How To Make $20 A Day (Ultimate 2024 Guide!)
So, you're wondering how to make 20 dollars a day online or in-person and need a helping hand with getting started.
Well, the great news is there are so many side hustle ideas out there you can use to accomplish this goal. And I've been testing out these hustles for years to find the ones that actually work. If you're ready to increase your income, this is the post for you
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How To Make 20 Dollars A Day
1. Answer Surveys For Money
One of the simplest ways to make $20 a day is to use get-paid-to websites, or GPT sites.
GPT sites pay you for completing short micro tasks like answering surveys, shopping online, playing games, and even watching ads. You won't get rich by using these sites, but to make a quick $20 a day in beermoney, they're effective.
Popular gpt websites you can use to get $20 a day include:
- Freecash: One of my new favorite sites with $100+ earning options.
- Survey Junkie: Share your opinion and earn free PayPal money and gift cards in your spare time.
- Branded Surveys: Another leading survey site that lets you cash out at just $5!
- Prime Opinion: Answer short surveys and make PayPal money for your efforts.
- InboxDollars: Shop online, answer surveys, and enjoy a $5 free sign-up bonus with this GPT site!
- Ipsos iSay: Another leading and global paid survey panel.
- Pinecone Research: Get $3 for every survey you complete and cash out instantly.
My video also covers more of my favorite gpt websites that you can try. And again, you're not going to make thousands of dollars with these sites, so expect a fast $5 to $20 a day sort of thing if you put in the time.
Get a $1 bonus from Branded Surveys!
2. Deliver Food For Money
If you have a bike, car, or scooter, food delivery gigs are another easy side hustle you can start.
These apps can easily pay you $20 in an hour or two or deliveries. And most of them let you sign up if you're 18 or older and have access to a bike, car, or scooter. Some of the top gig jobs in this space include:
You also keep 100% of all tips with these delivery gigs, which I love. And busy cities or towns can be incredibly lucrative, especially if you deliver around mealtimes.
3. Play Games For Cash
Making money playing video games might sound too good to be true. But these days, there are numerous apps that pay you to play games that you can use to earn quick money and gift cards in your spare time.
Some leading gaming rewards apps you can use to start earning include:
- Mistplay: The leading mobile gaming rewards app for Android that lets you earn free gift cards for gaming.
- Freecash: Play PC games and earn gift cards, free Steam games, and other fun prizes.
- Cash Cow: This app like Mistplay also pays you with gift cards for playing different games.
- Pool Payday: This competitive gaming app lets you play pool for cash.
- JustPlay: Another Android gaming app that lets you cash out every three hours.
- Cash Giraffe: A new gaming app with free gift cards and PayPal prizes.
- Lucky Match: A fun iPhone game for money that pays you to complete puzzles.
Mistplay and Freecash are where I'd start since these platforms have the widest game selection and pay the most.
But if you're already playing games anyway, you can use these gaming reward apps to turn your screen time into a nice passive side hustle.
4. Create Passive Income Streams
If you're wondering how to make $20 a day passively, there are actually so many passive income ideas you can use to make this a reality.
Here are just a few that you can try out to eventually earn $20 per day:
- Investing in income-generating real estate with companies like Fundrise
- Renting out things for money like a spare room on Airbnb or storage space with Neighbor
- Investing in dividend stocks and ETFs
- Selling stock photography or music for royalties
- Using passive income apps to earn money with your smartphone
- Selling your internet bandwidth for passive income
These are just several ideas, but my favorite part is that many are very beginner-friendly.
For example, Fundrise lets you begin investing in real estate with just $10. From there, you earn quarterly dividend payments, and Fundrise historically returns around 8% annually.
So by mixing and matching a few of these ideas, you can eventually create income streams that make $20 a day passively.
Disclaimer: This is an endorsement in partnership with Fundrise. We earn a commission from partner links. All opinions are my own.
5. Sell Stuff You Own
Selling stuff is always a reliable option to make some side cash. Some people also take this pretty seriously and flip money through retail arbitrage, which involves constantly buying and reselling merchandise for a profit.
But it doesn't matter if you're just doing some Spring cleaning or want to start a flipping business; there are so many ways you can sell stuff for cash.
