9 Legit Ways To Get Paid To Be An Online Friend
You being able to walk out and 30 minutes later, make friends with so many people does not mean everybody could do that. There are some people who find it difficult to make real friends.
Also, there are some people who changed location – and because of the language barrier, cultural change, and other sensible reasons, find it very difficult to make new friends.
Those are the people who are willing to pay you – so that you can be their friend online. If you find it interesting to meet new people, use this way to make money while doing what you love!
All the same, when I first heard that people were getting paid to be online friends, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke until I researched to find out that it’s absolutely true. If the internet has made it possible for you to earn money this way – then you have no justifiable reason to stay broke.
In this article, you’d get to know how to get paid to be an online friend. How much you could earn? The kind of skills you should have to be successful in doing this – as well as whether this side hustle is safe or not.
Because you don’t want to miss any vital information, I’m confident that you wouldn’t just skim through the article.
Steps To Follow To Become An Online Friend
In order to get paid to be an online friend, there are a few easy steps or processes to follow. Below are the steps:
1. Get Registered
This is the most important step – you have to sign up for the various sites where you can get hired by someone to be an online friend. The majority of these online friendship websites are free to join.
2. Complete Your Profile
Clients who come to the site don’t just pick anybody as their friend. They look at photos of various profiles, and other descriptions. That’s why it’s crucial that you complete your profile. For many of the websites, your profile wouldn’t be shown if it’s not more than 70% complete.
Here is some important information you have to state on your profile:
- Your basic information(eg. Name, Location, Gender, etc).
- Your interests – such as cooking, hiking, kayaking, video games, movies, and others, and adventures you’ve tried before – etc.
- A brief description of your personality.
3. Set Your Payment Information
PayPal payment is popular on most online friendship sites. However, you can also get paid through checks or direct bank deposits. Make sure you give your bank or PayPal account details to the site before you start accumulating money.
After this, you must set your charge or rate. How much are you willing to charge someone to be their friend? This has to be stated. Usually, there are two rates set by online friends – these are the Hourly rate and the Fixed rate.
So for instance, you can charge $6 per hour for chatting with a client – or any reasonable amount(one-time payment) for the fixed rate. It’s basically predicated on how much a client agrees to pay – it can be even more than your rate, if only you’re an interesting soul.
When you’re done with this, there’d be nothing much for you to do but wait for your first client or friendship invite. But before this, the friendship website normally conducts a personality test. It could be asking you a few questions about your life to confirm the answers you gave while completing your profile. It is just a way to know that you’re a real person behind the account or profile.
Can You Really Get Paid To Be An Online Friend?
It might happen that you have doubts like these people I found on Reddit.
Yes – you can really get paid to be an online or virtual friend. So many people are working this side hustle for extra dollars every week. Websites like RentAFriend, and a few others are very legit. Friend renters(people coming to the site to rent a friend) are made to pay a fee when creating their accounts. This is to make sure that only serious persons(who really want to hire an online friend) are accepted.
In as much as the platforms are reserved when it comes to payment negotiations between an online friend and a renter, every interaction is tracked to avoid you getting cheated by a renter.
How Much Do You Get Paid To Be An Online Friend?
You can make some cool money by being an online friend. There are two things that influence the money you can earn:
1. The Grind
How many hours are you going to put into this work? Will you work at it for a few hours on weekends – or you’re going to take it as a full gig, or something more serious?
2. The Package
The majority of friend renters are men, and men like good things, so if you’re a lady – have you worked on yourself to look attractive? Are you cold as ice – or you’re able to make every moment enjoyable for people?
Besides, do you have some vital skills you can also teach your renter? If you gave positive answers to all these questions – then you can charge more per hour. And because you’re a sweet vibe, renters would willingly give you tips on top of that.
Nonetheless, to give you a clear picture of how much you could make – let me give you the breakdown. This information was taken from RentAFriend.
RATE | WEEKLY | MONTHLY | YEARLY |
Part Time - $20/hr | $480 | $1,920 | $23,040 |
Full Time - $20/hr | $800 | $3,200 | $38,400 |
Part Time - $50/hr | $1200 | $4,800 | $57,600 |
Full Time - $50/hr | $2,000 | $8,000 | $96,000 |
Note: These are averages – not guarantees. Your earnings are predicated on the two factors I’ve stated above.
How To Get Paid To Be A Virtual Friend
Let us discuss the sites where you can get paid to be an online or virtual friend. They have been reviewed, and have been seen as legit.
1. FriendPC
- Category: Virtual Friendship
- Usage Cost: Free
- Location: Worldwide
- Availability: Web only
- Earning Potential: $1,000+ per month
The first website to consider if you want to get paid to be an online friend is FriendPC – because it is easy to sign up for the site, and it also has many ways to earn money besides virtual friendship. Other services you can have with your account are:
- Virtual Gamer – you can get invited by a renter to play games online.
