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

40 ideas

  • Content and media
    Facebook content monetization posting
    Posting engaging content, much of it screenshots of other people's posts, to a Facebook page enrolled in Facebook's content monetization program. Facebook shares ad revenue with the creator.
    Under $100A few hours a weekOnline
    Side Hustle Nation, 2025
  • Content and media
    Nonfiction book notes site
    Publishes personal notes from nonfiction books on a site and earns some money from it.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Software and apps
    Simple apps and games monetized later
    Builds small apps and games for niche audiences and earns by adding paid features and selling ad space.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Content and media
    Blog about cash flow investing
    Runs a small blog about cash flow that earns a modest monthly income.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Content and media
    Frontend development blog with SEO traffic
    A long-running blog on frontend topics that earns from ads and search visitors with only occasional new posts.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Content and media
    Satirical tech newsletter with sponsorships
    Runs a weekly newsletter that satirizes the tech industry. Revenue is from advertising to the subscriber base, with live events being considered.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Content and media
    Old unedited YouTube video earning ad revenue
    A video published years ago that YouTube keeps recommending, paying out ad revenue with no promotion by the owner.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Content and media
    Fun small websites earning ad revenue
    A small project built for fun that earns a little from display ads and has grown slowly.
    Under $100Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Content and media
    Technical blog post monetized with AdSense
    Published 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-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Content and media
    Ad on a jQuery plugin documentation site
    Maintains a documentation website for a jQuery plugin and earns a small amount from a single ad placed on it.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Software and apps
    Small niche web tools monetized with ads
    Builds 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-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Software and apps
    Android client for a photo messaging app
    Built 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-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Architectural models niche blog
    Runs a niche blog about architectural models and earns from ads and Amazon affiliate links.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Free background images site earning AdSense
    Runs a free background picture website with steady search traffic and links from other sites, earning from AdSense.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    jQuery credit card validator with ad revenue
    Built a credit card validation plugin with a demo site that earns small ad revenue.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    jQuery plugin blog with daily listings
    Runs a blog that lists a jQuery plugin each day and earns from advertising.
    Under $100Online
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Local sports and politics AdSense blogs
    Runs blogs on local sports and politics, with posts built from repackaged government data, earning from AdSense.
    Under $100Online
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Niche humor blog with ads
    A humor blog on Tumblr earning from ads.
    Under $100Online
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    Online JavaScript compression tool
    A free web tool that compresses and combines JavaScript files, earning from AdSense.
    Under $100Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Publish a friend's writing with ad revenue split
    Hosts a friend's political writings on a site and splits the advertising revenue.
    Under $100Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Small single-purpose websites from an agency
    A studio builds quick websites that solve small problems, getting traffic from blogs and earning from AdSense.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    Tabletop RPG calculator with ad income
    A calculator tool for a tabletop game that was picked up by a gaming site and earns from an ad on it.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    School directory funded by ads
    Evolved a failed school-focused social network into a directory site that earns from ads with little maintenance.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Solar power blog driven by a YouTube video
    Runs a simple blog on solar power, linked from a YouTube video, that earns from AdSense ads.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    Local bus times Android app
    An Android app showing bus times for the owner's area, earning from optimized in-app ads.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    Small Android apps portfolio
    Publishes several small Android apps that earn modestly without ongoing work.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    Android app with ads and in-app purchases
    Made a free Android app with a paid version, earning from ads, in-app purchases and paid downloads.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    Android apps funded by ads
    Makes Android apps earning from ads, with a soundboard app as the main earner.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Software and apps
    Android notepad app earning ad revenue
    A simple Android app built to learn the platform that now earns from in-app ads.
    Under $100Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Animated GIF sites funded by ads
    Runs cat and dog GIF websites supported by advertising.
    Under $100Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Architectural models niche blog
    A hobby blog about architectural models that earns from ads and Amazon affiliate links.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Content and media
    Directory of flagship stores in a city
    Photographed top brand stores in London and published a directory blog that earns from ads.
    Under $100Hands-off
    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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
    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
    Lyrics website earning AdSense
    Runs a lyrics website that earns a small amount from AdSense.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2011
  • Content and media
    Pancake day recipes and activities site
    Ran a seasonal site of pancake recipes and ideas for pancake day. It earned yearly ad revenue.
    Under $100Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2011
  • Services and freelancing
    Community ad boards in restaurants
    The operator places ad boards in local restaurants, sells the slots to nearby businesses, and upsells those advertisers websites and AI services. Profit comes from slot sales per board.
    The Koerner Office