I’m so tired of opening YouTube and seeing another 19-year-old in a rented Lamborghini telling me I can make £10k a month ‘passively’ by dropshipping.
If you’re anything like me, you don’t need a yacht—you just need the grocery, house rent, and electricity bill to stop feeling like a crisis every month.
The truth is, most side hustles being pushed online right now are either outright scams or pay literal pennies for hours of your time.
But after trying several different side hustles on the internet, I’ve found a handful of realistic ways to make real money on the side.
No MLM schemes, no filling out endless surveys for gift cards. Just 8 genuine side hustles that actually pay the bills.
These side hustles do require some effort; just to be clear, they are not a get-rich-quick scheme.
Often, I see people turn to YouTube and Instagram to find ways to earn money online, but unfortunately, many are misled by influencers and predatory businesses.
At some point, they feel like they will never be able to earn a decent amount of money online. Wondering what they are doing wrong?
Let me tell you the truth. You don’t need another course; you need genuine information and support.
I started as a freelance web developer. I built various websites, worked on multiple side projects, and failed hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the last 7 years. I learned what works and what doesn’t.
In this article, I will share with you 8 genuine side hustles and their pros and cons. I’ll also help you decide which one to choose.
Let’s get into the good stuff.
1. Monetising Screenshots
Back then, when the internet was new for many, most websites didn’t have options to upload images directly.
People used to upload images, GIFs, and video content on Imgur.com and grab the Imgur link to share with others online.
Imgur.com became popular because, back then, Reddit didn’t offer an option to upload images/videos directly.
Many Redditors upload the content on Imgur and then post the Imgur link on Reddit.
Imgur enjoyed free traffic for years, then became a million-dollar business that MediaLab AI acquired in 2021.
Imgur offered a simple solution, which is now a company valued at 4 million.
When I discovered this, I asked myself: What if I replicate this strategy?
At that time, I didn’t have the money to buy a new domain name, so I created a subdomain on my existing website and started my own image-hosting site.
In the early days, I browsed the internet to find viral screenshots of tweets, sports stats, and political memes.
I uploaded them to my image-hosting website, then shared the link on Reddit and other social media platforms.
I used to get a few hundred people visiting my site to view the content every day.
Gradually, the traffic increased to thousands of page views every day.
I used display ads to monetise my website. Soon, I started earning a couple of bucks.
Over time, revenue increased, and I was earning around 1k to 2k from ads alone.
I tried a few other ways to monetise this website, but nothing worked besides the ads.
This fun little experiment made me easy money.
Now, let’s be honest: not everything is easy peasy; this method has pros and cons.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easier to get started. A domain name and a web hosting plan are all that you need to get started. You can build your own image-hosting site or use the custom CMS I have provided for members. | Getting ad network approval. Usually, a new site with little or no content will be rejected by Ad networks. You will need to add valuable content before submitting for review on AdSense or any other ad networks, for that matter. |
| Rinse and Repeat. Download viral content from the internet, upload it to your website, post links on social media platforms, kick back, and relax. | Finding a Relevant Subreddit. Reddit has thousands of subreddits. Finding a relevant subreddit takes time. |
| Not Limited by Niche: Unlike blogs and YouTube channels that force you to stick to one topic, an image hosting site lets you host absolutely anything – from politics to sports. | Reddit Mods: If you were on Reddit, you probably know that Reddit Mods control the subreddit. They make the rules, and they can kick anyone out at any time. |
In many subreddits, mods strictly enforce self-promotion rules. If you post links to your websites, YouTube channels, or anything that directly benefits you personally, it will be considered self-promotion.
The Reddit mods could remove your posts, put your username under a spam filter, or, in the worst case, ban you permanently from the subreddit.
Over the years, I’ve learned a few quirky tricks for self-promotion that helped me avoid pesky Reddit Moderators.
I have published a guide to help you navigate subreddit rules and do self-promotion without getting kicked off Reddit.
If you are new here, feel free to join my community and get access to exclusive resources and support.
Read: A step-by-step guide to starting your own Image Hosting Website.
2. News Websites
Starting a news website is a great side hustle, especially if you love writing articles.
News content is consumed every day around the world, in many different languages and forms, like digital media, print media, and television.
You don’t need to build a full-scale news organisation or apply for a licence. Honestly, you don’t even need to break the bank to get started.
Making money from a news website is pretty straightforward.
You can monetise with display ads through AdSense, add paywalls for exclusive articles, and introduce a monthly subscription for a premium experience that unlocks access to exclusive articles, removes ads, etc.
