Selling lemonade and cutting grass are not the only things a teen can do to make money. How can a 13 year old make money online? Let’s find out!
As a 13-year-old you can do chores within the neighborhood, or find odd jobs. However, the most convenient way to make money as a teen will be getting into eCommerce and other online jobs!
A common thing you hear about entrepreneurs is that many of them started as little kids. This might make you think “What on earth was I doing at that age? Pokemon?”
Nowadays, you hear about kids who become web developers or successful eCommerce businesspeople quite often.
Can 13 Year Olds Work Online?
Thirteen-year-olds can work online with permission and access to a credit card from their parent or guardian.
The minimum working age in the United States is 14, while other states have a higher minimum employment age. What jobs can a 13 year-old get? Job opportunities for children are limited. However, this does not mean there aren’t any out there.
Most online platforms require kids to be 18 and above. So, if you are an ambitious teen or a parent, you’ll be excited to know that 13-year-olds-can work online, with permission— and a credit card—from a parent or guardian.
How to make money online as a 13 year old
Jobs assist children in developing a sense of responsibility. It helps them build a stronger sense of self.
Did you know that teens who work a reasonable number of hours weekly get higher grades than those who do not work? Working less than 15 hours per week teaches teens about money management and personal finance.
Most kids prefer playing around or are frozen in front of a screen. But that does not mean they lack potential. One thing kids certainly have is creativity and energy.
Kids may be limited in the job opportunities they can find, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t any opportunities for them. A 13-year-old isn’t stuck to doing chores and odd jobs.
A lot of the successful kids out there have actually gone into eCommerce. I guess this is especially because everyone was stuck at home the past few years.
Below are ways 13 year olds can make money online. The good thing is that these are online jobs from home that pay well.
1. Sell artwork online
Does your child enjoy drawing or painting? If they do, why not let them sell their works of art on the internet. They can make any type of art, put a price on it, and post it online.
You can post it on sites like Etsy or UGallery.
In my opinion, this is one of the fun ways to make money online as a 13 year old. You also have fun in the process!
People could also commission your child for fan art. It's one of the interesting ways to make money online for 13 year olds.
Just make sure to consider copyright laws, okay? You wouldn’t want your child to commit a crime. You might need to look for fanart programs, ask permission, or notify the original artist. You can sell them on RedBubble and TeePublic.
Next, sell tshirts with fun designs! You can go to sites like Printify make it super simple. All you have to do is create a design and upload it to the site. They will handle the printing and fulfilment.
What you can make:
Paintings
Fanart
Custom T-shirts
What you need:
- Art materials (duh!)
- Photoshop
- Canva
- Pen tab
Where can you go:
- Printify
- Printful
- Etsy
- UGallery
- RedBubble
- TeePublic
2. Sell decorations and party favors
Just like making art, another way for 13 year olds to make money online is create handmade holidays and home décor.
If your kids have decorations they made themselves during their spare time, you can sell them on can sell your work on Etsy, eBay, Chairish, AptDeco, or even Craigslist. There are lots of holidays all year long. This means lots of decorations and holiday accents that go with them!
Take a look at this hand-painted sculpture of Napoleon Bonaparte below. I bet your teen is just as talented!
Another project that can help your child earn some money is making custom-made soap as party favors. Just make sure to supervise your kids while handling chemicals.
What you can make:
- Wind chimes
- Figurines
- Christmas decorations
- Father’s day gifts
- Thanksgiving decorations
- Decorative soap
What you need:
- Quick Setting Cement (for pots, sculptures and figurines)
- Resin (keychains, ornaments)
- Silicon molds
- Beads
Where can you sell them:
- Etsy
- eBay
- Chairish
- AptDeco
- Craigslist
3. Sell old clothes and shoes
Kids grow up so fast which means boxes of outgrown clothes and shoes. Instead of just leaving them to collect dust, this can be an answer as to how to make money online as a 13 year old.
Make your kids clean up their closet, and the garage, take pictures of the items and post them on Tradesy, Depop, Thredup, Facebook Marketplace, Kidizen or Mercari. These sites can help you declutter and sell baby stuff still in good condition.
Bonus: Check the clothes and shoes for any damages and make repairs before taking pictures.
What you can sell:
- Baby clothes
- Baby toys
- Old shoes
- Old clothes
What you need:
- A good camera (a phone will do)
- A clean background (for taking pictures)
- Knitting kit (to repair any damaged clothes)
Where can you sell them:
- Tradesy
- Depop
- Thredup
- Facebook Marketplace
- Kidizen
- Mercari
4. Sell old video games and toys
Kids can easily get bored and there are always new video games coming out. You could ask your children if there are any video games in their collection they are ready to let go of. If you already upgraded their video game consoles maybe you can put them on sale too.
