Passive Income Ideas For Mobile App Developers [2024]
Interested in earning passive income as a mobile app developer in 2024?
We put together a few of the best passive income ideas you can start as a mobile app developer today. These will help you increase your quality of life by bringing in more income for yourself or your business.
For each income idea, we’ll show you real-world examples, revenue expectations for each idea, plus some things you might need to know before you start your passive income journey as a mobile app developer.
Here's the full list:
1. Make passive income with a mobile app ($70.3K/month)
If you're already a mobile app developer, turning your practical skills into a source of passive income by creating your own app could be a smart move. You know how to build engaging interfaces and design user-friendly experiences, so why not channel that expertise into a personal project that could potentially generate revenue? Developing your own app means you could take on tasks like planning the user experience, ensuring functionality through rigorous testing, and eventually marketing it to a target audience.
Taking this step could open up new doors, from productivity tools to gaming apps, essentially anything that caters to user needs. With a clear vision and dedication, your app could attract a significant number of downloads, leading to revenue through ads, in-app purchases, or even one-time purchases. If you have a problem-solving idea or a unique game concept, the app you've always dreamed of creating could be closer to reality than you think.
How much you can make: $1 — $500,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
BACH, an app that plans and books bachelorette parties, has grown from $0 to >$1M net revenue run rate in less than 6 months, gained over 100,000 users in their first 60 days, and has over 40,000 parties using the app this month.
2. Make passive income with a health and wellness app ($108K/month)
Developing a health and wellness app could be an excellent way for you to leverage your skills as a mobile app developer to create a platform that guides users toward their fitness and mental well-being goals. Your app could offer personalized fitness routines, nutrition plans, mental well-being exercises, and progress tracking, making it a one-stop solution for users aiming to improve their health. Think of it as a digital coach that can remind users to drink water, walk them through yoga practices, and suggest meal plans tailored to their individual needs.
Starting such a venture involves not just your coding skills but also market research, collaboration with health experts, and effective marketing strategies to reach your audience. The potential to positively impact lives while tapping into the ever-growing health and wellness market makes this a compelling opportunity. If you're passionate about both technology and helping people lead healthier lives, creating a health and wellness app could be your way to turn that passion into a thriving business.
How much you can make: $600 — $300,000/month
How long does it take to build: 200 days (?)
Founder and CEO of SelfDecode, Joe Cohen, explains how his company helps people discover personalized diet, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations based on DNA and lab tests; generating about $2.7 million in revenue over the past year and raising $8 million in a crowdfunding campaign, SelfDecode provides personalized health recommendations prioritized on unique genetic variants, marking the future of healthcare.
3. Make passive income with a social media automation business ($139K/month)
As a mobile app developer, you could leverage your technical skills to create a social media automation business, offering tools and services to help clients manage their online presence effortlessly. This involves developing software that schedules posts, automates interactions, and analyzes social media data, ultimately saving time for small businesses and influencers who pay for these services.
Given the rising demand for consistent and strategic social media engagement, there's a growing market for automation solutions. By combining your coding expertise with an understanding of social media trends, you could build or integrate effective software solutions, providing real value to your clients.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $400,000/month
How long does it take to build: 50 days (?)
MeetEdgar, a bootstrapped social media automation tool founded in 2014 by Laura Roeder, has grown to $4 million in annual recurring revenue and more than 5,000 customers, with a team size of two dozen, achieved through content marketing, social media marketing, and organic search.
4. Make passive income with a wordpress plugin business ($33.4K/month)
As a mobile app developer, starting a WordPress plugin business could be a great way to supplement your income. Given your technical background, you likely already have the skills needed to develop high-quality plugins. Think of issues you've encountered or solutions you've created in your app development work—those could potentially serve as the basis for your plugins.
By addressing a specific need in the WordPress ecosystem, you could create plugins that many website owners would find invaluable. You have the option to sell these plugins through online platforms like CodeCanyon, on your own blog, or even on a dedicated website. This approach not only provides a new revenue stream but also leverages your existing skills and expertise.
How much you can make: $120 — $120,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week
Wheely Sales CEO Josh created a lucky wheel popup that has grown revenue from $0 to $600/month in just 4 months since getting started and has attracted over 1.1 million users to his customers’ websites, all while proving that when it comes to creating a product, competition is validation.
