Side hustle ideas from people who actually run them

180 ideas, page 1 of 4

• Language learning app that teaches through songs

  A consumer app that teaches languages through music and singing. The founder tested the idea with viral content before building a simple first version and runs it solo.

  Software and apps

  Starter Story, 2026
• Health and fitness app grown with paid ads

  An indie health and fitness app. The founder credits a repeatable marketing playbook built on paid ads, rather than the specific app, for its growth.

  Software and apps$1k to $10k

  Starter Story, 2026
• Event venue in a converted church

  Renting out a former church space in a strip mall for parties and events, run alongside a full-time job. Renting the space to churches covers the monthly rent.

  Rentals and assets

  The Koerner Office, 2026
• High-ticket dropshipping of camper van accessories

  An online store dropshipping high-ticket camper van and motorhome accessories in the UK, with the niche chosen from search and competitor data. Sales come through Google Shopping ads as an authorized reseller.

  Physical products

  Side Hustle Nation, 2026
• Gym app built through constant testing

  A gym app whose founder treats product development like a science experiment, using A/B tests and feature validation to decide what to build.

  Software and apps

  Starter Story, 2026
• Marketing software for indie app developers

  A marketing SaaS for indie developers. The founder shaped the product through a very large number of customer calls with the ideal customer.

  Software and apps

  Starter Story, 2026
• Golf app built alongside a tech job

  A golf app the founder built as a side project while working full time at a big tech company, before deciding whether to go all in on it.

  Software and appsPart-time

  Starter Story, 2026
• AI track and field app

  An AI app for track and field, built by college students who did not know how to code.

  Software and apps

  Starter Story, 2026
• Turmeric coffee brand sold by subscription

  An anti-inflammatory coffee brand made with turmeric, produced by a local manufacturing partner. Sales come from subscriptions, bundles and influencer-driven social proof, run alongside a full-time job.

  Physical products$1k to $10k

  Side Hustle Nation, 2026
• ATM placement business

  Buying ATMs and placing them in local businesses, earning income from transaction fees with about an hour of work a week. The hardest step is finding and pitching good locations.

  Rentals and assetsHands-off

  Side Hustle Nation, 2026
• Luxury tent slumber party rentals

  Setting up themed tents and bedding for kids' slumber parties as a weekend rental service. A married couple runs it as a side hustle alongside full-time jobs.

  Side Hustle Nation, 2026
• Mobile laundry pickup service

  A laundry service that picks up, washes, folds and returns customers' clothes. It started solo with a van and now runs on a large network of contractors.

  Services and freelancing

  Side Hustle Nation, 2026
• AI search visibility agency for software companies

  The agency helps software firms get recommended by AI chat tools by cleaning up a source-of-truth site and getting listed on the pages those tools cite. Clients are mid-size SaaS companies.

  Services and freelancing

  The Side Hustle Show, 2026
• Tree trimming service

  A local crew business that trims and removes trees for homeowners. Income comes from per-job fees.

  Services and freelancingPart-time

  The Koerner Office, 2025
• Aura photography at events

  Taking aura portraits at events and partner businesses, charging per short session. The operator runs it while keeping a full-time job.

  Services and freelancing

  Side Hustle Nation, 2025
• High-ticket dropshipping of pond supplies

  A dropshipping store selling high-ticket outdoor products for ponds and water features. Sales come from Google ads aimed at ready-to-buy shoppers, with supplier relationships in place of inventory.

  Physical products

  Side Hustle Nation, 2025
• Road trip visualization tool

  A website for visualizing road trips, earning sales through organic traffic with peaks around holidays.

  Software and appsHands-off

  Hacker News, 2024
• AI tool for turning ideas into diagrams

  Built a tool for brainstorming and converting ideas into diagrams, now earning revenue and working on search traffic.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2024
• Co-authored tech e-book and online course

  Co-wrote a Spring Boot and AWS e-book with a companion online course, sharing the income among authors.

  Digital productsHands-off

  Hacker News, 2024
• Flight and hotel deals search site

  Runs a white-label flight and hotel search engine and shares deals by social media and email subscription.

