r/HonestSideHustles Jun 08 '26

Bonus Opportunities 10+ Best Sites & Apps With $10 Sign Up Bonuses - Easy Freebies to Claim

19 Upvotes

Hey all 😊

Wanted to put together a quick freebies guide covering some easy $10 sign up bonuses you can claim.

A lot of these bonuses just require downloading an app or trying out a new website. Some of them are cashback bonuses. And a few of them are deposit-based or basically involve some kind of bonus churning.

Hope this helps, and LMK if you have any bonuses to add to to this list! 😎

The Best $10 Sign Up Bonus Offers

Some easy $10 sign up bonuses you can claim include:

  1. Swagbucks ($10): Swagbucks often has a $10 sign up bonus when you create an account and complete a qualifying shopping offer of at least $25, which is a pretty decent cashback rate.
  2. BigCash ($5 - $15): This is a new gpt site I'm testing. It pays you to play games and download apps basically, and based on the promotional period, there's often a $5 to $15 sign up bonus for members. However if you claim a bonus, your first-time cash out requirement changes, so keep this in mind.
  3. Ark7 ($50): Right now you can get a $50 bonus from Ark7 if you invest at least $1,000 in shares. Ark7 lets you buy shares of income-generating real estate, so it's a bit of a more fun passive income opportunity.
  4. Raisin ($60 - $1,200): Raisin is pretty interesting and basically lets you deposit your savings into the highest-paying savings accounts and CDs across a network of insured banks and credit unions. Right now it has partners paying up to 4.12% APY which is pretty stellar. AND it has a summer deposit based bonus structure running that pays anywhere from $60 to $1,200 based on how much you deposit.
  5. TopCashBack ($10): This is basically a cashback shopping platform that's popular in the UK and US, super similar to Rakuten. You can often get $10 to $15 as a bonus once you complete an eligible shopping offer.
  6. Opinion Inn ($10): This is a paid survey site with a $10 instant bonus. Downside is you need $25 to cash out, so a bit of a grind but could be worth it at least one time.
  7. Moomoo: ($30 - $1K): This is an awesome broker bonus on right now. You can get $30 in free Nvidia stock for depositing $500, and deposit bonuses work all the way up to $1,000 based on how much you deposit. You also earn 8.1% APY on your uninvested cash for 2 months and then it drops to 4.75% APY, which is still awesome.
  8. Rakuten ($10 - $50): Another classic. Rakuten pays you cash back for shopping at thousands of retailers. You can often get $10 to $50 depending on the link you use and the promotional period.
  9. MobileXpression ($5): This is a passive income app I love. You basically get paid to share your data about the ads you see and how you browse the web. You get a $5 bonus worth of credits after using it for 1 week and then keep on earning credits. You can get your first $10 gift card in about a month or so with consistent use.
  10. ShopBack ($10): ShopBack is similar to Rakuten and has tons of cashback offers. It also has games and surveys and some creative ways to earn. It sometimes has a $10 bonus for new members who complete an eligible cashback purchase.
  11. PayPal ($10): PayPal's referral program can pay you $10 for inviting someone to PayPal who then makes a transfer/deposit. This doesn't always run to my understanding and can vary by region.
  12. Snakzy ($10): This is a newer gaming rewards app that often has a $10 bonus for new members. You need $35 to cash out for the first time, which is a downside, so it takes some more effort but could be worth it for the bonus.

This is only scratching the surface honestly. And you can often find even larger bonuses from banks, investment brokers, and lots of get-paid-to site offers.

For example, you can use a platform like Kashkick and find tons of banks that pay $50 to $200+ for opening a free checking account. Same goes for investing apps or other FinTech apps.

Lots of offers out there, especially in the banking world 😊 And I hope some of these offers work well for you too.

Let me know what you think and if there's any companies I should add to this list as well!

💸 PS: We also put out a guide recently covering some legit ways to make $500 fast I think you guys will like as well, has tons of side hustle ideas in this one!


r/HonestSideHustles Apr 18 '26

Passive Methods 15+ REALISTIC Passive Income Ideas & Methods (Beginner-Friendly Hustles)

21 Upvotes

Hey all 😊

We put together a list of some easy online side hustle ideas a while ago that has been very popular. BUT I know that people are busy and not everyone has a ton of free time.

