Best Night Side Hustles: How to Make the Most of Your Free Time

If you need to make extra income and have time at night, you can find some great part-time jobs or side gigs to do at night. Some of the best night side hustles include driving for a food delivery service, such as Uber Eats¹ or Instacart, teaching English online, or renting out your car when you don’t use it.

I know it can be overwhelming to think about working after a full day, but many of these side hustles are easy to implement, and you can work when you want, so there’s no pressure.

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Side hustles can be a great way to increase your income so you can reach your financial goals. Side hustles range from completing surveys online to driving for a rideshare, but they do have some features in common.

We evaluate side hustles based on income potential, how easy it is to get started, how much time you need to dedicate to earn an income, and other features.

The 11 best night side hustles to make extra money

What to do	Who it is for	Where to get started
Win games to earn real money	People who enjoy playing games on their phones and want to make money while doing it	Bingo Clash Cash Giraffe Solitaire Cash Bingo Clash
Drive with a ridesharing or food delivery	People who have a car and want to use it to make extra money	Uber Instacart DoorDash
Complete paid online surveys	Someone who wants to earn a bit of money through a simple activity	Survey Junkie KashKick InboxDollars Branded Surveys
Teach English in your spare time	People with a good level of experience in English and a teaching background	VIPKid
Invest in stocks and ETFs	People willing to take some level of risk with their money with the aim of growing their wealth	Robinhood2 SoFi Invest®3 Paid Non-Client Promotion FinanceBuzz doesn’t invest its money with this provider, but they are our referral partner. We get paid by them only if you click to them from our website and take a qualifying action (for example, opening an account.) Stash Paid Non-Client Promotion FinanceBuzz doesn’t invest its money with this provider, but they are our referral partner. We get paid by them only if you click to them from our website and take a qualifying action (for example, opening an account.)
Rent out your car when you don’t use it	Someone who has a car they don’t always use	Turo Hyrecar Getaround
Get into retail arbitrage on Amazon	People with a business mindset who are interested in offering products on Amazon	Jungle Scout
Provide services as a Pinterest virtual assistant	People who enjoy social media and Pinterest in particular	Upwork Fiverr
Create and sell printables	People who are creative and customer-service oriented	Etsy
Bake and sell dog treats	Animal lovers who enjoy baking	ASPCA
Transcribe audio and video	People who can type quickly and sustain focus	Rev Upwork

Win games to earn real money

Potential earnings: Varies by game played and amount you put in to play

If you’re like me and love playing games on your phone, you can turn it into a night side hustle and make some extra cash. Remember that you could lose money, too, so don’t use this as your primary side hustle.

Most games that offer paid tournaments require you to pay to play. You then compete against people around the world for a piece or all of the pot.

Some games aren’t available in all states, so before you download a game, make sure that playing for cash prizes is legal in your state.

Where to get started

• Solitaire Cash: Solitaire Cash is a free gaming app based on the classic solitaire game. It enables you to win cash when competing against other players, but you need to deposit and use money to join these games. Solitaire Cash matches you with players with similar skill levels, and you all play on the same deck. The top three finishers win cash prizes.

Visit Solitaire Cash | Read our review

• Bingo Clash: Bingo Clash allows you to play bingo with one or more players to win real cash. You also get placed in matches with players at the same skill level. Although Bingo Clash is free to download, you need to pay an entry fee in cash to have a chance at winning money.

Visit Bingo Clash | Read our review

• Cash Giraffe: Cash Giraffe offers several games you can play to earn gems, which you exchange for gift cards to Amazon, Best Buy, and other retailers. You can also receive your earnings via PayPal. Cash Giraffe is currently available only for Android mobile phones via the Play Store.

Visit Cash Giraffe | Read our review

Drive for a rideshare or food delivery service

Potential earnings: Varies by location, demand, and tips earned

If you have your own car and want to make some extra cash, driving with a rideshare company, such as Uber, or a food delivery service, such as Instacart and DoorDash, are among the best side hustles. As a rideshare or food delivery driver, you can set your own hours, so it’s a job you can do in the evenings after you finish the day at your normal job. These rideshare and food delivery companies let drivers keep 100% of their tips.

It’s easy to qualify to drive for any of these companies as long as you have a clean driving record, can pass a background check, and have a reliable car with a valid driver’s license.

