Much of your time is likely spent working and keeping up with the rigors of everyday life. After meeting the various obligations of life, it's normal to want to spend your free time binge-watching TV or scrolling through social media. However, you can still rest and engage your brain outside of work with a great hobby, which is any activity you do in your free time purely for enjoyment.
Whether it's a relaxing hobby like reading or quilting, or an exciting undertaking filled with mental challenges or physical activity, the best hobby ideas offer a way to be active outside of work obligations. Besides giving you a reason to relax and have fun, hobbies can also boost your mental health. A study published in Nature Medicine found that having a hobby is linked to fewer depressive symptoms, greater happiness, and higher life satisfaction.
Best of all, you don't have to commit to an expensive hobby to get these benefits. Plenty of hobby ideas for adults are cheap or completely free.
Best hobby ideas
Hobbies fall into a few broad categories, and this guide covers all of them:
- Creative hobbies, like painting and journaling
- Craft hobbies, like knitting and woodworking
- Hobbies you can do at home, like reading and board games
- Outdoor and active hobbies, like hiking and gardening
- Social and learning hobbies, like language learning and volunteering
People spend a meaningful chunk of their free time on these activities. In 2025, on days Americans volunteered, they spent an average of 2.18 hours doing so, according to theBureau of Labor Statistics. On days people participated in sports, exercise, or recreation, they spent an average of 1.47 hours, with 23.4% of the population doing so on an average day.
Whatever category appeals to you, this guide breaks down specific hobby ideas within each one, along with what it takes to get started and how you might eventually turn your hobby into income.
Creative hobbies
- Learning an instrument
- Writing music
- Designing graphics
- Journaling
- Painting
- Drawing
- Taking photos
- Filmmaking
Creative hobbies like painting, knitting, and pottery double as a mental health boost. A study inFrontiers in Public Health found that engaging in arts and crafts predicted higher life satisfaction and happiness, above and beyond factors like age, health, and employment status.
Learning an instrument
Playing music is a hobby you can enjoy solo or with friends. Picking the right instrument depends on your music taste, budget, and space constraints. If you live in a studio apartment, you might lean toward a keyboard instead of a drum set. Down the line, you can even consider joining a band to play with others, or offering music lessons to share your skill.
Writing music
Whether you already play an instrument or you're new to it, writing music is a hobby you can try at any skill level. Experiment with writing lyrics to sing while you strum your guitar or verses to accompany hip-hop beats you craft with music software.
If you want to turn your hobby into an income, you can license your songs for ads and videos, sell beats or instrumentals online, or distribute your music through streaming platforms to collect royalties.
Designing graphics
Designing graphics is a hobby you can start with widely available software, along with free online courses and how-to videos. If you run your own business or frequently need graphics for other projects, designing graphics can also help you build a skill you'll use again. Or, you can use your skill to help others, designing graphics for businesses or selling your artwork online.
Journaling
Journaling is an introspective hobby that boosts your relaxation and mental health, allowing you to understand your life and yourself better. A study published in Family Medicine and Community Health looked at 20 clinical trials on journaling and found that 68% showed people's mental health symptoms improved after they started journaling.
You can write every day or only when you feel like putting your thoughts on paper. Either way, journaling leaves you with a record you can look back on. Bullet journaling works the same way, but adds structure, combining to-do lists, tasks, plans, and daily notes all into one notebook.
Painting
Painting lets you work with color and texture using materials like acrylics, watercolors, or oils.According to Mintel, 73% of adults in the US participated in a crafting project last year, and consumers who doarts and crafts skew toward painting and drawing over other activities, which Mintel attributes to their affordability and the wide range of skill levels they accommodate. If you develop your skills enough, you can even sell your artwork in the future.
Drawing
You only need a pencil and paper to get started with drawing. You can sketch from real life, copy reference photos, or work digitally with a tablet and stylus. Find online tutorials and drawing apps that offer step-by-step lessons for people at any skill level.
If you want to earn money from drawing, you can sell prints or commissions, illustrate book covers or album art, or license your designs for products like T-shirts and stickers.
Taking photos
Photography lets you capture new social scenes, natural landscapes, or unfamiliar places through images. In the first quarter of 2025, 17% of US consumers said they were interested in photography as a hobby, according toStatista consumer research. Whether you want to learn film or digital photography, you can take local classes and workshops to acquire the basics, or contact a local photographer to shadow or assist them during a shoot or project.
