The economy's tight and side gigs aren't just "extra cash" anymore. Now they're vital income streams. In fact, experts note that with the rise of AI tools and the digital economy, side hustles will become "powerful streams of income".
Below are five, zero-upfront, online-only hustles you can start solo in 2025. Each has pros and cons. No bullshit here. No courses. Let's start.
AI Prompt Engineering & Consulting
Side note: I fucking haaaaaaaaaate AI. But if you're willing to ignore ethics, you can make absolute bank.
Create and sell sophisticated prompts or AI solutions (e.g. ChatGPT, Midjourney) to businesses. Let me be clear: this is not passive. This is a legit skill-based gig. If you spend a few days learning prompt-writing and AI tools (many free tutorials exist), you can land projects optimizing AI outputs for companies. It’s one of the hottest gigs right now, with freelancers commanding roughly $25–75/hour. Businesses will pay because they need humans to train and refine AI models.
Make videos, podcasts, or social posts to build an audience. This covers anything from a niche YouTube channel to shooting UGC (user-generated content) or TikTok clips. For example, Youtubers in niche fields can pull in around $1.5K–$4K/month from ads and sponsorships once they have subscribers. Even shooting quick review videos for Amazon’s Influencer program can earn $100–$1,200/month. Brands also pay ordinary people to film UGC-style ads, which are recorded like a "real" review. Some average roughly $150–$600 per video.
Imo? Not my thing; I don't like showing my face. But if you're hungry for cash and you're not shy, this is for you.
Affiliate Marketing
Recommend products you use via a blog, YouTube, or social media, and earn commissions on sales. For example, Amazon Associates or other networks let you post tracked links with 0 upfront cost and an extremely easy application process.
With persistence, this can be surprisingly lucrative: seasoned affiliates report making from a few hundred to $5,000+ per month. Affiliate marketing can be passive once you scale.
Digital Products & Print-on-Demand
Create and sell digital goods (eBooks, templates, printables, design files) or design products for print-on-demand (t-shirts, mugs, etc.) on sites like Etsy, Gumroad, Redbubble or Shopify-integrated POD services. There’s literally no cash needed: free tools like Canva or Google Docs can produce saleable products, and POD partners handle all printing/shipping on demand. Sellers in this space can make $500 to $10,000+ per month once they find a niche.
The catch? These POD suppliers take a huge cut of your profit—but only when you make a sale.
Imo this is a good hustle to get into.
Virtual Assistance & Digital Services
Offer remote admin or marketing help to businesses as a one-person agency. Tasks include email management, scheduling, social media posting, basic bookkeeping, or content creation. You can start today by setting up profiles on Fiverr/Upwork or networking locally – no money needed. Virtual assistants and social media managers typically earn $15–$60/hour depending on experience. You can expect to make $20-$30/hr fairly quickly if you're reliable.
Conclusion
Each of these hustles can start as a side gig and scale into a full-time income if you hustle hard. You don't need fancy equipment or upfront cash. Just a pc and your own creativity, grit, and hunger for cash. Pick one of these hustles that fit, give it a couple of months, then reflect on what worked and what didn't. Improve, evolve, then use that to make even more cash.
Now go do the damn work. That extra cash is waiting for you.
The first side hustle I'll be vetting is Prime Opinion. To be honest, survey apps are not worth most people's time. Prime Opinion, however, is one of the better ones—but that still isn't saying much.
First of all, what is Prime Opinion?
It's an app where you complete surveys or play games for cash. Payouts are anywhere from $0.01 to $15—depending on the length of your task.
Is it free? Yes. Downloading Prime Opinion is free. The only currency is your time, and Prime Opinion asks for a lot of it.
My personal experience: 2 hours of effort yielded me $8. That's $4 an hour.
I use Prime Opinion during lunchbreaks, coffee breaks, slow evenings, or boring car rides. It's great for down-time. Since using it a month ago, I've cashed out $80. I haven't had any issues cashing out, but that's because I answer honestly and take my time with surveys.
If you've got some time to kill? PO is great for pocket change.
If you've been laid off and rent's due tomorrow? Not great.
It's steady, it's reliable, but don't count on it for your day job. I would recommend PO over most survey apps.
Here's my referral link to join: https://primeopinion.com/register?ref=a087dd93-f540-467b-a9e2-7f193ffd5537
And here's a non-referral link: Prime Opinion: Survey for Cash - Apps on Google Play
If you do sign up, using my referral helps support the time I spend vetting and posting legit hustles, but no pressure.
