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Financial Wellness

Highest Paid Side Hustle? How to Compare Real Net Earnings

October 2, 2026
9 Min Read

By HealthDataConsortium.org Research Team. Sources checked October 3, 2026. This is general education, not tax, legal, or financial advice.

Short answer: no single side hustle is “highest paid” for everyone. On the published gross-pay lists below, technical and consulting roles rank near the top and routine roles such as telemarketing rank near the bottom. But a gross hourly rate is only the first line of the math. Platform fees, startup costs, unpaid hours, and self-employment tax all come out before you know what a side job really pays. The worksheet below shows how to compare any two options on the same footing.

What Published Pay Lists Actually Show

Two popular online-jobs lists give a sense of the gross range. Novoresume's online jobs guide (updated June 4, 2026) lists average hourly figures and names a source for each. Examples include Web Developer at $60 per hour and Programmer at $42 per hour (both attributed to ZipRecruiter), Graphic Designer at $30.16 per hour (PayScale), Freelance Writer at $32 per hour (ZipRecruiter), Tutor at $22 per hour (ZipRecruiter), Bookkeeper at $20.17 per hour (PayScale), and Telemarketer at $14 per hour (ZipRecruiter).

The Interview Guys' list of high-paying online jobs (last updated June 25, 2026) uses annual ranges instead, such as Freelance Consultant at $75K to $200K+ and Online Tutor or Coach at $50K to $150K+, both marked as variable. That page does not name a specific salary survey behind each range, so treat those numbers as rough illustrations rather than benchmarks.

Three limits matter before you rely on either list:

  • They are gross figures. Neither list subtracts fees, expenses, or taxes.
  • They describe jobs, not side gigs. A side hustle usually means finding your own clients, and that time rarely pays.
  • They are averages. Your rate depends on your skills, your market, and how many billable hours you can actually land.

The Net-Hourly-Earnings Worksheet

Use one month of real or expected numbers. Do this for each side hustle you are weighing.

  1. Gross pay: everything clients or platforms pay you, including tips.
  2. Minus platform and payment fees: marketplace service fees, payment processing, and withdrawal charges. Fees vary. For example, Upwork's help page says its freelancer fee ranges from 0% to 15% per contract. Check the current fee for the platform you would use.
  3. Minus costs: software, equipment, supplies, insurance, phone, and fuel. Spread large startup costs over the months you expect to use them.
  4. Equals net profit before tax.
  5. Minus self-employment tax: the IRS says the rate is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare) and that the amount subject to it is generally 92.35% of your net earnings from self-employment. It usually applies once net earnings reach $400. So: net profit x 0.9235 x 0.153.
  6. Divide by all hours worked: paid hours plus unpaid hours such as finding clients, writing proposals, invoicing, revisions, waiting between jobs, and travel.

The result is your net hourly earnings before income tax. Federal income tax, state tax, and the IRS-allowed deduction for half of your self-employment tax depend on your whole tax return, and the annual Social Security earnings limit can change the self-employment tax math at higher incomes, so this worksheet leaves them out. Treat it as a comparison tool, not a tax calculation.

Worked Example (Made-Up Numbers)

These figures are hypothetical and chosen only to show the method. They are not real earnings data.

  • Freelance project work: $1,200 gross, minus a 10% platform fee ($120), minus $30 in software, leaves $1,050 net profit. Self-employment tax is about $148. That leaves roughly $902. Working 20 billable hours plus 8 unpaid hours (28 total) gives about $32.20 per hour, compared with $60 per hour if you only count billable time.
  • Local delivery work: $600 gross, no platform fee, $120 in fuel and phone costs, leaves $480 net profit. Self-employment tax is about $68, leaving roughly $412. Over 24 hours including waiting time, that is about $17.17 per hour, against $25 per hour gross.

The lesson is not that one category always wins. It is that the gap between gross and net can be large, and unpaid time is often the biggest driver.

Side-by-Side Comparison of Common Side-Work Categories

The pay figures below come from the two lists above. Where neither list gives a figure, none is shown. Fill in your own numbers using the worksheet.

