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30 Legit Work-From-Home Jobs With No Startup Fees

With advances in technology and with corporate attitudes towards telecommuting turning around, there are more remote positions than ever before! In fact, according to FlexJobs’ annual analysis of the top companies that hire remote workers, there was a 159% increase in the number of remote jobs from 2005 to 2017.

But just because telecommuting jobs are on the rise, doesn’t mean you can slack off from doing your due diligence. The FTC estimates that ONLY one in every 55 work-at-home opportunities is legit.

Legit Work-From-Home Jobs With No Startup FeesThere are many warning flags that an opportunity is a scam. Things like lack of contact information, vague job descriptions, hyped-up job ads, negative reviews, and poor ratings with the Better Business Bureau. But there is one warning flag that causes a lot of confusion, and that’s fees associated with working from home.

You always hear people say,

“You should never have to pay for a job.”

In essence, that’s true. But there are some exceptions to that rule, which I want to discuss before I move on to the legitimate work-from-home jobs with no startup fees.

With the majority of work-at-home jobs, the bare minimum you’ll need to provide is a reliable computer (or laptop) and high-speed internet connection.

However, depending on which role you perform, you may also need additional office equipment like a dedicated phone line, a headset, a quiet office space free of distractions, and a printer with scanning abilities. Some legit fees you may encounter when applying for remote jobs are fees for training materials and criminal background checks (CBC).

Why Do Work-From-Home Companies Charge for These Fees?

It’s primarily entry-level positions that require these sorts of fees, and the reason companies do this is they want to weed out candidates that aren’t 100 percent committed to the role. The rationale is if you invest a small amount of money, you’re more likely to follow through and remain with the company for an extended period. On the flip side, most telecommuting positions for professional careers, do not require fees for training or background checks.

Another reason entry-level positions come with fees is that they are so many individuals applying for these positions, that it’s cost-prohibitive for these companies to pay for these items in mass.

One last thing you need to consider: Is the position a job or a business opportunity? There are lots of legit business-in-a-box, home-based franchises, and direct sales companies that require a startup fee. These sorts of fees are entirely legit when you’re joining a business opportunity, but again, you need to make sure that you’re dealing with reputable companies.

Don’t want to invest any money at all? No problem.

Before I jump into the jobs without fees, be sure to sign-up for our newsletter and free Work-From-Home Starter Guide.

30 Legit Work-From-Home Jobs No Startup Fees Required

Aha!

Aha! hires remote customer success specialists and managers, engineers, and marketers from the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand. Full-time positions come with benefits, and there are no startup fees associated with this company.

Amazon

Amazon hires for a wide variety of virtual positions, including administrative support, customer service, business development, legal, marketing, sales, and much more. There are no fees associated with these positions.

American Express

American Express hires virtual workers for both entry-level (customer care professionals) and professional positions. You will need to have a computer, a dedicated phone line, and a quiet office space. I read on this post that American Express will pay for your connection setup and monthly costs for these services; however, you’ll need to verify this information with AMEX.

Appen

Appen hires remote workers for social media evaluation, web search evaluation, transcribers, translators, and more. You must have a computer that’s less than three years old and a high-speed internet connection.

Apple

Apple hires at-home advisors to answer customer questions and concerns. You’ll need to provide a quiet, distraction-free workspace and high-speed internet connection; Apple will provide you with an iMac and headset to use during employment.

Belay

Belay hires remote bookkeepers and virtual assistants. You must have a Bachelor’s Degree and related experience for these roles. You’ll also need a PC or Mac computer with webcam, high-speed internet connection, and MS Office.

Blooms Today

Blooms Today hires independent call agents to assist customers with purchases. Must have a dedicated phone line, high-speed internet, a headset, and quiet office space.

Cambly

Cambly hires individuals to practice conversational English with their customers. In this role, you’ll earn an average of $10.20 per hour! To get started, you’ll need to be a native English speaker, and you’ll need to have a computer with a webcam and reliable internet connection.

CloudSource

Cloudsource hires for customer service, technical support, and sales positions. You must have your own computer, internet connection, headset, and a productive work environment.

Concentrix

Contenrix hires virtual workers for sales and service, customer service, and tech support. You will need a computer less than six years old, a high-speed internet connection, a phone (landline or cell), a headset and flash drive, and quiet office space.

Legit Work-From-Home Jobs With No Startup Fees

Dell

Dell computers hire a wide variety of work-at-home positions, such as sales managers, tech support, account managers, clinical support advisors, and more, with no fees required.

Fancy Hands

Fancy Hands hires assistants to complete short tasks like internet research, data entry, and scheduling appointments. You must have a computer, high-speed internet, audio headset, and either a landline or iPhone.

