Ways to earn extra income
Browse practical ways to earn extra income, online and in person.
Directory
All 34 ways to earn
Every opportunity we cover, from online tasks to local services and your own business.
AI coding trainer
Writing, reviewing and ranking code to train AI models as an independent contractor, with no promised hours and pay that can depend on accepted tasks.
- Online
- None
- Required
Affiliate marketing
Earning commissions when people you refer buy from merchants like Amazon or Walmart, which depends on an audience you build first and pays out well after the sale.
- Online
- Low
- Helpful
Bank account sign-up bonuses
One-time cash bonuses from banks for opening a checking account and meeting direct deposit or transaction requirements, with payouts that can take weeks, offers that expire and taxable income.
- Online
- Low
- None
Cashback and receipt apps
Scanning receipts and redeeming offers in apps like Ibotta, Fetch and Receipt Hog for cash, gift cards or coins, with cents per receipt and a minimum balance before your first payout.
- Online
- None
- None
Data annotation
Labeling data and training AI for platforms like Mindrift, CrowdGen and Clickworker, paid per task or per hour, with qualification tests and no promised hours.
- Online
- None
- Helpful
Dog walking
Walking other people's dogs for a per-walk price, through Rover, Wag or your own clients, with approval waits, platform fees and unpaid travel time between walks.
- In person
- Low
- Helpful
Flipping used phones, tablets and laptops
Buying used phones, tablets and laptops, checking them for locks and blacklists, and reselling on Swappa, eBay or locally, with money tied up in stock and no published data on typical profit.
- Hybrid
- Moderate
- Helpful
Food delivery driving
Delivering restaurant orders in your own car through apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats, paid per order plus tips, with fuel, insurance and waiting time cutting into what you keep.
- In person + car
- Low
- None
Get-paid-to sites
Earning points or cash on Swagbucks, InboxDollars and Freecash for offers, games and other tasks, with minimum cash-outs, offers that may not credit and no published hourly pay.
- Online
- None
- None
Grocery shopping and delivery
Shopping for and delivering grocery orders through apps like Instacart, paid per batch plus tips, with your own car and insurance and unpaid time for driving and waiting.
- Hybrid + car
- None
- None
Handyman services
Doing home repairs and small jobs for customers by the hour or the job, with tool and insurance costs, unpaid quoting and travel time, and state limits on unlicensed work.
- In person + car
- Moderate
- Helpful
House cleaning
Cleaning other people's homes for a per-visit or hourly price, through TaskRabbit, Angi Services for Pros, Thumbtack or direct clients, with unpaid quoting and travel time.
- In person + car
- Low
- Helpful
House sitting
Staying in other people's homes to look after pets and property, paid per night on some platforms and in lodging on others, with membership fees, insurance gaps and irregular stays.
- In person
- Low
- Helpful
Kid transport driving
Driving children to school and activities in your own car for apps like HopSkipDrive and Kango, which require childcare experience, a background check and a wait before your first ride.
- In person + car
- Low
- Required
Micro-SaaS
Building and selling a small subscription software product on the side, with payment fees, hosting costs and sales tax to handle, and no sourced timeline for first revenue.
- Online
- Low
- Required
Package delivery driving
Delivering packages and orders in your own vehicle for Amazon Flex, Spark Driver, Veho or Roadie, with pay per block or route, vehicle costs on you and waitlists in some areas.
- In person + car
- Low
- None
Paid online surveys
Answering market-research surveys for points or cash on sites like Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, Ipsos iSay and Prolific, with small payouts, screen-outs and unpaid time.
- Online
- None
- None
Paid research studies
Online studies on platforms like Prolific and CloudResearch Connect pay per study, with a waitlist, approval waits and unpaid time between invites.
- Online
- None
- None
Paid website and app user testing
Recording yourself using websites and apps for small per-test payouts from platforms like UserTesting, Userbrain and Userlytics, with unpaid sign-up steps and uneven test availability.
- Online
- None
- None
Pet sitting
Caring for other people's pets through short drop-in visits or overnight stays, paid per visit or per night, with platform fees, unpaid travel between clients and a wait for approval.
- In person + car
- Low
- Helpful
Rating AI responses
Rating, ranking and fact-checking AI answers as an independent contractor on platforms like DataAnnotation, Outlier, Alignerr and Mindrift, with hours that vary and no promised work.