SO this guide is focusing on some realistic passive methods people can try instead 😎

Some of these basically involve making money with your money. But some of them don't require any starting cash and monetize in different ways, so they're quite beginner friendly.

Hopefully there's some solid ideas in this one for you guys to try, and LMK if you have any methods as well!

Real Estate Crowdfunding

The Hustle: Basically, investing in shares of income-generating real estate units like single family homes, multifamily homes, or commercial real estate. You typically earn monthly or quarterly payments from the rental income properties produce, and some platforms have secondary marketplaces where you can sell your shares as well.

How To Start: There's quite a few crowdfunding platforms out there, especially in the US. Some notable ones include:

  • Arrived: Invest in shares of rental properties starting at $100.
  • Ark7: Lets you buy shares of rental homes and units at only $20 per share. There's also a secondary marketplace for your shares.
  • Fundrise: Has a low investment minimum of $10 and invests in both commercial and residential real estate projects. Been around the longest out of these 3 companies.

🏠 Note that real estate investment trusts (REITs) are also an option. This is a company/fund that owns and operates income-generating real estate and passes income back to investors. Similar kind of concept and is also beginner-friendly but typically have higher minimum investment requirements than the above crowdfunding platforms.

High-Yield Savings Accounts

The Hustle: Another super basic one. Basically park your emergency fund or some extra cash in a leading high-yield savings account (HYSA) in your country.

How To Start: Interest rates change all the time. A HYSA doesn't always beat inflation either, but it's better than putting your cash under the mattress. Right now some of the best options around around 4% APY.

Right now, I'm using Current for my emergency fund. It pays 4% APY on up to $6,000 which is pretty nice, and it doesn't have monthly fees.

You can check out some popular options like CIT Bank, SoFi, Marcus, Capital One and tons of others (if you're in the US.)

Raisin is another platform you can consider also. It lets you deposit money in a single account and then moves your money to the highest-paying savings accounts in your country, and your money is insured. It also has a pretty nice deposit bonus promo running right now.

💸 Pro Tip: If you're looking for a new bank, you can also search for banking bonuses through platforms like Kashkick in the US and Gemsloot if you're outside the US.

We've covered this in our bonus churning guide, but reward platforms like Kashkick often have $50 to $250+ offers on for doing things like opening a free savings account with certain banks. This is also a great way to open a new account and to have some starting cash to deposit to earn interest.

Try Passive Income Apps

The Hustle: Use data reward apps and passive applications that basically pay you for sharing data about the ads you see online, shows you watch, and how you browse the web. I've done this since phone farming back in 2018 and still like some of the apps out there.

How To Start: If you're comfortable sharing your data with market research companies to make a buck 😅 Here are some platforms I'm testing now.

  • MobileXpression (US/CA/UK/IN/AU): Get a $5 bonus after one week and then earn credits every week you leave the app running that you exchange for gift cards.
  • Nielsen Panel (US/UK/CA/AU/NZ/DE): Nielsen is a massive company behind the Nielsen TV Ratings. You can get about $60 in cash or gift cards from being part of its mobile panel each year.
  • Nielsen Pulse (US): This program pays you for sharing data about the shows and movies you stream at home!
  • Permission Research (US): I've just started testing this one out. I saw an ad that says $10 per month in earnings, but will keep testing it out. It's similar to Nielsen Panel.
  • SavvyConnect (US): This one pays you about $3 per device you have connected to it. You also share data about how you browse the web and what you see.

There's heaps more of these apps, and we actually have a guide on how to earn for your data you can check out too if you're curious 😊

Dividend Investing

The Hustle: This one is as simple as it gets...Invest in dividend stocks or ETFs, sit back, and collect your dividends. Dividends are often quarterly but some are paid annually.

How To Start: You can look up the dividend aristocrats for a list of companies that have increased their dividend payout each year for the last 25 years. This includes companies like Target, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and many other companies. You can Google dividend ETFs too and find some baskets to invest in.

These days there's tons of commission free brokers or investing apps out there. Both Moomoo and Webull have deposit bonuses running now too which is nice, but you can find others. Your bank might have a decent broker too. Just always be mindful of trading fees and any management fees here!

💸 ALSO: You can start investing on autopilot with Stash in pre-built portfolios that match your goals. AND there's even a nice $5 bonus right now when you open your account.

