I analyzed 326 side projects featured on HN between 2024 and 2025 that claimed to earn $500+ monthly; I found that half of them make less than $1,000 a month. (Don't get me wrong, that’s still impressive—especially since I’m not even making $500 yet!)
Common Successful Models:
- Niche Job Boards: Often gross around $1,000/month by referring traffic or charging for featured posts.
- Micro-SaaS/Utilities: Services like online faxing or uptime monitors frequently sit in the $500–$1,000 range.
- Content/Education: Books and interactive courses often provide a steady $500/month floor after an initial launch.
10% make more than 10,000 a month. Nice! And that is only 16 makers who reported this, and only for 2024–2025. I was too lazy to scan past years, but I will do.
It's a very biased sample, only projects that are in "indie maker", that are probably close to small full time projects that get promoted everywhere than reals side project.
I'm not sure if dead or abandoned project that don't report $0 are counted.
s-stude|4 days ago
Common Successful Models:
- Niche Job Boards: Often gross around $1,000/month by referring traffic or charging for featured posts.
- Micro-SaaS/Utilities: Services like online faxing or uptime monitors frequently sit in the $500–$1,000 range.
- Content/Education: Books and interactive courses often provide a steady $500/month floor after an initial launch.
rhelz|4 days ago
s-stude|3 days ago
gus_massa|2 days ago
I'm not sure if dead or abandoned project that don't report $0 are counted.