First, read this:
Now read this.
This is a guide for people who desperately/quickly need to make some money irl while they wait for their money/wealth/job ritual results to kick in.
This post only includes sites I have used and can personally vouch for.
If you have any other sites that you use for side-hustles and know that they are safe, legitimate, timely, and not a scam or pyramid scheme, please feel free to post them here:
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with no affiliate links, e.g. “get 10 people to sign up with this personalised link and we’ll give each of you $X for free!”
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should not include “pay-to-play” sites. For example, online poker, lotteries, and gambling might be a way to earn money online, but they also require money upfront, and there is no guarantee of profit.
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If possible and you feel comfortable doing so, provide proof of income with any personal details obscured.
Important notes:
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I am unsure if there are age or geolocation (country) restrictions on signing up for the sites below.
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I am from an English-speaking country and these are all English-based/anglosphere sites.
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You will need to have your own bank account, potentially also linked to a PayPal account, to receive any money you earn.
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Please make sure you are adhering to your country’s tax laws when earning money online.
Rev
Freelance Jobs | Work from Home Transcription & Caption Jobs - Rev
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Active income (do work for money).
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Jobs depend on availability/demand. In other words, you could earn $5 one day and $50 the next depending on what jobs are available.
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Earn money by captioning videos or transcribing audio to written text, in English .
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Requires fluent or native-level English proficiency; you are required to pass a written English MCQ and submit a sample caption or transcription to join the site.
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They may also offer translation services if you know multiple languages but I am not sure of this; check their website.
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Pays weekly in USD to a nominated bank account.
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Reliability: 6.5/10. You can “rank up” by completing work and being graded highly by the QA team, which makes more work available to you as your credibility increases. However there are a lot of people competing for work, especially during North American peak hours. The pay is middling (depending on the client) and you would have to be lucky, work your ass off, AND borderline give yourself RSI to break about ~$250 USD a week.
Proof of past earnings:
Prolific
Prolific | Online participant recruitment for surveys and market research
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Active income (do work for money).
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Jobs depend on availability/demand. In other words, you could earn $5 one day and $50 the next based on what surveys are available.
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Participate in anonymised online research studies; site requires you to fill out demographic information beforehand.
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Cash out on demand in GBP to a PayPal-linked bank account, once you’ve hit the threshold for payment (I believe it’s 20 GBP)
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Studies range in payment/duration from like 0.10 GBP for a two-minute study, to 7 GBP+ for an hour-long study.
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Reliability: 4.5/10. You might go a week and see less than two studies available; other days you might have enough studies to keep you busy for several hours. In the year or two since I’ve started though, I’ve gone from week-long dry spells to generally seeing at least one or two studies a day.
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Remember to fill out your demographics as it makes it easier for the right research questionnaires to reach you.
Proof of past earnings:
Redbubble
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Passive income
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Upload your own digital art designs and choose which media to print to (e.g. mugs, cushions, blankets, stickers, phone cases, t-shirts, notebooks. water flasks, and so on)
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Set your own prices for products
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Redbubble takes a percentage of your profit to manufacture and deliver the product to the customer
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I believe you are paid (in your local currency) to a nominated bank account once you reach $20 worth of sales in local currency (someone correct me if I’m wrong)
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Reliability: 2/10 for me, but purely based on the amount of income it generates. It depends on you. If you can capitalise on current pop culture, continue to churn out new designs, and aggressively market your content then you could probably earn much more. For me, Redbubble is just a “set and forget” thing where I upload something every so often and occasionally get $15 from someone buying a hoodie, but mostly it’s just selling <$0.50 stickers every so often.
Proof of income:
Etsy
Etsy - Shop for handmade, vintage, custom, and unique gifts for everyone
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Passive (set and forget, if selling pre-made digital products such as crochet patterns) OR active (actively making products or producing services, like Tarot readings)
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Sell digital or physical items
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Set your own prices for products
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You are responsible for shipping physical items or for ensuring digital items are delivered
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I believe you are paid (in local currency) to a nominated bank account every month if you hit a $20 sales threshold but I don’t use etsy much so someone correct me if I am wrong.
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Reliability: Again, 2/10 for me, but purely based on the amount of income it generates as I use it for passive income and don’t aggressively market or promote or anything. If you market yourself and build a dedicated user-base, you could earn a lot more.
Proof of income:
Again, if you have any other sites that you use for side-hustles and know that they are safe, legitimate, timely, and not a scam or pyramid scheme, please feel free to post them here
- no affiliate links,
- no “pay-to-play” sites (e.g. online poker, lotteries)
- no pyramid schemes
- If possible provide proof of income *with any personal details obscured*
Final important note:
Ensure you are adhering to your country of residence’s tax laws when you make money and/or report on income made via these websites.
(Originally posted here, tidied up and re-posted here.)