27 Surprising Hobbies That Make Money Online (2024)

Are you looking for a list of hobbies that make money?

I’ve done the research and am going to share:

27 Best Hobbies That Make Money Online
How To Make Money From Hobbies
What To Do When You Make Money From Hobbies?
FAQ About Hobbies That Make Money

By the end, you’ll hopefully have found a hobby that you recognize and are passionate about. Or maybe a hobby that you want to start doing.

The good news is that these ideas for hobbies are relatively easy to start making money from.

Ready to get started? Let’s dive right in.

Table Of Contents show

List Of Hobbies That Make Money Online In 2024

1. Blogging

Blogging is one of those hobbies that has a direct path to producing making money online. With blogging, you create your own website, whether it be a personal blog or company-branded blog, and start writing blog posts.

The key to blogging is to write for search terms that people are actually searching for the niche that you’re in.

There’s a lot to blogging but here are the main points to understand what you’re getting into to start making money:

Start your blog on a self-hosted domain using WordPress as your CMS (Content Management System)
The hosting I recommend to handle all the content on your website is Bluehost. It’s cheap and fast. Plus, you can get your blog set up with WordPress in one click. Super simple!
Write long-form content (greater than 1,000 words for each blog post)
You can use a website page builder to customize your site. I use Elementor Pro for this site, and it’s awesome!
Write content with the end-user in mind. Give the answer at the beginning of the post and then add more content that’s still related to the original search query you’re targeting.
Don’t write content that you can’t rank for with a new site due to not having enough authority in the beginning.
Use Google autosuggest to find search terms that people are actually searching for to get some traffic to your site long-term.

These are just a few of the main overarching points that are important to memorize when you’re setting out to start making money with blogging online.

Related Post: How To Start A Blog: Step By Step Guide

2. Programming

Image via Stackify

Programming is a hobby that earns money if you do it right. From the graph, it’s clear that Java, C, and C++ are the top 3 programming languages that are used.

If you’re looking to take your programming skills to start building websites and software, then knowing JavaScript, HTML, PHP, and CSS are probably the big four that can help you to start making money with your hobby.

How can you make money with programming as a hobby you might ask?

Well, there are tons of ways to earn money with programming but one of the quickest ways is to sign up for a site like Freelancer, UpWork, or Fiverr and become a freelancer.

What’s cool about this is that you can work directly with companies who are looking to hire programmer and work on projects to fine-tune your skills. More importantly, you’ll also be able to add to your portfolio of projects that you’ve worked on to be able to showcase to employers if you’re looking to get a job in the near future.

You could also go the route of building out your own software or mobile app and eventually selling it online via organic traffic or paid traffic. I’d definitely recommend this option only if you’re looking to put into action an idea you have and don’t need money to use from the project in the near future.

Here’s a video on how to go about building a mobile app if you’re interested.

3. Graphic Design

Graphic design is a hobby that can earn you a lot of money both online and offline.

Companies are always looking to hire designers that can create a logo, design a new vector graphic, or create interesting ads.

Some of the best graphic design software that are worth checking out are:

Are you interested in learning more about graphic design?

You can take this graphic design course from Coursera to sharpen your skills.

4. Surveying

Chances are you’re like most people and you occasionally find yourself wasting time scrolling endlessly through social media or maybe just surfing the web.

But why not put that time to good use even if you’ve just got a few minutes?

Well, taking surveys online is one way to take advantage of your extra time and also get some extra cash.

Here are some sites I recommend if you’re looking to earn money with surveys:

5. Creating & Editing Videos

Creating and editing videos is a fantastic hobby to start earning money.

Did you know that 85% of all internet users in the United States watched online video content monthly on any of their devices?

Video is an ever-growing medium for consuming content online and the biggest platform right now that everyone goes to is YouTube.

Even if you don’t want to create your own YouTube channel and be the face of a brand, you can definitely still edit someone else’s videos and do it all from the comfort of your home.

