“Can you really earn money online for free and without paying anything?”
That’s the very first question I asked myself when I first heard people talking about making money on the Internet.
And to my surprise, the answer was a big YES!
There are tons of ways you can make money from home and right from your living room and in your pajamas without spending a dime.
Are you gonna get rich?
No!
FreeCash: Earn money testing apps, playing games, and completing surveys. Up to $497.82 per offer! Start earning now!
Earn Haus: Get paid up to $25 per survey, plus enjoy same-day payments via PayPal, Venmo, or check! Join Earn Haus Today!
InboxDollars: Over $57 million paid to members for watching videos, shopping, and completing surveys. Get $5 instantly when you join!
iPsos iSay: If you’re only signing up for one survey site, make it Ipsos – high-paying surveys await! Join iPsos today!
KashKick: Get paid to watch videos, shop, surf the web, and more. Receive PayPal payments directly. Start earning with KashKick now!
Swagbucks: Watch videos, shop online, take surveys, and more. Join now and get $10 instantly to start!
I mean, it’s not a hard no. There are actually plenty of people who, by most standards, are considered rich because of their online business. Even something as simple – at least on the surface – as blogging to make money can earn you a 6-7 figure income.
But when people like you and I search for “earn money online free fast and easy” we’re mostly looking for easy ways to earn some extra cash on the side.
The good news is that there are a lot of online money making opportunities that fit the bill.
Whether you are a college student still in university looking to make a few bucks to spend while partying on the weekends, stay at home mom or dad trying to help with bills, or just a person who likes to get a side hustle going, on this page you’ll find all the best ways to make money in your spare time. This post will be updated and the list will grow, so be sure to bookmark it so you don’t miss any new ways of making online money.
Ready to get started?
Here are some of the best ways to make money on the internet for free.
Table of Contents
Make Money Online with Surveys
Getting paid for taking online surveys is one of the first ways most people, including myself, start making money on the web.
Why?
A few reasons:
- You get paid relatively fast.
- You don’t need any experience.
- You don’t have to pay anything.
- It’s easy to do.
- You can fill out surveys anytime and from anywhere (even while sitting in your dentist’s or doctor’s waiting room!)
- And taking surveys for money is a fun way to make a few bucks.
If you want to earn money online free fast and easy, taking surveys is a great option.
Advertisements
So what exactly are online surveys and why would companies pay you for your feedback?
Surveys are different than polls (like polls about politics or politicians conducted by companies like Gallup). Surveys have more of a commercial intent behind them while polls are usually related to politics and social issues.
Without going into too much detail and writing a 100-page essay on the topic of market research and its importance in product development and improvement, companies use Market Research companies to conduct surveys to find out what consumers like or dislike about their products and services.
They then use this information to improve existing products and/or develop new products. At the end of the day, Market Research helps companies make more money by creating products and features that consumers actually want and will pay for.
So what’s in it for the survey takers?
It’s reasonable to think that most of us aren’t just gonna take time out of our busy day to tell companies what we think of their stuff. That’s why companies offer rewards (cash, gift cards, free products, etc.) in exchange for you giving your opinion.
Legit Survey Sites that Pay You:
Here are my top 6 favorite paying survey sites:
- Ipsos Panel: One of my favorite survey panels with lots of surveys and cool prizes. Not only do you earn cash for taking surveys, but you also get entries to sweepstakes with massive cash prizes.
- LifePoints: Previously know as MySurvey, this is one of the top online survey panels. You get paid via PayPal or Gift Cards.
- Opinion Outpost: One of the best survey panels out there.
- PineCone Research: Hard to get into this panel since they only open their doors for a limited time throughout the year, but once you get in, every survey you take earns you $3. Most surveys are 15-20 minutes long.
- SurveySavvy: SurveySavvy is definitely one of the highest paying survey sites. And they pay $1-$2 for every survey your referrals take. Refer 10-20 people and you’re looking at an easy $100-$200 a month.
Other Panels
There are a lot of survey sites out there and everyday new ones come on the scene. Here are some of the best and most trusted ones that have been around for a while:
- MindSwarms
- SavvyConnect
- ParentSpeak
- KidzEyes
- TeensEyes
- NielsenDigitalVoice
- ValuedOpinions
- VIPVoice
- Microsoft Playtest
- Toluna
- HarrisPoll
- Ipoll
- SurveySpot
- Datatelligence
- MindsPay
- Engage Studies
- Esearch
- HCD Surveys
- Consumer Village
- Epoll Surveys
Paid Survey Scams
Unfortunately, there are a lot of scams out there when it comes to paid online surveys that will waste your time and if you’re not careful they may even take money from you.
While there are a lot of signs you can look for, the single best thing you can do to protect yourself against paid survey scams is knowing that no legit online survey panel will ever ask you to pay anything.
All legit survey sites are 100% free to join. They’re supposed to pay you – not the other way around.
Make Money with Google
Wondering how to make money online with Google?
This section is for you.
There are actually a few legitimate ways to make money with Google.
Make Money with Google AdSense
You know those “ads by Google” ads you see online (on this very site and almost every other site you visit)?
That’s one of the best ways people make money with their blogs.
For every click on those ads, the webmaster gets a small commission.
Obviously, for this to work you need a blog or website of your own that gets some traffic.
Basically, all you do is add a small code to your site, then Google’s smart technology displays relevant ads based on the content of the page. For example, if your site is about gardening, Google will show ads related to gardening. And every time someone clicks on one of those ads, you get paid.
If you wanna learn more about it, check out this guide by Google.
Google Opinion Rewards
This is an online survey panel by Google. The company uses this panel to get feedback about all the many products and services they have so they can make them even better.
It is, of course, free to join and as a Google Opinion Rewards panelist, you earn free Google Play credits for just giving your opinion. You can use your Google Play credits to buy apps, games, movies, TV shows, music, and books from the Google Play Store.
Google Work at Home Jobs
Like most other companies these days, Google also hires remote workers to work from home.
They have remote job openings in development, design, engineering, operations and administration. You may even be able to find freelancing opportunities with Google.
While you can find open positions on job search engine sites like Indeed, the best and safest place to find remote jobs that allow you to work from Google from home Google’s official careers website at Careers.Google.com.
While the are other ways to make money with Google directly and indirectly – think creating and selling apps on the Google Play store, making YouTube videos (look for a guide on that below!) and making money with ads, writing and selling eBooks on Google Play, etc – the above mentioned are the most popular ones.
Make Money Online with PayPal
Don’t like sites that pay you with gift cards and prizes? Would you rather get paid in PayPal?
Use these sites to make PayPal money online.
Rewardable TV
If you like making easy money while having fun, you’ll love this one. Download this free app, watch videos and get paid in PayPal.
What kind of videos?
- Movie trailers
- Trending videos
- Funny GIFs
That’s all there is to it! I mean, it just can’t get any easier than this.
Unbabel
Do you know 2 or more languages?
This site will pay you, yes in PayPal, to review and improve translations on your own schedule.
They usually have work for a lot of different languages, but you can find most work for German, English, Simplified Chine and French.
The best part is that your earning is sent to your PayPal account weekly.
CastingWords
This company pays you to transcribe, edit, and complete other short jobs online, at your own pace. The great thing about this site is that you can work as much or as little as you like. Perfect for those of us who won’t have the exact same window of free time every day.
Pay varies based on various factors. But generally, you can expect to earn between 8.5¢ to a little over $1 per audio minute.
You get paid via PayPal every Friday.
How to Make Money Online for Beginners
While you can use any of the sites and apps mentioned in this list to earn free cash from home, if you’re a beginner and would like the easiest and fastest way to make money, online rewards sites are your best option.
Rewards sites, also known as “Get Paid To” sites, basically pay you for completing different tasks online. We’re not talking about tasks that require specific degrees or years of experience. No, we’re talking about simple stuff that most of us already do online, like:
- Watching videos
- Playing games
- Shopping
- Answering questions
- Visiting websites
- Etc
Now, unfortunately, there are a lot of scams when it comes to GPT sites. So it’s best to stick with well known, trusted sites that have been around for a while. You don’t want to complete offers for a month, then when it’s time to cash out your earning find out that the site no longer exists. Trust me, I have seen a lot of “here today, gone tomorrow” rewards sites.
Trust me, I have seen countless reward sites that came and gone
Thankfully, there are tons of legitimate reward sites that have been around for a while that actually pay their members.
Here are some of the best ones:
Swagbucks
As far as reward sites go, nobody can claim to be as big as this site. Swagbucks rewards you for doing almost anything you already do on your computer – shopping, playing games, watching videos, etc. The points you earn can be redeemed for cash and prizes including PayPal and gift cards for Amazon. This is a great way to get free $10, $20, $50 or even a free $100 Amazon gift card. They even give you $5 for free just for signing up.
Cashcrate
This one has been around for a long time. Again, you get paid to shop, take surveys, do offers and more.
Gifthulk
This is a much newer site, but it has proven to be a trustworthy site.
QuickRewards
I love this site. They truly are quick when it comes to paying. The fastest ever I have gotten money in my PayPal was in 22 minutes! That’s how fast they pay!
