We live in a growing digital era and we all spend a lot of time on our smartphones or laptops these days – often talking to our friends – but did you know you can actually get paid to be an online friend to someone else?
In these modern days, our screen time has increased and most of us have become a tad anti-social. It’s a technological era which has completely changed our lifestyles and our traditional socialising patterns have shifted, resulting in a lack of some real-life friends.
However, this digitized world also has brought us some new ways of earning money. There’s a world of opportunity in making money online and one of the many ways you can work online is to get paid to be an online friend.
A recent study shows that every 3 in 5 American citizens feel lonely due to a lack of genuine friends.
Nowadays, humans have become like machines and we spend most of our time on our smartphones or computers, looking for ways to entertain ourselves, to make more money or ways to live our busy lives more efficiently.
However, the sacrifice we make, is we end up not having enough time to nurture our social needs.
Websites such as RentAFriend and RentALocalFriend have created online platforms for people looking for some social interaction. These platforms work both ways for people who want to search for a virtual friend; or for people who get paid to be an online friend to someone.
If you’re a freelancer or you’re looking for a side hustle, you can definitely make some extra cash by getting paid to be an online friend to someone.
In this post, I am going to highlight some of the most popular sites through which you can sign up and get paid to be an online friend.
Get paid to be an online friend and chat with people online with similar interests
How to Get Paid to be
an Online Friend
What are Online Virtual Friends?
Are they robots? No, of course not! They are human beings just like us.
An online friend or virtual friend is a real person who interacts with another person online, who is seeking a social online companion. Just like you would if you were chatting with a friend who lives far away.
We all have virtual friends on social media platforms, you know those people we’ve never actually met but might talk to online regularly. Working as a virtual friend on one of these platforms is similar in this way.
People who are looking for virtual friends go on these platforms and search virtual friend profiles, then if they like you, they ‘rent’ you to be their friend. This is how you essentially get paid to be an online friend.
A lot of these virtual friendships are conducted online and most of the time you don’t even need to meet them. These friendships are considered completely platonic friendships.
Who can Benefit from having an Online Friend?
There are many reasons why someone would look for the services of an online friend. Virtual friendships can be very rewarding and there are people out there who find it difficult to develop or maintain real-life friendships.
The types of people who can benefit from the services of an online friend include:
- People in places that are still restricted by social distancing – due to the pandemic
- Anti-social individuals (usually highly introverted)
- People lacking in confidence or self-esteem
- People who suffer from mental health issues like agoraphobia (fear of leaving your home)
- Busy Bees (No time to do real-life social activities)
- People who suffer from Social Anxiety
- Work From Home, Freelancers or Remote Workers
- Those with a disability or who find it physically difficult to visit social scenes
How Much Can I Get Paid to be an Online Friend?
According to some of these platforms, working as an online virtual friend, it’s reasonable to charge between $15 to $25 per hour. Start your rate lower, so you can gain experience and then you can increase your rate as you become a more skilled virtual friend.
Most people who work as an online friend, work an average of 20 – 30 hours a week at the above rate, so you could earn a decent amount of cash if you get quite good at it.
How to Start: Get Paid to be an Online Friend
You simply register and join one of the websites we cover in this post, create your profile and start offering your virtual friendship services. Just keep in mind, some of these platforms usually keep a small share of your earnings as a commission fee or some might charge a membership fee.
As for which one will be right for you? I recommend choosing a reputable site, taking your time to check each one out and going with whichever one best suits your needs.
· Register and Create a Profile
To get paid to be an online friend, you first need to register on your chosen website, then create a profile. Make sure your profile is detailed and showcases your character. Also, include a photo, a summary of you and give an overview of your personality.
· Standout Amongst your Competitors
Make sure you mention your unique abilities or skills, so you can set yourself apart as an awesome online friend from your competitors. For instance, if you’re knowledgeable about astrology, skilled in nutrition, or maybe you’re multilingual.
Add all that to your profile and talk about your interests, hobbies, lifestyle, and values.
· Take the Personality Test
Some websites offer a personality test you can take, to connect you with the right kind of online friends by matching your personality and preferences.
· Wait for your Online Friend to Find You
Once your profile is complete, you’ll be visible to members when they search. People who are looking for online friends will search profiles and if they want to chat with you, they can send you a message.
You can choose which messages to respond to and continue the conversation through text message, phone call, chat room or video call.
Getting paid to be an Online Friend can be very rewarding in many ways
Best Websites to Get Paid to be an Online Friend
Rent A Friend
RentaFriend has a fast, simple signing up process. First, you need to fill in a short questionnaire to find if you are eligible or not.