Some of the most common video editing software to use are:

Adobe Premiere Pro – This is the go-to premium video editing software for Windows users. If you want to create super high-quality videos with tons of effects, then this is the video editing software for you.
Final Cut Pro – This is the go-to premium video editing software for Mac users.
Camtasia – This is a great software for those looking for excellent video software at a more affordable price than Adobe or Apple’s software. You can pay a one-time fee upfront and use it for life. It’s one of the most widely used video editing software for creators on YouTube.
Wondershare Filmora – This is the best budget video editing software that I recommend if you’re just getting started and don’t have as much to invest just yet. You can always switch to a new software later on down the road once you have the resources.

Now, you may be wondering how to get started with video editing and creation. Or maybe you’re looking to finally dive deeper and sharpen your skills to start making serious money as a freelancer online.

Well, here are some great video creation and editing courses that I found:

Just start learning and these things should help you master video creation and editing. Over time, you’ll only get better as you work on more videos and start developing it into a hobby that makes money.

6. Online Tutoring

Image via BigStockPhoto

Do you enjoy teaching others?

According to a study done by the U.S. Department of Education, 32% of all high schools require academic tutoring for at least some of their students.

Another interesting thing to look at is how many people are pursuing an online education in order to get a feel for how many people are turning to the internet to educate themselves.

More than a quarter of all college students are taking online classes and over 6 million Americans are pursuing an online education.

This means that people are looking for ways to be tutored and to learn online as well. These numbers are only increasing every year.

If you already have a college degree in a certain field, then you can get started right away making additional money on the side tutoring other students or professionals looking to advance their skillset and knowledge.

You can register to be a tutor on these websites:

Even if you don’t have a college degree, you can still be a tutor in a subject if you have knowledge in a specific subject area. You could even start a YouTube channel or blog sharing your knowledge and what you’re learning as you go along.

7. Writing & Recording Music

The recording industry is a $20.2 billion industry and growing. A total of 56.1% of global industry revenue comes from streaming music online.

I consider writing music and recording it to be one of the most artistic things that anyone can do.

There’s nothing like creating your own song, putting in the hours, and then sharing it with the world.

Here are some great courses I found and recommend if you’re just getting started with writing and recording music as a hobby that earns money online:

Here are some music streaming platforms to share your music on:

8. Animation

I don’t know about you but when I think of animation, I think of the Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Disney is known for producing some of the most memorable animated movies for the last several generations.

The average median pay for someone with a Bachelor’s degree and pursuing animation is approximately $75,000.

Another interesting thing to look at is how animated videos are used by businesses online.

Animated explainer videos increase conversion rates by 20% according to Unbounce.

Animation is truly a unique field that combines art and science and the great part about it is that it’s also a hobby that makes money online.

Here are some great courses to brush up on your animation skills:

9. Public Speaker

Not very many people like public speaking, including myself.

However, if you’re one of them then you have a unique advantage in so many areas.

Whether you’re looking to create videos online and share your knowledge with others or go offline and do keynote speaking at various events, there’s tons of opportunity to make money with public speaking as a hobby.

If you’re interested in learning more, here are the best public speaking sites I found:

10. Teaching Music

Do you know how to play a musical instrument?

The picture above is actually of my own acoustic guitar. I personally have been playing for several years now and am almost entirely self-taught.

Even if you don’t play an instrument professionally or only know a few songs on an instrument, you’re still much farther along than the complete beginner who’s learning a new instrument for the first time.

In fact, you’re more likely to connect and share the info that’s needed if you’ve just learned the subject that you’re teaching.

This makes teaching music a powerful hobby to starting making you money no matter how much of a pro you are.

Some cool sites to learn music are:

11. Web Development

Web development is a highly sought after skill as more and more small businesses and entrepreneurs jump online.

Some of the most common programming languages for web developers are:

Every day there are people starting websites and blogs to build their company’s brand presence online.

Creating a mobile responsive design and using best practices is where web developers come to the rescue and use their skills.

