12 Ways To Make Money From Your Phone (2026)

There are several ways to make money online using your phone or mobile device, including running an ecommerce store, taking paid surveys, and participating in affiliate marketing. 

As mobile usage increases, smartphones are a key part of modern online and brick-and-mortar businesses. According to Pew Research, 91% of Americans own a smartphone. Statista reports mobile commerce revenue at $2.5 trillion.

This guide shares 12 ways to make money from your phone.

How much can you realistically make from your phone?

Here’s an overview of methods you can use to make money from your smartphone, with estimates of how much you could earn:

As this data shows, most phone-based income is supplemental pocket money, but there’s the potential to turn a side hustle or even a hobby into a profitable business. Take it from Bre Giglio, who turned a party planning weekend side hustle into a $600,000 balloon business. 

Before you commit to a method, check the platform’s common payout methods and cash-out requirements. TaskRabbit, for example, takes one to three business days to process your payout for odd jobs. Mistplay only awards gift cards for phone-based earners who test their games. 

Note that earnings are generally taxable. Track your profit and loss, and check with a legal professional which laws apply to your side hustle. 

How to make money from your phone

Here’s how to make money from your smartphone in 2026 (12 ways):

1. Launch an ecommerce store

Start your online store through an ecommerce platform like Shopify. The mobile app gives you the power to create, grow, and manage your store from your smartphone, such as uploading product photos, answering customer inquiries, and launching email campaigns.

This can be a quick route to making money from your phone. Shopify’s data shows half of new store owners make their first sale within three weeks. More than 15,800 entrepreneurs made their first sale during the 2025 Black Friday Cyber Weekend alone.

If you don’t have a physical product to sell, print-on-demand (POD) lets you customize existing products. Work with a POD supplier who will print your design onto the product then pack and ship it directly to your customers.

Tom Hassell, president of Life is Good, says the now-$150 million T-shirt brand took this approach in the early days. 

“We were able to reduce our lead times from six months to literally two and a half days,” Tom says in a Shopify Masters interview. “If an artist creates a new graphic on Monday, we can be selling that graphic online on Wednesday afternoon, because we’re showing it as a virtual item.”

2. Take paid online surveys

If you have a phone and some spare time, complete online surveys for money. Survey platforms offer money in exchange for data they can sell to companies. Many have no sign-up or application fee.

Here are some platforms you can use to make money taking surveys:

As this data shows, surveys won’t replace a paycheck, but they’re a no-cost way to earn money in your spare time.

3. Earn cash back on everyday purchases

Cashback websites give you money back when you shop through their platform. Examples include TopCashback, Shopback, and RetailMeNot. 

Cashback platforms work on an affiliate premise. The website earns a commission when you buy through their link. It gives a portion of that commission to users who make those purchases, like a rebate. This essentially means they’re a free way to make money from your phone doing the things you already do. They’re also a way to make a splurge a little more affordable.

Commission rates differ by retailer because each set their own. TopCashback estimates that users earn $450 per year, but more frequent shoppers can exceed this average.

4. Sell items you already own

Earn a little extra cash from your mobile device by selling items like pre-owned current and vintage clothes, crafts, jewelry, home décor, or antiques. List your products for sale on an online marketplace like eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, and Facebook Marketplace. 

You could also use the Shopify mobile app to sell products on your own website. Take high-quality photos of the items and write clear product descriptions. Salsify’s 2026 research shows these rank amongst the most important elements for customers who browse product pages.

Mary Helt, owner and co-founder of Abracadana, takes this multichannel management approach. She sells her screen-printed bandanas through Etsy and her Shopify store.

“It’s good to have a couple of venues for selling,” Mary says. “Sometimes I feel like one is pulling me—like Etsy is pulling me away from Shopify. Or if I’m working on updating Shopify, I’m not paying attention to Etsy. And I think that’s OK. You can cycle it. But try a couple of channels to see what works. You can’t have all of your eggs in one basket, that’s for sure."

5. Participate in user testing

Earn extra money on your phone through user/data testing apps that pay you to test sites, apps, and products or share anonymized usage data. There’s also apps that pay you to play games or watch videos for points.

Examples include:

• UserTesting. Complete surveys, recorded tests, and chat with a UserTesting customer to earn money from your phone. Earnings range from $10 to $120 or more depending on the test; payouts are sent within 14 days.
• Mistplay. Connects game developers willing to pay for user feedback with gamers who want a fun way to make a few bucks in their free time. Compensation comes in the form of gift cards. It typically takes users two to four weeks to earn one $5 gift card.
• Honeygain. Get paid to share your internet connection. The software runs in the background and gives app users cash for sharing bandwidth. 

The FTC released a warning in 2024 against game-like online job scams. Be wary of payments made in cryptocurrency, apps that solicit you through WhatsApp or text, and offers to pay you for “liking” posts online. 

6. Find odd jobs

Use mobile gig apps like TaskRabbit, Handy, and Upwork to earn cash by picking up groceries, moving furniture, cleaning, or doing yard work. This can help you make more money in as little as one hour. 

How much you’ll earn depends on the jobs you offer. For example TaskRabbit’s data shows mounting and installation jobs pay between $50 and $85. Home cleaners charge between $35 and $65. And those who offer moving help earn between $45 and $80.

If you have a car, you could also make money through mobile ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft, or food delivery services like Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, and Uber Eats. Some drivers report making up to $40 per hour.

Nick Guillen, cofounder of Truff, used this money-making method to fund his small business. 

“I was an Uber driver and I Uber’d on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights,” Nick says in a Shopify Masters interview. “On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, my entire day was focused on building this business with my partner, Nick [Ajluni].”

7. License photographs

If you have a knack for photography, sell photos online through stock photo websites like Shutterstock, Getty Images, Alamy, and 500px. These platforms compensate you with a share of the fee each time your photo is licensed by a brand, agency, or content creator.

Earning potential varies:

• Shutterstock pays between 15% and 40% of a photo’s sale price
• Unsplash gives creators between $5 and $30 for every approved photo 
• 500px pays 25% to 100% royalties for every image sold 

These earnings might sound small but can quickly stack up. One photographer reportedly made $700 from a single stock image. 

8. Engage in affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where a business rewards an affiliate for each customer brought in by the affiliate’s marketing efforts. The industry is worth $23.8 billion in 2026 and is expected to reach $35.7 billion by 2030.

As an affiliate, you promote a company’s product using a unique link and earn commissions whenever someone takes action. Merchants pay affiliates through various models, such as pay per click, pay per lead, and pay per sale. Affiliate commission rates range from 5% to 50%. 

Find an affiliate marketing program and share links for brands that speak to your friends, family, and social media following. Shopify Collabs lets you find affiliate programs and track commission. 

“Focus on publishing high-quality content that teaches your audience something,” says Kelly Marohl, owner of The Greenspring Home. 

“Always bring value to them. Do not focus your content around yourself. You’re going to be excited to start earning affiliate sales and landing brand deals, but before you can do that, build a highly engaged audience. That will pay off in dividends later!”

For example, if you love to bake and show your creations online, try to connect with brands you use and enjoy. People appreciate authenticity in social posts and user-generated content (UGC), so if you love things like certain bakeware, a vanilla extract, or decorating tools, approach those brands first.

9. Offer tutoring services

Make money from your cellphone by offering tutoring services online. If you have expertise in a particular topic like math, science, and English, or skills like coding, consider putting your knowledge to work. This is a great side hustle for teachers, especially those familiar with the subject matter and the current curriculum standards and testing.

Mobile tutoring apps help tutors find students and take a commission for their service. Preply, for example, says approved English tutors charge between $15 and $25 per hour. The platform takes a 100% commission on each new client’s trial session. Rates then drop to 33% for subsequent lessons and later 18% for long-term tutors.

10. Start a YouTube channel

If you love content creation, consider starting a YouTube channel by recording, editing, and releasing videos using your phone. Monetize your audience by:

• Joining the YouTube Partner Program
• Working with brands on sponsored content 
• Sharing affiliate links to products you mention
• Making and selling your own merch
• Developing a product line 

Amanda Rach Lee started her YouTube channel back in high school. Videos focus around bullet journaling, which acted as the foundation for her stationery line.

Amanda’s advice for content creators shared in a Shopify Masters interview.

“I’ve always tried to tell myself, especially after reading Big Magic [by Elizabeth Gilbert] is, ‘Done is better than perfect’ because nothing’s ever going to be perfect,” says Amanda. “And if you’re waiting for something to be perfectly packaged, then you’ll just hold yourself back and you’ll never do it.”

11. Provide customer service

Work as a customer service representative from your own home using just your phone. A customer service agent represents a brand and:

• Interacts with customers
• Helps them resolve issues
• Provides helpful information

Upwork’s data shows freelance customer service reps earn between $10 and $19 per hour. Find clients on freelance marketplaces like Fiverr, Upwork, and We Work Remotely. 

12. Manage social media accounts

If you have experience in social media marketing, content marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO), work as a social media manager. This involves running accounts for small business owners, guiding small businesses, brands, and individuals to engage effectively with their online audience.

Freelance social media marketers charge anywhere from $47 to $100 or more per hour depending on experience. Specialist services, rush jobs, and experience command premium rates.