12 Best Ways To Make Money On Autopilot
The thought of making money on autopilot while you sleep or go about your day is obviously pretty sweet.
This sort of passive income is really the dream; you get paid income without having to lift a finger, completely on autopilot!
But while it might seem like a pipe dream to create this sort of autopilot money system, nothing is further from the truth. In reality, there are numerous ways to make money on autopilot if you know how to make your money work for you.
The Best Ways To Get Autopilot Cash
If you're ready to make money on autopilot, the following ideas are some of the easiest and most reliable methods to start out with:
1. Invest In Income Generating Real Estate
One of the most straightforward methods to earn money on autopilot is to invest in income-generating real estate.
And you don't need to invest half a million dollars for this sort of thing. In fact, real estate investment companies like Arrived (U.S. only) let you invest in income-generating real estate starting with just $100.
Arrived essentially pools money together from investors and buys income-generating rental units and vacation properties. From there, it earns rental income and pays investors with quarterly dividends.
This is the perfect example of an autopilot cash gig; you invest in real estate, and you can then enjoy quarterly dividend payments!
And this is just one example of a real estate investing platform you can use. Some other popular U.S. options include:
- RealtyMogul: Lets you invest in private commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000.
- Fundrise: Another real estate investing platform with low fees and a $10 investing minimum. Note, this is a Fundrise endorsement and we receive compensation if you sign up with the provided link.
- Yieldstreet: A popular way to invest in real estate, art, and various alternative assets.
If you're itching to add real estate to your portfolio, this could be the perfect autopilot passive income idea to try!
Learn more about investing with Arrived!
2. Use Autopilot Passive Income Apps
I've been a fan of passive income apps ever since my college days when I started a phone farm. And this is also an easy way to earn autopilot cash if you have an old phone or two laying around.
Some popular passive income apps you can start out with include:
- Nielsen Mobile & Computer Panel: Earn $50+ per year for sharing your data with Nielsen!
- Mobile Performance Meter: Pays you $0.10 per day for sharing your data.
- MobileXpression: Lets you earn around $5 per month in free gift cards.
- Media Rewards: This free app pays you to listen to music, radio, and for watching TV and collecting that data.
- Panel App: Earn $1 per month for sharing your data.
- Pogo: Get paid with free PayPal money for sharing your purchasing data.
- Cash Magnet: Turn your phone into an autosurfing device and earn up to $15 per month.
- S'more: This money lockscreen app pays you $0.10 per day just for unlocking your phone.
These apps don't pay much independently, but together, you might be looking at a quick $20 to $50 per month or more without much work at all!
The Nielsen Panel is my favorite app at the moment, as are Pogo and Mobile Performance Meter, so I suggest starting out there.
3. Create An Autopilot Website
One of my favorite ideas in this category is to create a website that earns income and then outsource all of the work.
Blogs are the perfect example of this idea, and you can create an autopilot website if you outsource your content writing, editing, and SEO research. I'm in the process of doing this for a new blog, and even though blogging and freelance writing is my full-time job now, I spend less time on WebMonkey than in the past.
And the income potential is very high here.
For example, WebMonkey made $92,000 in 2021. And for 2022, my blog made $272,000. And all of this is semi-passive income from Mediavine and affiliate marketing.
People also make money blogging by selling online courses, coaching programs, digital products, and by offering sponsorships.
Again, you need to earn some decent income to outsource all of the work a blog requires to run. However, once you start making money with your blog, you can reinvest it back into growth.
For example, WebMonkey makes $400 a day in Mediavine ads alone, and there are days affiliate income makes $1,000 a day or even more.
Overall, this autopilot money idea takes a lot of time and skill to get right. However, I think it's one of the ideas with the highest income potential.
4. Use Autopilot Money Making Websites
Like the passive income app idea, another method to make autopilot cash overnight is to use various autopilot money making websites.
You can use various get-paid-to websites that pay you for watching ads and completing short micro tasks.
Some leading websites that let you watch ads for money include:
- Swagbucks: This rewards site pays you for playing games, watching ads, and even pays you to shop!
- Grindabuck: Another popular paid survey site that also has an autopilot cash section.