CreationsRewards
Another fun cashback site where not only you can earn points for shopping, but you can also take surveys, answer trivia, play games, etc.
TreasureTrooper
One of the original GPT sites that has paid its members over $7 million so far!
MyPoints
This is one of the oldest rewards sites. It’s actually one of the first sites I used to make money online as a beginner years ago.
Get Paid to Read Emails
Ok, I know it sounds very fishy.
I mean, who would pay you to read emails, right?
Well, it’s real and companies do pay you for reading your emails. But as always there is a “catch”.
Here is how it works:
Advertisers pay sites like InboxDollars to send traffic to their site.
In order to get you to visit the advertiser’s website, InboxDollars shares some of the money they get from the advertiser with you.
Now, they send traffic to the advertiser’s website in a variety of ways, but one way they do it is through “Paid emails”.
They send you an email that is basically an ad promoting a particular product or service (sometimes even with a coupon or discount code for you), you click on the link in the email, your account gets credited a few cents regardless of whether or not you actually bought something from the advertiser’s website.
You are paid just for clicking the link in the email.
I know you’ve probably read or seen ads online promising $3000 paychecks from reading emails, but that’s all BS.
The truth is you won’t be making much.
Most paid emails pay just a few cents.
I use InboxDollars myself and their paid emails are worth $0.5 each.
You usually get 2-3 paid emails a day.
But that’s not it with these kinds of sites.
They also have many other ways for you to earn money, like shopping, playing games, taking surveys, etc.
So, they are a kind of online reward site, but they also pay you to read emails.
InboxDollars
One of the most well-known paid to read emails site that I have been a member of for over 6 years. You can cash out once you have $30 in your account.
SendEarnings (Send Earnings is now a part of InboxDollars)
It’s the sister site to InboxDollars and basically lets you earn money with the same kinds of offers.
Cash4Offers
This is very popular with stay at home moms. Lots of ways to earn points that can be converted into cash or exchanged for gift cards from hundreds of stores.
InboxPays
A newer site, but that has already proven to be legit and paying.
Make Money Online without Investment (with Affiliate Marketing)
Wanna make money online without investment but still want to promote and sell products?
With affiliate marketing, you can promote thousands of products without having to ever spend a dime on creating any product.
You’ll work as a middle man, promoting other people’s products and getting a commission every time someone who you send to the seller’s site buys something.
Having a website or blog of your own is a plus here, but even if you don’t have a website, you can still publish articles on sites like HubPages and earn affiliate income by displaying ads.
If you do have your own website or blog, all you need to do is sign up with a few affiliate networks, choose a few quality related products and start promoting them on your site. You could either place banner ads or use contextual links for this.
Interested?…
Here are some of the better affiliate networks I myself have been using for the last 5-6 years:
Amazon Associates
For anyone who clicks on your Amazon affiliate link and makes a purchase inside the next 24 hours, you’ll receive a cut of that purchase.
eBay Partner Network
Again, get a cut on eBay transactions when people are led there through your affiliate links.
Commission Junction
An all-encompassing marketplace for affiliate offers.
MaxBounty
This one has lots of free offers that don’t require the person to buy anything, so it’s easier for you to promote and get conversions out of them.
Clickbank
This is probably the largest marketplace where you can find thousands of digital products to promote as an affiliate marketer, including eBooks.
Make Money Blogging
Setting up a free blog may be easy and quick, but let’s be clear, there is nothing easy and quick about making money with a blog, whether a free blog or one you pay for.
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to drive enough traffic to your blog to make decent money. But, if you can manage to build a popular blog, you can hit 5, 6 figures. And if you create a blog that becomes really popular, you can become one of many bloggers who earn 7 figures with their blog.
At the very least, you can make a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month with your blog, just like hundreds of mommy bloggers do.
The good news is that there are ways to start a blog 100% free.
My first blog, BlogStash.com, started on Blogger (Google’s free blogging platform) as satrapmakesmoney.blogspot.com.
I worked day and night on that blog while keeping two full-time offline jobs. Until finally my hard work paid off.
After almost a year of satrapmakesmoney.blogspot.com being live, the traffic I was receiving was making me enough money that it persuaded me to get my own domain and hosting, so I could be in full control.
So, I bought a domain – BlogStash.com – and in 2009 moved the blog there.
The traffic kept growing. At the highest point, I was making over $7,000 a month from BlogStash.
It’s been a few years now, the traffic has gone down a bit, plus I am busy with this and a few other sites, so it doesn’t earn as much as it used to, but BlogStash still continues to make me money month after month.
I haven’t counted the exact number, but from my PayPal and bank account statements, I can say, to date I’ve made over $100,000 with BlogStash.
Yes, $100K in about 3 years, all while keeping my two daytime jobs!
And that was my first ever blog. I had to learn a lot of stuff. And that’s the best part about the whole experience. It helped me learn a lot of things that lead me to build more popular and better-earning blogs like MoneyPantry.
You know the best part?…
It’s almost entirely passive income now since I really don’t have to do much anymore, except for publishing a post every week or so.
I am not telling you this to brag, I am just trying to show you that it is possible.
But it wasn’t always easy, though.
In the first two years, especially, I really did work hard. I mean I spent every spare minute I had after getting off work, working on this site, writing content, promoting it, driving traffic and so on.
But it paid off and it still is paying off!
I guess what I am trying to say is that despite what you may hear online, making money with a blog is not as easy as setting up a blog and posting to it every day. It takes hard work, dedication, and most importantly, patience.
Also, if you use free blog sites to build a blog, as soon as you can afford it, get your own domain and hosting and move it there. You don’t want your blog being deleted and not be able to do anything about it.
I have heard countless stories from people who worked for years on a Blogspot (also known as Blogger) blog, only to have it deleted by Google (who owns Blogspot ) in an instant.
So, if you can afford it, I recommend you get your own domain name and a hosting account, so you can have full control over your business.
Build your site, get it online in minutes with Drag & Drop Builder site
If you don’t know how to build a site, what hosting is and all the other technical stuff, you can use a site builder company like WebsiteBuilder.com.
They have an easy drag and drop builder that lets you build professional-looking sites in less than 5 minutes for free.
You can also upgrade and pay $5.99 a month which is already cheap compared to other services. But the best part is that they also give you a free domain name and host your website for you.
It really can’t get any easier and cheaper than this.
Free Blogging Platforms
Now, if you can’t afford that, or want to use one of the popular free blogging platforms, here are some of the best free blogging sites that you can use to get started:
Blogger.com (Also known as BlogSpot)
Owned by Google, offers an easy and quick way to set up a blog in just a few minutes.
WordPress.com
It’s different from WordPress.org (that one is installed on your server to run your own blog), but it offers the same ease of use.
Livejournal
This is not just a free blogging site, it also is a social networking site in its own right.
Blog.com
As the name suggests, it gives you a free blog and will host it for you for free.
Tumblr
One of the most successful blogging sites ever. Although mostly used by personal bloggers, it is becoming more popular among serious bloggers.
Use Money Making Apps
App popularity has exploded in the last few years.
And while there are thousands of apps out there that will make it easy for you to shop and spend your money, there are also a lot of apps you can make money with.
Gigwalk
Gigwalk is a huge mobile work marketplace. You can use your Apple or Android powered smartphones to perform simple tasks, these could include mystery shopping, delivering items, testing mobile apps, taking photos, and more.
Field Agent
This is another site that operates similarly to Gigwalk. Here users of iPhone can become their source of mobile workers who scan barcodes, mystery shop, check prices, take polls, explore neighborhoods, and more. Work done can be exchanged for between $3 and $12 as wage for each task.
Shopkick
This app pays for your shopping trip regardless you buy or not. You will be paid in “kicks” that could be redeemable for gift cards or store discounts. The app works on both iPhone and Android.
CheckPoints
The company rewards you with points and rewards for scanning items, checking in at different stores, playing games, or completing offers. Points can be redeemed for discounts, gift cards, or products.
EasyShift
This app works similarly to Gigwalk. The jobs here are taking a picture, recording a price, etc. You get paid $2 to $20 for every shift. It is currently available on iPhone only.
Apptrailers
Earn points as you watch videos and download apps. It works for both iPhone and Android. You can change it to gift cards or convert into cash and deposit into PayPal.
Get Paid to Answer Questions & Give Advice
“Knowledge is power”!
We’ve all heard that. But knowledge can also earn you money.
If you are an expert on just about anything, you can put it to good use by earning money.
All you need to do is sign up with a site like JustAnswer and answer questions posted by users.
JustAnswer
Questions are priced anywhere from $5 to $25 or more. If your answer is accepted, the money is credited to your account, where you can cash out via PayPal once you reach $20.
Other Question & Answer sites that pay you
There are also many other question and answer sites that pay you to answer questions.
Question and answer sites like Quora (and YahooAnswers back when it was around) are extremely popular. People post questions and other people try to answer them.
In order to attract more users, some of these sites actually pay you to answer questions on their platform. Unfortunately, Quora isn’t one of them, but there are plenty of other biog sites that do pay you.
So if you are an expert on something and would like to turn your expertise into cash, join some of these sites and start making free money.
