Chat jobs are some of the most sought-after non-phone work at home positions. It seems there are almost as many people who want to do this at home as there are people wanting to do work at home data entry!
Sadly, there are not as many opportunities out there for this as there are work at home phone jobs.
But, if you have small children at home with you, the majority of the phone-based jobs may not work.
This is because of the “no background noise” requirement these companies typically have. So chat and/or email based customer service positions do seem ideal if that's your situation.
I've dug around today and compiled a list of the companies that hire (at least occasionally) for chat jobs. Please note the companies listed might not be hiring now for these positions.
Chat Jobs From Home
Apple Chat Jobs
Apple regularly has openings from work from home iTunes chat advisors. This is a good position that pays well where you are considered an employee.
You get paid training and benefits! The rate of pay varies from person to person depending on background, experience, and geographic location. However, I've never seen anyone claim it's a low amount and I believe for most it is in the teens.
There is a lot of competition for these positions. Therefore, your chances of landing employment improve if you know at least something about Apple products. Apple will also send you an Apple computer to do your work on if you are hired.
If you can't get in on this job via Apple, you will sometimes see the same job posted through Kelly Services, so check there, too.
Read my review of the Apple chat position here for more details.
Best Buy Home Based Chat Support Jobs
Best Buy has occasional work at home chat support openings.
The work involves tech support, and you must have some experience providing tech support for Apple and Microsoft products as well as mobile apps. The position is open to all US states apart from California, Washington, Alaska and Puerto Rico.
You can go here to check and see if this position is listed.
Site Staff Chat Hosts
Site Staff occasionally hires work at home chat hosts. The nature of the chat support you provide will depend on the client. Pay is around $10 an hour and shifts last roughly four to five hours each.
Note – Do not ask them about their work at home employment via the live chat on their site. You will get a canned response saying they do not respond to employment inquiries via chat.
WAH Adventures actually wrote up a thorough review of Site Staff here if you want to check it out.
Needle Chat Shopping Support
Needle agents come to the aid of shoppers for various brands via chat. When this opportunity first came about, the pay was hourly and everyone was excited about it.
However, I recently learned this company has now switched to a points system, which makes it an extra money opportunity only. And I say “extra money” loosely, because the only way to actually get money is to redeem your points for Visa gift cards. Definitely don't sign up for this if a steady income is what you need.
We have a review of Needle chat jobs posted if you'd like to learn more.
The Chat Shop Chat Jobs
The Chat Shop is a company based in the UK who provides chat agents for major companies.
Even though they are based in the UK, it states on their job description for chat agents that your location is not important. However, you must have native-level English skills to qualify. Additionally, they require that you are able to put in 35 to 40 hours of work per week.
You can visit The Chat Shop here to see if this position is open now, or read our Chat Shop review for more details on how it works.
Ginger.io Mental Health Virtual Chat Jobs
This company offers comprehensive, 24/7 care for stress, anxiety, and depression. They hire work at home chat agents to live chat with people who are suffering from these problems. You do need to have experience and a degree in the mental health field before they will consider you for employment.
You can go here to check for openings at Ginger.io. This position is not always open.
Sedgwick CMS Email Support
Sedgwick does have an e-support (email support) and fax work at home position, although most of their at-home work is primarily phone-based. While the job title is “e-support,” there may still be instances where you have to contact the customer by phone.
I did some reading though and apparently this e-support position is very hard to get in on. To check if they are hiring for e-support, visit the Career Center link and select Customer Service/Call Center in the “Area of Interest” drop-down. Then, hit the “Search” button and scroll through until you find the “E-support” position.
If it's not there, keep checking back because they are sometimes in need of e-support reps.
Read our Sedgwick CMS jobs review to learn more.
Arise Chat Support
Arise apparently has a lot of clients that are chat and email only, although much of what they have is just phone-based work. One thing you should know about Arise is that it's not like your typical home-based phone job.
You actually have to pay to incorporate yourself because it's sort of like you're starting a business. That said, Arise is NOT a scam. A lot of people conclude that it is because of the fees, but it isn't your run of the mill home-based phone job.
You can also read my write-up on Arise that explains how it works (including the fees and what they're there for).
Other Companies With Occasional Chat Jobs
Most of the companies I'm about to list are best known for their work at home customer service/phone support jobs, but they have all occasionally had some chat openings. So keep tabs on the openings at Sutherland, Teletech, Amazon, Simple Texting, and Sykes.
Always use the phrase “work from home” in quotations in the job search boxes for these sites to see openings if you are prompted to search the jobs. This makes it easier because lots of times there will be many, many jobs listed.
A Few Tips For Finding More Chat Agent Jobs
You may want to keep your eyes on freelancer sites like Upwork for chat/email support positions because sometimes companies and individuals recruit workers for chat jobs through there. Also, you can do your own search for chat work at home via Indeed.com and FlexJobs.
