How to Make Money Online for Beginners: 40+ Ways

If you wonder how to make money online for beginners, it’s not hard! Today there are many ways anyone can make money online. Whether you need extra money to make ends meet or you’re trying to reach a specific financial goal, we’ve uncovered the top ways to make money online. Read on for 41 ways to make money from home online.

What’s the Appeal of Making Money Online?

If you know you need more money or would like more money, but the thought of working another job is too much, making money online could be the answer you’re looking for. Working from home and online often allows you to work on your own schedule and where you’re most comfortable.

All you need is a computer, a good internet connection, and a list of where to start making money online. Then, you could be on your way to either adding pocket change to your wallet or making extra money to cover expenses and reach your financial goals.

How Much Money Can You Make Online (Even as a Beginner)?

Making money online isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. How much money you make depends on how much work you put in and what tasks you choose. However, it’s possible to make $100 a day or more with consistent effort.

The more you diversify what you do, the more money you’ll make. Whether you’re looking to make a few dollars a day or hundreds of dollars a day, the possibilities are endless.

How to Make Money Online for Beginners: Pros and Cons

Like any way to make money, there are pros and cons when it comes to quick ways to make money online. Here’s what you should know.

Pros:

• The possibilities are endless – The ability to earn money online has made it possible for just about anyone to find a way. Whether you do something simple like answering surveys or offering specialized skills as a freelance gig, there are thousands of ways to earn money online.
• Flexibility – You work when you want when you make money online. Most gigs allow you to work on your own time. So whether you’re an early bird and want to make extra money before starting your day or a night owl who wants to work while everyone else is asleep, you can work when you want.
• It can be mindless – Some ways to earn money online are mindless. You don’t need to stress your brain any more than you already did throughout the day. So it can be a nice reprieve from the daily grind, and it might even be fun.
• Little investment required – Typically, you don’t have to put forth much money to work online. In fact, if any websites, such as survey sites, ask for money upfront, it’s usually a scam, and you should avoid it.

Cons:

• Scams are real – Like we said above, there are plenty of scammers out there that will try to get you to pay or steal your information. Always research opportunities to make an online income before giving any of your information or clicking any links.
• It can be lonely – Working your own business or side gig at home can be lonely. You don’t have co-workers to mingle with or anyone to ask questions to since you’re working by yourself.

41 Ways to Make Money Online For Beginners

If you want to know how to earn money online for beginners, we’ve provided the most extensive list to help you get started on online jobs that can help put more money in your pocket.

Rent Out a Room In Your House

If you have a spare room in your house, you can make money online by listing it for rent. This works if you have a spare bedroom available or an entire level of your home that you don’t use, such as a finished basement.

When you list your room, make sure you provide as many details as possible. Hence, renters have full disclosure about what to expect, including using any common areas such as the kitchen or bathroom or any specifics you have about pets or quiet time.

How to get started: You can use Airbnb to list your room for sale. It’s not just for vacationers either. If you have a space that will be available for a few weeks in a row, for example, you can advertise to long-term renters who need a place to stay while away on business. Another alternative to letting people stay with you, is to rent your space for storage with Neighbor.

Freelance Writing

The internet is filled with content, so consider being a freelance writer if you have a way with words. For example, you can make money writing blog posts for small business owners, creating website content for businesses, or you could write articles for popular online websites and news channels.

How to get started: It’s easy to get started as a freelance writer. You can start your own gig on sites like Fiverr, advertise your services on a variety of websites or marketplaces, such as Craigslist, or join Facebook groups meant for freelance writers. You set your rates, turnaround time, and what you will and will not include with your services. If you and a business owner or marketing company match up, you could make good money online.

Test Websites and Apps

Companies want real-time data regarding their websites and apps. They want to hear from ‘real users’ how their websites and apps work, what users think of them, and any issues they might have.

They use the information to improve their website and app to ensure users have a positive experience or get input from users about features they think are missing, or that exist but are unnecessary.

