Passive Income Ideas for Students to Earn Money While You Study

Student life is the best time of anyone’s life, going to college, spending time with friends juggling between lectures and assignments and so much more. But what if you can make some passive income while doing all these things? That sounds good, right? And with an unemployment rate of 28% among the youths, earning early and enough becomes a necessity.

But the question which arises is what those passive income ideas for students are which help them earn their pocket money and make them independent from early years. If you are trying to find the answers to this question, then you have come to the right. Here you will get informed about the best side income sources for students.

Passive Income Benefits for Students

Pursue Your Interest	Doing some part-time job or earning from passive income sources help students explore their interests. This way they may even find their true passion, that can be turned into career in later life.
Earn Money	There are several expenses of students other than academic ones. Side income sources for students help them to earn enough money to pay for their expenses.
Learn Real-life Skills	Anyone can gain bookish knowledge with few efforts, but learning from real-life experiences is different. When students work on their passive income source, they learn a lot about everything.
Work Flexibility	Passive income ideas for students do not require them to engage in the work activities as per any fixed schedule. Students can work flexibly
Work with Experts	Several part time jobs require students to work under seniors, from whom they gain industry knowledge.

Passive Income Ideas for Students

1. Become a Subject Matter Expert

As a college student, you must have excellency in at least one topic. You can use your knowledge to help other students too. You can become a subject matter expert in the field of your choice, this is one of the best passive income ideas for students to follow. And if you want to pursue this passive income job then no place is better than Chegg India. As Chegg’s Subject Matter Expert, you get the chance to showcase your subject expertise by answering the question posted by students on the platform.

There are numerous choices of subjects like maths, engineering, medicine, business, etc. that you can choose from, and for every correct answer given by you will earn you money. This best side income source for students because you will learn while earning.

Skills Required

1. Time management is crucial skill in this job, you need to answer students queries in set number of time.
2. Knowledge management is important so that you can balance what, when and how much to teach students.
3. Communication skills of a Subject Matter Expert makes them different, how you interact with students shows your dedication towards them.
4. Teamwork is necessary when you have to work with students and make proper coordination with them to achieve academic goals.

Earnings

As Chegg Subject Matter Expert you can make around ₹38000 per month, depending on the questions you solved correctly.

2. Sell an online course

You might have heard about creating and selling online courses, you will be doing the same in this passive income for student; just there will be no creating. As, you are still a student you can’t possibly create an online course, but you can help others in selling their courses.

There are many course creators who need someone who can market their courses and help them in selling their courses, and in-return you get certain percentage of sales. It is a good side income job that students can do easily. You can start by asking your college professors who might have their online course to promote.

Skills Required

• Great communication skills are the first and foremost thing that you need to increase the course sales.
• Social Media Management is something that you must know. This way you can promote the courses to larger number of people.
• Marketing and selling skills are needed so that you can sell courses without even trying to sell.
• You need to have persuasion skills, where you can make people buy the course.

Earnings

As a passive income for students, you can make around ₹15000 per month from selling courses.

3. E-Sports Streaming

A growing number of people across the world enjoy watching and learning from others playing video games online. You don’t need a huge fan base to make some extra cash by streaming video games. Some streamers make enough money to make it their full-time gig. You can make a decent side income, even if you have only a few members, by streaming often. However, you need to be consistent in efforts and go live frequently on YouTube or your selected Esports platforms.

Skills Required

• Teamwork is the skill that you need to develop, through teamwork you can achieve more targets.
• E-sport game streaming develops your strategic thinking, as you are required to take big decisions in few seconds.
• Leadership skills are something which is required when you are in virtual battlespace and have to lead your team.

Earnings

As an e-sport streamer, you can make ₹10000 per month, which is a great for a student.

4. Pet-Sitting Services

If you love animals and you like to earn some quick cash for spending time with them then pet-sitting is one of best passive income ideas for students. Based on the needs of the pets being cared for, a pet sitter may need to visit the home once a day to three times per day. And you get paid to take care of the pets for the time being you are with the. Mostly your clients are the working professionals who don’t have much time to spend with the pet. You can charge hourly or monthly basis, as per your need.

Skills Required

• One should have basic knowledge of animal behaviour and can understand them.
• Basic First aid skills, so that you can take care of the pet in case of any emergency.
• Problem-Solving skills are needed in a pet-sitter. This helps you in solving issues faced while handling pet.
• Patience is the skill you will require the most while working with different types of pets.

Earnings

As a pet-sitter, you can earn around ₹15000 per month, which can increase if you do it as a full-time job.

