Side hustle ideas from people who actually run them
651 side hustles, each one described by the person running it, in a podcast, a YouTube interview or a Hacker News thread. Every idea links to its source. Filter by what it costs to start, how much time it takes, and how it earns.
40 ideas
- A YouTube channel of personal finance reviews and tutorials built on search traffic. Income comes from affiliate commissions on products like budgeting apps and savings accounts.Content and mediaSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Short product review videos uploaded through the Amazon Influencer Program, which appear on product listings and earn commissions. The approach relies on filming high volumes of products found close to home.Content and mediaSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Documents government processes for immigrants and earns commissions on services they need, such as banking, insurance and translations, plus some consulting.Content and mediaHacker News, 2026
- Made a course on spreadsheet functions and formulas hosted on a small course platform, earning a commission share.Digital productsHands-offHacker News, 2024
- Runs a white-label flight and hotel search engine and shares deals by social media and email subscription.Content and mediaHacker News, 2024
- Runs a directory of website templates for static site generators and frameworks, earning affiliate sales and now sponsorships.Directories and marketplacesHacker News, 2024
- Runs a flight deals blog and newsletter with an embedded flight and hotel search tool, earning from bookings.Content and mediaHacker News, 2022
- Built a site comparing glasses retailers that earns affiliate commissions.Content and mediaUnder $100Hands-offHacker News, 2021
- A product review blog that earns from affiliate commissions.Content and mediaHacker News, 2021
- Started a price comparison website for college textbooks that earns affiliate commissions, mostly from search traffic.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2019
- Runs a site that reviews web hosts and earns affiliate commissions. Competition is heavy.Content and mediaHacker News, 2019
- Makes video tutorials on Arduino programming on a personal site. Earns referral commissions when visitors buy parts.Content and mediaHacker News, 2019
- Runs a website reviewing music equipment, especially MIDI keyboards, and earns commissions through Amazon affiliate links.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2019
- A niche blog about getting a professional engineering license, carrying affiliate links to a prep package seller. Earns passively from affiliate commissions.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2019
- Runs a curated list of Hacker News recommendations and products. Earns small amounts from affiliate links.Content and mediaA few hours a weekHacker News, 2018
- A blog about earning a professional engineering license in a niche with little coverage. Income comes from an affiliate deal with a company selling licensing prep packages.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2018
- Runs a blog about watch straps featuring photography from brands and custom leather makers plus interviews. Income comes from affiliate links.Content and mediaHacker News, 2018
- Built a search tool that ranks Amazon products by ratings and review volume, grouped by price range. Money comes from affiliate links.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2016
- Wrote a blog about the process of getting a professional engineering licence, which draws search traffic. Earns from ads and affiliate referrals to a seller of exam prep materials.Content and mediaUnder $100Hands-offHacker News, 2016
- Maintains a handful of websites, including a gift ideas site that earns through Amazon affiliate links and some content sites.Content and mediaHacker News, 2016
- A website comparing prices for domain extensions across registrars. Earns through registrar affiliate commissions and paid data downloads.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2016
- Wrote 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.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2016
- A website with a searchable product catalog that earns from Amazon affiliate links.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2016
- Blogs about travel and working remotely from an RV. Money comes from Amazon affiliate links placed in posts.Content and mediaHacker News, 2016
- A network of automated accounts that gather tech meetups and conferences for each city and tweet them, plus a weekly mailing list. Money comes from affiliate fees for conferences and workshops and from ad blocks in the newsletter.Content and mediaHacker News, 2016
- Added Amazon affiliate links to a popular Raspberry Pi garage door tutorial and earns from purchases.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2014
- Built a simple Android shopping app that earned from Amazon affiliate links and ads.Software and appsHands-offHacker News, 2014
- Writes nonfiction books and earns from advances, royalties, foreign rights deals and Amazon affiliate links.Physical productsHands-offHacker News, 2014
- A website that helps users assemble PCs, earning from affiliate links and ads.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2014
- Earns affiliate commissions by referring people to Shopify.Content and mediaUnder $100Hands-offHacker News, 2014
- Runs affiliate blogs and a WordPress plugin that tests which call to action gets the most clicks.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2014
- Writes blog articles and earns from affiliate marketing.Content and mediaHacker News, 2014
- Built a Rails site recommending gadgets and gifts and earning through affiliate links.Content and mediaHacker News, 2014
- A small site that shows random Amazon products, earning from affiliate links.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2014
- Built a better way to browse Kindle books and earns affiliate fees when visitors buy.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2011
- Runs a personal blog that earns small commissions from Amazon affiliate links.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2011
- A site that tells you where to buy tracks heard in DJ tracklists, earning small affiliate commissions that cover its hosting.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2011
- A search site for books that earns small amounts from affiliate sales.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2011
- Writes album reviews and earns from ads and affiliate commissions when readers buy the reviewed CDs.Content and mediaHacker News, 2011
- Runs wallpaper websites that earn from domain registration commissions, plus ads on a related blog.Content and mediaHands-offHacker News, 2011