Currently, there are many ways of making passive income.
Although there is real money to be made from these passive ideas, most of them do not admit teenagers or minors under the age of 18.
Online ideas (like blogging, niche sites, selling digital products, affiliate marketing etc.) require membership in affiliate programs that do not admit minors.
Passive income ideas (like delivering food, charging scooters, or running a passive income business) legally require you to be a teen 18 years and above.
Can you earn passive income as a teenager? Yes. Some passive income ideas include blogging, charging scooters, gaming, food delivery apps, creating niche sites, and selling digital products etc. Most ideas require you to be 18 and above, but you can start earning passive income with the help of a trusted adult (parent, guardian, relative or friend).
In this article, we highlight 6 legit ways you can make passive income as a teenager. Most ideas require you to seek help from a trusted adult to help you sign up and guide & monitor your earnings.
The best part? With the right strategies, these ideas can earn you passive income past your teenage life and beyond!
Let’s get started.
Blogging
Blogging has become a popular way of earning passive income.
Although most successful bloggers are adults, the blogging scene has seen its fair share of successful teenage bloggers.
With the right niche and excellent content, you can grow your audience, monetize your blog, and start earning passive income.
One of the most resourceful courses, Project 24 by Rick and Jim teaches you ways you can earn a full-time income with a monetized blog within 24 months.
To run a successful blog, you need to create a niche (your blog has to resonate with a specific audience) your content has to be high quality (things you are passionate or highly knowledgeable about) and have a growing audience.
With these, you can monetize it and earn passive income from ads, affiliate marketing, selling digital & physical products etc.
You can earn hundreds or thousands of dollars every month with a monetized blog but this will not happen overnight.
In the beginning, you have to be willing to put in a lot of work (like creating, editing, and posting content, building your site etc.) and a small initial investment (to build, run, and promote your site).
With time, your blog can start earning you passive income and you can make more by creating and monetizing more blogs.
Here is a detailed guide about blogging and how you can make $1000/month with a monetized blog.
Gaming
Although almost nonexistent two decades ago, gaming has become a popular and lucrative way of earning passive income today. Successful teenage gamers like Griffin Spikoski earned $200,000 in 2013 at the age of 14 (source).
You earn passive income from game tournaments or more passive ideas like running a monetized blog, offering gaming courses, YouTube ads, donations, memberships, ad revenue on my site etc.
One of the most effective ways of making passive income from gaming is by live streaming your gaming skills of sites like YouTube and Twitch. This helps you build an audience fast and monetize your channel, which makes it a passive income stream.
With a monetized channel or site, you earn passive income through ads, affiliate marketing, selling games & gaming equipment, donations etc. Twitch, for example, pays about $2.5 per subscriber.
Although it sounds easy and lucrative, gaming as a passive income source requires passion and dedication at the beginning.
You need to grow your audience, which requires you to create and post numerous videos playing games, long live streaming hours, and experience in the games you choose to play.
With time, gaming can become a lucrative passive income stream.
For more details about gaming and how you can earn $1000/month from it, please check out this detailed guide.
Charging Scooters
Electric micro-mobility vehicles (like scooters and bikes) have become popular transport solutions in megacities across the world (source) and charging them is an excellent way you can make passive income.
The best part? It is an extremely passive idea. All you need to do is pick a couple of scooters at night, charge them, deliver them back, and get paid.
To start earning income from charging scooters, you need to identify & sign-up on a scooter charging service, ace the scooter training program, and start charging scooters in your area.
The amount of money you make depends on the number of scooters you charge, your location, and popularity amongst scooter owners.
Imagine you charge $5/scooter and charge 10 of them every night. You can make 50/night or 1500/month passive income without doing much.
The most important thing is to grow your clientele and charge as many scooters as possible. You can grow your customer base by offering low charging prices, promoting your services on social media sites, and offering customer service (like delivering charged scooters to owners).
You can learn more about charging scooters and how to make $2000/month passive income from it in this detailed guide.
