When I first started to look into making money online, I found a lot of scams and a lot of ways to make money that I wasn’t actually able to do in the UK. So, in order to help you out a little, I’ve filtered through all of that to bring you the best, genuine ways to make money online UK.

First of all, it’s important to know that everything I share with you on My Money Cottage is a genuine way to make money, I don’t do scams or MLM schemes or anything like that. What I do is make money from home. And if I can do it, then so can you.

Whether you’re looking for a way to make extra money for Christmas, or you desperately need to make extra cash simply in order to make ends meet, the ways to make money online UK will definitely help you to boost your finances.

The best ways to make money online UK

There are so many ways to make money in the UK, but my absolute favourites are the ones I can do online. What better than sitting in your pjs in the comfort of your own home, with all your home comforts around you and actually making money??? It doesn’t get much better than that in my book.

I’ve put together this pretty comprehensive list of my top 15 ways to make money online UK, but if you want to take things a little further and find out even more, then it’s worth signing up to my FREE email course which talks you through 30 different ways to make money on the side.

There are lots of ways you can make money online in the UK, and these are a few of my favourites.

1.Matched Betting

Yes, I know I talk about it a lot, but that’s with good reason! I have made thousands of pounds just from matched betting since I started in 2015 – it has completely changed my life and that’s no exaggeration. Matched Betting quickly became a massive source of income for me and that’s why it’s got first place in this list of ways to make money online UK.

One of the big bonuses with matched betting is that as well as being risk-free, it’s also completely tax-free. For tax purposes, it’s classed as gambling – IT IS NOT GAMBLING – but as gambling proceeds are tax-free then I’m happy with that classification in this instance.

How does it work?

If you’re really brand new to Matched Betting, then you might be wondering what on earth it is and how on earth it all works! If that sounds like you, then my beginner’s Matched Betting course might help – it goes into the very basics of how it works from scratch, explaining it in really simple terms.

Matched Bettors basically take advantage of bookmaker offers in a way that guarantees a profit every single time. As long as you use a reputable service and follow the instructions to the letter, then there is absolutely no risk involved.

How much money can you make?

This is a really difficult one to answer because how much you can make depends on a few things.

If you don’t have much time to dedicate to matched betting, then you could still make at least £300 every month. In fact, Profit Accumulator, the service I use to find me all the Matched Betting offers have a dedicated thread on their forum where they share exactly which offers you should do each day in order to achieve that  £300/month figure.

If you’re on the fence, then it’s really worth signing up to the free trial so that you can see whether Matched Betting is right for you – there’s no obligation to continue once your free trial ends, they don’t take any payment details, and you’ll make around £45 completely risk-free!

Some Matched Bettors go on to do this full-time, they actually find that they make so much money that it’s financially more worthwhile for them to be at home catching all the offers than it is for them to go out to work. If you have more time on your hands, then you can easily make £1,000 or more every month. Again, Profit Accumulator have a dedicated thread where they share daily which offers to do in order to make £1,000 every month.

2.Blogging

This has to be my all time favourite way to make money online UK. And the beauty of this one is that you can actually do it from anywhere in the world.

If you’re a regular reader, then you’ll probably know that I actually started blogging around 10 years ago, but it’s only been the last twelve months or so that I’ve taken it seriously as a way to make money – and what a twelve months it’s been!

I’ve gone from making absolutely nothing from blogging to consistently making more money blogging than I do from my part-time job. And I’m following bloggers who are making TEN TIMES the amount that I am.

How does it work?

Bloggers make their money in a number of ways. The main ones being:

• Affiliate marketing
• Sponsored content
• Ad revenue
• Hosting guest content

Many bloggers actually start out blogging as a hobby before realising that it can be a fantastic way to make money. That’s certainly how I started out.

How much money can you make?

The earning possibilities from blogging are endless, so you could make an awful lot of money doing this. But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s easy, because it’s not! You have to have a lot of determination and dedication in order to make a success of blogging otherwise you just won’t be successful.

