16 Low Effort Side Hustles That Can Make You Extra Money
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Do you want to earn more money without working long hours or learning new skills? A low effort side hustle can be a good way to make extra income while fitting around your busy life. Many people think that side hustles require a bunch of time or effort, but there are plenty of options that…
Do you want to earn more money without working long hours or learning new skills? A low effort side hustle can be a good way to make extra income while fitting around your busy life.
Many people think that side hustles require a bunch of time or effort, but there are plenty of options that don’t need much from you. Some of these require only a few minutes of your day, while others can bring in passive income over time.
I have always loved finding easy ways to make extra money. Over the years, I’ve tried many different side hustles, such as getting cash back on things I was already going to buy, playing games on my phone for real money, or renting out items I don’t use often. So, yes, there are many real ways to make extra money and not be tired all the time.
Recommended reading: 40 Best Jobs Where You Work Alone
Before I get to my favorite low effort side hustles, let’s quickly talk about what makes a side hustle low effort.
A low effort side hustle may be one that:
Now, that doesn’t mean that all of these will be easy for everyone (because everyone is different), but you may be able to find one that fits your lifestyle.
Taking online surveys is one of the easiest low effort side hustles from home.
Companies are constantly looking for opinions from people like you and me so that they can improve their products and services, and they pay for it. All you need to do is sign up for survey platforms, complete questionnaires, and earn points that can be redeemed for cash or gift cards.
Some of the survey companies I recommend include:
While each survey may only pay a few cents to a couple of dollars, the earnings can add up. Some people make an extra $50 to $100 per month by consistently taking surveys. If you stack multiple survey sites and take advantage of high-paying opportunities, you can increase your earnings too. I recently wrote about my experience at How I Made $15 in 2 Hours Taking Surveys – Is It Worth It?
The best part about online surveys is that they require almost no effort. You can answer questions while watching TV, waiting in line, or winding down at the end of the day. The questions they ask are super easy, like “How often do you go grocery shopping?” or “What is your favorite TV show?” so they are very easy to do – it’s not like you’re taking a test.
Stock photos are the pictures that you see within blog posts (I personally use stock photos all the time here on my blog), in brochures, in advertising, on websites, and more. Businesses use these because they need high-quality images.
If you like taking pictures, you may be able to make extra money by doing stock photography. You can take pictures of business settings, food, travel, lifestyle, and more, and upload them to sites like Depositphotos, Shutterstock, and Adobe Stock.
If you enjoy photography or graphic design, you can turn your creativity into passive income by selling stock photos or digital products. Many businesses, bloggers, and content creators are constantly looking for high-quality images and digital tools, and they’re willing to pay for them. Then, every time someone downloads a picture of yours, you can earn a commission.
Recommended reading: 18 Ways You Can Get Paid To Take Pictures
If you’re already spending money on groceries, gas, or online shopping, then you can earn cash back on these same purchases. Cash back and rewards apps make it easy to get money back on everyday expenses with very little effort.
My favorite cash back apps are:
I use all three of these cash back sites, and I get cash back all the time. I recently used Upside and received $44 cash back when filling up my car. I used Rakuten recently and got $90 back on a kayak I bought online, and I use Swagbucks for my grocery receipts.
The nice thing about cash back sites is that they require no additional spending. You simply shop as you normally would and earn rewards for doing so. Over time, these small earnings add up, and some people make hundreds of dollars a year just by using these apps consistently.
Recommended reading: 13 Best Cash Back Apps To Make Extra Money
Many people have spare space in their homes that they do not use or just fill with clutter. If this is you, then you may want to try renting out the space to someone else.
This is a very low effort side hustle, especially if you don’t mind sharing your home with someone else.
I have rented out extra bedrooms in my home in the past, and I made around $400 per room per month, but this was also in a very low-cost-of-living area. In certain towns and cities, you may be able to earn $1,000+ each month per room that you rent out.
In fact, in a local Facebook group that I’m in, someone is renting out 3 out of the 4 bedrooms they have in their house at $1,250 a room. That means that person is making $3,750 extra each month!
You can learn more about low effort real estate ideas at 23 Best Real Estate Side Hustles To Make Extra Money.
Print-on-demand is one of the easiest ways to sell custom products without handling inventory or shipping.
This business model allows you to create designs and sell them on items like T-shirts, mugs, and phone cases, and a third-party company prints and ships the products for you.
Sites like Printify handle the fulfillment process (they print and ship the product for you), so you don’t have to worry about managing stock or packaging orders. Your job is simply to create and upload designs, and when a customer places an order (such as on Etsy), the print-on-demand company takes care of the rest.
