100+ Passive Income Ideas to Build Real Wealth in 2024
I am going to tell you ways to make passive income in our world today, a way to create the financial freedom you deserve.
100+ Passive Income Ideas to Build Real Wealth
The following passive income ideas are guaranteed to help you build real wealth when done properly. With everything in life, you have to start and stay consistent doing what you love doing.
1. Blogging
This is an income stream that you have to keep adding content if you want to keep making money. You could make a blog on a web press and link it with google ads, whenever someone visits your blog you would be paid.
2. Start a YouTube channel
This is not for the faint of heart and they’re a lot of work here, creating and getting it up and running, but there are facets of running a YouTube channel that is passive and done right you can create a passive income from it.
3. Affiliate Marketing
This is a website where your primary source of income, is going to be the mentioned products or courses and getting commission off the sales. The pros of this are you do not have to spend a lot of time creating your products or courses.
You just partner with other businesses, the products you believe in, and promote that to your audience. Getting started in affiliate marketing is easy, first, you pick a topic on something you like to talk about like health, money or home-schooling, any hobby or interest you have.
Then you create the website and sign up for what we call an affiliate network. They are websites that connect people and blogs to those affiliate partnerships,
4. Selling digital bundles online
This income source is a win for everyone involved, you have a great discount for your customers, so that massive discount on the bundle, makes it a brainer.
You also have all the creators of the courses, the books, and the other things, these are the bloggers and instructors, who own a percentage of the sales.
5. Self-publishing on Amazon
It could be any book, fiction, and non-fiction. You can break each chapter into a few texts, then you can focus on one chapter a week. This is also one of the most passive because after launching your books on Amazon, you do not need to do any serious work.
6. Creating courses or digital products
You can create courses and you can sell digital products online. You can create a tutorial on math, data analysis, or even how to play the guitar, the great thing about this after you are done creating it you can sell it over and over again
7. Banks CDS
This is super boring but super safe, they are backed by FDIC insurance, so it is a simple easy way to get passive income
8. High Dividend Stock
By buying stocks and dividends you can earn different ways and that is fun
9. Peer To Peer Lending
Some people want to bypass the banks and just lend to people individually, there are sites available to do this like a lending club, fair money, and earn money passively
10. Sub-lease to housemates
If you have a house and you have a room in there to rent out to a housemate, it is a way to earn passive income
11. Rent out your car
There are different websites that you can rent out and make money. It might take a little more time like it might not be 100% passive but it is still a passive income.
12. Write a book
In addition to getting a book advance payment, you can get royalties from the book sale for years to come. You can still earn passive income from this even if it was written 10 years ago.
13. Buy Royalties
There is a website called royalty exchange where you can buy royalties from a particular song or a movie and anytime that sells you get royalties. There is an upfront investment you need to make
14. Start a podcast
This needs an amount of active work to get it up and running to get passive income. Potentially if it is a fairly evergreen podcast and the traffic keeps coming you can earn from it for years to come.
15. Create an online blog
It is a lot of work creating on the front end, but it is nice once that work is done, you might need to do some updates once in a while to improve it. in general most of the work is done on the front end, you can earn passive income on the back end. You’ll need WordPress Hosting.
16. Buy and sell domain names
You can buy domain names and sell them 6 times the price you bought them
17. Create software you can license
If you have some web development skills you could create some sort of software, that could be sold as a passive income stream.
18. Install apps on your phone
You can get paid to install some apps on your phone, this is funny, I have come across a few of these and you are not going to earn much from these at all, but if you want to exchange some of your privacy for a little bit of extra cash, there a plenty of apps that will allow you do that.
19. Rent on AIRBNB
You can rent out your space or single room on AIRBNB, you can go on vacation and earn passive income while on vacation by renting out your place on AIRBNB, it’s one of the easiest and one of the most accessible sources of passive income for a lot of us.
20. Invest in a food truck
You know anyone who wants to start up a food truck you can invest in their business help them structure it properly, then you have some passive income.
21. Start an Etsy store
You can start an Etsy store selling digital products. If you are only selling handmade wedges, that you need to create each time, then it is not a super passive business, but if you create a digital product you can sell over and over again then you are looking at a very passive business.
22. Rent old baby gear
As a parent with a couple of kids, you can rent some of your baby gear there are sites available for this, that allow this.
23. Lease out equipment
If you have some kind of machinery anything around your house or your business that you are not using, you can think about how to rent it out and earn some passive income from it.
24. Vehicle advertising
if you are fine with advertisements around your car, some sites will connect you with companies that might want to advertise on your car.