I know of bloggers doing this full-time who are earning six figures from their blog, but they’ve worked HARD to get there.

If you treat your blog like a business, then you’ll be far more likely to make a good living from it than if you treat it as a hobby.

3. Website Testing

Website or user testing is a really easy way to make money online UK. I try to fit in a few of these every week to keep topping up my income. The jobs usually take a maximum of ten minutes, so they’re really easy to fit into your day.

How does it work?

You’ll need to sign up to a few websites and register your details so that you can start to receive jobs. WhatUsersDo is a great one to start with. They will email you whenever a new job becomes available, so it’s really easy to keep track of new work and log in to complete it.

How much money can you make?

This really depends on how quick you are at logging in and accepting the jobs as they become available, but I aim to make £100-£200 every month from website testing. Some months are much quieter than others, and I know I’m at an advantage because I work from home and can dip into tests as soon as they land in my inbox. It’s worth signing up to a few sites if you can:

WhatUsersDo

User Testing

TryMyUI

4. Survey Sites

Survey sites are a great way to bring in extra money in your spare time. You can dip in and out as little or as often as you like depending on how much time you have available. Some sites pay much more than others, so it’s really important to prioritise which sites you head to first, especially when you’re short on time.

How does it work?

Lots of companies carry out market research through surveys. They’ll set specific criteria for the demographics of the people they want to carry out their survey and how many they’d like to reach. Survey sites will then reach out to people who fit those demographics and pay out a set amount for you to complete the survey.

How much money can you make?

Survey sites are well-known for being low payers, but if you’re picky about which surveys you do, you can still make a decent amount.

Prolific Academic are widely regarded as being the highest paying survey site, so you should definitely start with them. I’ve had surveys paying as much as £6 with Prolific Academic. One of the other HUGE benefits with Prolific is that you’re never screened out, every time a survey says it’s available to you, it really is, and as long as you complete it properly, then you’ll be paid. One of the most frustrating things with survey sites is being screened out after you’ve got half way through!

You do need to be quick with Prolific Academic though, as surveys can quickly be filled – I’ve got some handy tips here to help you to boost your chances of bagging those high paying surveys.

5. Get Paid To Sites

Paid task sites, also known as “get paid to” sites can be a great way to make an additional income. Like surveys, you can dip into them as little and as often as you like which means they’re perfect for fitting in around your other commitments.

How does it work?

Get paid to sites are pretty much what they say on the tin – you get paid to complete tasks. The amount you get paid and the types of tasks you do will vary greatly between different sites.

These are a few of my favourite paid task sites:

OhMyDosh

Earnably

Swagbucks

ClickWorker

InstaGC

How much money can you make?

I have to be honest and say that GPT sites take a little bit of getting used to, so they often aren’t a quick money-spinner. I know of people who earn $10 a day just from InstaGC, so if you know what you’re doing and you have a decent amount of time to spare, then spread across a few sites this could add to up to a good amount each month.

6. eBay Reseller

Lots of us sell our old, unwanted stuff on eBay, but did you know that there are people who resell on eBay as a full-time business?

How does it work?

Professional eBay sellers hunt charity shops and auctions for items that they know they can make a profit on. They get to know which items sell best on eBay and which ones to avoid. If you’re thinking of going down this route, then you will definitely need some kind of storage, with a good system in place for keeping track of your stock. See this post from a professional reseller with some tips on how to boost your eBay sales.

How much money can you make?

The earning potential with this is pretty limitless. If you work hard, buy carefully and do your research, then you could earn thousands. The reality is that many eBay resellers quickly find themselves earning a couple of hundred every month within a few months of getting started. It is hard work though, and it’s not a quick and easy way to make money!

7. Freelance Writing

This is something that you can do from the comfort of your own home in your spare time, and it does have the potential to become a full-time business.

How does it work?

Many businesses will outsource their writing. There are lots of reasons for this, they might not have the time or the man power within their business to do it themselves, or they might want to hire somebody with specialist knowledge of a particular subject area, or somebody who’s really clued up on writing SEO rich posts.