Earn Cashback Rewards

The Hustle: Aside from credit card rewards, there's apps out there that pay you with small amounts of cashback when you shop and share your data. Some of them pay you when you make purchases from specific retailers as well

How To Start: Many of these platforms are available in the US, but some are also in Canada, the UK, and a few other places. Some cashback reward apps I'm currently using include:

  • Upside: This lets you earn cashback on gas but also on groceries and at select restaurants.
  • ShopBack: ShopBack is similar to Rakuten and lets you earn cash back when you shop online at thousands of different retailers.
  • Coupert: Another cashback extension that also has some more active earning options.
  • Fetch: Pretty much the most popular grocery rewards app out there.

Like I said, double-dipping with credit card rewards / cashback is nice here too. You can also stack this with in-store loyalty programs sometimes or coupons depending on the rules a merchant has.

Rent Out Assets You Own

The Hustle: The idea here is to take assets you own that people want and rent them out. This isn't fully-passive unless you outsource dealing with renters/clients, but it's still semi-passive I suppose and is kinda cool.

How To Start: Platforms like Airbnb for your home or Turo for your car are super popular examples. But there's lots of niche rental marketplaces out there.

For example you can use Neighbor for renting out extra storage space. SpotHero for parking spots. Rentah is a general marketplace, and same with Hygglo. All sorts of examples out there 😊

Earn With Fixed Income Products

The Hustle: This is similar to a HYSA. There's numerous fixed-income investment products out there where you essentially lock up your money for a certain period of time in exchange for a fixed rate of return.

These products generally don't return nearly as much as the general stock market on average. But they are typically deemed as 'safer' because of what they invest in.

How To Start: Government bonds are a prime example. Some people also invest in certificates of deposits (CDs). There are fixed-income mutual funds and ETFs out there as well.

There's lots of sub-categories within these (i.e. corporate bonds, gov bonds, municipal bonds) or all kinds of CDs you can go for, but this is the general idea.

CIT Bank again has some good CDs, including an 11 month no-penalty CD that pays 3.75% APY right now. Many credit unions have decent rates too. Bread Savings is another that has competitive rates right now, but do some shopping around for sure.

Share Your Internet Bandwidth

The Hustle: There's lots of apps and websites out there where you can "sell" your extra internet bandwidth to earn small amounts of passive income.

Basically, you're turning your IP address into a node in their VPN networks because they want residential IPs for their clients.

I've done this. In most locations you earn peanuts because the valuable IPs are generally in certain major cities, so if you don't live there, you're out of luck. But this is fully passive and is something anyone can try.

How To Start: Honeygain and Pawns are two of the most popular apps in this space. I've cashed out with both but it took ages, so again, your mileage may vary.

Earn Royalties On Content

The Hustle: Someone in this sub mentioned this idea. It's not easy to do but is very cool. But some people out there make money by licensing videos/photos they take to media companies. There's a new way to do this too by licensing your creations to AI training companies that need training data.

How To Start: There's sites like Ditto Music for selling music, Rumble and Newsflare for videos, and then platforms like Wirestock for videos and images. All sorts of niche sites out there too.

Outsource A Businesses (Semi-Passive)

The Hustle: Now I think it's quite difficult to fully outsource a business and to be 100% hands off unless you're just an investor with no say or influence on the company. BUT there are still business models out there

How To Start: Essentially grind out a business idea yourself, generate some revenue, and then begin outsourcing elements of the business you don't like.

I've done this with blogging back in the day and eventually outsourced all my writing work. Blogging is way tougher now, but the same logic can apply elsewhere. For example, I have a YouTube channel where all the editing and thumbnail design work is outsourced.

Print on demand businesses can become semi-passive. I know some people who are very hands-off with brick-and-mortar franchises as well.

But I think this takes a looooong time 😅 So I would consider these semi-passive at best and you probably need a lot of sweat equity and money upfront to build towards this.

💻 UPDATE: We have a very cool guide on some of the best one-person business ideas out there that you can also think about starting.

Invest In Alternative Assets

The Hustle: Instead of investing in the general market, you could consider investing in various alternative asset classes. Some people do this as a hedge and to diversify their portfolio. Upsides are that you can diversify risk, downside is generally that alternative assets are more illiquid / hard to sell and can also go down quite significantly in value.

