Best Ways to Earn Free Money: Top Legal ways to Get Free Money and ways to make money online

Feeling the pinch of inflation? Wondering how to make some extra cash? You can harness your skills or hobbies. NerdWallet offers 25 genuine ways to earn money from home, online, or by going out. They show you how to start, age needs, and payment speed for each job. Remember, slower jobs might pay better over time. It’s all about finding what works for you. There are plenty of real ways to boost your income part-time, with flexible hours. From participating in surveys, to trying freelance gigs, and even selling things online, we’ll show you how to earn free money and add to your earnings.

Key Takeaways

• 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, showing the urge for extra cash¹
• Focus groups can pay up to $125 an hour¹
• Writing freelance might earn you $100+ hourly²
• AI advancements could contribute $3.7 trillion to the North American economy by 2030²
• Etsy, with 95 million users, made over $13 billion selling goods in 2022²

Pick up Freelance Work Online

The internet has opened a world of opportunities for those seeking extra income. Sites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com offer various jobs. These include writing, programming, design, marketing, data entry, and virtual assistant roles. Freelancers can use these platforms to show their skills, connect with clients, and get paid for their services.²

Upwork and Freelancer.com Opportunities

Getting started on Upwork might take up to 48 hours to approve your profile. It also can be challenging to get your first job.² Yet, after setting up, you can bid on projects and show what you can do. On Upwork, when you finish an hourly contract, you can withdraw funds after 10 days. For fixed-price projects, you can withdraw after five days.² Freelancer.com is another useful site where even 16-year-olds can offer their services.²

Freelance Writing and Content Creation

If words come easy to you, think about offering writing or content services.² A recent report from Freelancer.com shows creative writing job listings grew 58% in the second quarter of 2023.² Writers can charge $100 or more per hour, which is great for making extra money online.²

Getting Paid on Freelance Platforms

How and when you get paid on freelance platforms varies. On Upwork, hourly contract earnings can be withdrawn after 10 days. For other projects, it’s five days.² Fiverr, unlike Upwork, lets you withdraw funds 14 days after finishing a job.² It’s vital to know each platform’s payment rules for a hassle-free experience.

Test Websites and Apps

Want to make money from home? Join UserTesting.com. You’ll share your feedback on websites and apps.³ A quick test gets you in. Then, payments depend on the test’s length and type.³ The approval time and payment size can differ.³⁴ PayPal pays you after 14 days for each test.³

How UserTesting.com Works

To sign up, be 18 or older with a computer and internet. Don’t forget a microphone.³ If you use mobile, have an Android or iOS device too.³ Most tests are in English, German, or French. But, you might find others too.³

Requirements for Website and App Testing

To help test sites, your tech must meet some standards. For Windows, that’s 7, 8, or 10.³ For Mac, you need OS X 10.7 or newer.³ iOS should have 400MB free space at least,³ and Android needs OS 10.0 or more.³ Plus, a microphone is a must for the pre-tests.³ Remember, you handle your own taxes.³

Learn to Use AI Tools

Generative artificial intelligence is getting more popular. According to PwC, the North American economy will grow by $3.7 trillion by 2030 because of AI.⁵ Learning to make money with AI tools is smart now.⁵ You can do different jobs, like adding AI to digital products as a freelancer;⁶ improving your ads and business with AI;⁷ or teaching others how to use AI.⁶ You’ll need a computer, internet, and a microphone. Take your time to learn AI tools. Also, meet the gig site’s requirements where you offer your services. Your pay will vary based on the client and the site’s rules.

