The 6 Best Side Hustles for Passive Income

Making money without having to work too hard at it is a pretty common dream. It’s important to remember, though, that it is a dream.

Generating passive income actually takes a fair bit of effort. But if you’re smart and a little bit lucky, it doesn’t have to take as much time as your day-to-day job. Earning regular cash flow from passive projects is possible, but regardless of what side hustle you choose, you’re going to need to put in some work (and sometimes capital) up front. And you should be prepared to adapt if things don’t go your way right away.

“If you’re not riding the wave of a trend, it’s going to be a lot harder,” says Rachel Jimenez, an entrepreneur whose side hustle earns her $10,000 per month and who runs Money Hacking Mama, a blog focused on helping women find passive income resources. “When you first start and stumble, it might not work out. And if you just give up and never try again, you’re destined to fail. But if you keep putting yourself out there, every failure you have will teach you something if you allow it to. Eventually, all those learnings will line up and you’ll have an aha! moment.”

Thinking of giving a passive income side hustle a go? Here are some of the top ways to earn some extra cash.

Create a course
Have a hobby you excel at or a job that’s a bit niche? Other people might be interested in learning more about it. By taking the time to craft a Masterclass-like course, then selling it on a platform like Etsy, Skillshare, or Udemy, you can set up what could be a recurring source of revenue. The hardest part is figuring out what skills you have that others might lack.

“‘What do I know?’ is a very good first question. ‘What am I good at?’,” says Jimenez. “Those are good questions to ask, but they’re hard to answer, so it might be good to ask someone that knows you and is close to you what you’re good at. Sometimes we can’t see the forest through the trees. Being an expert, we think everyone has the same skills that we have.”

Rent out something you own
The classic way to collect passive income is by becoming a landlord—renting out a property to tenants at a rate that not only covers expenses, but nets you a profit. Or, alternatively, you can utilize Airbnb, either overseeing the upkeep yourself or hiring a property manager. To do so, though, you need to have enough money to afford that second property.

If there’s not room in your budget for a rental property, there’s a growing market for other rentals, though. Platforms like Neighbor, Spacer, and SpotHero let you rent out an unused parking spot. Swimply will let you rent out your pool to people looking to beat the heat. You can even rent your power tools via a Facebook page or sites like Cloud of Goods.

Write an ebook

If you’re passionate about writing, self-publishing a book is easier than ever today. Ramit Sethi, host of Netflix’s How to Get Rich and host of the I Will Teach You To Be Rich podcast says that while this approach certainly requires an upfront time investment, “books can continue generating income long after they’re published, creating a steady stream of passive revenue.”

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing is the easiest and most accessible way to get your book in front of readers, whether it’s a novel that’s been sitting in your mind for years or a nonfiction book based on your life or career experiences. As a bonus, there are a number of writers’ communities that can offer plenty of advice.

Sell stock photos
If you’ve got a photographer’s eye, you could try selling your images as stock photos. The best part is you’ve likely already done some or most of the work. Fidelity notes that “some stock photo companies may list subjects or themes that are particularly marketable on their sites,” and holiday-themed shots do well when timed right.

You will, increasingly, face the threat of AI-generated photos, but many creators still prefer work by human artists. Check out Shutterstock, Getty Images, and iStock for information on rates. (One tip: The bigger your portfolio on these platforms, the better the odds of your photo being picked by a potential client.)

Create AI prompts

Artificial intelligence is exploding, but it’s an area where confusion still reigns. If you’re willing to do the work to learn about it, AI can be a profitable side hustle. The biggest demand right now is for people who know how to write prompts for AI language models that get the desired results. The customer base for that sort of work ranges from small- and medium-size businesses to students. You can sell them on sites like PromptBase and Fiverr.

This is a more active gig than some on this list, but it can be lucrative. Elon Musk’s xAI is paying $35 to $65 per hour for AI tutors. It’s also the side hustle Mark Cuban says he would start today if he were looking to make some extra money.

Sell digital art or templates
If you’re artistic, sites like Etsy could be a good market to sell downloadable artwork and patterns (for everything from invitations to spreadsheets to sewing templates). Tools found on sites like Canva can make it even easier to come up with these creations. The more customizable for buyers you make them, the better.