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

8 ideas

  • Software and apps
    Browser extensions named for popular searches
    Builds browser extensions that fix common site annoyances. Revenue comes from them, helped by search-friendly names and store reviews.
    Under $100Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Software and apps
    Open source app analytics tool
    A privacy-friendly open source analytics tool for apps.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Software and apps
    No-code app builder born from clinic tools
    Began by writing Windows apps for a hospital department and grew it into a SaaS tool for building calculator apps.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    Open source website change detection service
    An open source tool for detecting website changes, with a paid hosted subscription and custom work for companies.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    Royalties from embedded device software
    Wrote embedded software and earned a royalty on every device shipped for many years.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    Simple tool for a niche industry
    Built 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.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    Subscription trading models on a stock platform
    Built 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-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Software and apps
    Open source Ruby gem with paid pro version
    Maintains a free open source gem for running test suites in parallel and sells a paid pro version of it. Revenue comes from pro subscriptions.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2016