All Side Hustle Ideas
Every idea links to its source

Side hustle ideas from people who actually run them

Real side businesses, described by their owners. Filter by cost, time and how they earn.

Ideas
651
ideas
Publications
14
publications and shows
Categories
8
categories

Browse by category

  • Digital products67
    Files sold online: templates, printables, ebooks, stock photos, fonts, presets, plugins, recorded courses
  • Software and apps205
    A web app, SaaS, mobile app, browser extension, bot or API that people pay for or that earns from ads
  • Content and media105
    A blog, niche website, newsletter, YouTube channel, podcast or social account that earns from ads, affiliate links or sponsors
  • Physical products105
    Making, printing or reselling physical goods, online or in person
  • Services and freelancing103
    Doing work for clients for a fee: freelance, consulting, done-for-you services, repairs, local services
  • Rentals and assets36
    Earning from something you own: renting property, rooms, equipment, vehicles, parking, vending machines, domains
  • Directories and marketplaces11
    A job board, listings site, directory or marketplace that connects buyers and sellers
  • Teaching and coaching19
    Live tutoring, lessons, workshops, coaching or cohort classes

Matching ideas

About the data

Startup cost
Under $100$100 to $1k$1k to $10kOver $10k
Time
Hands-offA few hours a weekPart-timeNear full-time
Where
OnlineIn personOnline and in person
Earns from
AdsAffiliateSubscriptionsOne-time salesService feesRentMarketplace cutSponsors and donations
Coding
No coding neededNeeds coding

12 ideas

  • Digital products
    Co-authored tech e-book and online course
    Co-wrote a Spring Boot and AWS e-book with a companion online course, sharing the income among authors.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Digital products
    DevOps online course for small teams
    Created an online course teaching DevOps to small companies and self-hosters, which keeps selling even against bigger instructors.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Digital products
    Online algorithmic trading courses
    Sells online courses on algorithmic trading through its own site and Udemy. Maintenance is mostly answering student emails.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Digital products
    Online courses sold on Udemy
    Created video courses on Udemy that keep earning money after the initial work.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Digital products
    Video course and book on Flask web development
    Produced a video course and a book about the Flask framework. Earns ongoing royalties from sales.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Digital products
    Online UX design course on Udemy
    Created a user experience design course with a friend and sells it through Udemy. Profit is split between the two creators.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Digital products
    Growth marketing book and video course
    Co-wrote a book on user acquisition and built a video course to go with it, funded through crowdfunding backers. Income comes from sales of the book and course.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Digital products
    Swift programming book and exercise platform
    Teaches people the Swift language with a self-written book and an online coding exercise platform. Money comes from selling these products.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Digital products
    E-commerce extensions for Opencart and WooCommerce
    Developed payment gateway and product feed extensions for online store platforms and sells them.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Digital products
    Niche WordPress themes
    Sells WordPress themes for specific niches, with a small ad budget and a little customer support.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Digital products
    Printable cupcake wrapper designs shop
    A website selling cupcake wrapper designs, with new designs needed to keep sales up.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Digital products
    Programming book royalties
    Wrote a PHP book and still receives small royalty payments from it.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014