Everyone asks "how much can I earn as a Local Friend?" There isn't one answer, and anyone who gives you a single confident number is guessing. Roavi doesn't guarantee a number of travelers, a number of messages, or any income — you set your own rate, and what you earn depends on your city's tourist traffic, how much time you make available, and how many travelers reach out.
What we can do is walk through the real math honestly, so you can size up whether it's worth trying in your city.
The Only Formula That Matters
Earnings = your hourly rate × hours you actually spend with travelers × how many travelers reach out.
The first two are entirely in your control. The third isn't — it depends on how many travelers visit your city, how many other Local Friends are already there, and how good your profile is at getting a reply.
Illustrative Scenarios (Not Real Tracked Individuals)
To make the math concrete, here are a few illustrative scenarios — not real, named Local Friends we tracked, just realistic combinations of rate and hours so you can see how the totals move.
| Scenario | Rate | Hours/month | Illustrative monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend-only, one tourist-friendly neighborhood | $20/hr | ~25 hrs | ~$500 |
| A few evenings a week, general city walks | $25/hr | ~40 hrs | ~$1,000 |
| Regular schedule, a specialty (food, nightlife, day trips) | $30–40/hr | ~50–60 hrs | ~$1,800–2,200 |
| Full-time, high-tourist-traffic city, established reviews | $35–50/hr | ~80–100 hrs | ~$3,000–4,500 |
These are arithmetic examples, not a forecast of what you'll earn. A brand-new profile in a low-traffic city could reasonably earn far less than the first row; an established profile in a very high-traffic city with a strong specialty could earn more than the last row. Neither extreme is unusual.
What Actually Moves the Needle
Your city's tourist volume. This is the single biggest factor, and it's the one thing you can't change by working harder. A city with millions of annual visitors gives you more chances at messages than a city with a few thousand.
Whether you specialize. A vague "I'll show you around" profile competes with everyone else in your city. A specific angle — food, nightlife, day trips, a neighborhood you actually live in — gives travelers a concrete reason to message you instead of someone else.
How fast you respond. Travelers often message more than one Local Friend. Being the one who replies first and clearly is a real, controllable advantage.
Your reviews over time. A profile with a track record of good experiences tends to convert more messages into meetups than a brand-new one — this is common sense, not a guaranteed formula, and it takes time either way.
Being Honest About the Downside Case
Not every city or every profile works out. If you're in a small town with little tourism, or you're not able to respond to messages promptly, your realistic earnings could be close to zero in a given month. That's not a flaw in the platform — it's the same demand-dependent reality as any service that relies on people finding and choosing you.
The Bottom Line
There's no guaranteed number, and we're not going to invent one to make a better headline. What's true is that it costs nothing to set up a profile and find out what your own city and your own effort actually produce.
Ready to see what it looks like for you? Become a Local Friend on Roavi. For the honest version of the step-by-step, read How to Make $2,000/Month — the same caveats apply there too.