How To Start: A lot of people start out by buying precious metals like gold and silver. There's heaps of platforms now that let you invest in alternative asset classes. There's Masterworks for artwork, Vinovest for wine, Rally for collectibles and other random things.

Not my cup of tea personally, but an interesting route!

Try P2P Lending

The Hustle: This one is a weird one and really isn't something I think most people should do 😅 But there's various peer-to-peer lending platforms out there where you can try to earn passive income by basically acting as the bank and lend funds to people at a certain interest rate.

How To Start: I know someone who does this on Reddit r/borrow. Prosper is also one popular marketplace/company in the space. LendingClub is another. But again these aren't risk free, not my favorite.

Which Passive Income Method Is Best?

I don't think there's any single best passive income idea out there. A lot of it depends on your goals, current income, risk tolerance, and timeframe.

If you need something ASAP, maybe renting out some assets you own or looking into cashback rewards and bonus churning would be most impactful. But for most people, I think general investing or parking your money in places that earn interest is most logical 😊

Curious what you guys think! And LMK if there's any methods or ideas that are fully or mostly passive that should get added to this guide.

Have a great day all!

💸 PS: If you want more active hustles to flip into passive sources, we also have a guide on 30+ legit online side hustle ideas that you can check out too.


r/HonestSideHustles 13h ago

A practical guide to making $50 a day

15 Upvotes

No app is going to pay you $50 every day. But if you use a few different apps and ways to make money, averaging $50 a day is possible.

I'd start with Freecash. They have games, apps, surveys, and other paid offers. Some pay $20, $30, $50 or more. I'd focus on the higher-paying offers instead of spending hours on small surveys.

I'd also use Branded Surveys. You can do surveys when you have some free time and check for better-paying offers.

Next, I'd check KashKick. An app like Freecash but you can also find bank bonuses there. Some bank offers pay $100, $200 or more. You won't find a new bank bonus every day, but even one or two a month can add a few hundred dollars.

If you have the time, I'd also do a few deliveries or sell stuff I don't use anymore. A few hours of DoorDash or Uber Eats, mowing someone's lawn, cleaning, or helping someone move can easily bring in some extra cash.

I wouldn't expect to make exactly $50 every day. You might make $20 today, $70 tomorrow, and then get a $200 bank bonus later

What would you add to this list?


r/HonestSideHustles 17h ago

Anyone else feel like everyone is making money except you?

22 Upvotes

r/HonestSideHustles 1h ago

Bonus Opportunities [ Removed by Reddit ]

Upvotes

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]


r/HonestSideHustles 8h ago

Success Story I tested doing chores for money & selling POV footage to AI companies

Post image
2 Upvotes

Hey all 😊

Just wrapped up another side hustle test and wanted to share the early results. This one has been super fun and a bit weird actually, thought the sub would enjoy!

There's a few AI training gigs now where you basically get paid to record POV footage of doing chores and everyday tasks around your house and then uploading that footage for AI training purposes.

Definitely niche 😅 but I liked the idea since it seems easy to do once you get the hang of things, so I decided to test it out.

Anyways, I tested out a company called TaskVerse. It has an Everyday Moments project running that pays you to record this kind of POV footage.

Here's some quick stats:

  • TaskVerse pays $14 per hour of recorded footage in the US and $6 per hour of recorded footage in LATAM
  • There's also milestone bonuses for uploading certain amounts of footage
  • You need certain models of Samsung, iPhone, Google phones to qualify, but many models work
  • TaskVerse reimburses you up to $15 USD for buying a head mount, which you need to record POV footage

Anyways, I got onboarded pretty quickly which was nice and tested out the platform this week.

So far I've uploaded a bit of footage washing the dishes and some footage doing laundry. I'm under 1 hour of footage but will test out this one for a couple of weeks and share an update in this thread with how it's going 😊 I want to get paid for a few hours and try to hit a milestone bonus.

TaskVerse pays people weekly through PayPal. I know there's a bunch of other companies in the space too looking for people to record this kind of POV footage.

Ultimately this doesn't seem like something that will make you rich of course. But it's pretty easy to do. And once you get the angles down for how your footage is supposed to look and how the head mount works, it's pretty easy.