Integrating AI as a Freelancer

Freelancers can use AI tools to make their services better and earn more. Use AI writing assistants like ChatGPT and Jasper AI to boost your content.⁷ Or use Copilot for coding tasks to make apps faster and automate coding work.⁷ With AI in your work, you’ll be more efficient and produce better work. This way, you could charge more for your skills.⁷

Using AI for Small Business

Small businesses can use AI tools to make things easier and grow. Google Ads Smart Bidding and Facebook Ads Conversion Optimization help automate ads, making them more effective.⁶⁷ AI-powered CRM like Salesforce Einstein improve customer relationships and sales.⁶ Using these AI tools can make small businesses stand out and find new success.⁷

Teaching Others AI Tools

With AI on the rise, there’s a need for people who can teach AI tools. By showing you’re good with AI and offering training, you can make extra money.⁵ You might create online courses that help people set up and use AI for their needs.⁵ Or, you could do personal coaching to help businesses and freelancers use AI tools in their work.⁵

Best Ways to Earn Free Money

Want to make money from home? Try taking online surveys. But, know you won’t earn a big amount.¹ Usually, survey sites offer gift cards more than cash. Swagbucks and Survey Junkie are top picks for this.

Legitimate Survey Sites

According to Swagbucks, members could make an extra couple hundred or thousand a year from surveys.¹ Nielsen lets you earn up to $60 yearly in points by watching videos.¹

Types of Surveys and Earning Potential

In focus groups, making $125 an hour is possible.¹ For vaccine studies, paid clinical trials can pay $500 to $2,500.¹ If you’re an expert, like a consultant, you could also earn $125 an hour, on average.¹

Requirements for Online Surveys

For online surveys, you’ll usually have to be 18 or older. You also need a computer, internet, and a microphone. Sometimes, there might be a need for special language skills or a mobile device too.

Make Money with Affiliate Marketing

If you’re good at drawing people to your blog, you might make cash with affiliate marketing.⁸ When visitors move to a seller’s site from your blog and purchase something, you earn a fee.⁸ A good number of full-time bloggers earn big through this method. You can increase your blog’s traffic using platforms like Pinterest or social media.

Building an Online Presence

Establishing a strong online presence is important in affiliate marketing. This means creating an attractive website and sharing top-notch posts often. It also includes using social media to interact with people and send them to your affiliate links.

Joining Affiliate Networks

It’s wise to join top affiliate networks like ShareASale and CJ Affiliate. They let you advertise a wide array of products and services. You can choose from different ways to earn money, like Pay per Sale or Cost per Action.⁸ Picking the right programs boosts how much you can make.

Getting Paid through Affiliate Marketing

Some marketers earn a small sum monthly, while others make five figures every year.⁸ How much you earn hinges on many things, like the rate of commissions and sales volume. Your relationship with your readers also matters a lot⁹. For some, this has meant huge jumps in their income over a couple of years, from $20k to $150k.

Sell Handmade Crafts on Etsy

Are you into woodworking, jewelry-making, embroidery, or pottery? You can sell your crafts on Etsy. It’s the top site for people who make and sell home goods, art, and little things. Etsy has 95 million people who buy things often and made over $13 billion in sales in 2022.¹⁰

Setting up an Etsy Shop

Getting your Etsy shop ready is easy. It lets lots of people see and maybe buy your handmade stuff. There are over 7.5 million sellers on Etsy, so you’ve got plenty of potential customers.¹⁰ First, you make an account, pick a shop name, and show off your best items.

Marketing and Finding Customers

It’s important to pick the right market on Etsy for better chances of selling well. Many types of products do well on Etsy, like jewelry, crafts, wedding supplies, clothes, and more.¹⁰ To get your shop noticed and make more sales, try strategies like sending emails, using good keywords, sharing on social media, and working with influencers.¹⁰

Getting Paid on Etsy

When you sell on Etsy, you need to think about costs like making the products, listing them, and shipping. It’s smart to carefully track these costs and use Etsy’s tools to sell more.¹⁰ This way, you can make your handmade business do really well online.

