49 Best Side Hustle Ideas for 2024

Unless you’re already killing it financially, you’ve probably thought about some ways to earn some extra money.

I know I did, and now I make over $20,000 per month from what was originally my side hustle.

That’s right – with hard work and dedication, many people can transform their side hustle into something that pays more than their full-time job.

That being said, finding side hustles that can make you extra cash can be difficult if you aren’t sure what your best skills are. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try – some of the best side hustles out there can easily make you extra cash with no previous knowledge or experience necessary. 

So, how do you find a side hustle that you can convert into passive income? I’ve got 49 answers to that question, so let’s get started.

What Is A Side Hustle? 

A side hustle, by definition, is a job or occupation that brings in extra money beyond one’s day job and main source of income.

Outside of that definition, a side hustle is any way you’ve found to make extra money. It could be anything from managing social media pages, becoming a virtual assistant, freelance writing, or even renting out your spare room.

All of these are ways you can earn more money other than your 9-5 day job.

How Much Money Can You Make From Side Hustles? 

As much as you want. No, seriously, depending on the side hustle itself, how much time you spend on it, and how successful it becomes, you can make a lot of money, or even transform it into your own business.

There are people that spend just a few hours each day on a side hustle, and the side hustle gives them extra cash to fund a more comfortable lifestyle or pay a few bills here and there.

There are also people that spend all their spare time on a high-demand side hustle, and end up making a living out of it and earning more than their day job.

It depends on several factors, not all within your control, but you can often make enough extra income to leave your full-time job at some point. 

My first side hustle was making YouTube videos. I made around $200 per month which helped pay for some of my utility bills.

However, over several years I was able to transform that into something that generated almost 100x more money for me per month. It just goes to show that anything is possible.

What Are The Best Side Hustles to Make Extra Money With? 

1. Dropshipping

In recent years, it seems like the go-to idea for side hustles is dropshipping. You find a good supplier, advertise their products, and earn a profit on every sale. The best thing about it is that once you set it up, you don’t have to lift a finger — the supplier ships the items, and all you do is enjoy the benefits.

Depending on the products you sell and the profit margin, dropshipping can easily earn you thousands of dollars per month, making it one of the most profitable side hustles out there. 

It’s also relatively cheap and easy to set up. You can create an online store on Shopify and start selling online in a very short amount of time.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a way to promote products and services, and get paid a percentage for every person that buys them through you. There are plenty of affiliate programs out there, one of the most popular being the Amazon affiliate program. You post your affiliate links on a website or on social media and earn a percentage for every sale made through your links. 

Similarly to dropshipping, how much money you earn from affiliate marketing depends on the products you sell and the percentage the affiliate program pays you. More expensive products will make you more money, and you’ll want to find a program that pays as much as possible. 

3. Start a Blog

Starting a blog is something you can do if you’re passionate about a certain topic and want to share your opinions and ideas with the world. A blog is a side hustle idea that gives you plenty of creative freedom, and you can write about anything you want. 

When it comes to making money from your blog, you’ll want a way to monetize it. There are a few options — you can put ads, which may or may not bring you money depending on how many readers you get, and you can do brand deals in the industry you’re writing about. This can be very profitable, but it all depends on how good the blog is and the industry you’re in. 

4. Start Freelance Writing

Being a freelance writer means that you’ll be writing things like blog posts, product reviews, informational articles, and other similar types of content. What you write about is all up to you, and similar to a blog, you’ll have plenty of creative freedom to express your style, and in some cases, your opinions. 

When you start off working as a writer, you may not be making a lot of money. However, writers are in high demand pretty much constantly, so if you’re good at it, you’ll be able to charge a hefty rate for every article you write sooner rather than later. 

If you want to get started, I wrote an article on how to become a freelance writer.

5. Write an eBook

eBooks are a digital version of regular books, with the one difference being you can make money from writing one without needing to print it and sell physical copies. Plenty of people enjoy reading eBooks, and you can go the complete DIY route and self-publish yours on platforms like Amazon. 

A thing to note is that this isn’t an easy side hustle — you’ll need to sell plenty of copies if you want to make a lot of money. That being said, good books tend to sell themselves easily, so if you’ve got a knack for writing, you’ll be able to enjoy that extra money. 

6. Start Proofreading

If you aren’t keen on writing but still have a knack for a certain language, proofreading and editing is another rather profitable side hustle idea. You can earn money by going through other writers’ articles and books, and making sure they’re grammatically correct through and through. Keep in mind that this is a time-consuming side hustle and one that might require more time than you initially think. 

