15 Side Hustles for Teens in 2026: Easy Ways To Earn

Do you want to earn some extra income this year? You’re no longer limited to just waitressing or flipping burgers. While those can be great side hustles, you can teach online, organize garage sales or even collect and resell golf balls.

Here's a breakdown of how to find the best side hustles for teens, so you can start raking in that extra cash while still balancing homework and hangouts.

Quick Take

• Choose a side hustle that aligns with your abilities and interests.

• Consider the startup costs.

• Check age requirements before signing up for platforms or services.

• Consider how a side hustle will fit with school and activities.

• Local jobs may offer faster cash and payouts than online work.

15 Best Side Hustles for Teens: At a Glance

1. Online Surveys

• Best for: Younger teens who can’t qualify for other jobs due to low, intermittent pay

You can participate in online surveys and get paid for sharing your opinions and feedback. Most paid surveys are worth $0.25 to $5, but they can be a way to make money in your free time.

Some online survey websites allow teens as young as 13 to join, but some have higher age requirements.

How To Start

• Sign up with Swagbucks if you are at least 13.

• Sign up with InboxDollars if you are at least 13.

• Sign up with Freecash if you are at least 16.

2. Data Entry Jobs

• Best for: Teens 16 and older who have typing experience

Data entry is a side hustle that you can easily do from home. You could provide data entry services to businesses or organizations remotely. While it can be repetitive, you can easily work from a laptop, tablet or even from your phone.

Data entry pay varies by location, but the average pay in the U.S. is $19.47 per hour. You’ll likely need to be at least 16 to apply for one of these jobs.

How To Start

• Look for jobs on Indeed.

• Search for jobs on ZipRecruiter.

• Find out whether any local companies have opportunities.

3. Testing Games

• Best for: Older teens with an interest in video games

Game developers need people to test their new games for glitches. The average hourly pay for a video game tester in the U.S. is $15.27. However, some companies pay per task. PlaytestCloud typically pays $9 for a 15-minute playtest.

Some game-testing opportunities require applicants to be at least 18.

How To Start

• Go to Playtestcloud.com and click the “Play Games” button in the upper right corner.

• Go to Game Tester and sign up to become a game tester for Lionbridge Games Studios.

4. Content Creation

• Best for: Teens who don’t need income immediately

From blogging and vlogging to building your social media following, making your own content through apps online could become a lucrative side hustle as you build an audience.

If you build your own platform, you can generate revenue through ads, affiliate marketing, product promotion and other sponsorship.

Pay for content creation varies, however, the average hourly pay in the U.S. for a digital content creator is $56.06. Keep in mind that this type of pay won’t happen overnight.

In general, you’ll need to be at least 13 to create digital content, but age requirements vary by platform.

How To Start

• Take a Content Creator course on Coursera if you’re at least 13.

• Apply to be a YouTube creator if you’re 13 or older.

• Create content for TikTok if you’re at least 18 years old.

5. Online Sales

• Best for: Creative older teens or younger teens who can use their parents’ account

Consider reselling items online, creating your own art, pottery or building an online business that sells unique items in a niche you’re interested in. Etsy, eBay, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Unsplash are just a few sites where you can sell items online. Pay is dependent upon the types of items sold.

Unsplash allows sellers as young as 13, while Etsy will allow 13 to 17-year-olds to sell from their parents’ Etsy account. However, eBay, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Facebook Marketplace require you to be 18 to sell.

How To Start

• Decide what you want to sell.

• Create online accounts on eligible platforms to start selling.

6. Tutoring

• Best for: Teens who excel in a specific subject and have a knack for helping others understand it

Just because you’re still in school doesn’t mean you’re not ready to help others. Instead of tutoring in school, there are now opportunities to get paid to tutor younger students online. This is another income stream you could build as a teen while at college or as a career.

Tutoring jobs via online platforms, like Wyzant, typically require tutors to be 18. However, younger teens may be able to tutor neighbors, friends or classmates. Tutoring jobs average $20.22 per hour.

How To Start

• Decide on the subject(s) you can tutor.

• Sign up for any tutoring platforms you are eligible for.

• If you’re under 18, look for tutoring clients at school, ask friends or neighbors or advertise your services on social media.

7. Freelancing

• Best for: Teens who have a specific skill that translates well to freelancing

There are so many ways to freelance from home these days. These include becoming a writer, graphic designer, video editor, social media manager, web designer, web developer, coder, advertiser or content creation specialist.