5. Make passive income with an ai based business solution ($55.8K/month)
As a mobile app developer, you could explore launching an AI-based business solution to tap into the growing demand for advanced technology that streamlines business operations. By leveraging your coding skills, you can create AI tools that automate tasks, provide customer insights, or predict market trends. This can help businesses enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and make smarter decisions.
You could develop AI-driven apps for customer service, inventory management, or personalized marketing, offering significant value to your clients. Even if you're new to AI, many platforms offer user-friendly interfaces and strong support, making it easier to get started. Plus, the market for AI solutions is expanding rapidly, providing you with a promising opportunity to supplement your income and potentially earn passive income.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $120,000/month
How long does it take to build: 125 days (?)
Mikkelsen Twins grew an online education company from scratch with over 800 students, making over 6-figures in profit every month thanks to their successful program, Audiobook Income Academy 2.0.
6. Make passive income with an AI writing tool ($255K/month)
As a mobile app developer, you could leverage your technical skills to create an AI writing tool, tapping into the booming demand for high-quality, automated content. With advancements in AI, this tool could help bloggers, businesses, and students write engaging and accurate content effortlessly.
This venture isn't just about coding; it’s about solving a real-world problem by making content creation more efficient and error-free. Imagine the satisfaction of knowing that your tool is helping people simplify their writing process and increase their productivity. Exploring this could open up new revenue streams and offer you a chance to innovate within the tech landscape.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $1,000,000/month
How long does it take to build: 52 days (?)
Rytr, a new AI writing assistant developed by a startup platform and business incubator, has become a market leader, serving over 300,000 customers across the world and doing seven figures in ARR.
7. Make passive income with a lead generation tool ($108K/month)
As a mobile app developer, you could leverage your technical skills to create a lead generation tool that helps businesses find potential customers more efficiently. This software could automate the tedious task of collecting leads, gathering valuable data like email addresses and interests from various digital sources such as websites and social media.
The demand for effective lead generation solutions is high, as companies are always looking to boost their marketing efforts and expand their customer base. By developing a tool that integrates smoothly with existing digital platforms, you could provide a valuable service that businesses are willing to pay for, turning your development skills into a profitable income stream.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $400,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $600 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
Dux-Soup is a LinkedIn automation tool that helps business owners and sales & marketing professionals generate more leads, increase efficiency, and save time; with over 70,000 users and revenue of nearly $5 million, it offers automated top-of-the-funnel LinkedIn outreach activities, targeted LinkedIn campaigns and multi-touch & personalized LinkedIn drip campaigns for lead generation.
8. Make passive income with an email marketing tool ($992K/month)
As a mobile app developer, you could leverage your technical expertise to create an email marketing tool, tapping into a booming industry expected to reach $2.53 billion by 2028. Developing such a tool would allow you to utilize your coding skills to build and automate email campaigns, offering a valuable service to businesses looking to generate leads, increase sales, and improve SEO rankings.
Starting an email marketing tool business is relatively straightforward, requiring only a domain and hosting account to get started. This venture could provide an additional income stream as you market your tool to a variety of clients, from entrepreneurs and startups to real estate agents. By developing a user-friendly and efficient email marketing platform, you could take advantage of a growing market while diversifying your revenue streams.
How much you can make: $120 — $20,833,333/month
How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
H-supertools founder Hasan developed a set of free SEO and digital marketing tools generating $2k per month in profit using Google Adsense, affiliate marketing, selling ad spaces, and email, plans to launch a membership option, and has attained over 80k registered users and 300k monthly visits in less than two years.
9. Make passive income with a cold email service business ($170K/month)
As a mobile app developer, you could leverage your technical skills and analytical mindset to start a cold email service business. You’d be crafting and sending targeted email campaigns on behalf of companies to help them reach potential clients directly. This involves not only writing compelling emails but also using email marketing tools to track metrics like open rates and conversions.
Given your experience in development, you might already be familiar with some of the tools necessary for this type of service, such as email automation software. You could start by offering your service to small businesses needing lead generation and grow your client base as you build your portfolio of success stories. This business model allows you to utilize your strategic thinking, and the potential for scaling means you could create a sustainable source of passive income over time.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $450,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $200 (?)
How long does it take to build: 35 days (?)
GMass, an email marketing platform that allows users to send cold emails and email marketing campaigns with Gmail, has attracted over 500,000 user signups, including major tech companies like Uber, LinkedIn, and Google, and now generates over $200K in monthly recurring revenue through a successful content marketing strategy and focused ad spend.