YouTube
One of the easiest ways to earn passive income is through a monetized YouTube channel.
Many successful YouTube channels owned by kids and teenagers earn thousands of dollars every month.
For example, RyanToyReviews by Ryan Kaji (an 8-year old You Tuber) earn millions of dollars every year by reviewing kids toys on his channel (source).
Your content and audience are key to the success of your channel. With excellent content and a growing audience, you can monetize your channel (by placing ads, affiliate marketing, selling digital and physical products, royalties, endorsements, etc.) and earn a passive income within a short period.
Currently, you must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 400k hours of watch time in the last 365 for your channel be put under review for monetization.
To grow your audience, ensure you create a niche site that attracts a specific group of people, provide excellent content that keeps them subscribed and active, and post as much content as possible.
The content can be something you are knowledgeable or passionate about and would like to share with others. Hence, it is not an easy task and you have to be willing to put in the work at the beginning.
With an active, subscribed audience and excellent content, YouTube can be a lucrative passive income source for you as a teenager.
If you want to learn more about making passive income with a monetized YouTube channel, please read this comprehensive guide.
Creating Niche Sites
Creating and running a niche site has proven to be a lucrative passive income source.
A niche site is a blog or site that addresses a specific topic that resonates with a specific audience or niche. Content on a niche site targets an audience that shares specific interests.
For example, instead of a blog about outdoor photography, your niche site can address outdoor photography with DSLR cameras specifically.
Income school’s Project 24 teaches ways to earn passive income with a niche site within 24 months, but you have to be willing to put in the hard work at the beginning. With your niche site set right and by following their tested and proven strategies, you can earn $1000/month by running a niche site.
Your niche and content are key to the success of your site. Audiences visit niche sites to search for information, resources, and recommendations about a specific topic so your content must appeal to them.
You can create a niche by offering content on popular topics you are passionate, experienced, and knowledgeable about.
With a growing audience, you can monetize your site and earn passive income through ads, affiliate marketing, selling merch, offering courses, email marketing etc.
With time, and with a couple of successful niche sites under your belt, you can earn thousands of dollars monthly as passive income.
For more details about niche sites and making passive income from them, please view this guide.
Food Delivery Apps
As a teen, you can earn a decent passive income through food delivery apps like UberEats, Deliveroo, and DoorDash.
Depending on the number of deliveries you make, your customer’s location, and other factors like tips, food delivery services can help you earn $500/week or more passively (source).
Most food delivery services hire 18 and 19-year-old teens since you need to own a vehicle (car, motorbike, or bicycle) amongst over requirements. All you need is to identify the service in your area, sign up, ace the test, make deliveries, and make money.
Customer service is key to the success of your food delivery service as a passive income side hustle.
You can earn more by offering good delivery rates, timely deliveries etc. You can grow your client base by signing up on two or more apps and promoting your services through social media.
Food delivery apps are active income ideas because you are involved in the delivery process. However, it is a highly flexible side hustle you can do during your free time or over the weekend.
The best part? You can sign up on different apps (so long as they are available in your area) and earn more income in the process.
For more about food delivery apps as a passive income source, please view this detailed guide.
Related Questions
Are some passive income ideas better than others? All passive income ideas can earn you money, but the amount of money you make differs with the idea. The best way to identify an idea that fits you is considering things you are passionate about. With passion and dedication, any of the above ideas can earn you a decent passive income with time.
How can I earn more passive income as a teenager? You can earn more income by combining two or more ideas. For example, let’s say you are passionate about gaming. You can earn passive income from gaming and running a monetized blog or YouTube channel about gaming. It all depends on what you are passionate about and able to do.
Do I need to invest money to earn passive income? Yes. All businesses require an initial investment but online ideas require a smaller amount than physical businesses. Make sure you set aside some money to help you get started with the passive income idea you choose. The amount differs with the idea so it is important that you research extensively about the idea before you get started.