Some of my favorite selling apps and marketplaces include:
- Facebook Marketplace: A great way to sell almost anything for cash to people in your area.
- Mercari: An easy-to-use selling app that lets you sell in person and online.
- OfferUp: Another local or online selling Facebook Marketplace alternative that lets you sell anything from clothing to old sports gear.
- Poshmark: One of the best marketplaces for selling designer clothing, accessories, and shoes.
- Worthy: My favorite place to sell watches, jewelry, and diamonds online for cash.
Categories like apparel, electronics, and home goods typically sell fast, but you'd be amazed at the type of stuff you can sell.
For example, people make money all the time by selling rare collectibles like Pokemon cards, or even random things like used bikes. In the past, I've made money selling instruments, clothing, and used furniture when I was in college.
6. Use The Steady App
Steady is a free gig app that helps you find local part-time gigs, online jobs, and gig economy work. And according to its website, its members earn about $5,500 per year in additional income!
All you have to do is download Steady and then answer a questionnaire about your skills and interests. From there, the app matches you with money-making opportunities that are a good fit.
Some suggestions are high paying apps like DoorDash or Shipt. But you can also find part-time work, online gigs, or lucrative sign up bonuses to make money with.
7. Try User Testing Gigs
User testing gigs pay you for testing new websites and apps that are in development and giving your feedback.
In other words, you're basically doing quality assurance work and sharing your opinion to help companies make better apps and websites for their customers. And if you want to make $20 a day online, website testing gigs are the perfect place to start.
For example, companies like UserTesting pay you anywhere from $4 to $120 per testing session, with most short tests paying $10 ti $15.
This means a single test or two can net $20 in a day, and there are plenty of other companies that also hire user testers.
Some of the best websites like UserTesting you can use include:
You have to accept testing gigs quickly since there's lots of competition with other testers. But if you land a test or two per day, this is a very simple way to earn $20 per day online.
8. Use Mystery Shopping Apps
If someone told you it's possible to get paid for shopping, you might be pretty skeptical. However, this is exactly what mystery shopping gigs pay you to do.
Generally, these apps involve completing tasks like walking into stores, taking photos of products, or confirming the price of things. In exchange, you get paid with cash or gift cards for your efforts.
Premise and Shopkick are two popular mystery shopping apps you can try. Other phone-based jobs like Gigwalk and Field Agent also pay you for completing short local gigs, and you get paid through PayPal as well.
9. Get $20 In Free Sign-Up Bonuses
While this is only a temporary idea, you can always leverage sign-up offers to score some free money. After all, plenty of companies are willing to pay new users for trying out their platforms.
Some lucrative sign-up offers you can leverage include:
- Rakuten: Get $30 for free when you sign up and spend at least $30 shopping online on a qualifying offer.
- Current: This digital banking solution pays 4% APY and also has a $50 sign up bonus.
- Swagbucks: A leading rewards platform with a $10 sign up bonus and plenty of ways to earn.
- Fetch Rewards: Use a Fetch Rewards referral code and get 3,000 points ($3) for free!
- Drop: Use our Drop invite code and get up to $15 worth of free Drop points.
Again, you can only use these sorts of tactics once. However, so many reward apps and websites pay you for signing up, so why not score some freebies?
My post on the best $20 sign up bonuses also has even more ideas for getting fast cash.
10. Make Money Blogging
Speaking of passive income, another idea you can try is to make money with a blog. And I know this idea works since I've accomplished it with two different blogs at this point.
For example, after a few years of blogging, and WebMonkey made $92,000 in 2021. And in 2022, WebMonkey made $272,000.
This just goes to show the power of blogging and what the income potential is like. These days, my blog makes $400 a day or so in Mediavine income alone, and this is now semi-passive since I outsource a lot of writing.
Granted, it takes a lot of upfront work and practice to grow a blog into an income stream. But if you like writing and want to take on a challenge, blogging is one of the best online businesses in my opinion.
Plus, a blog can make money in so many ways! Affiliate marketing, sponsorships, ads, selling products, online coaching, and other options are all on the table.
11. Make Money On YouTube
If you're feeling creative, another idea to make $20 a day online is to make money on YouTube.