You can also publish sponsored articles and promote affiliate products and services.
Before you decide to launch your news website, take time to review the pros and cons.
Pros and cons of starting a News Website as a side hustle.
| Pros | Cons |
| Traffic Potential: Millions of people read the news every day. Unlike niche blogs—where audiences are limited, and multiple publications compete for the exact same readers—you never have to worry about running out of traffic. | Content Cycle: News never stops. Writing articles every day yourself will burn you out sooner or later. As you start earning a good profit, consider hiring a remote worker to write articles. Many skilled writers on Fiverr and Upwork are available for long-term projects. I have written a short note just below this table; check that out for more info. |
| Diverse Monetisation Options: You are not limited in how you monetise your news website. | Legal Issues: Publishing news comes with liability. If you publish incorrect information or fail to properly attribute sources, you risk defamation lawsuits. |
| Compounding Growth: As you publish more content, your traffic will steadily increase. Over time, your news website will build authority with search engines, creating a powerful snowball effect. | Algorithm Dependency: Many news sites rely heavily on traffic from Google Search, Google News, and social media platforms. Consider building an email list and diversifying your traffic sources. |
Note: On WordPress, you can assign role-based access for writers; they can only write and draft articles. With role-based access control, writers will not be able to view or manage any other website settings. As an admin, you can review the draft and publish the article from your admin panel.
Freelancers from Bangladesh and the Philippines are known for their solid work experience, and their rates are often more affordable than others.
Read: Step-by-step guide for starting a news website.
3. Web Apps
Building web apps as a side hustle can be fun and rewarding.
If you don’t work in web development and have never heard of web apps, think of them as applications hosted on web servers.
You can use them directly in your web browser without installing them on your computer or mobile phone.
Popular examples include online PDF converters and online image compressors.
Since the rise of AI coding, I’ve noticed a huge number of web apps being developed. Often, I see people building things nobody needs, which wastes their time and resources.
They’re like monkeys with computers in their hands.
Don’t be like those monkeys. Focus your time and resources in the right direction, and do something that could actually help people in their everyday lives.
Note: Especially when you use AI for coding, you know that these giant data centres, the backbone of AI, are destroying our nature; we should use AI mindfully, just as we do with non-renewable energy.
I would say everybody should learn to code and reduce the dependency on AI. In the near future, the cost of AI services will skyrocket, and many of us won’t be able to afford them.
I will share with you some practical tips on building web apps, marketing them properly, and, of course, monetising them to earn passive income.
Pros and cons of building web apps as a side hustle
| Pros | Cons |
| Infinite Scalability: Unlike freelancing or consulting where you trade your time directly for money, software scales. A web app can serve 10 users or 10,000 users with roughly the same amount of effort once the core product is built. | The Distribution Trap: Building the app is usually only 20% of the work; the other 80% is marketing. Many developers build a great product and assume users will find it magically. Proper SEO helps you reach real consumers. |
| Requires little investment: The financial barrier to entry is near zero. With open-source frameworks, free-tier cloud hosting (like Vercel, Netlify, or Supabase), and cheap domain names, you can launch a fully functional product for under £20. | Updates: A web app is a living ecosystem. You will inevitably have to deal with framework updates, deprecated third-party APIs, server outages, and bug reports. This isn’t an issue with simple web apps. |
| It is an asset: You are building something you own. A successful web app can generate recurring passive income for years. | Competition: Because the barrier to entry is so low, the web is heavily saturated. Almost every obvious problem already has multiple solutions, so you have to work harder to find a unique, underserved niche. |
Schedule Flexibility: You are your own boss. You can code at 2 AM or on a Sunday afternoon, making it perfectly suited to run alongside a demanding full-time job. | Customer Support: When users pay for a tool, they expect it to work flawlessly. Handling support emails and complaints can be stressful. |
Read: Step-by-step guide to building and monetising web apps.
4. YouTube Channel
Creating content on YouTube is by far the most popular way to earn money online.
We all know that making money on YouTube is possible, and obviously not rocket science, but there are some brutal facts that nobody talks about.
The YouTube algorithm is very demanding. YouTube requires consistency, patience, and creativity. Every day you need to show up, do the same shit, record, edit and publish.
Things don’t stop there. You also need to promote your videos on other platforms to get the initial traction.
If you are a one-man army, I bet you will burn out real soon.
Every successful creator you see on YouTube has people working for them. Some help with scriptwriting, recording, editing, etc.
Some top creators even have in-house marketing experts to promote their content across the internet.
I am not saying all this to discourage you; I want you to reconsider whether doing YouTube as a side hustle will be viable for you.