When it comes to income, it will depend on the level of writing you’re reviewing, as well as what exactly you’re doing. For example, an editor that goes through the structure of an article and works with a writer in order to help them improve will make a lot more than someone that merely checks for grammatical errors. 

7. Start a Wholesale Business

A wholesale business will have you buying and reselling items in bulk, in large quantities where the opportunity to profit is fairly large. The problem with this side hustle is that you’ll need to establish your own business, find reliable suppliers and find reliable businesses to buy your items before you can earn extra money. 

When you’re starting off, you’ll probably notice that the per-item margin of profit isn’t too big. That’s because you’re working with large quantities, so a small per-item margin is still a hefty sum when you multiply it by the number of products. This is one of those side hustles that takes a while to set up but can make a lot of extra income once it’s up and running properly. 

8. Create an Online Course

If you play your cards right, creating and selling a digital course can be one of the most profitable side hustles out there. If there’s something you’re good at, why not teach others how to do it as well and make money while teaching them? Creating a course will require you to create a structure, record the course, and then advertise it on online course platforms like Udemy and Coursera. 

How much you can make depends on how well the platforms advertise your course, but also on how knowledgeable you are on the topic and how good you translate that knowledge into the course. If you’re an expert on the subject matter and know how to teach others through the course, only the sky’s the limit. 

9. Become a Consultant

Another way to utilize your expertise is to become a consultant. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re knowledgeable in, there is always someone that needs expert advice. As a consultant, you can reach out to companies and individuals and help them out with problems that require expert knowledge. 

Consultants are, in most cases, extremely well paid, which means this is one of those side hustle ideas that could end up replacing your full-time job because it makes you more money. Of course, it depends on how much you know and which industry you’re in, but the potential is certainly there. 

10. Start Tutoring Online

If you like the one-on-one aspect of teaching, online tutoring is a great way to make a few extra bucks. You can tutor on pretty much any topic, and make serious money if you land students who value your knowledge. A thing to keep in mind is that you’ll need to be extremely knowledgeable in the subject matter, and you’ll need to have patience with your students. 

When you’re starting off, you want to market yourself as much as possible — classifieds, Facebook Marketplace, you name it, you should put your name out there. Once you’ve got a couple of students that are happy with you, word of mouth spreads very quickly. 

11. Manage Social Media Accounts

If you’ve got a knack for marketing, managing companies’ social media accounts is a great way to make money. Not every company can manage posting content across multiple outlets, and if you can step in and do that for them, there’s room for profit and growth potential. 

When it comes to earning potential, social media management pays good money, especially if you find small businesses that understand the importance of online search and social campaigns. All you need is an understanding of social media and how to utilize it to promote a business. 

12. Create and Sell Designs

Creating and selling designs can be a very profitable and fun side hustle, and let’s face it, not all side hustles are fun. If you’re already working in the design industry, you can create designs that you’ll either sell as ready-for-print or via Amazon’s Merch on Demand program. 

Selling designs is a great way to make money on the side, especially if you already have experience with design. Online selling solutions like Amazon make monetizing this skill easily, and all you need to do is create a few designs and put them for sale — then watch the income flow. 

13. Sell Digital Products

Whether you create digital products, or you resell existing ones, selling digital products is a great side hustle idea. Admittedly, it is a bit saturated in recent years, but if you have the right products at the right price, it can certainly be profitable. 

Depending on the products you sell and how many sales you make, this can turn out to be one of the best side hustle ideas out there. Of course, you’ll need to set up an online store and find products to sell, but it’s a way to make this a passive stream of income that makes you extra money. 

14. Sell Handmade Goods on Etsy

Handmade goods are very underestimated, and Etsy makes selling them a breeze. The platform puts your products out there to people that can appreciate when something is handmade, and are willing to pay for them. You have the complete freedom to make anything you want, and sell it on Etsy. 

When it comes to profitable side hustles, selling handmade goods can make a lot of money if you have a product that’s in demand. When you consider it’s something you can easily do in your spare time and keep your day job, it can certainly be a profitable endeavor. 

15. Resell Thrifted Items

If you aren’t opposed to investing money in a side hustle, the return on investment with thrifted items can be incredible. This is especially true if you can find high-value items at reasonable prices, or if you’re good at bargaining. The key is to find something you know you can sell for a profit, and steer clear of items that you aren’t sure about. 

You can make a solid amount of money doing this as a side hustle, but it might be more time-consuming than typical side hustles. 

