27 Legit Ways to Make Money From Home (2024)

Do you want to make money from home but aren’t sure it’s realistic? The good news is that there has been significant growth in the at-home job space.

Regardless of if you want to earn extra spending money or you are looking for a legitimate career, there are many ways to make money online.

This guide only covers options that truly let you work from home. It doesn’t include ride-sharing or delivery gigs. If you’re curious about those, read our review of the best delivery app gigs to earn cash.

How to Make Money from Home

Making money from home is more of a possibility than you’d expect. However, each opportunity does take some effort.

From finding freelance work to pet sitting, here are the top online jobs to earn money.

1. Make Money with Surveys

While they won’t make you rich, paid surveys can be an excellent way to earn extra pocket change. Market research companies value your opinion and will pay you for it.

Online surveys don’t take a lot of time, and you can complete them while watching TV or doing another mindless activity.

It takes minutes to sign up for most survey sites, and you can start completing requests once your account is approved.

Tools To Use:

Survey Junkie – Earn $1 to $3 per survey. You can redeem earnings once you reach a $10 balance.

InboxDollars – Earn up to $2 per survey. Plus, you receive a $5 bonus when you join.

LifePoints – Earn up to $1 per survey. This company is one of the largest marketing research companies in the world, awarding nearly $30 million to members in 2021.

Earning Potential: $100+ per month

2. Start A Blog

Starting a blog is one of the best ideas to earn money at home. Regardless of the path you take, a blog is essentially a portfolio of what you want to do on the internet since it lets you showcase your skills.

You can blog about virtually anything, but here are some of the most profitable niches:

• Personal finance
• Food
• Relationships
• Parenting

I’m partial to blogging because having a blog changed my life. This website has turned into a six-figure business that I use to support my family.

The first step to launching a blog is getting a domain name and cheap web hosting. Bluehost is a terrific resource for this. They offer hosting and a domain name for only $2.95 per month.

Additionally, they offer 24/7 support if you’re not technically inclined.

If blogging isn’t your cup of tea, but you want to make money online, Steady is a good resource to use. It lets you identify gig opportunities in your area, including virtual work and it’s free to use.

Read our Steady review to learn more.

Tools To Use:

Bluehost provides affordable hosting to help get your blog off the ground.

Earning Potential: $1,000+ per month within one year

3. Get Paid to Complete Tasks Online

Similar to paid surveys, one of the best ways to earn money online is to complete short tasks. While get-paid-to (GPT) sites pay you to take surveys, they also offer numerous other ways to get free money.

These can include:

• Watching sponsored videos
• Playing online games
• Printing off or redeeming coupons
• Using a shopping portal
• Reading sponsored emails
• Using a specific search engine

You won’t become rich with GPT sites, but they’re a terrific way to earn money with minimal experience.

Tools To Use:

Swagbucks is one of the top GPT sites. Payouts vary depending on the task. Plus, you can earn $5 when you sign up.

Earning Potential: $100+ per month

4. Product Tester

Like completing surveys online, market research companies offer product tester jobs. This lets them learn what people think about various products and services.

As a result, they will pay testers money to provide feedback.

Doing this allows companies to improve their offering before it goes to market. In turn, this can also improve sales.

Most products consist of household or beauty items. After you test the product and take a short survey, you get paid.

This is a fantastic choice if you have a tight schedule and need to earn quick cash. Read our guide on how to make money in one hour at home to identify other opportunities.

Tools To Use:

Pinecone Research is worth looking into. The service is invite-only and pays up to $75 per product you test.

Earning Potential: $150+ per month

5. Care for Dogs

Four-legged friends need care when their owners travel or are at work. If you love dogs, you can earn a side income caring for them.

You can start by walking dogs and then increase your services to include doggy daycare, boarding, and grooming. If you’re not a fan of dogs, you can offer similar services for cats.

Rover.com is an excellent resource to list your offerings, get referrals, and find clients.

The company does keep 20 percent of your earnings. As a result, you might want to branch out on your own after you grow your business to a certain level.

Tools To Use:

Rover is the largest dog walking app out there. In spite of its high fee, it can help you get your business up and running.

Earning Potential: $1,000+ per month

6. Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is one of the top jobs you can do from home. This is one of the top jobs that pay $20 an hour without a degree requirement. You just need the ability to write.

It’s also helpful if you have knowledge of various topics.

With a strong work ethic, it’s possible to earn six figures a year with this opportunity. My wife started a freelance writing career a decade ago and earns thousands of dollars a month as a writer.

Content styles can range from writing blog posts and video scripts to email campaigns. To get started, inform friends you’re looking for gigs or check out writing job boards on Indeed or FlexJobs.

You can read our guide on how to get paid to write to learn more.

