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These days, it seems like it’s tough to stay ahead financially. Hopefully, these ways to make money online can help you get a leg up.
Whether you use the extra money to pay bills, pay off student loans, or just use it as spending money, we could all use a little extra cash.
Years ago, you didn’t have a ton of options. We did have internet access, but things were kind of just getting started. Nowadays, there are so many more ways to make money online!
One of the best things about working online is that most of the jobs are fairly flexible. Generally you work the schedule you want, and in some cases, you can actually set your own rates.
Most of these are part-time ways to make money online. In other words, while they can be done full time, they can also be done part time.
So, would you like to make extra money on the side while working your own schedule? Maybe even set your own rates?
If so, keep reading to find out what are the best ways to make money online.
Best Ways to Make Money Online
In the list below, we will take a look at a list of online jobs. Some of them may overlap somewhat, but there are a variety of skills here.
Because there is so much opportunity, you should definitely be able to find something that works for you. Let’s dig in.
1. Earn Money with Survey Junkie
One of the easiest ways to make money from home is by taking surveys. Believe it or not, if you have opinions, those opinions are valuable!
Your opinion helps them understand the market better, and thus, make more money. Thus, they are willing to pay you in return. One of my favorite places to take surveys online is Survey Junkie. With Survey Junkie, you get paid just for sharing your opinion on various products you already buy.
You can take surveys from home, at a coffee shop, at dentist…really, anywhere you can get an internet connection works.
Survey Junkie is almost universally praised with a 4.3/5 rating on Google Play and high ratings on various websites.
Pay: up to $75 per survey.
2. Get Paid to Do Stuff Online
That might sound like a joke, but it’s not! Chances are, you already do stuff online – like searching, watching videos, and playing games.
But did you know you can actually get paid to do that stuff? Crazy, but true. When you sign up with Swagbucks, you can paid for doing what you were probably already doing.
Related post: Swagbucks Review: How To Earn Free Gift Cards (+ Get Paid Via PayPal)Swagbucks
It’s honestly that easy, and it’s totally free to join. When you have enough points, you can redeem them for gift cards for popular stores like Amazon, Target, and Starbucks. Gift cards can be worth anywhere from $1 to $100.
You may not earn a ton, but it’s worth a try since you already do these things anyway. Get started on Swagbucks and start earning!
Pay: up to $100 per month.
3. Make Money Online Building Websites
If you have experience in web development, this might be the perfect way to make money from the internet. That will be especially true if you have experience in programming languages like Java, PHP, etc.
However, it’s not necessary that you have a lot of technical expertise for this job. If you have experience working in a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress, that might be enough.
If you have a knack for it, building websites is one of the highest paying jobs online. It can pay well because you set your own rates.
With some of these jobs, it’s not that they are necessarily super difficult – it’s just that the people hiring have bigger fish to fry.
Pay: up to $35,000 per project.
4. Freelance Writer
Freelance writing is one of the best ways to make money online. Why? Because it’s so incredibly versatile. You can write about almost anything.
However, if all of your experience is in database management, for example, it will be tough to land a gig writing about dogs. Yes, that’s a real freelance writing gig!
If you want to write in an industry in which you don’t currently have experience, you’ll need to build a portfolio with relevant writing samples. One way to do this is with a blog (more on that later).
All in all, this is a great gig because it’s flexible, plus you can usually work on your own schedule. And, as hinted at earlier, you even set your own rates.
When I started getting into freelance writing, decided to purchases Holly Johnson’s Earn More Writing course because I know she is one of the best in the business.
If you didn’t know, Holly often earns over $30,000 per month just from freelancing, so I had to learn everything I could from her. The course goes in-depth with 8 actionable videos, all of which are 15 minutes or longer, plus several freebies and other material.
This course is incredibly valuable and helped me land several freelance clients.
If you’re looking for legitimate online jobs, this is one of the best. I follow freelance writers who make as much as some c-suite execs. Nope, that’s not a joke; freelance writing has incredibly earning potential.
Pay: up to $400,000/year.
5. Copywriter
Copywriting is one of the top online jobs. It’s similar to freelance writing; as such, you will often see these jobs listed on the same sites.
