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

18 ideas

  • Physical products
    Flipping used couches
    Buying poorly listed couches, negotiating the price down and reselling them with better photos, including AI-generated backgrounds. The operator is a teenager working in spare time.
    Online and in person
    The Koerner Office, 2026
  • Digital products
    Coding challenges newsletter and courses
    Writes a newsletter of real-world projects for learning programming, and sells paid courses.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Physical products
    Music manuscript notebooks
    Makes and sells notebooks with music staff paper for musicians.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2021
  • Rentals and assets
    Buy and sell expiring domain names
    Takes preorders for expiring domains and tries to catch them when they drop, and also holds a portfolio of domains for later development.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Physical products
    Sell music CDs and crafts at fan conventions
    Sells folk music CDs and handmade items at science fiction and fantasy conventions.
    $100 to $1kIn person
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Physical products
    Backyard chickens and egg sales
    Keeps chickens and sells the eggs, which covers little more than feed costs.
    A few hours a week
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Physical products
    Glow-in-the-dark cosmetic mods for synthesizers
    Sells phosphorescent cosmetic modifications for synthesizers, a niche hardware accessory product.
    $100 to $1kOnline
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Physical products
    Hand-dyed yarn for tapestry weavers
    Dyes small batches of yarn with traditional methods for a small group of weavers who want specific colors.
    $100 to $1kOnline and in person
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Physical products
    Homemade berry jellies sold by word of mouth
    Makes jelly by hand from berries grown in the garden and sells it through word of mouth.
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Physical products
    Laser-cut open air computer cases on eBay
    Designs outlines for cases cut on a maker space laser machine and sells them on eBay. Local materials make it possible to undercut imports on price.
    $100 to $1kOnline and in person
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Physical products
    Staff paper notebooks for musicians
    Designs and sells music notebooks with generated staff lines, using scripts to produce the print-ready PDF. Sold online and the owner is working on getting stores to carry them.
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Software and apps
    Small iOS apps sold on the App Store
    Publishes a few small utility apps on the App Store and keeps improving them. Income comes from app sales.
    $100 to $1kOnline
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Physical products
    Adapters that reuse old server power supplies
    Designs and builds adapters that turn surplus server power supplies into general purpose 12 volt supplies. Sold as a physical hardware product.
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Software and apps
    Niche iOS apps for hobby communities
    Builds iPhone apps for groups like skydivers and beer fans, earning from sales and Apple affiliate links.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Physical products
    Historic-style city maps sold online
    Designed a London map in a historic style and sells it as a physical product online.
    A few hours a weekOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Digital products
    Technical book on Stripe payments with Rails
    Wrote a book about payments with Stripe for Rails developers, backed by related blog posts and content.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    Trading simulator app for iOS
    Built and sells an iOS app that simulates trading.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Physical products
    Online store for a family-made grafting tool
    Sells grafting tools made by a relative's family company through an online store, after testing demand on eBay.
    A few hours a weekOnline
    Hacker News, 2011