Pros and cons of starting a YouTube channel as a side hustle.
| Pros | Cons |
| Low barrier to entry: You don’t need a massive fund to get started. A good smartphone, natural window light, and free editing software (like CapCut or DaVinci Resolve) are more than enough for your first dozen videos. | Time investment: The amount of time it takes to research, script, film, edit, design a thumbnail, and optimise a title is almost always underestimated. Shit load of work you have to do every day. |
| You are the boss: You are the director, producer, and star. You get to talk about exactly what interests you, set your own upload schedule, and build a brand around your genuine passions. | High competition: Every broad topic (gaming, finance, fitness, tech) is heavily saturated. Standing out requires you to find a very specific micro-niche or bring a completely unique storytelling angle. |
| Compounding growth: A highly searchable video you make today can continue to generate ad revenue, affiliate sales, and sponsorships years down the line. | Algorithm dependence: Your growth is largely tied to a recommendation algorithm you don’t control. Building an audience on other platforms like Twitter and Instagram will reduce the dependency on the YouTube algorithm. |
| Networking: It lets you build a community of like-minded people worldwide and can open doors to unexpected collaborations and career opportunities. | Burnout risk: Balancing a full-time job, personal relationships, and the self-imposed pressure of a weekly upload schedule is exhausting. Creator burnout is incredibly common. |
If you still choose to create content on YouTube as a side hustle, I have some practical tips and a step-by-step beginner’s guide to help you get started.
Read: Step-by-step guide for starting a YouTube Channel
5. Affiliate Marketing on Reddit
Affiliate marketing is a great option to make money online. In this article, I will not cover the basics of traditional affiliate marketing; instead, I will focus on how you can promote affiliate products and services on Reddit.
If you’ve researched this topic, you will find that affiliate marketing on Reddit is very hard because people on Reddit hate marketers.
In Neil Patel’s words, Redditors can smell marketers miles away.
Many subreddits have rules specifically meant to prevent people from posting affiliate links without prior permission from Reddit moderators.
As the saying goes, if there is will, there is a way.
In this article, you’ll learn how easy it is to promote an affiliate product/service on Reddit.
First, let’s look at some pros and cons of promoting affiliate products and services on Reddit.
| Pros | Cons |
| Targeted Audience: With over 100,000 active subreddits, you can find a dedicated community for almost any niche, from personal finance to software and obscure hobbies. | Scepticism: Redditors have a legendary hatred for spam and traditional marketing. If you sound like a salesperson, your post will be aggressively downvoted or permanently banned from the subreddit. |
| High Intent and Trust: When users ask questions on Reddit, they are actively looking for solutions. If you provide a genuinely helpful answer that includes a relevant product, conversion rates can be exceptionally high. | 90/10 Rule: You cannot just drop links and leave. Reddit’s unwritten rule is that 90% of your activity must be genuine community participation, while only 10% can be promotional. This doesn’t apply to the method I’ll cover in this article. |
| Cost-Effective Traffic: You do not need a massive ad budget to get started. Authentic, high-quality posts can rank well both on Reddit and on Google search results for free. | You Do Not Own the Audience: When you build a following on a blog or through an email list, you control that audience. On Reddit, you are entirely at the mercy of the platform. |
| Feedback: Engaging with a community helps you understand exactly what your target audience is struggling with; you can then refine your marketing strategy. | Competitors: Reddit is an open forum, which means your competitors are watching. Competitors often maliciously report your posts/comments to moderators as “spam” to get you banned and clear the field for themselves. |
Now that you understand both the pros and cons, let’s move to the step-by-step guide for promoting affiliate products and services on Reddit.
Read: Step-by-step guide for doing affiliate marketing on Reddit
6. Mobile Apps
Thousands, if not millions, of apps exist for both Android and iOS, and people download and use them every day for business, productivity, communication, and entertainment.
Both corporate and independent developers are generating an insane amount of money from mobile apps.
Unlike web apps, which we discussed earlier in this article, building and maintaining mobile apps is not easy.
You need strong coding experience and must be willing to spend hundreds of hours building a high-quality mobile app.
Building and publishing the app on app stores like the Play Store and the Apple App Store is just a part of the puzzle.
You need to monitor the KPI, improve the app, fix bugs and vulnerabilities, and, of course, drive downloads.
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this to people who aren’t very skilled in coding or who have a full-time job; they won’t be able to do everything by themselves.
To start building mobile apps as a side hustle, you need to meet these requirements.
- Must have coding skills.