In fact, here are some crazy stats about mobile internet traffic:

More than half of all video streaming comes from a mobile device.
In the US, consumers spent 90% of their mobile time in apps.
Mobile internet has grown 504% in daily media consumption since 2011.
76% of US citizens use their phones to open and respond to emails while watching TV.

More and more people are coming online from developing countries and gaining access to the internet with mobile devices. The need for web developers to master mobile responsive design and page speed is critical.

12. Arts & Crafts

At first glance, it may seem like arts and crafts would not be a hobby that makes money to live off of.

However, what you’ll find with any of the hobbies on this list is that there are two main ways to gain an audience and earn money online.

Those two ways are blogging and starting a YouTube channel. Both of these revolve around learning SEO to get targeted traffic to any offers you make for other people to buy things.

I made a list of the 20 best sites and YouTube channels to learn SEO for free if you want to start learning more about how to use it as a traffic source online.

The cool part about arts and crafts is that there’s a huge demand for it.

There are 5 million unit sales of craft magazines in the United States alone each year.

13. Cooking

I don’t know about you but when I think of cooking, I think of the man himself Gordon Ramsay.

It goes without question that cooking is a fantastic hobby to start earning money with, whether it be online or offline. This is because everyone needs to eat food and everyone wants and craves only the best!

So, you could say there’s a huge demand for cooking (just check out how many subscribers Gordon Ramsay has on his YouTube channel).

You can definitely get a job as a chef at a local restaurant. Or you could take your skills online and teach your cooking methods on a site like Udemy.

Better yet, you could start your own YouTube channel to grow a following and share what you know.

Here are some ways to hone your cooking skills:

14. Gaming

There’s no doubt that gaming is on the rise!

Gamers from all across the world are competing in tournaments where the winners can take home up to six or seven figures worth of cash.

Some of the popular gaming streaming platforms are:

It takes work to build a following, but if you’re funny, engaging, and consistent with your streams then you can start to earn money with gaming as a hobby.

Plus, you can compete in tournaments once you get to the pro level of gamers for a specific game.

15. Social Media

We all use social media as part of our daily lives now, right?

Well, it’s no question that the big social media platforms are:

Companies and everyday consumers alike try to build a following and audience. For businesses though, it’s all about turning that audience into an asset that can start to bring in revenue.

Once you’ve gotten a feel and are comfortable with certain social media platforms, you can then become a social media manager and start earning money with the hobby while building your own following as well. 😀

Here are some crazy social media statistics:

There are 3.5 billion daily active social media users – approximately 45% of the entire world population!
68% of U.S. adults use Facebook
Users spend on average 3 hours per day on social networks and messaging

16. Photography

Photography is a huge industry and a hobby loved by millions across the world.

Nowadays, practically everyone on planet earth has a super high-quality camera right inside their pocket.

However, as any good photographer would know there’s a lot more to it than just point and shoot. 😅

Photography is one of those hobbies that’s both an art and a science.

If you’re looking for ways to learn more about photography, check out these courses:

So, how do you earn money with photography?

Well, you could go either do offline work with a group of people to take photos which is great. Or you could also share your knowledge and work online as Peter McKinnon has done

17. Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is absolutely HUGE online.

Bloggers (including myself) use freelance writers to write blog posts for them to get traffic from Google and social media for their businesses.

It’s really easy to become a freelancer and start writing on sites like Upwork.

It’s common to hire freelance writers for about $.03 per word.

18. App Development

Developing apps and software for phones and websites are only growing more of a huge opportunity as people come online in the masses.

18-24 year-olds spend 66% of their digital media time using smartphone apps (ComScore).

App development is a great hobby to earn money through freelance work.

Tons of businesses need apps built and working as a freelancer can help you to start bringing in money for doing something that you love.

19. Fitness Instructor

Fitness and exercise is something we all need if we’re honest.

However, it’s natural for us to be lazy and sit at home and watch a movie in our free time.

That’s fitness instructors come in. People are looking all the time for fitness instructors to help them.

The Athletics And Fitness Association of America is a potential opportunity to become a group fitness instructor. You can also get your group fitness instructor certification.

