There’s nothing sweeter than making money online—I do it myself through writing. But if there’s one thing I can admit, it’s that it’s far from easy. It can be draining and incredibly exhausting. I’d best describe it as a process where you have to completely push yourself beyond your limits.
For those looking to make money online in Kenya and beyond, one of the first things that comes to mind is writing. It’s a popular search topic, with many people looking up results like “how to make money online writing” or “how to write and get paid.”
Today, as a writer, I’m going to show you how to make money online through writing in Kenya. In 2025, expert writers can easily earn over Ksh 60,000 per month, while beginners typically make around Ksh 15,000 per month.
Legit Sites to Write and Get Paid in Kenya
I know the internet is full of content mills that exploit the hard work writers have to put in without paying them fairly, so I’ll focus only on credible sites that genuinely compensate writers for their skills.
Here are some of the best online sites that Kenyan writers can work and get paid in 2025:
Aasai TV Kenya
Do you remember Hivisasa, the crowdsourced media site that closed down in early 2020? Aasai TV Kenya works exactly the same way, delivering national, local, and county-level news, reviews, and interviews primarily through their website. This allows citizen reporters to share stories and get paid via mobile money for published articles.
Writers from across the country can send stories about what is happening in their communities or rewrite them from credible news sources like Techweez, The Standard, and Nation. Their editors then check that the articles meet their quality and editorial standards before publishing them on their website.
To get started, visit Aasai TV’s website, register as a writer, and start writing.
Pro Tip: Write current news. There are many things happening in the country that Kenyans want to know about.
Similar to Hivisasa, Aasai TV pays via M-PESA, with payment starting from Ksh 50 for 100 views, with bonuses included for reaching 1,000 views!
Vocal
Vocal is a website and community platform where individuals can publish and share their creative writing, including articles, poetry, fiction, and personal stories. It was founded in 2016 and has since grown to become a popular platform for writers to showcase their work, connect with other writers, and gain exposure.
The platform is free to use, but users can also choose to become members of Vocal+ for $9.99 per month. This subscription provides access to additional features and benefits such as larger payouts for your work and exclusive writing prompts.
Vocal has a team of editors who review and curate content. They also run various writing challenges and contests throughout the year, which makes it a vibrant online community for writers to share their work and engage with other writers and readers.
While getting published can be difficult due to content requirements, Vocal pays generously on a CPM (cost per thousand) basis. Writers can earn $1.50 and $3.80 per 1,000 views for regular creators, and up to $6 for Vocal+ members.
Medium
Medium is a social publishing platform that is open to all and home to a diverse array of stories, ideas, and perspectives. It is an online site where anyone can write and share articles, essentially acting as a digital space for blogging. Writers can also earn money through the Medium Partner Program, which costs $1 per month in Kenya.
On Medium, anyone, including professional writers and everyday individuals, can write and promote their stories to a vast audience of millions both on and off the platform.
When leveraged well, Medium can help you get seen online, attract ideal readers, and even make money in the form of royalties. The Partner Program in particular enables writers to place their stories behind a paywall as a way of making them eligible for monetization after subscription.
Medium pays writers based on reader engagement, including reading time and claps. The more engaging your content is, the more you can earn on the site.
X (Twitter)
Since the richest (and probably most influential) man in the world, Elon Musk, bought Twitter and changed it to X, the social media platform has been allowing users to monetize their presence by introducing features like ad revenue sharing, subscriptions, and tips to generate income.
With Creator Revenue Sharing, eligible users can earn money by posting on X after meeting specific eligibility criteria, such as follower count and engagement levels. To qualify for ad revenue sharing, you need to:
- Be an X Premium subscriber
- Have at least 500 followers
- Generate 5 million impressions in three months
To start making money through writing on X, go for X Premium+ at Ksh 2,458.33 per month. Subscribing to X Premium allows you to post long-form writing and begin publishing.
The amount of money you can earn on X depends on the type of content you create, your location, and the platform’s monetization structure in general. Earnings start at around $5 to $10 for five million impressions.
Pro Tip: To reach 5 million organic impressions in three months, try engaging with posts by high-visibility members.
PopSugar
While PopSugar is very picky when it comes to acceptable guest posts, the site pays above $30 for articles on entertainment, fashion, beauty, wellness, and other lifestyle-related topics, particularly those focused on Hollywood and Latin culture.
Through their POPSUGAR Voices program, writers in Kenya can get paid per article, with rates varying based on story format, length, and visuals (such as images or videos).
Typically, the site pays $50 per article, with payments being processed within 30 days of publication.
Listverse
If you want to write “Top 10” lists online, one of the best websites to check out is Listverse. It is a popular site that’s always looking for stories across a range of niches, including history, mysteries, crime, pop culture, bizarre facts, and more.
How does it work, though? Simple. You curate your list (a minimum of 10 items), send it in, the editors review it, and if it’s published, you get paid $100 via PayPal!
There are multiple editors to pitch to, depending on the topic. They also provide guides on ideas that their audience generally love to read.
In any pitch to Listverse, you should include a sample headline for the piece, a 2-3 sentence description of the angle of the story, sources to verify your facts, and media that aligns with the story (i.e. images and video where applicable).
So, there you have it. These are the popular legitimate sites where you can register to start making money online by writing in Kenya in 2025.
As you can see (or rather, read), writing online in Kenya isn’t just possible—it’s profitable! The platforms I’ve mentioned above provide real opportunities for dedicated writers to earn a living. Whether you prefer news writing, storytelling, listicles, or social media content, there’s a niche for you. Just do it!