If you want to make money from photography, you can sell prints or stock photos, offer freelance services for events like weddings, or build an audience to attract paid brand partnerships.
Filmmaking
For the first hundred years of cinema, you needed expensive, specialized equipment to do any kind of filmmaking. Now, most smartphones include high-quality video cameras, so you can start making films with equipment you already own.
Filmmaking is a hobby that lets you experiment with storytelling, visuals, and editing. If you want to make money from filmmaking, you can shoot promotional or event videos for local businesses, sell stock footage, or build an audience on platforms like YouTube to earn ad revenue and sponsorships.
Craft hobbies
- Making jewelry
- Making candles
- Knitting and crocheting
- Sewing
- Woodworking
- Doing nail art
- Screen printing
Craft hobbies let you use your hands to make something you can keep, gift, or sell. From jewelry-making to woodworking, each comes with its own tools and techniques, but most start with an inexpensive beginner kit or a single class.
Making jewelry
If you’re looking for a hobby that lets you keep the products of your labor, jewelry-making can be a fun and engaging practice. Start by finding a relatively inexpensive beginner kit online or enroll in a workshop, like the one hosted by Brittany Hopkins, the founder of Anice Jewellery.
As Brittany says in an interview with Shopify Masters, people discover their own creativity when they engage with a hobby like making their own jewelry and leave with a sense of accomplishment.
Making candles
Like jewelry-making or quilting, candle-making is a hobby that results in an object you can use. Have fun getting creative and experimenting with the shapes, sizes, and scents of the candles you make. If you find you like candle-making, you can pursue starting your own candle business.
Knitting and crocheting
Knitting and crocheting let you create wearable and decorative items using yarn and needles or a hook. There are plenty of household goods and accessories you can work on to get yourself started in the hobby, like blankets, sweaters, socks, and even pot holders.
If you want to make money from knitting or crocheting, you can sell finished pieces like scarves, blankets, or plush toys, design and sell your own patterns, or take custom commission orders.
Sewing
In addition to letting you flex your creativity, some hobbies can also help you save money. Sewing can mean turning new ideas for clothing into reality or simply fixing the things you already have so they last longer. Ask the employees at your local fabric or crafts store if they know of upcoming classes or workshops for beginners. Once you have the skill down pat, you can offer your sewing services to friends, family, and the local community.
Woodworking
Whether you’re making your own chair or building a jewelry box for a loved one, woodworking helps you fine-tune precision and attention to detail. If you want to make money from woodworking, you can sell finished pieces at craft fairs and online marketplaces, take custom commission orders, or teach woodworking classes.
Doing nail art
Nail art lets you turn small, detailed designs into something you wear and show off. Painting fine patterns on such a small surface takes concentration and a steady hand, and it's a fun way to foster your creativity.
In the end, you get to wear your art. Once you’ve perfected your craft, you can offer nail services from home, sell press-on nails online, or build a following showcasing your work on social media to attract clients or brand partnerships.
Screen printing
Screen printing uses specialty inks and silk screens to transfer designs onto paper or fabric. Each color in a design has its own screen, and the ink is pressed through by hand, so screen printing involves precise alignment and a fair amount of trial and error.
To get started, you’ll need inks, screens, squeegees, and other equipment, which require an up-front financial investment. If you want to put designs on shirts or paper goods without that equipment, print-on-demand (POD) services print your design onto an item only when a customer orders it, so you can try out apparel or paper goods designs without buying screens or ink up front.
Hobbies to do at home
Not every hobby needs special equipment or a trip outside. These hobbies fit into evenings, weekends, or any pocket of free time you have at home.
Cooking
You don’t need to be a culinary pro to get into cooking. Learning simple recipes can help you hone your tastes, discover how ingredients enhance different dishes, and make a great dinner in the process.
Reading
If you haven't picked up a book since high school, reading can be a great way to imagine other worlds and engage your brain while relaxing at the same time. Consider setting an annual reading goal for yourself; in 2025, American adults read an average of eight books each, according toYouGov. Aim for that number or go even higher.
