Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on The Penny Hoarder.
The average American sends or receives over 40 text messages per day. What if you could actually get paid for texting?
There are companies out there willing to pay for texters. Some want trained professionals to provide SMS-based coaching.
Others want everyday people to text their answers to quick survey questions. And still others just want you to receive text messages, no action required!
Read on to learn the best text-for-cash companies out there — and how much they pay.
How to Get Paid for Sending Texts
If you’ve ever signed up for a survey website to make a little extra cash, you know how it goes. Sign up. Answer a million demographic questions. Wait for a survey. Spend ages actually answering survey questions. By the time you’re done, you’ve spent a lot of time and energy to make that dollar.
These text-based services streamline the process. After sign-up, your job is pretty simple. Keep an eye out for a text asking you a simple question. Then, reply with the answer.
25Clicks
25Clicks is a microtask site: It pays you to complete quick, simple tasks on the internet.
What kind of tasks? Here’s a real, recent example.
- Go to Google and search for “domain authority checker”
- Click on the Loganix website
- Click the About page and write a 1 message description
- Reply to this message with the answer
It pays $0.50 per task. It can all be completed by SMS (there’s an app but you don’t have to use it after sign-up).
Pro: Simple and straightforward. Regular tasks.
Con: Low overall earning potential.
1Q
1Q sends — you guessed it — one question. You get paid $0.25 per answer. You answer via text in the 1Q app, which is available for iPhone and Android.
Pro: Quick and easy.
Con: Questions are few and far between. Low earning potential.
JustAnswer
Do you have medical, legal or other specific expertise? You could get paid to answer questions on JustAnswer.
Signing up with JustAnswer is more involved than other text-based services. You need to provide evidence of a professional degree, certificate or equivalent experience to be accepted.
Once you’re in, however, you can make a lot more money than with simple survey apps. The exact amount varies based on your customer rating. One RV expert told Business Insider that he starting off making $4.50 per question and ending up making $21 per question. JustAnswer estimates this could add up to an income of $2,000-$7,000 per month.
You can answer questions via text chat in the JustAnswer app.
Pro: Relatively high earning potential.
Con: Complex, variable payment structure. Requires advanced degree or career experience.
How to Get Paid for Receiving Texts
Companies send out text messages all the time. To make sure they are going through successfully, they regularly test the networks.
But to test the network, they need test phone numbers. That’s where you come in.
“By letting us send text messages to your phone, you allow us to test and improve mobile operations,” says McMoney, a leading SMS-testing app.
Pros: It’s almost totally passive. All you have to do is receive texts.
Cons: SMS-testing apps are only available as APK files – that means that not only are they Android only, but they are not offered on the Play store. You have to download them manually. In addition, payouts are very small. You can expect to make a few bucks a year.
Still interested? Here are a few options.
McMoney
McMoney is an SMS-testing app run by consumer experience company CM. Payment for texts varies by location from $0.01 to $0.06 per text. You can expect at least one text per three days. Payment is PayPal only.
MoneySMS
Another popular SMS-testing app is MoneySMS. Users receive 0.02 euros, about $0.021 in U.S. dollars, per text. Payouts are exclusively in euros, Bitcoin, or Litecoin. If you want dollars, PayPal makes it easy to convert currency for a small fee.
SMSProfit
SMSProfit pays $0.01 to $0.06 per text and sends one text per day. You can receive payment through PayPal or BitCoin.
How to Get Paid for Premium Text Conversations
If you already have a platform and a following — as an influencer, psychic, professional leader or anything in between — you might try charging your followers for text conversations. These services make it easy.
Premium.Chat
Once you sign up with Premium.Chat, you get a link to share with your followers. They add their payment method and request to chat with you. From there, you text or video chat in Premium.Chat’s browser-based app.
You can set your own fees within a range of $1 to $5.99 per minute. Premium.Chat takes 40% of your earnings until you start making $10,000 total per month – from there, your share of earnings increases.
Pro: High earning potential.
Con: Only works if you have a platform.
Fibler
Fibler is another platform for public figures to monetize chats with followers. When you sign up for the Fibler app, you get a unique Fibler link. Your fans click on it and gets sent straight to your profile in the Fibler app.
From there, you can set whatever rate you want for premium text chats. As a bonus, you can also charge for live video chats and pre-recorded webinars.
Pro: No hidden fees. High earning potential.
Con: Low earning potential if you don’t have a platform.
Text-From-Home Jobs
Texting can be a side hustle, but can it also be a career? There are bona fide jobs — part-time and full-time — that involve a whole lot of texting.
CoachBit
CoachBit is an app designed to help kids succeed in school.
The company is looking for Role Model Coaches — part-time, remote workers who guide students through online study. Coaches communicate through the CoachBit platform’s texting and voice note capabilities.
Payment is $600-$800 per month, plus performance bonuses.
Pro: Steady payment.
Con: Requires a set schedule.
Ginger
Psychology grads looking for remote, text-based work: Ginger may be for you. The mental health app is always looking for behavioral health coaches. According to a recent job posting, “Ginger coaching is delivered entirely through text-based-chat within the Ginger app.”
Payment varies based on experience and role, but Glassdoor estimates around $50,000 per year.
Pro: Steady payment.
Con: Requires specialized education. Hours can be tough — including holidays and night shift.
Working Solutions
Working Solutions is a customer service company that requires applicants to have a headset and quiet area. That may not sound like a texting job, but hear us out!
Once you’re hired, you get to choose which contracts you take on. If you want, you can opt for purely text-based roles. Payment varies depending on the contract, but workers report making about $15 an hour.
Pro: No advanced degree required.
Con: Jobs vary — so does payment.
Build Your Own Text Service
Want to text for money but not inspired by any of these options? You can always build your own text service. By coming up with an idea and posting it on a freelancing platform, you can text for cash on your own terms.
Fiverr
The Fiverr marketplace is full of text-based services. Are you interested in consulting? Sales? Dating advice? There’s somebody on Fiverr offering all these services by text. Why not you?
Pro: Totally flexible. You choose what to do and what to charge.
Con: A lot of competition.