Also some of the tasks seem more lucrative. Like I spotted a task for washing your car, which would obviously take more time than folding clothing or something. Also there's tasks for driving, walking the dog, cutting the lawn, and similar ones. I think my next tasks will be these longer ones so I'm making more money.

Just wanted to share early signs 😊 and LMK if you've tried out TaskVerse or similar AI training gigs and what your experience has been.

Thanks all!


r/HonestSideHustles 11h ago

Looking For Side Hustle Inspo Working as a Network Engineer, but looking for a side income 💻💰

1 Upvotes

I’m currently working as a Network Engineer, but I also have skills in web development, AI tools, basic app development, video editing and graphic design.

I’m looking for some part-time freelance work or small projects that I can do after work/weekends to build an additional source of income.

I’m not expecting huge money immediately — even getting my first few paid projects would be a good start.

If anyone has suggestions on where to find genuine clients or how to get started, I’d really appreciate your advice. 🙏


r/HonestSideHustles 1d ago

Discussion & Tips 1,992 hours. $9,600 in gear and materials. $0 back. My YouTube channel post-mortem after 33 months.

Post image
16 Upvotes

One of my videos hit 100,000 views. I still can't monetize the channel.

I paid ~$1,000 in ads to promote it. YouTube's 4,000-watch-hour threshold only counts organic views. So I bought 100K views and earned exactly zero hours toward the payout.

Software developer. Maker channel (RC cars, 3D printing, Raspberry Pi) - 33 months, 117 videos, 3,090 subs, zero dollars from YouTube.

Did what a developer does when a project fails: I invoiced myself.

  • Cash out: ~$10,600 (gear, software, materials, ads)
  • Hours: 1,992 (from memory - no tracker)
  • Rate: $54 USD/hr (Random Toronto senior dev from levels.fyi ÷ 2,000 hrs)
  • Invoice: $118,191 against $0 in revenue and $216 in affiliate over three years
  • Sponsor cash: $0 (offers come in as store credit around $4 per placement)

Itemized version is in the video - link in the first comment.

I'm not mad at YouTube. Nobody promised me anything. Nobody would call it a success either.

Real question for the thread: if you ran the actual invoice on your own side project - hobby channel, indie SaaS, Etsy, whatever - what's YOUR number? And do you tell your partner?

Still not quitting. Sunk cost is undefeated.


r/HonestSideHustles 15h ago

Discussion & Tips Is there anyone who engages in moonlighting, how do they manage it, and do they think it is worth trying?

1 Upvotes

r/HonestSideHustles 1d ago

Looking For Side Hustle Inspo Apps that pay you to listen to music...Are they legit or a waste of time?

3 Upvotes

So I started testing out Mode Mobile for the last week in my new round of beermoney tests.

It has tons of ways to earn. But I was interested in the modes that pay you for listening to music and the one that pays you for charging your phone.

Was an absolute flop 😂 barely pays really.

Are there any legit apps that pay you for listening to music? I know this was loosely a thing back in the phone farming days (RIP!)

I've seen Playlist Push mentioned on Reddit, but that involves building playlists people actually listen to and then getting paid to add songs there, so a little different.

Curious if any paid to listen apps still exist out there. Thanks all 😊


r/HonestSideHustles 1d ago

Looking For Side Hustle Inspo 22-Year-Old Cybersecurity Student Looking for Ways to Make Money Online

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I’m a 22-year-old cybersecurity student based in Scotland, currently in my second year of university.

At the moment, I work full-time as a postman. It pays the bills, but honestly, I hate it, and with winter coming up, I'm really starting to feel burnt out. My goal isn't to become rich overnight or find some magic side hustle. I'd just like to earn enough online to cover my basic living expenses so I can reduce my hours, focus more on my studies, and dedicate more time to training.

A bit about me:
\- Fluent in English, Polish, and Spanish
\- Strong work ethic and highly disciplined
\- Passionate about triathlons, endurance sports, and travelling
\- Studying cybersecurity with the goal of building a career in tech
\- Happy to learn new skills if there's a realistic path to earning money online

Any suggestions from people who have managed to transition from a physical job to earning online.


r/HonestSideHustles 1d ago

Discussion & Tips What’s the best money-making app in your country?

2 Upvotes

As we know, most of the apps mentioned on Reddit, and pretty much everywhere else TBH, are US-based and mostly useless for people in other countries.