25. Paid microtasks
Certain platforms will pay you a certain amount of money to complete short easy activities. You could be receiving emails or watching short videos, you can be paid to play online games. Platforms like; inbox dollars and mistplay.
26. Cashback companies
You can make money off your online purchases, these services pay you for making purchases you would have made anyway, Cashback companies collaborate with popular brands to give you huge discounts on their platform.
27. Public browsing
Many companies will pay you to know what you are doing online, they collect information from your search history and use that data to inform the companies you use daily
28. REIT
This is a real estate investment trust, these real estate companies manage their pieces of property, they avoid paying heavy taxes, by giving most of their money to their shareholders. You invest in these companies by purchasing stocks and you make money according to the dividend of the REIT.
29. E-commerce business
If you are one of those that still want to see how wonderful e-commerce is, you must start now, you must take the opportunity of creating an e-commerce business today since many retailers are hesitating on continuing their plan on creating e-commerce businesses
30. Dropshipping
Picture this you sell a product, that you do not ever have to store, you set your retail price, and your wholesaler ships the product for you to your customer’s door in your name and you keep the profit.
31. Membership sites
You can set a membership site that charges a monthly fee for access, as long as you can keep a stream of traffic coming to your site, you will have money coming in every month
32. Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrencies are the latest big thing in the digital world and are now being recognized as being part of the monetary system. Enthusiasts have tagged it ‘the revolution of money” if you have extra funds for investing you can start buying and selling cryptocurrency to make passive income.
33. Laundromat business
This is another, the recession-safe offline business becoming popular among investors from around the globe, setting up a self-service clothe washing company is easy. This will help you make passive earning every day
34. User-generated content site
An article directory, website directory, can make a lot of money if the system is properly executed, websites like; Ezinearticles.com, Hubpages.com make millions every year and share their revenues with the contributors.
35. Creating a contest management website
This could be fun, the websites could be financially rewarding as well you have to develop, you have to develop a cool professional user’s friendly website to grab attention, then design contest for the subscribers, you can make money without much effort.
36. Sell stuff on eBay
Go through your stuff at home, I am sure you can find stuff you do not use or need, you can sell them on eBay for some nice commissions.
37. Freelancing
This can end up being a great way to earn money for individuals that do it part-time or full time, the best way to earn money through freelancing is to be dedicated and create a good reputation without these few things it will be hard to find jobs.
38. Network marketing
One of the most popular and oldest passive income ideas will have to be network marketing, it is a business structured in tiers, you can become a distributor of a peering company that sells goods and services.
39. Leverage high-interest bank accounts
Put your savings in high-interest accounts, most traditional banks pay next to nothing on your savings. There is a group of online banks that will pay you many interests on your savings because these online banks do not pay for rent, tellers, or utility bills so they can afford to pay more interest rates on your savings
40. Selling stock photos
If you are a photographer then you could sell your photos on websites like stocksy, Getty Images, Fotolia, Crestock which you can use to upload your photo, and whenever someone purchases that photo for a corporation use or something you will be paid
41. Becoming a silent business partner
You can start working with another person who has business and if you just decide to be the promotion manager, especially if you have a large following and you can decide to get 40% off the profit, that way you are making passive income.
42. Creating websites
It is similar to blogs, but in this, you could actually, make a blog around books then you say these are the top five development books, you can use your affiliate links for the books and link it to amazon, and when someone purchases that book through your link you will make a commission.
43. Vending machine businesses
You could buy a vending machine from amazon, or have a company install it, then you can speak to a local business tell them you will pay them like 10% of whatever you make from the vending machine every month. Then whenever someone comes in and buys something you make money sitting at home.
44. Real estate crowdfunding
This means if I have a real estate project and I need some money to fund the project, people do crowdfunding, investing your money and it tells you how much you will get in return. You can invest money and get 8-10% back.
45. Fixing and renting properties
This is a very good strategy, you can buy a broken-down house refurbish it and rent it. I would not say it is easy, I will give it 4 stars for easiness because you need to learn how to invest in properties. You need enough money to get started.
46. Becoming an influencer
Being an influencer gives you so many advantages, you can have YouTube revenue, Instagram revenue, affiliate income to getting paid on TikTok, you can have so many streams of income from being an influencer.
47. Scale or sell your artwork
If you are a musician sell your music, there are so many platforms, websites, and companies you can sell them, if you are good at graphic designing sell digital downloads create some downloads. You can make money even after that.
48. Stock trading
There is medium to long-term stock trading. The industries to look out for are vegan companies, like companies specialized in making vegan meals, e-commerce, and even artificial intelligence.