Where to get started

• Uber: Uber offers two ways to make money. You can drive with its rideshare service or Uber Eats, which is a food delivery service. You must have a four-door vehicle to be a rideshare driver, so if your car has only two doors, consider Uber Eats.

Visit Uber or Visit Uber Eats

• Instacart: Instacart is a grocery delivery service that assigns delivery tasks to people who can shop for the items needed and then deliver them to the customers who ordered them. You can set your own hours by selecting specific shifts when you are available. Instacart shifts are available on a weekly, first-come, first-serve basis.

Visit Instacart | Read our review

• DoorDash: As a Dasher with DoorDash, you pick up and deliver orders from local restaurants. DoorDash gives you base pay for each delivery, which depends on the order's estimated time, distance, and desirability. You can view the base pay when you receive the delivery opportunity and accept or reject it. On top of the base pay, you may also receive tips that you get to keep.

Visit DoorDash | Read our review

Complete paid online surveys

Potential earnings: According to Survey Junkie, you can make up to $40 per month by completing three or more surveys a day, but this varies depending on the platform and the number of surveys you complete.

I love helping brands by answering online surveys and making extra money without leaving my house. Brands pay for surveys because they need consumer insights to help them improve their products, and customer service.

You can earn money participating in market research surveys through platforms, such as Survey Junkie, Inbox Dollars, and KashKick where you can earn cash or gift cards for your time.

Answering surveys is a great night side hustle while you sit and watch TV. However, keep in mind that you’ll likely earn only a couple of dollars per survey so it won’t pay the bills. I consider answering surveys a filler for my side hustle income.

Where to get started

• Survey Junkie: According to Survey Junkie, you can make up to $40 per month by completing three or more surveys a day. When you complete a survey, you earn virtual points. You can accumulate these points until you can redeem them on Survey Junkie for gift cards or cash through PayPal or a bank deposit.

Visit SurveyJunkie | Read our review

• KashKick: You can make free money online by taking surveys, playing games, trying new services or apps, or simply sharing your feedback on KashKick. You can even make extra cash by referring new consumers to the platform. Offers range from 25 cents to $40, so make sure to optimize your time spent well on KashKick.

Visit Kashkick | Read our review

• InboxDollars: You can get paid on InboxDollars for various activities, such as taking surveys, trying new apps, playing games, or exploring new products and services. InboxDollars rewards you with cash. Most surveys pay between $0.50 to $5 and take 3 to 25 minutes to complete.

Visit Inbox Dollars | Read our review

• Branded Surveys: With Branded Surveys, you can complete online surveys and earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards or for cash via PayPal. You can make between $0.50 and $5 per survey, depending on the length of each opportunity Branded Surveys offers.

Visit Branded Surveys | Read our review

Teach English online in your spare time

Earning potential: $14-$22 an hour according to VIPKid

Teaching English to students in other countries through online tutoring may be a great remote job if you have a bachelor’s degree or teaching experience.

You can teach English and make money online right from your living room as long as you have an up-to-date computer or laptop and a fast, stable internet connection. With most English teaching programs, you don’t need to speak the student’s native language. For example, if you teach Chinese students, you don’t have to know how to speak Chinese.

As a work-from-home job, teaching English online gives you the flexibility to set your own hours. While this may not sound like much of a night side hustle, if you teach students in China, their after school hours are our late night or very early morning hours.

Where to get started

• VIPKid: Teachers with VIPKid earn a base pay rate between $7 to $9 for 25-minute classes. VIPKid also offers incentives to help you earn between $14 to $22 an hour. Teachers must commit to a 6-month contract, but there are no requirements on how many classes to teach.

Invest in stocks and ETFs

Earning potential: Varies depending on how much and where you invest

Investing is one of my favorite ways to earn passive income. There are many ways to invest including stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which gives you access to the stock market without carrying high fees.

Various mobile apps available today make investing easily accessible, such as Robinhood, SoFi Invest, and Stash⁴. These apps also enable you to invest in fractional shares, which are a part, or fraction, of a full share. This can be beneficial if you want to invest in an expensive share without buying a whole one.

However, investing has its own risks. You may lose the money you invest or not see meaningful returns for a long time. This is true even if the market has been performing well, as past performances don’t guarantee future returns.

Having a long-term strategy for investing your money in stocks and ETFs is often seen as a better approach than trying to time the market.

Where to get started

• Robinhood: Using the popular Robinhood investing app, you can start building your portfolio from as little as $1. Robinhood trades are always commission free, and the platform even gives you a free stock after you have account approval and link your bank account. The gift stock is a fractional share with a cash value between $5 and $200.

