It’s always nice to pull up your PayPal account and see a few hundred dollars in the Available Balance box. Luckily, there are several very simple ways to make money online with PayPal.
How to Make Money With Paypal
The different options for making money online and getting paid through PayPal span nearly everyone’s skill and interest levels.
Read on for ideas about how you can earn money and get paid via PayPal.
1. Earn Money as a Freelancer
If you have a skill that you can do well, you can earn money online by freelancing that skill. Some of the freelancing skills you can use to earn money online might include:
- Writing
- Singing
- Graphic design
- Website design, upgrade, or repair
- App development
- Data entry
- Social media management
And more. Here are two websites that can help you use your skills to build a freelance side hustle or even a freelance career.
Upwork
Upwork is an online workplace that helps connect freelancers with people in need of freelance talent. You start by creating a profile on the Upwork website.
After you create your profile, you can wait for people to come to you with work they need to be done. Or you can search available jobs to submit a proposal to.
You also have the option to create easy-to-buy projects that potential clients can quickly purchase.
Upwork has a variety of types of jobs available, from short-term side hustles to permanent jobs with employers.
Fiverr
Fiverr works a lot like Upwork. The main difference is that Fiverr focuses primarily on short gigs that can be done in the same day.
For instance, someone might hire you to write a quick poem for a loved one or sketch a picture of their favorite pet.
Or you might be hired to get a website up and running or to write a song as a gift for someone. You choose what services you offer and how much you charge for them.
2. Make Money as a Blogger
Do you have valuable information that you’d like to share with the world? Are you good at written communication?
Hundreds of thousands of people make money online by starting a blog. You can use your blog to make money online in a number of ways, including:
- Including affiliate links from other companies’ products and services within your posts
- Partnering with an advertising company such as Mediavine to include ads on your site
- Selling your own online courses and workshops
- Using your site to advertise your own freelance and consulting services
And more. Making money online via blogging requires two key components for success: creating great content and gathering readers.
There is some truth to the “If you build it, they will come” theory, which says that if you’re publishing great content people will find you.
However, with over 500 million blogs on the web, you’ve got to find a way to get your blog’s name out there.
You can do this by creating social media accounts for your blog and using those accounts to support other blogs with like-minded content.
Then connect with followers of those blogs and see if they might find your content valuable. And speaking of content, are you wondering what you might write about?
The simplest answer is to write about what you know. Take a skill you’ve learned, or a life experience you’ve had, and turn it into an opportunity to help others.
3. Earn Cash Doing Paid Surveys
The internet is loaded with survey companies that will send you money via PayPal, just for sharing your opinions.
Companies around the world are eager to get consumers’ thoughts as they work to develop needed products and services.
When you participate in online surveys, you get the chance to influence the development of future products and services. Here are two of our favorite survey companies.
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie has been in the market research business since 2005. The company currently has over 10 million members.
When you become a member of Survey Junkie, you can participate by taking surveys or by participating in SJ Pulse, which monitors browsing activity.
You’ll earn points for your activities, and you can exchange those points for PayPal cash.
LifePoints
LifePoints is another long term survey company. In fact, last year they paid out over $22 million to members.
As with Survey Junkie, LifePoints will send you surveys when you sign up to be a member. You’ll earn points for each survey you complete.
Then you can use your points to get a free gift card to PayPal. LifePoints has other options for earning cash too, such as product testing and behavior monitoring.
4. Download Apps That Pay Via PayPal
Did you know that you can download apps that will give you PayPal cash? Here are two popular apps that can help you make money online with PayPal.
Mistplay
Mistplay is a gaming app that will pay you to play games. The app is simple to use; just download the (free) app and start playing games.
You’ll earn points (called “units”) for time played, for experience you gain, and more. And Mistplay will keep adding more games if you’re active and play on the app regularly.
You can trade your units in for a PayPal gift card and get your cash.
Ibotta
Ibotta works very differently than Mistplay, but it still gets you cash from PayPal. When you download the Ibotta app, you can search for both online and in-store offers.
The in-store offers give you a designated amount of cash when you purchase the offered product. Just use your phone to snap a pic of the receipt from the purchase and Ibotta will credit you the money.
For online offers, you’ll shop at partner websites by accessing them through your Ibotta app. When you purchase participating products, Ibotta credits your Ibotta account directly.
You can take advantage of online offers through your computer or through your mobile device.
After your Ibotta account reaches a balance of at least $20, you can request the money to be transferred to PayPal.
5. Sell Your Used Electronics for Cash
Do you have electronic items sitting around that are no longer used? You could make money online by selling them. Here are two popular sites that will buy your used electronics for cash.
Decluttr
Decluttr buys a variety of used electronic items including cell phones, tablets, Apple watches, gaming systems, and more.
Bonus: They buy used textbooks, CDs, DVDs, and Legos as well.
