20 Simple Ways To Make Money From Home During Lockdown

The knock on effects of the recent and ongoing lockdown and social distancing are far-reaching and have had serious effects on people’s jobs and income. Some people are working as normal (albeit under different conditions), some have lost jobs, some put on furlough and many experiencing a drop in income. If you are struggling it might be worth checking with Citizen’s Advice to see what help may be available.

For many reasons, even as lockdown is easing, a lot of us are feeling more financial pressure at the moment, so I’ve put together a list of ways to make money from home to help ease the pressure a little if possible.

Maybe you just need a little extra to keep your budget ticking over, or perhaps you simply want to use time stuck at home to earn some cash to put towards a post lockdown party when we’re finally allowed to socialise normally again, whenever that may be!

(Assuming you’re not stuck at home with kids. I appreciate you now no longer have time to even pee on your own.)

Whatever the reason for needing to make money from home in lockdown, or even despite it, although it might be a bit trickier than usual with some side hustle options simply off the table, it’s still possible to being in some extra isolation income.

Here’s a list of ideas to make money from home during lockdown – all you need is a laptop/computer or smartphone and an internet connection.

You can also check out our up to date list of free money offers in the UK.

How To Make Money From Home in 2021

1. Usertribe

Usertribe is a crowd-sourced research community. When you become a tester with User Tribe you’ll be compensated for evaluation ideas and concepts and providing feedback to help companies develop their products and services.

You can be a participant for Usertribe from all over the world as long as you have a computer or smartphone, and you’ll be rewarded based on each particular study depending on the time and effort needed.

2. Clickworker

Clickworker is a crowdsourcing platform that consists of over 1.9 million worldwide internet users who are paid to perform small tasks known as microjobs, making it a great option for people wanting to make money from home, whatever their situation.

Jobs can be completed flexibly in your own time and payment will vary depending on the task.

Whilst you don’t necessarily need specific experience or qualifications to be able to find work on Clickworker, your skills and experience will be taken into account and increase or decrease your eligibility for certain projects.

Once you’ve registered you’ll need to fill in your relevant skills, qualifications and interests and complete trainings and tests to ensure your ability to complete tasks.

The amount paid will vary by the time and skill needed to complete the work and fees will usually be added to your Clickworker account 7 days after completion. You can be paid via PayPal or into you bank or TransferWise account.

3. Prolific

Prolific is an academic research crowd sourcing platform that compensates its participants for taking part in studies. Some studies pay more than others but all usually offer a reasonable reward in return for your time.

Once you’ve signed up as a participant you’ll need to fill in your profiling questionnaire which allows them to match you with eligible studies. You’ll be shown how much each study pays before choosing to participate and will receive your reward once your response has been verified by the researcher.

Prolific pays out in PayPal payments, which you can redeem after earning £5.

4. Virtual Assistance

Virtual Assistants are freelance workers who work remotely from home carrying out administrative jobs. These could be similar to an in-person assistant or secretary or range to creative and digital tasks. If you have skills or services to offer you could set up as a Virtual Assistant. You could even become a virtual friend!
Just a few examples of services that could be offered by VAs include:

Appointment Setting
Data Entry
Proofreading
Editing
Social Media Management
Content writing
Emails
Copywriting
Design
Video Editing
Bookkeeping

5. Sell designs

Why not bring out your creative side and design some T-shirts?

Uploading your designs onto sites that print on demand is a great way to make money from home. You don’t even have to use graphics if that’s not your thing, slogans and word play work well for this too.

You can upload your designs on TeeMill, Amazon Merch, or Teespring and then when someone purchases you’ll receive commission. This is great for passive income, as once you’ve created your designs, they can keep on selling without you having to do any more work.

6. Website testing

If you have a stable internet connection and a laptop or computer with a microphone, you could start making extra cash testing websites, making sure they function properly and highlighting any bugs or glitches.
Companies that pay for this service include:

7. Y Live

Y Live (formerly Populus Live) is a survey company that pays a set rate of £1 per 5 minutes of survey taking, which is pretty high in the survey world. Once you’re registered to the panel you’ll start to receive survey invitations via email.

With Y Live, you need to earn £50 before being paid, and they’ll transfer you’re earnings into your bank account. It can take a while to build your earnings to £50, but as the rate of earning is set, it’s a good return on your time investment.

8. Tutoring

Teaching English via video call is a great way to use your native language skills to help others learn. Some companies will require you to work to a lesson plan, and others just need native English speakers to hold conversations with students to help them learn and practise. One company you can work for without an ESOL certificate is Cambly, a completely flexible language tutoring service. They pay just over $10 per hour.

If you have skills in particular subjects you could give tutoring to students currently out of school or who need extra help. To find potential students you could try advertising locally or for online searching, try registering with TutorHunt – a site designed to connect students and tutors.

9. Selling

While it might not be as easy at the moment as popping listings on Facebook Marketplace and waiting for someone to collect, with Post Offices still open, you could still make money selling on Ebay and buy/sell apps.

If you’re taking the time now to have a good clear out and declutter, you might as well try and make some money from your unwanted items.

