Making extra cash is becoming more important nowadays. The cost of living is always on the rise. And our needs and wants are increasing by the day. Therefore, having a single or even double source of income isn’t always enough.
You might be wondering often, how do I make some extra cash? The answer is rather simple. Use your free time for some gainful activity such as a side hustle, that would help you make some extra money.
And trust me, making extra cash during your free time is possible even from the comfort of your home because side hustle has a lot of benefits.. Meaning, you don’t need to go to some workplace to log in extra hours and make money.
Actually, there’re as many as 25 side hustle apps to make extra cash in free time. All of these apps are free to download and use. However, some do charge a small commission on your income.
Sounds interesting? Continue reading.
We will start by first defining what exactly do I mean by a side hustle. And how different it is from freelancing.
Side Hustle v/s Freelancing
In simple words, a side hustle is some work that you can do occasionally and without any long-term commitments. Usually, people take a side jobs to do some extra work only when they need some more cash in their purses or pockets.
In stark contrast, freelancing is a commitment. It’s full-time work that you will do as an independent contractor. You have to take short-term, mid-term, and long-term contracts and assignments and deliver the work on time. Unlike a side hustle which you can take only when you require extra cash, freelancing is usually the main source of income of an individual or a household.
20 Best Side Hustle Apps
Now that you’re aware of the differences between a side hustle and freelancing, let’s look at the top 25 side gig apps where you can make money in your free time. As a matter of fact, you can use these side job apps whenever you require some extra money or use them regularly to supplement your main source of income.
Here’s my curated list of 25 side hustle apps to make extra cash in your free time.
1. Fiverr
The best app to make money in your free time is Fiverr. This is an app that helps you find a lot of online side-gigs very easily. Basically, Fiverr is a freelancing platform. Here you can sell all kinds of services for a fee of $5 only. However, you can also provide add-on services and charge extra.
A visit to the Fiverr website will show you what’re the different skills that are in demand and what kinds of side hustles you can get from the app. Fiverr is free to download and use. However, they charge a commission of five percent to 20 percent on your income, depending on various terms and conditions.
You will also have to pay the fees for getting payments through PayPal or direct bank transfers through Fiverr. But if you’re very serious about making money during spare time as a side hustle, this is the best app
Read: How to Make Money on Fiverr
2. SpotHero
SpotHero is an app that allows you to make extra cash in your free time by doing almost nothing. Yes, that’s right. You can make money by doing absolutely nothing. If you have free space for parking a vehicle, you could rent it out through SpotHero.
Generally, motorists that prefer private parking areas or those in crowded areas will rent your place and pay you. There’re no upper or lower limits on how much you can charge for your parking space through SpotHero: it all depends upon your location and the demand for parking space in your area.
Generally, if you’re living in or around some business district, it’s possible to make more money since parking space is scarce there. And you can also get long-term leases for your parking lot from this wonderful app.
3. eBay
Who hasn’t heard of eBay? This is an online store where you can buy or sell anything from new stuff to used goods. You can download the eBay app and register as a seller. It’s possible to sell almost anything on eBay, from spare parts of old vehicles to preowned books or even handmade products. All you need to do is sign up as a seller on eBay and start making money in your free time.
The app allows you to upload pictures of the stuff you’re selling and write brief descriptions and the price. As a matter of fact, the eBay app is very popular among people that buy and sell preowned stuff, especially things of antique value. You can download and use the app for free. However, eBay charges a small commission on every sale you make through their website.
4. Facebook Marketplace
If you have an account on Facebook, you can also download their app where you’ll find an amazing feature known as Facebook Marketplace. Here you can sell anything from goods to services and make extra cash during your spare time.
All you need to do is create a wonderful ad for your services with details, price, mode of payment, and other information. And if you’re selling some stuff, you can easily take pictures using the app itself or the camera on your smartphone.
Generally, all postings on Facebook Marketplace are seen in an area of around 100 sq. km around your location. This means you can find customers that live nearby and provide the services or products they would love.
5. Wag
Do you love pets? Then download and sign up on Wag. This is an app where you can find a side hustle of taking pet dogs out for a daily walk. You need to keep the location services of your smartphone switched on. That way, you can find buyers for your dog-walking services very quickly. You get to set your own price per pet.
Generally, pet owners will leave specific instructions about how long you need to walk their dog and other relevant information. You will usually get more than one pet to walk. This directly translates as more money for you. Working as a pet walker for two hours daily can fetch you a really good income.
6. Etsy
Etsy is a website where you can set up your own online marketplace for a small fee and sell unique, antique, or handcrafted stuff. If you’ve any of such stuff to sell, sign up on Etsy and download their app. You have several options for membership because Etsy is a paid service. That means you have to pay Etsy to open a marketplace.
They provide a free trial of their marketplace services for a week or two. However, you can be assured of finding some of the best buyers for your stuff through this app. The Etsy app automates a lot of processes such as accepting orders and payments. Therefore, you needn’t bother about invoicing and tracking orders.
7. Shopify
And should you have something to sell that people would love, open a marketplace on Shopify and download their app to make cash during your free time? To open a marketplace on Shopify, the first thing to do is find an easy-to-remember name for your online store.