5. Rent Vehicle

If you seldom use your vehicle, you may make some money by renting them out. You can find someone to lend your bike/car or list your vehicle as a short-term rental using internet services. If you are looking for a passive income idea that allows you to use your time and assets to make money, this is a great option to consider. Companies like Uber and Ola are the best platforms to rent your vehicle, this way not only your vehicle will be utilised, and you can earn money from it without even driving yourself.

Skills Required

• Communication skills is a must for you if you want to make good rental deal with clients.
• Computer Knowledge is required to browse through websites, make rental bookings and keep track of your vehicle’s location.
• Marketing skills are needed so that you can advertise your services, your vehicle’s features etc. skillfully.

Earnings

When you choose this side income source and become a car rental agent you can earn up to ₹30000 per month.

6. Sell Stock Photos

Putting your pictures up for sale as stock images is a great way to earn money without doing anything other than enjoying your hobby. Photos can be sold to businesses for a one-time fee. You may also sell the rights to use your images online and get royalty payments whenever someone buys them; this is one of the most preferred passive income ideas for students. What you need to do is find an authentic website or platform on which you can upload your stock photos and it pays you for every download.

Skills Required

• Photography skills are the must, you need to be able to click detailed and beautiful photos to sell them at profit.
• Social Media Management, having a good presence on social media attracts potential buyers of your photos.
• Marketing skills are needed to sell your photos on multiple platforms without putting much effort.

Earnings

You can earn up to ₹3000 if you upload 200 stock photos for sales and with an increase in a number of photos your earnings will increase too.

7. Become an Influencer

Social media gives ample passive income ideas for students. You can get paid for the number of people that interact with your postings on various social networking sites. Influencers make a lot of money by promoting brands for sponsors on social media. But before that, you need to create your social media presence, and a strong fan following. And once you achieve this you will start getting brand deals, collaboration offers, and advertisement offers from companies. This is how you will start earning real money.

Skills Required

•  Excellent communication skills are the most important thing, as social media influencer you have to communicate with people frequently. Thus, being able to talk is important.
• Creativity is the skill which will help you attract more followers and brands towards you.
• Project Management is required for the influencer who will be working on multiple projects with multiple brands and clients.
• Content Curation is must, you should know how to create various formats of content for social media.

Earnings

On an average a social media influencer can earn around ₹15000 per month.

8. Fill Online Surveys

Try to look for survey websites to see if any of them pay for partaking. Some websites reward new members with free goodies just for joining. Students can also finish a survey in the time it takes them to drink a cup of coffee or watch a TV show. Filling surveys to earn money is one of the easiest side income sources for students. What you need to do is just make an account on several survey sites and turn on notifications. This way you will get informed immediately whenever a new survey is posted. Fill out the survey honestly and earn money once your feedback is approved.

Skills Required

• Analytical skills are required, so that you can analyse every question deeply and then answer it with conviction rather than fluke.
• Decision making skills, these skills will help you in making correct decision after analysing the question.
• Technological skill to keep yourself updated with latest developments.

Earnings

If you take multiple surveys in a day regularly over month, then you can make around ₹35000 per month.

9. App Development

This passive income idea is best for the students from coding background. If you know how to code well and can create a functioning online application that might also help others in some ways, then you are good to go. There is huge demand of pre-developed apps in the market you can find customers on the gig platforms where people do the posting and promotion to find someone who could create an app or sell app to them. You can find such people and strike a deal with them.

Skills Required

• Programming languages knowledge is a must to become an app developer. Learn everything from basics to advance level of coding language to create best application.
• Cyber Security knowledge helps the app developer to know about the risks from which they have to protect their application. This way they can create secure application system.
• Negotiation skills are something that will help you get a better price for your application. If you know how to quote the value of your application in terms of money, then you can make big money.

Earnings

If you create and sell apps even basic functioning apps on regular basis, then you can make around ₹20000 a month.

10. Affiliate Marketing

You may have heard a lot about affiliate marketing, it is one of the most popular passive income ideas for students to follow. Affiliate marketing is the marketing arrangement where you will be promoting g other products online and selling those products. And for each sale made you will get a certain percentage as your commission. You can affiliate clothes, gadgets, and books are some of the resalable products out there. To become an affiliate marketer, you have to enrol in any affiliate program, where you will be trained at an initial stage and once trained, you will be given affiliate links to the products you will be selling. Amazon and Flipkart are the best platforms to start affiliate marketing in India.

Skills Required

• Problem solving skills help you to become a good affiliate marketer by teaching you how to solve an issue with calm and collected mind.
• Data Analytic skills are required in affiliate marketing to keep track of the trending products among people, track the affiliate link’s sales drive and much more.
• Good Communication skills are something that separates an average marketer from great marketers. Master the art of speaking and see your sales going up.
• Marketing and Sales skills are must-have skills if you know how to market your affiliate products and sell without trying to sell.

Earnings

Once you start affiliate marketing you can make around ₹18000 per month. Which is great passive income for teens.