To improve your chances of selling at a good price make sure to take accurate photos in good quality lighting, including different angles, and write detailed and honest descriptions.

10. Youtube

Bored on lockdown? Looking for a creative way to expend some energy? Why not considering starting your own YouTube channel.

You can make videos on crafting & DIY, music, dancing, hobbies, pets or anything you can think of! For some reason my kids love watching random strangers playing games and making up stories with plastic Peppa Pig characters. Go figure.

Once you’ve built up enough views, you can start making money from your videos with advertising.

11. Sell on Etsy

Are you crafty? If you already have a hobby making handmade arts and crafts or are planning on starting one, you could make money selling on Etsy. There are so many different crafts you can make to sell.

My super talented friend Suzie makes beautiful resin keepsakes with flowers, which is now her full time income, some people paint or draw, sew, make candles, sell stickers, honestly the list is endless, so if you are creative the opportunities are definitely there!

12. Make Money From Home Transcribing

If you’ve got good listening skills and some free time then online transcriptionist work could be for you. You’ll need a good internet connection, computer and headphones and be able to listen and type up what you hear.

Usually you’ll be paid per project or per hour of audio. You can sign up for transcribing work on sites such as Babbletype and Take Note. Before being accepted you will need to complete a test assignment to check your competence.

13. Blogging

If you love to write, have something you’re passionate about or have information to share or a particular story or skill to share, then blogging is potentially a good way to both enjoy something and eventually create an income from.

Whatever you’re thinking of writing about, there are people out there making money from blogs in all kinds of niches. Whether you want to share recipes, support peers with a particular issue, or want to help people with looking after their pets there is bound to be a blogging niche for you.

I won’t lie, some niches are going to be more profitable than others, but if you’re going to do it make sure it’s about something you have an interest in.

The bonus to blogging as a business is that it actually costs very little to start up. All you’ll need is webhosting and a domain name, which costs just a few pounds per month.

I use Freethought for my web hosting, as they are both an ethical carbon neutral company, and offer affordable pricing starting from just £1.25 a month.

It isn’t a get rich quick scheme and will definitely take some time and determination, but if you put in the effort to write plenty of content, and learn how to build up traffic, you can definitely start to build an income from blogging. The ways bloggers make money include display advertising, affiliate marketing and creating sponsored content.

14. Use Get Paid To Sites

Get paid to sites are exactly what they sound like. They contain various ways to earn money online by completing tasks, surveys, data-entry and more. There are plenty of sites to choose from, but all will offer similar ways of earning, and will compensate you for your time and effort in the same ways, namely: PayPal payments, prepaid Mastercards, and gift cards for various retailers.

Here are some of the most popular GPT Sites:

15. Pinecone

Pinecone Research is a consumer research site that pays you to answer market research questions about new products.

Surveys are paid at a set fee of £3 per survey, and are all a similar length (10-15 mins).

Surveys are usually questionnaires about new products, asking your thoughts on the designs and marketing materials. Surveys usually don’t take any longer to complete than 10-15 minutes. Most surveys can be completed on either a desktop or mobile device.

Once you have signed up and completed your demographic questionnaire, surveys will start to be sent to you. Survey invitations are sent directly via email, and you can click the link to log in and complete. Once completed, your payment will be added into your account.

You can then redeem your earnings as a PayPal payment or gift voucher.

16. Freelance on Fiverr

Whatever you’re good at, there’s probably someone out there who needs help with it! Offer your services for work on websites like Upwork or Fiverr and monetise your skills. These could include anything from editing, logo design, copywriting, posting on social media – whatever your skills are, you can advertise them. You can also look through the job postings and apply for any you think are a good fit for you.

17. Mobile Xpression

MobileXpression is a research app that collects data about internet usage. You can install it on your smartphone or tablet (or both to earn more!). Once you’ve had the app installed for a week you’ll earn your first gift card, and the longer you keep it, the more gift cards you’ll earn. For every 90 days you’re a member, they’ll also plant a tree in your honour.

18. Scan your receipts

This won’t make much, but it’s so easy you might as well take the few seconds to take a pic of your receipts after shopping and upload them to receipt scanning apps such as Shoppix or Receipt Hog. You’ll earn points for each receipt you scan which you can then exchange for cash or gift cards.

19. Get Paid To Play Smartphone Games

If you enjoy playing games on your phone to pass the time, why not earn a few pennies at the same time?

Coin Pop is an Android app you can use to earn money playing games. With Coin Pop you collect points for trying out and playing different games. You earn more points for the longer you play. Points can be redeemed for cash or Amazon vouchers.

Another app that pays you to try out games is Mist Play. With Mist Play you earn credits (called units) the longer you play selected games. You get bonus units for reaching higher levels and playing at certain times. Once you’ve collected enough units, you can cash out for Amazon vouchers, a Visa payment, Mastercard or other choice of gift card.

20. Use Survey Apps

While surveys aren’t the highest paying way to make money from home, they do offer flexibility and simplicity, which can be useful! I like to do surveys while watching TV in the evening if I feel like it, and the money adds up over time. It’s easy to add some apps to your phone and take surveys whenever you have the time or inclination.

Some survey apps you could try are:

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