The great thing about the internet is the opportunity for Canadians with little or no academic experience to make money online doing a wide variety of tasks. Making money online in Canada is easier than ever.
It doesn’t matter who you are, whether you live in Ontario, Alberta or anywhere else in Canada, with a smartphone or laptop you can be in the comfort of your bedroom and make good money. There are a thousand and one reasons why side hustles are necessary for today’s economic environment.
For instance, if you intend to rent or a buy house, the future doesn’t look so bright because housing is likely to get more expensive over the next few years. When you consider how the low crude-oil prices have affected employment, and now the pandmic, it becomes more even important to think outside the box as to how to make some extra bucks.
Many websites offer money-making courses for expensive fees, but this guide will show you how to make money online for free! Without further ado, here are 50 Ways to make money online.
How to Legally Make Money Online in Canada
1. Blogging
I know what you’re thinking. The blogging niche is so oversaturated, right? Wrong! What most Canadians aren’t aware of is the shortage of quality, local (Canadian) content online.
If you have a passion for writing and the ability to create engaging content, with some serious dedication and time, blogging could become your primary source of income and provide you with a comfortable lifestyle. It is never too late to start a blog. Some of the niches you could consider include:
- Food
- Health
- Technology
- Finance
- Anime
- Any other niche you prefer
2. Participate in Surveys
Taking part in surveys is a great way to make money online. Some companies will offer you as much as $250 just for watching TV. The below-listed websites will provide you with cash and freebies like gift vouchers.
3. Apply For Amazon Gift Cards
Amazon gift cards are a great way to earn money. These very popular cards are also a great way to save whatever funds you have at the moment.
Websites like MyPoints will give you an Amazon gift card worth $10 for free. The good news is that you can sell your Amazon gift cards as long as they’re unused or partially used gift cards.
4. Watch Videos to earn money
There are many fun but legitimate ways to make money online, and one of these is by watching videos. If you enjoy being a couch potato, then sign up with Swagbucks. The company will pay you for watching and liking recommended videos. Canadians get free C$5 just for signing up!
5. Become an online tutor on sites like Cambly
Instant messaging is one of the most popular ways of keeping up with family and friends. You can take your love of chatting on your smartphone and earn money via Cambly, where you get to teach Asian students the English language by speaking with them.
6. Receive cash for already purchased items
If you love receiving refund offers, look no further than Paribus. This service provider allows you to discover if online stores owe you a refund for the goods you’ve already bought. It can do this by having access to your email and scanning your receipts.
Paribus is a legitimate way to make money online, and they work with your favorite e-commerce stores, including Costco, Apple, Best Buy, and Walmart, among many others.
7. Receive cashback offers from Rakuten
Cashback offers are popular with betting sites. But companies like Rakuten are using these offers to help you make money online.
To get started, you would need to login to the Rakuten site and browse through the online shop you want to purchase items from. If you make a purchase, Rakuten makes a commission and shares it with you. It’s a great way to make money online shopping at your favorite stores.
8. Get paid for downloading and launching applications
You can make money online with Google when you download and install their apps on your smart devices. Other companies that offer cash for downloading and running apps include:
9. Try out websites for a limited time and get paid
If you’re good at critiquing the functionality, design, and user experience of a website, then User Testing will pay you a minimum of C$10 through PayPal whenever you complete a 20-minute video.
All you need do is provide them a record of your thoughts on assigned tasks, and you get paid.
10. Receive money for keeping fit and staying healthy
Staying healthy has never been more lucrative than with AchieveMint. This company will give you points for keeping fit, and you can convert these points into Amazon Gift Cards or real money.
Every 10,000 points you earn is equivalent to C$10, and the sky is the limit on how much you can make.
11. Carry out freelance writing tasks to make money
Bespoke freelance writing services are becoming de rigueur. Boutique digital companies like boost content and constant-content are always on the lookout for quality writers or translators who can offer world-class services to their clients.