However, there is an important difference.
With freelance writing, you typically write educational and/or problem-solving pieces based around one idea: solving the reader’s problem.
Copywriting, on the other hand, is sales-based. You would typically write product/service descriptions that might appear in an ad in a magazine. So, the point is to convert the reader to a buyer.
If you have a penchant for both writing and sales, this gig might be right for you.
6. Work Online As An Editor
All major publications have editors. This crucial role ensures content is both digestible as well as useful for readers.
So, what does an editor do?
Editors actually do a variety of things. They might correct spelling/grammar errors, but that is only a tiny portion of their work. They also review work and determine whether it’s something readers would find valuable.
So, in a sense, they are also content strategists. If you enjoy giving constructive feedback, you may want to consider this when thinking about work from home jobs.
Salary: up to $100,000 per year (possibly more).
7. Grant Writer
If you prefer working form home, this could be the perfect online job for you. In many cases, grants are research proposals used to fund research at universities.
As a grant writer, you would write proposals in hopes of attaining funding for the organization applying for it. In other words, you are basically trying to sell the research study. You pitch the idea, and if successful, the organization receives the funding it needs.
Average pay: $48,314/year.
8. Customer Service Representative
The term customer service representative is fairly broad, but that’s because these jobs can vary widely depending on the company. The good news, though, is they can usually be done from home
That’s because the most common responsibility for this job is to provide phone support. In the tech world, we call this help desk or a call center representative, but those terms usually aren’t used in non-technical industries.
In any case, almost every company needs customer service agents and call center reps assisting their customers, either with phone support, answering emails, or even answer questions sent via social media.
Salary: $26,000-$44,000/year
This job should be fairly self-explanatory. It would involve answering calls, emails, tickets, and possibly chat messages from users.
As with any job, even though this is normally entry-level, it will be easier to land if you have relevant experience in the organization’s industry.
Pay: up to $50,000/year.
9. Virtual Assistant
What does a virtual assistant do? Actually, a virtual assistant can do almost anything. In general, someone who hires a virtual assistant has a successful business but also has one or more tasks that are taking up too much of their time.
That’s where you come in. Virtual assistants can have a variety of responsibilities, including:
- Pinterest VA – usually someone who both makes Pinterest pins and also manages a business’s Pinterest account
- Social media management – managing company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
- Sending emails, scheduling meetings, etc.
- Market research/digital marketing
And these are only a few of the responsibilities you may have as a virtual assistant. Ideally you would only go for a gig that includes responsibilities that work for you. However, in a role like this, you will inevitably need to be a jack-of-all-trades person.
Also, you might notice that many of the tasks above also exist on this list as their own job. There could be a number of reasons. In many cases, though, people hiring VAs have a thriving business, but they are small. So there may not be enough work to hire one person for each task.
On the other hand, if you work for a very large business, just one of the above might have so much volume that it warrants its own position.
Salary: up to $110,000/year.
10. Social Media Manager
Are you always on Facebook, Twitter, and the like? Are you great at creating engaging posts that get likes and shares? If so, this job is for you. Companies and brands are always looking to spread awareness and social media lets them do that cheaply.
As with any job, having proof of past success is always helpful. If you have a large social media following of your own, you’ll have a much better chance of landing a gig like this.
Average salary: $50,000/year.
11. Online English Teacher
English continues to be the most universally spoken language, yet in huge countries like India and China, English is not the first language learned.
English is considered the language of business and, if you’re a tourist in Europe, you will find out most natives there speak at least some English. As a result, there is a huge demand for English teachers online.
It’s also not necessary to have a teaching degree to teach English. If interested, look into sites like VIPKID and QKids.
Pay: up to $46,000/year.
12. Transcriptionist
If you’ve ever watched Netflix and turned on closed captions, you might have wondered how those captions magically get there. The answer? The work of a transcriptionist.
Sure, you might not be able to watch all your favorite shows for fun – a lot them will be less exciting shows. Still, this is a low-stress job you can do from anywhere.
13. Blogger
You may have heard some “stuff” about blogging, but it can be a totally legitimate online job!
