6 Easy Ways to Get Paid to Talk to Lonely People (2024)

Where Can You Talk to Lonely People?

There are many platforms that can help you get paid to talk to lonely people in one form or another. You can connect with customers looking for text, audio, video, and even face-to-face conversation.

Some cater more toward sexual interaction, but plenty of others focus purely on platonic conversations. However, as you might expect, there seems to be more demand for the former, so fewer platforms cater solely to the latter.

Of course, if you’re more entrepreneurial and willing to branch out on your own (instead of working for a third-party platform), you could sell whatever chat services you want. If you can generate the demand yourself, you can use more flexible marketplaces like Fiverr or Freelancer to connect with clients.

1. Rent a Friend

www.rentafriend.com

⚙️ How It Works

Rent a Friend caters primarily to people looking for someone to meet with them in person. The site allows you to register as a friend for rent by the hour, after which users can purchase your time. They may book you for conversation or company during a social activity.

⚠️ The Risks

With any site that allows in-person meet-ups, there’s a risk that your client might be untrustworthy. Rent A Friend does require users to pay a fee before they can contact you, though, and you’re free to chat with people before meeting them (or deny requests altogether).

💰 What They Pay

Rates generally start at $10 per hour, but you can negotiate in either direction. Friends get to set their rates individually and keep 100% of their proceeds. The site makes money by charging users a monthly fee.

⭐️ Reviews and  Ratings

Rent a Friend has a few positive testimonials on their site and a generally positive reputation online. There are no official ratings, but there’s no shortage of positive anecdotes on the internet from prior users.

2. Papa

www.joinpapa.com

⚙️ How It Works

Working for Papa might be the most wholesome way to get paid to talk to lonely people. The clientele consists exclusively of the elderly and the infirm. If you’ve ever visited a convalescent home, working with Papa should be familiar.

⚠️ The Risks

There’s always some privacy and safety risk when conversing or meeting with strangers (Papa lets you offer both virtual and in-person services), but Papa does a great job of connecting you with people who genuinely need what you want to sell.

💰 What They Pay

Papa’s website states that their base hourly rate is $15 per hour. Daily and weekly bonuses are also readily available, and they’ll reimburse you for the cost of commutes to client sites.

⭐️ Reviews and  Ratings

Papa has an average of three out of five stars on Indeed from past and present workers. On Glassdoor, they have an average score of 4.4.

3. FriendPC

www.friendpc.com

⚙️ How It Works

FriendPC is the most flexible of the three platforms on this list. If you do “become a Virtual Friend,” you can choose to offer a wide variety of services. That includes providing conversation and companionship over the phone or in person.

⚠️ The Risks

FriendPC may be more likely to expose you to people looking for sexual services than the others on this list. The platform allows Friends to provide “girlfriend services.”
While they define those as platonically roleplaying as someone’s girlfriend to deceive a third party, some people may get the wrong idea.

💰 What They Pay

Friends get to set the prices for their services. No commissions or fees are publicly listed.

⭐️ Reviews and  Ratings

The internet casts similar aspersions against FriendsPC as it would any website advertising payment for talking to lonely people. Otherwise, the site has a generally positive reputation, though no official ratings.

4. FlirtBucks

www.flirtbucks.net

⚙️ How It Works

FlirtBucks is a platform designed specifically for flirtatious text and video conversations (hence the name). The site makes it clear even the video calls are conversations, though, not performances – no nudity. They only hire female chat hostesses.

⚠️ The Risks

FlirtBucks’ Better Business Bureau page shows complaints from many who regret giving sensitive information to them after receiving no response to their application. There’s no confirmation that FlirtBucks has done anything malicious with their data, but there’s always a risk.

💰 What They Pay

FlirtBucks pays between $0.10 and $0.15 per minute for text chatting. The pay range is $0.40 to $0.50 per minute for video chatting. Your rates will increase the longer you work with them.

⭐️ Reviews and  Ratings

FlirtBucks’ digital reputation is split pretty evenly between positive and negative. Comprehensive reviewers support it as a legitimate business, but crowdsourced sites report consistent privacy concerns (though none with documented issues).

5. MyGirlFund

www.mygirlfund.com

⚙️ How It Works

FlirtBucks is a platform designed specifically for flirtatious MyGirlFund follows a traditional platform model and connects men interested in paying to talk to attractive women. They support text chat, video chat, and even live cam shows.

⚠️ The Risks

MyGirlFund only supports remote services, so there’s no risk to anyone’s safety. Your personal information is also somewhat protected from the public since you don’t talk to clients on personal devices, but the site still records your data, so be cautious.

💰 What They Pay

Girls get to set the rates for their services at whatever they like, but the site takes a service fee from any earnings.

⭐️ Reviews and  Ratings

Like its peers, MyGirlFund receives generally mixed reviews online. Some tout it as a great way to make some extra money and some are suspicious of it in roughly equal measure.

6. Phrendly

www.phrendly.com

⚙️ How It Works

Phrendly is a less traditional platform than others on this list. It’s not so much an hourly chat service as it is a social media that rewards popularity with money. People who receive chat requests and sustain them for long periods make more money.

⚠️ The Risks

Phrendly is 100% remote, so there’s no risk of meeting people in person. Because all interactions between people are through the app, your personal data is also protected from clients.

💰 What They Pay

When someone messages you on Phrendly, they send you “drinks” worth some amount of money. If they want to continue the conversation, they have to continuously “buy drinks.” Phrendly doesn’t list a specific rate, but they do mention that they take a cut. 

⭐️ Reviews and  Ratings

Phrendly has a decent reputation online as a small business with all the pros and cons you’d expect. The site has some technical issues, but they seem to be legitimate. The app receives three out of five stars on the Google Play store.

How Much Can You Expect to Earn?

Most chat platforms pay a flat rate per hour or message. If it’s hourly, you can expect to receive between roughly $10 and $50 per hour (often communicated on a per-minute basis). At message-based platforms where you chat via text, you’ll likely find rates between $0.10 and $0.20 per message.

Keep in mind that it’s theoretically possible that you’ll fall into the upper end of these ranges, but it’s not guaranteed. And while rates play a significant role in your profitability, the most limiting determinants of your earnings will probably be the level of demand you can generate and the amount of time you can invest.

Now, let’s review specific examples of sites that will pay you to talk to lonely people.

Should You Do It?

Side hustles are a great way to pad your monthly cash flows, but you should be selective about which you decide to pursue. Many of them (this one included) involve trading your time for money, which will only get you so far. Your time is limited, after all, so selling your spare hours is unlikely to make or break your finances.

Ultimately, it’s most likely to be worth your time if you do something fun that also suits your lifestyle. For example, if you have a dog that you already take for walks three times a day, signing up for Rover as a professional dog walker makes a ton of sense.

All in all, that means you should consider this side hustle if you genuinely enjoy (or already spend time) chatting with strangers. Just do your due diligence and select a safe platform that supports your desired experience.