Fiverr’s 10 Side Hustles—and the Earnings Data They Lack

By Olivia Hart

Twenty-eight percent of the 1,370 Americans surveyed earlier this year by Omnisend said they had a side hustle, and 80% of that group said they started their side business for "financial reasons, not for fun." The survey also reported that 51% of side-hustle respondents earned $500 or less each month, yet 76% were happy with the additional income.

At the stated threshold, $500 a month equals $6,000 over 12 months, before costs the survey does not report. Those figures describe supplemental earnings and satisfaction, not proof that a side hustle can replace a full-time salary.

What do Americans want from a side hustle?

Omnisend, the email and text messaging marketing platform, found that more than half of side-hustle holders launched their ventures for bills and other essentials. The survey also said 27% pursued side work to pay down debt, add to income or save for a life goal, such as owning a home or retirement.

The source says side hustles often bring in less income than a full-time job, though respondents expressed satisfaction with the supplemental cash. It does not report earnings before taxes, platform commissions, software, equipment or unpaid time. The takeaway is plain: Most participants treat side work as a cash-flow tool rather than a leisure project.

Which services does Fiverr highlight?

Fiverr points to 10 specialized service categories. Its marketplace descriptions favor a narrow deliverable that a freelancer can explain, price and sell.

• Cybersecurity. Fiverr’s categories include consultations, compliance services and security management for people who can spot weaknesses and explain fixes. The platform recommends a focused specialty rather than advertising a promise to secure every part of a business.
• Mobile app development. An app idea still requires design and coding. Fiverr’s category covers iOS and Android projects, including prototypes and individual features; one example is a booking tool for a local business.
• Live-action explainers. Fiverr says freelancers can package filming, editing and scripting into videos that introduce a service, demonstrate a product or walk through a problem and its solution.
• Search engine marketing. Fiverr defines SEM as targeted paid advertising intended to increase visibility at the top or bottom of search results. Its categories include setup and strategy consulting, campaign management, shopping ads and ad review.
• Website building. Fiverr includes website construction, including online stores, while recommending narrower offerings. Examples include portfolio sites for photographers and booking-focused sites for service businesses.
• Data annotation. Many AI projects involve organizing and labeling information, and Fiverr’s marketplace includes image annotation such as identifying objects in images. The platform says specificity helps make the side hustle lucrative, whether the offer centers on tagging, labeling or annotation.
• Brand style guides. Fiverr’s brand-design services include color palettes, typography guidelines and usage parameters. A freelancer can turn those choices into a documented style guide that sets logo placement and color use.
• Generative engine optimization. Fiverr defines GEO as making content easier for AI-powered systems to understand and reference. It differs from traditional search ranking, and possible services include reviewing key pages, clarifying product descriptions and documenting how AI systems describe a brand.
• Podcast production. Fiverr’s podcast-production offer can cover a finished episode, an introduction, an outro and one revision round. The work includes editing and assembling the recording, not merely recording the conversation.
• Book design. Fiverr treats book design and cover design as separate services, though a freelancer can offer a defined combination. Interior work can cover chapter layouts and page numbers, while a cover supplies the visual material at the front of the book.

Across the list, scope control recurs because Fiverr says specialization makes work easier to price and describe. The takeaway is plain: Fiverr favors narrow services that freelancers can price, describe and deliver.

Does the data prove these are the most lucrative?

The source calls these the "10 most lucrative side hustles right now, according to the platform." It provides no Fiverr sales totals, average order values, category revenue, buyer counts, platform fees or growth rates for any of the 10 fields.

That makes the ranking impossible to test from the evidence presented. Omnisend’s survey measures something different: side-hustle participation, motives, monthly income and satisfaction. It neither links respondents to Fiverr nor tests whether the listed services generate the highest returns.

The source discloses that the article contains affiliate links and that the publisher may earn a commission when a reader buys through them, at no additional cost. That identifies a commercial incentive, but it does not resolve the missing earnings evidence.

Until Fiverr publishes transaction-level earnings by category, the list remains a map of sellable services rather than an income forecast. The practical takeaway is to verify buyer demand and unit economics before treating any niche as a business.