For some people, being a blogger is a full-time job. However, it isn’t necessary to work full-time hours in order to make money. If you know what you’re doing, you can make money blogging while only working part time.
However, unlike most jobs, blogging doesn’t automatically pay. You have to choose to monetize your blog. Some of the most common ways bloggers make money is with ads, affiliate marketing, and selling their own products.
There is a lot of information out there, but starting a blog is pretty easy and could lead to some nice income from home.
Earnings: varies; some bloggers make over $1 million/year!
14. Survey Participant
Completing online surveys for money is less of a job and more of a way to earn a few extra dollars on the side. That’s because the pay is fairly low – which is probably fine if you’re a student, for example, but don’t expect to earn much.
If you’re great at multitasking, this could be a nice way to earn some extra cash while doing other things. This is a real online job from home that anyone can do.
Earnings: varies; up to $150 for panel studies.
15. Search Engine Evaluator
Search Engines such as Google and Bing continue to get smarter, but they still aren’t perfect. While artificial intelligence has come a long way, it still can’t quite mimic the human mind perfectly.
While there are ways to elevate your content high in the search results such as SEO, that isn’t what Google wants. Instead, search engines want search results to cater to humans. They want search results to answer your questions and solve problems.
Thus, as a search engine evaluator, you’ll spend your time ensuring search results serve searcher intent rather than the intent of those creating content.
Average salary: $36,881/year.
16. Data Entry Analyst
Data entry is another job that doesn’t need much explanation. While there is already an unfathomable of data out there, companies around the world will always have more of it.
So, they need people to enter data into their databases. Pretty straightforward. It’s also fairly redundant, but if that’s what you want, this online job might be perfect for you.
Pay: up to $41,000/year.
17. Quality Assurance Analyst
In a way, a quality assurance (QA) analyst is similar to a search engine evaluator. Or, to be more precise, a search engine evaluator is a type of QA analyst.
In this role, you will primarily be testing software applications. The goal is to find bugs (if any), and be sure the software doesn’t “break.”
In addition, you will testing to see if the software works as intended. In other words, if the software is meant to work one way but works another way instead, it’s your job to find that as a QA analyst.
Average salary: $56,616.
18. Academic Tutor
This job is best for college students, though that doesn’t necessarily rule out those who are out of college!
If you are especially strong in one area of study, this could be a great job for you. Requirements for these jobs vary greatly as do the job responsibilities, so be sure to check that.
While you may need a bachelor’s degree, some only require you to be working toward one. There may also be different grades of students, but in many cases, they are high school students.
If you are working toward a teaching degree, this work from home job could be a great resume builder as well.
19. SEO Analyst
If you decide to take up blogging as a side job, you may decide to be an SEO analyst as well. SEO is one of the most powerful sources of traffic (and anyone website, for that matter).
But, if you’re new to this, you may not know what SEO is. SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” It refers to designing web pages that receive as much traffic from search engines as possible.
Search engines are not the only source of web traffic, but, in many cases, it can be the biggest one.
Salary: up to $86,000/year.
20. Proofreader
Proofreading is actually something that could technically be done by an editor. However, editors typically must have more knowledge in terms of what type of content readers will find valuable.
In other words, editors generally must be more experienced in order to have a deep understanding of the industry. If you’re a stickler for spelling and grammar and you’re just starting out, this job could be right for you.
Salary: up to $67,000/year.
21. Graphic Designer
Graphic designing is another gig that is fairly self-explanatory. There are literally millions of web sites out there, and most of them need graphics of some sort.
If graphic design is your thing, this gig might be worth considering.
Pay: up to $71,000/year.
22. Web Developer/Programmer
Web development is actually one of the most in-demand remote jobs out there. Many of them will require a degree, but it’s possible you can still find an opportunity without one.
For example, if you have certifications and/or have a healthy portfolio on Github, that might be enough to get a foot in the door.
Pay: up to $120,000/year.
23. Resume Writer
Is the art of the resume dead? You may have heard that, but the truth is that resumes are still extremely important in the business world. Without an excellent resume, you may have trouble standing out.
Luckily, a resume can help you. Since most job-seekers don’t write resumes all the time, they have a difficult time making them as good as they need to be.
