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
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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 data109 ideas, page 2 of 3
- Content and mediaWrote a how-to guide for bypassing an ISP's required modem and router, and recommends a tested router through an Amazon affiliate link. Costs almost nothing to host.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsDevelops watch faces for Android Wear and sells them as paid apps on the Play Store.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Digital productsWrites and sells a technical book about the Redux library through Leanpub, sharing the sales with a friend.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Content and mediaPublished a how-to post on single sign-on between two business platforms on an old blog and added AdSense. Earns small ad revenue from search visitors.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsBuilds small single-purpose mobile apps such as calculators and a flashlight. Some are sold for a fee and others earn from in-app ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Content and mediaMaintains a documentation website for a jQuery plugin and earns a small amount from a single ad placed on it.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
- Digital productsWrote an add-on for the ExpressionEngine CMS and sells it through a marketplace.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsDeveloped an add-on for a popular video game that earns small, usage-driven income.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- 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
- Content and mediaRuns a niche blog about architectural models and earns from ads and Amazon affiliate links.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a free background picture website with steady search traffic and links from other sites, earning from AdSense.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaBuilt a credit card validation plugin with a demo site that earns small ad revenue.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a blog that lists a jQuery plugin each day and earns from advertising.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt a glockenspiel app for a friend's daughter, released a free version and a paid version with extra features.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA free web tool that compresses and combines JavaScript files, earning from AdSense.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaHosts a friend's political writings on a site and splits the advertising revenue.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsWrote and self-published an ebook about running profitable side projects.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaEarns affiliate commissions by referring people to Shopify.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaA studio builds quick websites that solve small problems, getting traffic from blogs and earning from AdSense.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
- Digital productsDesigned a child theme for the Genesis WordPress framework in a few days, and it keeps earning monthly sales.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsPublishes several nonfiction Kindle books on Amazon and markets them for ongoing sales.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaEvolved a failed school-focused social network into a directory site that earns from ads with little maintenance.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a simple blog on solar power, linked from a YouTube video, that earns from AdSense ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsMade custom maps from OpenStreetMap formatted for Kindle and sells them as ebooks.Under $100Hands-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 appsPublishes several small Android apps that earn modestly without ongoing work.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns affiliate blogs and a WordPress plugin that tests which call to action gets the most clicks.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt an Android app that roots and fixes problems on an ISP-supplied modem, selling it through the Play Store.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
- Content and mediaRuns cat and dog GIF websites supported by advertising.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaA hobby blog about architectural models that earns from ads and Amazon affiliate links.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsCreates animated icons and page templates and sells them on a theme marketplace.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaPhotographed top brand stores in London and published a directory blog that earns from ads.Under $100Hands-offHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsWrote a book on deploying PHP applications that sells steadily from the owner's website and builds an audience list.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA browser solitaire game that earns from ad revenue, built as a weekend project.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaBuilt a Rails site recommending gadgets and gifts and earning through affiliate links.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Physical productsA programmer humor coffee mug sold through a print-on-demand marketplace.Under $100Hands-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 appsA paid Android app with a list of physics puzzles, built as a learning project and earning small steady income.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsWrote a PHP library and sells licenses to developers, getting a few sales a year.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a simple prank site hosted cheaply on GitHub Pages that brings in a modest monthly income.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Physical productsDesigned themed t-shirts and sold them through a print-on-demand marketplace.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaA small site that shows random Amazon products, earning from affiliate links.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsRents out a spare room for up to a week each month, needing little work beyond laundry.Under $100Hands-offHacker News, 2014