49. Refinance your mortgage
This is an easy way to save a lot of money. The whole idea behind this is you are going to you’re your current loan and move it to a new lender who has a lower interest rate. You have the same loan as before but you are paying less money.
50. Be a house sitter
The whole idea behind house sitting is someone might not be home for a week or month and they do not want to keep their home empty. So they pay you to live in their home for the time they are not there. You just have to be a verified creditable person.
51. Buy an existing blog.
You can buy an online blog that is already generating revenue, and blogs can make money from advertising, sponsorship, and affiliate deals, so if a blog is already making money. There are blogs on the Internet that help you to buy a blog that is on sale.
52. Outsourcing your business
This does not require you to relinquish some control but in this way, you are buying back your time and still earning money from your business
53. Stock footage
I am not a fan of taking photos. But if you are anyway good at taking good photographs. You can put it up on stock footage websites.
54. Graphic designing
Some people are really into graphic design. Some websites make nice graphic designing stuff. It is a very interesting art that you can do and sell for passive income.
55. FCPX/Premier pro assets
This is for people into video editing or after effects, if you make some templates, you upload them on some of these other assets platforms and you can make passive money on the side.
56. Create an app
This could be something really interesting for many people and you can put some ads on it, then you can make money on the side.
57. Licensing music
Once you can make some music and you can upload it on channels like epidemic sound, for example when creators license iMusic from epidemic sound, when they download music, the creators get a portion from the fee paid per month on the platform
58. Selling electricity
Many countries provide you the opportunity of having some solar panels at the back of your house. Then you can use that energy that is being generated and you can feed it back to the grid, you can get credit or money paid back to you.
59. Savings account
I am not a huge fan of savings account, the interest rate can be really low, but some people are bullish about it, so you can look towards that.
60. Posting on Tiktok
You have to post content that you enjoy consistently, over a long period, you are sure to get following and if you can grow a sizable account, you can make enough money per month, you can get sponsors, endorsement and there are a whole lot of businesses you can stream into.
61. Selling merch
You can sell merch on YouTube or Amazon, you can send people to your page and bring more followers to your page and at the same time earn passive income
62. Fiverr
If you have any skill at all you can sell it on Fiverr, for example, you can help people with their math homework or even give relationship advice people will pay for on Fiverr.
63. Be an angel investor
You can look at companies you feel have potential and invest your money, giving you flexibility in terms of deal terms. You can invest in early companies.
64. Start a lead generation website
You work to generate new customers for a business owner, if the business owner is a plumber, you work to get that plumber more customers. Then by doing that plumber pays you for every lead you generate for them.
65. Invest in index funds
This is a group of investments that you can put your money into, then you own a percentage of the entire thing, this way you get an average return on everything the company or individual owns. This way you are not just buying one stock in a company.
66. Refer friends to products you already use
There are websites available that pay you immediately you refer a friend using the referral links given by the platform. You can share on your social media accounts also so your friends can click on them.
67. Create a WordPress theme
Handling the way a WordPress site looks can earn you a good passive income. if you can create a theme for a website then you are sure to get clients that will pay
68. Invest in annuities
The provides hard-earned money and provides income that can not be outlived. You make a contract with an insurance company with series of premium payments, with this you are sure your money is safe from volatility
69. Create a niche membership site
You can make your money from outstanding niche content, you can start by having a clear benefit and a strong message. You can launch a learning website
70. Advertisement hoarding on home and building
You can get paid by placing advertisements of products on your home or building without doing anything, you can go on websites or get the small business that needs publicity and your home or building is at a good location for such.
71. Car wash system
Launching a car wash system is one thing, you also need to market your business, rebranding your website and you can start an advertising campaign just to get more people. Once you get enough presence on your car wash you can start making passive income from it
72. Rent AD space on your property
You can rent out part of your space for advertisements, just make sure you discuss all that has to do with it and what will be advertised and you get paid for the use of your property for it.
73. Kindle book sales
These kinds of books are bought because they provide quick short properly structured information about a specific subject, with some proper marketing strategy you can get it into the front page of amazon or amazon search.
74. Virtual conferences
The speaker record live performances on a subject, scheduled for a specific day and time. A forum or social media is used as a meeting place for attendees to gather, ask questions, and network. Tickets sales to attend live presentations online, for recorded replays, and sponsorships for mention.
75. Bonds
This is probably the easiest and safest source of passive income, it does not require any skills or even effort, you loan your money to the government and in return, the government is going to pay you interest for that. Ten-year-old bonds which are the most popular now, have a yield of 1.61%.