10. Make passive income with an online course sales business ($85K/month)
As a mobile app developer, you could tap into the growing e-learning market by creating and selling online courses about your skills and expertise. Imagine sharing your knowledge on topics like app development, debugging, or user experience design. This could not only supplement your income but also provide a passive revenue stream over time.
You could create video tutorials, step-by-step guides, or even interactive lessons that beginners and experienced developers alike would find valuable. By choosing a target audience, designing a comprehensive curriculum, and listing your course on popular e-learning platforms, you could reach a global audience and generate steady income without having to trade your time directly for money.
Given that the e-learning market is projected to be worth over $645 billion in the coming years, starting an online course business could be a practical and lucrative side hustle for you as a mobile app developer.
How much you can make: $100 — $300,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
A multipreneur shares how she built a successful print on demand side hustle, generating $120,000 per year through multiple brands spread over various platforms.
11. Make passive income with an online survey tool ($304K/month)
If you’re a mobile app developer looking to diversify your income, starting an online survey tool could be a smart move. With your technical skills, you could create a seamless, user-friendly platform where businesses can easily gather customer feedback. This is a growing market, as more businesses are turning to online surveys to inform their decisions and improve their services.
By developing features like a survey builder and data collection tools, you position yourself to offer a valuable service that meets a significant business need. Platforms like Typeform have shown substantial success, with annual recurring revenue surpassing $70 million in 2021. You could tap into this demand for effective, customer-friendly surveys to build a steady stream of passive income.
How much you can make: $40 — $1,600,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
GreenRope, a self-funded CRM and marketing automation platform with over 1,000 customers in 20 countries, was built organically and focused on creating a positive, customer-centric culture without outside investment, with an all-in-one interface solving challenges in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.
12. Make passive income with a YouTube channel ($72.1K/month)
If you have a knack for creating compelling video content, starting a YouTube channel could be your next big move as a mobile app developer. Your channel could focus on creating how-to guides, offering app development tutorials, sharing industry insights, or even reviewing the latest tools and technologies. This not only helps you build a following but also positions you as an authority in your field.
By consistently producing quality content, you could earn revenue through ads, sponsorships, and merchandise. Engaging with your audience and understanding SEO for videos can also help drive more traffic to your channel. Although it takes time and effort to grow, the potential for financial reward and personal satisfaction could make it a worthwhile endeavor.
How much you can make: $2,000 — $333,333/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,250 (?)
How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)
This case study follows the journey of a young entrepreneur from Nigeria who started a profitable blog generating a monthly revenue of $1,500+ through sales of advertising space, sponsored posts, and information products, and shares his strategies for success including a Twitter growth challenge and guest post pitches.
13. Make passive income with a niche blog ($31.5K/month)
As a mobile app developer, starting a niche blog could be an excellent way to share your knowledge and connect with others who are passionate about tech. You could write about app development, offer coding tutorials, or review software tools. This positions you as an expert in your field while giving you the flexibility to explore topics you truly enjoy.
To monetize your blog, you could use affiliate links to recommend development tools or courses, collaborate with tech brands, or even start a YouTube channel to expand your reach. Regularly engaging with your followers by providing valuable, informative content will be crucial for long-term success. This could not only supplement your income but also create opportunities for speaking engagements and other professional growth.
How much you can make: $100 — $650,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $650 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
Starter Story grew to 1.4 million monthly visitors and millions in annual revenue by sharing the stories of entrepreneurs. Pat breaks down the early days and how he grew the business into something that changed his life.
14. Make passive income with a niche website ($107K/month)
If you're a mobile app developer looking to supplement your income or start earning passive income, building a niche website could be a smart move. A niche website allows you to focus on a specialized topic that you're passionate about and knowledgeable in, such as mobile app development tips, coding tutorials, or app reviews. By creating compelling content and driving traffic to your site, you could attract a dedicated audience.
Monetization options for your niche website are plentiful. You could use affiliate marketing to recommend tools and resources you already use, place ads on high-traffic pages, or even sell your own digital products like e-books or courses. Over time, as your site gains more followers, it could become a reliable source of passive income while also giving you a creative outlet related to your primary profession.
How much you can make: $400 — $250,000/month
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
DPW (Digital Procurement World) is a fast-growing conference and community in procurement that has more than tripled in revenue since launching in 2019, capping out the year at €1.8 million, with 95% of their growth coming from inbound traffic leveraging LinkedIn and applying social selling techniques.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
