The 100 Side Hustles Mentioned Most on YouTube and Side Hustle Blogs

The same side hustles come up over and over in YouTube videos and side hustle blogs, from DoorDash and Rover to vending machines and faceless YouTube channels. This list pulls together the 100 that get mentioned most, grouped by type, along with the details those videos tend to gloss over: platform fees, licensing rules, and how much competition already exists. Some of these hold up well as side income, and a few are popular mostly because they make for an appealing video.

Gig apps and on-demand work

1. Food delivery: DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub show up on nearly every list because signup is fast and you pick your own hours. Gas, mileage, and wear on the car come out of what you earn, so working lunch and dinner peaks in a busy area matters more than total hours logged.
2. Rideshare driving: Uber and Lyft pay more per trip than food delivery but come with vehicle age and inspection requirements. Personal auto policies often exclude rideshare driving, so most drivers add a rideshare endorsement to cover the gaps.
3. Grocery shopping and delivery: Instacart and Shipt pay shoppers to pick orders in-store and deliver them. Large orders with heavy items tend to pay more, and tips make up a big share of earnings.
4. Amazon Flex: Drivers claim blocks of package deliveries and use their own vehicle. The good blocks get claimed quickly, so how much work is available depends heavily on the local delivery station.
5. Courier and large-item delivery: Roadie and GoShare pay drivers to haul things that don’t fit the usual delivery apps, like a dresser from a store or a Facebook Marketplace pickup. Larger jobs require a pickup truck, cargo van, or box truck, and loading heavy items is part of the work.
6. TaskRabbit: Furniture assembly, TV mounting, and small moves are the most common jobs. Taskers pay a one-time $25 registration fee in many cities and keep 100% of their posted rate plus tips, since TaskRabbit charges its fees to the client. California Taskers also have to provide a business license.
7. Moving help: Apps like Dolly and Lugg pay for loading and unloading labor, and plenty of moving work also comes through Craigslist and local Facebook groups. Owning a truck opens up the better-paying jobs.
8. Event and hospitality shifts: Instawork and Qwick fill single shifts at catering events, banquets, and restaurants. Serving alcohol requires certification in some states; California has required RBS certification for alcohol servers since 2022.

Local services and odd jobs

9. House cleaning: Recurring biweekly clients are the goal, since one-off deep cleans take more time to quote and book. Many clients expect cleaners to bring supplies and carry liability insurance, and some cities require a basic business license.
10. Airbnb turnover cleaning: Short-term rental hosts need the unit cleaned and restocked between guests, usually within a few hours of checkout. The work repeats as long as the host stays booked, and the busiest days line up with weekends and holidays.
11. Pressure washing: One of the most popular YouTube side hustles, since driveways and siding can pay well for a few hours of work. Cheap consumer machines struggle with real jobs, too much pressure damages wood and siding, and many cities restrict letting wash water run into storm drains.
12. Lawn care: Mowing, edging, and leaf cleanup are easy to start with used equipment and a vehicle that can haul it. Spraying weed killer for pay is regulated in many states; California requires a qualified applicator certificate and a Maintenance Gardener license even for occasional herbicide use.
13. Snow removal: Shoveling and plowing pay well during storms and nothing during dry spells. Slip-and-fall liability is the main risk, so people with multiple clients usually carry insurance and agree in advance on what counts as cleared.
14. Mobile car detailing: Detailers work in the customer’s driveway or office parking lot with their own supplies. Water access and runoff rules limit where you can work, which is why many mobile detailers use waterless or rinseless products.
15. Window cleaning: Residential window cleaning needs squeegees, extension poles, and ladders. Second-story ladder work carries most of the risk, and some cleaners stick to single-story homes until they’re insured.
16. Trash can cleaning: These businesses get a lot of YouTube attention for their recurring monthly routes. Doing it properly takes hot water, a pressure washer, and a way to capture dirty water, which usually means a dedicated trailer rig and a real upfront investment.
17. Pet waste removal: Weekly yard cleanup for dog owners is a low-cost recurring service that many people skip over because of the job itself. Clustering clients in the same neighborhood keeps driving time down, and pricing usually depends on the number of dogs and visit frequency.
18. Junk removal: Hauling furniture, yard debris, and garage cleanouts requires a truck or trailer. Dump fees come out of every job, and mattresses, electronics, and appliances often have separate disposal rules and fees.
19. Holiday light installation: Installers put lights up in November and take them down in January, and many charge for both trips. Roof and ladder work makes insurance important, and the season is short.
20. Handyman work: Patching drywall, swapping fixtures, and hanging doors are in steady demand. Licensing rules vary by state; California allows unlicensed work only on jobs under $1,000 total (labor and materials) that need no permit or hired help, and Arizona and Nevada use similar $1,000 limits.
21. Personal training: Clients and gyms expect a certification such as NASM, ACE, or ACSM, plus liability insurance. Many commercial gyms don’t allow outside trainers, so independent trainers often work in clients’ homes, parks, or online.
22. Photography: Portraits, events, and real estate are the usual starting points. Real estate photographers who fly drones need an FAA Part 107 certificate, and the portrait market is crowded enough that a strong portfolio matters more than gear.
23. Notary and loan signing agent: A state notary commission lets you notarize documents for a state-capped fee (California caps it at $15 per signature). The better-paying version is loan signing, where notaries handle mortgage closing paperwork for roughly $75 to $200 per signing, with volume rising and falling with the housing market.

