday via Dwolla
What Do You Need to Do?
At FancyHands, you can work as a virtual assistant by doing a variety of tasks like making phone calls, scheduling appointments, data entry, or using simple applications. You get paid $3 to $7 per task. According to VAs working for Fancy Hands, it takes a minimum of 20 minutes to get paid $3. This means you need to complete at least seven $3 tasks to get $21. This will take you more than 2 hours of your time if you stick to the 20-minute time frame. However, if the task takes longer, some VAs say it could take you up to an hour to complete one task. The trick then is to focus on a higher paying task of at least $5 to make the most out of your time.
16. Online Verdict
Time Investment to earn $20: 20 minutes – 1 hour
When Can You Get Paid?
Your check will be mailed 1-2 weeks after completing the case review. There is no minimum cash out amount but you can only get paid by a check sent through the mail so they can verify that you are who you say you are and are from the address you indicated
What Do You Need to Do?
You will act as a mock juror by reviewing cases and listening to mock trials. Each case review only takes 20 minutes and you will get paid $20 to $60 per case. Take note that you need to be 18 years old and a U.S. citizen to qualify as a mock juror for OnlineVerdict.
17. Crowdfund From Friends
Time Investment to earn $20: 5 minutes to 1 hour
When Can You Get Paid?
Instantly through PayPal or Venmo
What Do You Need to Do?
How to get $20 in 5 minutes? Well, the only way to do that without working for it, without signing up for something, and without breaking any law is to ask someone to give you the cash. If you don’t have one person who can “gift” you the $20, then you can try crowdfunding smaller amounts from friends. Asking someone for $2 to $5 dollars is much easier than asking $20. So, if you can get 4 friends to lend you $5 each, then you can get your $20 quicker.
Planning for Your Next Cash Emergency
I need $20 now, what do I do? Most of us have been in this situation where we find ourselves short on cash. This scenario forces us to look for ways to earn money fast. To avoid this from happening again, you can try out these suggestions above as side hustles so you can save up some extra cash for future use.
Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.
