Niche subscription software product

Small businesses, freelancers or hobbyists in a niche who pay a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-off fee for the tool.

Monthly or annual subscriptions, one-off licences or app store sales, with extra income from premium tiers or paid support.

• Programming and basic product design
• Understanding a niche audience
• Simple online marketing and customer support
• Patience to build slowly alongside other work

• Income can take months to build, so many people keep other work at first
• Check UK GDPR duties and whether you need to register with the ICO if you store customer data
• Write clear terms of service and a privacy policy, and consider legal advice
• VAT rules for digital sales, including to overseas customers, are worth checking with HMRC or an accountant
• Hosting, payment and app store fees can reduce your margin, so price with them in mind

Startup costs are typically around £200 to £3,000, depending on hosting, tools, design and payment or app store fees. Treat this as an estimate and keep costs low while you test whether customers want the product.

Monthly revenue is typically around £100 to £4,000, depending on customer numbers and pricing. Income can take months to build, so many people keep other work at first. You can start at around 8 hours a week.

Check UK GDPR duties and whether you need to register with the ICO if you store customer data. Also write clear terms of service and a privacy policy, and check VAT rules for digital sales, including to overseas customers, with HMRC or an accountant.