Looking For Online Jobs Without Investment? Here’s The Complete List

Do a quick Google search. 

You’ll find that there are many websites that promise you online jobs without any investment.

Unfortunately, most of them are scams.

The common scams are – online typing jobs, form filling, captcha solving, surveys, etc.

The few that pay you actual cash are exploitative. Even if you work from home for 9 hours, for 30 days, you won’t even earn Rs 5,000.

Do you want the truth?

There are only very few genuine jobs you can do from home. And many of them require specialized skills.

Here’s a complete list.

10 Online Jobs You Can Do From Home Without Any Investments

#1: Data Entry

There are a few genuine opportunities for simple data entry.

The requirements usually are for:

1. Converting PDF into a Word Document
2. Conducting online research and adding the data to an excel sheet

However, because the barrier for entry is low, you will face heavy competition.

How to find data entry jobs?

You can find data entry jobs on the following freelance websites:

1. Freelancer
2. Upwork
3. Guru
4. People Per Hour

Warning: Not all jobs posted will be genuine or serious. Bid for jobs only if the buyer has a high rating on the platform.

Optional Investment to Improve Job Quality:

1. Microsoft Word Document
2. Grammarly – For finding errors in your writing

Pro Tip: Upgrade your skill and aim for any of the other jobs listed here. Data entry pays very low. And there is always the risk of your job getting automated.

#2: Freelance Content Writing and Proofreading

Can you write content that clearly communicates an idea? Will your content be grammatically correct and original?

Then, you can build a career in content writing.

Good writers are hard to find. Sure, you can find $1/100 word writers in plenty. But they are often not very good. Their content is, most of the time, poorly researched and boring to read.

How to find content writing jobs?

1. Most of the freelance websites offer job listing for freelance writing
2. There are online forums where you can provide your writing services – Blackhatworld, warrior forum, wicked fire forum, etc.
3. Your website. Most of the high paying jobs that I have received came through my website. When people find you, they are often willing to pay you higher rates
4. Social Media. LinkedIn and Twitter are excellent sources for finding writing gigs

Optional Investment to Improve Job Quality:

1. Microsoft Word Document
2. Grammarly
3. Your website. Here’s how to create a website for less than Rs 5,000

Warning: Most companies that offer writing gigs in India are not great to work with. I have heard horror stories from several writers who never get paid or get paid almost a year late. And the payment is often meager. Working directly with clients is the most rewarding option.

#3: Video Reviews

All you need is a camera and a suitable audio recording device. If you can confidently deliver the scripted video, there will be several takers for your services.

How to find video review jobs?

I have seen people posting gigs for video reviews mostly on Fiverr.

Optional Investment to Improve Job Quality:

1. Lapel Mike
2. DSLR Camera
3. Three-Point Lighting System

Pro Tip: Pay special attention to audio quality. Improve sound quality with a lapel mike or other premium audio recording devices. Clients will reject your video work if the audio quality is poor.

#4: Logo, Banner, and Other Graphic Design Work

There’s always demand for good designers.

If you can create eye-catchy and functional designs, you have the perfect work from home opportunity.

How to find design jobs?

1. Any reputed freelance websites
2. Your online portfolio hosted on Behance or Dribbble
3. Fiverr
4. Your website

Optional Investment to Improve Job Quality:

1. Your website
2. Licensed design software of your choice
3. Canva or equivalent online design tool – quickly create banners and social media images

#5: Video Editing

Businesses are investing heavily in video content. It pays to be able to help them put out the best video.

How to find video editing jobs?

1. Freelance websites
2. Fiverr
3. YouTube – The perfect place to show off your editing skills
4. LinkedIn – Cold email small businesses that have an active YouTube channel with your offer. Many of them would be willing to take you up if you offer quality services

Optional Investment to Improve Job Quality:

1. Licensed video editing software of your choice
2. Animoto – Quickly churn out high-quality video content for cheap

Pro Tip: Partner with someone who can shoot videos or create animations. Companies will pay higher amounts for end-to-end services. A full-fledged explainer video is easier to sell than plain vanilla video editing service.

#6: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Can you rank websites using legit SEO strategies? Companies will pay you top-dollar if you can rank them for their target keywords.

How to find online SEO jobs?

1. Cold email companies
2. LinkedIn
3. Your Website – This is super important. If you can bring people to your website through SEO, that speaks volumes about your SEO capabilities
4. Freelance websites

Optional Investment to Improve Job Quality:

1. Ahrefs – Offers a range of SEO tools for a nominal price. Alternatively, try SEMRush
2. Screaming Frog SEO Spider – A comprehensive tool to help you track a website’s on-page performance

#7: Virtual Assistant

Businesses or individuals wanting to save time doing repetitive tasks often hire virtual assistants.

How to find VA jobs?

Freelance websites are often the most popular source of virtual assistant jobs.

Pro Tip: Consider software that helps you automate part of your work. E.g., If the majority of your work is collecting emails from websites, consider using a scraping software like scrapebox.

#8: App Development & Custom Programming

Can you develop apps or build custom web apps? With everyone moving online, programming skills are very lucrative these days.

How to find online development jobs?

1. Freelance Websites
2. Your Website
3. LinkedIn and Twitter

Optional Investment to Improve Job Quality:

1. Multiple monitors
2. Github Pro – For private code repositories

Pro Tip: Consider working for a company full-time remotely. There are several programming jobs that you can do online. Check the listings on WeWorkRemotely.

#9: Manage Social Media Profiles

Most small businesses want to be active on social media. But due to lack of resources, it takes a back seat.

Can you offer them a cost-effective way of managing their social presence?

How to find social media management jobs?

1. Freelance Websites
2. Get in touch with small business owners with not-so-active social media profiles

Optional Investment to Improve Job Quality:

1. Hootsuite – Automate posting schedules on various social media websites
2. Canva – Create social media images quickly
3. Animoto – Create videos to post on social media with ease

#10: Social Media Influencer

Video is all the rage in India, thanks to 4G connectivity and rock-bottom prices.

Can you publish high-quality videos and become an influencer on social media?

How to make money as a social media influencer?

1. Ad revenue
2. Tie up with brands

Optional Investment to Improve Job Quality:

1. A DSLR camera or a good camera phone
2. High-quality voice recording equipment
3. Licensed software to edit videos
4. Canva – For image posts on social profiles