The $500/Month Side Project Dataset: 9 Years of HN Insights

Save 6 Months of Trial and Error: 711 Real Side Projects Shared on Hacker News — 9 Years of Data Showing Who's Making Money, How, and How Much (support language including EN/DE/ES/ZH)

Want to Build a Side Project That Makes at Least $500/month?

Do you ever feel like this—

You've read countless indie hacker "success stories," but you can't tell which are survivorship bias and which are actually replicable?

You spent months building something, launched it, and only then discovered: someone already tried this direction and it didn't work out?

You want to know "how much others really earn," "which niches still have room," and "whether to go subscription or ads"—but there's no reliable data, so you're just guessing?

The problem isn't that you're not working hard enough. It's that you're missing a "market map."

This database + analysis report takes 711 real developers' side project experiences from HN over the past 9 years—cleaned, structured, and analyzed. You can use it right away, without spending hundreds of hours scraping posts yourself.

Why This Package Helps You Reach $500/month

🔥 711 Real Comments, Every Single One

HN's annual "Those making $500/month" threads, 2017–2025, fully captured. Every number and link traces back to the original discussion.

📊 520+ Structured Records, Ready to Analyze

Hand-curated + script-cleaned. Industry, revenue, business model, acquisition channels… 13 fields complete. Drop into Excel and filter, compare, and build your own insights.

💰 177 Records With Real Revenue Data

Median $600/month, mean $2,432, max $150,000—not hearsay, but numbers reported by the creators themselves. You can immediately see where "normal" sits.

📈 Analysis Report Included, Conclusions Ready

Revenue distribution, industry landscape, business model breakdown, acquisition channel stats, success factors, 9-year trend evolution—all analyzed and charted. Open the HTML and start reading.

🗂️ 26 Industry Categories, Find Your Blue Ocean

Education, SaaS, developer tools, marketing, finance… See how many projects per industry, median revenue, and competition level at a glance.

⏳ 9 Years of Data, Not a One-Hit Wonder

Spot which directions are evergreen and which fade after the hype—make long-term decisions based on full trends, not single-year outliers.

Trusted Data Source + Deep Analytical Insights

• Credible Source: Official Hacker News Ask HN threads, community-driven yearly sharing—no ads, no sponsored posts.
• Rigorous Processing: Every record hand-verified + script-cleaned for traceability and reproducibility.
• Deep Analysis: Revenue percentile curves, industry revenue bubble charts, business model distributions—proper analytical frameworks, not casual Excel drags.

A full, structured, analyzed HN side-project dataset like this is hard to find anywhere else.

Data Sample Preview

👉 Try Before You Buy: We strongly recommend checking the preview!

We provide:

1. Free data sample: 15–20 complete records, full fields, downloadable for you to explore
2. Report screenshots: Revenue distribution and industry landscape charts—see the report quality upfront
3. Field reference: 13 columns clearly explained so you can assess fit for your needs

Data Field Overview

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| comment_id | HN comment ID |
| year | Year |
| author | Author |
| project_name | Project name |
| u | Project URL |
| revenue_usd_monthly | Monthly revenue (USD, parsed) |
| description | Project description |
| industry | Industry category |
| monetization | Business model |
| acquisition_channel | Acquisition channel |
| lesson_learned | Lessons learned |
| is_top_level | Top-level comment flag |
| raw_comment | Full original comment |

Sample Data Preview

| year | project_name | industry | revenue_usd_monthly |
|------|--------------|----------|---------------------|
| 2017 | Custom Fields | E-commerce/Shopify | $5,000 |
| 2017 | wanqu.co | Education/Courses | $1,200 |
| 2017 | Leap Second | Marketing | $3,000 |
| 2017 | BacktestMarket | Finance | $1,500 |
| 2017 | Review Signal | Cloud/Hosting | $3,000 |

How to Use This Package

🎯 With this package, you can immediately:

• Pick the right niche: Filter industries with fewer projects and higher median revenue—avoid red oceans
• Benchmark income: See what similar projects typically earn and set a realistic target
• Learn acquisition paths: SEO, content, platform integrations, paid ads—what successful projects use is all in the data
• Dodge pitfalls: Spot directions others have tried with mediocre results—fewer surprises
• Create content: Write blog posts, make videos, launch courses—data-driven "HN side project trends" content has built-in virality
• Research & competitive analysis: Startup research, due diligence, competitor analysis—all covered

In short: Others are guessing. You're deciding with data.

FAQ

❓ Where does the data come from? Is it reliable?

All from HN's official "Those making $500/month on side projects" threads. We manually extract + script-clean; every record traces back to the original post. You can verify yourself.

❓ I don't code. Can I still use this?

Absolutely. The analysis report is an HTML page—open it in a browser, charts and conclusions are ready. CSV opens in Excel or Google Sheets—filter and sort, no code required.

❓ What's the difference between 711 and 520 records?

711 is the total raw comments; 520+ is the deduplicated, cleaned project count. You get both—raw + analysis versions.

❓ Will it be updated?

Currently covers 2017–2025. If HN continues the series, we may release an updated version—existing buyers get a discount.

❓ How is this different from scraping HN for free?

Free scrapes give you raw text. You'd have to parse revenue, classify industries, deduplicate, and clean—easily dozens of hours. We've done that and added the analysis report. You're paying for time and structure.

What You Get

| File | Description |
|------|-------------|
| hn500_projects.csv | Cleaned, structured dataset (520+ rows) |
| hn500_report.html | Interactive analysis report (charts included, supports EN/DE/ES/ZH) |

Key Stats at a Glance

| Number | Meaning |
|--------|---------|
| 711 | Raw HN comments |
| 520+ | Structured projects |
| 9 | Years of data |
| 177 | Records with monthly revenue |
| $600 | Median monthly revenue |
| $2,432 | Mean monthly revenue |
| 26 | Industry categories |
| 13 | Analyzable fields |

Core Insights From the Report

• Reality: Most are at $500–$2K/month — Don't be misled by $10K+ outliers; the report shows the real distribution
• Industry: Most popular ≠ Most profitable — Education has the most projects, but revenue ceilings live elsewhere—the report has the charts
• Model: Subscription dominates — Indie devs do better with stable cash flow; the data backs it
• Acquisition: SEO + content + platforms — Paid ads aren't the main driver; the report breaks it down in detail

Get instant access—711 real side project records + in-depth analysis report. Choose your niche with data, save yourself 6 months of guesswork.