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

13 ideas

  • Physical products
    Grounded charger adapters for MacBooks
    Worked with a factory to make grounded power adapters that stop case buzzing, sold on Amazon.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Software and apps
    Shipping data model for options trading
    Built an algorithm using maritime trade data to trade options on shipping firms, also selling subscriptions to friends.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Software and apps
    Game server and compute hosting
    Began hosting game servers for friends, grew into renting servers including scientific computing to universities.
    Over $10kHands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    Niche credit card processing business
    Started a niche credit card processor that has made money for many years.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Services and freelancing
    Payment processing reseller and gateway
    Sells payment processing services, runs a white-label payment gateway, and builds custom apps for payment terminals, alongside a do-it-yourself website builder.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Content and media
    Music gear review site with Amazon affiliate income
    Runs a website reviewing music equipment, especially MIDI keyboards, and earns commissions through Amazon affiliate links.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Rentals and assets
    Student apartments managed by a rental agency
    Owns apartments rented to students and managed entirely by an agency that finds tenants and handles upkeep, paying a fixed guaranteed income.
    Over $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Rentals and assets
    Buy and sell premium domain names
    Holds a portfolio of valuable domain names and sells them, using brokers to handle the deals. Income comes from large one-off sales.
    Over $10kHands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Software and apps
    Document review SaaS with monthly maintenance contract
    Built a document management and review web app for a large company and gets a monthly maintenance fee, needing very little time each month.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Directories and marketplaces
    Marketplace for premium startup domain names
    Sold a few domains at a profit and then launched a site selling high-quality startup names to fund other ventures.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Services and freelancing
    Rent out managed servers to tenants
    Administers rented servers, handling updates and small fixes for tenants who pay monthly fees after covering hosting costs.
    Over $10kHands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    SSL certificate add-on for Heroku apps
    Built an add-on that lets customers get SSL installed quickly. Reselling certificates required upfront cash.
    Over $10kHands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    Web analytics and conversion tracking services
    Runs subscription services for tracking website traffic and ad conversions, solo and mostly hands-off.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014