Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2024 – Show and tell

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Range of Side Projects & Incomes

  • Very wide mix: dev tools (Kubernetes UI, API mocking, uptime monitoring, scraping APIs, VPNs), consumer apps (fitness, note‑taking, plant care, language learning, job tools), games, AI utilities, newsletters, books/courses, plugins, and niche websites.
  • Many non‑software projects too: laser‑cut wall art, jewelry, rolling trays, 3D printing, Airbnb cabins, egg farming, festival payment systems, puzzle magazines, historical maps, escape rooms, etc.
  • Revenue spans from just crossing $500/mo to several thousand, and in a few cases full‑time incomes or low six‑figure businesses.

Common Success Patterns

  • “Scratch your own itch” is repeated: built to solve a personal pain (docs, festival payments, head tracking, job search, resume automation, etc.).
  • Narrow, “unsexy” niches with recurring demand (janitorial leads, checks by mail, local SEO, industrial cleaning, dividend tracking) are often profitable.
  • Many projects are years old, compounding slowly via word‑of‑mouth, SEO, and organic search rather than big launches.
  • Several open‑source tools fund development via cloud add‑ons, enterprise plugins, donations, or support contracts.

Marketing & Distribution Challenges

  • Discoverability is a major pain point, especially for physical products and indie apps; conventions and Meta/Google ads help some, others lean on Reddit/HN/communities.
  • Landing page design is hard for many; people share workflows: start from templates (Tailwind UI, bought themes), copy good sites, or hire designers.
  • Some rely almost entirely on referrals and existing networks; others experiment with ads that often barely break even.

Pricing, Value, and Customers

  • Debate over “expensive” dev tools (e.g., $99 Kubernetes UI): one camp says only paying customers matter; others note price can be “too high for them” without being objectively wrong.
  • Mix of models: subscriptions, one‑time licenses, freemium upgrades, usage‑based pricing, sponsorships, affiliate links, and ad‑supported PWAs.
  • Enterprise buyers introduce POs, compliance, and longer cycles; small‑to‑mid customers often happily self‑serve on the website.

Ethical / Social Concerns

  • Strong reactions to:
    • AI tools for cheating technical interviews and coding tests; some applaud “breaking a bad system,” others fear escalating surveillance.
    • AI chatbots impersonating OnlyFans models; some see harmless companionship, others call it exploitative and sad.
    • Gambling‑adjacent projects (poker, sports‑betting analysis) and privacy issues with location‑based apps.
  • Thread acknowledges a “broken” hiring and loneliness landscape but disagrees on individual responsibility vs “hate the game, not the player”.

Tech & Architecture Notes

  • Frequent stacks: Next.js/React/Tailwind, Tauri/Electron, Elixir/Phoenix, Django/Wagtail, Lambda + Postgres, CRDTs and SQLite in the browser, Puppeteer‑based scraping, mobile apps with native or Expo.
  • Many highlight over‑engineering regrets (complex serverless setups) vs simple monoliths; others praise Lambda for spiky festival loads.

Lessons and Meta‑Reflections

  • Survivorship bias is noted explicitly: this thread shows successes, not the graveyard of failed projects.
  • Still, multiple posters say: shipping many small things materially increases odds of at least one modest win.
  • A recurring theme: tech is the easy part; sales, support, logistics, and staying motivated over years are what make or break these side incomes.