- Life Coach – you can coach renters on the site(help them overcome boredom, depression, anxiety, timidity, etc).
- Virtual Girlfriend – you can flirt online as someone’s girlfriend through text, video call, etc.
After you’ve created your account, complete your profile by describing yourself, and uploading a few photos. You must also set your charges per hour. FriendPC pays you instantly(via direct bank deposit) when a renter rents you as a friend. However, 5-10 percent of the money goes to FriendPC.
The upside of FriendPC is that you can earn in many ways, and it pays quickly. The only downside is that there’s no PayPal payment.
2. RentAFriend
- Category: Virtual Friendship
- Usage Cost: Free
- Location: Worldwide
- Availability: Android and Web
- Earning Potential: $20- $50 per hour
When you talk about online friendship as a way of making money, RentAFriend can never be skipped – it is the most popular in the industry.
When you register for free as an online friend, you would be invited by a member or renter – so that you can hang out in person. You can engage in so many activities when you meet. Here are some fun ideas:
- Shopping
- Picnics
- Hiking
- Getting drinks at the bar
- Sightseeing – and many others.
Unlike FriendPC where you’re paid through the platform, RentAFriend’s work ends when you connect with a client. You get paid when you meet your friend – that also means no commission goes to the website(you keep 100% of the money).
RentAFriend is available globally, so you can join today no matter your location. After signing up, complete your profile and wait for your first invite. You can earn between $20 and $50 per hour as a virtual friend.
3. Papa
- Category: Gig Economy
- Usage Cost: Free
- Locations: The United States
- Availability: Android, iOS, and Web
- Earning Potential: $12-$20 per hour.
Elderly people mostly feel lonely, so in order for them to feel loved – Andrew Parker started Papa. Even though the platform wasn’t started as an online friendship site – it now feels like one.
So you sign up as a Papa Pal and complete your profile by describing yourself – and stating some of the things you can comfortably do to assist elderly people on the platform. It could be:
- Video calls
- Grocery shopping
- Taking them for a walk
- Taking them to the park, hospital, etc.
- Mowing their grass, and many more.
The first option means you’d just be an online friend of an elderly person, but for the others – you have to go to their house in person. The cool thing is that Papa pays for mileage or transportation when you drive to visit any client.
You’re actually a helper for elderly people on Papa. It might be so much work but the experience you’d get can be unforgettable. Taking a grandparent to the park, helping them take their medication, and many more can be fulfilling.
You can earn between $15 and $25 per hour as a Papa Pal. On average, Papa Pals earn around $1,500 per month.
4. RentaCyberFriend
- Category: Virtual Friendship
- Usage Cost: $99.99 per year
- Locations: Worldwide
- Availability: Web
- Earning Potential: It depends on many factors
If you want to get paid to be an online friend – you should also consider RentaCyberFriend. RentaCyberFriend connects many people worldwide on a single platform for them to benefit together.
Creating your user account is super easy on RentaCyberFriend. You first have to be at least 18 years old. After signing up, you have to complete your profile and upload a few photos of yourself.
One important thing to state when filling out your profile is your personality. This helps you attract like-minded friends or clients.
Apart from becoming an online friend, you can also teach your clients the skills that you have(playing the violin, cooking, writing, etc).
RentaCyberFriend is a good platform but you have to pay a membership fee – and here is the breakdown:
- $29.99 per month
- $49.99 per 3 months
- $79.99 per 6 months
- $99.99 per year.
Even though RentaCyberFriend is not free to join like other virtual friendship sites – the platform gives you the opportunity to share your skills to earn more money.
5. Phrendly
- Category: Virtual flirting
- Usage Cost: Free
- Locations: The United States and Canada
- Availability: Android and Web
- Earning Potential: $44- $66 per hour
Phrendly is for those who want something more advanced than just an online friend. On Phrendly, you flirt with lonely men or women – and you get paid. However, you can also have a normal friendly chat, if you don’t want to get to the extreme.
The website is free to sign up for. You must be 18 years or older to get accepted. When you’re registering on the site, there are 3 profile options – and they are Slow and Steady, Normal, and Drive Right-In. Here’s what each of them means:
- Slow and Steady: Choosing this means you just want to be an online friend and have casual chats with clients.
- Normal: Choosing this means you want to flirt with clients, but not in a sexual way.
- Drive Right-In: This means you’re okay to flirt sexually with clients.
After creating your account, interested users would send you invites for a 6 minutes video call or an 8 minutes voice call. You earn $10 for every call per call – in general you can make around $66 per hour for video calls and $44 per hour for voice calls.
The minimum payout amount on Phrendly is only $10 – once you’ve earned that amount, you can cash out using any of the following payment options:
- Checks
- Direct deposits
- Charitable donations.
