Do you have a rainy day fund?
Maybe you need to top up your monthly grocery budget, or have a summer 2025 holiday to save up for. Whatever you need extra cash for, there are ten ways you can make side hustle money from your sofa.
Play mobile games
Some cashback sites and marketing companies will pay you to play mobile games. This is a great way to earn some extra cash while on your tea break or relaxing in front of the TV in the evening. Granted, the payouts are small on their own – but over time, they’ll quickly add up. And if you like playing games anyway, it’s win-win! At MoneyMagpie, we particularly like Swagbucks as a way to get paid playing games.
Win money without gambling
MoneyMagpie is strictly no-gambling as a website, but that doesn’t mean to say there aren’t ways to win money online without visiting a gambling site! The first option is to enter any and every competition you can think of. Set up a dedicated email address to avoid getting spam in your usual inbox.
There are lots of freebies and competitions available that offer both cash and physical prizes. Even if you don’t want the prize, if you win you can sell it for the cash! There are also some websites like Pick My Postcode, which gives you the opportunity to win part of a prize draw every day based on your postcode. It’s totally free! The money is earned from adverts on the website, and because you don’t pay to enter there is no risk of losing cash.
Switch with cashback
It’s so easy to switch providers these days that you can do it from your sofa in half an hour. Spend a few hours one week switching your bank, home insurance, car insurance, broadband, mobile phone, and energy supplier and you could net a tidy boost to your budget!
MoneyMagpie is a strong advocate of cashback sites like Topcashback and Quidco, which pay you a little percentage back from any purchase made via their site. Ideally, you’ll use the sites for any online purchase you planned to make anyway – this helps control your spending while getting a little bonus back for something you already needed.
Cashback sites also have comparison and switch opportunities. You can sometimes make over a hundred pounds in cashback if you switch providers at the right time. Spend a little time each week for the next few weeks checking when your insurance policies and energy contracts run out. Make a note in your diary, and search via a cashback site for a better deal. Not only will you get a tidy cashback bonus, you could save hundreds on your policy renewal too!
Earn while you scroll
Just as television shows get their viewing figures from Nielsen reports, modern technology means people are now paying to get figures from mobile usage, too.
You can sign up to Nielson Online Panel to start with, which lets you earn rewards for gift vouchers at retailers like Amazon, PayPal, and grocery shops like Asda and Sainsbury’s. It doesn’t cost anything and all you need to do once registered is continue using your phone as normal!
There are also apps like MobileXpression, which pays you Amazon gift card credit for using your phone. Neither Nielsen or MobileExpression ever have access to things like your photos, messages, or phone numbers – they just want to know how you use your phone in terms of which apps, the time spent on them, and when you use them.
Make money reading
If you’re an avid reader, make the most of your spare time by making money reading. There are several ways to do this, too! Spend your sofa time reading books and then write reviews for them. OnlineBookClub is a great site that pays between £4 to £50 for reviews.
You could set up your own blog to write reviews and earn from web traffic or sponsored posts, but many readers make money from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube book reviews. BookTube is a useful search term to get started to find out more.
Make money from crafts
If you like to knit, crochet, paint, or make something else during your evening and weekend downtime, consider selling your creations.
It’s easier than ever to become a small online seller, thanks to websites like Etsy, NotOnTheHighStreet, and eBay. Make sure you price your items so that you’re not out of pocket for the materials or time it takes to create – which is very easy to misjudge. Research similar items online to find a reasonable average price as a starting point.
Small items that can be made and sold for under £5 do particularly well at craft fairs. Take a look at upcoming Christmas fairs – start small, such as your local village fair, to test the interest in your products. While this part isn’t making money from your sofa, you can earn plenty of cash from just one day at a fair or even a car boot sale!
Take online surveys
An oldie but a goodie, online surveys can earn you gift cards and cold, hard cash. You can use websites like Toluna, Inbox Pounds, and Swagbucks to get started.
Take a look at local market research agencies, too. You might be able to earn some extra cash for in-person meetings. These usually take a couple of hours and involve you giving your opinion on a product, in exchange for around £50.
Write fiction
If you’ve always fancied yourself as a writer, now is the time to do something about it! If you sacrifice one hour of TV-watching sofa time each day to write instead, you will quickly build your word count. Let’s say you write 500 words in an hour, five times a week. That’s 2500 words a week – or 65,000 words in six months, which is a novel!
Perhaps writing a book is too extreme, but you still want a go at writing something. Short stories and novellas are a great way to make some extra money, especially if you look into self publishing them on Kindle Unlimited or other online platform. The cost to get started is low and the rewards can be high – and ongoing.
Become a music reviewer
Did you know you could get paid to tell people what you think of new music tracks? Reviewing music is relatively quick and easy to do – which is, albeit, reflected in the pay you can earn. But when an entire album lasts around half an hour, it doesn’t take up much from your time overall. Check out websites like SliceThePie, Playlist Push, and Earnably to get paid to review music.
Translate documents
People who are fluent in more than one language, listen up! Online translation can be a very lucrative business. It can also be done around your 9-5 job, which makes it a great side hustle for some extra cash. While AI is in use every day now, translation services are still quite iffy. People want to use real life translators for their work, particularly for important documents that are needed either for business or for visas.
Always something to do
The trick to making money from your sofa is to decide how much time you want to dedicate to it. If you just want to make some extra pocket money or Amazon gift card cash here and there, surveys and online games could be it for you. But you might find that you discover a new hobby, like reading or writing stories, that opens doors for a full-blown side hustle. You never know – so give these ways of making money from your sofa a try to find out!
Some of the brands and websites we mention may be, or may have been, a partner of MoneyMagpie.com. However, we only ever mention brands we believe in and trust, so it never influences who we prioritise and link to.