- Online
- None
- Helpful
Recurring SaaS affiliate commissions
Earning a percentage of a referred customer's software subscription payments for a set period, through programs like Kit, beehiiv and HubSpot, with income that depends on your audience.
- Online
- Low
- Helpful
Renting out a spare room
Renting a spare bedroom to guests through Airbnb or a similar site, with per-booking fees, city permit and HOA rules to check, and income that depends on occupancy.
- In person
- Low
- None
Renting out land for camping
Letting campers, RVers or glampers stay on your land for a nightly fee, usually through Hipcamp, with insurance, a toilet and local zoning to sort out before your first guest.
- In person
- Moderate
- Helpful
Categories
Ideas by category
Jump to the kind of work that interests you.
- Surveys & Paid Research
- Rewards & Offers
- Microtasks & AI Work
- Gig & Delivery Work
- Local Services
- Reselling & Flipping
- Software & Apps
- Affiliate & Lead Generation
- Rentals & Asset Income
Compare
Compare ideas at a glance
How every idea works, side by side.
How to choose
How to choose a way to earn
What fits your time, budget, and situation matters more than what pays most.
Start with your time
Weekday evenings, weekends only, or flexible hours all change what's realistic. Be honest about the hours you can give it.
Count the real costs
Upfront spend, equipment, platform fees, and unpaid time all reduce what you keep. Compare what you'd actually earn per hour.
Check it's legitimate
Be wary of upfront fees, requests for sensitive details, and promises of guaranteed income before you commit.
Keep exploring
More ways to find your fit
Curated shortlists, comparisons, and the platforms people earn through.
Side hustles under $100
Curated ways to start earning with less than $100 in upfront cost.
Facebook Marketplace vs OfferUp
How the two local marketplaces differ for someone reselling furniture.
Where the work happens
All platforms- Airbnb
- Alignerr
- Amazon Associates
- Amazon Flex
- Amazon Seller Central
- AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Companion Program
- Angi Services for Pros
- Apple App Store
- Awin
- Bluehost
- Campspot
- Capital One
- Care.com
- Chase
- Checkout 51
- Chime
- Clickworker
- CloudResearch Connect
- Cloudways
- CrowdGen
- DataAnnotation
- Depop
- DoorDash
- Etsy
- Facebook Marketplace
- Fetch Rewards
- Freecash
- Freemius
- Furnished Finder
- Getaround
- Google Play
- Grubhub
- Handshake AI
- Harvest Hosts
- Hipcamp
- HopSkipDrive
- Hostinger
- House Sitters America
- HyreCar
- Ibotta
- Impact
- InboxDollars
- Instacart
- Ipsos iSay
- Kango
- Kit
- Kyte
- Lemon Squeezy
- Lyft
- Mercari
- Mindrift
- Namecheap
- Nextdoor
- Nomador
- OfferUp
- Outdoorsy
- Outlier
- Paddle
- Papa
- PartnerStack
- Poshmark
- Prolific
- RVshare
- Receipt Hog
- Respondent
- Rover
- Shopify App Store
- Shopify Partner Dashboard
- SoFi
- Spark Driver
- Stripe
- Survey Junkie
- Swagbucks
- Swappa
- TELUS Digital
- Taskrabbit
- Thumbtack
- TrustedHousesitters
- Trymata (TryMyUI)
- Turo
- Uber
- Uber Eats
- UserTesting
- Userbrain
- Userlytics
- Veho
- Vrbo
- Wag
- Walmart affiliate program
- beehiiv
- eBay
FAQ
Common questions
About choosing, costs, and how this list works.
Start with the time you have, how much you can spend upfront, and what you already have, like a car, a skill, or a spare room. Then compare the ideas that fit.
How to choose a way to earnMany ideas have no or low upfront cost, though most still take time, and some need equipment you may already own.
See low-cost ideasOnline ideas such as paid research studies, freelance writing, and selling digital products can be done from home with a computer and an internet connection.
See work-from-home ideasWe cover legitimate, practical ways to earn and explain the trade-offs of each. Scams exist in every category, so check any specific offer before you pay or share personal details.
How to spot side-hustle scamsEarnings vary too much by location, time, skill, demand, and platform rules to state reliably. We describe how each idea works and what it costs instead.
How to calculate your actual hourly earningsWe add and revise ideas as we publish and review them. If you spot something out of date, let us know.
Our corrections policy