41 Online Jobs for Teens That Beat Mowing Lawns

Teens today no longer have to mow lawns or babysit after school to make some side cash. Thanks to the internet, online jobs for teens are now available. You don’t even have to go out of the house anymore to earn some pocket money aside from your allowance.

If you do a web search on how to make money online as a teen, you’d get overwhelmed with just how many options are available.

You’re lucky to be a teen at such an exciting time, and if you still can’t believe the availability of online jobs for teens, here’s a comprehensive guide of opportunities you are free to explore.

Two Types of Online Jobs for Teens

Anyone who is serious about learning how to make money online as a teen should know there are two routes they can take.

Part-time to full-time jobs

This type of opportunity is similar to traditional office-based jobs, only you do them at home.

From admin jobs to IT, writing, research, customer service, and a whole lot more, it’s almost impossible not to find a job you like.

The best thing about online jobs is that you can commit to part-time or full-time hours only when you’re available, so these would work for teens still attending school.

You can sign up for part-time jobs during the school year and full-time jobs during the summer or if you decide to take a gap year.

Create Passive Income

Passive income is the dream of many online workers because they essentially work on one project and wait for it to earn income each month.

There will be less or sometimes no more work involved in the future, but earnings will continue for as long as the project is live.

This could be anything from a blog with Google Ads, affiliate marketing via Facebook, an ebook, a podcast, and so on. Here are 25 recommended ways of earning money while you sleep.

I recommend learning these money-making opportunities and trying them out. Remember, it’s never too early to establish a source of passive income.

41 Online Jobs for Teens That Actually Pay (and are Age-Appropriate)

To build this list, note that I chose only work-at-home jobs known to have flexible work hours (e.g., part-time, per-project basis) and entry-level positions with very minimal requirements, which should be perfect for teens aged 12 and above.

Without further ado, here’s our ultimate guide of online jobs for teens so you can decide which ones will work for your schedule, skills, and interests.

1. Stream your video game playing sessions

• Minimum age: 13 (for Twitch)

This job will definitely make gamers think about their hobbies in another light.

You can stream yourself playing video games and people will sit there and watch you play. Some may even pay to watch you play.

Develop your online personality, grow your following, and you can make some serious cash in no time.

2. Become an Instagram influencer

• Minimum age: 13 (for Instagram)

This isn’t technically a job, but for the right teen, it can very well be.

If you’ve got mad makeup skills, a singing voice that can give Adele a run for her money, or any other talent, you’d be surprised at how quickly you can build a fan base.

As an influencer, you are paid to promote products or services not only on Instagram but also on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites for each post, campaign, or ad.

3. Test New Products

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company; ask a parent or guardian to help you

Did you know major brands like Nike, adidas, Red Robin, and so many more pay people to test out new products before they hit the shelves?

Companies will mail you upcoming products and pay for your opinions on them. Most of the time, you get to keep what you receive as well!

4. Perform Data Entry

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

You’d need to be a fast typist with research skills. No education or specific experience requirements are needed.

Pay is by project or per entry.

Plus, you’re free to work only on your downtime.

5. Answer Surveys

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

I know what you’re thinking, “not another post mentioning paid surveys…”

While surveys can get a bad rep online, there are some legit opportunities out there. I narrowed down the list to the best and highest paying survey sites to join.

6. Become a Virtual Assistant

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company, but most require you to be at least 18

As a VA, you’ll perform day-to-day admin tasks, such as answering emails and calls, scheduling meetings, researching, and more.

Pay starts at $3 to $10 per hour.

7. Transcribe Audio and Video Files

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company, but most require you to be at least 18

If you’re good with words and can type fast, there are legitimate transcription jobs for the taking.

Those who are bilingual would have twice the opportunities and with higher pay as well.

8. Work In Customer Service

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company, but most require you to be at least 18

Part-timers can handle emails, calls, online chat, text messages, or other communication channels of companies from around the world.

These are home-based jobs with an hourly rate of $8 to $25.

9. Write for the Web

• Minimum age: None normally

If you’ve got a flair for words, there are plenty of writing opportunities available for you.

You can find work as a blogger, copywriter, ghostwriter for a book, recipe, and so on.

Teens with advanced writing skills can even work as a proofreader. Pay rates would vary (some are paid by the word, others on a per-project basis).

10. Proofread other people’s writing.

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

If you prefer to check other people’s writing, online proofreading jobs might be a better fit for you, especially if your spelling and grammar are great.

Besides, this will be good practice for when you’re writing and proofreading your own essays for class.

11. Help Manage Social Media Accounts

• Minimum age: 13 (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook); varies depending on the minimum age to use other social media sites

Out of all the online jobs for teens, social media management is probably the most natural fit for anyone from this generation.

