The 7 Best Ways to Earn a Passive Income in 2025

You’ve probably heard the term passive income.

It sounds appealing right? According to the definition of passive, it would mean you’re earning income without participating or having to do anything at all. 

Free money? Sign me up!

Unfortunately, that’s a common misconception. Just like you can’t pluck money from a tree, you can’t expect to earn passive income by being, well, totally passive.

However, it’s a viable way to make money, and offers you security and freedom. 

If you’re interested in establishing a flow of passive income, you’ve come to the right place.

1. Get Paid $225/Month While Watching Movie Previews

If we told you that you could get paid while watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.

It’s too good to be true, right?

But we’re serious. By signing up for a free account with InboxDollars, you could add up to $225 a month to your pocket. They’ll send you short surveys every day, which you can fill out while you watch someone bake brownies or catch up on the latest Kardashian drama.

No, InboxDollars won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight, wasting time on your phone.

Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.

Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately receive a $5 bonus to get you started.

2. Stop Overpaying at Amazon

Wouldn’t it be nice if you got an alert when you’re shopping online at Amazon or Target and are about to overpay?

That’s exactly what Capital One Shopping does. 

Just add it to your browser for free, and before you check out, it’ll check other websites, including Walmart, eBay and others to see if your item is available for cheaper. Plus, you can get coupon codes, set up price-drop alerts and even see the item’s price history.

Let’s say you’re shopping for a new TV, and you assume you’ve found the best price. Here’s when you’ll get a pop up letting you know if that exact TV is available elsewhere for cheaper. If there are any available coupon codes, they’ll also automatically be applied to your order.

In the last year, this has saved people $160 million.

You can get started in just a few clicks to see if you’re overpaying online.

3. Set Up Direct Deposit — Pocket $300

When you set up direct deposit with SoFi Checking and Savings (Member FDIC), they’ll put up to $300 straight into your account. No… really. Just a nice little bonus for making a smart switch.

Why switch? With SoFi, you can earn up to 3.80% APY on savings and 0.50% on checking, plus a 0.70% APY boost for your first 6 months when you set up direct deposit or keep $5K in your account. That’s up to 4.50% APY total. Way better than letting your balance chill at 0.40% APY.

There’s no fees. No gotchas. Make the move to SoFi and get paid to upgrade your finances.

4. Get Paid Up to $140/Month Just for Sharing Your Honest Opinion

If you’re turning blue in the face waiting for a raise at work, it might be time to quit holding your breath and start speaking your mind to someone who wants to listen.

Brands want to hear your opinion to help inform their business decisions on everything from products and services to logos and ads — and they’re willing to pay you up to $140 a month for it.

A free site called Branded Surveys will pay you up to $5 per survey for sharing your thoughts with their brand partners. Taking three quick surveys a day could earn up to $140 each month.

It takes just a minute to create a free account and start getting paid to speak your mind. Most surveys take five to 15 minutes, and you can check how long they’ll take ahead of time. 

And you don’t need to build up tons of money to cash out, either — once you earn $5, you can cash out via PayPal, your bank account, a gift card or Amazon. You’ll get paid within 48 hours of your payout being processed, just for sharing your opinions.

They’ve already paid users more than $20 million since 2012, and the most active users can earn a few hundred dollars a month. Plus, they’ve got an “excellent” rating on Trustpilot.

It takes just a minute to set up your account and start getting paid to take surveys. Plus, right now, you’ll get a free 100-point welcome bonus just for becoming part of the community.

5. Get Up to $1,000 in Stock with Active Invest

If you’ve been thinking about investing, now’s the time to jump in. With SoFi Active Invest, you can trade stocks and ETFs with no commissions¹, no account minimums, and no confusing hoops to jump through.

Open and fund a new SoFi Active Invest account, and you could get up to $1,000 in stock². You’ll also get a 1% IRA Match on contributions and rollovers (terms apply). Whether you’re new to investing or already trading, SoFi makes it easy to get started and grow your money.

With SoFi, you can buy and sell stocks with no commissions, so you never have to pay to invest your own money. You’ll also have access to real-time investing news, personalized watchlists, and curated insights to help you make smarter decisions. You can even start with as little as $5 thanks to fractional shares, making it easier than ever to own a piece of the companies you believe in. Plus, as a SoFi member, you’ll be part of a community of investors with access to exclusive events and rate discounts on other SoFi products.

Ready to put your money to work for you? Fund your account, start trading, and see how far SoFi Active Invest can take you.

6. Grow Your Money While You Sleep With This App

If investing makes you nervous, you’re not alone. The stock market’s unpredictable, and savings accounts aren’t doing much to grow your money.

That’s why more people are turning to Groundfloor, a real estate investing platform where you can start with just $100 and earn passive income without owning property.

The easiest way to get started? Flywheel, Groundfloor’s automated investing option. Your $100 gets instantly spread across hundreds of real estate loans, so you get built-in diversification without having to lift a finger.

You’re basically acting like the bank: you fund real estate loans, and as they’re repaid, you get paid. Target returns? Around 9%.* With recurring payouts, too.

No tenants. No maintenance. Just a smarter way to grow your money. Skip the stock market stress. Grow your money with Groundfloor today.