You can find work as a freelance writer in various places. Fiverr and Upwork are good places to start.

How much money can you make?

This is difficult to answer. When you first start out and you don’t have much of a reputation or portfolio, you might find that you’re working pretty hard for little reward. But as you become more competent and receive more feedback, you’ll be able to start to increase your fees.

Many freelance writers started off in this field with it being a side hustle alongside their job, but they’ve been able to build up their client list in such a way that it becomes a full-time, work from home job.

8. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is an income source I’m working really hard on at the moment. In an ideal world, once you do a bit of leg work in the early days, affiliate marketing will become a consistent source of income that brings in money without you constantly working hard. It’s the ultimate form of passive income. Making money whilst you’re sleeping has to be the dream, doesn’t it?! Once you get to grips with it, it’s easy to see why affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money online UK.

How does it work?

When you make money as an affiliate, it simply means that you make money for recommending a service or product when somebody clicks through your unique link and makes a purchase. There are lots of different ways you can do this, and lots of different companies you can register with as an affiliate.

In my line of work as a blogger, I make an affiliate income in a few different ways. I only recommend products or services I really value and this means that my readers trust me. This is really important. I share products on the blog, on social media, and in particular within the Bargain Bunny Facebook group where I share deals and offers every day.

How much money can you make?

This really depends on how much work you’re prepared to put into affiliate marketing in the early days and how you plan to do things long-term.

If you have a successful Facebook group with an active following, you could make thousands of pounds every month from affiliate marketing.

I think affiliate marketing works best when you have a specific niche that your followers really get.

It’s definitely worth signing up to affiliate network where you will be able to join numerous affiliate programs all in the same place – it makes things so much easier, particularly when you’re starting out.

In the early days, you might just see a handful of sales, but this does build up over time.

9. Pinterest Affiliate

Strictly speaking, this one could sit under Affiliate Marketing above, but it’s definitely worth a mention on it’s own as it’s a method that many people either don’t think about or don’t give enough credit to.

How does it work?

Did you know that you can actually pin affiliate links on Pinterest??? It’s something that I only found out a while after I’d started blogging and it’s a side hustle I’m planning on working on a lot in the future.

In order to make money, you just need to create a pinnable image (canva is good for this) and then make sure that your pin links through to an affiliate link. You can do this with pretty much anything.

How much money can you make?

With very little effort, you could make an easy £100 every month from pinning images. Obviously, the more time and effort you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. As time goes on, you will also be able to get a good understanding of what types of pins work best for you and which items produce the most affiliate sales.

10. YouTube

We often hear about YouTubers making an absolute fortune from their videos – and it’s possible to make an income from YouTube no matter where you are in the world. It’s not as easy as it used to be, but many do still succeed.

How does it work?

Pretty much all you need to get started is internet access, some kind of camera, a microphone (or a smart phone works just as well), and a YouTube account. In order to start monetising your account, you need to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of annual viewing time. So it’s safe to say that you can’t start making money from YouTube straight away. However, if you enjoy making videos, then you can have some fun and gain some experience whilst you work your way towards those levels.

YouTubers make money from ads and sponsorships. You may have noticed ads that play on some YouTube videos, those YouTubers will make a small amount of money just from you watching those adverts. They may also be paid by brands to promote their products on their YouTube channel.

How much money can you make?

You may have seen the young YouTuber who’s making $11 million a year from YouTube. That’s pretty impressive! There’s really no limit when it comes to making money from YouTube, and it’s a great way to make money online UK where you can reach audiences from all over the world!

11. Proofreading

Proofreading is something that I’m now employed to do for 25 hours every week from home. It fits in perfectly with our family life and it means I have a steady income alongside my other side hustles.

How does it work?

Proofreaders are paid to check text for errors and correct them before an article or piece of writing goes live to paying customers. Proofreaders may be freelance or employed and the type of work they can be asked to do is extremely varied.

If you’re just starting out,  you can find paid work on websites such as Fiverr and Upwork.

