Side hustle ideas from people who actually run them

47 ideas

• Content and media

  Practice website for learning Excel

  A simple website that helps people learn Excel through exercises. The founder built it with very little effort and grew it as a dead-simple, boring niche site.

  Hands-offOnline

  Starter Story, 2026
• Software and apps

  Online text case converter tool

  A free web tool for converting text case, built up over years.

  Online

  Hacker News, 2024
• Content and media

  Free sudoku sites supported by ads

  A group of free sudoku websites that earn steady income from minimal ads.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2024
• Software and apps

  Meme maker with animated text tracking

  Created a web tool for making GIF memes with text that follows motion, after finding it hard to do elsewhere.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2022
• 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
• Directories and marketplaces

  Network of niche job boards and content sites

  Built job listing sites and blogs that run mostly automatically and cover expenses with ads and sponsorships.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2021
• Software and apps

  Coupon site and tiny developer tools

  A coupon site for developers plus a set of single-purpose web tools such as encoders and HTML cleaners.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2021
• Software and apps

  Average weather lookup tool for travelers

  Runs a site showing historical average weather by city and month. Income so far is from ad revenue, with plans to add more features.

  Online

  Hacker News, 2016
• 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
• Software and apps

  Online multiplayer word game with ads

  Runs a multiplayer Boggle-style game online. It earns from advertising and paid memberships.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2016
• Software and apps

  Portfolio of small web learning tools

  Runs a set of small web apps for learning music notes, non-Latin alphabets and languages with flash cards. Income comes from ads and paid premium plans.

  Hands-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

  Free online map chart maker funded by ads

  Runs a free tool that lets people make colored maps of countries and regions. Income comes from display ads and occasional donations.

  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
• Content and media

  Maps in your own language site

  Built a site that forces Google Maps links into a chosen language. Ad revenue covers its hosting.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• 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

  Host a nonprofit's forum for ad revenue

  Hosts a forum and website for a nonprofit, in exchange for placing ads that cover the hosting costs.

  Online

  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

  Logo gallery supported by ads

  A logo design gallery where designers submit work, earning from ads and ad network placements.

  Online

  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
• Software and apps

  Role-playing game for preschool kids

  Made an online role-playing game for young children that earns a modest monthly amount.

  Hands-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

  Social game built with a partner developer

  Runs a social game with a developer partner that earns steadily with little ongoing time.

  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
• 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

  Phone GPS tracker with ad revenue

  A web tool that tracks phones periodically and shows locations on a map, earning from site and YouTube 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
• 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
• Content and media

  Local niche job board

  A jobs site that earns from affiliate links and AdSense, being rolled out as a network.

  Online

  Hacker News, 2014
• Software and apps

  Music notation training web app

  Built a site for practicing reading music notation while learning piano. It earns on its own without promotion.

  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
• Software and apps

  Online PC building tool with ads

  Runs a tool for assembling a PC online and earns from ads and affiliate programs.

  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

  Rhyming dictionary website with ads

  Built a rhyming dictionary site where an ad unit covers the hosting costs.

  Hands-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

  Tax calculator website with ads and affiliates

  A site of tax and finance calculators that earns from AdSense and affiliate income, needing only occasional upkeep.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Software and apps

  Unicode text effects tool

  A free site for playing with Unicode text and ASCII art, earning small ad income.

  Hands-offOnline

  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

  Network of crowdsourced humor sites

  Runs several user-submitted humor sites and earns from them plus licensing for a paid iPhone app tied to one site.

  Online

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Sudoku website with text-link advertising

  Built a Sudoku website that now earns from advertising, mostly sponsored text links, with free signups seeing no ads.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2011
• Directories and marketplaces

  AI-built niche directory sites

  The operator uses scraping tools and an AI coding assistant to build a listing site for a niche, then monetizes through leads, ads, affiliate links or listings. One example was a luxury restroom trailer directory.

  Hands-offOnline

  The Koerner Office