How to get started: To test websites and apps, you should sign up with research companies looking for users, such as Usertesting.com. You provide your email address and complete a profile, and they’ll contact you when they have opportunities.

Participate in Market Research

You can participate in market research and help companies improve their offerings. Most market research opportunities are focus groups. You might find local focus groups in your area, or you can join some online via Zoom.

In a focus group, you and other participants discuss a product or service. You provide your opinion about it, what’s good and bad, and any other thoughts you have. Companies use this information to improve their offerings and increase their profits.

Focus groups can pay $100 or more per session if you’re lucky, especially the in-person sessions, so look around to find the best opportunities near you.

How to get started: Sign up with companies like Focus Groups of America or any focus groups in your area. Make your profile as detailed as possible to increase your chances of getting chosen.

Write a Book

You don’t have to be famous or have a publisher to write a book anymore. Instead, you can use Amazon and self-publish an e-book. If you’re good at marketing but not writing, you can even hire a ghostwriter to write the book for you and then collect the royalties from each sale.

Do your research to see what books sell in the genre or niche you think you can write in and see if there’s a void you can fill with your book to stand apart from the competition.

How to start: Use Amazon’s self-publishing tool to become a published author without the heartache of getting turned down by professional publishers. It takes less than 5 minutes to get started (after you write the book), so anyone can do it.

Become a Virtual Assistant

If you love to be busy and help others, consider being a virtual assistant. You determine what services you’ll offer, but you could offer: bookkeeping services, phone services, managing emails, managing Facebook ads, managing social media platform accounts, and appointments, as a few examples.

How to get started: You can work with a business owner directly if you have connections or work through a service like Fiverr.

Video Game Streaming

Believe it or not, you can make money playing games. Of course, this isn’t a way to make money fast, but if you enjoy playing games and are good at it, you can build up an audience and make money through them.

You’ll need good equipment aside from the gaming platform, though. You’ll need a high-quality camera, great internet connection, good lighting, and a good microphone to stream high-quality videos to your audience.

You can earn money from your paid membership community, advertisement, and brand sponsorship.

How to get started: Twitch is the most popular platform for gamers to make money online, but many also start with a Youtube channel first.

Creating Apps

You could make money online by creating apps if you’re a coding genius. You can be the creator and marketer, be your own boss, or work on online platforms looking for app developers. It’s often easier to join a platform and match up with an online business looking to have an app made for their company. This way, the idea is there for you, and you just need to use your expertise to create what they need.

How to get started: Advertise your services on sites like Fiverr or Upwork to get matched with online or local businesses who need your services to create an app.

Selling Your Old and Unwanted Items 

The items you no longer want may be a treasure to someone else and can be a great way to make extra money. Look around your house and find things you never used or don’t use anymore but are in good condition and sell stuff online.

Don’t assume only brand new items sell. Sometimes people look for antiques or ‘old’ items that have value.

How to get started: You can sell your old and unwanted items on sites like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Craigslist. If the items can be shipped, you might make more money on eBay if you set up an auction-style listing. Just make sure you’re aware of the fees.

Drop-Shipping

Consider drop-shipping if you have a knack for marketing but don’t have the room to store inventory. A drop shipper sells a third parties products online. You create an e-commerce website that allows buyers to purchase products, but you don’t have to do anything with fulfilling orders.

You pay wholesale prices for the products and sell that at whatever markup you feel is right. If you’re good at creating and managing websites and market research, this can be a great way to make money online.

How to get started: To start drop-shipping, you should conduct extensive research. Find an underserved niche, fill the void, and find reputable suppliers for the products you want to sell. Create your website with a site like Shopify, and you’ll be on your way to creating your online business.

Online Tutoring

If you’re a certified teacher or just a teacher at heart, you can make money through online tutoring. An online tutor can work through a company or on their own using tools like Zoom to connect with your students.

You can tutor in just about any subject, but English, math, and music lessons are the most commonly requested areas.

How to get started: If you are a certified teacher, you can sign up with companies like VIPKid to begin teaching online courses. VIPKid students are from abroad and want to learn the English language. If you want to tutor local kids or any other subject on your own, advertise your services with the local library and schools, detailing the subjects you’ll tutor in and state that you can be an online tutor.