- You must have at least £100 to £500 for the initial investment. You will need to pay for a developer license, and if you use cloud infrastructure for the backend, that also costs money.
- You must have experience marketing the app. This is way more important than the previous 2 requirements. Even if you publish a high-quality mobile app, if nobody uses it, you won’t make a dime.
Pros and cons of building mobile apps as a side hustle
| Pros | Cons |
| Scalable Revenue: A successful app monetised via ads, in-app purchases, or subscriptions generates income 24/7. | Brutal Competition: The stores are aggressively crowded. Standing out organically is rare; success usually requires a dedicated marketing budget or finding an extremely underserved, hyper-specific niche. |
| Low Financial Investment: Beyond developer account fees £99/year for Apple, a one-time £25 fee for Google and basic server costs, your primary investment is just your time. | High Maintenance: API’s and libraries depreciate over time. You must constantly push updates to support new OS versions, patch security vulnerabilities, and fix bugs. |
| Global Distribution: The iOS App Store and Google Play instantly put your app in front of billions of smartphones without requiring you to build a distribution pipeline. | Taxes and Gatekeeping: Apple and Google take a 15-30% cut of your revenue. You also have to navigate their strict, sometimes unpredictable review guidelines, which can delay or reject your launch. |
| Multiple Revenue Options: You are not locked into one business model; you can seamlessly pivot between one-time purchases, subscription tiers, ad placements, or even sponsorships to see what maximises your revenue. | Churn Rates: Driving downloads is only the beginning. The average mobile app loses nearly 90% of its daily active users within the first 30 days. Keeping users engaged long-term requires constant content updates, push notifications, and feature releases. |
After going through the pros and cons, I hope you understand how much effort it takes to build and maintain a mobile app.
Read: A step-by-step guide to building mobile apps.
7. Digital Products on Envato
Building and maintaining software, websites, apps, and extensions from scratch isn’t viable for small and medium businesses, so they rely on marketplaces like CodeCanyon.
Envato owns several marketplaces, including CodeCanyon, ThemeForest, AudioJungle, GraphicRiver, VideoHive, and more.
Basically, they are like Amazon and eBay but for digital products only. Individuals, businesses and agencies buy from these marketplaces.
You might already know how to create and sell digital products, but here I am talking specifically about selling through Envato-owned marketplaces.
Why Envato?
You might wonder why I can’t just list the product on my website or social media and sell it, or use platforms like Gumroad.
As I mentioned before, these marketplaces are like Amazon; they have a solid reputation around the world, they have millions of buyers, and they do all the heavy lifting for you, like handling payments, disputes, taxes, invoicing, licensing and insane exposure for the product you sell on their marketplaces.
When we buy anything on Amazon or eBay, we rarely think before entering our card details; we trust these e-commerce sites with our money.
If you sell items on your website, buyers often doubt product quality and after-sales support, and worry about getting scammed. They don’t know you, so they don’t trust you with their money.
When you list your item on marketplaces like CodeCanyon, that same buyer will buy your product without thinking too much because they’ve already bought several things from that marketplace; for them, it is like shopping for groceries. They know that if anything goes wrong, Envato will take care of it.
As with any marketplace or platform, selling your products through Envato also has a few downsides. One of the most disappointing things is their fees. They charge a whopping 50% per sale.
I know it sounds crazy; that’s why authors sell via Envato and on their personal website at the same time. You too can do that exactly.
Before we dig deeper, let me list the popular digital products which you can sell online.
Themes for WordPress, PHP Scripts, Mobile app code for both iOS and Android, HTML Templates, UI/UX Kits for both mobile app and web, HTML5 Games, WordPress Plugins, Project Templates for Premiere PRO, Final Cut Pro, and Adobe After Effects, Stock Footage, Royalty-Free Music, Sound Effects, Print templates, Vectors and Graphics, Stock Photos, 3D Models, 3D Printing Files, and Game Assets.
If you are good at creating any of the above digital products, you can sell them on Envato and make a shit load of money.
Note: I intentionally excluded ebooks and online courses because Envato-owned marketplaces don’t support them. If you wish to sell ebooks and other stuff, you may need to sell them on other marketplaces.
