Side hustle ideas from people who actually run them
Real side businesses, described by their owners. Filter by cost, time and how they earn.
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- 651 ideas
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- 14 publications and shows
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- Files sold online: templates, printables, ebooks, stock photos, fonts, presets, plugins, recorded courses
- A web app, SaaS, mobile app, browser extension, bot or API that people pay for or that earns from ads
- A blog, niche website, newsletter, YouTube channel, podcast or social account that earns from ads, affiliate links or sponsors
- Making, printing or reselling physical goods, online or in person
- Doing work for clients for a fee: freelance, consulting, done-for-you services, repairs, local services
- Earning from something you own: renting property, rooms, equipment, vehicles, parking, vending machines, domains
- A job board, listings site, directory or marketplace that connects buyers and sellers
- Live tutoring, lessons, workshops, coaching or cohort classes
Matching ideas
About the data33 ideas
- Software and appsBuilds browser extensions that fix common site annoyances. Revenue comes from them, helped by search-friendly names and store reviews.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2024
- Software and appsA minimalist Android launcher distributed free, with a paid pro version.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Software and appsMaintains a UI library for a programming language and gets income through GitHub sponsorships.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Software and appsA privacy-friendly open source analytics tool for apps.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Software and appsBuilt a compression tool that was slow to compress but fast to decompress and licensed it to big software vendors who shipped floppy disks.Hands-offHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsBegan by writing Windows apps for a hospital department and grew it into a SaaS tool for building calculator apps.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsAn open source tool for detecting website changes, with a paid hosted subscription and custom work for companies.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsWrote embedded software and earned a royalty on every device shipped for many years.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsBuilds small apps and games for niche audiences and earns by adding paid features and selling ad space.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsBuilt a very basic tool for an industry the owner wanted to be part of, then found a larger opportunity there that now supports them full-time.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsA paid Mac App Store app that grew out of a personal need for a Safari extension that refreshes tabs automatically.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2021
- Software and appsCollects small monthly support on Patreon for a niche open source game.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Software and appsBuilt a stock trading model for personal use, then published it on a platform where subscribers pay to follow it. Subscribers take responsibility for any trades.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Software and appsDevelops watch faces for Android Wear and sells them as paid apps on the Play Store.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsBuilds small single-purpose mobile apps such as calculators and a flashlight. Some are sold for a fee and others earn from in-app ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsMaintains a free open source gem for running test suites in parallel and sells a paid pro version of it. Revenue comes from pro subscriptions.OnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsBuilds small web tools that solve narrow business problems, often around obscure shipping forms or data formatting chores. Income comes from display ads on the tools that get found.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsBuilt an Android app that added features to a popular messaging app, earning from an in-app purchase and ads until it was removed from the store.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt a glockenspiel app for a friend's daughter, released a free version and a paid version with extra features.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA free web tool that compresses and combines JavaScript files, earning from AdSense.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA calculator tool for a tabletop game that was picked up by a gaming site and earns from an ad on it.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsAn Android app showing bus times for the owner's area, earning from optimized in-app ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsPublishes several small Android apps that earn modestly without ongoing work.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt an Android app that roots and fixes problems on an ISP-supplied modem, selling it through the Play Store.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsMade a free Android app with a paid version, earning from ads, in-app purchases and paid downloads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsMakes Android apps earning from ads, with a soundboard app as the main earner.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA simple Android app built to learn the platform that now earns from in-app ads.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA browser solitaire game that earns from ad revenue, built as a weekend project.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsWrote an Android app to learn the platform, updates it lightly, and earns a little from ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA paid Android app with a list of physics puzzles, built as a learning project and earning small steady income.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsAn Android app for managing a Shopify store, sold on Google Play without marketing.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilds trading models and financial tools and licenses them to others.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2011
- Software and appsBuilt a to-do app for Windows Phone in evenings and sold it through the app store.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2011