Looking For More Legit Work at Home Jobs?
I have a membership to FlexJobs, the most trusted job board with flexible and remote work that is guaranteed to be scam-free. Sometimes there are chat jobs posted along with jobs across other industries. You can get 30 percent off a membership with promo code AFFILPROMO. I've been a member here for years and I LOVE it!
Good luck in whatever you choose to do!
Post originally published on May 23, 2012. Updated and republished on May 4, 2020.
Needle has informed us today, that they are going to a strictly “points” system.You will get paid only in points. No money. they feel is more rewarding. I feel food on my family’s table is more rewarding. Which is why I’m reading this article. I was currently making about $1400 a month working 28 hours from home. Starting Oct, I’ll be doing something different.
can you please help me how can i work on needle. please please please i need your help to doing some work from home. i am searching home based work but nothing found reliable work yet. so i am requesting to you that please help me on this.
Thanks
Shahbaz khan
amazon.com is hiring currently right now, pay is 10,00 per hour full time, you can also try teletech.com they have different projects
You can work at www.alpineaccess.com or www.workatsykes.com it is a great company but the jobs pay normally 9.00 per hour but you get benefits after 30 days.
Please tell me a bit about it.
I wanted to add information about Arise.
You do not have to incorporate your self. You are free to work under and IBO that has already incorporated.
I have personally worked for Arise under a premier IBO. Just be careful not all IBO’S are honest! If you would like a great premier IBO check out
Theworkathomesolutions.com
I do not own this company. I have worked for them in the passed and have known them personally for over 16 years.
sitel.com offers w@home email and phone support for many companies. I have been with them for 9months and I still love it, like it was my first day. They are hiring too!
For Sitel dont you have to train and live near a main call center ?
No you don’t. They have several states that they let you work from home. I was hired in March but I had to quit during training due to an emergency and I have to wait 6 months to reapply.
Sitel has a current hiring freeze in New York state and perhaps more because of wage increases. They ‘can’t afford’ to pay. Try to find out before you spend precious time applying only to be rejected.
definitely would not be because they can not afford to pay people Sitel is a Global Company and works with Hundreds of corporations
It says you have to take inbound calls. What is the call volume like? I worked at Apple and the call volume was insane. 1000+ calls waiting it was stressful
Call volume at Sitel was very heavy – likely depends on client. $9.00 per hour for one of the most difficult jobs ever invented.
My experience with Sitel was so horrible. (Ethics) I worked in their actual call center in WI. I think I was a great employee for them. I did all kinds of things to help the Co. The contract is was working with is a HUGE Health insurance company. 3 yrs. Sitel told us that our jobs were so secure!!! Everything’s great. One month later they left for a different state about 400 miles away. The had known this was going to happen for at least 4 months but didn’t say anything because it was the busiest time of year. They renewed the contract with the Insurance company for a lot more money.. We (500 of us) were out of work.. (They were able to pay the new employees less money. That’s why they went to this particular state. We had the option to move..We would have to pay our expenses and take the pay cut. Last year they came back to WI with the work from home option. (same insurance company) I applied, told them I would love to come back..I was pretty much trained already.(or could adjust to the changes easily. They said I didn’t have enough skills for the position!!!! I should have known that they could sell us out so easily…..The honesty is lacking!!!!
I just don’t think much of them any longer.
Wow, this is what has happened to me now with a major cable company that I have worked for 27 years, new owners now down sizing big time moving many departments to Texas, here in NY everyone is worried about what will happen next with layouts, being moved and not offered to move. 700 plus offered voluntary retire, some not at retirement age its crazy.
I worked for Needle and I can tell you that even if you held a gun to my head I would NOT go back and work for them. First off the pay is total crap, I was working for Carhartt started out at 1.50 per chat yes I will admit they pay was awesome when I was working 50 hours a week but, keep reading (other companies that use needle pay way less) I started out at 50 hours a week, as the months went on they cut hours, I went from 50 to 7 hours a WEEK. They also cut the pay to 1.30 per chat and with those 7 hour weeks I made maybe 40 bucks, this was my only source of income mind you.
They also favor certain workers, they refuse to listen to any problems you may have, they change things without warning, they took all of my hours three weeks in a row so I didn’t even get to work at all, don’t get me started on how rude the comminuty manger is, boy she is a real you know what with a capital B. I made some good friends and all three of them quit within a few months because they couldn’t take the BS any longer. At first I loved it then the longer I worked I started to dread it. I hated logging on and having to deal with everyone’s drama, the rude mangers and non helpful back support, trust me and take my word for it Needle isn’t worth it. In fact Carhartt is dropping the chat service because of the way Needle is ran, THAT alone should tell you how crappy this company is.
Wow. Great personal experience review. Thanks for the heads up.
Thanks for the list Anna!