How to Earn Money Online Fast: 10 Things You Can Do Right Now

Learn how to make money online, offline, and at your home

Co-authored by Andrew Lokenauth and Hannah Madden

Last Updated: November 21, 2024 Approved

If you need some extra cash or you’d like some pocket change, the internet is a great place to turn to. While making money online probably won’t make you rich, you can definitely earn a few bucks here and there on various websites and apps. We’ve compiled some of the best ways you can make quick money from your computer, tablet, or phone.

The Fastest Ways to Make Money Online

Take online surveys on Pinecone Research or Survey Junkie.
Get paid to surf the web through Swagbucks.
Sell unused belongings on Facebook Marketplace or Poshmark.
Upload your digital photos to a website like Foap or Shutterstock.
Review music for money on SliceThePie.com
Start freelancing with different companies through Fiverr or Freelancer.

1

Take online surveys.

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Some research companies will pay for your feedback. They'll give you surveys that ask about your experience as a consumer and the common products that you use. You can make up to $50 for only a few hours of your time on average.^{[1]
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- Try Pinecone Research, My Survey, iPoll, or Toluna to start.
- Sign up for multiple survey sites to maximize your survey opportunities. Some sites will only send out 1-2 surveys a month.
- Watch out for scam surveys. If a site ever asks you to put in your credit card information or purchase a prepaid Visa, don’t proceed.

2

Get paid to surf the web.

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Some sites pay you for using their search engine. You accumulate points by clicking on ads, playing games, taking surveys, and simply browsing.^{[2]
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- Some of these sites pay you in gift cards instead of money, so if that’s not what you’re looking for, this might not be the best option for you.
- Try Swagbucks, GiftHulk, and Qmee.

3

Sell your possessions on an online marketplace.

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Sites like these avoid the hassle of holding a garage sale. Check around your home for things like old bicycles, artwork, furniture, or housewares, then put them up for sale to members of your community.^{[3]
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- Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, LetGo, and OfferUp are great sites for this.^{[5]
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- You can either have someone pick the good up from your house, drop it off at their house, or meet up and exchange it in a public place.

4

Make and sell homemade items.

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If you have a special skill, you can sell your goods for money. Sign up for a site like Etsy for a secure way to get paid for your art or crafts. You can sell things like wall hangings, crochet items, knitwear, plushies, and cards.^{[6]
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- Once you have the items you’d like to sell, take photos and upload your listing to the website. Then, people can buy the items from you straight from your profile.
- Etsy takes a small percentage of any profit you make on their site.
- Anyone from around the world can buy your product on Etsy, so make sure you have packing and shipping materials on hand.

5

Sell your used clothes.

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If your clothes or shoes are in good shape, you can make some cash. Sites like Poshmark, ThredUp, LePrix, and The RealReal will help you sell your gently used items for money. Once someone buys your item, you print a shipping label and send it to them in the mail.^{[7]
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- On most of these sites, you can set the prices for each item.
- Most sites like these take a percentage of your profits.

6

Make money off of old or unwanted technology.

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CDs, DVDs, old phones, and old laptops aren’t much use anymore. You can sell your technology online, then ship it to a physical location to make money.^{[8]
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- Decluttr and Swappa are good places to start.
- You might only get a few bucks for CDs and DVDs, but computers and gaming systems can get you a whole lot more.

7

Sell digital photos.

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If you take a lot of pictures, you can sell them to companies to use in ads. Upload your pictures to a website or an app and make up to $5 each, or take specific pictures that the company wants and make up to $100.^{[9]
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- Try Foap, Shutterstock, or iStockPhoto.
- Try uploading a lot of photos for a better chance they’ll get chosen.

8

Make money off your old books.

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Books you don’t need anymore are just collecting dust. You can sell them on an online marketplace to make some of the cash back that you paid for them. The amount you get paid varies greatly on the type, age, and condition of each book.^{[10]
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- This is a great way to get rid of old textbooks that you don’t need anymore.
- Try BookScouter and Amazon.

9

Review music for money.

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You might not make a lot, but it can be a fun way to earn pocket money. Sign up for an account on Slicethepie.com, then write short music reviews to make cash.^{[11]
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- To set up your account, visit https://www.slicethepie.com/.
- Most people make an average of $35 per month on this site.
- You can get a cash bonus if you refer a friend to the site.

10

Sign up to be a freelancer.

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Your skills can make you money on the web. Freelancers provide their services, like editing, proofreading, writing, and tutoring, for one-time contract jobs. You’re technically self-employed, so you can take on as many or as little jobs as you’d like.^{[12]
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- Use Freelancer for different jobs of different niches.
- Try Elance for technical, data entry, and accounting jobs.
- Sign up for Fiverr if you have a unique talent that you can sell for $5.
- Go for Upwork if you’re looking for writing or editing jobs.
- Want more ways to make extra money? Check out what wikiHow users are saying on our Best way to make some extra money? forum.

Join the Discussion...

How can I make money online from home?

WikiCaribouJammer153

Hello, wikiHow. I’m currently trying to move out of my parents’ home but I’m just not making enough money at my normal day job to do that in any realistic time. I’d love to speed the process up by picking up a side hustle, but here’s the problem. My day job is at a restaurant and it’s usually pretty busy. I’m so exhausted by the time that I get home that the idea of going out to do a second job just sounds impossible. I just wouldn’t be able to do it. I was thinking I’d pursue something online, but I don’t really know what the most realistic or viable? What can I do to make money from home? I’m pretty good on a computer, but I just can’t tell what’s legit or not when I search for jobs.

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How can I make money online now?

Andrew Lokenauth
Financial Literacy Expert
Andrew Lokenauth is a Finance Expert who has over 15 years of experience working on Wall St. and in Tech & Start-ups. Andrew helps management teams translate their financials into actionable business decisions. He has held positions at Goldman Sachs, Citi, and JPMorgan Asset Management. He is the founder of Fluent in Finance, a firm that provides resources to help others learn to build wealth, understand the importance of investing, create a healthy budget, strategize debt pay-off, develop a retirement roadmap, and create a personalized investing plan. His insights have been quoted in Forbes, TIME, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Yahoo Finance, BankRate, and U.S. News. Andrew has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree (BBA), Accounting and Finance from Pace University.

Andrew Lokenauth

Financial Literacy Expert

Expert Answer

Try signing up with an overseas tutoring company based in countries like China or India. They often pay anywhere from $18 to $25 an hour for English tutors. It's pretty easy, since they give you the lesson plan. Best of all, the requirements are pretty low—if you're fluent in English, you should get in.

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What do I do if the website asks for my ID or something like that?

Hannah Madden

Community Answer

Be very cautious about sending in your personal information. If you think the website is legit, try looking up reviews to double check that other people have used it before. If you can't find anything or people say it's a scam, don't give them your info.

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Try multiple ways of making money online to increase your chances of making the big bucks.

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Warnings

Watch out for scams! If a website asks for your credit card info or makes you buy a prepaid gift card, it’s probably not legit.

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