Pets, kids, and homes

24. Dog walking: Rover and Wag are the usual starting points, and Rover takes a 20% service fee from US sitters. Building a cluster of clients in one neighborhood matters, since a single 30-minute walk across town loses much of its value to travel time.
25. Pet sitting and boarding: Drop-in visits and overnight stays usually pay more per booking than walks. Boarding dogs at home requires a home and lease that allow it, and many rental leases don’t.
26. Babysitting: Care.com and word of mouth are the main sources of jobs. CPR and first aid certification help with getting booked, and regular after-school or date-night families provide steadier income than one-off jobs.
27. House sitting: Paid house sitting usually comes bundled with pet care. TrustedHousesitters, which appears on a lot of these lists, is an exchange where sitters get free lodging instead of pay, so it’s better for travel than income.

Teaching

28. Tutoring: Math, science, and test prep pay the most, and many tutors build a local client base through schools and parent groups before relying on a platform. Demand peaks before finals and test dates and drops in summer.
29. Music lessons: Musicians teach at home, in students’ homes, or online. Lessons are usually weekly and recurring, which makes income predictable once the schedule fills, and some local music stores hire teachers or rent out lesson rooms.
30. Teaching English online: The large China-based platforms that YouTube videos promoted a few years ago mostly shut down after China’s 2021 tutoring crackdown. Most of the work now goes through marketplaces like Preply and Cambly, where pay is lower and tutors compete globally.

Freelance services online

31. Freelance writing: Blog posts, articles, and website copy are the usual entry point. Content mill work has shrunk as businesses use AI for generic posts, so writers with real knowledge of fields like finance, health, or software tend to keep the better clients.
32. Copywriting: Copywriting is writing meant to sell, like landing pages, email sequences, and ads. Clients judge copywriters by results, so samples tied to conversions or revenue carry more weight than a polished bio.
33. Editing and proofreading: Students, businesses, and self-published authors hire editors for everything from essays to full manuscripts. Specializing in one format, like academic papers, business reports, or novels, makes it easier to stand out in a crowded field.
34. Virtual assistant: VAs handle email, scheduling, customer messages, and admin work for busy professionals and small businesses. US-based VAs compete with overseas VAs who charge less, so the ones who do well usually specialize in an industry or a specific tool.
35. Social media management: Local businesses hire freelancers to plan, post, and respond on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Clients often expect quick growth, so setting clear expectations about what organic posting can do avoids early cancellations.
36. Graphic design: Logos, social graphics, menus, and flyers are the common jobs. Canva lets businesses handle simple designs themselves, which pushes paid work toward branding, packaging, and projects that need real design judgment.
37. Web design: Small businesses still need sites on WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, or Wix. Monthly maintenance and update retainers often pay more over time than the initial build.
38. Freelance coding: Developers find projects on Upwork and through referrals. Upwork charges freelancers a variable 0% to 15% fee per contract, and each proposal costs Connects (about $0.15 apiece), so landing the first contract can take some upfront spending.
39. Video editing: YouTubers, podcasters, and businesses hire editors for long-form videos, short clips, and ads. A capable computer and a portfolio are the main requirements, and creators who find an editor who matches their style tend to keep them for months.
40. Voice-over: Common work includes e-learning narration, explainer videos, ads, and audiobooks through ACX. AI voices are taking over a lot of low-budget narration, so paid human work is shifting toward commercials, characters, and audiobooks where performance matters.
41. Transcription: General transcription has been hit hard by speech-to-text tools, and beginner platform work often works out to less than $10 an hour. Legal, medical, and academic transcription pay better because accuracy standards are higher, and those niches usually require training.
42. Translation: Bilingual freelancers translate documents, websites, and subtitles. A growing share of the work is editing machine translation output, which pays less per word than translating from scratch, while certified document translation and specialized legal or medical work hold up better.
43. Bookkeeping: Bookkeepers usually work on monthly retainers for small businesses, and catch-up projects for owners who fell behind before tax season are common. No license is required, though clients want to see solid working knowledge of QuickBooks or Xero.
44. Seasonal tax preparation: Paid preparers need an IRS PTIN, and a few states add their own requirements. California requires a 60-hour qualifying course, a $5,000 bond, a background check, and CTEC registration before preparing returns for pay. Many people start by working a season at a tax prep chain.
45. Resume writing: Resume writing is usually sold as a package with a cover letter and LinkedIn profile. Work comes from referrals, LinkedIn, and freelance marketplaces, and before-and-after samples (with personal details removed) are the main sales tool.
46. Remote customer service: Home-based customer service roles come as part-time W-2 jobs or 1099 contract work. Holiday-season hiring is a common way in, and contract programs that charge for their own training deserve a close look before signing up.
47. Data entry: Data entry appears on almost every beginner list, but legitimate postings are scarce and low-paying, and it’s one of the most common covers for job scams. Any offer that sends a check to buy equipment or asks you to forward money is a scam.
48. Consulting in your field: People with experience in marketing, HR, finance, IT, or operations sell hourly advice or short projects to small businesses. Rates tend to be higher than general freelancing because clients are paying for judgment, and work usually comes through former coworkers and LinkedIn.