Once accepted, you have to provide a little more information like payment details etc., and then you’re ready to start getting paid to be an online friend. You will find a vast range of people who are seeking a virtual friend on this site.
Now it’s your turn to screen all those people and choose the right fit for you.
The best part of this site is it gives you an option to set your starting rates. RentAFriend does charge a commission fee from your total earnings. Usually, the average amount the people charge is $10 – $15 an hour, but some people with established profiles charge even more.
Rent A Cyber Friend
RentACyberFriend is a new meeting platform based on the traditional PenPal concept, updated for the digital era. Visitors browse profiles and gigs offered by members and then rent the services of an online friend at an hourly rate.
You can sell your conversation, your companionship or your expertise. It’s smart to check out the gigs and categories for ideas on what services you could offer.
- Briefly describe yourself, the activities or hobbies that interest you, so buyers can identify with you
- Profile Photo – upload a pic of yourself
- Add your Contact & Payment info
- Select your Interests & Language – first select your languages and then choose up to 10 interests. (These act as ‘tags’ that bring your profile up in searches by Cyber Friends looking for similar interests, and connect you with them).
- Save your Profile and that’s it! We’ll send you a confirmation email and you can activate your account and start to get paid to be an online friend.
Once you have created a profile, including all your interests and hobbies, you can be a pen pal to anyone. Not only can you get paid to be an online friend on this platform, but you can also be a language tutor, a local guide, fitness partner, gaming buddy and much more.
You’re free to set an hourly rate from $15 to $50.
Rent A Local Friend
Another of the most popular websites to get paid to be an online friend is RentALocalFriend.
The only downside is this website charges an annual membership fee of $100 to join.
Rent A Local Friend is based on the idea of sharing common interests with the visitors in your local area, so you can make extra cash sharing your local knowledge.
On this platform, you’ll find it less competitive than other sites, as you have to pay that annual fee to become a verified friend.
RentALocal Friend has an easy to navigate website and a simple and user-friendly profile setup.
- Create your detailed profile
- Next, an interview is booked with your community manager
- Then you’ll next activate all services you want to offer
- Finally, you’ll get verified through a contribution fee and you’re on your way to getting paid to be an Online Friend
Get paid to be an online friend with RentALocalFriend
College Pirates
Become a mentor at College Pirates. New students joining college are always seeking someone established to help them find their feet or guide them through campus safety, or academics or sports clubs etc.
College Pirates is the platform through which you can become a mentor to these students.
You can earn money for this through consultation charges. Check out their Facebook page for opportunities. Or contact your local university and ask about any mentoring opportunities.
Fiverr
Who doesn’t know about Fiverr? You all must be familiar with this platform if you’re on our website. Fiverr is one of the largest online freelance marketplaces that offer more than 300 services or ‘gigs’ in different (and some very unique) categories.
Fiverr have just launched Fiver Friendship as an addition to their huge selection of services and you can now offer virtual friendship services online.
So, once you’re signed up to Fiverr, you can create a detailed gig for being an online friend. You can sign up for free at Fiverr and start offering gigs straight away.
But it’s a highly competitive platform where the rate starts from as low as $5. It would be best if you carefully design your virtual friend gig so that you stand out among your many competitors.
Start Working as an Online Friend today 🙂
FAQs: How to Get Paid to be an Online Friend
Is it really a Legitimate Job to get paid to be an Online Friend?
This is one of the most commonly asked questions of this job. And yes, you really can get paid to be an online friend to someone – it is a real, legitimate job.
You’re offering companion services to some individuals who might struggle to meet friends due to confidence issues or due to location or disability restrictions and it’s as simple as that.
Is it Safe to Work as an Online Friend?
Others generally assume that people looking for virtual online friends are a bit strange or odd. But we shouldn’t make these negative judgements about the concept of virtual friendships.
People looking for online friends are often just regular people, who find making friends a little challenging for many reasons.
Some might be lacking in self-confidence which impedes them from meeting friends in a social setting, some may be disabled or restricted by location and some may just want some advice or a person with similar interests to chat to.
As with any activity you engage in online, there are a couple of precautions you can take to stay extra safe:
- Don’t give out your personal details such as your home or work address
- Some of those working as virtual friends use a different name for their work – this is a personal choice
- Being an online friend is purely platonic and if anyone requests anything inappropriate from you, you can (and should) report them to the website support team.
That concludes our post and we hope you have learnt a little more about How to Get Paid to be an Online Friend.
Your Friendly, Neighbourhood Work Online Slayer 
Love This? Pin For Later!