12. Engage in technical freelancing on Upwork and Fiverr
Are you a graphic designer or website developer? If yes, then you’re in luck. You can be self-employed, offering your services on Upwork or Fiverr, and get paid per project.
Some highly skilled freelancers on these platforms make over $50,000CAD each year!
13. Engage in Online tutoring for money using your SAT experience
Your SAT experience shouldn’t be a waste. Make money online by scheduling online classes on sites like Chegg Tutors.
14. Share your honest opinion on money
Feedback is vital for companies launching new products into the market. You can earn pocket money when you offer honest feedback to companies who need them.
15. Give Pizza reviews
Some websites are willing to pay you in cash and pizza when you rate a pizza shop on criteria such as the pizza quality and delivery time. That’s what we call a yummy job!
16. Review everyday items through invites from Yelp
Yelp is another platform that gives users anything from C$1 to $50 for reviews. However, you would need to get an exclusive invite from Yelp before you can get started.
17. Try out new search engines and get paid
The fact remains that there are many legitimate ways to make money online without the risk of a criminal record. One such way is to quit using the Google or Yahoo search engine and use Bing.
Carry out your regular searches on the net with the Microsoft-powered search engine, and you can earn up to C$60 per year just for doing what you’d typically do elsewhere.
18. Become a data entry clerk online
Fast typing is a skill that pays good money. Upwork and Fiverr are two B2B platforms where you can find data entry jobs that you can do remotely.
19. Get paid carrying out micro tasks for Amazon
Amazon is arguably the largest retailer in the world. Because their services require constant human interaction, it is possible to make money online by helping them translate product descriptions or correct spelling mistakes for searched items.
20. Become an online travel salesperson
If you enjoy browsing through travel websites, then you might as well do it for free money. Some agencies will offer a commission when you offer your services to them. Wikihow is a great place to start.
21. Become an Associate Marketer
An advantage of having a blog is the opportunity to venture into affiliate marketing. Associate networks like Adsense and Amazon Affiliate will pay you a commission when a customer purchases products through your blog.
22. Sell lesson schedules
We are determined to use this article to help you not only learn how to make money online but also learn how to make money online for free. And this brings you to lesson schedules.
If you have a passion for academia, you can profit from it by selling lesson plans to teachers. A good platform to do this is Teachers Pay Teachers. It’s a recognized online marketplace for sharing teaching resources.
23. Play Video games online
This has to be the dream side gig for game lovers all over Canada. If you enjoy poker or arcade gaming, you can cash in on your hobby through InboxDollars. It’s a fun way to make money online just playing.
24. Sign up with a focus group for money
ProOpinion is a popular focus group that allows users like you to make money online. PayPal is their most preferred method of payment. Users can also receive their payment via checks or gift cards.
25. Review search engines
Another way to make money online with Google is by evaluating their search engine. Your analysis is required to improve the user experience and provide relevant results. Other platforms where you can provide similar services include:
You can make as much as C$15 per hour offering services to these companies.
26. Moderate fan pages on popular sites
You can be an Anime or Manga fan page moderator on social media. Sign up on Upwork or Fiverr to find jobs as a moderator.
27. Repair search result issues on search engines
Search engines are not perfect, and you can exploit their imperfections to your financial benefit. The major players like Google and Bing will pay you as much as C$12 for improving the quality of their search results.
28. Become an online juror
If you enjoy shows like Judge Judy, Boston Legal, or Suits, then making money via courtroom drama might just be your thing.
eJury is a platform that allows clients to test out the strength of their case before the actual trial commences. You get paid between C$5 – C$10 to examine facts and provide answers to questions.
29. Sign up for pet sitting jobs online
“Although I love pets, I can’t afford to keep one” we’ve heard that one too many times. Fortunately, Care.com allows you to play with pets while paying you for your time. Now that’s what we call a “win-win” situation!
30. Create a home daycare and advertise online
Home daycares are popular in cities like Toronto and Montreal because of the large number of professionals who go out to work each day. If you have space and nothing to do, get the required certification, and advertise your home daycare online.
