In this economy, earning more money as a graphic designer is challenging. To make it easier, you can learn how to optimize passive income ideas for graphic designers to improve skills and earn a salary at the same time.
However, you need some hacks to effortlessly collect money from your graphic design skills. Dig into this article to prepare and challenge yourself for passive earnings!
Key takeaways:
Also Read: 8 Elements of Graphic Design for Impactful Visual Projects
The digital era has been expanding into a bigger scale of business. There are recommendations of passive income ideas, especially for graphic designers. Go check them out below!
You can sell digital art such as animation, sticker design, logo design, custom illustration, business cards, and branding kits. Additionally, you can sell virtual goods as well.
Selling virtual designs is a low-cost business since there are no shipping or production expenses. Thanks to the high profit margins, up to 85%, you can potentially earn between $1,000 and $4,000 per month, or even $50,000 to $94,000 per year, by offering digital products on marketplaces like Etsy and Shopify.
P.O.D (Print-On-Demand) business works when customers place their order, which can be cost-effective. Grand View Research reported that print-on-demand annual market growth is 25.8%, with an average profit of 20% to 40%. With the amount of profit, you are capable of receiving $14,000 per month.
Apparel, framed print, mug, and phone case are most likely to be print-on-demand products with a huge market.
One of the passive income ideas for graphic designers is to provide an online course to share your expertise in design. On the other hand, you can monetize your passion and capability in design, including skills in Photoshop, illustration, branding, and UX/UI.
Moreover, you can narrow the niche to be a logo design online course or social media graphics to attract a more specific target audience. The average income you could receive starts from $47,000 up to $80,000 per year with an average fee of $19 per hour.
According to Credence Research, the digital art stock market has been expanding 15% to 30% on average in 2025. Hence, it is a sign for you to start selling digital stocks online through platforms such as DesignHill, Creative Market, and Fiverr.
However, the amount of your earnings could depend on the platform’s policy to charge fees for your earnings. The digital stocks on the online market were valued at almost $4 billion last year.
Also Read: What’s Hot in Design? 10 New Trends in Graphic Design 2025
To provide logo branding services, you could receive both an hourly and project-based salary. It is worth $20 up to $100 per hour and $1,000 up to $10,000 per project, yet it depends on your skill. For instance, if you are an entry-level designer, you could receive $20–$50 and more than $500 for upper-level design skills.
Thus, to be an expert in this one of the passive income ideas for graphic designers, you should consistently improve your skills. Aside from earning more money, you can satisfy your client by delivering your client’s brand identity.
Web design service is a credible passive income for graphic designers with hourly payment for both full-time and freelance work. A full-time web designer can receive $23 to $43 per hour. Yet, if you are a freelancer, you will earn $30 to $80 per hour.
With those amounts, the average yearly earnings for web design services are $49,000–$90,000, with Washington currently being the highest, which is $84,000. You can work on a certain niche, including UX, UI, and HTML design, with a specific level of complexity to earn more money.
Creating and selling unique fonts is a powerful way to break into the design world. Examine the niche and market trend to identify the market demand on the platforms like MyFonts, Etsy, and Creative Market.
The potential salary you earn from selling fonts is $45,000 to $60,000 annually, depending on the font type and license.
Also Read: 13 Types of Graphic Design to Elevate Stunning Ideas
Social media design service is part of the passive income ideas for graphic designers with a high fee. You can earn $24 per hour on average, and the highest is $36.30. To optimize the earnings, make it easier by using Canva, Adobe Express, and VistaCreate to enhance the poster’s visuals.
The e-learning market is projected to reach $848.12 billion by 2030. Use AI smartly to enhance your content with engaging and creative visuals. With the right niche and creative design, your eBook could easily turn into a steady passive income stream.
As we know, a YouTube channel is such a great choice for passive income, especially for graphic designers to share their expertise. However, consider choosing the right niche and tone, whether you want to be friendly, or most likely to be, educational.
The potential salary you earn from YouTube depends on the subscribers and AdSense. For instance, if you have at least 1,000 subscribers, you can earn $30–$300 monthly, including AdSense. If your subscribers are already 1 million, your earnings can soar past $10,000 per month.
Also Read: 7 Best Free Graphic Design Tools to Start Your Design Journey!
It is highly possible to earn passive income for all graphic designers with your specific niche. One of the credible passive income ideas for graphic designers is selling fonts online, which can make you earn up to $60,000 annually.Moreover, you can enhance your design visuals for YouTube banners, social media design, and so on by using Affordable Fonts for Graphic Design. You can browse them on Zarma Type. Only Zarma Type swoops in to boost your passive income with stylish fonts priced between $1 and $24.