76. Mystery shopping
These companies will pay you to shop and act like a normal customer which you are evaluating the stores, evaluating the workers, evaluating the conditions and they want to get real people’s feedback on if their products that they are paying money to in the store.
77. Print On Demand business
Your job here is to design T-shirts and sell them on websites. If people find your design desirable then you make profits from them.
78. Audiobooks
Audiobooks are becoming more and more popular instead of reading you listen to them. Up to 43% of people listen to audiobooks now. You can create or pick a book to narrate and then sell it on sites that sell audiobooks and when these books are sold you get profits and even royalties.
79. Sell a featured listing in a directory
You can get potential advertisers to pay to advertise on your site, you have to build your site, by engaging the community on social media and post updates daily. Then start up an email newsletter to also keep your visitors update on what is new.
80. Non-display Ads
Many people hate seeing ads when trying to read or watch a specific thing on the blog or website, but you still need to earn money as a blogger so the advertisers can place retargeting scripts on your site
81. Peer Companies
If you would love to earn better returns and you do not want the volatility of the stock market, investors are offering double digits returns by investing in first real estate loans. They work with trusted private lenders, coast to coast to source real estate loaners
82. Credit card rewards
This is a great tool to get more out of your purchases if you know what you are getting into. The card that offers a reward, offer you perks like trip cancellation insurance, protection and ways to be rewarded for your purchases, every money you spend lead to rewards
83. Fundrise
This allows you to invest in commercial real estate passively. Fundrise takes an actual real estate project over its country’s states and turns them into e-REIT.
84. Create an email course
It is just an auto-respondo. These are series of mini-lessons or blog posts that you send a new subscriber when they first subscribe to your list.
85. Voice over
Have you ever thought of using your voice to make a voice-over? well now you can cause you will earn from it You need a microphone and good soundproof room, then sign up for websites to start
86. Art investor
You can diversify your art portfolio as a lover of art, you can start investing, not just buying for passion. The masterwork is one it can invest in and get returns. You can find websites to buy and invest in artists
87. Become a Notary
As a mobile notary and signing agent, you can earn enough more per hour, leaving the rest of the day to pursue something else. You have your little stamp, so you can stamp some documents for the title company, these people give out loans for refinancing, giving out partial claims, selling and buying houses.
88. Create a static guide website
This is not generated on the server, so it is already waiting for the users, the raw source code can be built by you and it is not changed by a user’s
89. Growing cannabis and starting an industry in it.
With the increasing legalization of cannabis in countries. It can be a good source of passive income once you have the right plant to supply the demand
90. Investing in timber
This is a good investment, it is a tangible investment if you think of your typical investment, your stock portfolio. Timberland gives you an investment you can see, you can watch it grow into more volume
91. Have mineral rights
If you are willing to invest in your mineral rights, then you should look out for private offerings, you can become a partner in companies. These give you real property legal rights that allow the owner to exploit, mine, or produce minerals
92. Buy a farm
If you are interested in saving money earning money and investing your money this investment is for you. This is a great hedge against inflation, food prices tend to increase with that. That is why farmlands are a key investment
93. Rent your boat
You can have a boat you probably had passed on to you by your parents or a boat for your cruise. You can use it to earn passive income instead of just leaving it without use.
94. Rent your bandwidth
This does not require money or time you can sell your internet bandwidth. Some companies have made it possible to sell your unused bandwidth to them for cash
95. Advertise your handmade goods for sale
You can put up your handmade goods for sale on your website and your social media platform and once some buy them you get paid
96. Trading skills
Instead of paying for all the services you want you can trade skills with your neighbor, if your neighbor is an electrician and you are a plumber or carpenter you can exchange your skills
97. Sell your thrift online
If you are the type to not want to repeat your clothes instead of leaving them lying around, you can clean them up, obviously, and but them up for sale and earn some money.
98. Repackage your blog or website
You can still be getting passive income from your blog or website you have not created content on in while. You can rebrand your blog or website create buzz about it again to make it attractive for your new and old viewers
99. Rent out your parking space
Just as you can rent out your free room, you can rent out your free car space, for a garage sale for even a small business something you can rent out and earn passive income from it
100. Patent licensing
You can license your inventions, make sure you invent solutions that solve, your benefits need to be better by lots of competition. It might be one small feature that is different but the difference makes your invention extremely valuable
As an entrepreneur, there is always going to be a limit on how much you can earn unless you can earn money without being directly involved in the work
The truth is you are not rich still you start to make money in your sleep and this is where all this passive income comes in.