  Content and media

  Hacker News, 2024
• AI conversation partner for language practice

  Built a web app to practice speaking languages with an AI, with a free tier and a paid tier.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2024
• Chrome extension collecting casino login bonuses

  A browser extension that automatically claims daily login bonuses at online casinos for a monthly subscription.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2024
• CMS publishing static sites to Cloudflare

  A content management system that publishes static sites to Cloudflare, earning recurring hosting fees.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2024
• DevOps online course for small teams

  Created an online course teaching DevOps to small companies and self-hosters, which keeps selling even against bigger instructors.

  Digital productsHands-off

  Hacker News, 2024
• Japanese reading app with vocab tracking

  An app for learning Japanese by reading web articles, tracking known vocabulary and kanji, and syncing with flashcards.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2024
• Kubernetes GUI app for multiple clusters

  A desktop app for managing several Kubernetes clusters at once, built for the owner's own use and then sold as a subscription.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2024
• Record-keeping software for horse owners

  Built software for tracking all records about horses, and partners with racing associations to offer it to new owners of retired racehorses.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2024
• Turn Google Drive folders into searchable wikis

  A tool that converts shared Drive folders into hosted searchable wikis, sold by subscription.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2024
• Web scraping API as a service

  Runs an API service that handles web scraping for developers.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2024
• Room booking system for workplaces

  Built a booking system after seeing colleagues reserve rooms in a paper book, and sells it as a product.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2022
• Spreadsheet timetable to Google Calendar export

  A product that exports timetable data kept in spreadsheets into Google Calendar.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2022
• Cheap flight deals site for Australians

  Runs a flight deals blog and newsletter with an embedded flight and hotel search tool, earning from bookings.

  Content and media

  Hacker News, 2022
• Online multiplayer domino game with donations

  Built an online multiplayer version of a domino-based game, funded by donations after ads did poorly.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2022
• Screen annotation app for Mac

  Built a Mac app for drawing and highlighting on screen during calls and presentations, after needing it personally.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2022
• 3D print farm making workshop clips

  Operates a small 3D print farm that sells custom clips and connectors for workshop equipment.

  Physical products$1k to $10k

  Hacker News, 2022
• Chess variant mobile game funded by donations

  Built a single-player chess variant app without ads or in-app purchases, supported mostly by donations.

  Software and appsHands-off

  Hacker News, 2022
• Email newsletter tool for developers

  A newsletter platform built as a better alternative to a tool the owner used, with Markdown support and an API aimed at developers. Started as a side project.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2022
• Online CAD learning course and community

  Built an online resource for learning CAD with a supporting community, aimed at people who want to design and sell products.

  Hacker News, 2022
• Screen recording tool with auto-polish

  A Mac app that creates polished product demo videos from screen recordings using cursor movements and clicks.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2022
• Sports film review software

  Software that ties game stats to video footage for coaches, sold to schools in many states.

  Software and appsHands-off

  Hacker News, 2022
• Web scraping API service

  Started by scraping real estate listings for personal use, then built a scraping API that handles blocking and sold access to paying customers.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2022
• YouTube channel about tech and photography

  Posts videos on tech and photography and earns from the channel.

  Content and media$1k to $10k

  Hacker News, 2022
• Network automation runbooks and platform

  Writes custom automation runbooks for networks and provides a web platform where customers run them.

  Services and freelancingPart-time

  Hacker News, 2021
• Art commissions, licensing and print-on-demand

  Sells commissioned art, licenses existing work from a large catalog, and puts designs on print-on-demand sites for low-effort extra income.

  Services and freelancing

  Hacker News, 2021
• Build boats on commission

  Builds dinghies, canoes, catamarans and other small boats in spare time, selling some and taking commissions from friends.

  Physical products$1k to $10kPart-time

  Hacker News, 2021
• Email unsubscribe by forwarding service

  A service where users forward unwanted emails and it finds unsubscribe links and fills web forms for them.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2021
• Timestamped audio feedback sharing site

  A web app for sharing audio clips with timestamped comments, such as a music teacher giving feedback to a student.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2021
• Document editor funded by protocol grants

  Built a document editor on a decentralized protocol alongside a day job. Revenue came from grant money from the protocol.

  Software and apps

  Hacker News, 2021