How to Make Money in One Hour: 20+ Ways

If you’re in a bind for money, you might be wondering how to make money in one hour or possibly less. While it might sound unrealistic, the truth is that you can make money that quickly in a variety of ways.

Whether you need a little extra cash to get through or are just looking for more ways to earn money fast, this list of ideas can help you meet your goals.

20+ Ways to Make Money in 1 Hour

Here’s how to make money in one hour:

  1. Get Paid to Deliver Food
  2. Rideshare Driving
  3. Fill Out Surveys
  4. Sell Items Online
  5. Micro-Tasks & Online Gigs
  6. Walk Dogs for Cash
  7. Play Games
  8. Tutoring
  9. Take Advantage of Sign-Up Bonuses
  10. Sell Plasma
  11. Return a Recent Purchase
  12. Watch Movie Previews
  13. Cash in Recycling
  14. Review Music
  15. Cash in Your Change
  16. Focus Groups
  17. Transcription
  18. Odd Jobs
  19. Mystery Shopping
  20. Sell Your Hair
  21. Download Cash Back Apps
  22. Cleaning
  23. Busking
  24. Exercising
  25. Rework Your Budget

1. Make Money in One Hour Delivering Food

If you love grocery shopping, apps like Instacart and Shipt pay people to grocery shop. You go to the store they chose, shop their list and deliver the groceries to their home.

Both platforms pay shoppers a flat fee, and you also keep 100% of the customer tips. So you’ll know before you shop how much you’ll earn so you can choose which orders you take to make the most of your time.

Plus, you aren’t limited to just delivering groceries. There are several other legit delivery apps available that will pay you to make other types of deliveries, like Doordash.

2. Become a Rideshare Driver

If you love driving, you can make money with Uber or Lyft. To be a rideshare driver, you must pass a background check, have a reliable vehicle and download the app.

You set your hours by setting yourself to ‘available’ on the apps. When rides come through, you see all the information, including pickup and dropoff locations and the total amount you’d make. You can accept or decline jobs, working only the jobs you want.

Uber and Lyft pay weekly, but you can get paid instantly for a small fee if you need cash fast.

3. Fill Out Online Surveys to Make Money in One Hour

Answering surveys is a great way to make money in one hour. Most survey opportunities take between a few minutes to 20 minutes. The longer the survey is, the more money you make. Even if you took five 20-minute surveys, you could make decent money in one hour.

It’s best to sign up with several of the top survey sites to diversify your efforts and make the most money.

Here are some of the top-rated survey sites:

  • Survey Junkie – Earn points for providing your opinion and convert your points to PayPal cash. You can provide your opinion on popular products and services to help shape the future of what companies offer.
  • Opinion Outpost – Join the 2 million happy members of Opinion Outpost who get paid to provide their opinions. You can get paid to answer surveys, test new products, and watch videos, cashing out your earnings in PayPal, a Mastercard prepaid card, or gift cards.
  • Toluna – Become a Toluna Influencer and get paid for your opinion. You’ll review your favorite and not-so-favorite products and services to help brands offer great options.

4. Sell Unwanted Items Online for Cash

If you have unused items collecting dust, consider selling them. For example, you could sell electronics, antiques, gold, jewelry, clothes, furniture, toys, gift cards, and scrap metal.

The quickest way to make money fast selling unwanted items is through a garage sale, but you can also sell items on sites like Worthy, eBay, or Poshmark.

Before you sell items on any site, understand their audience and terms. For example. Poshmark shoppers are looking for designer clothing and accessories, whereas eBay shoppers are looking for collectibles and other unique items.

Some sites charge you to sell items, while others offer free services.

5. Complete Tasks Online

There are many sites that pay freelancers to carry out microtasks. You can even set up your own gig on sites like Fiverr and say what you’ll do. Buyers can then view your gigs on Fiverr, and if they want to hire you, the work goes into your queue to complete on time. Common gigs include data entry, research, transcription, and freelance writing.

If you prefer to do work in person, set up a profile on Task Rabbit and showcase your talents. Locals will hire you based on what they need, with all payments going through Task Rabbit.