Peer to Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer lending is a great way to make money online. We call passive income since you don’t have to do anything except choosing the loans you’ll invest in and contribute the money.

With peer-to-peer lending, you are the lender. You lend to borrowers that might not qualify for bank financing, so they are a little riskier, but they can earn you good interest rates. In addition, most platforms allow you to invest as little as $25 per loan so you can diversify your risk.

How to get started: To start peer-to-peer lending, you invest money with an online platform like LendingPoint or Prosper. The platforms research for you, ranking each borrower by their risk level to help you determine which loans you should invest in to make money online.

Coaching

Today the internet is filled with coaches for just about anything. Think about what areas you are most knowledgeable about and where you could help someone, such as personal finance, running a business, starting their own blog, investing, or fitness/nutrition.

You choose what you’ll coach in, how you’ll deliver your services, and how much you’ll charge. It’s not unusual for coaches to charge as much as $100 – $200 an hour, making it easy to make money online.

How to get started: To be a professional coach, you will need to get certified (if required) and create your own website. You should market it or pay someone to market it for you using Google Adsense or even running Facebook ads.

Create a Course

Online courses, like coaching, are very popular today. Create an online course if you’re good at a certain topic and think you can teach others. Then, you create it one time and can sell it as much as you want.

You could teach an online course for just about any topic, from professional courses to courses that teach art, fitness techniques, or even life coaching topics. Professional courses could include interviewing, investing, finding a job, or changing careers.

How to get started: The easiest way to create and sell an online course is through a course platform such as Udemy or Teachable. Each platform keeps a portion of your sales to cover administrative costs, but you get to use of their technology and can leverage their large audience to market your course.

Rideshare Services

You can make money as a rideshare driver if you don’t mind driving and have a car in decent condition with at least four doors. Rideshare drivers can work when they want, making themselves available on the app to accept current riders.

You’ll have to undergo a background check and provide information about your driver’s license and the car itself to get approved but once approved, you can accept jobs wherever you are, even if you’re away from home.

How to get started: Choose Uber or Lyft to drive for (or you can use both), download the app, and sign up for an account to get started. Once you pass the background check, you can accept jobs, get tipped, and earn pay for driving people around.

Rent Out Your Car

If you have a car you don’t use often or won’t use for a longer period, consider renting it out. It might not sound like a way to make money online, but you market your car that’s available for rent online.

Most of the work involved in this gig is listing your car, determining when it’s available for rent, how much you want for daily rent, and keeping the vehicle clean and maintained so your renters leave you a good review.

How to get started: Turo is the easiest site to rent out your car. You list your car for rent, and they handle the rest, including providing liability insurance and the methods to advertise your vehicle to their audience.

Buy and Sell Domains

If you’re interested in making money in the digital space, buying and selling domains can be a great way to make money online. You won’t get rich quickly, though, as selling a domain can often take months (or longer).

The key is to know which domains will sell for the most money. You need a good idea of how digital marketing works, how keywords can affect a site’s ranking, and the likeliness of people being attracted to the name.

How to get started: You can buy and sell domain names yourself and try to make money, or you can get started on sites like Go Daddy Auction, which are set up to buy and sell domain names for you, leaving you with a lot less work to do.

Blogging

Blogging can be an easy way to make money online if you find a niche that you’re familiar with and that you enjoy. Of course, the sky’s the limit when choosing a blog niche, but we suggest narrowing down your niche as much as possible. For example, if you want to write a blog post on parenting, think about a niche, such as parenting toddlers, parenting teens, or single parenting to narrow down your audience and create quality content.

How to get started: You can start your blog using WordPress, but you’ll also need a domain name. Choose a catchy name that’s short, easy to remember, and includes at least one keyword for your niche.

Become a Freelancer

You can make money online freelancing in just about any industry. Most industries, including graphic design, bookkeeping, SEO, transcription, writing, and data entry, have a spot for freelance work. You can even start a freelance proofreading business and make money proofreading websites, books, and other written content.