You can tell your teen to post on Decluttr, Usell, or swappa. Make sure they are in good working condition or be honest about any issues. There is always someone willing to pay good money for them.
Old toys can be sold online as well. Plushies can be such a hit. You never know, someone might be interested in your old hoverboard or My Little Pony collection. Make sure to clean them up, repair or sew them up to look better in pictures.
What you can sell:
- Video games
- Toys
- Video consoles
What you need:
- A good camera (a phone will do)
- A clean background (for taking pictures and videos)
- Knitting kit (to repair any damaged clothes)
Where can you sell them:
- Decluttr
- Usell
- Swappa
- Tradesy
- Depop
- Thredup
- Facebook Marketplace
- Kidizen
- Mercari
5. Sell old books and collectible items
Do you have a little bookworm at home? Selling old books is one way how to make money as a 13 year old online. If your teen has a large collection of books that they no longer read they can easily sell them online.
Go to BookFinder or bookscouter to find out how much the books are currently worth. Series and even textbooks sets can be worth a lot of money.
If you have a little collector, some of their collectibles can be worth a few bucks to a hundred or more. You can get their collectibles professionally appraised at Value This Now to find out how much money they are worth.
They can be sold at Ruby Lane, Bonanza, or get auctioned on eBay
What you can sell:
- Book sets
- Textbooks
- Cards
- Comic books
- Posters
What you need:
- A good camera (a phone will do)
- A clean background (for taking pictures)
- Value This Now (to have your book appraised)
Where can you sell them:
- Abebooks
- BookFinder
- Bookscouter
- Ruby Lane
- Bonanza
- eBay
6. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a lucrative way how to make money online at 13. It also provides a good opportunity for your teen to learn how business works.
They can try out branded dropshipping or private label dropshipping. Most kids already have a PC or a laptop which is basically all you need —well of course a bit of capital from mom and dad— and they can work from their own room.
They can dropship anything they want, from toys to clothes to even coffee! The biggest assistance they need from you would likely be access to a credit card.
What you can sell:
- Anything! (as long as it’s child-friendly of course)
What you need:
- Subscription to eCommerce platforms
- Domain
- Website
- Canva (to design logo etc.)
Where can you dropship:
- AliExpress
- SaleHoo
- Worldwide Brands
- Megagoods
7. Flip items
Flipping items refer to when you sell something for a higher price than what you bought it for. People can actually make a ton of money flipping furniture and similar things.
Many people advertise things to give away on sites like Craigslist so that they can start there.
Bonus tip: The trick is to look for anything free that you know you can sell for at least a few dollars. The money you make from the first item can then be used to acquire something slightly more valuable, which you can then sell for a higher price.
What if you could trade a paperclip for a house? | Kyle MacDonald | TEDxVienna
Remember to make repairs or clean up the item so they look good in pictures. They have to be —shall I say — flippable.
What you can flip:
- Anything!
What you need:
- A good camera (a phone will do)
- A clean background (for taking pictures)
- Cleaning materials (to touch up the items before posting)
Where can you sell them:
- Craigslist
- eBay
- Facebook Marketplace
- Amazon
- Swappa
Not everyone is good at sales.
How can a 13 year old make money online if they’re not good at selling? Well, they can be an influencer!
8. Stream
Playing games is one of the ways how to make money as a 13 year old online. It’s probably something that your teen is doing already. You just need to make sure you supervise them.
They can earn through ads, affiliate marketing, or donations. This is when viewers have so much fun watching they give them money.
YouTube tips through Super Chat where viewers can use tips to pin messages in a streamer’s channel’s chat window. Facebook has what they call “Stars” that viewers can buy and send to you. You get $0.01 per Star.
Twitch uses Bits so fans and viewers can “cheer” using Bits and let advertisers find Twitch influencers and partner with them by showings ads. You can get paid to show ads by simply putting a chat command. You can even set the duration.
What you can do:
- Show ads
- Do affiliate marketing
- Be entertaining to get donations
- Pay-per-view content
- Regular payments from viewers
What you need:
- A webcam
- headphones
- Lighting
- Reliable internet connection (I mean really really good connection)
Where can you stream:
- Twitch
- Youtube
- Tiktok
9. Vlog
Starting a YouTube channel is absolutely a way how you can make money as a 13 year old online. All your kid needs is a few editing skills and a big deal of creativity!
Take for example Evan who makes more than $1.3 million per year from his YouTube channel.
Here he was in 2016:
EvanTubeHD Q&A! Your Questions ANSWERED!
If your child is under the age of 18, the only method to begin selling their videos is to connect their YouTube account to an approved AdSense account. This is where mom, dad, or any guardian who is over 18 comes in.
Keep in mind that they won’t make this kind of money on the day they launch their channel. Make sure to set expectations for your child to keep them from being discouraged.