Make Money Freelancing Online
The best part about becoming a paid freelancer is that you don’t need to invest any money to get started and freelancing platforms make it easy to find clients.
All you need is a specific skill or a specific set of skills, your computer, and your willingness to work.
If that interests you, here are some of the best-trusted freelancing sites you can sign up with in order to get started:
UpWork (previously eLance and oDesk)
You can find all kinds of freelance work on Upwork – writing, web design, coding, graphic design, marketing, virtual assistant, translation and so on.
Fiverr
One of the most underrated freelancing sites ever. The site started as a place where you could get paid to do short tasks for just five bucks. Over the years, it has slowly morphed into one of the biggest gig/freelancing sites where you can now charge any amount to do all kinds of stuff for other peoples. Anything from serious stuff like copywriting, translation, voiceover social media management to silly stuff like prank calls and everything in between.
Freelancer
I use this site myself to both earn extra money when I have some spare time, and to find freelancers to do things for me, like creating a logo for a site, designing a new theme, etc.
PeoplePerHour
Very similar to Freelancer and Elance. Register for free, set up your profile, browse and apply for available jobs, deliver, and get paid.
99Designs
You can find all kinds of design related freelance work here from logos and websites to book covers and more.
Guru
Another freelancing site where you can make money doing freelance work in many verticals from the usual writing and design to administration, engineering, business & finance, sales and marketing and much more.
Earn Money Freelance Writing Online
Freelance writing is generally one of the best ways for beginners to earn money for free. If you’re a good writer, it really isn’t that hard to make money as a writer.
For a lot of people, it actually is one of the first things they try when they decide they want to make money on the internet.
You can start making money without spending a dime which for most of us is the number one priority when we first start.
The best part is that, unlike many home-based jobs, you’ll never run out of work if you are good at it. The Internet is made of websites and websites are made of content, which means there will always be a demand for writers who can produce good quality content.
As far as how much you can make, it depends on various factors including the platform you use, your clients, the type of content they need, length of the content and so on. Generally, the better you are as a writer, the more you can make.
Now, besides using the general freelancing sites that we talked about above, you can also use sites that focus mostly on writing gigs.
Constant Content
A lot of big brands use this site to find good writers to create quality content from them, including Uber, Zulily, The Home Depot, Walgreens, Hayneedle, CVS, eBay and others.
Textbroker
Textbroker has been around since 2005 and is one of the best places to get paid as a writer.
Cracked
If you have a funny bone or tend to have interesting perspectives on things, Cracked.com could be for you. They will pay you $100 for every article you write for them that gets approved and published.
BloggingPro Job Board
If you like writing blog posts, this is an awesome job board that you can use to search for available gigs.
ProBlogger Job Board
Darren Rowse of ProBlogger is one of the original “make money blogging” people. His blog was one of the first blogs that popularized the concept of making money with a blog. He created this job board so bloggers in need of content and writers in need of work could find each other.
Get Paid to Click
I am not personally a big fan of this because I have been scammed and robbed of my earnings many times years ago, and because there are way more scam sites here than there are legit ones.
Basically, you are paid to click on their advertiser’s ads and view them for a few seconds.
Some ads may get you a few cents, but usually, it’s less than a cent.
They say the only way to really make anything decent with paid to click (or PTC) sites is to refer hundreds of people since you earn a percentage of your referrals’ earnings.
Either way, I personally think it’s a waste of time, but it’s an easy, free and quick way to make money (albeit not much money) especially for beginners.
Neobux
This is one of the biggest legit PTC (Paid To Click) sites. Unfortunately, they don’t pay via PayPal. The only pay via Skrill, Neteller or AirTM. So before you sign up, make sure you have or can create an account with one of those platforms.
Clixsense
Besides paid ads, you can also earn money by taking surveys, downloading apps, completing offers and much more.
Sell Your Stuff
If you are in a pinch and need money fast, the time-tested method of selling some of your unused stuff is still one of the best ways to get fast cash.
And with so many selling apps these days, it is easier than ever to sell your stuff online for cash.
Some of the best apps and sites for selling stuff locally include:
Get Paid to Tweet
OK, let me be brutally honest here, if you think somebody is going to pay you $5000 to tweet an ad to your few hundred followers, you’re going to be disappointed.
Sure, people do get paid big bucks for tweeting, but they are usually famous folks who have a great deal of influence on their massive number of followers.
Having said that, businesses are starting to realize that the average consumer is more likely to buy something if they hear it from their own friends and family. This is why the sites mentioned below are now making it possible for the average tweet user to make a few bucks from tweet ads.
SponsoredTweets
One of the biggest sites of its kind where big names like Diddy get paid to tweet.
PaidPerTweet (No longer working)
This is where even average Twitter users can earn up to $5 per tweet.
TwitPub
The company claims it has 80% more payout compared to other companies in this space.
Sell Your Pictures
Another legit and scam free way to make money is through stock photography. Hundreds and thousands of new blogs and websites are born every day. All these sites need pictures. And most of them use stock photography sites to find quality and inexpensive images.
You don’t have to be a professional to do this. As long as you can take decent pictures, you can upload them to any of the sites mentioned below, then every time someone buys one of them, you earn money.
The best part is that 1 picture can be sold over and over again. So, imagine if you have 100-200 popular pictures on one of these sites!
ShutterStock
You are paid 25 cents for every image of yours downloaded. The cool thing about this site is that when you refer another photographer, you earn 3 cents per photo sold by them.
Getty (iStockPhoto)
Yes, the same Getty that seemingly owns every single pictures you see news networks use! You get 20% of the total price for images between $1 to $20 and 40% if you sell your images only on their site.
DreamsTime
You can get 50 to 80% from each image sold.
BigStockPhoto
You can pocket anywhere from $0.30 to $3 for every image of yours sold.
PhotoStockPlus
One of the highest paying stock sites where you get to keep 85% of the profit.
123RoyaltyFree
Not only you get 50% of each image sold, you also earn 15% of your referral’s subscription or purchase, plus 10% of every image sold by a photographer you refer.
Fotolia (Adobe Stock)
50% for each picture downloaded.
Make & Sell Customized T-shirts & More
Thanks to the internet and the sites mentioned below, you don’t have to be a famous designer to put your stamp on products. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can earn money with this.
All you need to do is sign up with a site like CafePress, upload a design you have created, decide which items you want the design to go on (i.e. T-shirts, hats, mugs, etc), and make money selling them.
The best part about this is that you don’t even have to ever touch the actual product, nor do you have to spend a dime on manufacturing these products. They do all the work for you. You just upload the design, choose the items you want your design to be on, and they’ll handle the rest (i.e. manufacturing, payment, shipping, and handling, returns…).
Cafepress
You can make and sell customized T-shirts, mugs, hats, bags and many other personalized items.
Etsy
Etsy is one of the biggest sites to sell handmade products. You can design and sell all kinds of stuff and for some reason or another, people do pay a lot for stuff on Etsy.
SpreadShirt
Not only you can earn money selling your own designs, but you can also sell other designer’s stuff and earn money.
PrintFection
It gives you a free online store so you can sell products with your design on them.
Zazzle
On Zazzle, you can either sell your designs to other product makers or you can design and sell your own products.
Participate in Online Focus Groups
Focus groups are a close variation of surveys. But instead of filling out a questionnaire online, you’ll sit around a table with a bunch of other people discussing a certain topic or product.
Just like with data gathered from online surveys, companies use the information gathered from focus groups to improve or develop new products and services.
Focus groups are usually conducted locally in a physical location, thus, you have to live in close proximity to be able to participate. Thankfully, there are a bunch of legit online focus groups that pay you to participate in virtual focus groups.
Here are some of the best legit paid online focus groups:
2020Panel
Backed by one of the giants of the market research industry 2020 Research, this is the best chance you have of getting invited to an online focus group. They also conduct normal online surveys.
FocusPointeGlobal (FocusGroup.com)
With over 1.6 million panelists, this one is one of the biggest market research companies out there.
Respondent
This is a great market research company that conducts consumer research studies online and in-person. The average pay is about $140 per hour!
FieldWork
They have locations in most major cities around the country, but they also do online studies. Pay starts at around $75 per hour.
User Interviews
They conduct studies on behalf of some of the top companies in the world including Pinterest, AT&T, Pandora and Wayfair.
Get Paid to Do Small Tasks (Micro Jobs)
Lately, micro job sites have been popping up everywhere, especially after the huge success of the first big site of its kind, Fiverr.
This is pretty similar to freelancing, but often jobs or “gigs” are smaller than what you would find on major freelancing sites.
But what makes micro freelancing sites like Fiverr very appealing is that it’s not limited to graphic designers, writers, and computer gigs. You can offer almost any kind of service and make money with it. For example, on Fiverr, there is a guy who has made over $100,000 by making tough decisions for people, charging each $5.
Check out these micro freelancing sites if you are interested.
mTurk
I personally like this one for some spare cash. It does not take much to earn an extra $20 – $50 a week. Some claim that they are able to make a living by dedicating their time to different jobs at mTurk. You will have to go through a learning curve, but once you get comfortable, you will find plenty of good and interesting HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks) to work on.