The key to freelancing is finding a niche that needs people like you where small business owners can outsource some of their needs while not taking on the overhead of bringing on new employees.

How to get started: When you freelance, marketing and finding business is on your shoulders. Fiverr and Upwork are often great places to start, but word-of-mouth advertising works well too. So network as much as you can, letting people know what you do to make money online.

Print on Demand

Print on demand is a great business model for anyone that’s crafty and loves creating unique products. You can do print on demand in one of two ways:

• You can print the products yourself as they are ordered. In other words, you don’t keep an inventory but have your designs ready to throw on a shirt, hat, bag, or sweatshirt when they are ordered. This works well for people that will sell smaller quantities.
• You can use Printify to do your printing. You upload your designs and market them, and Printify fulfills the orders when they’re placed. This works best for those that will market to larger companies or sell larger quantities of items.

Become a Beta Tester

You can make money online as a beta tester if you don’t mind being the guinea pig for new programs. This means you try new programs and apps before they’re released to the public. Then, you provide the company with feedback on how the program worked and any bugs you came across so they can fix them before releasing them to others.

How to get started: You can sign up to be a beta tester on sites like BetaTesting. You must be at least 18 years old to sign up and can make $10+ per test.

Website Flipping

If you want to make money from home, try website flipping! Website flipping is just like flipping real estate. You buy an undervalued website, fix it and sell it for a higher price.

You’ll need to be tech-savvy and have an understanding of SEO and how to improve websites to make money online doing this. However, if you can find websites with a good amount of authority in Google (older pages with a decent number of viewers), you can turn a decent profit.

How to get started: To flip websites, you’ll need a knack for finding websites for sale at an undervalued price and a place to market your websites for sale. You can usually use the same directories you used to buy a website to sell them.

Write Reviews

If you’ve read a review before buying something, you aren’t alone. Millions of people read reviews before shopping online, so businesses rely on the reviews. Some companies pay for reviews, but not because they want a ‘good review.’ Instead, they pay users in points or cash in exchange for honest reviews.

You can write reviews for a platform, or if you have a blog post about a specific product or service, a company may sponsor you to review their product in the post.

How to get started: If you have a blog already, you can market yourself to companies and see who will sponsor you for product reviews. However, if you’d rather just write reviews when you have just a few minutes free, join platforms like LifePoints and get paid for your reviews.

Affiliate Marketing

You can make money online with affiliate marketing if you have an existing blog, vlog, or social media platform with a large audience. Companies pay influencers like yourself to promote their products. You can do this by showing how you use them, sharing the benefits you experienced from them, or just talking about them.

You usually make a small percentage of the cost of each sale when a user clicks on your link to shop online.

How to get started: You can sign up with an affiliate marketing network like ShopHer Media or market yourself directly to the companies you want to work with.

Video Content Creation

Millions of people love watching videos, so there’s money to be made creating video content. But, just like blog content, you should find an underserved niche that has room for you to make money in.

It’s just as important in video content creation to include keywords and keep your content relevant to what your viewers want. While viewers are watching videos you created, they can click on the links you include, and if they make a purchase, you earn a small commission.

How to get started: Start a YouTube channel for free and market it to increase your viewers. The more viewers you have, the more sponsors you’ll be able to attract to increase the money you make online.

Social Media Influencer

If you have a large social media following on any of the major platforms, companies may pay you to be a social media influencer. This just means you share the excitement about their products. Each company has a different requirement regarding how many followers you must have for them to sponsor you.

You can post written content or videos about the product or service and get paid. Some companies pay in free products, and others pay cash.

How to get started: First, you need a social media platform with plenty of followers. Next, you can market yourself directly to companies or join influencer brand platforms like BrandBacker.

Take Surveys

Did you know you could get paid for taking online surveys? While the money you make won’t pay the bills, survey sites pay users to share their opinions. It’s a great way to use some free time and make money online.