6. FlirtBucks
- Category: Virtual Flirting
- Usage Cost: Free
- Location: The US, UK, Canada, and Australia
- Availability: Web
- Earning Potential: $84 per week minimum
FlirtBucks is an online flirting platform that allows ladies to mingle with men – and get paid. Ladies on the website are called “Hostesses”.
After you’ve signed up and completed your profile, you can then chat with men on the site. FlirtBucks is for casual and sexual flirting only – it’s not for dating or sharing nude pictures.
You can earn from $12 to $50 per day as an online friend or a chat hostess on FlirtBucks.
If you’re 18 years old already, you can sign up for FlirtBucks! Once you’ve earned some money, you can cash out through PayPal or check.
7. Fiverr
- Category: Freelancing
- Usage Cost: Free
- Location: Worldwide
- Availability: Web
- Earning Potential:
Fiverr is one of the most used freelance platforms. All skills can be traded for money on Fiverr – including graphics designing, video editing, creating of plr ebooks, filling out forms, proofreading, and transcribing – just to mention a few.
Besides, you can also become an online friend on Fiverr and make so much money. Money people come to Fiverr to hire freelancers because – freelancers on the site have a base rate of $5.
You can join Fiverr for free from any location. While on the site, create a “Seller account” and complete your profile. But since there’s high competition on Fiverr, when you choose the virtual friendship gig – make sure you state clearly the values you give to your clients. If you give professional advice, or you can teach them new languages, coding, or video editing – mention it in your profile so that you can stand out.
Fiverr can earn you a limitless amount of money. There are many freelancers on Fiverr who make a full-time income.
8. Texting Factory
- Category: Online flirting
- Usage Cost: Free
- Location: Worldwide
- Availability: Web
- Earning Potential: $300 per week
Another site where you get paid to be an online friend is Texting Factory. When you join the site, you can text clients, and make some money.
Texting Factory allows both casual and erotic/adult chats. You must select the one you’re more comfortable with when completing your application.
According to Texting Factory, members on the site earn from $300 to $400 per week, some even earn more than that depending on their hard work.
Some weird things about the site are that it allows you to complete your profile anonymously – so clients wouldn’t know your true personality. Furthermore, video and voice calls are also not allowed except for texting. The last is that it pays via Bitsafe only(no PayPal, no check, etc). If you have a Bitsafe account, then Texting Factory is another site to consider.
9. Freelancer
- Category: Freelancing
- Usage Cost: Free
- Location: Worldwide
- Availability: Web
- Earning Potential: $15 per hour
You can also become an online friend on Freelancer, and make some good money. Freelancer is a very popular platform for freelancers to sell their skills.
After creating your seller account on the site, complete your profile indicating the value you give to clients who hire you as their virtual friend. Moreover, upload the nicest photo you have in your gallery to attract many people.
You can make about $10- $15 per hour when you’re rented as an online friend on Freelancer. Once you have accumulated enough money on the site, you can withdraw via PayPal, Skrill, or Wire Transfer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some of the questions people ask about ways to get paid to be an online friend:
1. Is it safe to get paid to be an online friend?
Yes – getting paid to be an online friend is 100% safe. All companies where you can register to become an online friend have an end-to-end encryption for protection on their websites. This keeps your personal information very safe from hackers, etc.
Also when it comes to the friends you meet online, here are a few tips for you to stay safe:
- Don’t reveal vital information such as house address, car number, Social Security number, and bank account details to your online friend.
- Have a voice and video call with your online friend for not less than two times before you accept to meet in person.
- Meet your friend at a public place.
- Listen to your innermost feeling. If your instinct tells you that your online friend has bad energy, dissolve the friendship.
2. Is it safe to meet online friends?
For someone you barely know, it would be unsafe if you go to the person’s apartment alone. Arrange for a meetup at a public place where you’ve been before. And more importantly, don’t give your full name and house address to online friends until you have gotten to know them very well.
3. Can I make a full-time income getting paid as an online friend?
Yes, you can make a full-time income. If you sign up for sites like RentAFriend and Papa – you can make money if you take them seriously. On average, online friends make around $2,000 per month on RentAFriend and Papa separately. Combining both platforms can earn you a full-time income.
Final Words
Getting paid to be an online friend is just one of the many ways to make money online. You’d want to read about other popular ways like:
- Making money as a chat operator
- Getting paid to watch ads
- Getting paid to sell pictures of yourself
- Drawing online for money
- Getting paid to listen to music
- Playing phone games for money.
The only way to start earning money online is to pick one side hustle and execute it. Reading without taking action is a waste of time. All the same, I hope that this article has been of help. I’m wishing you more dollars and freedom!
Manuelo is an entrepreneur and a personal finance nerd. He is the founder of Dollars And Freedom. An expert in side hustles, online gigs, and everything about making money. His works have been featured on major financial publications, such as Business Insider, GoBankingRates, Investopedia, Entrepreneur, and more. When he’s not busy with his blog or writing for others, you’ll catch him hanging out with loved ones or reading books on stoicism and self-development.