Visit Robinhood | Read our review

• SoFi Invest®: With SoFi Invest, you can start investing in stocks and ETFs for as little as $5. You can either pick the stock and ETFs you want to trade or set your account for automated investing, and SoFi will create a portfolio based on your risk tolerance and goal without charging you a commission fee.⁵

Visit SoFi® Active Invest | Read our review

• Stash: You can use Stash to build an investment portfolio based on your financial goals and risk tolerance⁶. Stash charges a monthly subscription fee of $3 for Stash Growth or $9 for Stash+⁷. Both plans are good options for beginner investors. However, the Stash+ plan can be better for families since it enables you to open portfolios for two children and offers advice for family finances.

Visit Stash | Read our review

Rent out your car when you don’t use it

Earning potential: HyreCar states up to $1,200 per month but varies by company and plan chosen

Do you have a car that you don’t drive often? You can rent it out and earn passive income instead of having it sit in your garage. This is the epitome of a night side hustle because you literally make money while you sleep.

Several platforms allow you to rent out your car, connecting you with people who need to rent a vehicle. Many car rental platforms also provide insurance coverage for your car when someone rents it and most platforms allow you to set your car’s rental price and get to keep about 60% of the rental cost.

Where to get started

• Turo: This platform offers several plans where you can earn anywhere from 60% to 90% of each trip price when someone rents your car. The difference in how much you make on Turo depends on the insurance coverage you choose. The higher the coverage, the less you make. You can expect to get paid within 3 business days after the first completed rental and payments for subsequent rentals are made 3 hours after the renting period ends.
  
• Hyrecar: With Hyrecar, you can rent your car out to rideshare and food delivery drivers who don’t own a car. The platform states that you can earn an average of $1,200 a month by renting your vehicle. The amount of money you make and the cut Hyrecar takes depends on the Protection Plan you select.
  
• Getaround: Getaround allows you to rent your car without having to meet the renter to give them your keys. The platform’s proprietary Getaround Connect program enables renters to unlock the car with their phone using a device the company installs in your car. Getaround charges car owners $99 to $225 to get set up on the platform and takes a 40% commission on all trips booked. Additionally, there’s a $20 monthly subscription fee for the Connect device installed in your first car.

Try retail arbitrage on Amazon

Earning potential: Varies depending on what you sell and how much you sell

Amazon is by far the largest online marketplace and you can get a share of these sales by learning how to sell items on Amazon.

One common method sellers use is known as retail arbitrage. People using this method simply buy items on clearance and resell them at a higher price on platforms, such as Amazon. This makes retail arbitrage a good side hustle at night since you can shop the clearance shelves of local stores and list the items online.

When pricing your items, you should ensure that they are competitive with other similar products while also allowing you to make a profit after calculating your costs and fees. Learn more in our retail arbitrage guide before you get started.

Where to get started

• Jungle Scout: If you want to get into retail arbitrage on Amazon but don’t know where to start, Jungle Scout can help. The platform has everything from educational materials that can help you learn how to sell on Amazon to tools that track your sales and expenses. Jungle Scout can also help you find products that may be profitable on Amazon.

Provide services as a Pinterest virtual assistant

Earning potential: Varies depending on your experience

Pinterest virtual assistants help business owners improve their presence on Pinterest. Some business owners underestimate the importance of a strong social media presence, and Pinterest is unique enough to benefit from someone with expertise.

To find jobs as a Pinterest virtual assistant, you must demonstrate your pin creation skills. You must also be able to write compelling descriptions that help the pins rank. To get started, you could create pins on your personal page to show your skills, or build your experience by volunteering to help a non-profit organization with its Pinterest presence. Because you work on your own time, this is a great opportunity for someone looking to work at night.

Where to get started

• Upwork: Upwork is a platform where freelancers connect with businesses. You must create a profile that shows your expertise and then bid on contract positions. Keep in mind that you must pay for “Connects” which is Upwork’s virtual currency required to bid on jobs.

Visit Upwork

• Fiverr: Fiverr is another platform that promotes freelancers. Like Upwork, you must create a portfolio to show what you can do. The difference with Fiverr is you create “gigs” that clients can view, contact you, and hire from, so you want to make your portfolio and gig description as attractive as possible.

