Website Rental
The short answer: Website rental's closest employee benchmark is search marketing strategists, who earned a median $78,760 a year in May 2025 per the BLS, which is employee pay, not site rent. The catch: Kyle, a website landlord Chris Koerner interviewed, builds and ranks a site before offering a business a free trial. (BLS OEWS; Chris Koerner) Website rental suits people willing to phone owners, as Luke Van Der Veer calls them to rent the leads. (Chris Koerner)
| Median pay of employed search marketing strategists | $37.87/hr ($78,760/yr) BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employee pay, not side-hustle income |
|---|---|
| Reported hours | 2–3 hrs/week 2 reports by 2 creators, Apr 2026–Jul 2026 |
| Projected job growth, search marketing strategists | +7% BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 |
| One creator's reported part-time earnings | $500/month Reported by Chris Koerner, Jul 2026 |
| One creator's reported startup cost | $13–$14 Reported by Chris Koerner, Oct 2026 |
From 19 quotes by 2 creators and BLS data. A creator figure is one person's account.
Go deeper: every source on website rental
How much does website rental pay?
For website rental, the BLS comparison is employee pay: employed search marketing strategists earned a median $37.87 an hour in May 2025. One carpet cleaning site featured by Chris earns $500 a month from one lead buyer, and Kyle reports clients paying around $600 to $5,000/month. (BLS OEWS; Chris Koerner)
Luke charges flat fees or, more recently, a 20% revenue share. (Chris Koerner)
| Related occupation | Median pay | Middle 80% |
|---|---|---|
| Search Marketing Strategists | $37.87/hr ($78,760/yr), BLS OEWS, May 2025 | $43,390–$155,480/yr |
Median annual pay of employed search marketing strategists: $78,760 nationally; highest and lowest states below (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
| Highest-paying states | Median | Lowest-paying states | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $101,810/yr | Mississippi | $56,640/yr |
| Delaware | $101,270/yr | West Virginia | $52,340/yr |
| New York | $98,580/yr | Puerto Rico | $39,330/yr |
What do people doing website rental say?
“It's been running at 500 bucks a month.”
“So it's like, huh, let's throw 11 bucks at this plus two or three bucks in tokens.”
“And your overhead is maybe 20 to 25 dollars a month in total overhead.”
“Costs him about ten bucks a month to keep alive.”
What does it cost to start website rental?
Website rental's ongoing costs run $10–$50 a month in creator reports, from about 10 bucks of shared hosting to a CallRail call-forwarding starter plan. One creator reports a startup spend of $13–$14, and Kyle's tools are WordPress, CallRail and a spreadsheet. (Chris Koerner)
- Pick a low-competition niche and city. (Chris Koerner)
- Build a basic site and rank it in Google.
- Route calls through a tracking number.
- Give a local business a free week of leads, then charge monthly.
How many hours a week does website rental take?
Website rental takes 2–3 hours a week in two creator accounts, though Luke has VAs doing the work. Kyle said his first win took 3 months after starting. (Chris Koerner)
One creator cites the ability to travel whenever they want on their own terms. (Chris Koerner)
Who should try website rental as a side hustle?
Website rental suits someone who wants remote work, since a speaker on The Side Hustle Show says you can rank in organic search results from anywhere. Anyone who won't make sales calls should skip website rental, because Kyle's interview covers a cold-call script. (The Side Hustle Show; Chris Koerner)
Is website rental worth it?
Pros
- One carpet cleaning site built around 2018 still ranks first. (Chris Koerner)
- One creator says a working site can be copied across other niches or markets. (Chris Koerner)
Cons
- Kyle's flat monthly fee comes with no contract, and his interview covers churn. (Chris Koerner)
- One clip names elevator repair and jet rental as niches to avoid. (Chris Koerner)
What are the risks of website rental?
Website rental's big numbers come from larger operations: Kyle's company does around $100,000 a month and Luke runs 232 sites. Accounts of upkeep differ: one creator says a ranked site mostly never needs touching again, while another describes a couple hours a week of maintenance. (Chris Koerner)
What are the alternatives to website rental?
- Car Rental: Also in renting out what you own.
- Clothing Rental as a side hustle: Also in renting out what you own.
- Personal Car Rental as a side hustle: Also in renting out what you own.
- Vacation Rentals as a side hustle: Also in renting out what you own.
- Renting out your stuff as a side hustle: Also in renting out what you own.
What else do people ask about website rental?
Which niches do website landlords pick?
Luke picks boring high-ticket niches in smaller cities, such as towing and tree service. (Chris Koerner)
How do you vet a lead buyer?
One clip advises vetting buyers who already pay for ads and secret-shopping them. (Chris Koerner)
Sources and method
Quotes are verbatim and linked to the moment they were said. A figure from one report is not confirmed by a second source. BLS figures describe employees in the closest related occupation. Every quote, the pay in each state and the full source list are on the every source on website rental.
- Chris Koerner, YouTube, 6 May 2026.
- Chris Koerner, YouTube, 11 Jul 2026.
- Chris Koerner, YouTube, 16 Jul 2026.
- Chris Koerner, YouTube, 23 Oct 2026.
- The Side Hustle Show, podcast, 16 Apr 2026.
- Chris Koerner, podcast, 13 Oct 2026.
- Chris Koerner, YouTube, 14 Jul 2026.
- Chris Koerner, YouTube, 9 Jul 2026.
- Chris Koerner, podcast, 1 May 2026.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, 31.0.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35.
Other data behind this page (8)
| Fact | Value | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demand trend | growing | Accepted | BLS Employment Projections |
| Full-time or part-time | full time capable | Accepted | Chris Koerner |
| Scalability | high | Accepted | Chris Koerner |
| Schedule control | own schedule | Accepted | Chris Koerner |
| Work mode | remote | Accepted | The Side Hustle Show |
| Ongoing cost | $20–$25/month | One report | Chris Koerner |
| Ongoing cost | $50/month | One report | The Side Hustle Show |
| Time to first dollar | 90 days | 2 reports | Chris Koerner |