12 ways programmers can make money from their coding skills

Executive overview

Most programmers default to salaried employment, but that's neither the only option nor the safest. Coding unlocks a wide range of income paths — from freelancing to SaaS — each with different risk, effort, and ceiling.

Rob Walling walks through all 12, then explains how to choose using the Stair Step Method: start with lower-risk, lower-complexity paths before building toward SaaS.

The right path depends on your unfair advantages — personality, existing skills, and current coding level — not just on what pays most.

Employment and client work

• Salaried employment offers steady income and benefits but limits freedom; layoffs mean it's less secure than it appears
• Freelancing gives flexibility but is feast-or-famine; sourcing your own clients beats marketplaces like Upwork or Fiverr
• Micro agency: you lead sales, write code, then hire contractors at $30–50/hr while billing at $100–150/hr; margins erode once contractors go to salary
• Traditional agencies handle larger clients with full-time staff and project management
• Productized services charge a flat fee or monthly subscription for a repeatable deliverable (e.g. unlimited WordPress updates, fixed-scope Squarespace builds)

Products and platforms

• Marketplace apps and plugins (e.g. monday.com, Shopify) are a lower-risk first product; MicroConf lists 75+ platforms at microconf.com/marketplaces
• Themes and frameworks for WordPress, Shopify, or Squarespace generate one-time sales; success requires high volume (e.g. ThemeForest)
• Mobile apps on the App Store or Google Play are viable but skew B2C and rely on one-time sales — generally less attractive
• SaaS is the goal for many, but is the hardest starting point; better reached via the stair-step ladder than as a first move

Teaching and content

• Online courses and tutorials (one-time or subscription) build a sellable asset; examples include Frontend Mentor and boot.dev
• Private coding classes — one-on-one or group, online or in-person — can be marketed locally or through platforms like codementor.io
• Tech blogging and content marketing: brands pay well for technical writing; draft.dev is a productized example; can also monetize via ads and sponsorships
• YouTube channel focused on a specific language or framework (e.g. Programming with Mosh, Theo at t3.gg)

Choosing your path

• Audit your unfair advantages: what skills or traits do you already have beyond coding?
• Good on camera → consider courses or YouTube
• Good in a room → consider in-person instruction
• Want recurring revenue with less client work → marketplace apps or SaaS via stair-step
• Set your goal first: side income, bill coverage, or full business — the right answer differs