Teens are the ones who love interacting on social media the most. Social media management is a matter of transposing this enthusiasm for interaction into social media accounts of online businesses and companies.

Many of these positions are part-time and can be performed virtually anywhere in the world.

You do have to be aware of pop culture, industry news, and the companies’ target audience to do this job well.

12. Online Tutor Your Peers

• Minimum age: No age requirements for people you know. Tutor platforms may require tutors to be at least 13 years old or older

Do you love teaching your classmates or younger siblings? The great thing about the internet is that it allows you to connect to people from all over the world. You can get paid to tutor homework or teach people subjects you’re passionate about.

While some websites require tutors to have degrees or teaching licenses, many tutoring positions don’t have strict requirements. You can earn as little as $5/hour or up to $25/hour, depending on the subject you’re teaching.

What’s awesome about these jobs is that you can start tutoring with just your mobile phone and a Skype app.

13. Teach English

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company, but most require you to be at least 18

Don’t have a specific topic you’re good at? You can still teach online if English is your first language and you come from an English-speaking country and know the ins-and-outs of your mother tongue. There are tons of ESL companies today and most of them pay by the hour.

14. Offer Coaching

• Minimum age: 13 (for YouTube); varies depending on coaching site

Coaching may not sound like a usual online job for teens, but if you have the expertise and the time, it’s a great way to earn some side cash.

You can be a fitness coach, or you can go into personal development or any skill that can be taught through a video call.

How cool would it be for a teenager to become an online fitness coach to fellow teens in need of changing their lifestyles into healthier ones?

You can do this as an employee for coaching sites and earn by the hour or start your own vlog and control your earnings.

15. Perform SEO Work

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

Age is only a number when it comes to the Internet and skills we can master related to the web.

One category of jobs that were only created recently involves SEO (search engine optimization), so if you’ve always been interested in Google and the search engine giant’s algorithms, and the methods of bringing websites to the top of search engine results, you’ll find that the SEO industry is filled with online jobs for teens to adults.

16. Graphic Design

• Minimum age: None, normally

Kids in school are taught photo-editing programs as early as in kindergarten, so it wouldn’t be surprising for teenagers to be masters of Photoshop or any other software preferred by graphic designers.

The online jobs for teens in graphic design are never-ending; you can create digital flyers, posters, infographics, ad banners, website logos, social media content, and so many more. Payment for your work depends if you’re working by the hour, per-project, or per item or file.

17. Draw Cartoons

• Minimum age: 13 (for Fiverr, Zazzle)

Teens with a passion for illustration also have amazing opportunities to earn from home.

While these jobs are usually paid per order, you can commit to as few or as many as you can. You can actually get paid to draw caricatures, cartoons, illustrations, anime, portraits, and many more.

You can check out the going rate for artwork similar to what you’re offering from places like Fiverr, Zazzle, and so on.

18. Sell Your Photos

• Minimum age: 18 (for Foap); 14 (for 500px, with parent or guardian account); 13 (for PhotoDune, with parent or guardian account)

Not only will teens with a love for photography be able to master their skills, but they can also earn money along the way.

Do it as a freelancer first, so you can control your time and workload, but you can find local photography gigs from family portraits to product photography.

Note that you can’t sell feet pics as a teen yet, this isn’t allowed in any of the feet marketplaces I showcased here, but you can sell your photography to platforms such as 500px or PhotoDune.

19. Try Your Hand at Calligraphy

• Minimum age: 18 (for Etsy)

You might already have taken up lettering and calligraphy as a hobby, but did you know you can earn from your writings and scribbles?

Use your calligraphy skills to create and sell posters, home décor, and other artwork. You can also accept assignments for bespoke items such as wedding invitations, thank you cards, and so on at Etsy.com.

20. Write Closed Captions

Earn anywhere from $10 to $75 an hour when you transcribe videos, TV shows, movies, and other video content to create closed captions or subtitles.

There are several companies that hire closed captioners regularly. Make sure to check if they hire part-timers before sending in your application.

Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

21. Lend Out Your Voice

• Minimum age: 13 (for Voices.com, Fiverr)

Has anyone ever told you that your voice belongs in an audiobook or in a movie?

Explore the world of voiceovers and learn how voice talents earn through companies like InternetJock.com or Voices.com.

Note that these sites get a huge chunk of your earnings, so if you prefer to receive 100% of what you work for, you can start freelance voice-over gigs on Fiverr.

22. Create Music

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

Aside from voiceover jobs, there are plenty of online jobs for teens who are musically gifted.

Whether you’re good at singing or rapping, playing the ukulele, writing lyrics, or composing original music, you can earn as much as you want.

Writing jingles, for example, can get you anywhere from $20 to $500, while composing a musical score for a company’s ad can go as high as $1,000 or more.