The name should convey what kinds of stuff you’re selling. You can upload pictures of these products from your mobile phone and write brief descriptions and prices. The Shopify app also allows you to set your own price for the stuff. You can try the Shopify app for a few days for free.
After that, if you wish to continue with the marketplace, they have various subscription rates that suit all budgets. You can also set up a payments system through the app to get paid for your goods.
8. UrbanSitter
UrbanSitter is an ideal side hustle app for women that wish to make extra cash in their free time. That’s because this app helps you find babysitting jobs in and around your location. Simply download the UrbanSitter app and agree to their terms and conditions.
You will also have to agree to UrbanSitter running a background check on you. This is necessary because parents prefer babysitters that don’t have a criminal or otherwise negative record.
Parents can find you through the app and request babysitting by keying in details such as their location and the time they require your services. Parents also pay a membership fee to use the app. This means, whatever money you earn from babysitting, is fully yours to keep. And you can fix your own prices per hour too.
9. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is one of the largest online survey communities in the world. Once you register on Swagbucks, you can start completing their simple online surveys on various topics. For each survey that you successfully complete, Swagbucks will reward you with SB Points. And these points are worth real cash.
You can also make some money by watching videos and playing games on this app. Upon collecting points worth $10, you can seek a payout. They pay money through PayPal. Or you can opt to get free shopping coupons from large online stores including Walmart and Amazon, among others.
10. Google Opinion Rewards
As the name suggests, this app comes from Google. They want your opinion about various things such as their top, eponymous search engine, various apps they provide, and lots more. Therefore, they toss an online survey at community members of Google Opinion Rewards.
And you get coins for each survey or question that you successfully answer. Google Opinion Rewards however doesn’t pay you cash directly. Instead, you can use their coins or points to pay for premium apps on Google Play that would otherwise cost you some money.
Read: 21 sites that pay for completing online surveys
11. InboxDollars
Another amazing online survey community is InboxDollars. You can join InboxDollars for free by registering yourself with an email. You’ll also have to provide them basic details of your PayPal account to get cash. Once you’ve done the registration successfully, InboxDollars will alert you about fresh surveys on their website through emails. And they provide points for every survey you complete.
Shorter surveys generally fetch you 1,500 to 3,000 points while larger ones come with 20,000 points or more. You can also earn more points by watching videos and playing games or simply asking questions. And once you reach the $5 mark, seek a payout that is paid via PayPal.
12. Survey Junkie
With over 11 million active members forming its online survey community, Survey Junkie is also one of the big names in the business. This is also an app that pays you real money. All you need to do is complete their online surveys, watch ads, play games or review videos, and earn SJ points.
You can earn extra points by referring others to join Survey Junkie. For every successful referral, Survey Junkie pays you more points. These points boil down to real cash.
And you can get the money upon collecting a minimum of $5 on your Survey Junkie account. They pay through PayPal. Or you can also redeem your points for free shopping vouchers on Amazon and other online stores. Survey Junkie also allows you to use these points for participating in the Sweepstakes.
13. Nielsen Computer Panel
Coming from the highly reputed market research company Nielsen is their eponymous app, Nielsen Computer Panel. Here too you can register online and become part of their large online survey community. Nielsen’s surveys aren’t for beginners. Instead, they look for genuine customers who’ve used a specific product or service. And they reward you very well too.
You can collect points on Nielsen Computer Panel which are redeemable for their equivalent in cash. You will require 25,000 points to get a cash payout of $5. However, you can step up earnings by doing other ordinary tasks such as reviewing videos on Nielsen Computer Panel.
14. Robinhood
Robinhood is an investment app. Anyone can download it for free. And you can start your investment journey with as little as $5 on Robinhood. This app enables you to invest in stocks, Exchange Traded Funds, Mutual Funds, currencies, and commodities as well as for cryptocurrencies.
Now you might wonder how you can buy stocks for $5 only. Robinhood makes that possible. For $5 you will get a fraction of a stock. And the more you invest, you will get more fractions till you reach one full stock.
The same holds true for ETF and MF, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and currency investments. However, Robinhood also rewards you with one superb stock absolutely free when you invest a larger amount such as $200.
15. Rakuten
Rakuten was previously known as Ibotta. This is an app you can use while shopping for your daily and monthly household needs or even for stuff such as readymade garments and more. Rakuten enables you to access several online stores with whom they have an agreement. And when you place orders on these stores through the Rakuten app, you get cashback. This cashback can be used to pay bills for future shopping.
Obviously, you cannot withdraw the cash from your Rakuten app. Instead, you can only use it to pay for your shopping. However, you can still earn more cashback when you shop using the money in your Rakuten account.
16. Rover
If you’re fond of pets, then try Rover. This is a superb app that actually pays you real cash to walk dogs in your neighborhood. All you need to do is register on Rover as a pet walker and indicate your location. The app will then assign you dogs that need to be walked daily. And each time you walk these pets, you earn some money on Rover.