Tools To Use:

Earn More Writing is an excellent course to learn how to start freelance writing

Earning Potential: $100 – $200+ per article

7. Become A Proofreader

Do you have a degree in English or journalism? Are you good at grammar? If you said yes to either, proofreading could be a perfect gig for you to earn money at home.

*Related: Are you looking for a new work-from-home job? Read our review of jobs sites like Indeed to learn about the top websites to find work.

There is an endless demand for high-quality content. Whether it’s businesses, authors, or bloggers, creators produce content that requires a discerning eye to catch errors.

Like freelance writing, proofreading is something you can do from anywhere. All you need is a laptop, an internet connection, and a willingness to work.

Read our guide on how to become a proofreader to learn more about this opportunity.

Tools To Use:

Proofread Anywhere is an excellent course to learn how to start as a proofreader and build a client base.

Earning Potential: $25+ per hour

8. Virtual Assistant

Are you an administrative whiz who enjoys working behind the scenes? If so, then working as a virtual assistant (VA) is a good choice for online work that pays well.

A VA is similar to a normal assistant. The difference is that you get to work remotely.

You can expect to do a wide variety of work as a VA, including:

• Answering emails
• Invoicing
• Customer service
• Scheduling blog or social media posts
• Project management

This is an ideal opportunity for someone who enjoys managing projects or is organized. It’s also great for someone who prefers a variety of work projects.

Good VAs can earn $10,000+ per month once they have some experience. Read our guide on how to become a virtual assistant with no experience to learn more.

Tools To Use:

10kVA is an awesome course to learn how to become a VA and earn more money.

Earning Potential: $5,000+ per month

9. Online Data Entry

Are you a proficient typer who is looking for a way to make money online from home? If so, data entry is a fantastic option.

You should be able to type at least 50 words per minute to take advantage of this opportunity.

There are numerous ways you can make money with data entry, including:

• Entering medical data
• Merging information from multiple documents into one
• Processing invoices
• Simple accounting

DionData Solutions is a good resource to find jobs. You can also use job boards like Indeed to find work.

Read our review of the top data entry jobs from home to learn more.

Tools To Use:

DionData Solutionscan help you find data entry jobs.

Earning Potential: $15+ per hour

10. Create A Dropshipping Business

Dropshipping is when you act as the middleman between a company and a customer. In practice, dropshipping allows you to sell products without touching or storing them.

Here’s how it works. A customer purchases a product through your website. After receiving payment, the company ships the product to the customer.

You net the difference between the sales price and the wholesale price. For example, if you sell an item for $20 but you paid $15 for the wholesale price, you net $5 on every sale.

*Related: Do you need an alternative to Shopify? Check out Sellfy to create an e-commerce site and start selling your products within minutes.*

The simplest way to create this type of business is with Shopify. They help you create a site, manage payments, and market your business.

Shopify also works with eBay and Amazon.

Tools To Use:

Shopifyis one of the biggest platforms that can help you get started with dropshipping.

Earning Potential: $5,000+ per month

11. Watch Videos

Do you spend a lot of time on YouTube or TikTok? You can turn that time into a legitimate side gig by making money while watching sponsored videos.

Similar to GPT sites, there are websites that pay users to watch sponsored videos. Companies will pay for this in order to learn about our views on a topic or see how we interact with a video.

You won’t become rich, but it’s another way to earn extra pocket change each month.

Tools To Use:

MyPoints is a great option to get paid to watch videos. You can earn a $10 bonus when you open an account.

Earning Potential: $50+ per month

12. Online Tutoring

Tutoring doesn’t have to happen in person. You can make money at home through online tutoring. Tools like Zoom make it possible to tutor students over video on virtually any subject.

The beauty of this at-home job option is that you can set your own rates and work at your pace. This makes tutoring one of the best jobs for work-from-home moms needing flexibility.

It’s also a perfect option for educators. Read our guide on the best summer jobs for teachers to identify other ways to earn cash when you’re out of school.

Care.com is a good resource to find clients and promote your services.

Tools To Use:

Care.comcan help you find tutoring jobs.

Earning Potential: $20+ per hour

13. Play Games Online

Do you spend several hours an evening watching television? Why not use some of that time to earn money by playing games online?

This can be a fun, mindless way to supplement your income by earning some spare cash.

Toluna operates like other GPT sites, but it specializes in offering money to play games. These can be new-to-you games or fan favorites.

Manufacturers need to learn what users think of their games, so they will pay cash for your opinion. Read our review of the best apps that pay you to play games to learn more.

Tools To Use:

Tolunais worth checking out if you want to make money playing games online.

Earning Potential: $50+ per month

14. Graphic Design

Did you major in design in college, or can you design graphics such as logos? If so, you can make good money as a graphic designer.

Designs range from something as simple as a small logo to brochures and more.

99Designs is one good option to get work. The site lets you compete against other designers for freelance gigs.