Microworkers
This is like mTurk where you choose from a wide array of microjobs. Tasks include stuff like taking surveys and testing websites to finding contact information, tagging images, comparing videos, finding a company’s website and description, etc.
Make Money with YouTube
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you know about YouTube and its massive popularity. You probably even watch YouTube videos. You may even know a person or two who makes YouTube videos.
There are people who are making a lot – we’re talking about 6-7 figures – with their YouTube channels.
Here are some examples of YouTubers and what they earned in 2018 alone according to CBS News:
- PewDiePie – $15.5 million
- VanossGaming – $17 million
- Ryan ToysReview – $22 million
The beauty of using YouTube as a way to make money is that you can make videos about anything you like. The last one on that list is a 7 year old kid who basically tests out toys.
Yes, toys!
Now, anybody can make a video. What matters is making videos that people want to watch. Because as we’re about to find out, to make money with YouTube videos, you need views!
So how do you make money with your videos on YouTube?
You have to become a YouTube Partner!
When you become a Partner, Google (who owns YouTube) will start displaying ads with your videos.
Each time someone views one of your videos, Google will display either an Overlay InVideo ad (basically a banner ad) or a short commercial ad (for products, movie trailers, etc). Banner ads are also automatically displayed on your YouTube channel page.
Every time somebody views clicks on or watches a video-based ad on your YouTube Channel, you earn a little revenue.
Now, the exact amount you earn depends on the ad and how people respond to it. Of course, a single view or click on the ad isn’t going to earn you much, but over time it all adds up. And that brings us to the next point which is the more views you get on your videos, the more views and clicks you get on those ads, earning you more money.
The best part about being a YouTube Partner is that it’s free to join (although there are a few requirements but more on that later) and once you become a Partner and enable ads, you don’t have to do a single thing. Google Adsense will take care of everything for you. All you need to do is create quality videos and promote them so you can get more views.
Requirements for becoming a YouTube Partner
According to Google, the followings are minimum illegibility requirements:
- Follow all the YouTube Partner Program policies.
- Live in a country or region where the YouTube Partner Program is available.
- Have more than 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months.
- Have more than 1,000 subscribers.
- Have a linked AdSense account.
Once you have met these requirements, go here to apply to become a YouTube Partner.
Why you should do it?
Because it doesn’t cost a thing. All you need is your phone and its camera, a topic you want to cover and dedication to creating videos.
It just can’t get any easier than this. Really, if you’ve always been wondering “how can I make money easy and for free on the internet” this is one of your best options.
Of course, you have to be realistic. Just because some people make millions, doesn’t mean everybody will. But you’re not reading this post to become a millionaire, you are here because you want a free way to make some extra money and making YouTube videos is a great way to do it. Who knows, maybe your YouTube channel will one day become huge and earn you hundreds of thousands of dollars.
How do I make money with YouTube until becoming a YouTube Partner?
Can’t wait that long to earn your first dollar with your videos?
No worries, there is another way you can monetize your videos…
Affiliate marketing!
Remember, earlier we talked about making money with affiliate marketing?
Well, you can apply the same concept to YouTube videos. Basically, in the description of your videos, include your affiliate link to a product or service that you talked about in your video.
For example, let’s say you signed up to become an Amazon Associate so you can make money as an affiliate of Amazon. You then create a gardening video showing people how to plant a small tree. Find the exact shovel you are using in the video, on Amazon, get your affiliate link and put it in the description of your video so people who are interested can buy the same shovel on Amazon. For every person that buys the shovel, you earn a commission.
Now, what’s great about it is that you also earn a commission for other stuff people buy on Amazon after clicking on your affiliation link. Imagine the possibilities!
Get Paid to Tutor
Back in the day (even today some do it) Tutoring someone would mean you had to go to somebody’s house (or they would come to yours) in order to tutor them in whatever subject they needed help with.
Nowadays, you can make money tutoring without ever leaving your house thanks to online tutoring sites.
And one of the best tutoring platforms where you can make the most money is Chegg Tutor.
No matter what subject you want to tutor, they have you covered. Anything from Math and Science to Biology, Zoology and even Voice Lessons.
The best part is that you get paid each week.
Interested?
Visit chegg.com/tutors to sign up.
Other Quick & Easy Ways to Earning Cash Online (Without Paying Anything)
If you’re looking for real, legit and honest ways of making extra money online without any investment, try some of these free online money making opportunities.
Teach English Online
Think you have what it takes to teach English to foreign students?
Then sign up to be a teacher with VIPKID.
What makes making money as an online English teacher particularly interesting and easy with sites like VIPKID is the fact that you don’t have to spend any time or money trying to find paying clients. VIPKID is a huge platform with hundreds of thousands of paying students. The site takes care of everything for you. Bringing you students, scheduling classes, pay, etc. All you have to do is set up your own schedule (yes, you get to decide when you want to work!) and teach during those hours.
That means you can do this on the side in the evening after your regular 9 to 5 job.
Of course, there are some requirements. You have to have a degree to qualify as a teacher. There is also the application process which involves a video interview. Read my VIPKID review for more details and tips for success.
If you think you qualify, give it a try. It’s a great way to make some extra cash right from your living room (or anywhere else for that matter!).
If you are interested, fill out the application right away. Apply to become a teacher on VIPKID here.
Tip
If you want to get your approval faster so you can start making money quickly, make sure to schedule your video interview immediately after completing the online application.
Get Paid to Review Products
Update: Vindale Research closed its doors in November 2021.
Sign up with Vindale Research for free and get paid up to $75 per review.
These can be anything from financial products to websites, online services, and almost anything you can think of.
There are a few sites like this one, but Vindale is by far the best one out there.
Sadly, they only accept members from the U.S.
Sell Old Books
If you are a bookworm like me, you probably have a few hundred (if not thousand) books gathering dust in your basement.
There is an easy way to turn those old books into cash.
Simply visit BookScouter and enter the ISBN number of any book you want to sell.
It will instantly search over 40 book-buying websites to find you the site that pays the most for your book.
Wanna turn it into a nice side hustle?
Here’s what you can do:
- Step one: Install their free app.
- Step two: Go to your local thrift stores.
- Step three: Start scanning books with the free app to see how much you can get for ’em.
- Step four: Buy the books for pennies and sell ’em on BookScouter.
- Step five: Get paid!
There are also a lot of other sites where you can sell your books, but BookScouter is the best site because it saves you money and makes it easy to quickly find the sites that will pay the most for your old books including college textbooks.
Get Paid to Search
If you’re reading this, you probably found your way here by searching on Google for something like “how to make money fast online for free” or some variation of it. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get paid for doing it?
Well, you can!
All you have to do is switch from Google to Bing search.
Microsoft (who owns Bing) has a reward program known as Microsoft Rewards (used to be called Bing Rewards) where you earn points every time you search on Bing. It doesn’t matter what you search for. As long as you use Bing search, you earn points. These points can be turned into prizes and gift cards including Amazon gift cards.
How do you get started?
Easy, just visit Microsoft Rewards and sign up for free. Then every time you want to search for something online, use Bing and see those points rack up quickly.
Don’t want to miss on points accidentally by searching on Google or other search engines?
Set your browser’s default search engine to Big so all of your searches automatically go through Bing search.
If you’ve been searching for scam free ways to make money on your computer without paying anything, this is a great option. It’s almost like a passive income. Set your default search engine to Bing and forget about it. Once in a while check your account and redeem your earnings for prizes you like.
It just can’t get any easier than this.
Get Paid to Listen & Review Music
Who doesn’t like music, right?
You’re gonna like it even more now that you can actually get paid for listening to music.
SliceThePie is basically like a survey site that pays you to write reviews on new songs, fashion items, accessories and commercials before they are released. So not only you get paid, but you also get to be the first one to hear new songs.
As for how much you get paid for each review it depends on a few factors including your Star Rating and the quality of your review. Needless to say you earn more for quality detailed reviews.
You get paid via PayPal.
Yes, it is 100% free to join which you can do so by visiting SliceThePie.
Revenue Sharing
Revenue sharing is a very clever concept that many companies have adopted. Basically, you sign up with a site, publish content (article, video, eBook, etc), the site displays ads alongside your content, then the earning from the ad is shared with you.
Some sites split the profit half and half, others give you 70%, and there are a few that let you keep 95% of the earnings.
This is a great way to supplement your income without having to worry about building and maintaining a website, promoting it, driving traffic, etc. All you need to do is create and submit your content. And since most of these sites are usually huge and popular, you don’t have to do much to get traffic to your content.
The flip side here is that you are building a business on someone else’s land. If one day they decide to close the shop, all your hard work (i.e. content) is gone.
There are some who say it’s best to put content on your own site, so you can have a website of your own with lots of content in the long run. But again, if you don’t want to deal with building and maintaining a website, working with revenue sharing sites is a great option.
Squidoo (Update: Squidoo is now a part of HubPages)
First pages called “lenses” have to be created and you then embed affiliate links or Google AdSense to monetize your pages.
Hubpages
It’s one of the original renew sharing sites where you can write just about anything you like.