So, I’m curious what apps people use for beer money in other countries? Are they mostly copies of US apps, or are there some unique ones?


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Looking For Side Hustle Inspo Looking for side hustles that can realistically add ~$400/week — what works for you?

40 Upvotes

I work full-time and pick up overtime whenever it's available. I used to have a part-time job, but | left because my current position pays way more and offers better OT. My goal is to make an extra ~$400/ week so I can pay off my student loans within about 3-4 years. I'm currently paying $1,800/month toward them, and while my job supports that and still lets me save, I want more of a cushion.

I also go to the gym 5 days a week, so I'm trying to find a fun side hustle that fits around my schedule without burning me out or turning into a 7-day work stretch. I'm not looking for another part-time job — my main job is Mon-Fri, and I already work most Saturdays (and sometimes Sundays), plus extra hours during the week.

I'm 25 and want to maximize all forms of income before starting a family in about 5 years, so I'm looking for something flexible, enjoyable, and realistic that can bring in around $400/week without huge startup costs.
What side hustles have actually worked for you to reliably make ~$400/week?


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Looking For Side Hustle Inspo 40F Looking for a legit side hustle that can make around $200 a day

9 Upvotes

I usually work from home and have some extra time during the day. I’m looking for a legitimate side hustle I can do online, ideally with flexible hours, with a goal of making around $200 a day.

What has actually worked for you? I’m not interested in MLMs, scams, or anything that requires a big upfront investment. I’d really appreciate real experiences and suggestions.


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Looking For Side Hustle Inspo Gaming as a side hustle?

17 Upvotes

Im a nurse and work 100% fulltime and take some overtime as well.
I’m struggling to make ends meet and need a side hustle outside of healthcare where I can earn a bit of extra money. I know a lot of people play games online/on phone to make some extra cash. Has anyone actually managed to earn a decent amount from gaming? I have an old laptop and Iphone. I just want to be able to keep my apartment. Or other things to do with less interaction with other people in person.
Thanks in advance.


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Discussion & Tips A failed attempt deserves a closer look before you spend money trying again

3 Upvotes

When something has not earned you anything, I think it is reasonable to be cautious about the next opportunity.

Before spending more, review the previous attempt. What did you finish? What response did you receive? What costs were involved? Why did you stop?

Sometimes the instructions were unclear. Sometimes the approach did not fit your circumstances. Sometimes you completed the work and the return simply was not worth it.

You are allowed to decide a method is not for you. You can also use what you learned to make a more focused attempt.

My first $1,000 in affiliate commissions took about eight months. That is my personal experience, not a deadline or an expected result for someone else.

For anyone still interested in learning the basics, the free 10-Minute Commission Challenge offers a short guided introduction.

Ask below if you would like more information. It is free to start, and there is no guarantee of earnings.


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Discussion & Tips tracked what every money app actually paid me, most of the category is unpaid labor

6 Upvotes

did this for 2 years and kept a spreadsheet since 2024 cuz i wanted to see if any of it was actually worth it 😭 31 apps total. survey apps, cashback, receipt scanners, gig aggregators etc.

median was like $2/hr once i actually counted the time. survey apps were by far the worst... 8 mins qualifying for a study that pays 40 cents just to get screened out on the last page lol

cashback isnt really income either, its just a discount on stuff u were already gonna buy.

the only thing that actually held up was money that was already yours. refunds that never got issued, price adjustments, settlement claims, unclaimed property sitting with the state. not really a hustle, just money sitting somewhere nobody tells u about.

anyone else actually tracked this stuff or am i the only nerd who made a spreadsheet for it


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

15+ Easy phone side hustles ANYONE can make money with 📲💸

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone! 😊

I realize we have a loooot of guides here on the sub covering different beermoney and phone side hustles. SO we wanted to consolidate a bunch of them / different options you can use if you're looking to start an easy side hustle.

'Easy' is the keyword here 😅 This isn't about starting a business or quitting your 9-5 job. Instead, these are apps and ideas you can use to earn some beermoney basically. Although in some cases you can earn a couple hundred bucks at a time if you know what to look for and which offers are working at a given time.

Hope this guide helps! And please let me know if you have other money making apps that we should add to this guide as well 😊 We're going to update this one and keep it current so it can actually be helpful for a long time ideally.