They can vlog about anything. They can do tutorial videos, fun videos, dance, fashion, or make toy review videos. They can even sell LUTs to interested followers if they are impressed enough with how the video looks!
They can vlog on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitch.
What you can do:
- Show ads
- Do affiliate marketing
- Sponsored or paid posts
- Sell Video LUTs
LUTs, or ‘Look Up Tables’ are filters. They are a set of numbers that are recognized by your software or hardware and make changes to image colors.
- Sell photo presets
- Vlogger kits
What you need:
- A webcam
- Video editing software
- Canva (to make thumbnails)
- Lighting
- Reliable internet connection
Where can you Vlog:
- YouTube
- Twitch
11. Tiktok Influencer
To be a Tiktok influencer, all your teen needs is a phone, open a TikTok account, fill in their bio, and start recording! 📱🔴
They have to learn how to create short-form videos on the platform and start posting every day. Volume is a thing on Tiktok so it helps if they can post as much as possible. However, you still need to guide and moderate them.
Remember, children need supervision to use social media and they have to use it in moderation. They can earn money on TikTok by promoting products or streaming.
What you can do:
- Promote products
- Stream
What you need:
- A cellphone
- Camera
- Lighting
- A presentable background (you don’t want your child to record with their sock hanging on the bedframe)
- Internet connection
- List of concepts (because you need to post a lot of videos)
A lot of kids can be quite shy so being an influencer is out. What they can do instead is monetize their skills.
12. Create printables
Printables is a great way for 13 year olds to make money online. For any age in fact!
A lot of young kids are already good at art using gadgets. Why not expand their potential? You can teach your teen to create printables. It’s pretty simple where you can use free tools like Canva too.
They can sell any type of printable that interests them like homework trackers, money-saving trackers, schedule templates, spending and budget templates, and even journal prompts. You can sell them on Etsy, Fiverr, or Creative Market.
Did you know that there is a six year old who made more than $80 selling her very own printables? Check her out below 👇
How a 6 year old made $87 with her online shop
What you can sell:
- homework tracker
- money saving trackers
- schedule templates
- spending and budget templates
- Journal prompts
What you need:
- Image editing tool
- list of printable ideas
- Color scheme
- Printer (so you can test your printable and how they look in actuality)
Where can you sell them:
- Etsy
- Fiverr
- Creative Market
13. Write an eBook
If your 13 year old has an idea for a book, they might like to consider writing and creating an ebook. Ebooks are books that you can download in digital form and sell to the public.
They can use free tools such as Canva to bring their vision to life as well as create a cover. They can get an editor for their book to make sure grammar is on point or use a tool like Grammarly. You can totally help with this part too!
Amazon‘s Kindle Direct Publishing is unquestionably the best way to complete the process. Once you've finished your book, it only takes five minutes to publish it on Amazon, where you'll have instant access to millions of customers. You can also sell eBooks on Fiverr, Selz, Sellfy, Payhip, and Blurb.
What you can sell:
- Guides
- Fiction
- Old blog posts
- Essays
What you need:
- Canva
- Microsoft Word
- Google Docs
Where can you sell your eBooks:
- Fiverr
- Amazon
- Selz
- Sellfy
- Payhip
- Blurb
14. Take pictures and sell them
If your teen loves photography and loves taking photos they can sell those photos to platforms like Foap, Canva, Shutterstock, and more. It’s one of the lucrative ways to make money at 13 and also acts as a creative outlet.
You can earn more money by participating in Foap missions. Each mission has a prize for the best image, which starts at $50.
Missions on Foap have the potential to earn you hundreds of dollars. Even if you are not chosen as a winner, companies frequently purchase other photos that were submitted.
What you can do:
- Take food pictures
- Take selfies
- Take pictures of everyday life
What you need:
- Camera (good quality is a plus)
- Lighting
- Props
Where can you sell them:
- Foap
- Canva
- Shutterstock
- Pay Your Selfie
- SmugMug
15. Start a blog
Do you have a little writer under your roof? They can make money blogging through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, or working with an ad publishing company.
There are a ton of ways for 13 year olds to make money online, and this includes blogging.
They can also sell digital and physical products.
They can blog on Wix, WordPress, Weebly, or even Facebook.
What you can do:
- Self-help blogs
- How-to blogs
- Review blogs
What you need:
- Canva
- Microsoft Word
- Google Docs
- Domain
- Website
- Account on a platform
Where can you blog:
- Wix
- WordPress
- Weebly
You must be thinking, what jobs can a 13 year old get? Chances are, your teen has a skill that others might pay good money for. Here are a few freelance work they might be interested in.
16. Virtual assistant and other general freelance work
Here are a few freelance jobs teens can do online. You can do some writing, manage social media accounts, or maybe just typing!
Fiverr is not only offered to adults but also to users as young as 13. Your teenager can post listings for services like writing emails for a marketing campaign. If they’re exceptionally good at video games, they can coach people through tough levels of video games.