The trick here is to walk more than one pet at the same time. They’re people who walk as many as 10 canines in a single go. Since you get paid by the number of pets you walk, the higher the number, the greater your earnings.
17. Instacart
Instacart is an app where you sign up to deliver groceries and other household stuff on behalf of stores to their customers. Once you download the app and register, you need to wait near the store to get the deliveries. And proceed to the customer’s premises to hand them over.
This app pays you up to $5 per delivery, depending upon various factors such as distance from the store and kind of products. You can earn more on fresh items such as vegetables and meat or poultry. Additionally, happy customers also leave you a decent tip for your service.
18. Amazon Flex
Any mention of apps that pay real money would be incomplete without the mention of Amazon Flex. As the name suggests, this app comes from Amazon, the single-largest online store in the world. You have to download the app and register as an Amazon Flex associate. And once your application is successful, you will do deliveries to customers on behalf of Amazon.
You can earn as much as $25 per hour making deliveries. And of course, tips from satisfied customers. Amazon Flex allows you to select your own four-hour delivery slots. You can work for a four-hour slot or even bid for more slots if you wish. These slots are given on a first-come basis. You earn more money from Amazon Prime, Amazon Fresh, and similar deliveries.
19. Postmates
If you have a vehicle and a smartphone you can make a lot of money from the Postmates app. Actually, Postmates as you might know is all about food delivery. Hungry customers place their orders with local restaurants that otherwise don’t have their own delivery service. Instead, a Postmates associate will deliver the food parcels on their behalf.
You can make up to $35 per hour delivering food parcels as a Postmates associate. And don’t forget the tips that many happy customers willingly add to your service.
20. Gigwalk
Gigwalk is all about side gigs. Anyone of legal working age can take these side gigs and earn a lot of money. Basically, Gigwalk provides handyperson services. Once you download the app and register, keep the location service on your Gigwalk app switched on. That way, the app shows you various small tasks that are near your location.
If you wish, you can click on the app and get that work for the price it mentions. The buyer of your services pays through the app. Many times, these buyers also add tips, if they’re happy with your work. Gigwalk pays you twice a week through PayPal or by direct credit to a prepaid debit card or even bank transfers.
21. DoorDash
Another superb app that pays real cash is DoorDash. This is a food delivery app. Download the app on your smartphone, register, and switch on the location services. Whenever there’s food delivery in your area, you will get an alert on the DoorDash app.
You can choose to deliver the order and pick it up from the restaurant to hand over to the customer. DoorDash pays you close to $35 per hour or on a per delivery basis. This depends on the number of food deliveries in a specific area. The further the distance of the customer to deliver, the higher your income. However, you’ll need your own vehicle to make money from DoorDash.
22. Turo
Turo is an app that actually pays you real money without really doing much. The only thing that you need to do is rent out your car to some motorist that may require one urgently.
If you have such a spare car or don’t need your vehicle during specific hours a day, you can lease it out for a few hours through Turo. However, Turo has some very stringent terms and conditions about the type of vehicle that you can lease out through their app. Turo isn’t really available across the US. However, if you’re staying in a large city, you can make a lot of money from this app.
23. Airbnb
If you have a spare room at home and would like to make money from it, download and put it up for rent using the Airbnb app. By doing so, you become an Airbnb host. You have to write a superb description of the room and your property with proper information about the location and nearby facilities. Also, upload amazing pictures of the room and list all the amenities that you would provide guests.
You get to fix the price per night for the room. Once you’ve done this and uploaded all the necessary info on the Airbnb app, you can host guests and get a lot of money from Airbnb. Some people earn up to $1,000 per month and more in larger cities where the demand for private accommodations is higher.
24. Poshmark
I would recommend the Poshmark app for women. That’s because Poshmark enables you to sell off your old and ill-fitting shoes, garments and get cash in exchange. Or you can get a credit that allows you to buy garments from Poshmark.
If you have a large wardrobe with lots of unused clothes lying around and occupying space, download Poshmark and register yourself. They offer some very good prices for branded garments. You can sell off almost all kinds of clothes through this app and get cash. They also accept men’s clothing.
25. FieldAgent
And finally, FieldAgent. This is also an app for small side-gigs. You can earn up to $30 per hour from FieldAgent. This app is very user-friendly. Once you download the app and register yourself, keep the location services of your phone switched on. FieldAgent will display simple and easy to perform handyperson tasks near your location.
You can quote your price and bid for the job if you’re free. If the person that requires the service accepts the bid, you’ve to proceed to their location to complete the task. This app pays you real cash for your efforts. They collect the cash from the buyer of your services and pay you immediately.
Wrap Up
You can download and use any of these 25 best side hustle apps to make money in your free time. I suggest you read the terms and conditions of each app before signing up. That way, you will know exactly how much money you can expect from your side hustle.
As you can see, some apps charge you a commission or subscription while others are free to download and use. Try any of them to earn extra cash and make the best use of your free time. All these apps are legit. And they never ask you for any sensitive personal information, except in rare cases where they need to conduct a background check on your credentials.
Millions of people across America are using these top 25 apps to make money during their spare time. And you too could make good use of your free time with side hustles to make some extra money.