Hilton

Hilton hires remote reservation sales specialists and customer care coordinators. To qualify for these positions, you must have a computer, a dedicated landline, headset, high-speed internet, webcam, and dedicated office space.

HSN (Home Shopping Network)

HSN hires remote customer service and order specialists. Job candidates must have a computer, broadband internet, headset, and a dedicated phone line. The starting pay is $11.50-$13.25 per hour.

Liveops

Liveops hires customer service professionals, licensed insurance agents, insurance claims specialists, and sales professionals for phone work. You must have your own computer, anti-virus software, telephone, telephone service, and internet connection.

Next Wave

Next Wave has work-at-home opportunities for telephone-based organizers and writers. Must have a quiet home office, computer, high-speed internet connection, headset, and printer.

PhoneBurner

PhoneBurner hires full-time customer support representatives to work-from-home. For this position, you’ll need a distraction-free office space, high-speed internet, a PC or Mac computer, and a high-quality headset. Pay is $17-20 per hour!

Rev

Rev hires freelance transcriptionists, closed captioners, and translators. All you need is a reliable computer, headset, and broadband internet.

Smith.ai

Smith.ai hires virtual receptionists for full and part-time positions. For this role, you’ll need a computer with Google Chrome, broadband internet, a quiet workspace, and a comfortable headset. Starting pay is $10 per hour!

SYKES

SYKES hires remote workers for customer service, team leads, and support positions. You can work full- or part-time hours, and training is paid.

TTEC

TTEC hires at-home customer service representatives to answer in-bound calls and emails from customers. Must have a computer, anti-virus software, dedicated phone line, and internet connection.

Time Etc.

Time Etc. hires general virtual assistants, marketing and social media assistants, writing assistants, and customer service and sales. You must have a computer, high-speed internet, Microsoft Office, Skype, headset, and a printer with paper.

U-Haul

U-Haul hires telecommuters for sales and reservation agent positions. You’ll need to have a private work area, USB headset, and internet connection.

UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group hires for a wide variety of telecommuting positions, such as nurses, program directors, project managers, and customer service much more.

VaVa Virtual Assistants

VaVa Virtual Assistants hires part-time workers to perform a wide variety of administrative tasks. You must have one year of experience and be familiar with products like Basecamp, Google Suite, and Slack. Starting pay is $15 per hour.

VIPKID

VIPKID hires individuals to teach English (as a second language) to Chinese children. You must have a Bachelor’s Degree and some sort of experience working with kiddos. Teachers can earn $14-$22 per hour, and there are no startup fees. You will need a computer with a webcam and a reliable internet connection.

Westat

Westat hires home-based employees for telephone data collection work. You will need to have a computer, a high-speed internet connection, and a dedicated landline phone with a headset.

Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma hires remote customer service agents at a starting pay rate of $12 per hour. Job candidates must have one year of experience, a PC or Mac with a webcam, a USB headset, and a high-speed internet connection.

Working Solutions

Working Solutions hires independent contractors for sales, customer service, and travel professionals. Contractors will need to pass a criminal background check (CBC) to work on this program. As far as I can tell, they don’t make candidates pay for the CBC, but you will need to verify this for a fact.

Wrrk

Wrrk hires remote customer service professionals. In the role, you’ll be a W2 employee that receives health benefits. You must have at least one year of customer service experience.

Are There Any Home-Based Business Opportunites Without Startup Fees?

If you prefer to be your own boss and make money on your own terms, there are some ways in which you can start a business for free. See the following articles for ways to do and the different opportunities available.

Do you know of another legit work-from-home job that doesn’t require a fee to get started? Leave a comment below, and I may add it to the list.

Originally published December 14, 2016. Content updated March 26, 2020.

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About the Author

Holly Reisem Hanna

Holly Reisem Hanna

Holly Reisem Hanna is the publisher and founder of The Work at Home Woman, which has been helping individuals find remote careers and businesses that feed their souls since 2009. Through her unconventional career path of holding over 30 jobs and obtaining two college degrees, she's been able to figure out how to find a career path that you're truly passionate about. Holly's had the pleasure of sharing her expertise on sites like CNN, MSN Money, Huffington Post, Woman's Day Magazine, as well as being recognized by Forbes as one of the “Top 100 Websites for Your Career.” Holly resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband and daughter and enjoys reading, traveling, and yoga.

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Reader Interactions

68 Comments

  1. Charlotte

    Great list of opportunities. Thank you for sharing. I tried VIPKIDS, and you don’t need experience. If you follow their recommendation it is super easy to get a contract. What I did not like about it was that instead of letting me know that they could work with me because I have an accent, they just deleted my account with no explanation. I still think that’s an easy way to make money online.