InfoBarrel
You can create all kinds of content here including articles, videos, reviews and how to guides.
WebAnswers (Update: No longer in business.)
It’s a question and answer site where ads are displayed on your answer pages. The revenue generated from those ads is then shared with you.
Online Money Making Scams
I just want to take the time to quickly talk about money making scams. Unfortunately, there are a lot of them out there. So please be careful. Scammers come up with new
Now, there are warning signs if you know where to look and what to look for, but unfortunately, scammers come up with new ways of scamming you of your hard-earned money every day.
This is why hundreds of thousands of people still fall for all kinds of scams. I almost fell for a few myself.
The best tip I can give you to avoid work at home scams is to never ever pay for any site that claims you can make money with them but first you have to pay them. When you get a new job, do the employers ask you to pay them in order to start working for them? No, of course not!
Now, sometimes, there may be a legitimate reason for a company to ask for something like processing or application fee, but generally, you want to avoid any money making site/company that asks you for money.
I would also suggest you keep up with money making scams and scams in general so you know what to look for.
Here are a few great resources to help you learn about and avoid scams:
- List of Money Making Scams: Fraud.org
- 10 Ways to Avoid Scams: The Federal Trade Commission
- Common Scams and Frauds: USAGov
I hope you never ever get scammed, but if you ever get scammed, make sure to report it to the authorities.
In the U.S. you can report scams to:
Final Words
As you can see, there are a lot of free ways you can make money on the web without ever paying a dime or worrying about getting scammed. You just have to be willing to put in the work.
I hope this post was worth the read for you and that not only you enjoyed reading it but also picked up a few ways of making some extra cash for free.
More importantly, I truly hope everyone who reads this post, finds at least one fitting money making option that they can use to supplement their income.
If not, I am sorry, but I promise that I will update this post regularly, adding new options as I come across them.
A Request
I spent quite a lot of time researching and writing this post, hoping it would help those looking for truly free ways of making money online without getting scammed.
If it has helped you and you enjoyed it, I would truly appreciate it if you would spread the word and share it with your friends and family and on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. You can actually do that in a few seconds by hitting the share buttons on the left side of this page. Thank you very much!
Your Turn
I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you think of these free money making options and whether or not you have tried any of them.
Also, if you know of any other truly legit and free ways of earning extra money online, please feel free to leave a comment below and I will add it to the list with your name.
Wow, that is a big list. Lots of sites I didn’t even know existed. Thanks for this.
You’re welcome Kantor. Glad you enjoyed it.
Why do you lie and say it’s free when it’s not? Stop playing with people’s time.
I am sorry, what option on this list isn’t free that we said is?
Are you kidding? So he was lying that some of them are free? Everything I checked are free.
Some of the surveys aren’t free , they asks for 34 or 7 $
Which one are you talking about?
If you don’t live in the US, some of these sites who don’t accept members from your country will automatically redirect you to another site. But the actual sites we list here are all free to join.
wel said.. nothing is tru online job
Of all the sites I saw, Clixsense is by far my favorite! I’ve been using it since 2010!
Whew- that’s a lot! I counted them up just to make sure they were all there. I found this site through Satrapsurveys and am glad I did. Thanks or the info on which ones are legit.
You are welcome LenS. Hope you enjoyed it.
By the way, just curious, was there a link from SurveySatrap to this site, because I don’t remember ever linking from it?…
I live in Canada there seem to only be a few sites that I can access. I am member to all the survey sites that I can in Canada. Some of these sites are US Residents Only :(
Can you help me too?
Sandra, many of the sites mentioned above do accept Canadian members. For example, Yahoo! Contributor Network, Guru, Freelancer, etc can be a great source of income for you.
how about RWANDA?
I am afraid the answer is no.
Hi Satrap I tried surveys before and I only made cents I can hardly reach a dollar.
Which is why it pays to joins a few high paying legit survey sites.
how much money have you earned from these sites till now
I haven’t kept a number as I have been using many of these sites off and on for years.
how do you earn by comments
Earning by comments will require you to have your own Blogs and Websites. You will then share these dedicated domains (Owned by You) in the comment window. If an option to add your URL or website is not available, then you do not include links. You contact the site support first and get permission to share your URL. Oh, and NEVER share affiliate links in comments.
Great article. I do surveys online and I actually make around $200 bucks a month. There really are legit companies you just gotta do your research.
I am glad you are having success Jenn. You are absolutely correct, there are legit sites out there, you just have to find them.
from which sites ?
You can use any of the sites mentioned here, Zita. It really depends on what kind of money making opportunity you are looking for.
I’m using a free method as a result of my own researched to discover high value sites online for basically anything. The important thing is to tell Google what you’re looking for. Something like “Free Online Survey Sites That Pay”, then check page rank, and then both quality and quantity of visitors. You will find the article on how to apply this method on my Blog Titled – 2 Simple Research Tactics For Exponential Visitor Conversion At No Cost
@jenn which sites are you using?
please give me a hint for legit online jobs that doesnt have fees before joining..just needed it badly..thanks..
Almost every online job that I list here are free and require no fee. In fact, any work at home company that asks for a sign up fee is likely to be a scam. Think about it, would you pay a company offline and out there in the real world to work fro them?
They only one you have to spend some money are things like blogging where you are actually starting your own business and not working for a company, and like any other business, you need to invest a little to get started. In the case of blogging, paying for a domain name and hosting for example.
You can check out this post for a list of companies that hire work at home people (all free to join): 40 Legitimate Work From Home Jobs
Awesome to hear :) i’m new at all this don’t even own a computer just an iPhone, I am very interested in getting started in this world of making money on Internet. I’ve been a hairdresser for 16 years and developed health issues from my job and will not be able to do it like I used to so I am trying to find other sources to make income so I can still continue to do whaf i love part-time and supplement my income in different ways where I can still grow myself financially . Thank you everybody for all input
Survey spot is for international memebers?
Unfortunately, as of this time, they only accept members from the U.S.
Huge suggestion about make money online. Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome, Tanim!
This is a great site to make money on and get free gifts. I already got something. You use your points to shop directly off of Amazon. Its awesome!
Yes, Points2Shop is a great site. Thanks Zman.
Just to give you an update, Yahoo Contributor Network has shut down.
Thanks for the update. Yes, I actually noticed it myself a few days ago, but haven’t been able to update the post. Thanks.
Hi. A great survey site that I use is Points2Shop. All you do is take surveys and complete offers. You can either earn points, with which you can use to shop directly off of amazon with, or you can earn money and get paypal, amazon, visa, and checks with. I make $3 to $5 a day. Highly recommend.
I agree, Points2Shop is also a great online rewards site that I personally use. Thanks for commenting, Zack.
Most of affiliate marketing sites favor people in the west Africa is left out
That’s true to some extend, Merzold. But more opportunities are opening up for people in Africa and other places beside the few big western countries that get the bulk of such opportunities.
Very helpful information. Appreciate it.
Cashcrate is my favorite site and the one that I’ve received the most checks from. I’ve been doing it for about a year now and honestly have never had a problem with it.You earn money by doing free offers, surveys, watching ads, shopping online, participating in live contests and referring your friends and family members to the site.Cashcrate is one of the most popular GPT sites having 990,000+ members.I have made close to $3000 using this great Get Paid To Site. The amazing part is I’ve spent only about 6 hours a week on this site and I’ve earned $300 in 1 month! I can’t urge you enough to try it out for yourself.
Sound like you have it down to a science, Rose. $300 a month with CashCrate is great.
wowww… all i said is, its a huge support to those guys who wants to earn money in a diffrnt way..!
Life has got more n more opportunities to earn money..today i found this statement 100% correct..!
Thanks, Abhishek.
Great and Comprehensive! Keep it up.
Thanks Janet. I’m glad you liked it.
Nice list!
Thanks Thomas.
Hi Satrap,
Thank you so much for this great article, it was very helpful, you definitely have a lot of information here. I own a business, so I work quite a bit, but I really need something else to help me sustain, especially though the winter months because it’s mainly a seasonal business. I’m curious, when you first started, how did you find something that worked for you? I know it will take a lot of hard work, and that’s fine with me, but I get discouraged signing up for a lot of these sites and only making 10 cents on the 4 or 5 surveys or videos, or whatever they have to offer, then there’s nothing left. I’ll spend an hour getting signed up for these sites, then it only nets a dollar or something and it will say I have to wait for new work. And I know it takes time to build up, but what can I do or where can I go to see some real traction online? I’m working on building an O Desk profile too.
Hi Clark,
Let me be honest with you, for most people, there is no way they can make a living with survey sites or sites like that. They are great for side income.
As for freelancing, it’s an excellent way to make money. I know many folks who do make a living freelancing. But the thing is that it took them a long time to build up their profile, get clients, learn the ropes of the business, etc.
For me personally, to start really make a living online, it took me a few years. I too started with survey sites. But I too was not happy with the amount I was making. So, soon I realized this was only good for making extra cash, not making a living.
