10 Legit Work From Home Typing Jobs

Are you looking for a legit typing job that you can do from home? This article will cover everything you need to know about making money typing documents while avoiding the ever-present employment scams!

There is one job that people always ask about, and that’s data entry. The reason I don’t suggest doing straight data entry is most data entry jobs only pay pennies per document, which is by no means a fair wage. And often, these companies have substantial payment threshold requirements, so you won’t get paid until you reach that amount (which could take months).

Ashlee over at Work at Home Happiness tried one of these straight data entry jobs and had this to say,

“I felt like I had keyed and keyed and keyed some more but only managed to bank $8.72. Even today, when I log in, I can still see the $8.72 in my account. I never was paid because I didn’t meet the $30.00 threshold.”

However, if you’re an accurate typist with a fast typing speed and you’re looking to work from home, there are other options available that you may not have considered, and best of all, they pay more than pennies!

Legit Work From Home Typing Jobs:

1. Online Chat Agents

Along with the Internet and online shopping came a new breed of customer service, and that’s the live chat agent.

Live chat agents answer customers’ questions and concerns on the spot using online chat programs, email, and sometimes phone calls.

Some chat positions require background knowledge of a particular area like tech support. In contrast, others are more general and only require quick and accurate typing skills along with some customer service or retail experience.

According to CareerBliss.com, chat agents make an average of $11 an hour, with specialized agents earning more.

Here are some companies that hire remote chat agents:

• Alorica
• Empire Flippers
• ModSquad

2. Closed Captioning Work

Do you like watching videos? Then perhaps subtitling is your dream work-at-home gig. Closed captioners watch TV shows, movies, and YouTube videos, type what they hear, and sync it to the video. Rev offers closed captioning gigs, and they pay $0.40-$0.75 per video minute. Typing accuracy and speed will factor into how much you can make.

For more companies that hire online closed captioners, check out:

• Captionmax
• Daily Transcription
• Transperfect

3. Virtual Assistant Jobs

Virtual assistants are skilled, home-based professionals who offer administrative support to companies, businesses, entrepreneurs, and bloggers. VAs perform a wide variety of tasks, so excellent typing skills are a must. Some of the most basic functions that VAs perform are sending email correspondence, creating documents, scheduling appointments, editing, data entry, and internet research — all of which require accurate typing skills.

A few companies that hire virtual assistants are:

• Belay
• Fancy Hands
• Boldly
• InboxDone
• Zirtual

4. Editors and Proofreaders

Do you have an eagle eye? Then perhaps this is the typing gig for you. Proofreaders work with a variety of professionals to polish their written documents. They check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice, as well as fact-checking and improving readability. Many editors have English or journalism degrees, but others break into the field via internships on-the-job training, and some have a natural gift and are self-taught. Editors need excellent typing and communication skills.

If you’re interested in working from home as a proofreader, check out Caitlin Pyle’s free 76-minute workshop here — in it, you’ll learn if proofreading is a good fit for you, how to get clients, and lots more.

• EditFast
• FlexJobs
• Media Bistro
• Scribendi

5. Freelance Writer

You may think that you need a specialized degree to be a writer, but that’s not the case. All you need is practice and a love of the craft, and you can make decent money writing articles, newsletters, social media updates, white papers, blog posts, sales letters, case studies, video scripts, and more. Gina Horkey built up her freelance writing business from $0 to $4K a month in just six months. And the faster and more accurate you can type – the more work you can churn out.

Here are some places to look for freelance writing jobs:

• Copyify
• Freelancer
• Guru
• Problogger
• Upwork

6. Transcriptionists

Are you a fast and accurate typist? Do you have excellent listening skills? Then perhaps transcription is the gig for you.

Transcription is the process of listening to audio files and transcribing them into written documents. There are three main types of transcription work, medical transcription, legal transcription, and general transcription. For these roles, you’ll need a high-speed internet connection, a laptop, a foot pedal, and headphones.

Most companies will make you take a test to ensure you meet quality standards. According to Zip Recruiter, general transcriptionists earn $28 per hour — which sounds a little high because you’re getting paid her audio minute. This means you’re getting paid on the final audio clip, not actually how long it took you to transcribe the audio file.