- AdWallet: One of the most popular sites to watch ads for money.
- PrizeRebel: Another site like Swagbucks that also has some autopilot earning options.
Between all these autopilot money websites, earning $10 to $50 per month is realistic.
5. Invest In Stocks & ETFs
If you're looking for a more traditional option that's also excellent for young adults, you can start investing for income.
This is also something I've been doing for years, and the idea is pretty straightforward. By investing in dividend-paying stocks and ETFs, you can earn quarterly and annual payments without having to lift a finger.
Of course, you have to do your due diligence and decide on which stocks or ETFs you're investing in. As for where and how you invest, your online bank likely has an investing portal you can sign up for.
Alternatively, companies like Stash let you invest commission-free in stocks and ETFs, so it's a very beginner-friendly way to start investing. And it even has a $5 sign up bonus right now for new members.
You should think about your level of risk tolerance and consider speaking to a financial professional before making any investing decisions. But for a simple way to earn autopilot passive income, you can definitely consider investing.
If you want to see what I'm investing in, you can also follow me on the Blossom app! This is a free social investing community in the United States and Canada, and it's a fun way for people to share their latest trades and picks.
Pro Tip: If you need some help, you can try out The Motley Fool to get custom stock picks and research sent to your inbox every week.
6. Create A Cash Cow YouTube Channel
I started my YouTube channel back in 2020. After about a year and a bit, the channel passed 10,000 subscribers and now earns around $1,000 per month in mostly passive income.
Making money on YouTube isn't a passive hustle for most people however, and I still have to script and film videos. However, I've outsourced my video editing and thumbnail design, so the process is slowly becoming more passive.
But some people create autopilot cash by making a “cash cow YouTube channel.”
These channels are usually in niches with viral potential. The channel owner outsources animation, a narrator, script writing, and just focuses on coming up with video ideas that can go viral.
The entire process can be very lucrative, and there are lots of “Top Ten” style channels that are cash cow channels that are being automated.
Again, this can take a lot of time and skill to get right. But if you understand YouTube SEO and how to work the algorithm, it's a strategy that can work wonders.
7. Open A Rewards Checking Account
This is a very easy way to make some free money as well since many leading checking and savings accounts pay sign up bonuses for new customers.
Take Current for example. Its no-fee rewards account pays you 4% APY on up to $6,000, letting you earn autopilot cash with your savings. And, it has a nice $50 sign up bonus that you can take advantage of.
If you're not a fan of this account, you can consider alternaive high-yield savings account instead.
For example, platforms like Raisin help you find the best savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs. It works with banks and credit unions to bring you the best rates. And my favorite part is that it doesn't charge any fees and only takes $1 to get started.
Just note that this autopilot cash idea isn't my favorite because you're not really beating inflation.
And, when you look at options like investing with Arrived or in stocks or ETFs, you're leaving a lot of potential returns on the table by sticking your cash in a savings account.
8. Try Autopilot Gigs
If you search for “autopilot gigs” on marketplaces like Fiverr, you find some pretty interesting results.
For example, a lot of Fiverr sellers offer services where they create autopilot websites for people that automatically repost content from around the web.
A lot of these are news style sites, but if you know your SEO and want to run this type of site, you can potentially turn this type of site into an income source.
Here is how I would approach this autopilot gig:
- I'd purchase an automated news site in a certain blog niche I understand.
- I'd write 20 to 30 long-form, quality articles that target low competition keywords.
- I'd get the site approved for Google Adsense.
- I'd let the autopilot gig aspect start so the blog automatically reposts news from around the web.
From there, you can experiment with things like Pinterest marketing or using other free traffic sources to drive even more traffic to the website.
9. Rent Out Assets You Own
While it might surprise you, there are plenty of ways to make money renting things out to people.
This is also a great autopilot money system since once you own valuable assets, it doesn't take too much work to find renters who are willing to pay for them.
Some popular things you can rent out for money include:
- A spare room or entire home as an Airbnb host
- Spare storage space with Neighbor (U.S. only)
- Your car with Turo
- An RV with RVShare
- A camera or other electronics with Fat Llama
You have to spend time communicating with renters, and some gigs like Airbnb require cleaning and possibly dealing with guests. However, this work is also something you can outsource, letting you earn money on autopilot thanks to the valuable assets you own.