So, I started reading and learning about affiliate marketing and blogging. I combined the two and after a 14-15 months of really hard work (sitting in front of computer for 14-6 hours a day and putting things I had learned, into action (building a blog, writing articles, promoting the site, etc), I started making enough money that I started believing in myself and the idea that I too could make a full time income online. From then on, I just kept on going and the income grew and grew. Now, I still work 8-10 a day on my online business, and sometimes even more. You have to constantly work and maintain it. Most people think because its online, its easy. That’s where they get it wrong.
Making money online takes hard work and dedication just like it would out there in the real world.
So, my suggestion would be – if you want to make real money online, as in make a living – use the survey sites in your spare time for spare change. Instead focus your efforts on a method that can be a viable source of real income, blogging, affiliate marketing, freelancing, etc.
Once you really focus your efforts on one method and stop jumping from one thing to another, you will soon start to see results. And once you see results, motivation will take over from there and you will just keep going. The problem for most people is that they give up usually right before they see results. They work for a few weeks or months, they don’t see results, they give up and go for another method. They repeat this with any method the come across, and never make any decent money.
If you like freelancing, stick with it. Read and learn as much as you can. Put all your efforts behind it. Treat it like a real job/business. Dedicate specific hours of the day to it like you would with a real job. Do this for a few months or so, and I guarantee you will start to make decent money.
Hope that helps. Good luck.
I have a question.
Sure, go ahead.
Great article Satrap!
A couple of sites that I use are Fusion Cash, which is like Cash Crate, I get referrals and make a passive income off of that more so than doing the actual surveys themselves. Also another reward site is Dubli. They’ve been around since 2003 are quite popular apparently in most countries except the U.S. (at least not yet anyways).
Keep writing those great articles Satrap!
Yeah, I know FusionCash. Its a great site for making pocket change.
Haven’t hared of Dubli. I’ll make sure to check it out. Thanks, Corrisa.
I like the START FREE BLOG and the AFFILIATE MARKETING posts. It really works for me. You can start a blog within minutes selling affiliate products without spending a penny in 3 steps: Step 1: Choose a product. Step 2: Get a website. Step 3: Get Free Traffic flow to your website and start making money even when you sleep! :)
Agreed Peter. The only really hard part is getting that free traffic to flow in your site. That takes a lot of hard work and patience, and that’s where most people give up.
I prefer affiliate marketing, making money with affiliate marketing need a good plan and be patient. Now every-week I make $1200 to doing it, anyway nice post and keep writing.
Affiliate marketing is indeed one of the best ways to start making money online without any investment or upfront cost.
I am glad you are doing good, Thom!
Hats off to Satrap for providing us with this detailed, easy to digest and above all, Honest review on the today’s hottest topic “how to make money online” … it is truly of great help not only for newbies but also for professionals. In this time of today’s cruel world, there are a few persons who dare to guide in the right way to the right path and Satrap, you’re one of them. You are an inspiration to me. May God bless you with everything you are looking for. Amen :)
Thanks for the kind words Shirazi.
Great set of resources for anyone wanting to earn some bucks online!
Thanks Robert. Glad you liked it.
THANKS for sharing these great sites. Because this artical so helpful for me thanks again.
You are very welcome Suresh. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you for your post. While reading this especially the Apps section, I was glad until I checked to find that most of them are restricted to certain countries. Do you mind if you give me some places I can start the Apps kind of business online? (Considering I’m from Nigeria)
Dayo, sadly, because of the market size, app related business remain only profitable in a few western countries. I don’t know of any that could be used in Nigeria. That said, you can always put your own twist on things and make something that people in your local area could find useful. Essentially, you create a niche market out of it, and that can be very profitable.
Interesting techniques. This goes to show you that there are a lot of options when it comes to trying to make money online. Just pick the method that you are most passionate about and you will eventually succeed.
Couldn’t have said better myself, Michael. Thanks.
thanks for the info. stay at home mom here trying to “make a living” while I cant leave my home. ive been trying this for years now, usually I just get frustrated and give up..but I am so excited abt chking these sites out! very thankful I ran across ur wedsite! good man!
Hi Tiffany,
You are very welcome.
I know exactly how you feel. I was once there. I would work for weeks without any good result, then I would just be frustrated and give up.
It took me a long time and a lot of trial and errors to finally realize that if I wanted to really “make a living” online, I had to pick one method and give it all I have.
So I chose blogging.
I built my first blog and for a long long time I wasn’t making any money. But I didn’t give up. I kept on going.
Don’t get me wrong, it was very hard. There were many times where I just wanted to give up. But somehow I went through with it, and little by little I started earning. A few cents a day, went to a few dollars a day, then to $20-$30, then $100-$150, and so on.
And the beauty of it is once you make that initial few dollars, you realize this thing is possible, that you can actually make it. From then on its just working harder and harder and keep going.
So, if I may, pick a method and give it all you have. If you start like I did, you won’t rally have anything to lose, but time, and a few dollars (assuming you want to buy a domain and host it somewhere).
Let me know if you need help or just some direction. Best of luck to you Tiffany.
I need help and direction. PLEASE ! Have been researching for way to long and I don’t know what to do. I want to utilize my knowledge from the trade I learned but unsure as to how to convert that to online. Plus I really feel I need a mentor.
Thank you
Guy
Guy, what do you need help with? You have to be a little more specific.
I just wanted to say that this is, by far, one of the best articles I’ve come across that talks about making money online. I’ve searched all over the place for an article-or website- that has all the information in one place, and is easy to follow. This is the exact article I was looking for! I deeply appreciate the fact that you took your time to write this, and share it with all of us- we really needed this!
Thanks, John. I am glad you like the article and find it useful.
Now, this is a huge list of methods to make money online all for FREE!
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us.
Thanks, Frank!
hi ,
very much thanks to you for wanderful information you have given.
i want to begin this online earnings. but i have no money to start up. Can you please send me list of websites to start with free registration. even if they may pay less. but sooner. i am b.tech(electrical) graduate but unemployed and poor. please guide as a mentor.
i ratish from india
Ratish, almost all of the sites on this list are free to join. So you can start with a number of these sites.
And if you browse MoneyPantry, you can find tons more.
If you need more help, feel free to shoot me an email using our contact page. I’ll be happy to help. I wish you good luck.
Hi
What you think about mylikes.com (likes.com)…. they give you ads to post on your social media like FB, twitter, instagram etc…. suppose they paid you basic on the click those add get from your followers….. but it seems is just another scam
I know about MyLike. It’s not actually a scam, but like most of these kinds of sites, the amount of money you get for doing each act (be it clicking on ads or posting a comment, etc) is very small. So for most people it’s not worth the effort.
That said, I know they do pay.
Oh gosh ! what an article how you got an idea and time to prepare this article very awesome and impressed .. this is called real blogging guide for really money making sites expecting more from you mate.. keep blogging
Thanks, Charan. I am glad you liked it.
Wow! Awesome info – gonna have to give some of these a try! :)
Let me know how it goes, Vanessa.
Thanks
You are welcome.
Have you tried any of these methods?
hi brother i am from Uganda i am trying neobux over 6 months i am trying to reach 300 referrals i have only 84 i reach to 125 again it comes to 80 or 84 again and again i am not able to extend there days because many are not active when i started i started with 20 dollar pleas give some advice how can i make some extra cash on neobux atlist 2 or 3 dollar a day
Muhammad, it sounds like you are doing all you can. Sadly, sites like Neobux are not meant to make any substantial amount of money. I doubt you could make a few dollars a day on that site. But the best you can do is just do the offers and refer many people as you can.
Nice post …. I use to do surveys , but freebies kicked in , averaging $500 weekly because of it.
Wow, that is awesome, Ron. How long have you been doing this?
Great
Thanks!
I totally love this post and find it very useful. I have a question though. I had a host company and the domain with the same company for a while now, but a lot of problems with them. Recently, I renew my domain and since then, they kind of disappeared. I cannot log in my website anymore, and I didn’t work on it for more than an year.
My question is: Would you please recommend me a host company that is real and can be trusted? I would like you to be as objective as possible. Thanks a lot. I kind of afraid to trust any other company, since I spent a lot with this company. The company is Brain Host and for anyone out there, this is not something you will need.
Thank you much
Hi Lumi,
Sorry about your experience. I don’t personally know BrainHost, but the disappearance of your site could be due to many reasons–you may have accidentally deleted your files, uninstalled something, change a setting, didn’t renew your hosting, etc.
That said, for a small starter site any big name host like BlueHost will be a good choice.
I have about 50 lbs of clothes I don’t wear anymore… Can you recommend a site that buys men’s clothing?
Thank you
Andy, see if you can locate any consignment store in your area, like Plato’s Closet. They pay cash for used brand name clothes, right there in the spot.
Hello, Satrap!
Thanks for your great work!
Can you recommend some program which can make money more quickly?
Thanks, Ming.
Well, I don’t know of many other options for making decent money fast, beside some of the ones mentioned above. You are welcome to try this method.
There’s this awesome app called GrabPoints. In a nutshell they pay you for trying out new apps and answering a couple of surveys. I love using it because they are always active on social media giving out points and the rewards are always fair. Like just for signing up you already get $1 then if you use a friend’s invite code you get 50PTS and easy AND your friend gets points in return too! See even simply inviting people earns you money. If you ever happen to try GRABPOINTS please use my invite code: S6FMAC Hope this helps!
Thanks for the heads up, Michael. I’ll add this to my list of money making apps.
Which would you recommend for south african users
It really doesn’t matter where you are from and where you live. As long as the sit/company allows people from your country to join, any of these sites can be an excellent source of extra cash.
Great Job! Awesome blog dear SATRAP!
Thank you, Sohail.
I live in Serbia, paying ways are very ancient here and there is no way for me to earn money online, can you help me?
Unfortunately, most “extra money sites” only accept members from a few western countries. The only thing can think of for your situation would be trying sites like eBay and of course that would require you having something to sell.
Hi Satrap,
This is an absolutely brilliant article, it’s so in depth, it must have taken you years to research all these legit ways to make money on line and also to discover and try out the best companies for each one, this really is amazing and i thank you for all your hard work and honesty, as i found it very helpful indeed.
I’ve been doing surveys now for about 18 months, but when i first started i, just like yourself, carried out a lot of research about all the different survey sites and slowly but surely i discovered the best ones to join and now i’m receiving quite a good monthly income from them, but after saying that i am a member of a large number of survey companies and some days i receive that many emails that sometimes i find it hard to keep up with them all, but it is worth it as it’s started to pay off. I’ll not mention all the survey companies i’m with because there’s far too many, but some of the better one’s are Global Test Market, I-Say, Toluna, Mintvine, Your Word, My Survey, Swagbucks, etc, etc. What i do is i keep trying new ones all the time and then i keep the good ones and get rid of the not so good.
I’m always looking for new legit ways to make money on line and that’s how i came across your brilliant article tonight and even though i’ve now been earning money on line for quite some time i still found this very helpful, as i got a lot from it, so thank you Satrap, you really are an inspiration to others.
Keith, that is very nice of you. I truly appreciate your kind words, and I am very happy you have found this post helpful.
Your strategy with survey sites (trying new ones, keeping the good ones and getting rid of the not so good ones) is the best way to go about it. And you are right, if you want to make decent money, you have to join more than a few survey sites. The more sites you join, the more survey invites you get, thus the more money you earn.
Sounds like you are doing great with surveys as an easy sources of extra income. Keep at it.
Thanks once again for the kinds words, and sharing your experience, Keith.
Job well done, Satrap. The first thing I look for in a site like this are signs that the author is being paid to hype the companies. It’s very tough to find good information that isn’t stricken with bias. There were a couple of times during the article where I actually got excited thinking, ‘Hey, I could do that. I’d actually LOVE to do that.” That being said, I can’t help noticing that you refer to all of it as “extra” or “supplemental”income. Are you saying that with all of these options, sticking to one’s regular “day job” is required? In your experience, if someone really commits to doing this, is it possible to earn a decent living? Cubicles suck.
I do my best to give everyone an accurate and realistic picture of what’s possible, which is why I refer to these opportunities as “extra income” options.
Sure, there are some options like blogging that can make you a full time living but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. But the majority of these methods, like surveys, reviewing, money making apps and so on, are not going to help you quite your day job. They are great for earning a little side cash in your free time. There is no need for me to hype things up and tell you otherwise.
There is this misconception about “making money online” where people think because it’s online, it’s easy and quick. Unfortunately, there are a lot of opportunistic bloggers and so called marketers out there who make it even worse by selling people all kinds of get rich quick “courses” and eBooks that are nothing but hyped up crap.
The reality is that, yes while there are tons of ways to make a living online, there are no easy and quick ways to do that. Most easy and quick options only allow you to earn a little pocket change, which is good enough for most people.
And yes, if you do commit to something like blogging, or writing and freelancing, you can and will make a living (you could even make way more than you could ever at your day job. That said, no matter how much time and effort you put into things like surveys, paid to click sites and things like that, they are not gonna replace your day job. They are just an attitudinal income generation options that you can use in your free time.
Anyway, I appreciate your kind words.
Do you know if you could make money online without using PayPal, because I don’t have a credit nor a debit card of any sort and I was wondering if you could make money online with out having a credit or debit card.
Yeah, there are some sites that pay by check. Some also let you redeem your earning via gift cards. But most sites are moving towards PayPal, because its easier and faster. You can open a PayPal account using your bank account if you have one.
Wowh this is great and it’s a blessing in disguise, thanks SATRAP for this article it is very good and let me wish the best whoever is going to try any o the methods above.
It has always been my passion to work and earn money online but i have been trying many sites but they were all scam.
I still want to work and earn money online and the best method i want to use is blogging.
And I would like to request for your help in this process, will you please give me a hand in this???
Hope you will see my email and its ever open. for help.
Sure, what can I help you with, Jasim?
Are some of these sites valid and applicable to people living on other continents like Africa?
Mercia, thanks for your question. Sadly, most of these sites only cater to people in a few western countries. But if you like work at home jobs, check out our list of companies that hire people from all over the world to work from home. Just search for “International work at home jobs” in the search box in the footer of this page.
Hi, just an update on the freelancer websites: elance and odesk joined and they are now upwork.com
Thanks for the update Rosana. I have updated the post.
You might want to try SurveySavvy.com They pay usually $1 or more per survey completed but they have been around for years and I’ve been paid twice (by check) by them. It’s free to join and there is an option for U.S. residents to earn even more money. Here is the link: (Link removed by the editor – referral links not allowed in the comments)
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Yes, SurveySavvy is a great survey site that I always recommend to people interested in internet money making ideas and opportunities.
Hello,
Satrap
I open SurveySavvy site
After regester email then it shows
100% satisfaction money back guarantee!
Get 8 Weeks to Try it Out!
Price: $68.00 (Before coupon code)
Click to Pay ONLY $34.00
Is it safe or they gives money back trully?
Anshul, SurveySavyy is 100% free to join. I think you got redirected to a paid survey directory since SS doesn’t accept members from India at the moment.
To get membership they charge $34 at
SurveySavvy
Is it safe or they back money trully?
I m cofused ?
SurveySavvy doesn’t charge a single cent. All legit survey sites are free. Now what you are referring to may be paid survey directory sites that charge you $30-$40 to give you access to a massive list of legit survey sites.
Hello
thanks for sharing. Please what would you recommend me from Uganda Africa? Any way i can make money from home will be helpful. Anyway please that’s free because brokenness is killing me, my bills are way overdue. No job. Please whichever good way will be helpful. Yo kind. Thanks again
Mary, the fastest scam free ways I know of to make decent steady money for someone starting out is doing freelancing. Have you tried using sites like UpWork and Fiverr to get writing gigs?
this is a great way to earn money
Which one is your favorite, Willie?
Hi,
I love this list of legit sites to earn either some extra mney or even gift cards come in really handy.
I am on a very low fixed income and can’t work due to my health so being able to use these sites at my leisure is great since there are good days and bad days.
With gift cards I can get gifts for occasions like Birthdays. Money can help me to have a treat for myself like going out for coffee or a drink where my limited income doesn’t leave me much left over after living expenses to get out and socialize.
Thank you for complying this list since I have been trying to find some way to get a little extra cash. Even though you won’t make hundreds of dollars just that little extra means more enjoyment to my life. Also, so flexable for those of us who can’t have deadlines
Annette, I am glad you find this list helpful. And that’s what it’s all about; you are right, you won’t make a living with most of these options (although with a few, like blogging, you indeed can), but you will make some extra cash in your spare time.
Yes, they are free..but most of them don’t work in my country “Romania” and..I can’t get money…..
Yes, unfortunately, most of these sites only work for people in the U.S. and a few other countries like Canada and the U.K.
all of these you mention works in India?
Some companies accept international members, but sadly most only accept members from a few western countries.
Thanks for your article! Very informative! I am excited to look into the tips/tutorials and micro jobs sites. I also will look through my pictures to see if any might be stock photo worthy.
Another resource:
Wallapop is a “sell stuff you own” website which a friend highly recommended to me. He has sold many items there.
Thanks, Kim. Yeah, I have heard of Wallapop. In fact, we have featured it in one of our recent articles about best ways of selling your stuff: https://moneypantry.com/apps-to-sell-stuff/
Concerning the blogs, in particular Google’s Blogspot where you state to get your own domain and hosting so you are in control, are you saying that I can keep my blogspot blog and just redirect it to my domain name or just do away with blogspot completely and just start my own website blog utilizing my hosting package? Thank you for sharing all this information. I am sure you have helped many people just by the comments I see here.
Hi Dewayne,
Yes, I am talking about getting your own unique domain name like yourdomain.com instead of yourdomain.blogspot.com.
Hi there, I am interested in affiliate marketing but how would one start ? How to choose the right niche and digital products to sell. How do you know what people are buying. What do I need for starters or as newbie ?
And I just like to say, you know a lot of stuff man, you should be doing very well….thanks
Hi Wayne,
Well, I’ll tell you how I started. I started with reading blogs and online forums related to affiliate marketing. Then I started my first site even though it wasn’t perfect. You just have to start and work your way as you go along.