23. Listen to music.

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

Yes, something as mundane as listening to music online can be a job now.

Some websites pay you for your feedback, while others will pay you to listen to ads in between songs.

24. Produce Videos

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

Video making is yet another hobby that you can turn into a money-making venture.

Because people love to watch videos, companies are using this medium for ads and everything else; think product releases, announcements, company news, and so on.

Teens with 2D or 3D animation skills could also launch a career in video production. Considering 10-second videos cost $50 to $500 each, that’s something definitely to think about.

25. Answer Questions Online

• Minimum age: 13 (for Fiverr)

For those with a natural love for solving problems, learning new things, and finding answers to various questions, research is a field you’d likely thrive in.

You can dedicate your downtime to answering questions online or providing a more customized service such as those offered on Fiverr to solve school-related problems, life-as-a-teenager questions, and so on.

26. Plan Vacations

• Minimum age: 13 (for Fiverr), some Disney travel agencies require 18+

You don’t have to travel far to get a gig as a tour planner.

Teens can still provide online travel guide services by creating itineraries for future guests or selling local tours.

If you know your way around town, you can even suggest specific tours, such as food tours, kid-friendly tours, or any other off-the-beaten-path tours.

If you’re a fan of Disney cruises and theme parks, you can also become a Disney travel planner and earn big bucks. Check this post for a more comprehensive guide to earning money through Disney-focused travel planning.

27. Develop an App

• Minimum age: None normally

Of all the online jobs for teens available today, being an app or game developer is often at the top of teens’ wish list.

And this isn’t surprising at all.

If you have the coding skills, who wouldn’t want to earn up to $65,000 a year as a home-based game developer? Or a lifelong commission for mobile apps and in-app purchases?

Get started developing an iOS app or an Android app on their respective sites.

28. Conduct Family Tree Research

• Minimum age: 13 (for Fiverr)

Had fun finding out all about your roots when you had to make your family tree in school?

What would you say if you can do this as a part-time job and get paid $25 to $100 per hour?

If you love research and you’re all about the receipts, this online job may be just the right fit for you.

29. Be a Video Game Tester

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company, but most companies prefer applicants 18 years or older

You probably already play a couple of video games yourself, so why not get paid to play them?

Being a video game tester is probably up there as one of the most coveted online jobs for teens.

But being a tester doesn’t only involve playing; you’ll need to have mad skills to go through every scenario possible, as well as the powers of observation to see if there are any bugs or mistakes in the game.

30. Test websites.

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

You’re probably online almost all the time, so you might as well get paid to check out websites.

Website testers typically take note of a website’s design, how easy it is to navigate, whether forms and buttons are working, and all other details, with the aim of launching or updating a website that works the way it’s supposed to.

31. Help People with Their Problems

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

If helping people comes out naturally to you, you can be someone’s “shoulder to cry on.” You can just listen to people’s problems, or give life/relationship advice.

Teens can get $5 to $10 an hour as an online counselor, which can grow to up to $25/hour with experience.

32. Write Greeting Cards

• Minimum age: Varies depending on the company

Either you’ve got the words perfect for greeting cards, or you’re talented with meme-worthy drawings and cartoons, the greeting card industry would welcome you with open arms.

Check out more than 30 companies looking to hire talent for their greeting card business.

33. Create Memes

• Minimum age: 13 (for Instagram, YouTube)

Believe it or not, there are some companies that will pay you to create memes.

It sounds ridiculous, but the right viral content can go for quite a bit of money.

34. Read Books

• Minimum age: No age requirement for most programs

Do you love reading and discussing books?

If so, you don’t have to be of legal age to get paid to read books. Many of the programs I showcased on this post do not have age limitations.

As long as you can follow their guidelines and you actually love reading books, then you’re the right person for this job. Just don’t expect big bucks here, since reading takes time and most gigs only pay around $50.

35. Make and Sell Jewelry on Etsy

• Minimum age: No age requirement, but specific platforms like Etsy or eBay may have age requirements

If you love beads, loombands, wooden accessories, stone pieces and other types of handmade jewelry, you can create as much items as your time permits, sell them on platforms like Etsy or eBay (if you’ve got an oldschool heart). Market your store, and wait for customers to buy.

If you succeed, you can even build your own ecommerce store, or stay within third-party platforms (many sellers still stick to them even if they have a thousands of followers).

36. Create Cool Fonts

• Minimum age: No age requirement

Join a font like FontSpring, FontShop, Linotype, Monotype or P22, and earn about 20% to 50% of the sale whenever your font gets picked by their customers. The amount depends on the company you join.