    • Holly Reisem Hanna

      Glad you enjoyed the list!

      I agree notification would have been helpful.

      With VIPKID, you need to have a Bachelor’s Degree and experience with children. It doesn’t have to be teaching specifically, it could be coaching, volunteering, or mentoring. =)

    • Dami

      Whoa that was not cool how they don’t explain you why they laid you off. Have you found anything else?

  2. Richelle Lewis

    Hello, Holly

    I’m a housewife in need of a WAH job. I’m a disabled senior and in need of a job that I may do at home. I Love talking to people I try not to meet strangers I try to make people happy and I can talk with people and help them, So can you help me ,I don’t want to do survey I have not got paid by them yet ,been doing them quite a long while ,quite a while and it’s not working out for me so can you please help….. A Mom in need of some help and some luck…I have work in quality control doing taxes and also in customer service and sales I’ve done customer service for almost 10 years of quality control in there a little but never done work at home so how they can you please direct me in the right direction so I can start working I need help. Thank you, Holly

  3. Cierra Cook

    Stuffing Envelopes is that a legitimate work from home job? If so what companies are there out there

  4. Donna Emslie

    I am 62, I stay at home. Looking for a way to earn some money from home.
    I use to be a data entry operator for Dunn & Bradstreet, but that was years ago.
    I don’t want anything where you have to talk on the phone.
    Any ideas for someone who doesn’t have a lot of work experience?
    Thank you

  6. Vicky M

    I am retired and looking for a work at home part/full time job. Prefer data entry but will do customer service. Have medical laboratory and income tax background with computer skills. What job/company do you recommend?

  7. Amy

    I am a stay at home mommy and i have been looking for a work at home job for 2 years now any ideas,

  8. Patricia Peckinpaugh

    I am a LPN & would like to work at home. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you in advance for your help in this matter.

  9. Patricia Peckinpaugh

    I am a LPN & would like to work at home. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you in advance in this matter.

  10. Deborah Johnson

    I am trying to find employment for a work at home job, However I can do emails, text and such I am slow running a computer therefore I am looking for something I can do on the phone can you give me some ideas.

  11. Donna

    Hi

    Are these work from home jobs available for Canadians to apply? If not, do you recommend any websites that will allow us to check out work from home? home? Imdo have hi-speed internet and a laptop, typing speed of 55-60 wpm but no landline.
    I’m interested in responding to emails, live chat support, anything but chatting on the phone. I currently work in an inbound call center which is enough chatting on the phone by the end of the day, ad respond to emails from our members.

    Any information you can provide for all of us Canadians would greatly appreciated.

    Thank you

  12. Kathy Tufts

    Hi Holly:

    Above you mentioned is there legit home business for free, leave a comment.

    Yes I would love to share with you a new home business starting up. The owner wanted to provide a way that people could have the opportunity to make a income and not feel ashamed to let others know about it. It is a Shopping Club they have some products right now, but are adding many more as time goes on.

    So we get to let others know about this opportunity, how else will they know? Then we get to share in the profit share, just by opening our mouth and sharing it.

    The way people are losing their jobs. This company can help fill in that gap.

    Holly you have a lot of people this could help. Get back love to answer your questions.

    Best Regards
    Kathy Tufts
    905-985-4077

    • Vasantha Naidoo

      Hi! Holly and Kathy,

      Thanking you for a great input on work at home jobs. I’ve been out of work for 7 months and believe me, it’s not an easy feat finding a job.

      Kathy about the starting up a home business “Shopping Club”, I am interested to learn more about this opportunity. Thank you!

  13. Marissa Stoddard

    Thank you for the informative article, I have been doing a little bit of research for a legitimate work from home job. Ideally doing some sort of data entry or similar nature that I can work at anytime during the day or night. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks again!

  14. Margaret

    Hi Holly! Cool post. But it’d be better if you’d add my company to this list :)
    We’re currently looking for all pairs of languages translators for freelance work. More info on the website under my name.

  15. Taylor Lynn Duncan

    I am in serious need of a good work at home job. I have a one year old son, my husband is the only one that works, makes $225 a week. Our house bill is $200, electric $100, internet and phone $70, car insurance $130. Not to mention, groceries, stuff for my son, like diapers, wipes, clothes,etc. I am so stressed all the time and really need to find something, anything. Please help. Don’t have computer but has a smartphone. No extra cash to spend. I can get a headset if needed. Please, help.

