11 Legit Ways to Make $5 Fast Right Now (Or More)

"I need 5 dollars now", sound familiar? These ideas can help you make $5 fast so that you can stop being broke and get your bills in order today!

Tired of doom scrolling for ways to make money and finding nothing but scams and time-wasters?

I spent the last few months testing every “make money from your phone” app I could find. Most were garbage. Some paid pennies for hours of work. A few were outright scams.

But I found 11 apps that actually paid out real money: at least $5 per day when used consistently. Not life-changing income, but legitimate side money that hits your bank account.

Here's every app that actually put money in my account. No affiliate BS, no fake screenshots, just honest results from real testing.

The Apps That Actually Paid Me

Quick context: I used each of these for at least 2-3 weeks before adding them to this list. If it didn't pay out or felt sketchy, it's not here. Everything below is legit and I've cashed out real money from all of them.

1. Freecash

Free $5

Freecash has some of the highest paying offers (up to $5k!) so it pays to check the site everyday. But anyone can join, for the lazy, the minimum cashout is only $0.50 via PayPal, Bitcoin, or gift cards, which means you can literally cash out every single day. You can complete your first task today and get paid.

$0.50 minimum cashout Instant Bitcoin withdrawals Stake offers pay $3,000+
Claim $5 Sign-Up Bonus →
My experience: I've made over $1,000 with the Stake offers alone, so if you haven't done those yet, they're super lucrative. The $0.50 minimum is a game changer because I can cash out daily via PayPal or Bitcoin instead of watching my balance sit there for weeks. Transfers are instant and this is easily one of my highest earners.

2. National Debt Relief

Free Debt Analysis

Listen, if you're here looking to make $5/day from apps but you're drowning in credit card debt, we need to talk about the elephant in the room. National Debt Relief could get a massive chunk of your debt forgiven—no bankruptcy, no loans, you don't even need good credit. If you owe $10,000+ in unsecured debt (credit cards, personal loans, medical bills), their experts build you a payment plan and negotiate directly with your creditors to slash what you owe. You then pay off the reduced amount in a lump sum. Most people become debt-free in 24-48 months. Making $5/day is nice, but eliminating $10,000+ in debt? That's life-changing.

Get thousands in debt forgiven No bankruptcy or loans required Debt-free in 24-48 months
See How Much You Could Eliminate (Free) →
Real talk: These apps can get you an extra $150-300/month. But if you're paying $400/month in minimum payments on maxed-out credit cards, you're still losing. National Debt Relief has helped over 500,000 people eliminate billions in debt. The consultation is 100% free and takes under 60 seconds. If you have $10,000+ weighing on you, this one click could save you years of stress and tens of thousands of dollars. Check if you qualify before you spend another hour grinding apps for $5.

3. Bigcash

⭐ $15 Sign-Up Bonus

Bigcash has over 3,000 app testing offers live right now, with new ones dropping daily. Download a shopping app, play a mobile game to level 10, test a fitness tracker. The standard offers pay $3 to $15, but the premium tasks hit $50 to $170 when you complete bigger milestones. You get the $15 bonus immediately after your first cashout, and the $1 minimum means you can withdraw within 30 minutes of starting. What separates this from every other testing app is their support team actually responds in under 12 hours when offers don't track.

$15 bonus after first cashout Cash out at $1 Support responds in 12 hours
Claim $15 Bonus →
My experience: I've tested dozens of GPT apps and deleted most within a week. Bigcash is different. Had one offer not track after I finished it, sent one email, and got my $15 credited in 11 hours. That never happens. Been using it for months and cashed out over $200 total. The high-value offers take longer but they actually pay out.

4. Branded (Seen on CBS)

$100+ Per Task

Branded pays you real money to test new games, apps, and complete simple tasks on your phone. Sign up, choose from available offers (like testing a game to level 5), and get paid when you complete them. The more you use it, the more high-paying tasks unlock.

Some tasks pay $100+ Free to join PayPal cashout
Start Testing Apps →
My experience: Wildly underrated. The higher-paying tasks take time but the payouts are real. I completed a game offer for $45 in about a week of casual play.

5. Testerup

$50+ Per Task

Testerup lets you earn real money as an online tester. Get paid to test new games, apps, and complete simple tasks on your phone. Sign up, choose from available offers (like downloading the free Tik Tok app), and get paid when you complete them. The more you use it, the more high-paying tasks unlock.

Some tasks pay $50+ Free to join PayPal cashout
Start Testing Apps →
My experience: Another wildly underrated app. The higher-paying tasks take time but the payouts are real. I completed an app download and earned $7 in minutes.