20. Life Coach

The International Coach Federation has over 53,300 members and is on a steady growth trend.
The average income for life coaches ranges from $27,100 to $73,100.

Probably the best way to make money with the hobby of life coaching is to book more speaking gigs to expand your audience.

You can also sell your own e-book as a digital product online through Amazon or your own website.

21. Driving

If you enjoy driving your car for a nice joy ride, then you may want to consider taking advantage of some ways to make money.

The two big ways to make money with driving are through ridesharing or through app-based delivery.

Ridesharing

Ridesharing is a great way to make money on the side of your full-time income. You can also potentially make it work as your full-time income as well.

Here are the two big ridesharing companies to sign up for:

Uber (founded in 2009)
Lyft (founded in 2012)

Something to note is that if you live in a metro area it works out better to drive during certain times to get more money through “surge pricing”. So, you’ll get paid more per mile during the busy times of the day.

Some of the drawbacks of ridesharing are that you’ll inevitably decrease the lifespan of your car. Additionally, you want to avoid traffic as much as possible since it will decrease how much you’re getting paid per hour.

App-based Delivery

Now more than ever, people are wanting food delivered right to their doorstep.

Some of the popular delivery services you can sign up for are:

If your car can’t meet Uber’s and Lyft’s requirements, then doing app-based delivery could be a better option. You only need to be 18 with a clean driving record to sign up with DoorDash.

22. Comedy

We all love to laugh (at least hopefully, right?). 😂

The cool part about comedy is that there are so many different avenues of using it as a hobby that makes money.

You could do comedy for events, shows, and parties. You can also start up your own YouTube channel and do some funny stuff (whatever it is that you do that makes people laugh).

Comedy doesn’t even have to be the central theme. For instance, you could have a YouTube channel on stuffed animals but mix in comedy as a side thing.

23. Gardening

Scotts Miracle-Gro is a popular company in the gardening niche and released survey data on how gardening is taking off and growing.

More than half (55%) of American adults are currently gardening or caring for their lawn.

There are people living in homes and apartments all over the world that love to do gardening. The cool part is that even if you have a small space, you can do vertical gardening to create a micro garden where you live.

Some ways to do vertical gardening are:

build a terracotta planter wall
use wall planters in your kitchen to grow herbs

Here are a few ways to make money with your gardening hobby:

Sell dandelions (usually sell for $4-5 in the Spring)
Sell spring seedlings
Create a backyard raspberry pick your own

24. Painting

A lot of times you may see painters or art shops along the beach. It’s always fun to see how others express their creativity in different ways.

Certainly, you could use painting as a hobby that makes money by working with people moving into a new house and want things painted. However, I’d recommend also starting a YouTube channel to share your artwork with the world in a unique way and get a wider audience.

You can share your knowledge online and also create interesting videos that bring in ad revenue or revenue from a digital or physical product that you sell.

Here’s a video for inspiration of what you can do by combining painting with video.

25. Traveling

There’s nothing quite like getting away from work and traveling to an exotic place.

Although, what if traveling could become a hobby that makes money?

That’s exactly what these YouTubers have done:

It’s also what these bloggers have done:

26. Dancing

If you’re into dancing as a hobby to make money, chances are that you’ve watch Dancing With The Stars.

The first season actually debuted on ABC in 2005 and has taken off ever since.

The unique thing about dancing is that it’s undoubtedly the most physically demanding abilities and sports.

Dance is also one of the oldest art forms and has been around before the arrival of written language.

The earliest findings have pinpointed the origins of ancient dances in 9000-year-old India or 5300-year-old Egypt.

Here are some ways you can turn dancing into a hobby the earns money for you:

Teach dance lessons
Perform for special events
Post dance and choreography videos
Use social media to promote your dance lessons and website

27. Drone Racing & Photography

Drone racing and photography are becoming more commonplace and more and more people have their own drones.

Here are a few interesting statistics about drones from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA):

The annual growth rate of drones in the US is estimated to be approximately 6.4%.
The number of recreational drones in the US is forecasted to peak at around 1.5 million drones.
The number of commercial drones is expected to double by 2024.

