If you’re in a cash crunch, take a breath before applying for a personal loan. There’s likely a side hustle out there that can help you earn money fast—and even get paid on the same day you work.
Whether you tap the wonders of the gig economy or resources in your hometown, same-day pay could be closer than you think. And with many employers adding daily pay options as an employee benefit, you could say farewell to Payday Friday and hooray to payday every day.
7 side hustles that pay up to $200 per day
Getting paid biweekly or bimonthly is pretty much the standard. But daily pay comes with both financial and mental health benefits, says Safwan Shah, CEO of Payactiv, a financial services company. He notes that daily access to earnings can help workers avoid hefty fines in overdraft fees and predatory lending options such as payday loans. Plus, it can decrease stress by giving workers access to their wages on their schedule, not their employer’s.
So a side hustle might be in order if you imagine a cash flow closer to daily than once every two weeks. If daily pay is important for your finances, you can compare gigs and find one that aligns with your talents, time, and expected payment schedule.
1. Deliver for DoorDash
If you want to connect neighbors with everything from hot meals to pet supplies, delivering for DoorDash could be the cash infusion you need. And with this app, there’s no shopping involved. Instead, when you accept a delivery, you’ll simply pick it up and drop it off at the designated address.
DoorDash offers two options for daily pay: Fast Pay and Dasher Direct. With Fast Pay, you can cash out earnings once daily directly to your debit card for a $1.99 fee. DasherDirect is a fee-free program that cashes you out after every delivery. To use DasherDirect, you’ll need to sign up for DoorDash’s Visa debit card. But by doing so, you’ll also get 2% cash back on gas purchases.
Average pay: $15–$25 per hour / $120–$200 per 8-hour day
2. Drive for Uber
Uber gives you two different side hustle options: rideshare driver and delivery driver. And don’t worry—you don’t have to choose. When you sign up for Uber and are approved, you’re eligible to do one or both.
Whichever path you choose, you won’t have to wait long for your earnings. Uber’s Instant Pay feature costs $0.85 per transaction and lets you cash out and up to five times per day. You’ll receive funds in your bank account through your debit card.
To qualify, you’ll need a debit card with a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover logo and must successfully complete one trip. From there, you’re good to go with Instant Pay and see your hard-earned cash in a flash.
Average rideshare pay: $15–$25 per hour (varies by market) / $120–$200 per 8-hour day
Average delivery pay: $8–$20 per hour (varies by market) / $64–$160 per 8-hour day
2. Share your opinion on Swagbucks
You’ve heard that saying about opinions: Everybody has one. Now, you can get paid for yours (and more) through Swagbucks. From the comfort of your home or on the go with their app, you can watch videos, shop online, answer surveys, and play games—all of which earn you points. Then you can redeem your points for gift cards or cash back through Paypal.
Once you sign up and verify your account, you can start earning Swagbucks that you can redeem for cash. You can cash out whenever you have enough points to redeem for a $5 Paypal Reward, which could be daily if you rack up enough Swagbucks.
Average pay: $1 to $5 per day
3. Respond to surveys on Drumo
If you love online surveys and games, Drumo might be an app to add to your daily payday routine. When you download and sign up for the platform, you’ll complete a short profile survey that Drumo uses to match you with survey opportunities.
Here’s the best part: You can cash out of Drumo to Paypal and receive funds within 24 hours when you earn as little as $0.50. Drumo says that those with longstanding accounts can work their way up to instant payouts. Drumo gives every user a quality score based on their responses in the app. The higher your score, the better your chance of accessing higher-paying earning opportunities and that "instant" payout.
Average pay: Depends on the survey and earning opportunity
4. Go shopping with Shipt
Get paid to go shopping? It’s not a myth. With Shipt, you’ll shop for customers and then deliver their orders. And it’s not just groceries, either. One day, you may find yourself at Target and Sephora. The next, at a wine shop or Petsmart. But wherever you go, you can get paid daily using Shipt’s Instant Pay, which doesn’t require additional fees.
To be eligible for Instant Pay, which sends money directly to your bank account, you’ll need one successful weekly payout through direct deposit. Once you hit that threshold, you can select Instant Pay once every 24 hours inside the Shipt app instead of waiting for the standard weekly payout.
Average pay: $11–$20 per hour / $88–$160 per 8-hour day
5. Serve at a local restaurant
If you want to keep things local, consider picking up a few shifts at a local bar or restaurant. While you might need to pass a food handling class to be eligible to apply, daily tips can keep cash in your pocket every day you work.
To maximize your chance for tips, don’t be shy about speaking to current servers where you hope to work. You can inquire about the most profitable shifts and, potentially, average tips for a new server. If you provide table service, you may find that tips are higher than in a cafe where customers pick up their orders at the register.
Average pay: $14–$16 per hour / $112–$128 per 8-hour day
6. Work for a company offering a daily pay benefit
Some employers may already offer a daily pay benefit thanks to a new wave of apps that let employees access their pay on a daily instead of bi-weekly basis.
First, your employer needs to partner with one of the many earned wages apps such as DailyPay, EarnIn, or Instant. If they don’t already have an agreement, you could make the case and see if your employer is game. And if you need fodder for your case, Tal Clark, CEO of Instant Financial, an earned wages app, has plenty of data to bolster your argument.
“Having access to pay immediately after a shift has proven to improve employee engagement, with employees more likely to feel a sense of connection and loyalty to their employer,” says Clark. According to Instant’s 2022 Wages and Wellbeing study, the numbers on daily pay speak for themselves.
- 79% of respondents would be more interested in applying for a job that pays them the same day they work.
- 62% of respondents would feel more valued as an employee if their employer provided immediate access to their earned pay after every day’s work.
- 58% of respondents said they left a job in the last two years that they would have stayed at longer if they were offered immediate access to a portion of their pay after every day’s work at no cost.
If your employer’s on board, how you receive funds depends on the app. Typically, you’ll link a bank account, payroll card, or debit card during the signup process. Some apps issue their own debit card that you’ll use to access your money. The amount you can advance differs between companies and fees for daily pay can be none, fixed, or variable. For example, Instant has no fees and DailyPay charges $2.99 per instant transfer, while EarnIn operates on a tipping model where you name your own fee.
Average pay: Depends on the employer
7. Donate plasma
If you want to earn extra cash and actually save lives, donating plasma can be a service to your community and wallet. Your community likely has at least one donation center, and all you have to do to get paid the same day is relax and let the cash flow.
The process for donating plasma is similar to donating blood, so yes, there’s a needle involved. It’s also a bit more time consuming at 1–2 hours per appointment. However, you’re well compensated for your time. While rates vary by geography, you’re paid same-day via a donation center-supplied debit card, with some donation centers offering bonuses for new donors.
You can also donate up to twice per week, giving you multiple earning opportunities per month until you hit the annual 24-donation maximum set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Average pay: $50–75 per day / donate up to twice per week and 24 times per year
The takeaway
These options are a great place to start your search for a side hustle that offers daily pay. Now you can turn the dials and find the gig and pay that make sense for your situation.
But before you jump in, it’s important to do your research. Do some digging on Reddit forums and gig economy sites that offer honest reviews of what it’s like to work for certain companies and in your locale.
And if you’re in a pinch for cash between the time you read this article and your daily pay gig-in-the-making, you may want to check out a payday advance app to help tide you over.
