Are you wondering how to make money online as a teen? Many older generations had a job in high school.
However, thanks to the internet, babysitting, working at your local grocery store or restaurant, and cutting grass are no longer your only options.
You can now earn an income by starting a career in freelancing, creating an online business, taking up a side hustle, or even becoming a YouTuber.
In this post, we have created a list of the 20 best online jobs for teens that are looking for ways to make money without leaving the comfort of their home.
The Best Online Jobs for Teens
1. Take Surveys
If you’re a teenager and similar to the rest, you probably spend several hours on the internet, on your phone or a computer. Why not spend that time making money?
If you are 13 years of age or older, there are many survey sites that will pay you for your opinion and feedback.
By completing these surveys, you will be helping companies make their products and services better.
Here are a few of the best survey sites worth trying:
Swagbucks
Swagbucks (ages 13+) is the most popular and legitimate survey platform and is a great place to start.
Not only can you make money by taking surveys, you can also make money by playing games, watching videos, referring friends, and much more.
You will also receive a $10 welcome bonus just for signing up!
InboxDollars
Similar to Swagbucks, InboxDollars (ages 18+) is a rewards site that pays members to complete surveys, play games, watch videos, read emails, surf the internet, and even shop online.
You can cash out your earnings by requesting a payment via PayPal, check, or direct bank deposit.
Survey Junkie
My third favorite, Survey Junkie (ages 16+), is an online community and service platform that provides consumer research companies with feedback, which is used to improve products and services.
After earning the minimum cash out threshold of $10, you can request a payment via PayPal.
2. Watch Video Ads
Can you binge watch videos for hours at a time? In addition to taking surveys, you can also get paid for watching and giving your opinion on ads.
Here are the best platforms that will pay you to watch ads:
MyPoints
MyPoints is another great platform where you can make money by completing surveys, shopping, and of coarse, watching ads.
You will also receive a $10 welcome bonus just for signing up and completing a minimum of 5 surveys.
iRazoo
With over 50 channels of content, iRazoo has a wide variety of video ads you can get paid to watch.
You can also make money by sharing your opinion on the newest movie trailers, reading emails, and completing various daily goals.
iRazoo is available to people in both the United States and Canada.
3. Review Music
Do you love listening to music and often find yourself leaving comments on YouTube music videos?
If you do, there are several sites that will pay you to review songs and even review clothes and much more.
By doing so, you will help artists and record labels perfect their products before their release date.
Here are the two best sites to review music and much more:
MusicXRay
Do you often find yourself discovering new bands and artists? If so, MusicXRay will be right up your alley.
Their platform is an online service that provides consumer feedback to aspiring bands.
After signing up, you will start being sent new music to your inbox. Once you listen to the music, you will rate whether or not you like the song. Regardless of your rating, MusicXRay will pay you a few cents for every song you rate.
Slice The Pie
Similar to MusicXRay, Slice The Pie will also pay you to listen and rate music. In addition, they will also pay you to rate fashion items and much more.
Each review, which is required to be at least 60 words long, pays a few cents. However, the more detailed your review, the more you will earn.
Once you earn $10 worth of points, you can request a payment via PayPal.
4. Test Websites
Companies need to know about common problems users may experience on their website.
Considering this, these companies are willing to pay people to test their websites and even mobile apps before and after they go live.
Here are a couple of the best platforms that will pay you to test websites:
UserTesting
If you’re interested in getting paid to test websites, UserTesting is a great place to start. You will be paid by review so it’s very flexible and you can create your own schedule.
However, platforms that pay people to test websites usually have an age requirement of 17 or 18 years of age.
Userlytics
Userlytics is another great platform to get paid to test websites and even mobile apps.
Members will be paid $10 per website/app tested. However, you will be required to make a recording of yourself as you test the website or app.
The opportunity to test a website or app is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so it’s important you are proactive in being selected first.
5. Sell Stuff Online
Selling stuff you already have lying around your house that you no longer use is one of the quickest ways to make money online as a teen.
It’s also the true testament of the entrepreneurial spirit.
What you can sell is nearly endless – shoes, clothing, gym equipment, books, furniture, electronics, handmade items, and anything else you can think of.