On the other hand, you have to be at least 16 to use Freelancer. So your child would need your help to sign up. With a free membership plan, they can bid on eight paid assignments per month.
What you can do:
- Write emails
- Data entry
- Typing
What you need:
- Grammarly (for writing jobs)
- Subscription to freelance platforms
Where can you go:
- Fiverr
- Freelancer
17. Voice over
Doing voiceover work definitely isn’t limited to adults. One way your teen can work as a voiceover artist is to register on platforms that offer voiceover jobs to work from home.
These platforms connect voice actors and potential clients who may want to use their talent.
You can find voiceover work in practically every medium, including podcasts, video games, television, and radio commercials. Your fees will vary depending on the amount of work involved and, of course, the client's budget.
You still need to be able to monitor your child’s activity to make sure they are safe.
What you can do:
- Act for advertisements
What you need:
- High-quality condenser microphone
- Pop filter
- Headphone
- A quiet room to record
- Sound editing app
- Noise canceling app
- Subscription to freelance platforms
- A demo reel (for auditions)
Where can you sell them:
- Fiverr
- Freelancer
18. Online tutor
Tutoring kids online is another good option to make money as a 13 year old, especially if your teen is pretty good at certain subjects. Many parents are happy to have a tutor just a bit older than their own kids. You can help with subjects that their kids may be struggling in.
Most online tutoring platforms won’t let minors register, but you can certainly offer this service outside of these kinds of platforms.
You can advertise on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms. Then, you can use Skype, Zoom, or Google Meet for the class.
What you need:
- Email account (to sign up for video call platform)
- Social media account (to market your services)
- WeTransfer (for transferring large files)
- Padlet (online tool to create and share boards)
- Evernote
- Grammarly (you don’t want to be tutor with lots of grammar mistakes)
- Slide creation software
- Educational references
Where can you go:
- Any platform where you can have a video call
19. Do surveys
How can a 13 year old make money online? Doing surveys! You can go to Swagbucks, InboxDollars, MyPoints, Opinion Outpost, Survey Junkie, and more!
Swagbucks gives you a $5 welcome bonus just, for signing up. It doesn’t take long to finish one, and you can easily do it through your PC or phone.
You can download the app on your phone.
Completing paid surveys is one of the simple ways for 13 year olds to make money online. Although survey sites are unlikely to make you rich, many of them do give actual cash, gift cards, and other rewards to individuals who contribute insights to their market research campaigns.
What you need:
- Phone
- Personal Computer
- Internet
Where can you go:
- Swagbucks
- InboxDollars
- MyPoints
- Opinion Outpost
- Survey Junkie
- LifePoints
- i-Say
- Toluna Influencers
20. Watch videos
There are a handful of platforms that will pay you to watch videos to gain money at the age of 13! And don't worry, they’re not all boring ads.
In fact, you'll get to see a variety of different types of videos while doing this. The money you'll make isn't bad either. Depending on which site, the hourly rate may fall around $5
MyPoints offer a $10 gift card as a signup bonus. They let you earn rewards for watching videos online or through mobile apps and earn extra money by watching videos and filling out market research surveys. Points can be cashed out for gift cards, travel miles, or even PayPal cash.
Swagbucks allows you to accumulate points that may be used for gift cards. Their website includes playlists of interesting videos such as movie trailers.
What you need:
- Cellphone
- Personal Computer
Where can you go:
- Swagbucks
- InboxDollars
- MyPoints
- Nielsen
- GrabPoints
21. Review music
Another cool way to make money as a 13 year old is listening to music. Most websites require you to be 13 and up, which is perfect in this scenario.
The Current app is a only free lock screen music player that allows you to earn money simply by listening to music. It is the only lock screen music player there is so it’s pretty cool even if you have chores for them to do.
Just consider the phone they’re using though. I downloaded the app on my phone and it kind of slowed it down a bit. This is especially if I use other apps while I’m playing a song,
Your teen can also make money by listening to free offline music and radio stations. Every time they listen to music, they’ll earn points that can be converted into cash.
Websites like Slice The Pie will pay you to provide your opinion on various pieces of music by various performers. On this website, you can also evaluate songs, ads, and other items.
Wouldn’t it be nice if a music lover like your child would get paid by giving their opinion on music?
They’re getting paid to do what they love!
What you need:
- Headphones
- Cellphone
- Good taste in music
- Personal Computer
Where can you go:
It’s quite possible to earn money as a 13 year old online!
Finding career options as a child may be difficult, but as I wrote earlier it is not impossible. As a 13-year-old, you can monetize your creativity and earn an income from home.
How can a 13 year old make money online? With just a laptop, internet connection, a little help from an adult, and a few other tools, your teen can be financially literate and successful.