Playing board games
You don't need a dedicated game room to get into the highly social hobby of board games. The global board games market grew from $14.36 billion in 2024 to $15.82 billion in 2025, and games aimed at adults are now the fastest-growing segment, projected to expand at a 12% annual rate through 2034, according toFortune Business Insights.
Gather your friends to play a card game, a dice-based game, or a board game, or find entire communities built around specific games online or in-person. You can even create your own board games to sell.
Playing trivia or word games
Whether it's a trivia night at a local bar or practicing with an app or book at home, trivia allows you to engage with pop culture, current events, and test your memory. Word games involve problem-solving, pattern recognition, and recall, making them especially good for keeping your mind sharp.
Homebrewing
If you're a beer lover and want to learn a new skill, you can start making your own beer at home. Specialty homebrew supply stores can help you get outfitted with the equipment and ingredients you need to get started.
If you want to make money from homebrewing, you can enter competitions with cash prizes, sell your own recipes or brewing guides, or use what you learn as a foundation for eventually opening a licensed nanobrewery.
Outdoor and active hobbies
Getting outside is one of the most popular ways Americans spend their free time. A record 183.2 million Americans (59% of the population ages 6 and older) participated in outdoor recreation in 2025, according to theOutdoor Industry Association's “2026 Outdoor Participation Trends Report.” Whether you want a full workout or just some fresh air, there's an outdoor hobby that fits.
Hiking
Hiking requires nothing more than your presence and maybe a pair of boots, making it one of the most accessible ways to get outside. It's also one of the most popular: Day hiking drew 63.4 million participants in the US in 2024, more than any other outdoor activity, according to the Outdoor Foundation's ”2025 Outdoor Participation Trends Report.” All you have to do is find a trail, which you can do by using a hiking app, like AllTrails, or a local Facebook group.
Bicycling
Depending on where you live, you can pedal a mountain bike on a single track or cover a serious distance on a road bike. If your goal is to become competitive, consider signing up for a race, either as a solo rider or as part of a team.
Roller skating
Roller skating involves gliding across a rink or outdoors on skates. You can rent skates before buying your own to see if you like it. From there, you can stick with the basics or work on advanced techniques and even join a roller skating or roller derby team.
Playing sports
Team sports participation in the US topped 90 million people for the first time in 2025, with basketball, baseball, and outdoor soccer leading the pack, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association's “2026 Topline Participation Report.”
Many parks have pickup games open to anyone who wants to join. Playing with strangers or neighbors is a way to build your social circle while staying active. If you want to make money playing, you can officiate recreational league games, coach youth teams, or run clinics for beginners.
Dancing
Hip-hop, ballet, flamenco, and ballroom are just a few of the styles you can try if you choose to take up dancing as a hobby. Styles like tango and waltz let you exercise, meet new people, and learn a new skill in a group setting.
Gardening
A gardening hobby covers everything from growing vegetables and herbs to tending a lawn, flower bed, or houseplants. US households spent a record $79 billion on lawn and garden in 2025, an average of $740 per household, according to Garden Research’s”National Gardening Survey.” You can start small with a few container plants on a balcony or windowsill, or take on a full backyard vegetable plot.
Birdwatching
Birdwatching can give you a great excuse to get outside and pay attention to the world around you. Start by identifying the birds in your neighborhood and consider joining a local group if you enjoy it.
Social and learning hobbies
Some hobbies are less about what you make and more about who you connect with or what you pick up along the way. These hobbies build a skill, a community, or both.
Learning a new language
Learning can help increase your ability to communicate with those around you and allow you to explore a new culture and traditions. Duolingo, the most widely used language-learning app, reported 56.5 million daily active users in the first quarter of 2026, up 21% from the same period a year earlier.
You can pick up a new language through apps, classes, immersion programs, or conversations with native speakers, including family members who grew up speaking a language you didn't learn as a child. If you already speak more than one language, you can add a third or a fourth. If you want to make money from your language skills, you can freelance as a translator or interpreter, tutor students online, or create and sell language-learning content.
Playing chess
Chess is a two-player strategy game played on a checkered board with 16 pieces per side, each moving in different ways. You can play in person with a physical board, online against other players, or against a computer at any skill level.