Content creation

49. YouTube channel: Ad revenue requires 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours in a year or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. YouTube has announced those numbers double to 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views for new applicants starting February 1, 2027. Sponsorships often end up paying more than ads.
50. Faceless YouTube channels: These channels use voiceovers, stock footage, or screen recordings instead of an on-camera host. YouTube updated its “inauthentic content” policy in July 2025, and channels uploading mass-produced or repetitive videos (common with AI-generated faceless content) risk losing monetization.
51. TikTok: The Creator Rewards Program requires 10,000 followers, 100,000 views in the last 30 days, and videos longer than one minute. Payouts are commonly reported at around $0.40 to $1.00 per 1,000 qualified views, so most TikTok income comes from brand deals, affiliate links, and TikTok Shop.
52. UGC creation: User-generated content creators make product videos that brands run as ads or post on their own accounts, so a big following isn’t required. Work comes from creator marketplaces and from pitching brands directly, and a portfolio of sample videos is the main requirement.
53. Blogging: Blogs earn through display ads and affiliate links. Ad networks have lowered their entry points (Mediavine’s Journey program now accepts sites at 1,000 monthly sessions, and Raptive starts at 25,000 monthly pageviews), but Google’s AI answers have cut into search traffic, which makes new blogs slower to grow.
54. Newsletters: beehiiv and Substack let writers earn through paid subscriptions and sponsorships, and Substack keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue. Growing the list is the hard part, and sponsors look closely at open rates and who the readers are.
55. Podcasting: Podcasts earn through sponsorships, listener support, and video versions on YouTube. Most shows never reach the download numbers sponsors want, so podcasting works best as a long-term project or as a way to support another business.
56. Affiliate marketing: Affiliates earn commissions when people buy through their links. Amazon Associates is the most common starting program, pays a few percent in most categories, and closes accounts that don’t produce three qualifying sales within 180 days. The FTC requires disclosing affiliate links.
57. Twitch streaming: Twitch lowered its Affiliate requirements in 2026 to 25 followers, 4 hours streamed across 4 different days, and an average of 3 viewers. Reaching Affiliate is the easy part; meaningful income depends on a loyal audience that subscribes and donates.