10. Create A Print On Demand Business
Print on demand is a business model where you upload your own designs to products that you sell online. Except when you make a sale, a print on demand partner manufactures and ships the product, so you don't have to deal with logistics.
POD is incredibly popular because it takes a lot of the work off your plate.
It's also a business I tried as a college side hustle when I sold meme mugs with an Etsy print on demand store.
What's nice about POD is that once you create your designs and upload your products to your storefront, the rest of the work is just marketing.
And with marketplaces like Etsy, you can get organic traffic to your storefront if you create products in a trendy niche or a niche that's hyper-targeted.
There are also so many Etsy POD partners you can use to actually design your products.
I used Printify, and the process of creating unique and funny meme mugs to sell only took a few minutes with its design tool.
In the end, my POD business was a bit of a flop. However, I still got 2 sales and barely did any work to get them.
And Etsy is just one of many platforms you can use to make money with print on demand.
For example, many artists make money on Redbubble or sell their designs on sites like Zazzle and CafePress. Ultimately, this autopilot money idea takes time to grow, and you need to have some design skill and creativity.
But once your store is up and running, most of the income becomes completely passive.
11. Crypto Interest Accounts
One newer autopilot passive income idea I've been trying is to earn interest with various cryptocurrencies.
This process is also very simple, and there are numerous crypto interest accounts that pay 10% to 15% APY or more on various coins. For example, I'm using Nexo to earn about 7% APY on some Cardano I own, and I earn interest every day.
I bought the Cardano using my Coinbase account, transferred it to Nexo, and I now earn a small amount of money on autopilot every day.
This isn't a ton of money, but it's been a fun experiment, and you can always add more cryptocurrencies to increase how much you earn in interest. Just make sure you do your research and never invest money in crypto you can't afford to lose!
12. Use Micro Investing Apps
One final idea you can use to make money on autopilot you can try is to use micro investing apps that invest your spare change for you.
For example, Acorns lets you round-up your spending and invests it automatically in portfolios that match your investing goals.
So, let's say you bought your morning coffee for $2.50. Acorns would round that purchase up to $3, investing the additional $0.50 automatically on your behalf.
This is a nifty way to stay on top of your investing and to build good habits. Plus, Acorns also has other useful features like cash-back rewards at 300+ partners and a shopping extension that pays you rewards.
Tips For Getting Started
Now that you know how to make autopilot cash, here are some tips you can keep in mind to increase your odds of success:
- Set An Income Goal: Do you want to make an extra $200 a month or $5,000 a month or more? It's important to set an income goal so you pick the right autopilot money idea that's realistic.
- Diversify: Some of the ideas in this post can only make a bit of money. But using several autopilot income ideas can make more significant income. So, don't be afraid to try several ideas to maximize earnings and to figure out which methods pay the most.
- Reinvest Earnings: For ideas like making money with a blog or YouTube channel, don't be afraid to reinvest some earnings into additional growth.
Extra Reading – How To Make $150 Dollars Quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does It Mean To Put Your Money On Autopilot?
Putting your money on autopilot means you automatically assign different tasks for portions of your money. This might mean automatically putting a portion of every paycheck into a savings account. But it can also mean automatically investing your money or putting it to work for you so you earn additional passive income.
What's The Easiest Autopilot Money Idea?
Autopilot passive income ideas like using reward apps or using micro-investing apps like Acorns are very easy ways to make money on autopilot. You can also use beginner-friendly investing ideas like Arrived that only require $100 to begin investing.
Finally, you can read our post on the best low-maintenance businesses if you want even more easy ideas to try out.
Final Thoughts
I hope our guide on how to make money on autopilot lets you put some of your money to work or create a money making machine for yourself that are completely passive.
Personally, I'm focusing on crypto, investing, blogs, and YouTube channels for the near future.
But there are plenty of ideas out there you can explore if you want to create different income sources, so pick a few and give them a try!
Looking for even more money-making ideas? Checkout:
