Weird Ways to Make Money Online (2025 Guide)

If you're looking for creative ways to earn money from home, then you might be interested in some unconventional gigs that actually pay. The internet has opened up opportunities that most people never knew existed. You can earn money doing things that seem strange but are completely legitimate and in demand.

So, let's check out the weird ways you can make money online.

Best Weird Ways to Make Money Online in 2025

Here are some of the most unusual but real ways to earn money online:

1. Become a Professional Online Friend

You can get paid to be someone's friend online. There are platforms where lonely people pay for companionship, and you provide emotional support through video calls or messaging.

RentAFriend.com is the most popular platform with over 600,000 members. You set your own rates, typically between $10-50 per hour, and clients pay you to chat, attend virtual events, or just be someone to talk to. The platform is strictly platonic - no romantic relationships allowed.

Other similar platforms include RentACyberFriend.com, where you earn 10 cents to $1 per minute of video chat time. After their 20% fee, you could make up to $48 per hour if you charge $1 per minute.

You will get paid for text messaging, phone calls, video chats, and even playing online games with clients. You need good communication skills and patience, but no special qualifications are required.

2. Mock Jury Participation

You can earn money by serving as an online mock juror, reviewing real legal cases from home. Law firms use mock juries to test their cases before going to trial.

eJury pays $5-10 per case and uses PayPal for payments. OnlineVerdict offers higher pay at $20-60 per case, depending on complexity, with payments made by check. Some virtual mock trials can pay up to $700 for longer cases that require multiple hours.

JuryTest.net pays $20-50 per trial, while ResolutionResearch offers $5-300 depending on case complexity. TrialJurors.com provides some of the highest payouts at $100-150 per case.

The main requirements are being 18+ years old and residing in the US. You must be eligible for jury duty in the jurisdiction where the case is being tried.

3. Food and Taste Testing

Companies pay people to taste test their products and provide feedback on new foods and beverages. McCormick pays taste testers at their Hunt Valley, Maryland location or for at-home testing. You can participate up to four times per year, with payment varying based on test type and duration. Contract Testing offers a minimum of $35 per session for testing various food products.

Focus & Testing in Los Angeles specializes in food and beverage research. L&E Opinions and Schlesinger Group also hire testers for product evaluation studies. TasteMakers Research Group connects you with companies looking for consumer insights on emerging products.

Most taste tests take 20 minutes to an hour, and you're testing everything from new snacks to beverages. Some companies also test non-food products, so you could expand into other areas.

4. Sell Your Voice Recordings

You can monetize your voice by selling recordings online for various uses like voiceovers, audiobooks, commercials, and AI voice training.

Voxalized.com is a high-quality marketplace where singers can earn up to 70% commission on vocal sales. They promote your vocals while you earn passive income, with monthly PayPal payouts.

ElevenLabs Voice Library pays you when others use your voice for AI generation. Murf AI also purchases voice data to improve their AI voices. These platforms are growing as AI voice technology expands.

Payhip and similar platforms let you sell voice recordings directly to customers. You can create and sell vocal samples, spoken word content, meditation tracks, or custom recordings.

5. Earn Cash from Product Testing

Companies desperately need real people to test their products before launching them to the public, creating lucrative opportunities for anyone willing to share honest feedback.

UserTesting pays testers $10 for 20-minute website tests and up to $120 for live interview sessions. With consistent effort, some dedicated testers report earning $150 daily. The platform partners with major brands like Samsung, HP, and Adobe.

Pinecone Research offers exclusive product testing opportunities with $3 per survey and around $6 for product testing assignments. Members receive free products to test at home before they hit store shelves, earning both money and keeping the items.

BetaTesting pays up to $50 for finding significant bugs in apps and websites. Their community of 400,000+ testers work with startups and established companies, earning $15-$30 for typical 45-60 minute testing sessions.

Test.io connects freelance testers with tech companies needing quality assurance. Testers earn based on bugs discovered, with top findings paying up to $50 each. Most active testers receive at least five testing opportunities daily

6. Get Paid to Listen to Music

Music streaming platforms and artists pay people to listen to songs and provide reviews.