Average pay for freelancing is $47.71, but it will depend on the task. Freelancing platforms often require you to be at least 18, unless minors use their parents’ account with their parents’ permission and supervision.

Teens can also look for local freelance work through neighbors, friends or employers.

How To Start

• Build a portfolio.

• Polish your resume.

• Practice interviewing for jobs.

• Apply for jobs or ask friends or family members if they can help you land some jobs through their connections.

8. Buying Unclaimed Mail

• Best for: Teens who can afford to lose money if the items aren’t resellable

If you want an “out of the box” side hustle, consider buying other people’s lost or unclaimed mail. You’ll get to keep what’s inside and can resell it for a profit.

Be aware that buying unclaimed mail is a gamble, and while it can be lucrative, you can lose money. Platforms may require you to be 18 to purchase.

How To Start

• Research unclaimed mail purchasing opportunities, such as GRP Liquidators.

• Start small, so you won’t lose too much money if it doesn’t work out.

9. Organize Garage Sales

• Best for: Teens who are good at organizing and pricing items for sale.

Many people have thousands of dollars' worth of stuff in their homes or garages, but organizing it and selling it is too much of a hassle for them. That’s where you come in.

You can offer a service that organizes garage sales. Of course, they’ll need to tell you what to sell, but then you can set up tables, price items and manage the garage sale on the big day.

How much you make depends on how you negotiate with the owner. You can charge by the hour or charge a percentage of sales. There’s no minimum age requirement for this side hustle.

How To Start

• Research other garage sale organizing businesses.

• Determine your rates.

• Advertise your services via flyers, business cards or social media.

• Book garage sales.

10. Photography or Videography Services

• Best for: Teens who have photography or videography skills

If you’re interested in art or are good with a camera, that could be enough to launch a side hustle. Over time, this could become a full-time career, but you can start by charging minimal fees to family and friends to build your reputation and professional experience.

Hourly rates for a student photographer are $50 to $120. Hourly rates for videographers are $75 to $350. No minimum age requirement applies.

How To Start

• Decide what rates to charge for your services.

• Advertise your services with flyers, business cards and social media.

• Book events.

11. Reselling Golf Balls

• Best for: Teens who like to get up early and find lost golf balls

If you live near a golf course, you can offer to collect the balls from the ponds or woods for free. Then, you can wash and organize them by brand and resell them on Facebook Marketplace. You can resell balls for $0.10 to $1.50 each, depending on brand and condition.

Facebook Marketplace requires sellers to be 18. However, there are businesses that buy reclaimed golf balls, such as Sell My Golf Balls.

How To Start

• Purchase the needed equipment to collect and wash the golf balls.

• Get permission to collect the balls, especially if you have to enter private property.

• Wash the golf balls you find and determine how you want to sell them.

• Sell the balls and make a profit.

12. Pet Sitting

• Best for: Teens who enjoy working with pets

You can offer pet-sitting services in your community. The national average charge for a pet sitter is $27 to $30 per hour. Since responsibilities and compensation vary by job, you can set prices based on the type of pet and the amount of time you’ll need to spend each day caring for them.

No minimum age requirement applies unless you work with a service, such as Rover, which requires sitters to be at least 18.

How To Start

• Decide the rates you will charge based on the going averages in your area.

• Set up a professional pet-sitting business with a website, or advertise on local social media groups and post flyers on community bulletin boards.

13. Babysitting

• Best for: Teens who are responsible enough to supervise younger children

Creating a babysitting service is one of the oldest side hustles for teens. If you can show up on time or early and take good care of kids, ideally making it fun, your services can be in high demand. You can get CPR certification to increase parents’ confidence.

For a bigger experience, you can consider a summer nannying job where you live with a family for a month or more and take care of the children during set hours.

The American Red Cross recommends that you be at least 11 to start babysitting. However, many experts recommend waiting until the ages of 12 or 13.

How To Start

• Take an online or in-person babysitting course from the American Red Cross.

• Decide on an hourly rate.

• Tell relatives, friends and neighbors that you’re available for babysitting jobs.

14. Seasonal Work

• Best for: Teens who enjoy working outdoors and don’t mind getting dirty

Seasonal opportunities to consider include shoveling snow in winter to lifeguarding in summer. If you focus on yard work, you can offer a different service each season:

• Leaf blowing in fall

• Shoveling in winter

• Weeding in summer

• Garden bed prep or planting in spring

No minimum age applies for this type of work. Pay varies according to the rates you set. For example, the average cost to remove leaves, twigs and small debris from a yard is $20 to $50 per 1,000 square feet, according to HomeGuide.