I personally vet all side hustles and wfh job postings. Is there a hustle or job you're iffy about? My askbox is open.
Hustle culture is a term that glorifies constant grinding, long hours, endless side projects, and monetizing every skill or passion to maximize earnings. Hustle culture often comes at the expense of your rest, mental health, and wellbeing.
You could call "hustle culture" a symptom of late-stage capitalism. Tbh? Can't disagree. We are in a capitalist hellscape. Yaaaay.
As someone who's neurodivergent, but can't work traditional jobs—hustle culture is both a blessing and a curse for me. I can make decent enough income to live on. But, I always feel like I'm not "doing enough". That weighs on me. And I know this sentiment weighs on others too.
Fortunately, that negative thinking is completely optional. It depends on your mindset and what your actual hustle is. I'm not a therapist or anything, so... we'll be covering the hustle part.
Non-hustle side hustles
Selling digital products.
Make it once. That's it. You don't need to reinvent the wheel every week. You don't need to manage clients, you don't have to pivot niches every other day, and you don't have to chase followers, fame, or clicks. Just... set it, forget it. Some people make $50 a month, some make $1000, and some very few lucky bastards make $10k.
Paid surveys
I would only recommend this if you're short on a little cash. This side hustle will never replace your full-time income. But, if you're okay with that: surveys are decent.
They operate on your time, your preferences. Instead of doomscrolling at night, fill out a 10 minute survey and earn a dollar.
Got a long train ride to work? Fill out surveys. Over time, those surveys'll add up. And by the end of the month, you'll have extra money for... things.
Micro-services (pet sitting, plant watering, etc)
You'd be surprised how lucrative this niche is. You don't need a brand or algorithm. Just post a local flyer, or join Rover.com and let the clients come to you. Some people make full-time income doing this.
On a slightly different note: Doordash, Uber Eats, and similar services are great side hustle income (without the stress).
Transcription
It's boring, it's tedious, and I hate it. But some people love transcription and make entire careers out of it.
You don't have to do that, of course, but you can make some decent money doing this. It's predictable. It's discreet. And it's super easy. Just tedious, that's all.
Renting out unused stuff
Yup. Got a car, an unused room? A DJ set? You can rent those out. Plus, it's completely and 100% passive.
Not much else to say here. Just make a list of things you think you could rent, then do a lil' research. Cars and rooms are most common. But you could probably rent:
Electronics (Playstations, TVs, controllers)
Cameras
Furniture
Party supplies
Portable toilets (but it's crappy work)
Medium writing or simple blogging
This isn't hustle culture because you can work when you feel like.
Write for yourself, first of all—then after a few articles, these random like-minded weirdos start showing up and liking your stuff.
It's magic. It's awesome. And best of all, you can be paid to do this. Medium offers a partner program that pays you by view count. Substack has a paid subscriber program through Stripe. The internet is your oyster. Fill it with your thoughts.
Mystery shopping
You get paid to literally... just hang out in establishments. Get paid to go to Best Buy and talk to an employee. Or get paid to eat Burger King. After you've finished, you report back to the company with a review or written testimony.
Some programs will pay you a flat rate of $15-$30 an hour, while others only pay you for the product you're reviewing. The opportunities are quite literally endless. Make sure to use a reputable service for mystery shopping, as some are scams.
How to avoid hustle culture while earning
Side hustles are meant to assist you in your life. They're not supposed to take it over like a Venom symbiote.
Establish how much time you're willing to spend.
Decide when you stop. And make sure the side hustle stays on the side.
If a side gig starts feeling like a second job, then take a step back and review your life choices. In all likelihood, a side hustle will not replace full income.
Remember: we're a bunch of apes on a rock hurtling through space. Take it easy.
Unfortunately, it is slower and more boring than TikTok makes it look.
Today, I'd like to break it down in extremely simple terms. Because honestly, the gatekeeping is a huge bummer.
What investing actually is
At its core, investing just means putting money into something that grows over time.
Most long-term investing happens in:
stocks (owning tiny pieces of companies)
index funds / ETFs (bundles of many stocks at once)
retirement accounts (like Roth IRAs)
You don’t need to be an expert to do this. Literally look up the top five ETF companies doing this (like Charles Schwab) and call their number. It's super easy.