The biggest advice I can give is to pick a small niche, set up a site and start experimenting. Make mistakes and learn from them. That’s the only way you are going to succeed. Of course, have realistic expectations. It took me more than 1-2 years to start making decent money. But the beauty of it is that once you make that first dollar, you know it works and at that point it just becomes a matter of scaling it up, working harder and smarter to scale up your business.
Hope this helps.
Hello there,
My name is Amr and I’ve been trying to earn money through online jobs for ages and I haven’t made anything that actually counts. I was just wondering if you can help me find a job? like recommending a wesbsite that actually pays where I’m living? Coz most of those websites don’t have much work here. I’m living in Egypt so I’m a native Arabic speaker and my English isn’t too bad. I’m still studying so I don’t have much experience in a real life job except for working as a call center agent for Vodafone Ireland. If you can help find any job that would be available in my country no matter how hard it is or even if it requires some kind of training. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make some extra money. Appreciate your help and sorry for the long comment.
Hi Amr,
Yes, unfortunately, most of these sites (like survey sites) don’t accept members from Egypt. They usually only cater to a few western countries mainly because the companies they conduct market research studies on their behalf, operate in a few western countries and so naturally they want feedback from their customers and not people living in other countries where they don’t even operate.
That said, have you tried freelancing? Most freelancing sites don’t care where you live. As long as you can provide a good service (design, writing, coding, or whatever else) you are good to go.
Tangerine is offering a pretty good deal for opening up a no-fee account :)
First: Send $100 check to open Savings account using Orange key (30790282S1) before May 27th
(https://www.tangerine.ca/en/referafriend/index.html), get $50. After May 27 it’s $25.
Then, do the following in any order (better to start them simultaneously):
• Open Checking account and, through it, set up 1 direct deposit (for 3 months) or 1 Pre-authorized Withdrawal , either of which goes through before May 31st (https://www.tangerine.ca/en/landing-…tch/index.html & RFD Thread), get $100
• Initiate ASP of $100 or more from Checking to Savings for 6 months (bottom ofhttps://www.tangerine.ca/en/referafriend/index.html), get $25
• Apply for Tangerine MoneyBack credit card via GCR, get $25
Each step is optional, but if you do them all by following the instructions above, that’s a free $200 total in your pocket.
Seems like it’s only for Canadians, is that correct?
Re: Wow! Thanks for this rich, your are really a mentor like Ratish said and a good man. I am a Nigerian and i know we are restricted to some. For those that are restricted also, inbox me for a way out. Again thanks Sat for this great work. God bless you…
Hello there.
Ana is here. I am Malaysian. I’m really interested to do an online surveys. As you mentioned above that all the sites of online surveys are free to join. I am very eager and looking forward to join that sites.
Unfortunately, as I went to the sites(survey sport) there are fees to be charged to join the survey.
I can see there is a Malaysian who joined this sites. How is that? Hope you can help me. Thanks in advance.
Ana, try going straight to http://www.surveyspot.com.
Hello there.
Ana here. Can you give me a list of sites which I can earn money without any fees which is available for me to join since I am from Malaysia.
coz I noticed that most of the sites of earn money online is for US, UK and Canada residents only.
Tq.
Ana, almost any site that we list here are free to join. After all, you are here to make money not to spend it!
That said, I don’t know of any site that accept members specifically from Malaysia. You can certainly check with each site (look in their FA section or contact them).
nice and selfless article, really the best so far, can changing your ip address to USA help you use most survey sites, harmless question though.
Thanks for the kind words, Duby. Changing IP may work here and there, but most companies will catch up. Besides, I personally don’t think it’s right to do that. After all, the companies who spend money to conduct the surveys are trying to get feedback from people in certain places, so if I live somewhere else outside of their targeted area, my feedback isn’t going to help them. In fact it will dilute the feedback from actual targeted residents.
Hi satrap, I’m from Sri Lanka. I like to do a Online job for earning a extra cash so i joined so much Legitimate sites. but they don’t support because my country is Sri Lanka. so i have to chose what supporting and drop the not supporting sites. but some sites( It’s a few) half supporting, I don’t say it a full support, because that sites maybe don’t send surveys, they send offers only, Sweepstakes, some are only send signing up’s only. but i’m registered these sites now been only a two weeks. so i’m going to keep it up to see what’s going on Online making Money. Because i think it’s gave me a Knowledge somehow. I think my Future It’s give me a way. but next month i will joined for Freelancing, Fiverr and Upwork. Satrap your Blog is so Awesome. It’s easy to read and Understand. satrap can you explain me what is the Different in Blog and Forums?
Kushani, yes, unfortunately you are correct. Most of these sites are only targeting people in a few western countries because that’s where their consumer base is.
As for the difference between blog and forums, there are many. But the main one is that blogs are usually written by one (or few) person (s). But on forums, anyone can register, comment, and interact with others. Forums are more of a discussion type of site.
Hello,
You have done a great job by preparing this list. Thank you very much. Just one update. I think the site “Cracked” is not available anymore. It is up for sale and they are inviting buyers.
Thanks for the kind words, Manisha. Cracked is still operating as far as I can see. Are you sure you are going to cracked.com?
I am 65 and get ss and va check. I am trying to just add to my income. Any where from 200 to 500 a month. I usre a computer at the library for three hours a day. I have a smart phone but i find it very confusing to use so i stick to the library. Maybe you can put on the right track to make extra money.
Hi William, first of all, thank you for your service. Second, the only thing I can think of (considering that you only have access to a computer 3 hours a day) would be doing survey and reward sites. It’s not much extra money, but if you have free time, it’s better than nothing.
Also, are you good with pets? If so, you could offer pet sitting for neighbors and friends. You could make decent money, and if you are an animal lover like me, you’ll also have fun.
Hi – very good list, and plenty of sites that I have not checked out yet.
I’m pretty sure that Squidoo does not really exist any more – it was taken over by Hubpages.
Also, PostLoop is closing down in a month or two,
Cheers,
Jon.
Thanks Jonathan. Updated the post about Squidoo. I’ll update again when PostLopp goes out. Do you know why they are closing it down?
Dear Satrap, thanks for your effort in putting these together. My name is Susan from Nigeria, please can you recommend sites that can earn me extra cash within my country?, thank you
Susan, unfortunately, there aren’t any sites that I know of that cater to Nigerians. Sorry.
Hello Satrap,
Did you know that Quickrewards has changed?
I read your comments and wanted to get started with QR soon, but much to my surprise I found out the website had changed its domain name and now it’s called Opinionrouter.
This isn’t the only change, sadly. Now it only offers 1$ surveys and most of them go with the “You didn’t qualify for this survey“ refrain.
Do you know of any other websites to make quick pocket money? This one was appeared to be great, I wonder what happened.
Greetings from Spain,
Andrew, QR is still on the same site and name. No sure what you are referring to?
Dear Satrap, thanks for your effort. My name is Tina from Uganda, please can you recommend sites that can earn me extra cash within my country?, thank you
Good work Satrap I like your Ideas I’m from South Africa but with your information I’m very much happy keep it up. Thanx
Shezi nk
Wow… I have been struggling with money lately because I’m trying to save up to move out but there’s still a lot I want to do like go to cons and go out with friends. Lately I came across surveys I could take to earn money (which I didn’t believe at first but I now earn money from most of the surveys posted in this blog).
I have to say I got curious if there were any other sites that gave free money like that and found this site that is extremely useful! I work a full time job and my boyfriend is convincing me not to work another because I tend to overwork myself. I’ve brought all of this up with him and even he is interested in doing online things to get paid. It is really going to help us out.
Just want to say thank you for all the great tips here, and hopefully you can keep this up to date (like the ones where the websites no longer work) so I can come back frequently and know the updates as well as refer people I know also struggling to make a living even with a working job.
Thanks!
I’m very sorry you’re struggling, Sandra. I am glad at least this post has been useful for you. I’ll make sure to update this list as much as I can.
Please keep me posted on your progress.
I have been struggling with money lately because I’m trying to save up to move out but there’s still a lot I want to do like go to cons and go out with friends. Lately I came across surveys I could take to earn money (which I didn’t believe at first but I now earn money from most of the surveys posted in this blog).
Nice points By reading and applying this anyone can make money it would be so easy for everyone all because of you. Thank you so much for such wonderful blog.
None of this crap works. You want money then get a job. That’s worked for a long time.
If by that you mean, you can’t get rich, you are right. But they absolutely do work for making extra money or even a earning a living using methods like Blogging and creating YouTube channels.
Great article. I do surveys online and I actually make around $200 bucks a month.
That’s great to hear, Khis. Do you have a favorite survey site that you make money with?
I want to express my gratitude for the time and effort you put into creating this post.
I look forward to reading another excellent article up from you in the near future.
Thank you for the kind words and continued support, Eileen. We are lucky to have such loyal readers like you.
None of this has been useful, because anytime i click a link there is always an excess like that are not accepting from my location, the site is not available, they are not taking new freelancers e.t.c. please i really need money i am a broke student and want to work.
Are you in the U.S.? Sadly, most survey and rewards sites only accept members from the U.S. and a few other western countries. But almost all the freelancing sites mentioned do accept members from anywhere in the world.