Digital products

58. Printables on Etsy: Planners, wall art, worksheets, and party templates sell as instant downloads. Etsy charges $0.20 per listing, a 6.5% transaction fee, and payment processing on each sale, and the category is crowded enough that niche topics and original designs matter more than volume.
59. Digital templates: Canva templates, Notion setups, and spreadsheet trackers sell on Etsy, Gumroad, and creators’ own sites. Canva’s license allows selling templates as shareable template links, but not reselling its stock elements on their own.
60. Print on demand: Printful, Redbubble, and Amazon’s Merch on Demand print shirts, mugs, and posters as orders come in, so there’s no inventory. Merch on Demand is application-only and starts new sellers with 10 design slots, and trademarked phrases and copyrighted characters are the fastest way to get designs pulled or an account suspended.
61. Self-publishing on Amazon KDP: Ebooks priced $2.99 to $9.99 earn a 70% royalty, and paperbacks priced $9.99 or more earn 60% of list price minus printing. Low-content books like journals and puzzle books were pushed hard on YouTube and are now saturated, and KDP requires disclosing AI-generated text, images, or translations.
62. Online courses: Courses sell on Udemy, Teachable, Kajabi, or a creator’s own site. Udemy keeps prices low and takes a large share of marketplace sales, so creators who earn well from courses usually sell to an audience they built themselves.
63. Stock photos and video: Photographers upload to Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, and similar sites for per-download royalties. Per-download pay is small and AI images now compete with generic shots, so footage of specific real places and events tends to hold its value better.
64. Website flipping: Buyers purchase small content sites or online stores on marketplaces like Flippa, improve them, and resell. Traffic can drop overnight after a Google update, so a seller’s traffic and revenue claims need verifying before any purchase.
65. Dropshipping: Store owners sell products that a supplier ships directly to the customer. Ad costs, long shipping times, and refunds eat most of the margin for beginners, and payment processors can hold funds when chargebacks pile up.

Reselling and flipping

66. Selling your own stuff: Decluttering clothes, electronics, and furniture is the lowest-risk way to learn reselling, since the inventory is already paid for. It’s also a quick way to learn which platforms sell well in your area.
67. Thrift flipping clothes: Resellers buy at thrift stores and sell on Depop, Poshmark, eBay, and Mercari. Depop dropped its selling fee for US sellers in 2024 and now charges only payment processing (3.3% plus $0.45), making it one of the cheaper places to sell clothing.
68. Retail arbitrage: Resellers buy clearance and discounted items in stores and resell them, often on Amazon. Many brands and categories on Amazon are gated, and approval requires invoices from authorized distributors, so retail receipts won’t unlock them.
69. Amazon FBA: Sellers ship inventory to Amazon warehouses and Amazon handles shipping and returns. A Professional seller account costs $39.99 a month, and storage fees, fulfillment fees, and advertising add up, so private label products usually take thousands in inventory before you know whether one works.
70. Furniture flipping: Flippers buy used furniture cheaply, refinish or repaint it, and sell on Facebook Marketplace. It takes a vehicle that can haul furniture and space to work, and painted pieces sell best when the finish looks professional.
71. Sneaker reselling: Limited releases still resell above retail, but bots, raffles, and more competition have narrowed margins. StockX and GOAT charge seller fees on top of shipping, so profit depends on buying at retail or below.
72. Trading cards: Pokémon, sports cards, and Magic: The Gathering are the most traded. Grading through companies like PSA can raise a card’s value, but fees and turnaround times mean it only makes sense for cards worth well above the cost.
73. Book flipping: Library sales, thrift stores, and estate sales are the usual sources, with scanning apps used to check resale value. Textbooks and niche nonfiction resell best, while most fiction paperbacks sell for very little.
74. Electronics flipping: Phones, game consoles, and laptops sell quickly but carry the most fraud risk. Checking for activation locks and running a phone’s IMEI for blacklist or financing status before buying protects against ending up with something that can’t be resold.
75. Liquidation pallets: Pallets of returns and overstock sell through liquidation sites and bin stores. Manifests are often incomplete and items may be broken or missing parts, so first purchases should be small enough to absorb a loss.
76. Car flipping: Buying underpriced cars, fixing them, and reselling can pay well but ties up real money in each flip. Most states cap how many cars a person can sell in 12 months without a dealer license (Arizona allows six), and selling past that limit is known as curbstoning.
77. Curb finds and free listings: Items left on the curb or posted in the free sections of Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist get cleaned up and resold. Buy Nothing groups get mentioned as a source too, but those groups generally ask members not to resell what they’re given.

