Yes! As you read in the title, you can get paid to be an online friend to people all over the world.
If it is possible to make money by making new friends online, then what are you waiting for.
We all know that people these days spend a huge part of their time staring at a screen, whether that be a phone or computer. Despite our constant connection to the online world, many are reporting a lack of connection on a personal level.
That said, people are becoming more anti-social than normal and this leads to the lack of having actual friends around.
Friends you can share your feelings with or talk to when you need help and are feeling down. That’s the reason why some people have decided to offer companion services.
It is also a good way to earn legit passive income.
And that is where you come in as a virtual friend to fill the emptiness in people’s life. People are in need of social interactions. As the saying goes, “where there is a need, there is an opportunity to make money”
Can you really get paid to be an online friend? What even is this?
I know, it sounds really strange but it’s actually a real side hustle that you can do to make some good money!
You will learn what being an online friend is, how to start and how much you can make.
what is an online friend?
An online friend is a friend that you meet exclusively online. Think of it as a person you met on Facebook or Instagram that you chat with occasionally and built a friendship but have never met physically before.
At times, as you will have to share your experiences concerning a particular topic or just to help them spend a good time online.
When you become an online friend, people searching for friendship can reach out and pay you for your time.
It might sound a little weird at first, but it turns out there can be lots of reasons people might want to take advantage of this service.
Some of these examples include:
- people may be introverted
- lacking in confidence
- new to an area
- lonely
- simply looking for some social interaction that’s otherwise lacking.
Alternatively, they might be looking for someone to help them develop a new skill or practice language learning.
That’s where an online friend comes in!
how to be a good online friend
Anybody can register to get paid to be an online friend. But if those who hire your friendship online are not satisfied with it, you will be misrated. And this can ruin your get paid to be an online friend business very fast.
To be a good online friend, there are some qualities you need to have or develop. You have to be a naturally outgoing and sociable person.
Also, you have to be a very confident person. Somebody who is at ease when talking with strangers.
Sometimes your online friends may just need somebody to talk to. For this reason, you have to be a very good listener.
In fact, your attitude when chatting with your friends depends on the client’s needs, feelings, problems, and desires.
Some people look for online companions to help them develop new skills or learn languages. So having specialist skills or language knowledge can be a bonus too, although this is by no means essential.
If you are an introvert and really hate talking to people over the phone or by text, this might not be the side hustle for you. Instead, check out this
15 ways to make money from home that don’t involve phones or talking to people.
is it safe to be a online friend
You are not supposed to be in any kind of danger when you are working as an online friend. All the same, it is not advised to give personal information about yourself to strangers online.
Even if the person happens to be nice, funny, very friendly, You must remember you are hustling and not give out your details.
You have to be matured enough to do this kind of hustle because some people can be very enticing that you will forget and start telling them where you live, your house number and so many other intimate details about yourself.
Here is a list of common points you must care about when you want to get paid as an online friend
- Safety: This is the most important thing when doing anything online and it is easy to get carried away, especially when you are making good money. Never reveal your name and address or information that could help someone to find you on social media. It’s best to create a pseudonym before you get started and to realize that however close you may feel to someone, it is best to guard your personal information just in case.
- SecurePayments and scams: There are lots of payment scams online that you need to be aware of. Before signing up on any get paid to be an online friend website, make sure you find out about the website to see if ir is legit or not. The best way to safeguard yourself from getting scamed is to only accept payments through official sites such as Paypal or Payoneer.
- Platonic Only: These type of relationships are strictly platonic. If you are unconfortable or you are been asked to do something you don’t like, you can cut off the relationship. Of course, once your job is done, if you have formed a connection with someone and wish to pursue it “offline” then that is up to you.
How much can i earn as an online friend
Generally, most people working online as virtual friends get paid a minimum of $10 an hour.
With most sites, you can determine and set your own hourly rate, so you may wish to start around $10 and increase as you become more experienced.
It’s completely up to you. Working 10 hours a week you can expect to earn a minimum of between $400-$500 a month.
Be aware that some sites may charge a small percentage of your earnings as a commission fee, whereas others may charge a membership or joining fee.
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how does it work?
1. create a profile
You need to start with creating an online profile on the platforms (listed below) that lets you get paid to be an online friend.
When setting up your profile, you must give a summary about yourself and mention your interests. This helps other users learn about your personality.
It is very important, to be honest about yourself. Create a profile that reflects your personality. It is very important.
Adding all the details in the profile helps you to stand out and attract more viewers.
You can add your interests, hobbies, languages you speak, or academic interests on the profile that can catch people’s attention.
Few examples of things you can add:
- Books you love to read
- Favorite Netflix shows
- Music you love
- Favorite movies that you can watch anytime
- Places you love to visit
- Favorite food
add payment details
After completing your profile by adding all the necessary details to it, It is time to add your payment details.
Most of the websites pay via Paypal. I advise you to go through their questions and answers page to get all the necessary information concerning their payment methods.
where to get paid to be an online friend
I present to you below a list of the various websites that offer online companion services. You join any of them you like, set your profile.
After putting everything in place, sit back and wait for your clients to contact you.
1. rent a friend
RentAFriend is a website that allows people to place free profiles to advertise their friendship.
It is not a dating website, rather it’s a website where people can “Rent Your Friendship”.
The website is based on a simple search. People can visit the website and browse through the profiles.
When they decide they want to contact you, they must first become a member of RentAFriend then they contact you directly to set a time, date, location, activity, and price.
You negotiate all the details with them and get paid directly by them.
To join, you need to fill out their application form. Once you are approved (usually within an hour of signing up) your profile is made live on RentAFriend
People can search for Friends in their area. If they are interested in your profile they will contact you directly.
You then negotiate your time, price, and activity with the member.
You have the possibility to choose to work full time or part-time. Working full-time; you will earn between $3200 and $8000.
As a part-time worker, you will earn between $1920 and $4800
2. friend pc
FriendPC aims to help people make friends, find someone to accompany them somewhere, or help them reach a goal.
This site offers you the opportunity to get paid to be an online friend. Book out your talents for people and travelers searching for a unique experience. Make new friends from around the world.
You can make extra cash sharing your talents for people and travelers who share the same interest.
It offers all the options for talking with your new friend that you could possibly think of – text message, chat room, phone call, online call…whatever works for you is likely an option here.
Users have to pay a small fee to request to talk to you, which helps to make sure that the people who approach you really do want to chat.
You may do well on FriendPC if you have a background in areas such as psychology, nursing, coaching, teaching, and similar – basically roles that are focused on helping people.
Once you’ve signed up you can set your own price and offer your services as a virtual friend or virtual gamer.
Users can then choose to ‘book’ you as their friend. You’ll receive payment as soon as your booking is fulfilled.
Payment is done via Paypal accounts.
3. rent a cyber friend
RentACyberFriend is another platform on which you can get paid to become an online friend.
This website is pretty similar to Rent a Friend except that, as you may have figured out from its name, it’s purely for people who want to get paid to be virtual friends.
To get paid on RentACyberFriend, you have to sign up and create a full profile account. As a member, you can now create a gig to explain what you are available to offer as a cyber friend.
Other members who are in need of friends for a reason or the other will browse through the available friends to see the one that best fits their requirements.
If they like you, they will contact you. If you have knowledge, skill, and expertise in any subject, or maybe just a passion for your hobby or special interest, as a Cyber-Friend you can offer this expertise for sale.
In the same way, if you are simply looking for friendship, an interesting conversation, or someone to hang out with for a while, you can offer your company too.
For example, if someone is feeling lonely, and wants to chat and interact with a new friend, you can talk with them.
Are you an expert in your own city? Do you know the best sights, shows, restaurants and events, and maybe the good and bad hotels?
A Cyber-Friend planning to visit might really appreciate having the knowledge in advance. Could you offer a language-learner help with their conversation practice or grammar?
There are lots of gigs and categories for ideas and services you can offer as an online friend on RentACyberFriend.
There is a free membership and paid membership on the platform. Click the button below to know more about RentACyberFriend
4. rent a local friend
This is a global platform that connects people who love to travel with those who are passionate about where they live and have a great story to tell.
You can also get paid here to be an online friend to somebody willing to visit your locality. Maybe your city, or the town you are living in.
On this platform, you can create an account, set up your profile. The only thing on this platform is that you have to verify yourself.
Yes, the membership cost sucks but you can definitely make much more than the membership cost so it’s worth checking out!
After the registration, you can create a gig. Somebody willing to visit your city or locality but doesn’t want to use a tourist agency can contact you.
All you will have to do is to give all the necessary information about the best places in your community to your virtual friend.
Rent A Local Friend doesn’t have a specific pay range but most users on the platform charge anywhere from $20 – $100 per hour!
5. Fiverr
Fiverr is another website where you can get paid to be an online friend
As you may already know, Fiverr is one of the largest online marketplaces where people go to offer services and others to find services to purchase.
For you to get paid to be an online friend on Fiverr, you can set up a gig after signing up.
You can as well browse through other listings that are present to get a rough idea of what other freelancers are doing and how you might set up your gig.
You can provide answers to friends via chat, text, video calls. Most people can pay you to help provide answers, advice, companionship, etc. to your friends.
Fiverr allows you to charge what you want to earn. You can charge from $5 to $25 or more.
Setting up a gig lets clients find you easily.
With regards to payments, Fiverr ensures that secured and safe payments are made.
The payment system acts as an escrow service, although they always cut 20% of your earnings as their commission.
Remember to share your gig as many as possible times that you can. The more view your gig has, the more chances you have to get hired and get paid as an online friend.
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6. Freelancer
Just like Fiverr, Freelancer is also another freelance platform. You can get paid to be an online friend on Freelancer by creating a gig.
The process is the same as for Fiverr, You create an account and you set up a gig offering your friendship service to others.
People can look for all kinds of services on there – including if you’re looking to get paid to be a virtual friend.
Once you’ve signed up with the site, you have the chance to bid on eight possible projects for free. And if you use up that quota, you can always buy more.
While Freelancer clearly isn’t strictly for people looking to get paid to be an online friend, its benefit in being a large site is that it’s pretty good at weeding out scammers.
Also, the payment process is both very secure and very fast, making this perfect if you need money urgently.
Users have to link their account to either PayPal, a card, or a bank account so either way, you’ll definitely get paid.
Finally, Freelancer allows teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 years old to use an adult’s account (with the permission of the account holder) making it a great way for teens to make money being a friend.
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Apps to get paid to be an online friend
Apart from the websites that we have seen above, There are some mobile applications that offer the same kind of services. These apps allow you to create an account and chat with people for a remuneration
7. Text121chat
While Text121Chat may sound like just another chatting service that pays people to respond to text messages, this platform is more involved in adult-oriented conversations.
However, your services don’t necessarily need to be adult-based since some of the services offered through this platform also include tarot readings, trivia, and other forms of entertainment.
8. chat recruit
Chat Recruit is an interactive online platform for people interested in chatting and/or flirting via text messages.
Even though this is their main area of service, they also offer live webcam and TV chats for their virtual customers.
According to their website, Chat Recruit has many different payment rates to choose from and all of these are paid via direct deposits and international bank transfers.
Also, even though there are many different types of chats with their own unique revenue streams, the average initial earning of chat representatives is $2 per minute.
9. Premium chat
Premium Chat is another very innovative business model that allows people to earn money via text and live video chats.
The basic idea behind this business was to allow people with many followers or clients to earn money by answering questions online.
Of course, people can also use this service to offer virtual friend services to anyone who is a member of this platform
Setting up an account on Premium Chat is absolutely free – which means there are no monthly or upfront costs.
While setting up your account, you will be prompted to choose between a flat rate or a pay-per-minute option.
In either case, you can post any amount you would like to charge for your time and effort.
While virtual friends are free to set their own rates, text chats usually earn anywhere from $1 to $5.99 per minute.
For video chats, you can charge from $2 to $8.99 per minute. However, if you choose flat rate billing, then you can charge up to an average of $50 per hour.
10. Chat shop
The Chat Shop is an online platform that outsources experts via live chats to the US and UK.
If you are hired as their chat agent, you will be required to work for around 20 to 30 hours per week from any remote location.
Chat agents are hired as experts that handle their client’s technical, sales-related and customer-service issues.
After completing their rigorous application process, The Chat Shop offers new applicants an initial $10 hourly pay rate.
Of course, this rate can be increased if you answer more chats or resolve specialized questions quickly.
frequently asked questions about online friend
Here are answers to possible questions you might want to ask ;
1. How does being an online friend work?
As a paid online virtual friend, you will be expected to offer companion or tutor services to a client seeking friendship or advice online. It is mainly platonic.
2. Is this a legit way of making extra income?
YES. This is a legit way of making extra cash as the sites listed in this guide are professional platforms that offer the service. However, beware of scammers.
3. How do I get paid after offering this service?
You will be expected to create a profile on any of the sites before doing anything. After that, you will have to add a payment account like PayPal and then verify it.
4. Do I have to work for a certain period of time?
There are no special time schedules as to when you can offer this service and also no limit to the amount of time you can spend chatting online with your client.
5. How much money can I make as an online friend?
The amount of money you can make as an online virtual friend is not fixed. It is totally dependent on the type of service you’re rendering and the client involved.
6. How do I get started if I want to be an online friend?
It’s quite easy. All you need to do is to visit any of the sites listed in this guide and go-ahead to “Sign Up as Friend”. Links to each website have been provided.
In Conclusion, kindly share your thoughts in the comment section.
