Most of us probably need a full-time job to be able to pay the bills. But wouldn’t it be nice if you could make a couple of extra dollars every week, too? And you don’t even need to leave your house for it! There are plenty of online side hustles that you can do from home. Most don’t require any type of degree, experience, or investment.
In this blog post, I’ve collected the 15 best online side hustles from home to increase your income.
Table of Contents
Best Online Side Hustles from Home
Alright, here we go. Check out these awesome ideas to make an extra income from home:
1. Online Tutoring
It doesn’t matter if you want to help kids, teens, or adults with your knowledge. Maybe you are a history geek and can help high school kids survive their history exams? Or you can help business undergraduates pass their final tests? Maybe you can play an instrument or teach others how to code?
Whatever you are good at, there is always someone who would love to improve his or her knowledge and is willing to pay money for some help. This is also a very flexible side hustle since you can set your own schedule and have 1-on-1 teaching sessions with your students via Skype or Zoom calls.
You can find potential students in Facebook groups or on platforms such as TutorMe, Skooli, or Tutor.com.
2. Start a YouTube Channel
This is by no means a way to make money fast because you need patience and have to put in quite a bit of work. However, once you have the hang of it, your income opportunities as a content creator are literally endless. And you could easily start a YouTube channel on the weekends and don’t need any investment for it at the beginning.
There are different ways to make money with a YouTube channel. For instance, you could sell advertising space, get sponsorships, or promote affiliate products, which means you promote a product or service and if someone buys it because of your recommendation, you get a commission.
There are countless topic ideas, too. You could make videos about travel, food, home décor, beauty, fitness, gaming, or anything you like!
3. Test Websites
This one sounds very technical but it is not. Testing websites is a job that even people without any technical background can easily do. Here you need to click through websites and apps to find any bugs or anything that needs improvement.
After your test, you report back what you’ve liked or disliked or any errors that you may have found. The companies then pay you for your feedback.
This is a perfect online side hustle from home because you don’t have to stick to given working hours but can do the job when it works best for you. Check out companies such as BetaTesting, Usertesting, or Testbirds to find website testing jobs.
4. Start a Blog
Starting a blog is another online side hustle that may not make you money fast but once it does, your income opportunities are endless.
Focus on a topic that you’re interested in and that has enough potential readers. Also since there are already blogs on pretty much any topic out there, make sure to niche down.
- For instance, instead of starting a travel blog, start a blog on female solo travel in Africa.
- Or instead of writing for a food blog, focus on sugar-free and vegan recipes.
Once you have a decent amount of readers, you can sell ad space, promote affiliate products, or find sponsors that you want to collaborate with.
5. Dropshipping
Have you ever dreamed about having your own online shop? With a dropshipping business, every order a customer makes goes straight to the retailer who ships it to the customers. That means you don’t need to buy any products in advance or store them somewhere, which saves you a lot of money and time.
All you need to do is to find the right dropshipping products and do the marketing.
I recommend using an easy drag-and-drop platform such as Shopify to build your online store because it is easy to use and you can automatically pull products from popular retailers such as Alibaba or AliExpress.
If you want to learn more about this online side hustle idea from home and how my former client made more than $95,000 per month with dropshipping, check out the linked article.
6. Design and Sell T-Shirts
Designing and selling t-shirts is also a great side hustle from home. You can use free tools, such as Canva, to create beautiful, artsy, or fun designs. Next upload those designs to print-on-demand platforms, like Teespring or Merch by Amazon.
As soon as someone buys a t-shirt (or mug, pillow, hoodie, etc.) with your design, the item gets printed and shipped to the customer and you get your sales commission.
This is also a great way to make passive income because as soon as you have uploaded enough popular designs, you don’t need to do much but watch how people buy your designs.
7. Domain or Website Flipping
This online side hustle is similar to flipping houses: Here you buy a bunch of domains or websites and later sell them at a higher price to make a profit.
When it comes to flipping domains, your best bet is to do research and spot upcoming trends. Buy domains that could soon be valuable because people want to use those domains for their business ideas. Make sure to use popular endings such as “.com” or “.org”.