There are many online marketplaces that have replaced yard sales:
- Poshmark: Shoes and clothing
- Decluttr: Electronics and physical books
- Etsy: Arts and crafts
- eBay: Auction items
- Facebook Marketplace: Gym equipment and furniture
- cardcash.com: Unused gift cards
- Amazon: Just about anything else
If you find this to be a great way to make money online as a teen, you may even want to consider buying products and flipping them to make a profit.
6. Sell Your Designs
Are you a young person with a passion for graphic design or have a creative flair?
Cafepress – an online retailer which claims to be the “world’s best gift shop,” allows you to design and sell your own items.
You can sell almost anything such as stickers and signs, t-shirts and other clothing, home and décor, stationary, drinkware, and much more.
anyone as young as 13 can sell their designs on Cafepress. However, if you’re 13 to 18, you will be required to have parental supervision.
You can also sell your designs on Etsy and Redbubble.
7. Become an Online Tutor
If you’re a good student and enjoy helping your peers, being a tutor is one of the best jobs you can get and you no longer have to meet strangers at your local library.
If you’re 15 years of age or older, you can find an online tutoring gig teaching whichever academic subject you have deep knowledge in, such as English, mathematics, science, or any other core subject.
A few of the most popular online tutoring sites are:
8. Do Data Entry Work
Doing data entry work won’t be as exciting as other options on our list. However, if your 18 years of age or older you can find very flexible data entry jobs that pay quite well.
Doing data entry work is also easy and super simple. All it requires is the ability to type quickly and accurately, a computer or laptop to work on, and an internet connection.
Data entry work is a great summer job for any young college student that wants to make some extra money.
Here is a list of the best data entry jobs if this is something you’re interested in.
9. Become a Call Reviewer
Have you ever noticed when your on a call with a company you always hear a customer service bot say “your call is being recorded for quality purposes?”
Similar to doing data entry work, being a call reviewer won’t be the most exciting online job you can get, but it pays quite well.
With Humanatic, you can get paid to review calls for quality purposes. Simply put, you will listen to the call and then answer questions about it. Doing so will help companies improve their customer service.
As a member of the Humanatic team, you can choose your hours, and when you make a minimum of $10, you can request a payment via PayPal.
10. Customer Service Representative
If you’re 16 years of age or older, you can make a regular income by becoming a customer service representative.
There are several companies that offer work-from-home customer service jobs, but U-Haul is one of the few that hire people under the age of 18.
As a customer service rep for U-Haul, you will take calls from customers to answer their questions, and also to make reservations for trucks and storage facilities.
To work as a customer service rep, all you will need is a computer or laptop, a high quality USB headset, and high-speed internet access.
You can check out U-Haul’s job board here.
11. Become a Virtual Assistant
If you’re very well-rounded when it comes to technology, websites, and social media, becoming a virtual assistant is a great job opportunity.
As a virtual assistant you will complete a wide variety of tasks – designing publications, creating presentations, scheduling appointments, posting social media content, and much more.
Not only will you be doing these tasks from home, working as a VA also offers a very flexible schedule for the hours you will work.
As a teen, you can find work as a VA on Fiverr (ages 13+), Indeed (ages 16+), and Upwork (ages 18+).
12. Proofread/Edit People’s Work
Are you one to get As on your English papers and have friends that ask you to proofread their essays? If you’re amazing at spotting grammatical errors, a proofreading or editing gig is the job for you.
Not only will you make money for each job you do, you will also be slowly building work experience that you can add to your resume.
Upwork, Textmaster, and Amazon Mturk, are all great places to land a beginner proofreading or editing job.
13. Write Content for Blogs
If you enjoy writing about pretty much anything, you should consider becoming a freelance writer. There are countless websites that offer writing jobs to young people, including high schoolers, to help them jump start their career as a freelance writer.
For example, Hubpages.com is a wonder website that accepts teenagers if they have the consent of a parent or legal guardian. Using this website is one of the best ways to build your work experience as a freelance writer.
You can also find work as a freelance writer with platforms such as Helium, FlexJobs, UpWork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.
14. Manage Social Media Accounts
Are you savvy with social media? Can you manage a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram account? Can you gain a following and get posts noticed?
