Software and apps side hustle ideas
A web app, SaaS, mobile app, browser extension, bot or API that people pay for or that earns from ads.
25 ideas
- Software and appsA 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.OnlineStarter Story, 2026
- Software and appsAn indie health and fitness app. The founder credits a repeatable marketing playbook built on paid ads, rather than the specific app, for its growth.$1k to $10kOnlineStarter Story, 2026
- Software and appsA gym app whose founder treats product development like a science experiment, using A/B tests and feature validation to decide what to build.OnlineStarter Story, 2026
- Software and appsA marketing SaaS for indie developers. The founder shaped the product through a very large number of customer calls with the ideal customer.OnlineStarter Story, 2026
- Software and appsA 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.Part-timeOnlineStarter Story, 2026
- Software and appsAn AI app for track and field, built by college students who did not know how to code.OnlineStarter Story, 2026
- Software and appsAn app for learning Japanese by reading web articles, tracking known vocabulary and kanji, and syncing with flashcards.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Software and appsA desktop app for managing several Kubernetes clusters at once, built for the owner's own use and then sold as a subscription.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Software and appsRuns an API service that handles web scraping for developers.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Software and appsBuilt a Mac app for drawing and highlighting on screen during calls and presentations, after needing it personally.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsA Mac app that creates polished product demo videos from screen recordings using cursor movements and clicks.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsStarted by scraping real estate listings for personal use, then built a scraping API that handles blocking and sold access to paying customers.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Software and appsA web app for sharing audio clips with timestamped comments, such as a music teacher giving feedback to a student.OnlineHacker News, 2021
- Software and appsBuilt a document editor on a decentralized protocol alongside a day job. Revenue came from grant money from the protocol.OnlineHacker News, 2021
- Software and appsStarted a web hosting company on nights and weekends during grad school, which later became a full-time business.OnlineHacker News, 2021
- Software and appsRuns a web tool that migrates data from files like CSV, JSON and XML into MySQL databases, sold to users who need conversions.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Software and appsA service for WordPress plugin and theme developers covering updates, git deployment, analytics and load testing, paid by subscription.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Software and appsStarted a company offering marketing automation to fitness businesses, with recurring revenue and a partnership with a martial arts actor's affiliates.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Software and appsPublishes in-depth long-term stock analyses for German-speaking investors. Revenue comes from monthly subscriptions.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Software and appsA tool that started as a way to create your own Hacker News style site and grew into software for creating, managing and growing online communities.OnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsA jQuery plugin and backend service that adds a shared whiteboard to websites, sold by subscription.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsLaunched a membership offering premium WordPress plugins with support.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsRuns a web service for sending press releases to media, used by customers promoting books and events, with a free tier for anonymous whistleblowers.$1k to $10kOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilding a web service that helps designers create client proposals.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt a Twitter app that helps users share more links without flooding followers. Offers a free plan and paid monthly plans.OnlineHacker News, 2011