How much money can you make?

Many proofreaders start off with proofreading as a side hustle, earning maybe £50-£100 every month. It can quickly become a profession earning upwards of £1,000 per month. If you’re able to offer proofreading in a specific niche, then you’ll be able to charge more money.

12. Virtual Assistant

Being a virtual assistant is another one of those side hustles that often becomes a business in it’s own right.

How does it work?

Virtual assistants are often hired by bloggers and small businesses to ease some of their workload. They work virtually (usually from home) and are usually self-employed which cuts out a lot of the paperwork and the hassle of hiring staff.

Often, a virtual assistant will be hired for a few hours each week to complete set tasks. These might include:

• Managing social media accounts
• Responding to emails
• Answering calls
• Typing
• Writing content
• Sourcing work

The possibilities are pretty endless. It’s often a good idea to set yourself up as an “expert” in one area – so if pinterest is your thing, then you could advertise your services pinning and scheduling pins for clients. Believe me, bloggers will pay for this service!

How much money can you make?

You could probably start off charging £10-£15 per hour and slowly increase this figure as you become more experienced. If you manage to fill your working week with clients, it’s easy to see how this can become a full-time business.

13. Dropshipping

How does it work?

Dropshippers sell products without ever actually handling the goods. Dropshippers advertise products online that they plan to source from a willing wholesaler or specialist dropship provider.

Once they make a sale, the seller sends the details to the dropshipping company, who then ship the product directly to the customer.

Starting a dropshipping business does require a lot of research, as it can be quite difficult to make a decent profit once you factor in shipping costs and any tax you’ll need to pay. It’s a good idea to find a niche product as many categories are already quite heavily saturated.

How much money can you make?

The beauty of dropshipping is that you need very little money upfront to get started. You don’t need to pay for storing stock, or actually buy any stock, you just need to set up some kind of shopfront online which you can do pretty cheaply if you shop around.

Once you’re set up, you need to start getting word around about your shop and your products which can take some time.

In the longrun though, dropshipping CAN be really profitable, and there are people who consistently make enough for this to become their main source of income – so a few thousand every month. BUT don’t think that this is a way to make money quickly, because it takes a lot of time and dedication to reach those giddy heights.

14. Etsy Shop

This is a great way to make money online UK if you’re a little bit crafty or creative.

How does it work?

To start with, you’ll need to have a product to sell – think homemade products with a high quality finish. If you’re not particularly crafty, then there are actually lots of other options of items you can make – budget planners, daily meal planners, printed t-shirts, the list is endless…

Once you have your product or range of products, you will need to register as a seller on etsy and then you can start to list your products – simple!

How much money can you make?

Take a look at my guest post from Laura who has turned her Etsy side hustle into a business – she shares some great tips on how to get started and make your products stand out from the crowd.

How much you can make massively depends on how popular your etsy shop becomes, so it’s really important to do your research and price your products well. Some sellers will only make £30 per month, whereas others go on to make this their full-time business, earning a few thousand pounds every month!

15. Mobile Phone Apps

Most of us have smartphones these days and it’s amazing what we can actually do with them! But did you know that you could actually make money from your smartphone? This is one of the fastest growing ways to make money online UK.

How does it work?

You’ll need to download apps to your phone and complete tasks or one off jobs in order to make money.

These are a few of the best mobile phone apps to download to make money online UK:

• CitizenMe
• Roamler
• BeMyEye
• Streespotr
• Mobeye
• Job Spotter
• Appjobber
• Field Agent

How much money can you make?

In reality, you’re not going to get rich with mobile phone apps, but the great thing is that you can dip in and out of jobs as and when you have some free time. You should be able to regularly make upwards of £50 a month and you may well be able to improve on this as you become more efficient at using the apps.

 

I’m not suggesting that you go all out right now and start all 15 of these ways to make money online UK immediately, but just think what a difference to your finances it would make if you made a go of just one of these.

Pin it and pop back for ideas of how to make money online UK!