How To Start

• Research what others charge for the services you want to offer, then set your rates.

• Make flyers or advertise on social media to find clients.

• Book jobs.

15. Retail or Food Service

• Best for: Teens who like working in customer service roles

While you might only make minimum wage working in retail or food service, you can start building your resume, earning some money and gaining valuable skills in customer service and responsibility.

Retail workers earn an average of $14.70 an hour, while food service workers average about $16.22 per hour. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, teens as young as 14 can work in retail or food service, but there are restrictions on the hours they can work, the times of day they can be scheduled and the types of work they’re allowed to do.

How To Start

• Apply with local retail or food service businesses.

• Prepare for the interview by using mock interview questions.

• Attend an interview if selected.

Picking the Right Side Hustle

To choose the right side hustle, you’ll need to identify your interests and skills. Make a list of possible side hustles that match your interests and abilities.

Research each side hustle to find out if there are any requirements you can’t meet, such as a minimum age or expensive startup costs. Find the best match and get started.

How To Start a Side Hustle as a Teen

Here are some tips on how to start a side hustle.

1. Identify your skills and interests: What do you love to do and what are you great at? Can you turn that into a side hustle, a course or teach others?

2. Set up a budget: You’ll want to be realistic about startup costs. It can be a good idea to start with a lower-cost side hustle and save up before making a big business investment.

3. Determine your target market: What need are you fulfilling? Whose life will you make easier? How can you make their life better? That’s your target audience or target market.

4. Create a marketing plan: Your plan and your business are unique. Will you post local flyers? Spread the word through friends and family. You can also consider advertising online or joining online marketplaces.

5. Establish an online presence: Building your professional or business social media presence can serve as a marketing tool for your business.

6. Start small and gradually scale up: Businesses take time to build. Start with small goals, and as you achieve them, scale your side hustle. With time, you might even be able to hire an employee or bring a friend into the business.

7. Seek guidance from parents or mentors: Your parents or others in your community can help you create and implement a realistic plan. They can also point out possible holes in your side hustle plan and give you ideas to maximize success.

8. Stay committed and dedicated to your side hustle: While some businesses start to turn a profit right away, others can take time to gain traction. But persistence pays off. Keep learning, refining what you do, and consider finding new opportunities for growth in your side hustle.

Age, Permits and Safety for Teen Side Hustles

• Age requirements for side hustles vary. Some are appropriate for children who are 10 or 11, while others are only for 18 and up.

• Some side hustles, such as online selling, are accessible to minors, but teens need parental permission and supervision.

• Teens should always keep safety in mind when working a side hustle. Know how to operate and maintain any equipment involved. Ask permission before entering private property. Meet buyers in well-lit, public spaces when selling locally.

Key Takeaways

• Teens can earn extra income through both online and local side hustles.

• Age requirements, startup costs and income vary by hustle.

• Side hustles can help teens build skills, experience and confidence.

• Options with no startup costs, like surveys and babysitting, can be easier to start.

• Creative or skill-based hustles, like videography or tutoring, may take longer to grow but can pay more over time.

FAQs

What are the best side hustles for teens?

Some of the best side hustles for teens include online sales, tutoring, freelancing and content creation.

What side hustle pays weekly?

Side hustles that pay weekly can include seasonal work, pet sitting and tutoring.

Can teens make $100 a day?

It’s possible to make $100 a day in side income from various side hustles. Teens may need to commit more time initially to build the skills, experience and earning potential, but with enough time, they could make $100 a day.

What jobs can teens under 16 do?

Teens under 16 can do surveys, data entry, babysit, pet sit, create content and sell online — with parental consent and supervision.

Do teens need permits or pay taxes?

Permits will vary according to the side hustle and any requirements. Self-employed minors who earn more than $400 in a tax year will be responsible for Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Sources

• Indeed. 2025. "10 Top Online Jobs and Side Hustles for Teens."

• Thumbtack. 2026. "How much does pet sitting cost?"

• Sell My Golf Balls. 2026. "The Golf Ball Side Hustle: How to Find and Sell Used Golf Balls for Cash."

• ZipRecruiter.

• American Red Cross. 2024. "How Old Do You Have to Be to Babysit?"

• HomeGuide. 2026. "Yard cleanup cost."

• U.S. Department of Labor. "Wage and Hour Division.

Alison Kimberly contributed to the reporting for this article.

Information is accurate as of May 1, 2026.