This side hustle is perfect for anyone who enjoys graphic design or has a knack for creating catchy slogans. The more designs you upload, the higher your chances of making sales. Since everything is handled automatically, print-on-demand is a great way to earn passive income with very little ongoing effort.
I recommend signing up for the free workshop How to Make Money with Print-On-Demand. In this training, you’ll learn how one business owner made $500,000 in two years selling gifts, the best types of products to sell to maximize your earnings, and how to start this side hustle on Etsy.
Recommended reading: How I Make $7,500 Monthly Selling Print-On-Demand Gifts
Mystery shopping is an easy and fun side hustle for beginners where you give your feedback on stores, restaurants, or customer service experiences.
Companies hire mystery shoppers to visit locations and evaluate cleanliness, employee behavior (did the employee say hello when you entered the store or help you at all?), and overall experience.
There are several mystery shopping platforms, such as BestMark, that connect shoppers with paid opportunities.
Mystery shoppers typically receive $10 to $50 per assignment, and some gigs even reimburse purchases, making it a great way to get free meals, groceries, or products while earning cash.
I have done many, many mystery shopping jobs over the years. From phone call mystery shops to fine dining and department store evaluations, I have probably done well over 100 mystery shops over the years. I have always liked doing these because the questions you answer in the assignment afterwards are very easy to answer, and you can get free things as well (such as free food). I’ve also been on the other end as well – I worked at a retail store when I was younger, and we would have mystery shoppers come in and evaluate us.
Recommended reading: 10 Best Mystery Shopping Companies To Work For
If you love animals, pet sitting can be an enjoyable and stress-free way to make money (as long as the pets are easy, of course – and you can even be picky and choose who you want to accept).
Many pet owners prefer leaving their pets in a home environment rather than a kennel when they travel. By selling pet-sitting services in your home, you can get paid to watch dogs, cats, or other pets without having to leave your house.
Dog walking websites like Rover and Wag make it easy to set up a profile and start accepting pet-sitting gigs. You can set your own rates, choose which pets you’re comfortable watching, and even decide whether you want to do overnight stays or just daily check-ins. On average, pet sitters make $15 to $50 per pet per night, with rates increasing for additional services like dog walking or medication administration.
If you have the space and love caring for animals, this side hustle is a way to earn money with minimal effort, as most of your time will be spent simply hanging out with pets.
I have hired many pet sitters in the past, and I always only booked sitters who had fenced-in backyards, and I would actually ask them to not walk my dogs (because my dogs were not great walkers with other people – only me). So, I often had pet sitters who worked from home and just hung out with my dogs all day – and they always said it was one of their easier pet-sitting gigs.
Now, I do want to say that pet sitting isn’t always easy! Some dogs can be very difficult, untrained, and a lot of work. But, you can always interview your potential clients to make sure it’s a good fit for you. In fact, one of my favorite dog sitters had an extensive interview process – first by PDF where you filled out a questionnaire, then by phone, then in-person, before she agreed to watch your dogs. This way she could make sure it was a good fit for her lifestyle.
Believe it or not, you can actually make money by playing games on your phone. Certain apps pay people with cash, gift cards, or prizes for playing mobile games.
I have personally been able to make $302 in one week by playing games on my phone. You can learn more about my experience at How I Made $302.80 Playing Games on My Phone (In One Week).
My favorite game apps are:
This side hustle is perfect for anyone who likes to play games on their phone and wants to turn their hobby into a small way to make more money (it’s definitely not a full-time job, but it can make you $100+ each month). It requires no upfront investment and can be done whenever you have free time, making it one of the most effortless ways to make money.
You can learn more at 23 Best Game Apps To Win Real Money.
Food delivery services are extremely popular, and they are one of the most flexible ways to earn extra money.
Companies like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart allow you to choose your own hours and work whenever it’s convenient for you.
The process is simple: sign up for an app, accept delivery requests, pick up food or groceries, and drop them off at the customer’s location (such as their house). You can work as little or as much as you want, making this side hustle great for people who just want to work when they can fit it into their schedule.
You can apply to deliver food on DoorDash here.
Vending machines are a way to make passive income that requires little effort once set up.
The idea is simple: buy a vending machine, stock it with snacks or drinks (or you can even get more creative and do things like baby items, fishing tackle, or makeup), place it in a high-traffic area (you’ll have to get permission of course), and collect earnings.
While vending machines require an initial investment – typically $1,000 to $5,000 per machine – they can earn $100 to $1,000+ per month depending on the location. Good locations include office buildings, schools, gyms, and shopping centers.
Once you place your vending machine at the location, they don’t require a lot of maintenance or work, other than restocking and occasional servicing (for example, if it breaks).
