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
Publications: 14
Categories: 8

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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

300 ideas, page 6 of 7

Software and apps
Browser strategy game with niche audience
Created a web game that earns enough to live on while traveling.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Buy and redesign an existing iOS app
Bought an iOS sleep calculator app from its owner and redesigned the interface.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Cribbage game for iOS
Built and released a cribbage card game for iPhone and iPad.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Digital products
CSS animation templates on Envato
Creates animated icons and page templates and sells them on a theme marketplace.
Under $100Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Educational 3D and 4D geometry iPhone app
Built an iOS app that teaches what a tesseract is and lets users manipulate it. People keep buying it in a small niche.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Free web solitaire game with ads
A browser solitaire game that earns from ad revenue, built as a weekend project.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Gadget and gift idea affiliate site
Built a Rails site recommending gadgets and gifts and earning through affiliate links.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Language learning websites
Runs a couple of sites for language learners that cover living expenses.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Live streaming platform for event organizers
A platform for event organizers to host and live stream events.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Local niche job board
A jobs site that earns from affiliate links and AdSense, being rolled out as a network.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Mac web development app
A web development tool for Mac sold through the Mac App Store.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Marketing attribution software with affiliates
A subscription analytics product largely automated in onboarding and billing, with an affiliate program and agency customers that expand usage.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Directories and marketplaces
Marketplace for Flash website components
Runs a marketplace and sells components on larger marketplaces, still earning from support and sales.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Membership club for premium WordPress plugins
Launched a membership offering premium WordPress plugins with support.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Music notation training web app
Built a site for practicing reading music notation while learning piano. It earns on its own without promotion.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Old Android app earning small ad income
Wrote an Android app to learn the platform, updates it lightly, and earns a little from ads.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Teaching and coaching
Online music school
An online music education site that earns from sales and recurring subscriptions, built in evenings and weekends.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Online PC building tool with ads
Runs a tool for assembling a PC online and earns from ads and affiliate programs.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Paid iOS utility and study apps
Sells a clipboard manager app and a study summaries app for students with in-app purchases.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Paid physics puzzles Android app
A paid Android app with a list of physics puzzles, built as a learning project and earning small steady income.
Under $100Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
PHP ad server software
Built and maintains an ad server script with a hosted SaaS version, sold to site owners.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Digital products
PHP library sold to developers
Wrote a PHP library and sells licenses to developers, getting a few sales a year.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Prank website hosted on GitHub Pages
Runs a simple prank site hosted cheaply on GitHub Pages that brings in a modest monthly income.
Under $100Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Press release distribution service for media
Runs a web service for sending press releases to media, used by customers promoting books and events, with a free tier for anonymous whistleblowers.
$1k to $10kOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Proposal software for designers
Building a web service that helps designers create client proposals.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Random Amazon product generator
A small site that shows random Amazon products, earning from affiliate links.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Rhyming dictionary website with ads
Built a rhyming dictionary site where an ad unit covers the hosting costs.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Digital products
Sell software on Envato marketplaces
Sells scripts and plugins through a code marketplace and a beginner's book on making WordPress plugins.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Shopify store admin app for Android
An Android app for managing a Shopify store, sold on Google Play without marketing.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Showcase gallery of sites built with Bootstrap
Runs a showcase website for sites built with a popular front-end framework, with very low running costs and steady traffic.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Tax calculator website with ads and affiliates
A site of tax and finance calculators that earns from AdSense and affiliate income, needing only occasional upkeep.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Trading simulator app for iOS
Built and sells an iOS app that simulates trading.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
UK bank account validation web app and API
Offers a tool and API to validate UK bank account details, and sells a data file of sort codes.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
Unicode text effects tool
A free site for playing with Unicode text and ASCII art, earning small ad income.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Software and apps
WCF testing software products
Built developer tools for testing WCF services, since expanded to several products and recommended by developers on Q&A sites.
Online
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Kindle book browsing site with affiliate links
Built a better way to browse Kindle books and earns affiliate fees when visitors buy.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Software and apps
Call filtering app for phones
An app that filters unimportant calls and lets urgent ones from chosen contacts through. Sold as a paid app.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Software and apps
Captcha recognition service paid per solve
Built a machine learning system that solves captchas, paid per captcha, so income continues after the build.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Software and apps
Cheap bulk SMS sending service
Runs a text messaging service with low per-message pricing. Earns from message volume.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Services and freelancing
Convert websites into WordPress themes
Did site-to-WordPress theme conversions for clients, finding them through targeted AdWords ads.
$100 to $1kPart-timeOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Physical products
Designed t-shirts printed on quality apparel
Designed t-shirts and had them printed on higher quality apparel, selling them through a dedicated website.
Online
Hacker News, 2011
Content and media
Face-filtered image search site with ads
An alternative interface to Google image search with the face filter on, which earned from ad clicks on an image-heavy site.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Content and media
Find where to buy tracks from DJ sets
A site that tells you where to buy tracks heard in DJ tracklists, earning small affiliate commissions that cover its hosting.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Content and media
Instant book search site with affiliate links
A search site for books that earns small amounts from affiliate sales.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Software and apps
International proxy for viewing foreign ads
A proxy service for advertisers who want to see international ads and geotargeted landing pages, sold at a flat monthly price after minimal promotion on forums.
Online
Hacker News, 2011
Software and apps
License trading models and financial tools
Builds trading models and financial tools and licenses them to others.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Software and apps
Licensing system for Android app developers
Built an anti-piracy licensing system for their own Android apps and then sold it to other developers as a subscription service.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2011
Directories and marketplaces
Local penny auction website
A penny auction site for a local market, relying on manual bank transfers for payment since cards are rare, with plans to white-label it.
Part-timeOnline
Hacker News, 2011

Side hustle ideas from people who actually run them

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