Also Read about:
15 Passive Income Ideas in India to Become Wealthy
Online Part-time Jobs for Students to Make Pocket Money

11. Note Taking

Not everyone likes to take notes in classes, or they might not have enough time for creating notes. However, if you are good at taking notes, you can get paid to do it for other people. This is one of the great passive income ideas for students because you will be earning while learning something. You will be creating clear and clean notes for the students by listening to their recorded lectures or by reading their books. And for every subject you make notes on, you can charge a good amount. Some people also add assignment-making services to this, if you want you can do that too.

Skills Required

• Good Handwriting the first and basic skill that you need to possess if you want to make good money. The clearer your handwriting, the easier it will be for your readers to read notes.
• Outline making skill will help you in creating notes in less time without compromising on the quality of the notes.
• Listening Skills will help in taking notes quickly while you listen to the lecture. With good listening skills you will never miss any detail.

Earnings

On an average you can make around ₹14000 as side income from note taking.

12. Sell Textbooks

If you have shelves of old academic books collecting dust in a corner of the room, then this side income is for you. You can sell your used books when the semester ends, this way you will get paid back for what you invested in books, and it will help someone who needs books. This is one of the good passive income ideas for students to start anytime without effort. Usually, used textbooks are purchased at a discount by campus bookstores. If you want to make a little extra money, you may sell it to other students at a price that is lower than what they would pay in the bookstore but more than the resale price.

Skills Required

• Networking skills comes handing this passive income, as the more you are connected with people the better you will understand about their needs. This will help you know when someone needs any book.
• Negotiation Skills will get you good price of your textbooks, so that you get the maximum value with least efforts.

Earnings

Here your earnings depend on the condition of old books, but on average, you can make 300 per book.

Also, read: From Clutter to Cash: How to Sell Books Online Successfully

13. Video Editing

Do you know how to tweak videos, add music to them and cut the bad parts of videos, then you got yourself one of the trending passive income ideas for students! Here in this, you can earn money sitting at home if you are a student. People who make videos on the internet often outsource the editing process. You might look for job posts in their films or on social media. Similarly, independent video editors can find work with online content firms by applying to their posted job openings.

Skills Required

• Video editing skills are of course must have, and along with that you should know how to use various software which is used to edit videos.
• Detail-oriented person makes the best video editor. Because if you can catch even slightest of mistake in video at one glance it will make your work much easier.
• Organisation skills so that you can handle your various projects at once without getting tangled in any mess.
• Communication skills help video editors to present their skills and expertise to customers in a clear and concise manner.

Earnings

If you work independently as a freelance video editor, you can make around ₹29000 per month quite easily.

Related Article: How to become a Freelance Video Editor

14. Complete Micro Gigs

Microtasks can be completed on a variety of websites, some of which offer financial compensation. These are simple requests like naming an image, answering a few questions, or selecting the best search results. Even though they only pay a few cents apiece, these are quick and easy to perform at any time of day; thus, making them good passive income idea for teenagers. There are multiple platforms like Freelancer.com, Upwork, Fiverr where you can find several micro gig postings. Start applying to the ones which appeal you and earn money.

Skills Required

• Multi-tasking skills will help you to take up more gigs and earn better at once.
• Time-management skill are important, as many gig job posters needs someone who can do these small gigs without taking much time. The less you take time the more you earn.
• Adaptability will help you in working on various gigs which are out of your comfort and knowledge zone.

Earnings

Depending on the task assigned, you can make around ₹500 per micro gig you complete.

15. Website Testing

Businesses frequently use users to check out their new websites before they go live. As part of this process, it is important to make full use of the site and report any problems that you come across. Positions like this often get posted online, you can apply to these postings and can make good money. It is one of the good passive income ideas for students, as you just have to run a test, navigate through the website and give your honest review as a user of the website.

Skills Required

• Attention to detail is an important skill, as you are required to keep a keen eye on any problem on the website given for testing.
• Having basic knowledge of computer languages and other technical skills can give you brownie points to get the gig.
• Communication skills, as you will be asked to demonstrate clearly about your user-experience.

Earnings

As a website tester you can make around ₹18000 per month, which is good passive income for teens.

16. Sell Home-Grown Produce

The ability to grow your food and a passion for gardening may turn into a lucrative business. You may make a good profit by selling these items to people who don’t have a vehicle and rely on dining halls for their meals. You can also try to set up a table at a nearby farmer’s market. This is not only one of the best passive income ideas for students, but also help them grow as human too. Growing veggies and fruits and selling them require patience, which will take you to great success.