Skilled Digital Freelancing (Development, Design, Writing)

  • Published gross pay: Web Developer $60 per hour, Graphic Designer $30.16 per hour, Freelance Writer $32 per hour (Novoresume, citing ZipRecruiter and PayScale).
  • Costs to count: marketplace fees, software, and equipment.
  • Unpaid time to count: finding clients, proposals, revisions, and invoicing.
  • Tax note: self-employment tax applies to net profit.

Tutoring and Coaching

  • Published gross pay: Tutor $22 per hour (Novoresume, citing ZipRecruiter); Online Tutor or Coach $50K to $150K+ per year, variable (The Interview Guys, no named survey).
  • Costs to count: platform fees, materials, and any certifications.
  • Unpaid time to count: lesson prep, scheduling, and cancellations.
  • Tax note: the same self-employment rules apply.

Bookkeeping, Virtual Assistance, and Admin Work

  • Published gross pay: Bookkeeper $20.17 per hour (Novoresume, citing PayScale); Virtual Executive Assistant $65K to $120K per year (The Interview Guys, no named survey).
  • Costs to count: software subscriptions and any client-required tools.
  • Unpaid time to count: onboarding new clients and unbilled communication.
  • Tax note: the IRS says estimated tax is how self-employed people pay Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes when no employer withholds them.

Driving, Delivery, and Other In-Person Gigs

  • Published gross pay: neither list gives a figure for this category, so check the platform's own pay data and verify it.
  • Costs to count: fuel, vehicle wear, phone data, and insurance. For tax purposes, the IRS set the 2026 business standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per mile (announced December 29, 2025). Ask a tax professional whether that method or actual expenses fits your situation.
  • Unpaid time to count: waiting between orders and travel to busy areas.
  • Tax note: gig income is reportable even when no tax form arrives.

Taxes and Rules to Know Before You Compare

The IRS Gig Economy Tax Center says income from gig work must be reported on a tax return even if it is paid in cash, property, goods, or virtual currency, and even if you do not receive a Form 1099-K, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, or W-2. The IRS also says self-employed people use Schedule C (Form 1040) to report income or loss from sole proprietor or gig work, and that estimated tax is the method used to pay Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes when no employer withholds them. Individuals generally must pay estimated tax if they expect to owe $1,000 or more when their return is filed. Plan for that payment before you treat the money as yours to spend.

Check Income Claims Before You Count On Them

Any pay figure, whether in a list, an ad, or a course page, is a claim to test with the worksheet. Income claims also appear in course marketing. In our review of one online income course, the marketing said cash flow could begin within 24 hours, while the product's own disclaimer said there was no commitment that you will earn any money. That gap is a reminder to compare what a seller promises with what the seller's own fine print says. Some pages on this site contain paid links, and that review is one of them.

Who Should Get Professional Advice

Talk with a licensed tax professional, such as a CPA or enrolled agent, if you are starting self-employment income for the first time, are unsure whether to use standard mileage or actual vehicle costs, expect to owe estimated tax, earn across several states, or already have an employer and a side business. Your state's rules and your full tax picture change the real take-home number, and this article cannot account for them.

Why This Matters Beyond the Paycheck

Money pressure and health are connected, which is why this comparison belongs in a wellness publication. Our overview of how financial stress affects health covers that research. This article does not claim that any side job will help or harm your health. It only aims to help you judge the money side accurately.

What to Do Next

  1. Pick two side-work options you are seriously considering.
  2. Run the six-step worksheet for each, using fees from the platforms' current pages.
  3. Track your real unpaid hours for a few weeks if you can before committing.
  4. Set aside money for self-employment tax as you earn, and confirm your estimated-tax plan with a tax professional.
  5. Compare net hourly earnings, and also compare schedule flexibility and the effect on your rest and health.

This article does not recommend or rate any product, platform, or company, and it contains no affiliate links of its own. Pay figures are quoted from the sources below and were not independently verified.

Sources

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