The top 30 sharing economy sites

The sharing economy is becoming an increasingly popular way for Australians to earn money from their spare time or unused assets. The Sharing Hub, a Sydney accelerator for sharing economy startups, estimates that one in ten Australians are participating as suppliers in the sharing economy to boost their income. About half are also using the sharing economy as customers to take advantage of the more affordable services.

The sharing economy allows people to monetise their extra time or physical assets while consumers get cheaper services through the removal of a middleman. Made famous by the likes of Uber and Airbnb, the Australian sharing economy is experiencing mass adoption, which means it’s the perfect time to get involved, either as a supplier looking to boost your income, or a customer who wants to make savings.  Here are the top 30 sharing economy sites.

Share stuff

Spacer
Spacer enables people to create an income from the spare space they have. In our busy cities, space can be hard to come by. For some, space might be something you’re constantly trying to find, whereas for others it can be hard to know what to do with the spare room or empty garage.

Spacer connects these two types of people, allowing those with space to earn extra money while providing those who need space with a local and affordable option. Like many platforms in the sharing economy, Spacer is a community marketplace, in this case for space.

The Volte
The Volte brings the sharing economy to fashion. The Volte adopts a similar approach to sharing as Spacer, but rather than space, it’s designer dresses, outfits and accessories. Now you can earn money from your wardrobe by renting out otherwise unused dresses.

The Volte’s platform makes it easy for you to run your own dress hire business.

Parkhound
Parkhound is a community sharing platform, that’s all about parking. Parkhound connects people with a spare parking space, to people who need a parking space. Now people can make money from their driveway, while others can find affordable and convenient, short-term and long-term parking options.

Airbnb
Airbnb is arguably one of the most well-known platforms within the sharing economy. The site allows anyone to convert their spare room or home into accommodation, providing unique and inexpensive accommodation options for tourists around the world.

Rubberdesk
Rubberdesk is a way to have flexible office space. A spare desk or office space can be rented out as a way for its owner to make money and workers to find affordable working environments.

Campspace
Campspace is like Airbnb but for camping, more specifically, ‘micro camping’. The site allows people to rent out their backyards for travellers to camp in.

Share rides

Uber
One of the largest players in the sharing economy, Uber has changed the way we get from place to place. The platform makes it easy for anyone to become a driver, picking up people and dropping them off. Even easier is ordering a ride from point A to point B with a touch of your mobile.

Airly
Airly, the Uber for private jets. An ambitious sharing economy project, Airly aims to bring the experience of private flying to everyone. Does it succeed in doing so? Unfortunately, most of us will still have to save up for a spot on a private jet.

Shebah
Shebah is Australia’s very first and only all-female rideshare service.  Shebah aims to give women and children safe and convenient travel, regardless of the area or time of day. Shebah is essentially a female exclusive Uber.

Camplify
For most of the year, RV’s and Caravans sit idle in driveways or storage across the country. Therefore, a marketplace where owners can rent out their RVs and caravans makes sense. Camplify does exactly that. As Australia’s largest RV sharing community, Camplify has allowed thousands of people to make money from their caravans while providing an affordable way for others to get the caravan experience.

Car Next Door
Almost every household owns at least one car and some own upwards of 5. With such an abundance of cars in our neighbourhoods, sharing them makes sense. Car Next Door connects people who need a car to people who can rent out a car.

Whether you need a comfortable ride for a road trip or a large van for a house move, you can find a local option on Car Next Door.

Share delivery

Freight Match
Freight Match puts a network of transport companies at your service, making it more affordable and easier than ever before to ship almost anything.

Zoom2U
Zoom2U is an on-demand community of couriers. The platform connects people who need something delivered with couriers who have extra space for the package. The result is fast, friendly and affordable deliveries.

Menulog
Menulog is Australia’s largest online food ordering and delivery platform. The network covers over 8,500 restaurants across the country. Menulog has made its online ordering and delivery possible for many restaurants.

Share doing things

Airtasker
Airtasker is a well-known and well-trusted marketplace for jobs and tasks, which are usually offline. Airtasker makes it easy for individuals and businesses alike to outsource tasks and find local services, whether it’s a courier, house cleaning or gardening.

Mad Paws
For pet owners, it can be hard to leave their loved animal at home alone or in a shelter when they go away. Mad Paws helps pet owners find a range of trusted pet sitters in their local area. Mad Paws helps give pet owners peace of mind, with pet sitters caring for your pet in their home or yours. With text and photo updates, you can rest assured that your pet is in safe hands.

Blys
Blys makes it easy to treat yourself to a massage in your very own home. Blys is an Australian massage on-demand service, meaning you can simply book in a certified practitioner who will then come to your house with everything you need to get a massage, be it a relaxing Swedish or intense remedial massage.

FoodByUs
FoodByUs is an online marketplace for home cooked meals. Many of us work long hours and by the time we’re home cooking is the last thing we want to do. At the same time, takeaway isn’t the healthiest option. FoodByUs connects your too approved local ‘makers’ where you can order a range of home cooked meals, then pick it up or have it delivered.

Better Caring
Better Caring is reshaping the care and support industry. The platform is an online marketplace where those who are ageing or living with a disability can find care and support, and customise it to their specific needs and wants. This helps individuals continue to maintain their independence and live the lives they want.

Wrappli
Have you ever wanted to plaster your car in an advertisement? Well now you can, and get paid to do so. Wrappli is an interesting approach to advertising that helps everyday drivers wrap their cars in brands.

Share money

RateSetter
RateSetter is an online marketplace that hosts the most P2P lenders in Australia. P2P is a new way for investors to get a return on their money by providing loans to creditworthy businesses and individuals looking for loans outside of the major lenders. To find out more about P2P lending, go here.

SocietyOne
SocietyOne is another online P2P marketplace that helps investors find new and simple ways to invest in things like livestock and creditworthy borrowers, while helping consumers find competitive loans.

ThinCats
ThinCats connects growing businesses with smart investors. This online P2P marketplace helps Australian companies get secured business loans through investors.

Buy, swap & sell

eBay
eBay hardly needs an introduction. One of the first online marketplaces where people can buy and sell almost anything.

Gumtree
Another popular player in the sharing economy that has been around since the start. Gumtree is a community marketplace to buy, swap and sell almost anything, from cars and concert tickets to real estate.

Freelancing

Freelancer
Freelancer is the world’s largest freelancing marketplace. Individuals and businesses can find freelancer’s to help complete a range of projects from digital marketing to graphic designs.

DesignCrowd
DesignCrowd is a graphic design marketplace where customers can outsource their design needs including logo and identity design, print design, web design, product and merchandise design, art and illustration and so on from 550,000 freelance designers from around the world.

UpWork
Upwork is another popular online freelancing website. Upwork helps businesses build a team of experts from all around the world for any type of project.

OzLance
OzLance connects businesses with Australian Freelancers that specialise in a range of fields.

Fiverr
Fiverr takes an interesting approach to the sharing economy. People on the site sell services online for as little as $5. The things available on Fiverr are what make it interesting from the serious digital marketing services, to the less serious things like prank calls.

The sharing economy has made it easy for almost anyone to earn money outside of the traditional business structure. With the removal of third parties, services become cheaper for consumers, and suppliers can earn more money on their own terms. What sharing economy platforms have you used?