8 side hustles from home in the UK, compared (2026)

Most "side hustle" lists promise easy money from surveys or a secret app. This one does not. It compares eight things people in the UK actually do from home, with what each needs to start, what GOV.UK says about tax and licences, and where the catch is.

We run one of the eight — packing parcels for online shops — so we put it in the same table as the others and give it the same scrutiny. Where no official figure exists for what something pays, you will not find one here.

What are the best side hustles from home in the UK? #

How do the eight compare in practice? #

1. Letting a room to a lodger

The Rent a Room Scheme lets you earn up to £7,500 a year tax-free from letting furnished accommodation in your own home, or £3,750 if you share the income with someone else. That is the most generous tax-free amount on this list.

The catch is not tax. It is that someone lives in your home, and as a resident landlord you are responsible for keeping the place safe. It suits people with a genuinely spare room and the temperament for a housemate.

2. Renting out a driveway, garage or storage

Income from land or property falls under the property allowance: up to £1,000 a year tax-free. It is separate from the trading allowance, so you can use both. Demand depends entirely on where you live — near a station or a stadium, yes; on a quiet estate, rarely.

3. Selling your own things

Clearing out a loft or a wardrobe on Vinted or eBay is, in HMRC’s words, unlikely to be taxed. Platforms do report sellers who make 30 or more sales, or more than about £1,700, in a calendar year, but HMRC is clear that this created no new tax for people selling unwanted possessions.

It is the easiest start on this list and the one that runs out: once the loft is empty, the income stops.

4. Making or reselling goods

Candles, prints, refurbished furniture, or buying at car boot sales to sell online. The moment you buy or make things to sell at a profit, you are trading. The first £1,000 of gross income a year is covered by the trading allowance; above it, Self Assessment. You need money for materials or stock before you earn anything.

5. Freelancing or tutoring online

Writing, design, bookkeeping, languages, exam tutoring. It pays for a skill you already have and needs almost no outlay. It is trading, and platforms report service providers to HMRC whatever the amount — the 30-sale exemption only exists for goods.

6. Pet sitting and dog home boarding

Walking dogs or feeding cats is simple trading. Boarding other people’s dogs in your home, day or overnight, needs a licence from your local council in England — unless your trading income is below the HMRC trading allowance, in which case the statutory guidance says no licence is required. The council inspects before it grants one.

7. Childminding

In England you must register with Ofsted if you care for children under 8, for more than 2 hours a day, for pay. GOV.UK lists the costs: an annual Ofsted fee of £35 (children aged 5 or under) or £103 (5 or older only), a DBS check at £49.50, first aid training at roughly £60 to £200 and public liability insurance at roughly £25 to £100.

It is the most regulated option here and the one closest to a real job. It suits people who want to do it properly and for years, not for a few spare evenings.

8. Packing parcels for online shops

A shop sends a batch of its stock to your home. When a UK customer orders, you pack the item, stick on the label the shop bought and hand it to the carrier. You set your own fee per parcel; the app recommends €2.25 for a small parcel and €3.00 for a medium one, and the only deduction is a 3% commission on payouts.

The catch is volume. It depends on how many shops want stock in your area, and nobody can promise that. How it works in the UK, step by step, is in Earn from home packing parcels in the UK.

Why do shops pay someone in the UK to pack their parcels? #

Because the cheapest way to reach a UK customer is from inside the UK. Our rate index, last updated on 26 September 2026, puts the cheapest carrier price for a parcel within the UK far below the same parcel sent in from the continent.

A 2 kg parcel costs more than three times as much from the Netherlands as from within the UK, before customs paperwork. The full table is on the European shipping rates index. That gap is what pays for a sender. It is also why this is not a scheme that needs you to recruit anyone or buy anything.

How much does parcel packing actually pay? #

Per hour it compares well: at five minutes a parcel, an hour is 12 small parcels, or €27.00 in fees. But you cannot choose to work more hours; the shop’s orders decide. Compare that with a part-time job at the £12.71 National Living Wage, which pays for every hour you are there.

On tax: at about 10 small parcels a week you reach the £1,000 trading allowance. What happens above it is explained in Side income in the UK: £1,000 tax-free, then what?.

Which side hustle suits your situation? #

How do you avoid side hustle scams? #

• ✓You can see who pays you, and money only goes to a bank account in your own name.
• ✓Anything you store at home comes from one business you agreed with.
• ✕You have to pay first: a starter kit, a training fee, a deposit.
• ✕You are asked to forward parcels abroad or pass money on to someone else.
• ✕The offer came out of the blue on WhatsApp or Telegram and promises a lot for little.

Parcel work in particular has a criminal twin: reshipping stolen goods. How to tell them apart is in Is packing parcels from home a scam?, and a wider checklist is in legit ways to earn from home without a scam.