Skills Required

• Knowledge about various plants is necessary to grow vegetable/fruits at home. Along with this, you need to have good farming skills so that you can take of your produce yourself.
• Marketing and Sales skills will come handy when you will go in market to sell your produce to the people.
• Negotiation skills are something you will need when you are handling multiple people while selling vegetables. Learn this skill and get the best value for your hard-work.

Earnings

If your vegetable/fruits are in good shape then you can easily make around ₹30000 by selling them.

17. Online Translation Job

If you know more than one language, you can make good money by providing translation services online. This is one of good side income sources for students.  You can do smaller projects, which can be finished quickly and are just as lucrative as longer ones that require more work. Find websites that specialise in hiring translators and start getting offers for work. You will given audio files, documents and video files to translate from one language to another.

Skills Required

• Language knowledge is must, you should have excellent grasp on the languages you want to work on.
• Attention to details will help you observe every slight detail of the file given to you for translation.
• Communication skills always help in getting better gig jobs, so that you can express your skills.

Earnings

As a freelance translator you can make around 30000 per month quite easily.

18. Rent Storage Space

Many college students, especially those who live in dorms, struggle to find enough storage for their things. It is possible to earn money by renting out extra storage space, such as a basement or attic in a home you are renting. If you are comfortable with sharing space with other person, then renting your space for storage can become a good passive income for teenagers. However, before providing storage space, it is important to set regulations for client access, storage duration, and pricing.

Skills Required

• Negotiation skills will help you to talk other person into agreeing to as close as your terms. This will help you get the best price for your space.
• Communication skills are important when you are going to share space with another person. It helps both the parties to live peacefully.

Earnings

Your earnings in this passive income idea depends on the space you provide and the budget of the tenant. But earning around ₹4000 per month is easily possible.

19. Food Delivery

Driving for ride-sharing apps is a way to earn money without putting in effort. This is one of the best passive income ideas for students which allows you to choose your schedule, so you may work as little as a few hours a week or as much as you like. You may make driving for ride-sharing apps a side hustle if you love it and are located in a city where such services are in demand. There are platforms like Zomato and Swiggy who are always in need of delivery partners, you can apply on their websites and become certified delivery partner after registration and verification.

Skills Required

• Driving skills are the must have skill that you need to become a delivery partner. You can drive your vehicle for delivering.
• Communication skills are another skill that is needed while you interact with the customers on daily basis.

Earnings

As a food delivery agent, you can make around ₹14000 per month, which is a good passive income for teens.

20. Sell Artworks

If you are someone who loves to create art, then you can consider selling them as one of  good passive income ideas for students. You can sell anything from stickers, t-shirts, posters, canvas paintings etc. If you have a creative streak, try putting it to use as the best way to earn money for students. Multiple websites let you set up a virtual store to sell, print, and ship your creations. Looking for platforms that give creators a bigger profit is a smart move. Some of the most trusted and good-paying websites are Redbubble, Etsy, Frankly Wearing, Printful and many more. You can upload your artwork on these platforms, quote your price and sell products.

Skills Required

• Creativity is much-needed skill in this passive income idea, as you are required to create unique sellable items every time.
• Basic computer knowledge helps you to navigate through your online store, receive payments, keep track of your sales and much more.
• Social Media Marketing skill helps you promote your products online which will help in generating organic traffic to your online store.

Earnings

On average, an online artist can earn around ₹25000 per month, which is a good start for students.

21. Virtual Assistance

Being a virtual assistant is one of the most in trend passive income ideas for students. As virtual assistant you are required to handle day-to-day tasks of your employer, from creating schedule to answering emails are some of few tasks you need to do. Quite a few companies and independent contractors look to freelancers and other remote employees to do routine administrative duties. As students you can take only that number of clients whose work you can handle with your own schedule.

Skills Required

• Time-management skills, so that you can complete all the task within the given time-frame.
• Technical skills help you to work easily on the computer, that you will do the most. From creating excel file to making presentation everything require computer knowledge.
• Organisational skills, this helps you keep track of every task in order and complete them without any confusion.
• Communication skills, as you will not only communicate with your employer but also with their clients too sometime. As you will be working as their assistant.

Earnings

You can easily make around ₹18000 per month as virtual assistant.

Suggested Read:
A Student’s Guide to Earn Money from Home
Freelance Jobs for Students to Earn Quick Money

Start Successful Side Income Today!

The end goal of every educational degree is to make students able to get hired! But this can be done even when they are studying. The passive income ideas for students help them in achieving a sense of responsibility and financial independence early. If you are a student and want to feel this feeling of freedom even before getting your r degree, then start applying for side income jobs.

And yes, if you still need a reason or are confused about which passive income to choose then recall the things you read here. So don’t wait to start earning your pocket money on your own.

Dive deep in our Budgeting guide, to save smarter, live better and learn strategies for financial stability & success.

Frequently Asked Questions