Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Types of side projects and revenue levels

  • Wide range: SaaS tools, browser extensions, mobile apps, dev tools, AI wrappers, content businesses, physical products, games, and events.
  • Many earn around $500–$1,000/month (e.g., small fitness apps, niche SaaS, puzzles, training platforms); some reach several thousand MRR or more.
  • A few outliers: AI image/video generator reporting ~$50k/month; compliance/SOC2 tools, training platforms, fintech dashboards, and longtime newsletters making more than “side money.”
  • Some projects are barely breaking even or in decline; a few explicitly say they’re losing money but keep going for learning or impact.

Monetization models

  • Common: subscriptions (monthly/annual), one-time licenses, in-app purchases, ads, affiliate revenue, sponsorships, and physical product margins.
  • Several open source or “freemium” tools monetize via paid tiers, custom builds, support contracts, or sponsorships (e.g., Kubernetes PaaS, file managers).
  • Some rely on grants (e.g., spreadsheet engine) or royalties via manufacturing partners (hardware instruments).
  • Debate over counting “$500/month” as revenue vs profit; one subthread stresses that costs can be substantial (infra, ads, manufacturing, AI API use).

Marketing and distribution

  • Frequent theme: building is easier than getting users. Marketing is described as the main bottleneck, even in the AI era.
  • Acquisition channels: App Stores (with ASO and Apple Search Ads), Reddit, HN, Product Hunt, YouTube, social media, influencer/UGC, SEO, and word-of-mouth from strong communities (teachers, gamers, investors, language learners).
  • Several insist early success came from clear positioning and UX in a narrow niche (e.g., Bluesky tools, Anki add-ons, NotebookLM importer, LEGO valuator, sports betting APIs).
  • Critical feedback on unclear pricing, confusing downloads, and “scammy” landing pages; calls to make pricing and value propositions obvious.

Product scope, tech choices, and operations

  • Advice to start simple (a CGI script, basic hosting) and not over-engineer with Kubernetes until demand justifies it.
  • Many projects embrace “vibe-coded” AI assistance but still emphasize handcrafted UX and domain understanding.
  • Mix of stacks: Electron desktop apps, SwiftUI native apps, Django/Go backends, Chrome extensions, and hardware-plus-software products.
  • Some turn former irritations (bad training tools, clunky PDF scanning, calendar merging, faxing, conference networking) into focused, profitable utilities.

Human side: motivation, burnout, and community

  • Multiple founders credit previous years’ threads for inspiring them and report finally passing $500/month after years of attempts.
  • Others describe burnout (especially in always-on or NSFW services) and difficulty maintaining momentum alongside life, kids, or full-time jobs.
  • One discussion analyzes HN item ID growth to ask if the site has peaked; responses frame that as less important than whether participation remains personally valuable.