Start a Blog and Monetize It

If writing is your passion and you have great things to share, think about starting a blog. A blog is your own space online to connect with readers through regular posts. First, you need to create a blog website. You can build it with help from others or use easy-to-handle platforms like SquareSpace to do it yourself.¹¹

Writing Quality Content

Monetizing your blog means putting out top-notch content. This can be articles, photos, videos, charts, or podcasts, as long as it helps your readers. Getting free traffic from search engines like Google is key to earning from your blog. Knowing what people look for online is a must.¹¹ Making sure your blog works well on WordPress platforms helps a lot too.¹¹

Monetization Methods for Blogs

After you’ve made your blog and gathered a loyal audience, there are many ways to make money. Income can start at $2,400 a year and reach hundreds of thousands for the pros.¹² To make $200 a month, you’d need 20 people buying a $10 course.¹² Even with a small blog, you can make money through affiliate programs, earning big for each successful sale.¹² After reaching 100 visitors a month, consider selling books or courses. Joining up with brands for ads becomes doable with a large enough following.¹² Many bloggers also use Google AdSense for income, but you’ll need lots of traffic to make it big.¹²

It doesn’t matter if you’re new or experienced, blogging is a great way to do what you love and make money. By putting out great content, making your blog search-friendly, and exploring different money-making options, you can build a successful blog.

Earn Money Playing Online Games

If you ever got in trouble for playing games instead of homework, that might change. Now, game makers pay you to play, especially to check out new games. You can use sites like Swagbucks to make cash.¹³ They pay you through Paypal, by check, or with gift cards. Even though the payments might start small, they grow over time.¹³

About eight percent of people who use smartphones like to play online casino games.¹³ Swagbucks has given out over $650 million in real money and gifts since 2014.¹³ Some professional game players make a lot of money, up to $15,000 per hour in stories.¹³

In eSports, $156 million was up for grabs across 3,500 events last year. The top player made $4.2 million.¹³ A couple who played online poker for a while now makes $3,500 monthly on average.¹³ With Skillz, top players have won big, like someone who turned $25 into $120 in a week. Another won over $350,000.¹³

Over a million people have won extra money through online scratch-offs and contests.¹³ Slotmania is a favorite, with over 100 million users and real cash prizes.¹³

Freecash lets you earn from $10 to over $100 by playing new games and reaching levels.¹⁴ Cash Giraffe lets you cash out from $0.20, which is low for pay-to-play games.¹⁴ Bingo Cash pays from $20 to $50 or more for playing bingo.¹⁴

Kashkick gives out rewards from $5 to $10 or more for completing offers.¹⁴ Solitaire Cash players can win a few dollars up to $55 by playing against others.¹⁴ Rewarded Play lets you cash out at $5 while playing various games.¹⁴

A mother made up to $4000 a month playing on Outschool, which grew into a profitable business.¹⁵ KashKick pays up to $150 for testing new games and is well-liked on Google Play.¹⁵ Bingo Cash, with over 5 million downloads, lets you win real prizes.¹⁵

Solitaire Cash has great reviews on the App Store, with a 4.6-star rating.¹⁵ Mistplay rewards users with gift cards and has over 10 million downloads.¹⁵ KashKick also offers $90-120 for playing specific games and hitting milestones.¹⁵

Cash Giraffe rewards players for achievements and lets them cash out with gift cards or PayPal.¹⁵ Game testers can earn between $30,000 to $85,000 yearly.¹⁵ Video game coaches can charge $20-200 per hour. With group classes, they can earn more.¹⁵

GameChampions has given over $10 million in prizes and offers a $5 bonus for signing up.¹⁵ Video game journalists make between $26,000 to $100,000 a year.¹⁵ Video game YouTube channels earn $3 to $5 for every 1,000 views.¹⁵

Twitch streamers make between six to seven figures a year with subscriptions and donations.¹⁵ Games like Axie Infinity let players buy, sell, and level up in-game characters that can go up in value.¹⁵

Complete Online Surveys for Cash

If you want to get rich, online surveys aren’t the path. Yet, places like InboxDollars let you earn extra. You can cover daily expenses or get gift cards for stores.