16. Start a YouTube Channel

If you’re the creative type, starting a YouTube channel can turn your life around completely. Not only is YouTube a great way to express your creative spirit, but it’s also a way to make a name for yourself on an established platform, and get paid while doing it. 

YouTube pays between $1 and $3 for every 1,000 views, but there is also the opportunity for brand deals and sponsorships if you have enough subscribers, so you can definitely make more money than with your full-time job if you become a YouTuber. 

I also wrote an article containing a detailed list on all the ways to make money on YouTube.

17. Start a Podcast

Podcasts have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, and if you know a lot about a particular topic or industry, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t start recording one. People enjoy listening to other people’s opinions on various topics, and a podcast is a great way to voice yours. 

Platforms like Spotify and Buzzsprout make podcasting easy and will give you a percentage for every person that listens to your podcast. With a large enough audience, this can become one of the best side hustle ideas in terms of profitability. 

18. Become a Housesitter

House sitting is always in-demand, with plenty of people and families heading out on vacations with no one to watch their home. This is one of those side hustle jobs that require no skills because all you need to do is stay in the house, make sure nothing is damaged, and leave the house as clean as you’ve found it. 

House sitting can be a steady stream of money if you have several people that need your service. Depending on a variety of factors, such as your clients and the neighborhoods you’re working in, it can be an incredibly profitable one, too. 

19. Become a Babysitter

Babysitting is a great idea for a side hustle job if you have someone to recommend you when you’re starting out. This particular side hustle will require people to trust you with their children, which is why recommendations and repeat customers are so important. Word of mouth spreads quickly, though, which is why if you’re good with children, this is one of the best side hustle jobs. 

From a financial point of view, babysitting pays by the hour, and it’s usually paid very well. If you love kids, it’s basically time you spend playing with kids and making sure their needs are taken care of, while being paid for it. 

20. Become a Pet Sitter

You would be surprised at how many people have pets they don’t want leaving their homes. This unfortunately means they can’t take them when they’re going somewhere, which is where a pet sitter comes in. You’ll be responsible for taking care of pets while their owners are away, and you can set your own daily price (or hourly). 

You can make plenty of money being a pet sitter, especially if you’ve got the education or professional experience with pets that make you an in-demand pet sitter. Starting off with a reasonably low price can get you a lot of clients in a short amount of time, and you can grow from there. 

21. Become a Dog Walker

Unlike pets that need to stay at home, dogs are the exact opposite. With so many people being too busy to walk dogs, you’ll easily find clients to be a dog walker for. A dog walking service is a thing every neighborhood could use, and if you’re a good one, you’ll be walking down the streets with a couple of leashes in each hand before you know it. 

Let’s talk money — dog walking pays very well, especially if you’re someone that has a reputation in the neighborhood. You can sign up for an app like Rover, which will make it much easier to manage your money and find new clients, boosting your overall income. 

22. Become a Photographer

I’ll admit this one isn’t for everyone, but if you have an eye and know how to take good photos, you can become a photographer with a bit of practice. Whether you shoot models, weddings, concerts or sports depends on what you enjoy most, because you’ll need to know the ins and outs of the industry you’re shooting if you’re going to make the most of it. 

You can start out with an affordable camera until you find clients that pay more, and then upgrade to something better down the line. This keeps the cost low and income high until you’ve made a name for yourself, and then you can turn this side gig into a primary job. 

23. Become an Event Planner

Becoming an event planner is one of the best side hustle ideas for people that have excellent organizational skills and plenty of spare time. You’ll need to make sure everything is in order for events of various scales, from small weddings to huge conventions, but that’s not something to be scared of — practice makes perfect. 

You may not make that much money at first, but this is a side hustle that takes dedication, and can eventually become a very profitable endeavor that earns you money on the side. 

24. Work as an App or Platform Tester 

Even though most development companies have their own testers that make sure functionalities are implemented properly, the final test comes when their apps and platforms fall into the hands of users. Becoming a user tester for apps or platforms will have you putting those services through their paces and reporting any shortcomings or issues. 

This is a very well-paid job, even though it might take a bit to get to the high numbers. To add to this, you can turn it into a profession if you grab a few QA courses and improve your skills. It can easily turn from side hustle to something that makes you enough money to live from it. 

25. Start Doing Online Surveys

Online surveys are a quick way to make money by giving your opinion on various topics. Websites like SurveyMonkey and SurveyPlanet have plenty of companies with a strong enough advertising budget to pay users for their opinions — why not take advantage of that? 