It’s important that you follow all the rules and regulations for the country that you live in. For the U.S., the FAA sets those regulations and a good place to go is FAADroneZone.

You can make money with drone photography as a hobby by:

Selling photos on stock photo sites
Creating a YouTube channel, blog, and Instagram to share your photos and knowledge
Take photos for real estate

Drone racing is another really cool aspect of using drones as a hobby to mak money.

Drone racing is now a sport. 😀 A great site to check out is The Drone Racing League to learn more and watch what the pros are doing.

Contracts can be made for up to $100,000 to fly a drone for the professional sports league.

In the meantime, you can share awesome videos and practice on YouTube to gain a following and earn money along the way as you improve your skills.

How To Make Money From Hobbies

I’ve covered quite a few ways to make money from hobbies that are unique to each one individually.

However, there a few ways to make money from just about every hobby on this list.

The two big ways to use hobbies to make money and grow an audience are by starting a blog and creating a YouTube channel.

Related Post: How To Start A Blog: For Complete Beginners

The three big ways to make money from a blog or YouTube channel are:

Running ads
Doing affiliate marketing
Selling your own digital product

Related Post: Beginner’s Guide To Affiliate Marketing

What To Do When You Make Money From Hobbies?

The best thing you can do once you start to make money from hobbies is to start treating it like a business.

This means you should reinvest what you earn back into growing and expanding your newly found business.

You can start to outsource tasks that you don’t particularly like to do and focus on what you love about your hobby that makes money.

The best part is that you can scale your business exponentially over time to have a good side income or even a full-time income.

Hobbies That Make Money Online 2024 FAQ

What are hobbies that make money for stay at home moms?

Painting
Calligraphy
DIY (Do It Yourself) items
Dancing
Weight Lifting
Bicycling
Gardening
Hiking
Fishing
Soap Making

What are ideas for hobbies that make money from home?

Playing an instrument
Graphic design
Blogging
Baking & Cooking
Flipping Items
Crafts

What are crafting hobbies that make money?

Knitting
Crochet
Embroidery
Weaving Pictures
Color Printouts
Calendar Making
Soap Making
Candle Making

What are creative hobbies that make money?

Soap Making
Papercraft & Card Making
Fashion Design
Paper Quilling
Decoupage
Quilting
Weaving
Digital Painting

What are fun hobbies that make money?

Drone racing
Photography
Coding
Doing magic
Podcasting
Origami
Pottery
Gaming

What are diy hobbies that make money?

Flower pressing
Candle making
Soap making
Restoring furniture
Barbecuing
Gardening
Baking

What are woodworking hobbies that make money?

Wood burning
Woodturning
Whittling & carving
Handmade furniture
Handmade sculptures
Scroll-sawing
Create signs
Create picture frames

What are garage hobbies that make money?

Car repair
Play an instrument
Wood carving
Writing
Painting
Furniture building
Home improvement

What are collecting hobbies that make money?

Trading cards
Toys
Comic Books
Vinyl records
Action figures
Baseball Cards
Baseball pins
Coins
Stamps

What are computer hobbies that make money?

Social networking
online gaming
crafting on the computer
Create electronic music
Graphic design
photo editing
Fantasy sports
Digital scrapboooking

What are male hobbies that make money?

Fishing
Photography
Archery
Climbing
Surfing
Woodworking
Traveling
Metalworking
Marksmanship

What are outdoor hobbies that make money?

Cycling
Driving
Fishing
Rock climbing
Surfing
Traveling
Seashell collecting
Metal detecting

Final Thoughts On Hobbies That Make Money Online

There are tons of hobbies that make money online, no matter what it is that you’re interested in.

The main ways I suggest to start earning money with hobbies is to start a blog or a YouTube channel.

This allows you to share your knowledge on the subject matter even while you’re just starting to learn it and grow an audience. Over time, you can then sell your own digital and physical products and make a substantial amount of money online.

Which hobby are you going to pursue to make money?