On InboxDollars, a survey might take 3 to 25 minutes, paying $0.50 to $5. Some pay as much as $10 to $20 for specific groups. These earnings can quickly build up.¹⁶¹⁷

Try Swagbucks, InboxDollars, and MyPoints for PayPal cash or gift cards.¹⁶ Swagbucks’ surveys can pay over $20. Most sites offer surveys between $0.25 and $5.00.

You may earn 40 to 200 points per survey, with 100 points equaling $1. Longer or specific audience surveys pay more.¹⁶ You could make between $50 and $250 a month this way¹⁶.

When you join, you might get a bonus of $2 to $5.¹⁶ Top survey sites offer various ways to cash out. This includes gift cards, Mastercard, or PayPal options.¹⁶

Qualifying for high-paying surveys may need being bilingual or having certain pets. Swagbucks provides fast payouts, usually within 1-2 business days¹⁶.

Online surveys won’t get you rich, but they offer a solid side income. Spend a little time, and you can earn from $5 to $250 each month¹⁶¹⁷.

It’s a simple way anyone can use. So, if you want to make some extra cash, think about trying out completing online surveys for cash.

Test and Review Mobile Apps

One great way to make money from home is through UserTesting.com. You share your views on how websites and apps perform. After a quick acceptance test, you can start. The pay changes for each test and you get paid 14 days after through PayPal.³

Popular App Testing Platforms

For this job, you need to be 18 with a computer, net, and mic. Mobile app testers require an Android or iOS device. English, German, or French is needed for most tests.³

Earning Potential for App Testing

Join UserTesting.com to test and review mobile apps for cash. The amount you earn varies with each test’s complexity. Your true opinions on the app’s usability can boost your earnings.³

So, testing and reviewing mobile apps is a solid home money-making choice. If you meet the tech and language requirements, it’s easy to start making extra cash with this job.³⁴

Become a Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant works remotely, providing an array of administrative services to clients. They must be organized, reliable, and familiar with technology. Due to different client needs and your own skills, the job tasks can vary greatly.¹⁸

Virtual Assistant Duties

As a virtual assistant, you could do many things. This includes answering emails, setting up meetings, typing up documents, arranging travel, and managing financial records.¹⁹ Having experience in office jobs can help, but it’s not a must.¹⁹

Finding Virtual Assistant Jobs

To find work, use job sites like Belay, Upwork, and Zirtual.¹⁹ To get started, meet the qualifications and connect with others in the field. This can be done through virtual assistant communities or platforms like LinkedIn.¹⁹

¹⁹ Virtual assistants are very popular jobs on FlexJobs, a site for remote and flexible work. They typically earn between $10 and $30 an hour. The average starting pay is $18.68 an hour, more than the federal minimum wage.¹⁹ As freelancers, they can choose their own rates.¹⁹

¹⁹ You can find virtual assistant positions on sites like Indeed, FlexJobs, and Remote.co. Or, you can contact companies directly. Duties include administrative work, managing schedules, responding to emails and calls, booking trips, and more.¹⁹ Virtual assistants can also help with event planning, handle finances, update websites, and run social media accounts.

Conclusion

There are lots of legit ways to boost your income with little effort. You can join focus groups or be a research subject. Also, doing gig work or selling things online is worthwhile.

You could even try freelancing, web testing, or completing online surveys. These opportunities can help you make extra cash. It’s about finding what works for you based on your skills and time.

With creativity and effort, you can start earning on the side. Then, use online platforms to increase your income. This can significantly help with your financial goals.

Options to earn money like freelancing or app testing are wide-ranging. The top methods for making money online provide a way to work from any place. They also allow you to grow your income and vary your sources of income.

By employing the right approaches and staying committed, you can boost your main income. This way, you’re better positioned to manage your finances better.²¹

Source Links

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