Alternately, you can use ZipRecruiter to find opportunities to work for a company remotely.

Tools To Use:

99Designsis a good option for graphic designers to use to find work.

Earning Potential: $5,000+ per month

15. Rent Out Your Car

It may seem far-fetched, but one of the most overlooked ways to earn extra income is by renting your car.

If you have a car that you don’t always drive, you can list it on the HyreCar platform for people to rent.

This is a good option for travelers to your city or someone who needs a car for a day or two. Listing your car is free and can be done in under ten minutes.

The HyreCar platform even offers insurance coverage. However, you should make sure your primary insurer allows you to rent your car out first.

Hyrecare claims you can earn up to $1,000 per month, depending on the make and model of your vehicle. If you don’t need the money to live on, this is a terrific way to generate passive income.

Tools To Use:

List your car on HyreCar to earn extra money each month without much extra effort.

Earning Potential: Up to $1,000 per month

16. Create An Online Course

Do you have a skill such as coding or photography? If the answer is yes, you can earn money by selling an online course.

This provides a nice stream of passive income. However, creating a course takes work. Beyond the effort of actually making a course, you also need to market it to get sales.

A simple website can help with this. Alternately, you can use a site like Udemy to create and sell courses online.

Tools To Use:

Udemy makes it simple to make and sell online courses.

Earning Potential: $1,000+ per month

17. Be a Customer Service Rep

Customer service jobs aren’t always the most exciting, but they are legit remote work you can do from the comfort of your home.

Work can include answering phone calls, answering questions via email or chat, and more. The one drawback to this job is that scheduled hours are often necessary.

There are a variety of resources to find stay-at-home jobs, from Amazon to FlexJobs. Use multiple job boards to find the best-paying work.

Read our review of FlexJobsto learn more about that job search tool.

Tools To Use:

FlexJobs can help you find customer service jobs from home.

Earning Potential: $3,000+ per month

18. Do Voice-Over Work

If you’ve ever been told that you have a voice for radio, doing voice-over work is one of the more fun side hustle ideas from home to pursue.

Large companies and small businesses alike search for talent to record audio for products and services. While it’s difficult to break into this field, a site like Fiverr is a terrific resource to find work.

You can use it to take on small gigs and offer add-ons as you gain some experience.

If you enjoy this type of work, you even might find that branching into doing your own podcast is a means to make money.

Tools To Use:

Fiverrwill let you advertise your voice-over services and find clients.

Earning Potential: $500+ per month

19. Design and Sell T-Shirts or Mugs

You don’t have to be a professional graphic designer to make money from home. It’s possible to earn money by designing logos and images to put on various items.

There are websites that allow you to create, design, and sell T-shirts, mugs, and more without even touching the product. You also don’t have to handle shipping.

Think of it as designing on demand. Read our guide on other side hustles for artists to identify other crafty ways to make money.

Tools To Use:

Cafepresshelps you create and sell products with your unique designs on them.

Earning Potential: $500+ per month

20. Start an At-Home Daycare

If you enjoy spending time with children, an at-home daycare is an excellent work-from-home strategy to earn money.

While this is a labor-intensive opportunity, it’s a good way to earn a living if you like working with kids.

This is also more of a full-time job. Make sure to verify the laws with your state before starting your own at-home daycare.

Care.com is a good resource if you need help attracting customers. It lets you create a profile, get testimonials, and find clients.

Tools To Use:

Care.comis one of the top sites for getting work caring for children.

Earning Potential: $3,000+ per month

21. Teach Music Lessons

Music teachers are often in high demand. We have a family member who teaches music lessons from home and makes good money.

The more instruments you know, the more you can earn.

Children and adults alike need lessons, increasing your earning opportunities. Market your services on Facebook Marketplace or tell friends you’re looking for work to get the word out.

Care.com is a good alternative if you want to create a simple portfolio to attract prospective clients.

Tools To Use:

As with daycare or tutoring, Care.comis a great option to find work teaching music lessons.

Earning Potential: $1,000+ per month

22. Rent A Room

Do you have a spare bedroom in your house that you don’t use? Or do you travel several times per year?

If so, you can make money from your home by listing it on Airbnb.

We have family members that do this. They make close to $200 per night by listing their condo.

You can earn even more if you rent your spare room or home regularly.

It takes some work to clean your property after each guest leaves, but much of the income is passive since Airbnb handles most of the heavy lifting for bookings.

Read our Airbnb host checklist to learn how to list your property and maximize your earnings.

Tools To Use:

Airbnbis one of the top sites for renting out your spare room or property.

Earning Potential: $1,000+ per month

23. Sell Stock Photos

Are you a good photographer? Sites like Depositphotos are always searching for good pictures. You earn a royalty when they sell one of your images.

You can also sell digital art via the site if you want to increase your earnings.

This is a terrific way to create a stream of passive income. If you like to create digital art, there are also many sites that will gladly sell your work.