Volunteering
Volunteering is a hobby that not only benefits your community but also your sense of meaning and self-worth. In December 2025, 63% of US adults said they'd volunteered their time to a religious or charitable organization in the past year, according toGallup. You can find volunteer opportunities through local nonprofits, schools, hospitals, or animal shelters near you.
Hobbies that can make money
Some hobbies are easier than others to turn into income. Creative hobbies, like painting, jewelry-making, and woodworking, lend themselves naturally to producing something physical you can sell.
That's often how a financially viable hobby starts: as something you do purely for fun, with no plan to sell anything. Allegra Shaw, cofounder of Uncle Studios, said her YouTube channel began the same way. "I saw that there was a community on YouTube; I wanted to be a part of that," she says. "And so I started it just as a hobby for a very long time there. There wasn't really brand deals or people making money."
Skill-based hobbies, like photography, language learning, and playing an instrument, can turn into paid services like tutoring, freelance work, or gigs. Other hobbies, like thrifting or upcycling clothes, tap into markets that are already growing fast. The global secondhand apparel market is projected to reach $393 billion by 2030, growing twice as fast as the overall apparel retail industry, according toThredUp's 2026 resale report.
If you're not sure which hobby to invest more time or money into, start with what you already know and enjoy. In a Q4 2025 survey of Shopify merchants, 57% said they used their own personal experience to validate their business idea before starting.* In other words, you don't need to guess what will sell; your hobby is often the best market research you already have.
Turning a hobby into income is also more common than you might think. In Bankrate's 2025 “Side Hustle Survey,” 27% of US adults reported having a side hustle, with online sales the most popular category at 15% of side hustlers, and crafts landing in the top five at 9%.
Once you've picked a hobby to sell, the first step is deciding what you're actually selling, be that a physical product, a service, or something digital. If your hobby produces something like an ebook, a printable pattern, a photography preset, or an instructional video, you can sell it directly through your store using Shopify'sDigital Products app, which lets customers download or access their purchase automatically after checkout, with no shipping needed.
How to choose a hobby
If you’re not sure where to start, ask yourself a few questions to help narrow it down:
- What do you already enjoy doing? Think about activities you look forward to, even small ones, like cooking a new recipe or doodling during a meeting. Your current interests are often the best clue to a hobby you'll stick with long-term.
- How much time do you realistically have? Some hobbies, like reading or journaling, fit into small pockets of free time. Others, like woodworking or homebrewing, need longer, uninterrupted stretches.
- What's your budget? Hobbies can range from free (hiking, drawing with a pencil and paper) to costly (photography gear, homebrewing equipment). Decide what you're comfortable spending before you buy or commit to anything.
- Do you want to do something alone or with other people? Certain hobbies, like reading or knitting, work well solo. Others, like pickup basketball or board games, are built around other people. Think about which setting sounds more appealing to you.
- Do you want a hobby that could eventually make money? If so, look for one that produces something you could sell, like a craft, a skill, or a service
*Based on a 2025 survey of 500 Shopify merchants conducted in English across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. Respondents were established merchants with 2+ years on the platform. Results reflect the experiences of this specific sample and may not be representative of all merchants.
Hobby ideas FAQ
What are 5 good hobbies?
Five hobbies to consider are reading, gardening, hiking, painting, and volunteering. Each one fits a different budget, time commitment, and social preference, so the right choice depends on what you're looking for.
How can I find a hobby I like?
The best way to find a hobby is to follow your interests while taking your budget, time, and resources into account. Whether you enjoy writing, reading, sports, or making visual art, there are many ways to experiment inexpensively.
What are the most common hobbies?
Reading, gardening, and outdoor activities are among the most common hobbies in the US. In 2025, 250 million Americans took part in at least one sport, fitness hobby, or leisure activity, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association's “2026 Topline Participation Report,” while 73% of US adults did some form of crafting in the past year, per Mintel.
What hobbies can make money?
Hobbies that produce a physical product, a skill, or a service are the easiest to turn into income. Artistic hobbies like painting or woodworking can become products you sell, while skill-based hobbies like photography or language learning can turn into tutoring or freelance work.
What are good hobbies for people over 50?
Birding, wildlife viewing, and hiking are among the top activities for adults 55 and older, according to the Outdoor Foundation's 2025 “Outdoor Participation Trends” report. Low-equipment hobbies like reading, gardening, and freshwater fishing are also popular in this age group.