If you prefer to get 100% of the income, build your own font website and store. The downside to this is that you’d have to market your site and fonts by yourself instead of relying on the popularity of foundries and font resellers like Fonts.com or MyFonts.com.

37. Be a “CyberFriend” for a Stranger

• Minimum age: No age requirement

Some people are actually getting paid to be a friend. If you love interacting with people and maybe helping them shoo the loneliness in their lives, you can become an online friend and get paid for it, too!

Of course, be wary of the dangers of the internet. Make sure you keep the friendship online and not in real life.

38. Write Papers for Other Students

• Minimum age: No age requirement

I’m not here to tell you the ethical side to this or judge you for doing so, but some teens are paid by their classmates to ghost-write academic papers for them.

If you find writing essays and academic papers easy, then try these jobs. The best thing about this is you don’t need to meet your clients – they’ll be paying you online and transferring funds to a platform, who pays freelance writers like you for a job well done.

39. Get Paid to Write Jingles

• Minimum age: No age requirement, but different platforms may require users to be 16 years old or above

Do you find yourself humming a beat, making up lyrics to songs, and headbanging to catchy songs even before they go viral?

If so, you might have what it takes to write jingles!

40. Write Poems

• Minimum age: No age requirement

If you’re someone who produces poems to express their feelings daily, then this one’s for you!

If you’re not much of a poem writer, the frequency of your income might be sporadic, since you can only write so many poems and get them published.

41. Hunt for VHS Tapes and Sell them Online

• Minimum age: No age requirement

Get the list of most in-demand VHS tapes by collectors. Scout any yard sale around your neighborhood, online forums, and even online marketplaces like eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

If you find one (or more), buy them, especially if they’re priced low. There’s a good chance the seller didn’t know their value and just wanted to dispose the bunch of old VHS tapes.

When you secure a lot of these valuable VHS tapes, resell them at a higher price that collectors would gladly pay.

Some Reminders before You Start any Online Jobs for Teens

Here are some things to be mindful of if you want to make side cash from working online.

1. Be mindful of your personal information.

I wish I can tell you that the internet is a good place with fairies and rainbows and everybody getting along and having good intentions.

By now, you should know it’s not.

Being a teenager makes you all the more vulnerable to predatory adults and even other teens.

And you’d be surprised to know what they can do with your full name, photo, home address, and email address.

Always check the URL you’re going into if it’s a legitimate one. Before you apply to a company and before you submit your résumé, make sure to research the company and read their privacy policy and what they can do with your information.

If you have a bad feeling, trust it. Just close your browser and look for something else. There will be other websites and there will be other side gigs.

2. Know the federal and your state’s child labor laws.

(Yes, you’re not a child anymore, but that’s what the laws are called, so grin and bear it. It’s for your own good.)

Child labor laws are in place to protect minors from being exploited and injured in the workplace.

However, even if your workplace is technically at home and your office is on the internet, child labor laws still apply.

These laws mostly cover which industries you can and can’t work in, as well as limit the number of hours you can work during schooldays, weekends, and holidays.

Also, federal laws don’t require work permits for minors, but some states do, so check if your state is one of them.

In addition, bear in mind that you have the same rights as other workers.

Read more about your rights in this article.

3. Learn how to take care of your earnings.

Financial literacy is rarely taught in schools, so you might have to get out of your way to learn about this.

But this is one of those things that adults generally learn too late in life, so learning about it early can only be good for you and your future.

Of course, you can simply ask your parent, guardian, or any other trusted adult to hold on to your earnings, but nothing beats the feeling of making your own money, being able to spend it on things you want or need without having to ask money from others and having savings to boot.

This program is free and is a good starting point to learn about money and how you can use it to achieve your goals.

You’re never too young to know how to save, spend, and invest.

A REMINDER ABOUT PAYOUT OPTION: For online jobs for teens that have no age requirements (or allow 13+ years old teens to work), you have to understand that they need to be able to “withdraw” the money from these platforms. If the only payout option is PayPal (which only allows 18+ years old and above to open an account), you might have to find another platform or side gig.

Going Beyond Part-time Online Jobs for Teens

The internet has given pretty much anyone (women/men, introverts/extroverts, disabled, young/old, and everyone in between) a chance to earn honest and legit cash in the comfort of their own homes. This includes teenagers.

Right now, you need to prioritize school and other extracurricular activities, but once you graduate, find more downtime, or need extra money, there are plenty more online jobs you can explore.

The jobs listed above are only just a handful of the opportunities that working from home will open up.

If you really wish to do the make-money-online route full time, I recommend that you learn everything you can about both types of online jobs and do a regular home-based job while working to increase your passive income.

This combo is the win-win and reason why online entrepreneurs are able to be their own bosses…and it’s never too early to begin your passive income-generating portfolio of online assets, so start today!