Best Ways to Make Money Online in 2026 (TIER LIST)

Quick Overview

The creator ranks various online money-making methods for 2026 in a tier list, placing Freelancing, Google Ads Agency, and LLM Agency in the top tiers, while ranking high-competition areas like Affiliate Marketing, E-commerce, and YouTube Influencer content lower due to saturation or high barrier to entry, and labeling Day Trading and selling compilations as potential scams.

Key Points: Freelancing, Google Ads Agency, and LLM Agency are placed in the top 'Great and Reliable' or 'Pretty Reliable' tiers for 2026. Affiliate Marketing and E-commerce (Fulfillment by Amazon/Shopify) are categorized as 'Kinda Saturated' but still viable. Day Trading and selling compilation videos are placed in the lowest tiers, with the creator calling them 'Basically a Scam' or 'Risky but Possible'. The creator notes that SEO Agency is better than Affiliate Marketing because it is less saturated, and he would throw it into the 'Decent Money' tier. The creator suggests that if you are willing to grind, building tools like WordPress hosting services or web design services is 'Pretty Reliable'. Building Brand on Social Media and Virtual Assistant roles are ranked in the 'Risky but Possible' tier. The overall ranking heavily favors service-based businesses (Agencies, Freelancing) over platform-dependent models (like E-commerce or traditional Influencing).

Context: The video presents a tier list ranking various business models and revenue streams for making money online, specifically projecting outlooks for the year 2026. The creator, wearing a LocalRank hat, uses a standard tier list format (Great/Reliable down to Scam) and uses his own past revenue data to frame his analysis, though the final placement is based on his perceived viability and saturation levels for the near future.

Detailed Analysis

The creator ranks various online business models for 2026 using a tier list structure: Great and Reliable, Pretty Reliable, Decent Money, Kinda Saturated, Risky but Possible, and Basically a Scam. He starts by placing Freelancing in the 'Decent Money' tier, noting that if you are willing to grind, you can make money, calling it a 'second job'. He places Google Ads Agency and LLM Agency in the top tiers, noting that if a client comes to you asking for SEO, he would suggest an LLM agency because it is similar to new SEO methods and is less saturated. He ranks Affiliate Marketing and E-commerce (Fulfillment by Amazon, Shopify) in the 'Kinda Saturated' tier, noting that E-commerce is hard to sell because of the high competition and low margins. He places Online Marketing Agencies in the 'Pretty Reliable' tier, stating they are generally reliable but require effort. He ranks Online Courses and Building Brand on Social Media in the 'Risky but Possible' tier. He places Esports and Garage Sales in the same tier, noting the high risk but possibility of profit. He places Day Trading and selling compilation videos in the lowest tier ('Basically a Scam' or worse), calling them 'pretty trash' or a scam. He also places Blog and Click Funnels in the lowest tier. The creator emphasizes that service-based businesses (like agencies) are generally safer bets than platform-dependent businesses, especially with the rise of AI.