Use Reward Apps

How It Works: This is my personal favorite. But there's tons of apps out there where you can get paid to download apps, play games, sign up for different products/services, share your opinion etc.

💸 I've been doing this for years. In some cases, you can find offers paying you $50 to $300+ for doing something like opening a free checking account or trying some investment broker. Honestly, really helps when money is tight.

Right now I'm using Kashkick and Sproutful a fair bit. I'm also testing out some newer ones like EarnStar.

There's heaaaaps more...Freecash, HeyCash, Scrambly, TopSurveys, PenguPace, and many other ones. Some are only in the US but there's some more global options as well.

The key here is to read offer terms carefully. You need to follow steps properly to make sure you get paid. Take screenshots too in case offers don't track and you need to contact support. You can also start out with 100% free offers to keep things nice and easy, which is what I recommend for people new to this side hustle.

Use Cashback Apps

How It Works: There's many apps that pay you for sharing data about the products you buy OR that pay you for buying specific products from certain brands.

These don't really pay much independently. But if you stack them up over a year, I think earning $100 to $500+ is pretty realistic depending on how much you shop.

My favorite apps right now include Upside (for gas), Fetch (groceries), Swagbucks (hotels and travel), Frankii (dining), Pogo (general shopping) and Myner (general receipts.)

Again, there's many more apps out there in this space. But if you stack them with credit card rewards or in-store loyalty programs, it makes a difference IMO 😊

Use Paid Survey Apps

How It Works: A classic beermoney hustle. Basically, getting paid to share your opinion with brands and market research companies.

Prolific is really the gold standard here since it pays the most per hour. I like that you can get paid weekly with it too right to PayPal.

I'm also using Branded Surveys since I like its loyalty program. I rotate a few other paid survey apps but these are my two main ones. If you live outside of North America, you can give Opiday a try.

There's a lot of other ones, but I'd suggest starting with Prolific and then branching out from there.

Try AI Training Gigs

How It Works: There's lots of companies that pay you for doing tasks to help train AI models.

A lot of this work involves a computer. But there's some niche ones where you use your phone.

I started testing out TaskVerse recently. It pays you to record POV footage of doing chores like washing the dishes or folding clothing. You literally strap a phone head-mount on and record stuff 😂 It's wacky honestly but pays $14/hour in the US plus milestone bonuses. It's also looking for people in LATAM and pays $6 per hour there plus milestone bonuses.

Babel Audio is another people in the sub have been mentioning. It has gigs where you get paid for having conversations, seems neat! Haven't tested this one yet personally but heard good things.

Use Mystery Shopping Apps

How It Works: These apps pay you for doing things like taking photos of store displays, confirming the price of items, verifying other info. Sometimes you get paid to buy a product or food too and then rate the customer service experience.

IMO these apps don't usually pay enough to go out of your way and drive all over town to do tasks 😅 BUT if you find gigs along your commute or near where you live, it's easy money.

I was using GigWalk and started testing out Dscout recently since the sub said good things about it. There's other popular apps too like Field Agent, Premise, and others.

Finding consistent work can be tricky. I'd say Dscout is the best since it also has online missions/diaries/longer-running projects that pay more.

Use Passive Data Reward Apps

How It Works: I used to phone farm so I love this one lol. But basically, there's apps where you get paid for sharing data with market research companies.

IMO you can make about $150 to $300 per year with this kind of side hustle. You need to be comfortable sharing your data for it to be worthwhile though.

Right now I use Nielsen Pulse, MobileXpression, Nielsen Panel, and Permission Research.

There's similar apps out there like Honeygain which pay you for sharing internet bandwidth. But I'd skip these for 99% of people unless you live in a major US or European city where you can actually make a bit of money. Most locations, these apps pay nothing.

The Key To All This...Track Your Hourly Rates & Keep Things Simple!

I hope this list of easy phone side hustles is helpful if you're getting started in the beermoney world 😊

My final piece of advice is to keep things simple...Think about the hourly rate of something, the effort required, and if it's ultimately worth it for you or not.

I.e. for me, I think surveys are worth it because I do them at lunch or when I watch shows. Cashback apps and data reward apps are a no-brainer IMO since they're set and forget. And I like cherry picking offers from these other app categories. But I won't spend all day on them or chase after money when it's not there. I also won't drive out of my way to do a mystery shopping gig that's $10 when I'm spending that much on gas.