Want to know more about Transcription? TranscribeAnywhere has a FREE 7-part mini-course that veteran transcriber Janet Shaughnessy explains the industry, how much you can earn as a transcriber, where to find clients, and what you need to get started. 

For companies that hire remote transcriptionists, check out:

• Allegris Transcription
• 3Play Media
• Rev
• Scribie

7. Virtual Receptionist

Remote receptionists take phone calls and quickly type detailed notes of the phone conversation for their clients. They also perform other administrative tasks like screening new clients, booking appointments, transferring calls, and typing information into databases. For this role, you’ll need to be a speedy typer that can stay cool, calm, and collected while having to multitask. You should also be tech-savvy and know about programs like Microsoft Word and Excel, and Google Docs.

For remote receptionist jobs, see:

• Ruby
• Smith.ai – requires at least 40 WPM
• Vicky Virtual – requires at least 50 WPM

8. Translation

Do you speak more than one language? Then consider becoming a translator. Translators take written and audio recordings from one language and translate them into another language. According to ZipRecruiter, translators earn an average of $29 an hour.

See the following companies for remote translator positions:

• Keywords Studio
• Language Bear
• Language Translation
• Welocalize
• Wordvice

9. Community Moderator

If you enjoy reading user-generated content and comments, then this remote typing job may be your calling. Many companies who utilize online forums, social media, and blogs hire community moderators to watch users and their content. Moderators help ensure that the rules and terms of engagement are being followed and answer questions that may pop up from users. The companies that generally hire moderators are bloggers, gambling websites, gaming platforms, search engines, dating websites, social media sites, and review websites.

Here are some companies that hire remote moderators:

• Badoo
• Concentrix
• Cloudworkers
• Pinterest

10. Complete Micro Jobs

There are many websites where you can work on task-based items like data entry, translation, transcription, market research, online surveys, search engine evaluation, and more. These independent contracting roles usually pay on the lower end, but they can be an excellent way to earn some extra money during your spare time.

To start working on microtasks, see:

• Amazon Mechanical Turk (mturk)
• Appen
• TELUS International

More Data Entry and Typing Jobs

Don’t get me wrong, you can find remote data entry jobs, but they’ll consist of more tasks than just straight typing. For instance, Xerox, a reputable and legit work-from-home company, hires individuals for remote data entry and verification jobs. In this role, you’ll be providing administrative support to business operations, including processing tasks such as data entry, scanning, sorting, and similar activities.

You can also find data entry clerk and administrative assistant positions on staffing agency sites like Kelly Services and Robert Half — both have a remote job search option.

Watch Out For Typing Job Scams!

Even though there are more legitimate work-from-home jobs than ever before, scammers are still out there trying to take advantage of unsuspecting job seekers. They’ll create imposter accounts and email you saying that you’ve been hired for a data entry job! Then you click a link or unknowingly provide them with personal information, and then they’re gone with your hard-earned money!

With any job, you should research the company to make sure they’re legit. If a recruiter contacts you for a job, make sure that you verify their email address (it should match the company’s domain name) and their identity on LinkedIn. If you apply for a job opportunity on any of the major job boards, and all of a sudden they want to move the conversation to a third-party app like Telegram, Whatsup, or Messenger, this should be a red flag to you! Scammers love to hide behind fake profiles.

Take your time when you’re researching and applying for jobs. Entry-level work like data entry and typing don’t pay extremely high wages, so if you’re promised big paydays for simple tasks like these, it’s more than likely a scam! If you need help keeping track of your research, our Work From Home Career Planner can help you manage every aspect of your remote job search, including avoiding work-from-home scams.

Conclusion

Whether you’re looking for a full-time job, part-time work, or just a side gig, there is an online typing job waiting for you out there. If you need help increasing your speed or accuracy, there are plenty of free online typing practice sites out there, like typing.com, to hone your skills. Remember to do your due diligence and research opportunities extensively, as there are lots of scammers out there!

Do you have a work-at-home job that revolves around typing and data entry? If so, which company are you working for? Drop us a note; we’d love to hear from you.

Originally published May 11, 2016. Content updated February 2022.