As usual, let’s look at the pros and cons of selling digital products as a side hustle.
| Pros | Cons |
| Profit Margin: Because you only create the product once, the cost of replication and delivery is near zero. No manufacturing, warehousing, or shipping costs eat into your profits. | Competition: Because barriers to entry are low, you will likely face significant competition in popular niches. Standing out requires strong branding and marketing. |
| Passive Income: Once you build and automate your digital asset (like software, templates, or plugins), customers can purchase and download it 24/7 without your active involvement. | Piracy and Theft: Digital files are easy to copy. Intellectual property theft, unauthorised sharing, and piracy are constant risks you must manage with secure platforms. |
| Global Reach: With the internet, your potential customer base is worldwide. Anyone in any time zone can buy and access your product instantly. | Customer Support: Customers may struggle to download files, install software, or understand how to use your product, so you’ll need clear documentation or a help desk. |
| Flexibility: You can run this business from anywhere with an internet connection, work on your own schedule, and pivot your offerings easily. | Updates: Depending on the niche (like software, tech guides, or marketing strategies), digital products can become outdated quickly, forcing you to maintain and revise them. |
Read: A Step-by-step guide for selling digital products as a side hustle
8. 3D Printing & Services
If you are not living under a rock, you know the trend of using a 3D printer to make all sorts of useful or unnecessary stuff.
Creators worldwide are using 3D printing not just to make stuff, but to record time-lapse videos for social media.
There are several ways you can use a 3D printer to make money as a side hustle.
- Sell 3D print files
- Sell 3D printed items
- Sell 3D design services.
- Sell 3D scanning services if you can afford to buy a scanner.
- Create time-lapse videos for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.
- 3D design courses.
If you are interested, click the link below to read a relevant step-by-step guide
Read:
Step-by-step guide for selling 3D print files
Step-by-step guide for selling 3D printed items
Step-by-step guide for selling 3D design services.
Step-by-step guide for offering 3D scanning services
Step-by-step guide for creating time-lapse videos of 3D printing and publishing them on social media.
Step-by-step guide for selling 3D design courses.
Here are some general pros and cons of making money with a 3D printer.
| Pros | Cons |
| Low Barrier to Entry: A highly capable, modern entry-level printer and a few rolls of PLA filament can get you fully up and running for under £300. | Maintenance: You will inevitably spend time dealing with clogged nozzles, tangled filament, bed adhesion issues, and failed prints. |
| Profit margins: A standard 1kg spool of filament costs around £15–£25 and can yield dozens of items. A custom tool or desk toy that costs £0.80 in raw plastic might easily sell for £10 to £15. | Licensing rules: You cannot legally sell prints of copyrighted characters or models you simply downloaded for free online. You must either design your own files or pay for commercial licenses |
| Production: Once a print starts and the critical first layer goes down successfully, the machine does the heavy lifting. You can run long prints overnight or while at your day job. | Aggressive Competition: Because it is cheap to start, marketplaces like Etsy are flooded with identical items like articulated dragons and basic planters. You have to find a specific, unique niche to stand out. |
| Zero inventory risk: You operate purely on-demand. No need to place bulk orders from overseas factories or store boxes of unsold product in your garage. | Post-Processing: Prints rarely come off the bed ready to sell. Removing support structures, sanding away rough layer lines, chemically smoothing surfaces, or painting pieces can take longer than the print itself. |
Earning Potential: As I have mentioned, there are 6 ways you can make money with 3D Printing and Services. Regardless of which option you choose, you could expect to make anywhere between £10 and £500 per month initially; as you grow, you could scale it.
Wrapping up
Offering 3D printing and related services is a great side hustle. You will have full control over design, manufacturing, and selling end products or the design files.
You can start by creating cool gadgets and showing them to friends and neighbours; if they find them useful and interesting, they could become your first paying customers, and soon others will find out about your work, which could snowball your growth.
9. Internet Bots
Internet bots have a very bad reputation because of their aggressive scraping and other illegitimate actions, but many useful bots work 24/7 fully autonomously, helping people around the world.
Some developers make little to no money from the bots they made, while others rack up wealth by offering paid APIs and selling data to businesses. I am against selling data, but there are many other ethical ways to monetise Internet bots.
If you use Telegram, you’ve probably come across Telegram bots at some point. These bots are hosted to work in Telegram. Before we dig into the technical stuff, I would like to mention a few popular bots so you can get a sense of the topic.
Pingdom / Uptime Bots: These bots are widely used by web developers to keep tracking the website uptime and get alert if any site or instances goes down.
10. Online Tutoring
Thanks a lot for taking the time to read my article. I hope you found it interesting and useful.
Join my community, Mount Hustle Society, to access exclusive resources that can kick-start your side hustle and get genuine support when you need it. You will also be able to connect with like-minded people and network with them to fast-track your business growth.
Benefits of Mount Hustle Society Membership
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Reddit Marketing Guide: A must-have guide for anyone who wants to do self-promotion on Reddit.
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