There are hundreds of survey sites available but always do your research to make sure they are legit. You should never have to pay for online surveys, so it’s likely a scam if they’re asking for money.

How to get started: Sign up for some of the larger survey sites like Swagbucks, Opinion Outpost, and Survey Junkie. Take surveys in your free time and watch your earnings add up.

Join Rewards Programs

Another great way to make money online for beginners is to join rewards programs that pay you for shopping online or in-store. You have to shop through the company’s dashboard or activate the offers before you shop in-store. Then, if you satisfy the purchase requirement and submit your receipt, you may earn a percentage of your purchase back.

How to get started: Sign up for the larger rewards programs like Rakuten for online shopping and Ibotta for in-store shopping, especially in grocery stores. There are also cashback programs for getting gas with apps like GetUpSide and for uploading any receipt you have with Fetch Rewards.

Home and Vacation Rentals

If you have a second home or your primary residence is unoccupied while on vacation, you can rent it out on sites like Airbnb. You choose the dates the home is available for rent, decide what’s included, and the rent price. Airbnb markets your home to its audience, and you communicate with potential renters to determine who is a good fit.

You can rent your home out occasionally or regularly and earn money online doing it.

How to get started: List your home for rent on Airbnb to get the most attention. They have an audience of millions of people, and they handle the administrative work. All you have to do is maintain the home, list it, and make it comfortable for your renters.

Youtube

If you love making videos, a great way to make money online for beginners is a YouTube channel. Of course, you’ll have to work hard to build up your audience, but if you’re good at what you do, you can monetize it with Adsense, sponsors, and affiliate links.

Like blogging, it’s a good idea to find a niche that doesn’t have a lot of competition or at least an angle of a subject that isn’t quite covered as much. Of course, to be successful, you should post high-quality videos often, but with effort, you can build yourself a decent audience.

How to get started: It’s completely free to create YouTube videos. As long as you already have the equipment to make them, you just sign up for a YouTube account and use your SEO tactics to get more followers. It takes time to build an audience, though, so don’t expect to be able to monetize your channel right away.

SEO Consultant

If you have good knowledge of SEO and how it works, you can help small businesses rank on Google. Business owners may have a website that no one sees without good SEO knowledge. So rather than hiring a new employee, they can hire you as an SEO consultant.

You determine what services you’ll offer and at what cost. You can even determine the industries you’ll service and the turnaround time.

How to get started: To be an SEO consultant, you’ll need to network. Word-of-mouth often works great, but you should also work to network on social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Facebook, to get the word out.

Invest in High Yield Dividend Stocks and Funds

Investing is a great way to make money online. You have to do very little work, so it’s passive income, and you can earn high dividends in some cases. Of course, it’s best to diversify your portfolio to offset the risk of a total loss, but investing in companies you believe in and that are profitable can be a way to earn more money.

How to get started: You can invest in stocks by downloading a stock app like M1 Finance or Acorns, or you can sign on with a broker and work with them one-on-one to figure out your investment strategy.

Podcasting

Podcasting is much like vlogging, except people listen to you rather than watch videos. Like blogging and vlogging, you should pick a niche and stick with it. This makes it easier to find your target audience and build enough followers.

You can monetize your podcast once you have enough followers. You can use affiliate links, sponsorships, or Adsense to make a little money with your podcast.

How to get started: Before you sign on with any platforms, you must choose your niche and decide your topics and how often you’ll make podcasts. Once you have your podcasts ready, you can select your platform, which may include Spotify or even Apple.

Data Entry

You don’t need any special skills to offer data entry services, so it can be a great way to earn some quick money online for beginners. In addition, you only need a computer and headset to get the data companies need typing out, so it’s relatively easy to start.

How to get started: You can start a data entry gig on sites like Fiverr or market yourself to companies looking for data entry services. If you work freelance, you can set your rates, turnaround times, and what type of work you’ll take on.

Cryptocurrency

Investing in cryptocurrency is another type of passive income. You invest money in digital currency and can buy and sell it as you see fit. Like any investment, there is always a risk of loss. There’s even a risk of fraudulent activity so make sure you choose a reputable broker and follow the suggestions to keep your information and money as safe as possible.

