Your phone is in your hand for hours every day. What if some of that time was actually paying you back?
Making money online has never been more accessible. You don’t need a degree, a special skill set, or hours of free time. You just need to know where to look. From filling in surveys and completing quick tasks on your smartphone, to selling photos, writing, or spotting derelict properties on your daily walk the opportunities are real, and they add up fast.
Some methods will earn you a few extra pounds a month. Others, if you’re consistent, could generate $1,000s per year. The key is combining several approaches, staying patient, and crucially knowing how to protect the cash you earn.
Before diving into the full list, there are a few things worth knowing upfront.
Quick tips before you start earning online
❌ Don’t store cash in online-earning accounts
These platforms aren’t banks. If one goes under, your balance goes with it. Withdraw your money as soon as you hit the payment threshold.
✅ Do set up a dedicated email address
Create a separate Gmail account for all your online-earning activity. It keeps your inbox clean and makes it easy to spot new paid tasks as soon as they land.
❌ Don’t expect overnight riches
Some platforms require you to build up a balance before you can withdraw. Give up early, and you’ve done the work for free. Consistency and patience are what turn this into real extra income.
✅ Do choose cash over vouchers when you can
Gift cards can expire or become worthless if a retailer goes bust. Cash especially via PayPal is always the safer bet. If you do receive vouchers, spend them quickly.
❌ Don’t forget about tax
For most casual earners, this won’t be an issue.
⚠️ Watch out for scams
Fake ads claiming that public figures endorse get-rich-quick schemes are everywhere on social media. Bitcoin and binary trading promotions that appear under trusted names are scams. Avoid them entirely.
Get paid to click, play, and browse
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is one of the most popular online-earning platforms, and for good reason. You earn “SB” points for completing short tasks filling in polls, watching videos, playing games, or searching the web via their engine instead of Google. Those points then convert into cash via PayPal or gift cards from retailers like Amazon and M&S.
Advertisers pay Swagbucks to run market research and promotions, and the platform passes a portion of that revenue to you. The more active you are, the more you earn.
One dedicated forum user, cally6008, puts it plainly: “Swagbucks is one of several online earning sites I use, but it’s one of my favourites. I know for a fact that you can earn $25 a month using the site, because I do so nearly every month!”
Quick summary
- Best for: Anyone who wants to grab quick cash for fun, low-effort tasks
- Typical earnings: $25/month
- Payment: Cash via PayPal or gift cards (Amazon, M&S, and more)
- Minimum payout: ~$3, depending on reward
Qmee
Qmee pays you to search the web something you’re already doing. Download the browser add-on, and it sits alongside your normal Google, Amazon, or eBay searches. When Qmee results appear and you click one, you earn a small cut, typically between 7p and 15p per click.
It’s a slow burner on its own, but Qmee also offers surveys through its app (available on Google Play and the App Store), paying between 30p and $1.50 each. There’s no minimum payout for PayPal withdrawals, making it easy to cash out whenever you like.
Forum user scarab2019 reports: “I am at $600 total, average $30 a month. Great little earner this is.”
Quick summary
- Best for: Patient users who don’t mind earning a few pence at a time
- Typical earnings: $5–$30/month
- Payment: Cash via PayPal or gift cards (minimum thresholds vary by card)
Get Paid to Play Games
Several apps pay real money just for playing games on your phone. They’re funded by advertising revenue, and they share a portion of that with you. It’s not going to replace a salary, but as a way to turn idle time into something tangible, it works.
MSE Sarah earned $5 in under a day testing this out. For a full list of the top options, check out dedicated “get paid to play” app guides online.
Online Surveys
If you’re willing to share opinions on anything from activewear to current affairs, online surveys can add up to $100s per year without requiring any special knowledge or skills.
The model is straightforward: market research companies need consumer feedback, and they’re willing to pay for it. You complete a survey, you earn a reward.
There are over 20 legitimate survey platforms worth considering, including well-known names like Prolific, YouGov, and Toluna. Some pay cash directly; others offer points redeemable for vouchers. Using several simultaneously will maximise your monthly total.
Get paid for easy tasks on your smartphone
Roamler
Roamler is a free app (available on iPhone and Android) that connects you with businesses that need quick real-world tasks completed counting stock in shops, photographing menu cards, or even buying a drink and snapping how it’s served.
Tasks typically pay $5, though the range is $3–$20, and most take between five and twenty minutes. Payments are made via PayPal or bank transfer, with no minimum required.
Quick summary
- Best for: Smartphone users who can step out for quick jobs
- Typical earnings: $10/month
- Payment: PayPal or bank transfer
Shepper
The Shepper app works with major brands including Samsung, L’Oreal, M&S, and The National Lottery to carry out market research in the field. Tasks include spot-checking billboards, verifying that products are available in stores, and reviewing displays.
Pay ranges from $2.50 to $20 per task. Some reported tasks have included $7 to check a billboard’s condition and $16 for a stock check in M&S. Shepper reports that active users earn an average of $333 per year.
To sign up, download the Shepper app and complete a short application with ID verification.
Quick summary
- Best for: Anyone, including those outside major cities (though urban users will find more tasks)
- Typical earnings: $2.50–$20/task
- Payment: Bank transfer (65p fee for withdrawals under $20)
Field Agent
Field Agent turns market research into a bit of a game. You’re assigned missions in your area checking in-store prices, photographing products, writing short reviews. Tasks pay between $3 and $10, typically taking a few minutes to half an hour.
Real examples from the platform include $5 to buy a soft drink (with the drink cost reimbursed) and $7.50 to visit a car wash. Jobs fill up fast, so check the app regularly.
Quick summary
- Best for: Smartphone owners who can nip out quickly
- Typical earnings: $3–$10/task
- Payment: Bank transfer, no minimum
BeMyEye
BeMyEye pays $3–$10 for quick market research tasks via its mobile app, including browsing shops, photographing product displays, and interviewing store managers. One forum user, Lenore13, earned $42.10 in her first six weeks across several micro-job platforms, with BeMyEye being a highlight.
A note of caution: some users have reported payment delays. BeMyEye has acknowledged technical issues and advises contacting their priority support team at [email protected] if you experience problems. Sign up with that expectation in mind.
Quick summary
- Best for: People located near shops and restaurants
- Typical earnings: $3–$10/task
- Payment: PayPal, minimum $5
Sell your photos online
Got a good eye and a decent camera? Stock photography sites buy images from independent photographers, and some pay well.
- Alamy – Images average around $35 (roughly $26), with photographers keeping 50% of the sale price. Students can receive 100%. Minimum payout is ~$50 via BACS or PayPal.
- Adobe Stock – You receive 33% per sale, with typical payouts between 50p and $2.50. Minimum payout is ~$25 via PayPal.
- Shutterstock – Starts at around 20p per download, with higher rates as your annual sales grow. Minimum payout is ~$25 via PayPal.
A few things to keep in mind before uploading:
- Most platforms only accept high-resolution, quality images
- Commercial use of photos featuring people or private property requires signed “releases”
- Editorial use (news, education) has fewer restrictions but check the platform’s specific rules
- Read each platform’s licensing terms carefully to understand what rights you retain
Earn money spotting empty properties
YouSpotProperty
This one’s surprisingly lucrative for such a simple task. YouSpotProperty is a property development company that purchases empty and derelict homes across England and selected parts of Wales. They need people on the ground to find these properties and they pay handsomely for it.
Here’s how it works: spot an empty or derelict property, take a photo, and submit the address via YouSpotProperty.com. If you’re the first to report it and it meets their criteria (privately owned, not currently for sale, no recent planning applications), you receive a $20 M&S or Amazon voucher, usually within a month.
The bigger reward comes if YouSpotProperty goes on to purchase the property you receive 1% of the purchase price, capped at $10,000.
Real winners include a woman in Reading who earned $2,000 for spotting an empty house, and another who received $4,350 for reporting a rundown property. On Trustpilot, reviewer Kevin Halewood described receiving a $2,750 payment years after his initial spot, with no chasing required. Since launching in 2014, the company has paid out over $1,000,000 to spotters.
A word of caution: Only report properties you’re confident are unoccupied. Photograph from the street to avoid trespassing, and never approach occupied homes.
Quick summary
- Best for: Anyone living or working in England or selected parts of Wales
- Typical earnings: $20 per spot; up to $10,000 if the property is purchased
- Payment: M&S or Amazon voucher (initial reward); bank transfer (purchase bonus)
Get paid to test websites and apps
Utest
For the technically-minded, Utest connects testers with companies that need their websites and apps evaluated. It goes well beyond taking a photo or clicking an ad you’re actively hunting for bugs and usability issues.
Examples of available work include $20/hour to test a mobile provider’s app and $40 per job for testing home internet speeds. Some projects even require specific hardware, like a particular smart TV or car, to test embedded software.
It requires effort. But dedicated testers report earning $100s per month. Start by completing the Utest Academy course, which determines what paid tests you’re eligible for. The better your bug-finding track record, the more jobs you’ll be invited to take.
Quick summary
- Best for: Technically-minded individuals
- Typical earnings: $50+/month
- Payment: PayPal, no minimum
Serious work-from-home options
Lionbridge
Lionbridge is a step up from micro-tasks. It’s a genuine remote-working opportunity that typically requires a degree, with positions focused on improving search engine results for major companies. Work includes checking search results, gathering data, and testing mobile apps.
Hours are flexible usually 10 to 20 per week and you set your own schedule. Forum user Ghost_2005 describes it as “a genuine work-from-home opportunity that pays real money,” while also noting it demands real concentration. It won’t suit everyone, but for those comfortable with focused digital work, it’s one of the more reliable online income sources available.
Scale it up: Methods for long-term online income
The methods above generate steady supplementary income. But if you want to build something more substantial, the following approaches offer real long-term earning potential provided you’re willing to invest the time upfront.
Freelancing
Writing, design, coding, translation, video editing if you have a marketable skill, platforms like Upwork and Fiverr let you offer it to clients worldwide. Build a portfolio, secure your first few reviews, and rates can climb steadily from there.
Blogging and Affiliate Marketing
Build an audience around a topic you know well, then monetise through advertising, sponsored content, or affiliate links earning a commission whenever readers purchase products you recommend. Growth is slow at first, but content compounds over time.
YouTube and Social Media
Create useful or entertaining content consistently enough to grow an audience, and multiple income streams open up: platform ad revenue, brand deals, merchandise, and your own products or courses.
Selling Digital Products
Ebooks, templates, online courses, design assets. Create once, sell indefinitely. Platforms like Gumroad and Etsy handle payments and delivery, so you can focus on creating.
E-commerce and Dropshipping
Launch a store on Shopify or Etsy, either selling your own products or using a dropshipping model where suppliers ship directly to customers. Requires more upfront effort, but the scalability is significant.
Start small, build consistently
There’s no single trick to making money online. The people who see real results treat it like a system combining a few reliable methods, withdrawing cash promptly, and reinvesting their time into approaches that pay best.
Start with what fits your lifestyle. If you commute through city streets, Shepper and Field Agent make sense. If you scroll your phone every evening anyway, Swagbucks and Qmee will quietly accumulate. If you walk the dog past the same neglected house every morning, YouSpotProperty might be worth a five-minute form submission.
Do a handful of these consistently, and $1,000+ a year is a realistic outcome. It won’t happen overnight but it will happen.