When you want to flip websites, you could buy, for instance, blogs that are about a popular topic but could need improvement:
- Improve the blog posts,
- Make the menu navigation more intuitive,
- Start social media channels to drive more traffic,
- Write more articles, etc.
This increases the value of the website which means you can sell it at a higher price.
8. Become an Affiliate Marketer
As an affiliate marketer, you promote other people’s products or services. As soon as someone buys the product or service, you get paid a commission.
There are many ways to promote these, for instance:
- Use social media, like Instagram or TikTok,
- Start an email list and promote the products to your subscribers,
- Start a blog and write about the products or services, etc.
How to find affiliate partners? If you already have a product or service in mind that you would like to promote, you can check if they have a page on their website that says “Partnership” or “Affiliates” or anything similar to that.
A second option would be to register with affiliate marketing networks, such as Awin or Clickbank, and look for the right products or services in their catalog.
9. Work as a Coach
Another great online side hustle from home is working as a coach. There are different kinds of coaching sessions you could specialize in. To give you a few ideas:
- Career coach,
- Fitness coach,
- Dating coach,
- Life coach, or
- Spiritual coach.
Of course, this only works if you are interested in the direction you choose and have a bit of experience or background here. But if you do, you can make great money by offering 1-on-1 sessions and helping your clients get on track.
10. Become a Freelancer
You could also offer your services online as a freelancer. There are so many things you could do! Think of jobs such as:
- Content writing,
- Virtual assistance,
- Bookkeeping,
- Data entry,
- Transcription,
- Video editing,
- Translating,
- Programming,
- Or whatever you’re good at!
Many of those jobs don’t require you to have a degree or years of experience. As long as you are willing to put in the work, you should be able to get the jobs done. Also, this is super flexible again as you decide how much work you can do and when you want to work.
You can find clients online on freelance platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr, or Freelancer.
If you need more information on how to find jobs on freelance platforms, check out this article where I explain step-by-step how I made more than $100,000 working part-time on freelance websites.
11. Online Surveys
You may not get rich with paid surveys. However, they are a great and super-easy way to make some quick cash. There are numerous Fortune 500 companies, product developers, and retailers who want to hear your opinion about various services and products.
Check out popular survey websites and apps such as Survey Junkie or Swagbucks. Here are various topics covered, for instance, grocery shopping behavior, public transport preferences, or health conditions.
For every survey you take, you receive points. These points can then be redeemed for gift cards or cash.
12. Create and Sell Products on Etsy
Are you good with handicrafts? Maybe you can knit or are a talented artist, or you can make jewelry? How about home décor? Think of things that you could do at home that can easily be shipped to different cities or countries.
Now create an Etsy account and sell your handicrafts there. If you prefer keeping your side hustle online entirely, you could also create digital templates, such as:
- Invitation cards,
- Calendars,
- Budget planners, or
- Resumes.
Your customer can then download and print them. That means you don’t have to deal with the logistics of shipping items to your customers.
13. Teach a Language
Another great online side hustle from home that often comes with a flexible schedule is teaching English online – or any other language you are fluent in.
Language platforms like VIPKID, Palfish, or Cambly, are constantly looking for new teachers. Some of those platforms may require you to be a native speaker and have previous teaching experience, but others don’t.
Most of the time you also don’t need a teaching certificate to apply, although it enhances your chances of getting accepted.
You could also look for students on platforms such as Craigslist or even Facebook groups.
Just as with tutoring online, you can teach the language in 1-on-1 meetings via video calls and can set your own schedule.
14. Monetize Social Media Accounts
Do you like spending time on social media? You could make money with your hobby! You could either use an existing account or create a new one.
Let’s take TikTok or Instagram as an example. On your account, you need to be very active, post every day, make stories, engage with other accounts, and like and comment on other people’s posts. Your topic could be literally anything:
- Lifestyle,
- Cooking,
- Motivational quotes,
- Funny memes, or
- Money hacks.
