Passive Income App Ideas
Products that generate revenue with minimal ongoing effort. Set it up once and let it run. These ideas are designed for low-maintenance operation with high automation potential.
What Makes an Idea "Passive"?
Truly passive products are rare, but low-maintenance is achievable. Look for: one-time purchases, subscription products with low churn, and automated delivery. The key is building systems that run without constant attention—automated onboarding, self-service support, and minimal feature updates.
The product runs itself
Automated billing, delivery, and basic support. No manual intervention for standard operations.
< 5 hours per week
Occasional updates, minimal customer support needs, stable infrastructure.
Self-service first
Clear documentation, FAQ, in-app guidance. Users solve most issues themselves.
Passive Income Ideas
Invoice Reminder Bot
Automated follow-ups for unpaid invoices. Set up once, runs automatically.
AI Meeting Notes Cleaner
Upload messy notes, get clean action items. Fully automated AI processing.
Automated Brake Repair Cost Estimator
Calculator tool with referral revenue. One-time build, ongoing affiliate income.
AI-Powered Brake Inspection Analyser
Upload photo, get wear analysis. AI does the work automatically.
Automated Documentation Tool
Auto-captures team knowledge from Slack and meetings. Set and forget.
Strategies for Passive Revenue
Subscription Model
Recurring revenue with low churn. Once customers are onboarded, they pay monthly without action.
- Predictable monthly revenue
- Automatic billing with Stripe
- Focus on reducing churn, not sales
Affiliate Revenue
Build free tools that recommend paid products. Earn commissions on referrals.
- No customer support needed
- Scales with traffic (SEO)
- Partner handles fulfillment
Usage-Based Pricing
Charge per API call, document processed, or action taken. Revenue scales with usage.
- No manual invoicing
- Aligns cost with value
- Built-in usage caps prevent abuse
Digital Products
Templates, courses, or ebooks. Create once, sell forever. Zero marginal cost.
- One-time creation effort
- Automated delivery (Gumroad, Lemon)
- 100% profit margin
Automation Checklist
Before launching, make sure these systems are automated:
Billing & Payments
Stripe handles subscriptions, invoices, and failed payments automatically
User Onboarding
Self-service signup, email verification, and in-app tutorials
Support Documentation
FAQ, help docs, and common issue guides reduce support tickets
Error Monitoring
Sentry or similar to catch issues before users report them
Email Sequences
Welcome emails, tips, and re-engagement sent automatically
Infrastructure
Vercel/Railway auto-scales, no server management needed
Other Revenue Goals
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