6. Arrived

Get Rent Checks

Put in $100. Get rent checks from tenants. That's it. Arrived buys rental houses, you chip in $100, and when people pay their rent, you get paid too. No dealing with tenants, no fixing toilets, no property management. Just pick a house you like, invest $100, and collect rent money every 3 months. The average person makes 10-20% per year from rent payments plus the house going up in value. Need your money back? Sell your piece of the house in 2-3 days.

Start with $100 Get rental income monthly Arrived is backed by Jeff Bezos
Start Getting Rental Income →
My experience: I put $100 into a rental house in Nashville a few months ago. Now every month, I get money from the tenant's rent payment. This is legit. No phone calls, no repairs, nothing. Just money showing up. Arrived handles it all. I've done this with 4 houses now and it's the easiest passive income I've ever made.

7. Bigcash

Best Welcome Bonus

Most app testing platforms cap you at $10-$20 minimums before you can cash out. Bigcash lets you withdraw at $1, which means you can literally test one offer and get paid the same day. Over 3,000 offers available right now—some quick $3-$5 tasks, others that pay $50-$170 for bigger commitments. The $15 bonus hits after your first cashout, and their support actually fixes tracking issues instead of ignoring you.

$1 minimum cashout (not $10-$20) $15 bonus after first withdrawal Actually responsive support team
Claim $15 Bonus →
My experience: Cashed out $200+ over several months. Had one offer not track properly, emailed support, got credited in 11 hours. That kind of response time is unheard of in this space.

8. Branded Offers

$100+ Per Task

Listing this again in case you missed it earlier. Some tasks pay over $100, and unlike most apps, the payouts actually hit your account. Takes time to complete the higher-paying offers, but it's worth it.

Some tasks pay $100+ Free to join PayPal cashout
Start Testing Apps →
My experience: One of the few apps where I've actually made $100+ from a single task. If you only pick one from this list, this is it.

9. Fundrise

Passive Income

Invest $10 in real estate and watch it grow on autopilot. Takes 2 minutes to set up. Your money goes into actual real estate that pay you dividends. No grinding, no surveys, no games. Just passive income while you sleep.

Start with just $10 Earn while you sleep Withdraw anytime
Start Earning Now →
My experience: This is where I park my earnings from all the apps on this list. Start with $10, then funnel your beer money here instead of letting it sit in PayPal doing nothing. I get paid dividends every quarter, legit passive income. Takes 2 minutes to set up, zero effort after that.

10. AppFree

U.S. Only

Most reward apps make you grind to $10 or $20 minimums. MyAppFree lets you cash out at $1. Download an app, play to level 5, get paid. The missions are simple: test a budgeting app for 5 minutes, play a puzzle game to level 3, try a meditation app. Each pays $1 to $5, with high-value offers hitting $20 to $40. When tracking fails, support actually fixes it in under an hour instead of ghosting you. This is the only testing app where you can see real money in your account within an hour of signing up.

Cash out at $1 (not $10 or $20 like other apps) Earn $10+ in your first hour Same-day PayPal payouts
Get Paid in 1 Hour →
Why it stands out: I tested this expecting another scam and cashed out $8.50 in 45 minutes. PayPal hit my account before I finished lunch. The offers actually track, and when one didn't register, support credited my account in 30 minutes. Every other GPT app ignores you or takes 3 days to respond.

11. Survey Junkie

$40M Paid Out

Survey Junkie has paid out over $40 million because they do one thing other survey sites don't: match you with surveys you'll actually qualify for. Most survey sites waste 30 minutes screening you out. Survey Junkie's profile system means you qualify for 80% of surveys you start, not 20%. Each survey pays $1 to $5 and takes 5 to 15 minutes.

80% qualification rate (vs 20% on other sites) $5 minimum cashout Direct to PayPal or bank
Take Your First Survey →
My experience: Finally, a survey site that doesn't waste my time. I qualify for 8 out of 10 surveys instead of getting screened out constantly. Cash out to PayPal every couple weeks like clockwork.

One more thing: I keep a running list of all the best ways to make money from your phone – apps I've actually used and recommend. Check out the full list here.

Brian Meiggs
Brian Meiggs
Brian is the chief editor of BeerMoney and is a personal finance expert who has spent the last few years writing about how Millennials can make smarter money moves. He has been fortunate enough to have appeared in several online publications, including Yahoo! Finance, NASDAQ, MSN Money, AOL, Discover Bank, GOBankingRates, and more. He is also diversifying his portfolio by adding a little bit of real estate. But not rental homes, because he doesn't want a second job, it's diversified small investments in hands off real estate investing via an app called Fundrise.

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