If so, consider selling your services to small businesses and organizations.
Here is a complete guide to becoming a social media manager.
15. Design Websites
Do you know how to design professional-looking websites? Almost all big companies have one. However, many small businesses do not, simply because they don’t know how to make one.
If you know how to design websites with WordPress, SquareSpace, or even Blogger, you can make good money setting up websites for small business owners.
Keep in mind, like any entrepreneur, when you first start out, you won’t make a lot. However, once you have created a few websites and have a good portfolio of your work, you can start increasing how much you charge.
16. Become a Brand Ambassador
To bring new customers to their website, companies are always looking for brand ambassadors.
A brand ambassador is a professional who helps increase awareness of a specific brand by representing the company and its products or services.
These ambassadors are paid a commission for every new person that visits the companies website and signs up for a subscription or buys their product or service.
To become a brand ambassador, discover brands you would like to represent, apply to become an ambassador, create online influence, get your audience involved, and then convert them into paying customers of the companies you represent.
Here is a complete guide to becoming a brand ambassador.
17. Create an App
Do you know how to code and love doing it? There are currently millions of apps available to both iOS and Android users.
If you’re fluent in technology, you might be able to earn some extra money by creating and developing one of your own.
With so much competition, coming up with a new app idea can be close to impossible, so you should consider improving upon one that already exists.
You might only make a fraction of a penny for each download, but it will add up if you get a lot.
18. Start a Blog
Do you have writing skills and enjoy doing it? If so, starting a blog can be a great way of making money online as a teen.
With a blog, you can literally write about anything. There are blogs about sports, cooking, health and wellness, video games, traveling, and pretty much anything else you can think of.
To decide which topic your blog will be about, simply ask yourself, “What am I interested in and passionate about?”
There are several ways to make money with a blog. You can earn an income with display ads, affiliates, and even your own products.
Blogging won’t make you money right away, but it can plant a seed for a steady stream of income down the road.
19. Become a YouTuber
If you have a passion for creating videos, being a YouTuber can be a lot of fun. All you need is a camera, internet connection, and creativity and you can start making content.
As a teenage YouTuber, you can share anything from school projects to beauty hacks. For example, the YouTube channel Charli’s Crafty Kitchen, features a young kid who make a lot of money from her baking and cooking videos.
Similar to making money from a blog, it will take time to build up your audience before you can start receiving a nice monthly paycheck from ad revenue and other streams of YouTube income.
20. Start a Podcast
There are over 145 million Americans that listen to podcasts. If you don’t like being on-camera, but have a gift of talking at length and in-depth, you can make money by starting a podcast.
One of the many ways you can earn money is by attracting sponsors and being paid to run their ads. You can also sell your own product or even someone else’s.
Although you won’t make money overnight, there is the potential that it will provide you a full-time income down the road.
To determine what you should talk about on your podcast, just consider your interests that will also be interesting to other teens: video games, sports, outdoor activities, how you’re preparing for college, etc.
Things to Keep in Mind:
1. Practice Internet Safety
If you’re making money online as a teen, it’s very important that you practice internet safety. When applying for an online job, you will need to provide your name and other personal information.
However, you need to know when and where it’s appropriate to provide it.
Here are a few ways to practice internet safety making money online as a teen:
- Set up a new email account: Only use this email address for business-related activities and nothing else. Not only will this prevent those with bad intentions from contacting you via your personal email, it will also help you be organized.
- Only share information when necessary: Don’t give out any personal information unless absolutely necessary. For example, you don’t need to give out your phone number, you can make calls through Google Voice or other services instead.
- Install malware detection software: In addition to installing malware detection software on your computer, never open attachments sent to you buy another person until you scan them. To take it a step further, you can request they link the attachments to a Google Doc instead of emailing them to you.
- ALWAYS THINK TWICE BEFORE GIVING OUT YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND ALWAYS BE OVERLY CAUCIOUS.
2. Keep an Eye Out for Scams
The internet is full of scams. Unfortunately, too many people fall victim to these schemes when they try to make money online.
Here are a few ways to spot internet scams to avoid them:
- Do you have to pay to get the job? Whether you’re being asked to invest in a product or buy software, you should never pay in order to get a job. Paying to get a job should be seen as a huge warning sign.