Once you have a decent amount of followers, you can monetize your account. For instance, you could promote products and get paid a commission as soon as somebody buys this product due to your efforts.
Or you could find sponsors and get paid if you talk about their services or products. Or you do shoutouts to other social media channels. There are several options to monetize an active social media account.
15. Create and Sell Digital Products
Creating and selling digital products is a great low-investment business idea. Once it’s set up, it can make you a lot of money without you putting in a lot of work anymore and it is easily scalable.
For instance, you could create online courses on topics that you’re good at. Again, this could be anything you could think of:
- Yoga courses for beginners,
- Courses on acting,
- How to buy your first house, or
- Video editing courses for beginners.
You could also write ebooks on all of those topics, or maybe you prefer writing novels. Or create Photoshop presets for people who want to improve their photos with a simple template. There are tons of digital product ideas you could create.
Depending on the kind of product you go for, you could create your own website and sell it there, or use platforms such as Teachable or Shopify.
Where to Find Online Side Hustles from Home?
This strongly depends on the nature of the online side hustle from home that you pick. If you want to work as a freelancer or want to work as a tutor or coach, you could, for instance, create a portfolio website. Here you can list your skills and services and clients can book you right on this website.
The easier option is probably to go for online job platforms. You can use general ones, like Upwork or Fiverr, where you register for free and then have to pay a commission for every job you find on the platform.
Or you go for one of my favorites – FlexJobs. Here you pay a small monthly commission (you can cancel anytime) and have access to thousands of legit and hand-screened online job offers from reputable companies, such as Apple, Dell, or The American Red Cross. You can also decide if you are looking for part-time or full-time jobs – just in case you want to switch your online side hustle to an online full-time job.
So it’s definitely worth checking out! If you want to find out more about them, head over to the FlexJobs website or check out my FlexJobs review.
Start Your New Side Hustle from Home Today!
As you can see, there are plenty of ways you can find an online side hustle from home. You don’t need to have a degree, any type of experience or much investment to get started. Decide on what idea sounds best for you and give it a try.
This could also be a great door opener for a full-time job from home. You never know where this could lead you. So don’t wait any longer and get started today!
FAQs on Online Side Hustles from Home
Are there any online side hustles for free?
Yes, there are many online side hustles you can do for free without any investment. For example, you can become a freelancer (e.g. virtual assistance, data entry, or content writing) and create a profile for free on freelance platforms like Fiverr. Another example would be to work as an online tutor for platforms like TutorMe. The above list gives you more examples of online side hustles that don’t require any investment.
Can I find an online side hustle as a beginner?
Yes, there are many beginner-friendly side hustles that don’t require a degree or any type of experience. You could, for instance, test websites for platforms like UserTesting, which is very easy to do. Another option would be to do online surveys or play online games on apps like Swagbucks. You can find more examples in the above list.
Do I need experience to find an online side hustle?
No, you do not need experience to find an online side hustle. The ideas mentioned in the list above are very beginner-friendly and can be done without any experience, for example, monetizing social media accounts or working as a freelancer. If you are willing to learn new things, you are good to go.
Where can I find an online side hustle?
This depends on the type of online side hustle you are looking for. A good starting point is the job board FlexJobs. Here you can find thousands of flexible part-time online jobs you can do from home. Alternatively, you can check out freelance platforms like Freelancer.com or Fiverr, or start your own online business using platforms like Shopify or YouTube.
How much money can I make with an online side hustle?
How much money you can make with an online side hustle depends on the type of side hustle you go for and how much time you want to invest. For instance, if you want to do online surveys for a couple of minutes every day, you can make a couple of dollars extra. If you want to work part-time online as a freelancer or find remote jobs on FlexJobs, you can easily earn more than $2,000 a month.
I think monetizing social media accounts is one of the best side hustle out there since most all of the people are doing that although not all can succeed but it’s worth a try.
Thanks a lot, Ryan!
Nice list of gigs Denise. We have ample opportunities for prospering as a digital nomad. The key is to open some income channels then to get to work to begin prospering.
Ryan