Using Decluttr is easy. Simply share the information about each product you want to sell using Decluttr’s easy-to-use website.
Decluttr will give you an instant quote. If you like the quote, you’ll pack up your item(s) and ship them using the free shipping label Decluttr sends you.
Decluttr will send you PayPal cash after they’ve received and reviewed the items you’ve sent.
Buyback Boss
Buyback Boss buys everything from old cell phones, to laptop computers, to other mobile devices. They’ll even buy computer monitors, camcorders, and gaming systems.
Buyback Boss works similarly to Decluttr. You start by sharing the information on the item(s) you want to sell. You’ll get an immediate quote for each item you want to sell.
If you like the offer price, you’ll ship your item(s) with Buyback Boss’ free shipping label. After the items are received and reviewed, BuyBack Boss will send you your money via PayPal.
6. Sell Your Crafts for Cash
Are you good at making crafts? If so, you can make and sell them online for PayPal cash. Websites such as Etsy let you sell virtually any type of craft or craft supply.
You can sell knitted or sewn items, jewelry, downloadable prints, and other items. If you’ve got a knack for graphic design, you can create t-shirt designs and sell them on a site such as Redbubble.
With Etsy, you’ll pay a fee for posting your item for sale, and then pay a transaction fee when it sells. You are responsible for shipping and customer service for the items you sell.
With sites like Redbubble, you simply upload your design to the site. Redbubble takes care of printing, shipping, and customer service.
Then they send you a portion of the proceeds for every item you sell. Both of these sites are great resources for selling crafts or craft/design ideas.
7. Earn Money Tutoring Online
Did you know that you can earn money by tutoring online even if you’re not a licensed teacher? You can tutor both kids and adults in a number of subjects, such as:
- Math
- English
- Science
- Reading
- Robotics
- Computer coding
And more. Many online tutoring companies only require that you have knowledge in the subject you wish to teach. Here’s some information about two popular online tutoring companies.
VIPKid
VIPKid hires tutors to teach English as a second language to Chinese students. With VIPKid you teach one-on-one, pre-designed lessons in 25-minute segments.
You can set your own schedule and teach as many or as few lessons as you wish. The rate of pay averages between $7 and $9 for each half-hour segment.
However, there are incentives that can help you earn up to $11 per lesson. You do have to have a 4-year degree (in any subject) to tutor here. And teaching experience is helpful.
Tutor.com
Tutor.com hires tutors in subjects such as business, mathematics, science, technology and more. With this company, you can choose to create scheduled lessons or on-demand lessons.
And you can share your schedule on the site so that students can schedule lessons with you as needed. Check out the Tutor.com website to learn more about the application process, teaching requirements, and pay rates.
8. Make Money Selling Your Photos Online
Do you have a gift for photography? If so, you might want to think about selling your photos online. People pay to use photos on websites and in blog posts.
Each time someone uses one of your photos, you earn a commission. Check out these two online stock photo companies.
Shutterstock
Shutterstock has paid out over $1 billion in commissions to stock photographers. Working with Shutterstock is easy.
First, submit your high quality stock photo. Then wait for users to purchase rights to use it. Finally, get paid. Note that Shutterstock pays for referring new contributors too.
SmugMug
With SmugMug you can set up a stock photography account in just 15 minutes. The site has a variety of tools to help you create a professional looking stock photography page.
Hint: The best-selling stock photography photos usually contain people doing regular, everyday activities, such as playing games or going to the doctor.
9. Become a Proofreader
There are dozens of online companies looking for people with proofreading skills. As an online proofreader, you might proofread books, blog articles, or online papers.
Companies such as Proofread Anywhere and Cambridge Proofreading hire proofreaders to scour documents for spelling and other errors.
If you are detail-oriented and have a keen eye for spelling and other grammatical errors, this might be the perfect online job for you. And many proofreading companies allow you to set your own hours.
You can make up to $30 per hour as an online proofreader. Check proofreading company websites for more information.
10. Make Money as a Virtual Assistant
The last way to make money online with PayPal that we’re sharing today is that of Virtual Assistant.
A Virtual Assistant can help business owners and other professionals with any number of tasks. As a Virtual Assistant you might be asked to:
- Help keep schedules coordinated
- Manage social media accounts
- Complete administrative tasks
- Manage a blog or website
Or any other number of duties to help keep a business running smoothly. If you are organized, customer service oriented, and are gifted at helping others, this might be a good side hustle for you.
Summary
As you can see, there are a number of ways to make money online with PayPal. Make a list of your gifts and talents and see which ideas best fit your life and schedule.
Then explore money making apps or websites to find the perfect side hustle for your needs.
Have you ever made money online in any of the ways mentioned here? What are your favorite ways to make money online?
Laurie is personal finance writer and a licensed Realtor. Her goal in blogging is to help others find their way to financial freedom, and to a simpler, more peaceful life.