But if writing resumes comes naturally to you, you can help people by offering this service.
Pay: up to $58,000/year.
24. Digital Marketer
This is an another job that was also mentioned as a possible responsibility for VAs. And, again, it could quite easily be a full-time job at a large organization.
It’s no secret that finding (and keeping) customers is one of the most important parts of any business. This has always been the case, but with digital marketing, there are new strategies.
If you have experience with things like leads, tripwires, and sales funnels, this could be right online job for you.
Salary: up to $94,000/year.
25. Amazon Remote Jobs
Amazon is currently the 28th largest company in the world and they’re continuing to grow. So it’s no surprise that their huge variety of job opportunities includes telework.
This includes a variety of positions in areas such as sales, advertising, operations management, and more. So, rather than having to walk miles through their warehouses, why not work from home instead?
If you are interested in pursuing a remote work opportunity with Amazon, check out their Virtual Locations.
Earnings: varies (many positions available).
26. Legal Assistant/Paralegal
If your background is in law, did you know it’s possible to do these jobs completely online?
It’s true. You can find all kinds of jobs posted on sites like Upwork and ZipRecruiter that will let you do legal work from the comfort of your own home.
You likely need to have prior experience, but if you have it, this job is for you!
Pay: ~$50,000/year
27. Front-End Architect
This job is a bit more advanced and may actually require a bachelor’s degree or advanced degree depending on the company. However, it does give you the opportunity to work with cool stuff like HTML5, CSS, SaaS, Javascript and other programming languages.
There may also be troubleshooting involved. Programming jobs are often 100% remote; in fact, learning some programming skills is one of the best ways to reliably find remote work.
Thus, if programming is your thing, this could be an effective way to find jobs that allow you to work remotely.
Salary: Up to $150,000/year
Where to Work From Home Jobs
There are many ways you can potentially find a job that lets you work from home. Finding a job by networking might be the most effective way since you probably don’t have a ton of experience yet.
However, there are numerous sites out there to help you find online jobs from home. Here are some of them:
Fiverr And Upwork
If you have ever looked into freelance work, there’s a good chance you have heard of these sites. In reality, the pay you will find on these sites will probably be on the lower side because there are so many people offering services on them.
The one good thing about these sites is they offer a variety of freelance work, making them a one-stop shop. If you can differentiate yourself in a narrow niche, you might have a better chance here.
Get started on Fiverr and Upwork.
Also check out these Fiverr alternatives!
ProBlogger, Freelance Writing Gigs, All Freelance Writing
I am lumping these sites together because, as you can probably guess, they are mostly writing-focused. There are a few different types of gigs you will find on these sites: freelance writing, blogging, copywriting, and editing.
All types of writing niches are represented, though, so if you’re interested in writing, these sites are a good place to start.
Get started on ProBlogger, Freelance Writing Gigs, and All Freelance Writing.
Remote.Co And Remoteok.Io
These two are more general remote work sites – however, Remote.co is fairly tech focused. In fact, this site has a bunch of categories along the top, and then you’ll notice “non-tech” is just one category.
So, basically, it’s a whole bunch of tech categories plus the few jobs that aren’t. If you’re looking for a web development/programming job, this is the place to start.
Remoteok.io is a little more generalized. Plus, they have a separate part-time jobs category that is ideal for if you want to find work online
Get started on Remote.co and Remoteok.io.
Conclusion on Best Ways to Make Money Online
If you are looking to work from home, it’s never been easier to get started. There are thousands of job opportunities out there at any given time.
With these jobs, all you need is to find your routing number and you’ll be able to get paid online, from home.
Of course, that also means it’s more competitive. It’s easier for anyone to get started, meaning you’ll need an edge on the competition if possible.
How do you do that? Networking and having previous experience are hugely helpful. You may not have a lot of experience or an extensive network, but get creative. You can build your own portfolio with a blog, and you can network on social media sites.
Hopefully you have found this helpful in finding the best work from home jobs. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments.
Related:
Do you have stay at home jobs for 66 year olds?
Hi Sharleen. It depends on your skills, but note that this jobs aren’t actually age-specific. Most of them should be possible regardless of your age.