31. Become an online calligrapher
Etsy offers a calligraphy section where users make money by creating custom invitation cards and other accessories.
32. Transcribe work online
Just like writing, translating, and data entry, transcribing is another service that can earn you money. Upwork, Zirtual, and Fiverr are a few sites to consider.
33. Sell food recipes to culinary sites
Do you enjoy creating culinary delights? If yes, you can harness your cooking skills by selling your recipes online.
34. Craft products and sell online on sites like Etsy
For a little fee, you can become a seller on Etsy. Advertise your homemade products and connect with buyers on this huge e-commerce platform.
35. Lease out your parking space online
Unemployment can make you not move around much. In that case, you can rent out your parking slot on Craigslist.
36. Lease out your clothing items online
Renting designer clothes and bags is a popular way for people to look fashionable without spending a fortune. If you have good clothes you don’t need; you can rent your outfits on the following sites:
37. Rent your vehicles for money
Like the previous point, an idle car is a depreciating liability. You can turn your car into an asset by renting it out on Turo. The platform will pay you hourly for your vehicle.
38. Lease your music equipment for cash
Sparkplug is an online platform that lets you rent out everything from drum sets to world-class recording studios. Utilize the power of music to make money online.
39. Sell stuff you don’t need on sites like eBay
eBay has been around for several years. It’s an e-commerce site that allows you to sell things you don’t need for a commission.
If you’re a sneakerhead, then these are exciting times. eBay is charging 0% seller fees for sneakers that sell at C$100 and above. Which means more money for you for free.
40. Flip items on sites like freecycle.org
You don’t need flippers like an Emperor Penguin to flip things on Freecycle. Business savvy Canadians understand the goldmine flipping items present. You can purchase inexpensive items in a flea market, refurbish them, and sell them online at a higher price. That’s like turning garbage into gold bars.
41. Sell your smartphone online
If you want to go off the grid, or you want to buy a newer model, Decluttr will give you cold hard cash for your old smartphone.
42. Sell your photos online
Your old photos lurking on your PC and consuming much-needed space can be sold to stock photo platforms for money. You can check out Shutterstock for more information.
43. Return used printer cartridges for money
In a bid to forestall climate change and drive recycling initiatives, Office Depot and Staples offer free credits to consumers who return used printer cartridges.
44. Let out some of your housing space on Airbnb
If you’ve lived near a campus, you can understand how hard it is for students to find space. For those of you who have more than enough space to live in, you can partition your house and let out the space on Airbnb and similar sites.
45. Open up a garage sale on the Facebook market and Kijiji
A fast-growing way to make money online is by hosting garage sales on social media. Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji are two excellent platforms for buying, selling, or swapping new and used items.
46. Receive bonuses for creating a new bank account
You can indirectly make money online with Google when you use the search engine to find banks and other financial institutions that offer bonuses to customers for opening an account. You should read the fine print of their terms and conditions, so you don’t end up spending money.
47. Sell your old college books online
Declutter your attic by selling your used books on Half-Priced Books. You not only decongest your house, but you also earn a few dollars doing so. BookScouter is another site that will offer you more money for your old books.
48. Shop Your Fridge items online
The Nielsen Consumer Panel is one platform that will pay you to have a peek at what’s in your fridge. You can sign up with the company to become a panelist and earn points.
49. Sell your junk mail for money
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who enjoys receiving spam mail. If you have trash filled with junk mail, you can trade them to the Small Business Knowledge Center and get a prepaid Visa Card.
50. Become a Virtual Assistant
As more businesses outsource services to make a profit, the Virtual Assistant industry has grown to become a billion-dollar industry. Y
ou can take a slice of that billion-dollar pie by working from home and carrying out tasks ranging from checking emails to screening calls and booking flights. Two reputable platforms to offer your services include Upwork and Zirtual.
Final thoughts…
The internet has made it easy to earn cash through ways that seem most unlikely and ludicrous. Now you know how to make money online for free, don’t hesitate to take advantage of the offers listed above.
