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 data29 ideas
- Software and appsA mobile game built by a former big tech employee after leaving a full-time job. It grew with no paid marketing.OnlineStarter Story, 2026
- Software and appsA free web tool for converting text case, built up over years.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Software and appsCreated a web tool for making GIF memes with text that follows motion, after finding it hard to do elsewhere.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsA solitaire site that began as a Mac app, found by looking for popular apps with poor reviews, and now supports the owner.OnlineHacker 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 appsA coupon site for developers plus a set of single-purpose web tools such as encoders and HTML cleaners.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2021
- Software and appsRuns a site showing historical average weather by city and month. Income so far is from ad revenue, with plans to add more features.OnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsRuns a multiplayer Boggle-style game online. It earns from advertising and paid memberships.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsRuns a set of small web apps for learning music notes, non-Latin alphabets and languages with flash cards. Income comes from ads and paid premium plans.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsBuilt a set of web tools for converting between data formats like CSV. Income comes mostly from Google ads plus an occasional affiliate link.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsRuns a free tool that lets people make colored maps of countries and regions. Income comes from display ads and occasional donations.Hands-offOnlineHacker 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 appsA free web tool that compresses and combines JavaScript files, earning from AdSense.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsMade an online role-playing game for young children that earns a modest monthly amount.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsRuns a social game with a developer partner that earns steadily with little ongoing time.Hands-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 appsA web tool that tracks phones periodically and shows locations on a map, earning from site and YouTube ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsPublishes several small Android apps that earn modestly without ongoing work.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 appsCreated a web game that earns enough to live on while traveling.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA browser solitaire game that earns from ad revenue, built as a weekend project.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt a site for practicing reading music notation while learning piano. It earns on its own without promotion.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 appsRuns a tool for assembling a PC online and earns from ads and affiliate programs.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA free site for playing with Unicode text and ASCII art, earning small ad income.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014