Tools To Use:

Depositphotos is one of the best sites that will let you sell your photos.

Earning Potential: $500+ per month

24. Make and Sell Items

Similar to selling stock photos, you can use your creative spirit to make, design, and sell items from home. Etsy is a massive marketplace that allows entrepreneurs to sell items they create for cash.

The opportunities are endless but can include:

• Printables
• Stickers
• Journals
• Jewelry
• Clothing
• Party supplies

If you are creative and like to design products, selling on Etsy can be a fun way to make money.

Tools To Use:

Etsyis one of the top marketplaces for selling your unique handmade or digitally created items.

Earning Potential: $1,000+ per month

25. Test Websites

Creating a website takes a lot of work. Businesses need extensive testing to ensure a website is fully operational before launching it.

If you don’t mind spending time online and are intuitive, you can make extra money as a website tester.

Platforms like UserTesting pair companies with independent contractors for paid testing jobs. You receive $10 per 20-minute test you complete.

This is an excellent way to earn money in your free time if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of paid surveys.

Tools To Use:

UserTestingis one of the top sites that will pay you to test websites.

Earning Potential: $200+ per month

26. Start Your Own At-Home Salon

Cutting and styling hair is a skill not everyone has, and people pay decent money to get their hair done.

If you have limited hours and don’t want to deal with renting a chair at a barbershop, you can style hair from home and make good money.

Since you can eliminate the expense of a chair rental, you can make a great profit on your services. Let your friends know you’re offering barber services out of your house.

You can also market your services on Facebook Marketplace to expand your reach.

Tools To Use:

Facebook Marketplaceis a great way to reach people in your area who are looking for a haircut.

Earning Potential: $1,000+ per month

27. Be a Bookkeeper

Are you good with numbers, or do you have a background in accounting? If so, remote bookkeeping is one of the best paying remote jobs to pursue.

As a remote bookkeeper, you help manage the transactions of a business. This includes monitoring financial activity, invoicing, payroll, and balancing accounts.

You aren’t responsible for managing taxes, but you might partner with their tax person to file returns.

Remote bookkeeping is a competitive field. Fortunately, you can find work on job boards like FlexJobs, Indeed, or ZipRecruiter.

Tools To Use:

ZipRecruiteris one of the best sites for bookkeepers to find work.

Earning Potential: $5,000+ per month

How to Avoid Money-Making Scams

The work-from-home space is a terrific way to make an income, but it’s also filled with scams. Scammers like to take advantage of unsuspecting people and steal their money.

If you need to make money from home, it’s essential you be discerning. Here are some opportunities you want to avoid:

Anything that requires an investment: There are plenty of ways to earn money through remote work. You don’t need to make an investment to do it.

If someone contacts you offering an opportunity but asks for money upfront to get started, you want to avoid it.

Multi-level marketing (MLM): MLM companies love to market to people who want to work from home. They promise crazy results as long as you follow their plan to make money.

According to the FTC, less than one percent of those who work for an MLM company make a profit. MLM apologists love to deny this statistic and claim you can earn good money.

That is not a reality for most people. The opposite is typically true since working with these companies often leads to debt.

Anything not worth your time. Not all money-making ideas will work for you. There are easy ways to earn cash, but there are also those that provide little return and are not worth the effort.

While it may take some trial and error on your part, it’s best to pursue the options that offer the greatest return on investment (ROI) for your time.

For example, some promote paid survey sites as a way to get paid today. However, they’re not a legitimate choice to earn substantial income. Read our guide on the best same day pay jobs if you want something more suitable.

How Can I Earn Money Online Fast?

It is essential to be realistic when trying to make money online. While it is possible to make money fast, it often comes in the form of paid online surveys or something else that doesn’t require a lot of skill.

Other freelance jobs, like writing or proofreading, are good ways to make money quickly. Anything you can complete within a few days and immediately invoice for is the best way to start earning.

How Can I Earn Money Without Any Skills?

It is a misconception that you need to be experienced in a specialized field to earn money on the side. That’s not always the case.

There are numerous ways to make money from home for beginners that anyone can pursue. Common opportunities include:

• Basic graphic design
• Data entry
• Blogging
• Tutoring
• Getting odd jobs on Fiverr
• Testing websites
• Customer service work
• Voice-over work

Additionally, don’t believe the myth that you have zero skills. You have multiple skills you can monetize to bring in an income.

Bottom Line

There are countless side jobs you can do from home, even with minimal experience. Thanks to the internet, it’s possible for anyone to work nearly anywhere in the world.

You can either make money online from home or establish an in-home business. It’s up to you.

Whether you need a way to make ends meet, are looking for extra spending money, or want to start a business, you can do it all remotely. If you think creatively and put in the effort, anything is possible.

What are some ways you earn money from home?

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