6. Walk Dogs

If you love dogs, get paid to walk them. You can advertise your services on your neighborhood’s Facebook page or set up a profile on an app like Rover.

You determine what services you’ll offer and what you charge, but walking dogs can be a great way to make money in one hour.

7. Play Games to Make Money in One Hour

Game lovers rejoice! You can make money playing games, and you don’t have to be good at it. Apps like Mistplay and Swagbucks pay you to try new games and play old favorites.

Of course, the more time you spend playing, the more money you make, but some games also have a level or score you must meet to get paid.

8. Tutoring

Considering tutoring if you’re a retired teacher or left the profession to stay at home. You can tutor online from the comfort of your own home or meet students at the local library.

You choose the subjects you’ll tutor in and what you charge. If you want to work for a company, you can try VIPKid, where you tutor Chinese students trying to learn English. However, you must be willing to work late at night since you need to tutor during their after-school hours.

9. Take Advantage of Sign-Up Bonuses

Most cashback and get-paid-to apps pay a sign-up bonus to get more members. The bonus goes into your account and helps you reach the cash-out threshold faster.

Many banks also pay new account holders a sign-up bonus. To qualify, you must deposit the minimum amount required and keep it in the account for the time specified. In addition, the bank may require a certain minimum daily balance or a certain number of direct deposits to qualify.

10. Sell Plasma for $100+ Cash

If you’re in good health, weigh over 110 pounds, and are at least 18 years old, you can make money selling plasma.

You can only do it once a month, but you’ll earn $100+ each time you donate your plasma. Not only does this help you make extra money, but plasma is in high demand to help people with chronic conditions.

11. Return a Recent Purchase

If you bought something recently that was an impulse buy, or you don’t need it, return the item as long as you’re within the return period. It’s best if the item still has its tags too.

Ensure you understand the store’s return policy and read the fine print. For example, Target has a flexible return policy for most items, but collectibles and other specific items have a shorter return period.

12. Watch Movie Previews

It sounds strange, but you can get paid to watch movie previews. Sites like InboxDollars and Swagbucks pay you to watch videos, which are often previews of a movie preview.

It can help pass the time, and you get early access to some of the hottest previews while earning a little cash.

13. Get Cash for Recycling

You can make money recycling items you have around your house. For example, scrap metal is the largest money maker in most households. Sell your non-ferrous metals, such as copper and brass to a salvage yard and make cash.

Check with your utility companies or local big box stores to see if they pay you to recycle used refrigerators and air conditioners.

Check with your local automotive parts store to see if they buy used batteries. AutoZone, for example, will give you a $10 gift card for each battery you return.

14. Listen and Review Music

If you love music, get paid to review it. Slicethepie is a popular site that pays you to review music. You have to listen to 90 seconds of the song, answer some questions, and provide a well-thought-out review. You can review several songs in an hour. You’ll only make a few cents doing it, but it adds up.

If you love music, it can be a fun way to discover new independent artists and help them get their names out by reviewing their music. Of course, it’s a nice bonus that you make a little money.

15. Cash In Your Change

If you have a jar in which you keep your spare change, consider cashing it in to make money in an hour. Your local bank may offer the service for free, or you can find a local Coinstar machine and pay the service fee they charge.

16. Focus Groups

In-person focus groups can be a great way to make money in one hour. Like surveys, you provide honest opinions about a brand’s products or services, but you talk about them rather than answering a written survey.

Focus groups are usually small groups of consumers like you who want to get paid for their opinion. Depending on their length and topic, you can make $100+ for focus groups. Join local market research companies and get on their call list. Each time there’s a group that matches your demographics, they’ll call to screen you and see if you’re a good fit.

17. Transcription

If you have good attention to detail and can type fast, you can make money quickly doing transcription. Transcriptionists listen to audio and put it in written form, with proper grammar.

The quicker you type, the more money you’ll make per hour. You can work for a company like Rev as an independent contractor or offer your services on sites like Fiverr or Upwork.

18. Ask Around for Odd Jobs

If you love handy work or don’t mind cleaning up yards, mowing, shoveling snow, or doing other simple tasks, ask your friends, family, and neighbors if they need anything done.

