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

18 ideas

  • Services and freelancing
    One-person AI consultancy for small teams
    A solo consultant advises teams of five to two hundred people on AI, starting with a paid inbox audit that is credited toward a longer retainer.
    Online
    The Side Hustle Show, 2026
  • Services and freelancing
    AI consulting for established companies
    Offering AI assessments that show businesses what they can automate, then building the solutions with tools like Claude. The founders started by texting people they knew.
    Under $100Online
    The Koerner Office, 2026
  • Services and freelancing
    Fractional chief AI officer for mid-size companies
    An experienced operator sits in leadership meetings for companies without a technology chief, finds where AI helps, and builds or teaches the team to build it. It is billed as a monthly retainer, and a paid training day often leads into it.
    Part-timeOnline and in person
    Ryan Doser, 2026
  • Services and freelancing
    Pet waste removal service
    A recurring dog poop cleanup service for homeowners, started with almost no money as a side project. The founder also teaches the model to others through a paid community.
    Part-timeIn person
    Side Hustle Nation, 2026
  • Software and apps
    Browser extensions named for popular searches
    Builds browser extensions that fix common site annoyances. Revenue comes from them, helped by search-friendly names and store reviews.
    Under $100Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Software and apps
    Open source app analytics tool
    A privacy-friendly open source analytics tool for apps.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2024
  • Content and media
    Newsletter featuring creators' workspace tours
    Runs a newsletter that profiles the home workspaces of makers and creators, earning recurring revenue.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    No-code app builder born from clinic tools
    Began by writing Windows apps for a hospital department and grew it into a SaaS tool for building calculator apps.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    Open source website change detection service
    An open source tool for detecting website changes, with a paid hosted subscription and custom work for companies.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    Royalties from embedded device software
    Wrote embedded software and earned a royalty on every device shipped for many years.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    Simple tool for a niche industry
    Built a very basic tool for an industry the owner wanted to be part of, then found a larger opportunity there that now supports them full-time.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Content and media
    Medium paywall for back catalog of articles
    Moved all past writing behind Medium's paywall and removed calls to action to qualify for distribution. Earns a monthly share from reader time.
    Under $100Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Physical products
    Programming reference book for a publisher
    Wrote a regular expressions pocket reference for a technical publisher, earning ongoing royalties.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Content and media
    Weekly web tools newsletter
    A regular newsletter about web tools that earns income and leads to paid writing work.
    A few hours a weekOnline
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Content and media
    Paid daily tech industry briefing
    A morning briefing about the technology industry that readers pay for, with sponsorships that avoid ad-style promotion.
    A few hours a weekOnline
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Software and apps
    Subscription trading models on a stock platform
    Built a stock trading model for personal use, then published it on a platform where subscribers pay to follow it. Subscribers take responsibility for any trades.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Content and media
    Football tips site with memberships
    A football tipping website built on WordPress that earns from paid memberships and sponsored posts.
    Hands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Software and apps
    Open source Ruby gem with paid pro version
    Maintains a free open source gem for running test suites in parallel and sells a paid pro version of it. Revenue comes from pro subscriptions.
    Online
    Hacker News, 2016