The income category almost nobody covers
Everyone talks about making money online, but there is an entire category almost nobody covers, and it pays quite a bit better: gigs in your own city. Things you can do this very week, with no résumé and no interviews.
Here are six, ranked from six to one. Number one is going to surprise you.
Number 6 — Jobandtalent: fast temporary work
Jobandtalent is the largest temporary employment platform in Europe and operates in nine countries, including Spain, Mexico, and Colombia.
This is not about odd little gigs but real contracts: you sign up in the app and shift offers come in, mostly in logistics, warehouses, and manufacturing. It is one of the fastest routes to a contract with no lengthy process.
The honest part: reviews repeatedly complain about hour tracking and end-of-month payments, and about how hard it is to reach a real person because support is heavily automated. If you use it, keep your own log of hours with dates and shifts. That tip alone can save you real money.
Number 5 — Preply: online private tutoring
You build a tutor profile with what you teach, record a short intro video, and set your hourly rate. And there is a huge advantage here: the lessons are online, so your students are not just in your city, they are all over the world, and many pay in euros or dollars.
The number one mistake people make here is thinking you need to be a qualified teacher. You do not. What is most in demand on Preply is teaching Spanish to foreigners, and your advantage there is simply being a native speaker. If you speak Spanish, you already have a product that sells. Lessons in other languages, school subjects, and specific skills are also in demand.
The two details that make the difference
The intro video is what decides whether you get picked or not, so record it with good lighting, looking at the camera, and smiling: it is literally your shop window.
At the start, set a rate below average to land your first reviews, and raise it once you have five or six good ones. It is the same logic across all these platforms: reputation first, price second.
Number 4 — Rover: dog walking and pet sitting
A favourite for a lot of people because it barely feels like work: walking and caring for dogs with Rover.
You can offer one-off walks, drop-in visits, day care, or boarding, which is basically keeping the dog overnight. And note that boarding pays by far the most: a single weekend booking can earn you what fifteen walks would.
The strategy to start with zero reviews
The problem when starting out is that nobody leaves their dog with someone who has no ratings. The strategy is clear: start with low-priced walks until you have five reviews, and once you do, raise your rates and open up boarding, which is where the money is.
One detail that sounds trivial but is what earns the five-star ratings: send the owner photos and updates during the service. That is what gets you repeat bookings.
Number 3 — Clickworker: in-person tasks in your city
I am including it here for something almost nobody knows: a lot of people know Clickworker for its online microtasks, but it also has in-person tasks in your city, which is what this article is about.
What kind of tasks? Mystery shopper visits to physical stores, taking photos of products or storefronts, audio and video recordings, and on-the-ground data collection. Things you do while out and about anyway.
Its big advantage is the low barrier to entry: it accepts practically any country, there are tasks at every level, and it does not put you through brutal elimination exams to get started. And there is always something to do, so you will not be left staring at an empty screen.
The honest part: the rates are modest, this will not give you a salary. And for in-person tasks, always factor in travel time before accepting, because if you have to cross the city for a few euros, it is not worth it. You have the full breakdown of the platform, including how to unlock more task volume, in the guide on Clickworker and whether it is worth it.
Number 2 — Uber: driving and delivery
It ranks this high for a very simple reason: it is one of the few on this list where you decide how many hours to put in, and therefore how much you earn.
There are two routes. Driving with Uber Driver, which pays the most but also has the most requirements, since a for-hire licence is needed in many places. And delivery with Uber Eats, far more accessible, which you can do by bike, scooter, or car depending on the city.
Hours matter more than days
The tip that makes the difference between earning little and earning well: lunch and dinner windows, Fridays, Saturdays, and rainy days, which is when demand and bonuses spike. Delivering on a Tuesday at four in the afternoon is a waste of time.
Number 1 — Classifieds sites: the old-school listings board
Number one, as promised at the start, is not a modern app: it is a classifieds site, the old-school listings board (Milanuncios in Spain, Craigslist and similar in other countries).
Why does it rank above everything else? For a reason that changes everything: it is the only one on this list where nobody takes a commission from your work.
You go to the services section and post what you know how to do: moving help, IKEA furniture assembly, painting, home repairs, gardening, cleaning, home IT support, van transport.
The ad formula that actually works
90% of listings are done badly. Here is what makes the difference:
A title with the service and the area. Something like "Uber and Bolt driver in Marbella", not a generic title.
A ballpark price from the start, because people skip listings with no price.
Photos of finished work, even if it is from your own home.
Renew the listing every few days so it jumps back to the top of the results. Almost nobody does this, and it is literally what decides whether you get called or not.
Conclusion: availability varies a lot by city
These six options do not depend on your résumé, but on your drive and your city: real availability varies enormously from one place to another, so try two or three at once and stick with whichever works best where you live.
If you are also interested in online options, you have every platform we test and verify in the complete directory, and if you want something more flexible without leaving home, take a look at the ways to earn money with only your phone.