  16. Joanne Do

    Unfortunately I do not have any prior experience working from home. But I really would like to. I applied to everywhere and no one wants to move into the next step with my application. I need a work from home job because I’m a full time student and it would be easier for me. Please help. Not getting any luck and I’m in big debt.

  17. Nelsan

    I only have my phone with Wi-Fi connection. And I just preferred a work that just typing only. Can I get any?

  19. Sheila merk

    I am 68 ,and a retired RN. Would love to find part time WAH job. Have internet but slow. Not too computer savvy. Able to talk to clients about medical things or ask questions for insurance co. Any ideas

  20. Lynn

    Hi Holly,
    I’m deaf and I would like to work at home but most home base work requires using the phone and I cannot hear to talk. Is there any homebase work to do any typing only?

  21. Tiffany

    hello Holly,
    Do you know of any online jobs that doesn’t require talking on a phone ? I do have experience on websites such as crowdflower and Microworkers. Any information is greatly appreciated.
    Thanks!

  22. Kimberly Gullick

    Ok i travel with my husband as he works the oil industry. Is there any work from home jobs that are legit and that i can do. I have a laptop and always have wifi internet and i have mobile Internet on my laptop and tablets. I can always buy another cell phone for business if needed. Please i need something to do.

  23. Peggy

    Hi Holly,
    I’m getting to retire from an Court Administrative position and I am looking for a remote work at home position.I do a lot of data entry on computer and I work extremely well alone…I am very detail oriented…any suggestions would be greatly appreciated…I have been scammed so many times…

  24. Tracey

    Hi Holly. Any legit work at home gigs that I can use my smart phone for? Don’t have a computer and am looking for some extra money.
    Thanks.

  25. Roxy

    Hello, I have a special needs daughter and a younger child. The work force outside in the real world isn’t as I would’ve hoped for as a caregiver and the crazy split up hours and I was wondering if you have any suggestions as to what isn’t as stressful for at home jobs that can help with extra money but yet where I can possibly leave my job? Thank you

  26. Vera Bowman

    Hi your resources are amazing! I could really use your help. Do you have information on work at home part-time work? I’m a recent college graduate, with very little work experience. Suffer with PTSD and depression, so I can’t handle a lot of stressful over the phone work . I work well alone, I’m good with computers, but I’m not a typist. I use Dragon dictating software to get assignments done. I’m in a situation in which I can’t make over 16,200 taxable income for at least three years, for student loan purposes. But I really need money to pay off other bills do you know of any resources that can help me? Thank You

  27. Lisa Cane

    Having done the Customer Service gig in the past and am considering it again to make some extra cash, but I would absolutely love to find a chat and/or email position rather than having to take phone calls. Any suggestions?

  28. Mel

    Hello,
    I’m pregnant and looking for some part-time income. If I could make 6-700$ per week I would consider full time. Any suggestions??

  29. Dawn Zerbe

    Holly, I’m retired & have been out of the workforce for several years, but I’m bored, don’t feel useful & could use some extra cash! At one time I was Microsoft certified – Word, Excel & PowerPoint. I enjoy working on the computer, although I can no longer handle 8-10 hour days. I also enjoyed being part of the team that created marketing materials for insurance & financial products. So, now I’m thinking part-time, proof-reading, data entry – no stress! What do you think? Sound reasonable?

  30. kim

    I’m looking for a work from home job for some one that has little computer experience. Looking for jobs that pay $10 or more. Any idea? must b legit

  31. Smith

    Hi Holly:
    Can you tell me if/how income from these at home jobs are subjected to federal or state income taxes? If we had one/many of these jobs, would each employer treat us as an independent 1099 subcontractor? Is it up to us to calculate the percentage of witholdings? Just curious if/how that all plays out. Many thanks!

    • Holly - The Work at Home Woman

      Hi Smith,

      Some of these jobs are independent contractor positions and others you’re hired on as an employee. If you’re working as an independent contractor (1099 subcontractor), you will need to keep track of your earnings and expenses and then pay quarterly self-employment taxes. Programs like GoDaddy Bookkeeping can help you determine how much you owe each quarter based on your earnings.

      For more information on being a 1099 contractor — see this post: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/1099-contractor/

  32. Maria

    Hi , I need a part time work at home ,any other work beside using a computer?
    Hand made products? Also if there’s any link for bilingual work at home ..
    Thank you..

  33. Rich

    I need a work at home job but i’m based in South Africa. Can you do update refer me to a link of worldwide work at home job?

    • Holly - The Work at Home Woman

      Jessica, Yes, that is the downfall of remote positions. You’re required to supply stuff like high-speed internet and a computer. If I come across an opportunity that offers laptops and internet I’ll add it to the post. Thanks for stopping by!

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