- Is it too good to be true? You won’t make thousands of dollars in a week working online. Any over-the-top promise should be seen as a sign that the job isn’t legitimate and is a complete scam.
- Are you being asked to meet in person? There is no reason you should be required to meet in person for a job as an online tutor, a virtual assistant, etc. If you do need to meet a potential employer, make sure you’re meeting in a safe, public area and always bring a parent or guardian with you.
- Are you being asked a lot of personal questions? Are they asking for your bank account numbers, your social security number, your middle name, or your mother’s maiden name? Most of this information isn’t required to get an online job. Always be careful sharing confidential information. Thieves are always trying to steal people’s identity.
3. Get a PayPal and Bank Account
How will you get paid when the time comes? Many online jobs will pay you through your PayPal account, which you can link to your bank account. Once you get a job, you may be required to provide your PayPal account in advance.
You will also need help from your parent or a legal guardian to set up a PayPal account if you’re under 18 years old.
4. Remember to Pay Taxes
Even if you make money online and are younger than 18, you are still required to pay income tax on every source of income you have. In addition, unlike a traditional employer, most online jobs are consider contracting opportunities so keeping track of taxes is your responsibility.
The way you should document your earnings will depend on the way you’re making money. For example, if you’re being paid through a third-party payer such as PayPal, they will track your income for you, which will be important to have come April 15.
If you are receiving the money you make via check, whether or not your client issues you a 1099 form come the end of the year, you are still responsible for paying your taxes.
If you don’t have someone to help you file your taxes, you might need to hire a tax professional.
Making Money Online as a Teen FAQs:
1. Is It Legal to Work Online as a Teen?
Yes, it’s legal to work online as a teen. However, many companies have age requirements you need to watch out for. The typical cutoff mark is 13 years old or 16 years old. Other companies may only let you work for them if you’re 18 or older.
In addition to these cutoff marks, some companies will only let 13-16 year old’s work for them if they have parental consent.
Before applying for a job, make sure to research what the companies age requirement is.
2. Do You Need Parental Consent to Work Online as a Teen?
Not always, but most companies that hire 13-17 year old’s do require parental confirmation.
However, this is not a universal rule and several companies will hire teens without parental consent as long as they can provide PayPal information to get paid when the time comes.
3. How Much Money Can You Make Working Online as a Teen?
The amount you make will largely depend on what online job you have. For example, some teens are very successful bloggers or Youtubers.
However, these are typically rare instances and isn’t something that happens overnight.
In most cases, you will make anywhere between a few hundred dollars and one thousand dollars at maximum per month working online as a teen.
This is great if your interested in netting some side cash from your interests or hobbies.
4. How Can I Make Money Fast as a Teenager?
The quickest way to make money as a teenager is to sell stuff you already own but no longer use. This can be almost anything, such as clothes, shoes, electronics, furniture, physical books, and even gym equipment.
You can use an online platform such as Facebook Marketplace to find people in your local area that you can sell your stuff to immediately and make some extra money fast.
5. What Jobs Can a Teenager do From Home?
Every option on our list is a great job that a teenager can do from home. You can take surveys, review music, test websites, become a virtual tutor, write content for blogs, start a podcast, and much more.
Keep in mind that you’re not limited to only one online job by any means. There are quite a few options on our list that you can do at the same time. For example, you could spend an hour or two taking surveys and then spend the next hour reviewing music.
6. How Do You Get Paid as a Teen Working Online?
The vast majority of companies that hire teens for online jobs pay them via PayPal or other online payment services.
Since you don’t have to be 18 to create a PayPal account and the sign up process is simple, PayPal is by far the most commonly used payment service.
You will also most likely be paid regularly than instantly after completing a job. For example, many companies on our list only pay workers once every two weeks, while others might pay workers once per week.
Before signing up for an online job, make sure to do your research and see what service the company will use to pay you and how often.
Final Thoughts on Making Money Online as a Teen
Every option above is a great way to make money online as a teen and start saving up for your college career or even a big purchase such as your first vehicle.
Although getting your first online job will be frustrating and exciting at the same time, it’s also a great way to develop an entrepreneurial spirit as a teen.