How to get started: To invest in cryptocurrency, you need a crypto investing platform like Coinbase or BlockFi. You sign up for an account, fund it, and then can invest in crypto, buying and selling it on the exchange.

Investing

Investing is a great way to learn how to make money online for beginners. You don’t need a lot of money to do it either. You can invest in ETFs, stocks, bonds, REITs, and even physical real estate.

Work with an online discount broker or investing app to get help creating a diversified portfolio and to keep your costs down. There are even robo-advisor apps that are investing apps that do all the work for you. All you have to do is fund your account and provide your risk tolerance, financial goals, and timelines.

How to get started: You can download any investment app you think is a good fit. Our favorite apps are Acorns and M1 Finance.

Make Deliveries

If you don’t mind driving, you can make money on the fly by making deliveries. You can drive for companies like Instacart and deliver groceries, a food delivery service like UberEats and deliver restaurant food, or even make large deliveries if you have a truck.

How to get started: You can make money online fast by signing up for apps like Instacart and DoorDash. After the signup process, you can start working right away.

Video Editing

Video marketing is a big market right now, but not everyone knows how to edit the videos professionally. Video editing can be a great way to make money online if you are good at it. You can also edit podcasts or audio to perfect it for business owners.

How to get started: Video editing is a unique gig. You can offer your services on sites like Fiverr or Upwork or network yourself directly to companies you know could use your help.

Sell Stock Photos

If you love taking pictures, you can sell them online and make money. You don’t need to have an online store to sell them either. Instead, you can upload them to various stock photo websites, earning a royalty each time someone buys your picture.

How to get started: You’ll need good camera equipment to sell stock photos and the ability to capture images. Once you have your pictures, you can upload them ShutterStock or iStockPhoto and make money.

Start a Printable Shop

If you’re crafty and can create printables, you can start an online business selling them. Even if you can’t create the printables yourself, but you have the ideas, you can hire someone on Fiverr to make the printables for you, and then you can create the products, such as shirts, mugs, or even posters, and sell them.

How to get started: You can start a printable shop on sites like Etsy or even sell your items on Facebook Marketplace. People are always looking for unique products, so you might make decent money if you market yourself well.

Tips for Making Money Online Successfully

Is It Possible to Make Money Online?

It is possible to make money online. If you choose a handful of methods from this list, you could add extra money to your monthly income. None of the ideas are get rich quick schemes, but rather money you can supplement your income with monthly.

What Is the Easiest Thing to Sell Online?

It’s easy to sell anything online if you have the right marketing strategy. Unfortunately, there isn’t one product that sells the best because consumer trends change often. Do your research and determine what products are selling the best at the time and jump on board if you can.

How Can I Make $100 a Day Online?

You can make $100 a day online by diversifying your efforts. Most of the ways to make money online above won’t make you $100 a day alone but combined, you could easily make more money. Concentrate your efforts on the bigger ticket jobs, like focus groups or consulting, and supplement with smaller jobs to make $100 or more a day.

How Can I Make Money Online in 5 Minutes

Want to know how to make fast money online? You can make money online in 5 minutes by taking surveys, playing games, or affiliate marketing. Most jobs, though, take longer than five minutes, and when you do several of the tasks on the list, you can make even more money.

What Online Job Makes the Most Money?

The online jobs that make the most money are those you put in the most effort to make work. Any of these jobs listed can make you a great amount of money, but focus groups, drop shipping, and online tutoring have the highest chance of making you good money.

What’s the Best Online Job From Home?

The best online job from home is the job you enjoy and will do consistently. Since most of these jobs are freelance, you work them on your own time. The more you like the job, the more likely you will do it regularly and make more money.

Wrapping It Up

If you want to know how to make money online for beginners, it’s easy. You just have to figure out what you like to do and decide how it can help you make money. With freelance gigs and many third-party apps that help you make money, today, it’s easier than ever to make money online.