What is the best side hustle?

The best side hustle fits the hours you have and uses something you already have, like a skill, a car or a spare room. If you need money soon, local work and gig apps pay the fastest. If you want it to grow, sell a skill or build something you own, like a newsletter or a course.

What side hustle pays the most?

Skills pay the most per hour: on Upwork, the median rate is $100 an hour for business coaches and $90 for AI developers. Local work pays less per hour but starts faster, from about $17 to $24 an hour by BLS medians. The table in this guide ranks the side hustles by what they pay per hour.

How much do side hustles make?

The median side hustler in the US makes $200 a month, and the average is $885, according to Bankrate. Most people earn a little, and a few earn a lot. The ones who earn the most sell a skill at a good price or build something they own.

What side hustles can I start with no money?

Testing websites, helping train AI, transcription, pet sitting, tutoring and most freelance skills cost nothing to start. Delivery apps need only the car you already have. Every idea in this guide shows what it costs to start.

Can I have a side hustle with a full-time job?

Yes, most side hustles in this guide fit evenings and weekends, and many let you pick your own hours. Check your employment contract for rules on outside work and conflicts of interest. Start with a few hours a week, and add more only when it pays.

Do I have to pay taxes on side hustle income?

Yes, in the US side hustle income is taxable, whether it comes through an app, a marketplace or cash. If your net self-employment earnings reach $400 in a year, you also owe self-employment tax of 15.3%. Keep records from your first sale, and check with an accountant as your income grows.

What side hustles can I do from home?

Freelance skills like writing, design, bookkeeping and video editing all work from home. So do testing websites, helping train AI and selling digital products. Renting a room on Airbnb earns from home too.

Can teenagers have a side hustle?

Yes, but many platforms set age rules. Upwork requires you to be 18, while Fiverr and Etsy let 13 to 17 year olds sell through a parent's account. Local jobs like babysitting, pet sitting, yard work and tutoring don't need a platform account, so they're easier to start young.

How fast can a side hustle make money?

Gig apps and local jobs can pay in your first week, since you're paid per task. Freelancing pays as soon as you land your first client. An audience or a product usually takes months before it pays well.

Are side hustle apps legit?

The big ones are real companies that pay, like Instacart, Amazon Flex, UserTesting and Upwork. Avoid any app or job that asks you to pay first to unlock work or bigger payouts. Real side hustles never ask you to pay to get paid.

70 side hustle ideas for 2026, with what each pays

70 side hustle ideas, from delivery apps and local jobs to freelance skills and AI, each with what it pays from a real source, how to start and the tools to use.

by Navid Moazzez·Updated 3.10.2026·75 min read·

This is a list of 70 side hustle ideas, with what each one pays and how to start.

I started with one myself. In 2013 I had a part-time job at a bank and a blog I worked on at night, and my first online sale was a $65 affiliate commission. A year later, my first virtual summit brought in over $20,000, and I quit the bank on November 28, 2014.

Most side hustles pay a lot less than that, and that's fine. The median side hustler in the US makes $200 a month (Bankrate, 2025). So every idea below shows what it pays, with the source, how fast you get paid and who can do it.

In this guide, you'll learn:

What a side hustle is, and what most people really make from one
How my side hustle became my full-time work
70 side hustle ideas in six groups, each with what it pays from a real source, how fast it pays, how to start, the tools and the mistakes to avoid
The side hustles that pay the most per hour
How side hustle income is taxed in the US

Pick the group that matches what you have today: free hours, a car, a skill, something to sell, an audience or an interest in AI.

key_takeaways.md

TL;DR

Key takeaways

27% of US adults have a side hustle. The median one pays $200 a month, and the average is $885 (Bankrate, 2025).

The quickest side hustles are apps and local jobs that pay per task, like delivery and pet sitting. Amazon says most of its Flex drivers earn $18 to $25 an hour.

The best-paying side hustles sell a skill. On Upwork, grant writers charge a median of $50 an hour and AI developers $90.

In the US, side hustle income is taxable, and self-employment tax applies once your net earnings reach $400 a year (IRS).

Start one side hustle that fits your hours, and add a second only when the first one pays.

What is a side hustle?

A side hustle is work you do outside your main job for extra income. You choose when you work, and you can stop when you want. That's what makes it different from a second job with a fixed schedule.

Most side hustles fall into one of five kinds:

Gig apps: you take jobs through an app, like delivering groceries or testing websites, and get paid per task.
Local services: you work for people near you, like pet sitting, cleaning or tutoring.
Freelance skills: you sell a skill online, like writing, design or bookkeeping, to clients anywhere.
Things you sell: you sell products, from resold finds to printables and handmade goods.
An audience or a business: you build something that earns while it grows, like a channel, a newsletter or a course.

Here's what side hustlers in the US really make, by Bankrate's numbers:

of US adults have a side hustle

27%

Bankrate survey of 2,616 adults, June 2025

a month, the median side hustle income

$200

Half earn more, half earn less

a month, the average side hustle income

$885

A few high earners pull it up

of side hustlers make $1 to $50 a month

28%

Bankrate, 2025

The gap between the median and the average says it all: most people earn a little, and a few earn a lot. The ones who earn a lot usually sell a skill at a good price or build something they own.

How my side hustle became my full-time work

I didn't plan to quit. My blog was a side project, and I learned online marketing by interviewing people who were better at it than me.

Then I hosted my first virtual summit, The Branding Summit, in 2014. It made over $20,000, and on launch day alone I made over $5,000 in all-access pass sales. That was the day I quit my bank job.

The Branding Summit all-access pass sales

Since then, summits, courses, affiliate promotions and consulting have paid my way while I've lived in Cancun, Barcelona, London and now Panama City. My full numbers are in my guide to 108 ways to make money online.

The lesson I took from it: a side hustle grows when you put the money and the hours back into it, and you quit when it already pays.

Find your side hustle in two minutes

Answer six questions about your skills, time and budget, and get your top three side hustles with a plan for your first week.