SoundCampaign pays playlist curators up to $14 per song review. You need a Spotify playlist with at least 1,000 real organic followers. They send you songs matching your playlist genres, and you earn for each review.

Playlist Push offers up to $12 per track for Spotify playlist curators with 1,000+ followers and 30+ monthly listeners. For TikTok creators with 30,000+ followers, they pay up to $10 per video using their music.

SubmitHub connects you with artists who pay for music reviews. Some influencers have earned tens of thousands of dollars through their platform. JumpTask also offers music listening tasks with crypto rewards.

7. Video Game Testing

Gaming companies pay testers to find bugs and provide feedback on new games and apps before release. TestingTime pays up to €40-50 per hour for testing video games from home. Most sessions last 30-90 minutes, and they provide guidance throughout the process. You don't need to be an expert gamer - they want genuine user feedback.

BetaTesting connects you with companies testing apps, websites, and connected devices. Rewards typically range from $15-30 for 45-60 minute tests, paid through Tremendous within 14 days.

PlaytestCloud pays around $9 for 15-minute game testing sessions. GameTester.gg offers similar opportunities for real-world gaming insights. Test.IO pays you to find bugs in websites and apps, with higher payouts for critical bug discoveries.

8. Mystery Shopping

You get paid to evaluate websites, customer service, and online shopping experiences.

Companies hire mystery shoppers to test their online stores and report on the user experience. You might place real orders (which get reimbursed) and evaluate everything from website navigation to checkout process.

Market Force and BestMark are established mystery shopping companies that offer online assignments. Payment ranges from $5-50+ per task depending on complexity and time required.

9. Participate in Sleep Studies

Researchers pay people to participate in sleep studies, either at sleep labs or through at-home monitoring. Sleep research centers conduct studies on sleep patterns, sleep aids, and sleep disorders. Some studies pay hundreds of dollars for participation. University research facilities often run these studies and recruit participants through online platforms.

You might wear monitoring devices, keep sleep diaries, or try new sleep products. The pay varies based on study length and complexity, but it's literally money for sleeping.

10. Selling Digital Screenshots and Images

You can create and sell screenshots, digital art, or even unusual image collections online.

While the NFT market has cooled, there's still demand for unique digital images and artwork. Platforms like OpenSea still facilitate sales of digital art and screenshots.

Stock photo sites like Shutterstock pay for creative images. Even unusual or niche screenshots can find buyers if they serve a specific purpose or audience.

11. Professional Baby Naming Services Online

You can earn money helping parents choose names for their children through online baby naming consultancy services. Many families pay hundreds of dollars for meaningful names that match their cultural background and personal preferences.

DusBus Namkaran charges ₹4,599-10,999 for personalized naming packages that include astrology consultation, numerology analysis, and cultural research. They provide two sets of 15 names each, with complete birth chart analysis and customized recommendations based on parent preferences.

Fiverr hosts dozens of baby naming specialists who earn $20-300 per naming project. You create packages offering different levels of service - from basic name lists to complete cultural and astrological analysis. Some specialists charge extra for rush orders or multiple revisions.

LuckyBaby Name services charge ₹2,500+ for automated astro-numerology naming reports. You need knowledge of numerology, astrology, or cultural naming traditions. Many consultants specialize in specific communities or naming systems.

12. Virtual Pet Care Assistant Services

Pet owners pay virtual assistants to help manage their animals' care schedules, veterinary appointments, and daily routines without physical contact.

Pet care virtual assistants handle appointment scheduling, medication reminders, grooming bookings, and pet supply ordering. You can charge $15-40 per hour managing multiple pet owners' schedules and coordinating their animals' needs.

AI-powered pet care platforms offer template services for virtual pet consultations. Virtual Veterinary Care provides veterinary virtual assistant services for clinics, automating SOAP notes and patient summaries. You can get trained on these platforms and work remotely.