Visit Fiverr | Read our review

Create and sell printables

Earning potential: Varies depending on what you sell and how well you market your product

Printables are downloadable digital products, including budgets, forms, wall art, coloring pages, greeting cards, journal pages, and planner pages. You can create products that your customers can edit and personalize.

To create printables, you should be comfortable using a design program like Canva, which is user-friendly. Next, you must choose a platform. Etsy is a popular choice. You’ll also need to do some research to find a niche that works for you, and that has relatively low competition.

Once you create your printables, you must write a compelling listing with keywords that will bring customers to your store and provide stellar customer service.

Where to get started

• Etsy: Etsy is a popular platform for digital products. You set up your own Etsy shop, and try to attract customers with pictures and compelling product descriptions. Keep in mind that Etsy takes a cut of each sale, so price your products accordingly.

Visit Etsy

Bake and sell dog treats

Earning potential: Varies based on the local market and the demand

Many pet parents are always on the lookout for new treats for their furry family members, in particular, treats that are high in nutritional value are in high demand. If you enjoy baking, creating gourmet dog treats could be a great nighttime side hustle.

To get started, consider where you would market your bakery such as vet offices or online and research what license or permits you might need. Next, start testing your recipes, which might be the best part of the process for your pups.

Once you’ve landed on a winning formula for dog treats, start promoting your business.

Where to get started

• ASPCA: Creating tasty treats is critical to the success of your business, and the ASPCA has recipes from National Biscuit Day to help you get started. You can sell your products online on Etsy, start your own website, or visit local craft fairs and vendor shows to sell your products.

Transcribe audio and video

Earning potential: Rev transcription's website states their freelancers earn an average of $245 a month

Transcriptionists create written documents that have the dialogue from an audio or video recording, known as a transcript. While it might sound simple, it takes a lot of effort to type fast enough to transcribe quickly. You may also need to research words or terms that you’re not familiar with. Some transcriptionists invest in a foot pedal to speed up the process.

As a transcriptionist, you may want to work with a transcription platform like Rev, which connects you with clients or you could go freelance and find clients yourself through platforms like Upwork. This is another one of those jobs you work on your own time, making it a great night side hustle.

Where to get started

• Rev: The Rev platform provides you with audio and video content to transcribe that businesses and individuals uploaded. You must apply and submit a sample transcription.
• Upwork: The Upwork platform offers a wide variety of projects to freelancers, including transcription. You compete against many other transcriptionists, so it’s best to build up your portfolio and reviews to beat the competition.

How to choose the best night side hustles

Not every nighttime side hustle is for everyone. When it comes to finding the best night side hustle for you, there are several factors you need to consider, including:

• Flexibility: Make sure that your night side hustle works as a part-time gig and fits into the free hours that you have during the evening. Also ensure it doesn’t take away time or energy from your day job.
• Start-up costs: Most side hustles don’t cost anything to start, but if you must invest in equipment or training, compare the cost to your potential earnings to ensure it makes sense.
• Income potential: Do some research to ensure the side hustle you choose pays well enough to give up your free time. Remember, time is money.
• Personal interest: Find a night side hustle that you enjoy doing, and it may not feel like work. I try to make sure I base my side hustles on my passions so they are something I love doing, rather than something I “must do.”

FAQs

Bottom line

Learning how to make money in your spare time isn’t hard. There are various evening and late-night side hustles you can do after work or your kids have settled for the night, including delivering food, driving for a rideshare service, taking online surveys, renting out your car, or even playing games that offer cash prizes.

When deciding which side hustle is best for you, you should consider the time commitment it requires and the amount of money you can make. You should also consider your existing skill set and potential assets that you can use. This should help you find a profitable and flexible side gig that you can do at night.

If you need more ideas, check out this list of legit side hustle ideas and the best side hustle podcasts to follow to learn about different sources of income and side jobs you can do. If your goal is to make $100 a day, this information is a useful place to start. 

Methodology

To determine the best night side hustles, we researched and analyzed various gigs based on their flexibility, potential earning, and ease of performing at night time. We also considered their accessibility for people who may have day jobs, children, or other obligations and responsibilities.

Next, we compiled a list of night side hustles with various earning opportunities that may fit different people and distinct needs. Keep in mind that our list is not ranked in a certain order and is not exhaustive. There are additional night side hustles that we did not consider and/or include.

Keep in mind that the best side hustle is subjective and may vary from one person to another. Our recommendations aim to provide an educational resource for readers to begin their research into the night side hustle that fits their needs.