Another thing:
Stocks vs. index funds (important difference)
Individual stocks
Higher risk
More ups and downs
You’re betting on specific companies
This is where the real risk is, like in the movies.
But in case you didn't know, there's a low risk option:
Index funds / ETFs
Lower risk long-term
Automatically diversified
You’re betting on the overall market
For most people (especially beginners):
👉 index funds beat stock picking
It's slow, boring, but effective. It's reliable returns without the heart attack.
Most people make money doing this. You don't have to go all or nothing pouring $10k into a flimsy memecoin—instead, you can invest into an ETF. Little bits, you know? $50 here, $100 there. Over time, your money compounds and works harder and harder for you.
For example, let's say:
You invest $1,000.00 into an ETF.
The interest rate is 4%. You add $100/mo into this ETF for a full year.
By the end of the year, you will have $2,247.05 and you will have accured $47.05 in free interest.
The thing with ETFs is that they work best long-term. If you invested $100/mo into this $1k account for 10 years, you would earn $2,323.50 in interest alone.
That beats trying to “win big” and burning out. That beats... most things in life, to be honest.
Unfortunately, if you need money next month, investing isn't the move. Markets go up and down all the time. ETFs are slow. Cryptocurrency is dodgy at best, scummy at worst.
But if you need reliable income for, say—retirement, or a future expense? ETFs are your go-to. You can start now and earn for yourself later. Trust me, your future self will thank you.
A little side note:
I'm adding this because a lot of side hustles have this... shall we say: sense of urgency(?). They promise money right now! $10K A MONTH!! BUY MY COURSE!! But that's not realistic.
Sometimes a boring, obscure method tends to be the most reliable.
Like the one I have just explained to you.
Hopefully this has helped. I tried explaining it as simplistically as I can, but I understand if it's still confusing.
My askbox is open if you have any questions.
Please keep in mind I am not a financial advisor. Contact a professional when making financial decisions.
Not everyone has the energy to grind for 6 hours after work. Some days your brain's running on 3% battery and it needs something easy. That's just the reality for 99% of us—especially if you're burnt out. Here are some easy low-key side hustles that don't need a ton of mental energy.
1. Micro-task app
Apps like Swagbucks or Attapoll aren’t life-changing money, but they work when your brain is fried. You can fill out short surveys or play pointless little games while you decompress, earning you pennies for your effort. Over time, those pennies add up and you can easily earn $100/month with just 20 minutes a day.
2. Affiliate blogging
Writing one post a week about something you’ve actually tried is way easier than daily content. You don't have deadlines nor customers to talk to. Just write what you feel like, post the relevant affiliate link, then thank yourself later. It's not guaranteed to make you anything, but it's both scalable and brain-fog friendly. Plenty of single moms earn six figures monthly doing this.
3. Selling digital files
Notes, templates, planners, checklists, even old writing. This is one of the only real "passive income" strats cause once you've made the product, you leave can leave it alone while it earns.
4. Cashback apps
Cashback apps, receipt scanning (such as Fetch), reward programs. They're not exciting, but—they don't require extra thinking, which is the goal here. I subconsciously scan my Fetch receipts everyday at this point. After a couple months, I'll have a nice $50 gift-card I can spend on myself. It's better than nothing, right?
Long answer: Potentially. But there's more wrong with it than right.
If you're an "AI bro", keep scrolling.
Why don't I recommend slop shorts?
First of all, it's not passive. It's not scalable. And it is not reliable.
This technology is constantly evolving (for better or worse), and Youtube is already feeling the heat: Children—the main demographic for this content—are being fed slop content that hinders brain development, and parents are rightfully pushing back. Many people outside of the AI sphere are sick and tired of seeing it on their feeds.
But let's humor this idea for just a moment.
—You will be working your ass off. The entire process is more tedious than you think. Unless you go viral, you will spend the first 6-12 months working for free.
—The platform is already flooded with the same AI content. Your shorts will most likely never be monetized because it falls under "unoriginal content".
—Even if (and that's a BIG if), you are monetized, revenue is extremely inconsistent and can disappear without warning.
—Your channel can and will be terminated without warning. Youtube's policies change all the time.
—You're creating nothing of value, and if your slop channel disappeared one day, nobody would miss it.
And we haven't even touched on the ethics, but, I digress; are AI slop shorts a good side hustle? No.
I personally vet all side hustles and wfh job postings. Is there a hustle or job you're iffy about? My askbox is open.