Surveys usually pay little money compared to some of the other side hustles we’ve mentioned, but they’re quick and easy to do, so you can easily make more money by doing more surveys. 

26. Join Focus Groups

Focus groups will have you interacting with a small number of like-minded individuals, answering researcher or evaluator-posed questions to see how you’ll react to them. Finding focus groups is an easy way to make money online since most of them don’t require physical presence. 

How much money you make depends on the industry and specific focus group, but if you only want something that supplements your main income, it’s more than enough. 

27. Work as a Transcriptionist

Transcriptionists have the task of listening to recordings and writing down conversations and events as they happen. It might sound like a difficult side hustle, but if you’re patient and practice plenty, you’ll be able to work quickly through recordings and not waste a lot of money listening to them multiple times. 

Regular transcription pays handsomely, but live transcription is more advanced and pays a lot more money — this is what you should aim for, eventually. 

28. Work as a Virtual Assistant

There are people that are too busy with their own work or business endeavors and need someone to organize their time and schedule. If you have a few spare hours every day, finding a few clients that you’d do virtual assistant duties for can be a great side job. 

This is another job that pays by the hour,  so how much you make greatly depends on how much time you can dedicate. Find two or three high-paying clients, though, and your bank account will start filling up. 

Many virtual assistant jobs can even be done while you’re at your day job, especially if you work in a slow-paced office.

29. Drive for Uber or Lyft 

If you have a car that’s in decent condition and enjoy driving, Uber or Lyft can be an excellent side job. You drive on your own time, and you decide which rides you accept or reject. Uber, Lyft and other similar platforms take a percentage for being the middleman, but you usually get paid well at the end of the day. 

If you don’t mind spending time behind the wheel, being a rideshare driver can easily make you hundreds of dollars per month for just a couple of hours of driving daily. 

30. Deliver Food for DoorDash, Uber Eats or Grubhub

Food delivery companies have a such high demand for drivers, and if you have a method of transportation you can sign up for whichever one is available in your area. Similar to other delivery side jobs, you can work on your own time and decide when you’ll accept a delivery or reject it. 

How much money you make depends on how much you drive and what kind of deliveries you accept, but as with ridesharing and groceries, you can make a few hundred per month. 

31. Deliver Groceries 

Platforms like Instacart make it easy to order groceries at home, and they’re always looking for delivery drivers. Like other delivery side jobs, it’s easy as long as you enjoy driving, and you can make a decent amount of money. 

32. Deliver Packages with Amazon Flex

Amazon Flex is designed to take the load off drivers that work in delivery companies by allowing individuals to deliver packages with their own personal vehicles. It pays rather well, and like any other delivery job, the more you drive, the more you make. 

33. Do Tasks for People

You would be surprised at how many people don’t like doing tasks like research and information gathering, data entry, etc. This makes for an excellent part-time job, because there are platforms like Swagbucks and InboxDollars where those people post their small tasks, and you can do them for money. 

Not all tasks pay the same, and of course, the more you do the more you can make. If you’re looking at this as a part-time job, a couple of hours per day can make you a couple of hundred dollars per month. 

34. Start a Laundry Service

A lot of neighborhoods rely on laundry service, and if you find a neighborhood that still doesn’t have one, you can open your own. This is a great way to start a side hustle that helps others and will make you more money than you think is possible. 

You can start off with a few washing and drying machines, and expand as you make more money. Investing in this kind of business will give you a huge ROI, and your earnings can skyrocket. 

35. Mow Lawns or Do Yard Work

A lot of people aren’t fans of mowing their lawns and doing any kind of landscaping. If you don’t mind such physical work, there’s a side hustle for you. You can start off with your clients’ gear, but at some point, you can invest and buy your own lawnmowers to increase your profit margins. 

This kind of side hustle pays by the hour, and since it’s labor-intensive work, more often than not it’s paid very well. 

36. Start a Pressure Washing Business

Pressure washing has been around for ages, but there still aren’t that many providers throughout the world. If you find that nobody offers that kind of service in your area, you can do it as a side hustle. Buying a pressure washer and learning to use it is all it takes, and if you show people the difference, you’ll be able to land plenty of clients. 

Pressure washing is a side hustle that requires you to invest money in gear, but that will pay for itself before you know it, and you’ll enjoy hundreds of dollars of profit per month. 