I also know this is possible because my YouTube channel now makes $100 a day like clockwork, all from Google AdSense ads:
Like blogging, YouTube has a learning curve. Plus, you also need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time to turn on ads to start making money. But once a YouTube video ranks well, it can turn into a reliable source of passive income for years to come.
And I also like YouTube because you don't need a lot of money to get started, which might sound surprising. For example, here's my budget YouTube setup that I used to grow my channel to over 10,000 subscribers:
- Sony A6000 Camera – $495.
- Audio-Technica AT2005 USB Microphone – $80.
- Wondershare Filmora for Video Editing – $60.
- Joby GorillaPod Camera Stand – $15.
So, for a $600 investment, I was able to create a new income stream that makes $1,000 a month now, largely on autopilot.
And of course, a single viral video can change your channel and life, so I think this idea to get $20 a day has some of the highest potential out there.
12. Start A Pet Sitting Business
People are willing to pay for dog walkers or pet sitters, and if you earn $15 to $25 per hour, a single hour or two with a client's pets makes you $20.
And the great news is that you don't need to find clients by yourself or canvas your entire neighborhood. Companies like Rover connect dog walkers and sitters with people in their neighborhood who need help.
So, with a handful of clients, you might have a steady pet sitting and walking business on your hand, earning $20 per day or much more depending on how often you work.
You can read our post on the best Rover headlines if you want to give Rover a try. Alternatively, you can use websites like TaskRabbit to offer pet sitting services or other odd jobs for cash.
13. Deliver Packages For Money
Like DoorDash and Instacart, you can always deliver packages for money. And the great news is that there's plenty of apps and companies that you can sign up for to get started with this hustle.
Amazon Flex is a prime example. It lets you earn $18 to $25 per hour for delivering packages to Amazon customers. This means a single delivery shift could mean $20 in your pocket in just an hour!
You have to claim Amazon Flex blocks in advance, so it's not the most flexible side hustle unlike DoorDash. But the hourly rate is one of the highest in the gig economy.
Similar gig apps like Roadie, Walmart Spark, and GoShare also pay you for delivering packages, and both can make 20 dollars in an hour two.
You have to factor gas and depreciation into your earnings for these driving gigs. But they're a reliable, solid side hustle to test out.
14. Make Money With Freelancing
One final idea to make 20 dollars a day online is to sell your skills as a freelancer. I also know this method can earn $20 a day online because online freelancing is how I make most of my income.
I quit my job a while back, went all-in on freelance writing, and moved down to Colombia.
At the time, I was making well over $20 a day from my writing, and I was able to find clients who pay $100 to $500+ per article depending on the topic and word count.
But freelance writing is just one path you can take. Other popular freelancing industries and jobs include:
- Accounting
- Business development
- Digital marketing
- Graphic design
- Paid advertising
- SEO
- Social media management
- Web design
- Video editing
- Virtual assistant
I turned to my own network and used my blog as a portfolio piece to find my first writing clients. You can do the same or even find beginner jobs on Upwork or Fiverr to start building your portfolio.
Extra Reading – The Best Ways To Make $300 A Day.
Tips For Getting Started
Making 20 bucks a day might sound impossible depending on your starting point, but every goal starts with baby steps after all!
So, here are some tips you can keep in mind while you work towards this income goal:
- Try Several Ideas: Testing several side hustles is the best way to find what works and what you enjoy. This could mean delivering for Uber Eats, starting a blog, or using Survey Junkie. Pick some ideas that seem interesting and give them a try!
- Play To Your Strengths: If you're a talented writer, freelance writing might be easier to make 20 dollars a day than becoming a virtual assistant. Play to your strengths so you have an advantage over the competition out of the gate.
- Set A Timeframe: Setting goals is great, but only if they are specific. So, decide on your side hustles and then set a timeframe to complete your income goal.
Extra Reading – How To Make $100 A Day Guaranteed.
Final Thoughts
I hope our guide on how to make 20 dollars a day helps you reach a new financial milestone and make the income you want to.
Again, there are plenty of side hustle ideas you can try. So, pick a few, have patience, and put in the work to make this a reality. And remember: there's also value is saving more money through things like budgeting, so don't forget to play some financial defense as well.
Looking for other money-making ideas? Checkout: