If you’d like to earn some extra cash but don’t have a car or a reliable way to get to work, you aren’t out of luck.
You can earn money online, like thousands of other teenagers in the United States.
Most people aren’t aware that there are tons of ways for teenagers to earn extra money online around their school and after-school commitments.
While some of the online income options aren’t as lucrative as in-person ones, the flexibility makes up for it for most teenagers.
If you’re interested in learning more about earning money online as a teenager, keep reading.
This article will walk you through your options, which include tutoring, reviewing music, taking surveys, selling stuff online, and selling services online.
This article will also point out some companies in each category that work with teenagers.
By the end of this article, you’ll be ready to sign up and start earning, so let’s get started.
The Best Online Jobs for Teens (Overview)
We’ve included an overview of our top picks below. For detailed information on each pick, scroll down.
- Tutoring
- SolutionInn
- Samespeak
- Music Xray
- Slicethepie
- Taking Surveys
- Survey Junkie
- Swagbucks
- Harris Poll
- InstaGC
- eBay
- Poshmark
- Etsy
- Upwork
- HubPages
- Helium
- Fiverr
- Humanatic
Tutoring
While there are lots of online tutoring jobs and English-teaching platforms online, not all of them will accept applicants without a college degree, which the average teenager doesn’t have.
These platforms happily accept teenage applicants who are still in high school.
SolutionInn
Signing up as a tutor with SolutionInn is a quick five-minute process and based on your profile, students will choose you to help with their question or issue.
The most popular topics students need help with are accounting, math, statistics, physics, chemistry, literature, writing, and psychology.
Samespeak
If you are at least 16 years old and a native English speaker, you can tutor students in English with Samespeak.
Lessons are 30 minutes long and any insights or structure necessary will be provided by the Samespeak.
You can expect to earn $10 per conversation and will be paid via PayPal on Friday as long as you have earned $100 since your last payment.
Other Online English Teaching Platforms
To level up your tutoring or teaching game, we also suggest checking out the following platforms:
- VIPKid: a website that provides online English language classes to students in China
- Gogokid: an online platform that connects children in China who are eager to learn with educated and fluent English teachers
- SayABC: an interactive platform that helps young Chinese-speaking students learn English
- Verbling: an online language-learning platform that connects learners with language teachers for private sessions through live video chat
Reviewing Music
Working as a music reviewer is a perfect way for teenagers to earn some extra money online.
After all, teens are the audience everyone is trying to appeal to.
Music Xray
To earn money with Music Xray, you’ll be expected to listen to a song and provide detailed constructed feedback about it.
You’ll be paid somewhere between $0.05 and $0.20 per song critique.
The more songs you listen to, the more you’ll get paid.
To excel in this position, you should be able to put into words why you offered the feedback you did, and how to improve.
It’s a good gig if you can do those two things.
Slicethepie
Slicethepie is happy to work with teenagers and pays between $0.05 and $0.20 per song critique.
You’ll be paid for your work twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, via PayPal, as long as you’ve earned at least $10 since the last payout.
A great benefit of taking a gig at Slicethepie is that you’ll oftentimes get access to products and clips before their official release dates.
You could very well end up seeing things that nobody else has seen or heard before, which is pretty cool if you think about it.
Other Online Review Platforms To Check Out
You can make money listening to music or watching clips, but did you know that you can also make money product testing?
It’s similar to the review gigs above, but oftentimes focuses in more detail.
Product testing is when companies or third parties send you products to use, test, and provide feedback on through some form of survey.
Once the process is completed, you’ll receive compensation for your efforts.
- uTest: a platform that connects freelance quality assurance (QA) professionals to software testing gigs
- Userfeel: a remote usability testing company that enables people like you to make money testing websites
- Userlytics: a digital usability testing platform that provides companies with critical customer insights and feedback
Taking Surveys
While there are dozens of sites that allow you to take surveys for money, not all of them are willing to work with people under the age of 20.
The survey companies listed below are more than happy to listen to the opinions of teenagers as they are a very powerful and lucrative demographic.
Take advantage of that and get paid for telling people what you think.
Survey Junkie
If you want to take short, straightforward surveys, Survey Junkie is a good option.
The Survey Junkie payment model is unique in the fact that the company rewards survey takers with points instead of cash.
Each online survey takes between 5 and 20 minutes and pays between 100 and 200 points.
Each point is worth one penny, and you can cash out your points once you’ve hit the $10 (1,000 point) threshold.
You can choose to convert your money into PayPal cash or into gift cards once you reach a certain earnings threshold.
Swagbucks
You can earn extra cash online with Swagbucks by choosing to complete surveys, watch videos, play video games, use Swagbucks as a search engine, and take part in polls.
I have heard people say that using Swagbucks to earn money is sometimes similar to making money on Google with Lionbridge jobs.
Each activity will earn you Swagbucks points which you can cash out for Visa gift cards or store gift cards like Walmart and Target.
The company also offers bonus Swagbucks for meeting daily and monthly Swagbucks-earning goals, so your online earnings can add up quickly.
Harris Poll
Unlike other online survey sites, Harris Poll doesn’t require you to check their platform to see what’s available.
Instead, they’ll email you about relevant survey panels and will reward you even if you don’t end up qualifying to complete the survey.
You’ll earn HiPoints for each survey, which can be cashed out for interesting rewards like magazine subscriptions and airlines miles, but not for cash or gift cards.
This model is pretty cool, but many gig workers want to be able to easily cash out instead of having to redeem their earnings for something like a magazine subscription.
If you’re into that, check them out.
But if you’re looking for a more direct type of payout, we’d suggest the other survey sites.
InstaGC
Like Swagbucks, InstaGC allows you to earn money online if you complete surveys, test mobile apps, watch videos, and shop.
Each task will earn you points and you can exchange those points at a rate of one penny per point for gift cards for stores like Walmart or Amazon or for PayPal cash.
Other Online Survey Sites
- SurveyClub: a platform that helps people like you find paid survey opportunities all around the world
- Opinion Outpost: a free online platform that connects businesses to consumers that are willing to share their opinions with the company about its products
- Vindale Research: a market research company that pays you to take surveys and give your opinion
- GlobalTestMarket: users can make actual money and earn points to trade in for gift cards to major retailers through the LifePoints system
- SendEarnings: one of many websites that are giving everyday users the opportunity to make money by completing surveys, watching videos, reading emails, and more.
Selling Stuff Online
If you like making things, using the internet to sell those objects is a great way to make good money online.
You can also earn extra cash by selling off the things you’re no longer using like books, clothing, and even unique items like baseball cards or Pokemon cards.
eBay
eBay selling unlocks the opportunity to make money with practically anything, from books to clothes to action figures to jewelry to well, the list is endless.
You’ll need access to an adult’s account to sell your items, which will involve taking photos of your stuff, creating a listing, and choosing either a fixed price or an auction format.
Once your item sells, you’ll be able to access your money by transferring it to PayPal.
Poshmark
Poshmark is a marketplace for selling clothing, both new and second hand.
Whether you’re looking to get rid of old shirts, pants, shoes, or accessories, you can find willing buyers on this marketplace.
It’s very easy to use and very user-friendly.
You’ll take photos of your items in the Poshmark mobile app and add relevant details and a price.
You can choose to accept or decline offers and will be able to transfer earnings to your PayPal account once the buyer has confirmed receipt of the item.
Etsy
Etsy is the biggest marketplace for handmade goods online.
Whether you make jewelry, T-shirts, mugs, or anything really, Etsy is where you should be selling your stuff.
If you’re under 18, you’ll need parental consent to open a store.
Once the item ships, you’ll be paid via PayPal.
Other Ways to Sell Online
While the platforms above are the “go-to” places for gig workers to sell things online, there are a few other options to consider.
- Sell on Craigslist: Craigslist is a great place to sell things online. Create an account, make a classified ad for your item, and watch the inquiries come in
- Sell on Facebook Marketplace: Facebook Marketplace is like Craigslist, but tied to a Facebook account. In theory, it is slightly more reputable because you can usually see who you’re buying from
Selling Services Online
Lots of businesses that need part-time help turn to online freelance websites where they can connect with freelancers who are selling their services online.
These businesses don’t care where you’re located or whether you’re in high school, as long as the work you do is excellent.
Upwork
Upwork has a range of work-at-home jobs that are great options for teenagers.
There is an abundance of social media, graphic design, writing, and tech part-time jobs on Upwork.
You’ll need to apply to each job you’re interested in and will be paid either hourly or based on deliverables.
Once the client approves your invoice, the money is processed by Upwork and transferred to your bank or PayPal account
HubPages
If you’re under 18, you’ll need parental consent in order to work for HubPages as they are a revenue sharing opportunity.
You’ll write articles about your passions and get paid a percentage of the Adsense revenue.
If you want to write but only about certain topics, HubPages could be a good fit for you.
Helium
As a 13-year-old or older, you can get paid to write or fact-check articles for Helium.
What you earn for each project will need to be negotiated with the project manager, but they are known to pay fairly.
Your account will be credited as soon as the work is accepted and your online earnings will be transferred to your PayPal account every two weeks, with no minimum earning level required.
Fiverr
Fiverr is a marketplace, not a job board, so you’ll create a menu of services you can provide for $5 or up.
At least one item on your Fiverr services menu must be just $5.
A graphic design logo for social media is a popular $5 option.
Potential clients browse the menus and choose what they’d like to order.
Once the order is placed, you provide the services and will be paid through PayPal upon order acceptance by the client.
Humanatic
Offering flexible hours, weekly payouts to your PayPal account, and the ability to work at home, Humanatic is a popular way for both adults and teenagers to earn money by reviewing calls in their free time.
You will need to be able to pay attention for the duration of the call and take notes on how the call went.
Ways to Freelance
Like we mentioned above, there are many different platforms that allow gig workers to find freelance work.
If you looking for online jobs for teens, check out a few resources to help you get started in the world of freelancing.
- A Complete Guide to Freelancing in the Gig Economy
- How Can I Start Freelance With No Experience?
- Everything You Need to Know to Find Freelance Editing Jobs
- 5 Steps to Launch Your Freelance Marketing Career
- Your Step-By-Step Guide to Finding Freelance Writing Jobs
Earning Good Money Online as a Teenager
Some of the best online jobs for teens are also popular with adults, because they’re fairly easy, very flexible, and don’t require difficult-to-acquire skills or education.
These jobs simply take a bit of legwork to find and the effort to do the job, but they’re a great way to earn extra money online.
There are lots of options for teenagers who would like to earn extra cash online, especially for teenagers who are 18- or 19-year-olds.
But if you’re under 18, you can still earn money online, especially if your parents are willing to help you set up an account or to give parental consent.
And most parents will be happy to help you earn your own spending money.
Pick an option from the list above that appeals to you and give it a try.
Some gigs will earn you more money than others, but they’re all great starting places for teenagers.