If you’re good at painting, offer painting services or even hang pictures or TVs around the house. The sky’s the limit, and you won’t know what people need until you ask.

19. Mystery Shopping

Brands and corporations pay ‘real people’ to act as mystery shoppers to see how a retail operation handles its customers. For example, you might be asked to take pictures of the store’s cleanliness or a specific display. They may also have you ask a salesperson specific questions.

For example, if you love new cars, get paid to test drive them with BestMark, an app that hires mystery shoppers to test drive cars. You can make as much as $60 an hour for driving the car and asking the salesperson a few questions.

Most mystery shopping companies have a report you must complete, and they pay you for your time and reimburse you for any expenses incurred.

20. Sell Your Hair

If you are tired of your long hair, don’t just cut it off and throw it away. Instead, cut it and sell it. There is a great demand for hair for artificial hair pieces, including extensions and wigs.

If your hair is untreated and in good condition, you can make decent money selling it. Many sites pay for hair, including BuyandSellHair and HairSellon.

The key is to provide an accurate listing of your hair type, color, and other details. You can make up to $1,000, depending on your hair type.

21. Download Cash Back Apps

A great way to make money fast is with cashback apps. Since you likely shop often, you can use the cashback apps to earn back a percentage of your purchase.

Brands partner with the top cashback apps to market their products to more people. When you shop through a cashback app, the app earns a commission, and they share it with you, paying you to shop.

Here are the top cashback apps to consider:

  • Rakuten – Shop one of the 3,500 stores that partner with Rakuten and earn 2% – 30% back on your purchases. Rakuten pays your earnings quarterly, so you won’t see the money immediately, but getting the ‘big fat check’ feels like a reward.
  • Fetch Rewards – This app works a little differently. Instead of shopping through the app, you make regular purchases and upload your receipts to Fetch Rewards. You earn points for each receipt you upload, plus Fetch Rewards pays bonus points when you buy certain items, which they list in their app.

22. Clean Homes or Cars

If you love to clean, make money cleaning homes or cars. This is a great way to make money in one hour. You can offer deep cleaning services and charge higher prices or surface cleaning for less and get the job done faster.

Home and car owners pay good money to keep their cars and homes clean, so this is a great way to make extra money on your terms.

23. Busking

If you have a talent you can perform in front of crowds, consider heading to a popular street corner and doing it. Good examples include musical instruments, juggling, singing, and dancing. You’ll earn money from passersby and can usually make a decent amount of money in an hour.

24. Get Paid to Exercise

It sounds crazy to think you could make money exercising, but there is an app called HealthyWage that pays you to lose weight.

There’s a small catch, though. You have to ‘bet’ against yourself to make money. Essentially you’re wagering your own money, but like any bet, if you win, there are profits to be made. But, of course, how much you make depends on how many people are in the pot and achieved their goals.

25. Rework Your Budget

Reworking your budget may not sound like a way to make money in an hour, but an hour of your time budgeting may discover more money.

Find categories you overspend or subscriptions you can cancel. Also, consider shopping around for cheaper insurance, cell phone, and insurance services. Even if you save $50 a month, that’s more money in your pocket.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is a Good Hourly Wage?

The average person makes $20 an hour, but what constitutes a good hourly wage depends on what you’re doing and how much you want to earn. So, for example, if you’re answering surveys, you may not make as much per hour as you would if you were walking dogs.

What Apps Payout Immediately?

Mystery shopping apps typically payout immediately, such as EasyShift and Field Agent. You can request a payout as soon as your work is approved. It can take up to 48 hours for the money to transfer, but that’s the case with any money transfer.

Uber, Lyft, and Instacart also pay out immediately, but for a small fee. If you can’t wait for the weekly pay, you can request an instant payout.

Can I Make Money While Sleeping?

You can make money while sleeping; it’s called passive income. But, of course, there are plenty of ways to make money fast while sleeping, including selling stock photos, creating and selling digital content, or creating a YouTube channel.

Do I Have To Claim Earnings From Cashback, Gaming, and Survey Sites as Income on My Taxes?

Yes, you should claim all earnings you make on your taxes. Legally, companies don’t have to issue a 1099 until you make $600, but most companies issue the forms when you make any money.

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