You can learn more at How I Make $7,000 Monthly With A Vending Machine Business.
If you can type quickly and accurately, transcription work is an easy way to make money from home. Transcribers listen to audio recordings and type them into written text for businesses, legal professionals, or content creators.
Websites like Rev and TranscribeMe list flexible transcription jobs that usually pay around 30 cents to $1 per audio minute (this is different from each minute on a normal clock FYI, so the pay actually ends up being around $15 to $20 per hour).
While transcription requires some focus because you have to listen, it doesn’t require specialized skills beyond good typing speed and attention to detail.
You can learn how to find jobs at 18 Best Online Transcription Jobs For Beginners To Make $2,000 Monthly.
Selling digital printables on Etsy is one of the best ways to earn semi-passive income.
Printables like planners, meal organizers, thank-you cards, and budgeting worksheets are in high demand, and once listed, they require little ongoing work. Yes, there is work to create the printables and list them, but after you are done with that part, it is a fairly low effort side hustle to continue to make money with the same printables.
Some Etsy sellers make $500 to $5,000 per month selling digital downloads. And, there’s no need to worry about inventory or shipping, making it an extremely low-effort way to make money online.
I recommend signing up for the free training How To Earn Money Selling Printables. You’ll learn printable ideas, how to get started on Etsy, and how to actually make sales.
You can learn more at How I Made $6,161 in Just 4 Months With a New Etsy Printables Shop.
If you do grocery shopping regularly (doesn’t everyone?), why not earn money from it?
The process is simple: Take a picture of your receipt, upload it to the app, and earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards or cash. This is truly an almost zero-effort way to earn $5 to $20 per month just by doing your regular shopping.
My two favorite receipt-scanning apps are Fetch Rewards and Ibotta. I use both of these apps for every single one of my grocery receipts. I have personally been using these two receipt-scanning apps for years now – I love how easy they are to use and how you can earn points or cash while barely spending any time. Plus, I already have the receipts (it’s printed receipts or e-receipts they accept) – so it’s nice to make some extra money by doing almost nothing.
Recommended reading: 14 Best Apps To Scan Receipts for Money
If you own an RV, renting it out on platforms like RVshare can make you $50 to $250 per night (it depends on the type of RV you have and what rate you list it at).
Many people rent RVs for road trips but don’t want the cost of ownership. My sister and her husband have rented RVs in the past from online sites before, and they are actually preparing to do it again this year too because they have enjoyed it so much.
By listing your RV when you’re not using it, you can make passive income without much work. If you’re like most people and have an RV that sits without being used, this can be an easy way to make extra money.
You can click here to learn more about renting out your RV on RVshare.
Recycling can be a great way to earn extra cash while helping the environment. You can sell cans, scrap metal, or even old electronics for money.
Many people collect recyclables from their own households or even from neighbors.
You can learn more at 11 Ways To Make Money Recycling.
Traveling parents usually need baby gear, and platforms like BabyQuip allow you to rent out strollers, car seats, hiking carriers, toys, and cribs for extra income.
This is a great low-maintenance side hustle that requires little effort beyond maintaining and cleaning the gear.
Below are answers to common questions about low effort side hustles.
The easiest side hustles to start depend on you, as everyone is different. Some easy ones that I like include answering online surveys, using cash back apps, renting out unused stuff you have (like a spare bedroom or even baby items), playing games on your phone, and owning vending machines.
You can make money with minimal effort in many ways such as selling recyclables, owning vending machines, answering surveys, and even having dividend-paying stocks.
The best passive income for beginners is something that requires little time, investment, and effort to start. I personally think selling digital products like printables, templates, or stock photos is a good and easy option because you only need to create the product once, and you can then sell it repeatedly. Another good passive income idea for beginners is, if you have extra space, renting out a room on Airbnb or storage space on Neighbor. If you’re interested in investing, dividend stocks or high-yield savings accounts can help you earn money with little maintenance as well.
If you want to make money and barely work, you’ll want to focus on passive income and low-maintenance side hustles like selling digital products on Etsy, renting out extra space, investing in dividend stocks, and saving your money in high-yield savings accounts.
I hope you enjoyed my article on the best low effort side hustles to make extra money.
I’ve always loved finding easy ways to make extra money without adding stress to my life. Whether it’s answering surveys, using cash back apps, selling digital products, or renting out things you already own, there are so many ways to increase your income without putting in a ton of effort and even on your own schedule.
Even if you only have a few extra minutes each day, there are ways to make some extra money, which can be very helpful.
What do you think is the best low effort side hustle idea?
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