37. Start Shoveling Snow

This is a very common side hustle, especially in neighborhoods with plenty of senior citizens that can’t really shovel snow during the winter. If you’re not opposed to physical work, you can help them out by clearing out their sidewalks and driveway, and make some money while you’re at it. It might not be the highest-paying side hustle, but if you find the right neighborhood, it pays as much as an average part-time job. 

38. Wash and Detail Cars

Plenty of car enthusiasts wash and detail their own cars. If you are one and have all the gear that’s necessary, why not offer it as a service and make it a side hustle? Even better, you can make a mobile detailing station and have a side hustle that you can do anywhere, anytime. An in-depth detailing is something that many people would pay a lot for, making this a side hustle with excellent earning potential. 

39. Rent Out Properties

If you have one or more vacant properties, renting them out can be an incredibly lucrative side hustle. Rent prices have skyrocketed recently, and if you aren’t using the property, why not let it make money for you? You can either post them on platforms like Airbnb as short-term rentals or find tenants that would sign a longer contract if you want a bit of security for your income. In any case, you can make anywhere from several hundred dollars to well in the thousands, depending on the property. 

40. Rent Out Your Parking Space

While not nearly as profitable as a property, a parking space can be incredibly hard to come by. If you have one you aren’t using, you can rent it out to a neighbor or someone that works in the area. You’ll enjoy the additional income, and they’ll be thankful they no longer have to worry about parking their car. 

41. Rent Out Storage Space

Renting out storage space is another side hustle where you can make money if you have unused space in your home or garage (or anywhere else, really), that you’re comfortable letting someone use as storage. Plenty of people don’t have enough room for all their belongings, and you can make quite a lot if you have enough room. 

42. Rent Out Your Specialty Gear

This is a common side hustle for photographers, for example, but it can easily translate to other industries, too. Sometimes it’s just not worth it to buy something if you’ll only use it once or twice, and renting it makes more sense. If you have specialty gear that costs a lot, you can rent it out to enthusiasts and make a quick buck — just make sure you have it insured in case it gets damaged. 

43. Work as a Real Estate Agent

You don’t need a degree to work as a real estate agent, in most cases, an online certificate is enough. If you’ve got a way with people and don’t mind trying to make a name for yourself in a market that’s quickly becoming saturated, a real estate agent might be the side hustle you need. It might take a while until you sell your first house, but once your cut hits your bank account, you’ll realize it’s worth it and you’ll start looking for more houses to sell. 

44. Start Staging Houses

Many homeowners and real estate agents don’t have time to stage houses when selling. If this is something you can do for them, you’re looking at a side hustle that will have you working a few hours per day but making you a lot of money. The income does depend on the market a bit, but more often than not, it’s a job that pays handsomely. 

45. Work as a Travel Agent

Another side hustle that you can do without prior knowledge, working as a travel agent will have you matching people with their dream vacations. Whether you work independently, or within a travel agency, you’ll take a percentage of each vacation you book, and with more prestigious vacations, that’s more than an average part-time job salary. 

46. Assemble IKEA and Amazon Furniture

Both IKEA and Amazon Furniture are easy to assemble as long as you know what you’re doing. The thing is, many people don’t know, and would rather pay someone to assemble the furniture for them. This is a side hustle that will have you do a bit of physical labor and a lot of following instructions to the letter. If you’re okay with both, you can make a bit of money on the side. 

47. Build a Subscription Box Business

Subscription boxes sound more complicated than they really are. What you need to do is find a couple of products that go along with each other, within basically any industry, and ship them to consumers that need them all together. Set that up to be a recurring shipment every month, and set a monthly price, and you have yourself an online retail business from your own online store. 

48. Start a Moving Company

Moving is as simple as taking a few friends and a moving van and helping people get their belongings from one place to another. That’s all it takes to get started, and if you have enough work, you can invest in new hires and more vans. It’s not a side hustle that’ll work if you have plenty of competition, but you would be surprised at how many cities don’t really have many moving companies at their disposal, making it the perfect money making opportunity.

49. Become a Personal Trainer

If you’re into fitness and nutrition, becoming a personal trainer is an excellent way to make money while helping others work out properly and achieve their dream body. It’s one of those side jobs that are always in demand, making it the perfect way to start a side hustle and make and save money. 

Wrapping Things Up

If you like the idea of making more money than your day job, side hustles are a great way to do so. There are plenty of side hustles that you can do, with or without any prior knowledge or experience, so all that’s left is for you to choose the best side hustles you’d like to try your hand at, and see which one fits you best! 

Frequently Asked Side Hustle Questions