Making and selling things

78. Handmade jewelry and crafts: Jewelry, keychains, and small crafts sell on Etsy, at craft fairs, and through Instagram. Etsy’s standard fees run about 10% per sale, and Offsite Ads add 15% on sales they drive for shops under $10,000 a year, though those shops can opt out.
79. Candles: Candle making is cheap to start and very competitive. Wax and fragrance costs, test burns, and product liability insurance all factor into pricing, and candles are heavy enough that shipping costs matter.
80. Soap and skincare: True soap sold only as soap is regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Lotions, balms, and soaps marketed for skin benefits are cosmetics under FDA rules, and claims like “treats eczema” make a product a drug. Cosmetics makers under $1 million in sales skip FDA facility registration but still have labeling and adverse-event obligations.
81. Baking under cottage food laws: Every state has its own cottage food law covering what can be sold from a home kitchen. These laws generally allow shelf-stable items like cookies, breads, and candy and exclude anything needing refrigeration, such as cheesecake or cream-filled cakes. California requires a county registration or permit and limits sellers to an approved foods list.
82. Selling home-cooked meals: Most states don’t allow selling full meals made at home. California’s MEHKO program does, with a limit of 30 meals a day and 90 a week, but only in counties and cities that have opted in, and it requires a permit, an inspection, and a food manager certification.
83. Custom shirts and tumblers: Cricut machines, heat presses, and sublimation printers are popular for personalized shirts, tumblers, and gifts. Custom orders for weddings, reunions, and local teams tend to be steadier than generic designs, and licensed logos and characters are off-limits without permission.
84. Laser engraving: Diode and CO2 lasers engrave wood, leather, tumblers, and signs. They produce smoke and fumes that need real ventilation, and Etsy now requires laser-made items to be based on the seller’s own designs.
85. Art commissions: Artists sell pet portraits, custom illustrations, and graphics for streamers and small brands. Taking a deposit up front and putting revision limits in writing prevents most of the payment problems commission artists run into.

Renting out what you own

86. Renting a room on Airbnb: A spare room can bring in more per night than a long-term roommate in many areas, in exchange for cleaning and guest management. Many cities require short-term rental registration or cap nights per year, and renters usually need landlord permission.
87. Renting your car on Turo: Hosts keep 70% to 90% of the trip price depending on the earnings plan they choose, and the higher-earning plans leave the host responsible for more damage costs. Mileage and depreciation add up quickly on a daily driver.
88. Renting storage or parking space: Neighbor and similar apps connect people who have garage space, driveways, or parking spots with renters. Leases and HOA rules sometimes prohibit it, so checking first avoids a dispute.
89. Vending machines: Vending gets a lot of YouTube attention as passive income. The actual work is finding locations, paying the location a commission, restocking, and fixing machines, and margins on any single machine are thin.
90. Party rentals: Bounce houses, tables and chairs, and photo booths rent out on weekends. Liability insurance is a major cost, many parks and venues require proof of it, and the equipment needs storage space.

Apps, studies, and quick cash

91. Online surveys: Most survey sites pay a few dollars an hour once screen-outs are counted. Prolific is the main exception, since it requires researchers to pay at least $8 an hour and recommends $12.
92. Website and app testing: UserTesting, Userlytics, and similar sites pay for recorded feedback on websites and apps. Screener questions filter out most testers for any given test, so earnings come in sporadically.
93. AI training: DataAnnotation, Outlier, and similar platforms pay people to write and evaluate AI responses. DataAnnotation’s general projects start around $20 an hour and coding or STEM work around $40, but project availability can change without notice.
94. Paid research studies: User Interviews and Respondent post paid interviews and focus groups, and Respondent says most sessions pay $50 to $250. Each study requires a short screener application, and acceptance rates are low.
95. Mystery shopping: Shoppers visit stores or restaurants, follow instructions, and file a report, usually for a small fee plus reimbursement. Any mystery shopping offer that involves depositing a check and wiring money or buying gift cards is a scam.
96. Cashback apps: Rakuten, Ibotta, and card-linked offers return a percentage of what you spend. They save money on purchases you’d make anyway, so they only make sense for planned spending.
97. Bank account bonuses: Banks pay $100 to $500 or more for opening an account and meeting a direct deposit requirement. Bonuses count as taxable interest on a 1099-INT, and opening many accounts in a short period can get applications denied through ChexSystems.
98. Plasma donation: Plasma centers pay donors, often with higher payments during the first month. FDA rules allow donating up to twice in a seven-day period with at least 48 hours between visits, and each visit takes an hour or more.
99. Clinical trials: Paid medical studies range from short outpatient visits to multi-night inpatient stays, and the overnight Phase 1 trials pay the most. Screening is strict, and the consent documents spell out the risks and time commitment.
100. Car wrap advertising: Legitimate car ad programs exist but are selective and usually want drivers who log a lot of miles in specific cities. Unsolicited texts and emails offering several hundred dollars a week to wrap your car are a well-known fake check scam that the FTC has warned about repeatedly.