Here are the best ways to make money without working a job or business as well as websites to get started:
1. Data Collection Apps
With apps like the Nielsen Mobile App, you can get paid to let companies gather anonymous info in the background of your phone for market research purposes.
These won't pay a lot.
You might earn $50-$150/year in passive income.
2. Rent Out Space
If you have extra space in the form of a basement, room, cabin, etc., you can rent it out to people on the side with Airbnb and earn around $100-$200+ per night, depending on what kind of space it is.
3. Rent Out Your Vehicle
If you work from home, have multiple vehicles, or have another reason to not drive every day, you can rent out your vehicle to people on sites like Turo.
This basically cuts out car rental companies and allows you to earn some extra money without working.
You might make $50-$200/day depending on your car and where you live.
4. Rent Out Your Gear
If you have a bicycle, skis, a snowboard, or surfboard, you can rent it out to people and make some extra money with Spinlister.
For example, Spinlister suggests bikes be rented for $7/hour.
You can make your own list prices though.
5. Test Websites
Another great way to make money online without working is to test websites and apps on sites like UserTesting.
The going rate for most sites like these is $10 for about 20 minutes of testing, on average.
With UserTesting, you can make up to $120 per test, depending on the type.
You also get paid via PayPal!
6. Real Estate Funds
When you think making money without working, you probably don't think of real estate because it can be a labor intensive, as well as capital-demanding way to make money.
But, there are easier ways to make passive income from real estate.
For example, with Fundrise, you can be invested in all sorts of properties without having to do a lot of research, owning physical assets, or needing $100s of thousands to invest.
Returns will vary but, you will seldom lose money, according to their returns page.
7. Stocks
With stocks, there are a lot of different ways you can go.
Obviously, returns will vary.
If you wanted to maximize potential, you would have to do a lot of research and pick individual stocks, which is a lot of work.
This, of course, is what you're trying to avoid.
So, instead, what you could do is invest in index funds like the S&P 500 or robo-advisors like Acorns.
To invest in the S&P 500 with the least fees, you could set up an account with Vanguard.
On the other hand, if you don't have much money and want to invest spare change without thinking about it, you could use Acorns.
8. GPT Sites/Apps
GPT stand for “Get Paid To”.
These GPT websites and apps allow you to make money from all sorts of things like shopping, playing games, taking surveys, watching videos, etc.
They typically earn some sort of affiliate or ad revenue and share part of it with users to get people to try them.
Personally, my favorite is FeaturePoints, but there are many out there.
9. Peer-to-Peer Lending
With peer-to-peer lending, you have another form of investing.
You and other investors basically put money together to give someone a loan.
Then, you and other lenders earn a % APR on your investment.
It's usually somewhere between 6% and 18% APR with LendingClub.
10. Focus Groups
With Focus Groups, you could easily get paid $100/hour!
The only catch is you're basically taking surveys, so you may not get that many at a time.
Respondent is one of the better sites for finding these.
11. Test Video Games
Another thing you can do is test video games and get paid.
With a site like PlaytestCloud, you can get $9 per 15 minutes to test mobile games on your tablet or smartphone device.
12. Cashback Sites
Cashback sites can help you earn up to around 10% or more from your online purchases without any extra cost to you!
Rakuten is one of the industry leaders in this category.
It is very convenient to use with an app and browser extension that notifies you when cashback is available on a site you visit.
You can also earn up to $30 when you refer someone!
13. Browsers
Some browsers actually pay you for your attention.
Brave is one of the biggest up-and-coming browsers for privacy, ad blocking, and many other features.
They also pay you a percentage of revenue for the ads you see through their very own cryptocurrency called Basic Attention Token.
They also have a feature where you can get paid to see ads on your “new tab” page.
14. Stock Photography
Another way you can make money without working is by uploading photos and videos from your phone to stock photography sites like Foap.
Foap pays you a 50% commission via PayPal when your content sells through the general market.
15. Weight Loss Sites
Believe it or not, you can get paid to lose weight.
The catch is you usually have to put a buy-in into a pool and the winners who reach their fitness goals split the pot at the end.
Losers in the pool who don't meet their fitness goals don't get paid anything.
This creates extra motivation to lose weight but also gives you a way to make extra money (sometimes a few thousand dollars).
HealthyWage is one great option for making money this way!
16. Walking
One way you probably didn't think you could make money from is walking!
It won't pay a lot, but if you use an app like Sweatcoin, you can get paid for your steps.
You can use the earnings in their marketplace to get fitness gear, gift cards, and other things!
17. Dog Sitting
One fun way to make money doing something many people wouldn't refer to as work is dog sitting.
There are a few ways to do this:
- You can go to a client's house and take care of their dogs there.
- The clients can bring their dogs to your home where you take care of them.
You can also do this as like a daycare or while clients are out of town.
Rover is one of the best apps for finding these gigs.
According to Glassdoor, people have averaged around $72/hour doing this at Rover!
18. Be a Friend
Believe it or not, there are people out there that will pay you to be their friend or accomplice for certain events.
RentAFriend is the main company I know of for this.
Here, you can create a profile and people can hire you to just hang out with them while going to weddings, business events, and other things.
19. Sell Your Stuff
One of the more obvious ways you can make money without working is by just selling your stuff that you don't use.
This could be clothing, furniture, jewelry or many other things.
Poshmark is one peer-to-peer website where you can sell your clothing that you no longer use.
20. Cashback Credit Cards
Sometimes making extra money is as easy as just using the best purchasing methods.
With top cashback credit cards you could earn 1-5% back or more just from paying with those as opposed to another option.
NerdWallet always has an updated list here with the latest and greatest cashback credit cards.
21. Surveys
Another way to make extra money without really working is by just answering questions on surveys.
There are many different survey sites out there like Qmee where you can earn a few dollars for every survey you complete.
These won't get your rich by any means, but could be a good method to make extra money while you're waiting in line or just bored.
22. Poop Donation
A weird way to make extra money that you probably wouldn't normally think of is poop donation.
With sites like GoodNature Program, you can get paid up to $1500/month or $75 per donation to go to a local collection site and do your business that you would normally do for free.
Typically, they want healthy individuals who have regular bowel movements and are 18 to 50 years old, are of a normal weight, don’t smoke, and have no history of gastrointestinal disease or alcohol or drug abuse to donate their poop.
You must be available to donate three to four times a week at the collection site. People cannot participate while they’re pregnant, though we encourage them to keep us in mind for the future.