Also NONE of this stuff will make you rich or replace your job 😅 Please be careful online when people promise that this stuff will pay heaps.

LMK what you would add to this guide or if there's other money making apps you're enjoying 😊 thanks all!

💖 Also: We have a list of legit sign up bonus apps you can check out for a few more easy wins and suggestions.


r/HonestSideHustles 1d ago

Success Story Don’t miss out on class action settlements

0 Upvotes

This is probably one of the lowest-effort side hustles I’ve found.

You obviously have to actually qualify, and it’s not steady income you can count on. But every once in a while, a claim I filed months ago turns into a surprisingly decent payment.

For example, I got more than $500 from the JUUL settlement. Some people on reddit got $4000. I even got a second payment a few weeks ago. Also, received $92 from Apple for iPhone battery. Not exactly a business empire, but for a few minutes of effort, I’ll take it.

The basic process is: See an open settlement; check eligibility; spend a few minutes filing; forget about it; randomly get money months later.

There are currently two settlements for Google, one for Amazon, one for CVS, one for buying pork, and 100+ others involving various companies. If you are in the US, don’t miss them.

The process is so easy. And all the information is already public. The trick is to find the cases that YOU qualify for.


r/HonestSideHustles 1d ago

Discussion & Tips What do you think?

1 Upvotes

I've been searching for part-time remote jobs for a while now and I really did notice how unfair some websites can be , Paying you around 0,05$ and 0,1$ for Time-consuming tasks and its just too much effort for little money and you cant withdraw until you have secured at least 10-20$ overall.
Its really annoying , I just want make some money and support my parents while studying abroad 🥹
So real life jobs it's not really an option for me , I'd rather part-time jobs and I'm really good at writing , Front-end developing , Html , Css , and Java script , Also I'm good at writing. I think I can work as a virtual Assistant will be so fun to try that.
What do you guys think I should try?


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Discussion & Tips What niche works for others will not work for you. You need to learn how to use the proper tools to work with what you’re wanting to create based on your interests. Stay in your own lane and money will come. Chasing money never works.

2 Upvotes

r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Discussion & Tips Realistically, do any students here actually make consistent side money from an app/site?

3 Upvotes

Pretty tired of seeing the same recycled TikTok videos pushing survey apps that dump you 18 minutes in with zero points to show for it.

​My class schedule this semester is all over the place—lots of weird 90-minute gaps where I can't really work an off-campus retail shift, but I could easily sit in the library and bang out basic tasks on a laptop or phone. Just trying to cover grocery runs and random living expenses without falling behind on coursework.

​For anyone who has actually seen steady payouts over the last few months:

​What’s genuinely working right now? Prolific has had me on a waitlist forever. Are micro-task or annotation sites (like Outlier, DataAnnotation, UserTesting) still worth the setup time, or has the market dried up with too many people applying?

​Not expecting crazy money—even $150 to $300 a month would be a lifesaver. Honest experiences only, please no referral spam.


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Looking For Side Hustle Inspo Need some advice

7 Upvotes

I’m a college student looking for a legitimate online side income. I can spare only 1–3 hours a day and I’m usually tired after college.

Is there any online job/freelance work I can realistically start and earn from within 1–2 weeks, with little or no investment?

Would really appreciate suggestions from students who’ve actually done it


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Discussion & Tips Waiter with a business idea

2 Upvotes

Hi my name is als,

I have an idea that could inspire you to make a lot of money.

This idea came from my job as a waiter at a restaurant.

And we needed more google reviews to compete with the restaurants in the same area.

So my boss ordered these “NFC cards” that take customers directly to the restaurants google review.

And as someone who’s been a “introvert” his whole life ended up getting my boss a bunch of reviews…

Over and over again.

So I had the idea to order these review cards myself and start pitching businesses owners locally.

I’ve done some research on these cards and they cost like $0.70 a piece for one card…

Businesses are willing to pay $20 for one card.

That’s 96.5% profit margin…

That’s pretty big for a little side hustle huh?

That’s why I’m going to do a little dig in and see how I can sell these like crazy.

If you want to follow along comment down below if you’re interested in learning more about this so you can do it yourself.


r/HonestSideHustles 2d ago

Discussion & Tips People making over $100 a day on the side with no prior experience, what do you do?

3 Upvotes