Some virtual assistants specialize in pet social media management, creating content for pet influencer accounts. Others handle customer service for pet businesses, managing booking systems and client communications from home.

13. Professional Line Standing Services

You get paid to wait in lines for other people who don't want to spend their time queueing for restaurants, events, product launches, or government offices. You can do this if these spots are located close to your home. It’s a quick and weird way to make money online that requires you to stay connected online and just take a walk to stand and wait at a place.

TaskRabbit and Airtasker connect line standers with clients who need queuing services. You can earn $15-50+ per hour depending on the situation and how long the wait is expected to be. Popular requests include DMV lines, restaurant openings, concert tickets, and product launches.

Professional line standers often work overnight for major product releases like new iPhones or gaming consoles. Some clients pay $200-500 for multi-day camping situations where you secure spots for limited releases or special events.

Government office queuing pays well since people hate waiting at passport offices, social services, and licensing bureaus. You arrive early, hold their place, and text them when it's almost their turn. Winter and summer outdoor waits typically pay premium rates.

14. Online Crying and Emotional Release Services

Japanese companies pay people to provide crying services where clients pay to have someone cry with them or for them during difficult times. You can offer similar emotional release services through video calls for people dealing with stress, grief, or overwhelming situations.

Rent-a-Friend platforms sometimes include emotional support services where you get paid to listen to people vent, celebrate with them during good times, or simply provide companionship during difficult periods. Some specialists charge $30-60 per hour for guided emotional release sessions.

Virtual comfort services have grown since 2020, where you provide emotional support through video calls. You might read bedtime stories to adults, sing lullabies, or just sit quietly with someone who feels lonely. These sessions typically pay $20-40 per hour.

15. Digital Hoarding and Data Collection Services

You can earn money by systematically collecting and organizing digital information for researchers, journalists, and businesses who need large amounts of online data gathered and categorized.

Social media archiving services pay people to screenshot and document social media posts before they disappear. Legal firms and researchers hire digital collectors to preserve online evidence or track social media trends over time. You can earn $12-25 per hour doing systematic digital documentation.

Meme and viral content archiving pays collectors to document internet culture trends. Some historians and researchers pay for comprehensive documentation of online communities, viral videos, and digital subcultures. Payment ranges from $10-30 per hour depending on the complexity.

Website change monitoring services hire people to manually track and document changes to specific websites over time. You screenshot and record modifications to competitor sites, pricing changes, or product updates. Some companies pay $15-35 per hour for detailed change documentation.

16. Take Part in Clinical Trials from Home

Medical research companies need real people to test their treatments and will pay you to participate from your own home through virtual clinical trials.

Virtual clinical trials let you join medical studies without visiting hospitals or research centers. You complete most activities at home using smartphone apps, wearable devices, and video calls with researchers. About 90% of clinical trials now use remote components, making participation much easier.

Phase I trials pay the most, averaging $2,000 to $5,000 for healthy volunteers testing new drug safety. These studies typically require 3-10 days of participation and basic health monitoring through apps or devices. Most participants earn around $4,000 annually from clinical trials.

Velocity Clinical Research pays between $75 and $4,500 per study depending on time commitment and risk level. Participants get paid for each completed visit, phone check-in, or app diary entry throughout the study. Payment happens gradually as you complete different study milestones.

Companies like Fortrea and Worldwide Clinical Trials actively recruit healthy adults for remote studies. The average clinical trial compensation is $3,070, with some studies paying up to $13,000 for longer commitments. You can participate in 1-2 studies per year while working a regular job.

Conclusion

Start with one or two methods that appeal to you most. Test them out to see which ones work best for your schedule and earning goals.  Building a reputation and getting repeat customers or higher-paying opportunities takes time. But once established, these weird ways to make money can provide steady supplemental income.

Don't expect to get rich from these weird ways to make money online, but they can definitely help with extra expenses, emergency funds, or saving for specific goals. The internet has created opportunities that didn't exist before, so why not take advantage of them?