If you’ve been reading This Online World for a while, you know that I love weird ways to make money.
Passive income apps are also some of my favorites, and you can definitely take this world to the next level if you really want to.
In particular, selling your internet bandwidth for extra cash is one of the strangest albeit simplest ways to start earning extra income each month.
And, out of all the platforms that let you sell bandwidth, one of the most popular options out there is Fluidstack.
If you want to put your GPU to work and earn up to $310 per month for your unusued internet and computing power, be sure to read this Fluidstack review until the end!
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Let’s get to it!
What Is Fluidstack?
Fluidstack used to be a marketplace for buying and selling unused bandwidth, essentially acting as a VPN to let people and businesses use different IP addresses from around the world.
Recently, Fluidstack has changed.
Fluidstack now deals with buying and renting out GPU power at affordable pricing.
According to Fluidstack, they’re the largest GPU marketplace and “aggregate GPU machines from underutilised datacentres and private clusters to slash the cost of cloud computation.”
So, in other words, Fluidstack lets researchers and companies rent out computing power for tasks like:
- Machine learning.
- Video rendering.
- Transcoding.
- Cloud gaming.
This is different than simply buying bandwidth.
Fluidstack is all about helping companies and researchers buy more computing power for an affordable price.
For computer owners with powerful rigs, Fluidstack offers and opportunity to create a new income stream by selling their idle computing power.
How Does FluidStack Work? – Requirements For Making Money
Fluidstack used to let just about anyone sell their unused bandwidth on the platform.
However, because of the new GPU requirements, you need a certain type of setup to use the platform,
Firstly, Fluidstack basically only works with Linux because the company has recently dropped most support for Windows operating systems.
Additionally, Fluidstack requires specific GPU models for their cloud compute platform:
- Any GeForce RTX 20XX card.
- GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.
- GeForce GTX 1080.
- Tesla V100-SXM2-16GB.
- Tesla V100-SXM2-32GB.
On top of that, your machine must have the following specs:
- Ubuntu (18.10, 18.04, 16.04, 14.04) OS.
- Core i5 or higher CPU (or equivalent performance).
- An NVIDIA GPU.
- 8+ GBs of RAM.
- At least 50 GBs of free storage space.
- Download Speeds of at least 30Mbps.
- Upload Speeds of at least 10Mbps.
Note that Fluidstack doesn’t support VPs, cloud servers, or virtual machines.
Update: Fluidstack has stopped onboarding new bandwidth providers and now works with its own private network of providers. This means it’s not a viable side hustle anymore for anyone looking to sell their unused computing power.
If you’re looking for more passive income ideas, I suggest reading our post on how to make money on autopilot for some inspiration for creating more income streams.
How Much Does Fluidstack Pay?
According to Fluidstack, you can earn up to $310 per month for renting out your GPU.
Now, in reality, payments depend on your machine availability and GPU type. In other words, if your computer isn’t free too often and you have a weaker GPU, you earn less per month in passive income.
Here’s a table of Fluidstack’s GPU payment breakdown:
Fluidstack pays out at the end of the month through PayPal as long as you have at least $5 in your account.
Note that Fluidstack has changed their payments up in the past, and Linux machines can earn a tad more, so take these numbers with a grain of salt.
How To Sign Up For Fluidstack
If you want to make money with Fluidstack, the process of getting started is pretty simple.
Hosting on Fluidstack takes three steps:
- List your machine on Fluidstack’s waiting list. Fluidstack needs to review your hardware before approval.
- Setup your machine with Fluidstack to provide them access. This takes three minutes.
- Let your machine get to work and get paid at the end of the month.
According to Fluidstack, “your computer is aggregated into our cloud platform, where machines are provisioned based on our client’s stated needs through our API, e.g. GPUs, storage or memory.”
If you’re concerned about who is using your computer and what to expect, you can also contact Fluidstack for more information.
How To Earn More Money
Renting out your GPU power is the main way to make money with Fluidstack.
However, the platform has also expanded to new services, many of which are in beta.
If you want to maximize your monthly income, they’re definitely worth considering.
1. Linux GPU Payments
Fluidstack’s Linux GPU program is still in beta, but this program pays a garaunteed flat amount per month per node you have running in the network.
If you’re running linux and have one of the following GPUs, this program is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Here are the GPUs and their payout amounts:
As you can see, the Tesla V100 pays $400 per month, which is insane!
Again, this program is in beta, but it’s nice to see that Fluidstack lets Linux users earn a decent amount of passive income per month.
2. Cloud Gaming
According to Fluidstack, their new cloud gaming business line lets people with high spec PCs rent out their computing power for other users to play games on.
This service primarily uses the GPU and lets you make an extra $100 per month depending on usage.
You have to opt-in to this feature, and of course, you need a pretty powerful gaming rig to get accepted.
However, if you’re already into video games and have a decent setup, this is an easy way to make more money with Fluidstack.
3. Video Transcoding
According to Fluidstack, the company has “built a distributed video transcoding service which runs across our node network. This allows us to offer video platforms (e.g. Dailymotion) the ability to transcode videos into multiple formats and resolutions.”
This service uses your CPU, and Fluidstack assures users that the electricity cost of doing this doesn’t nulify your earnings.
Again, you need to opt into this service, but it’s another way to maximize Fluidstack’s potential.
Is Fluidstack Safe?
If you checkout the Fluidstack Reddit community, you’ll find a stream of updates from the company, questions from users, and testimonials.
The Reddit page actually seems more up to date than Fluidstack’s FAQ, so I definitely recommend keeping tabs on it if you’re serious about this money making idea.
Anyway, you can find Fluidstack reviews from users that state the platform is safe and legit:
However, as you can see in the comment above, just remember: you’re renting out your computer to another person so you need to be comfortable with that.
Fluidstack caters to companies and researchers, but you need to be comfortable with the idea.
Edit – Fluidstack’s GPU Payment Change
I’m updating this post because Fluidstack has actually announced that they are halting GPU payments for the forseeable future.
Okay, so what does this all mean?
Basically, Fluidstack is moving away from letting you make money with bandwidth and your idle GPU power.
Now, Fluidstack is more interested in renting out dedicated virtual desktops to their consumers.
So, this is now a more serious side hustle for people who want to make money by renting out a dedicated desktop.
If you can’t commit to this level of service, you’ll need to hang on for when/if Fluidstack brings back GPU and bandwidth options.
Pros & Cons Of Fluidstack
Fluidstack is, admiteddly, much harder to earn money with these days than in the past.
However, this is still an easy passive income idea if you have a dedicated machine, so there are some benefits.
The pros of using Fluidstack include:
- Completely passive income.
- Multiple ways to boost your earnings.
- Electricity costs aren’t absurd.
The cons of this platform include:
- No more GPU and bandwidth payments.
- Linux-only.
Ultimately, this is an incredibly niche online money making idea, and you need the right kind of hardware to even participate.
Other Passive Income Ideas
Fluidstack used to be a lot more beginner-friendly because you could sell your bandwidth or rent out your GPU.
Nowadays, you need a dedicated machine to make money with Fluidstack, which limits the ideal candidate who can sign up.
So, if you’re still trying to earn some extra passive income but can’t use Fluidstack, I suggest checking out:
- Starting a blog and outsourcing the work over time for a semi-passive source of income.
- Using reward apps to earn money for shopping. This is another easy source of beermoney and takes almost no effort.
- Putting your money to work with things like dividend stocks, real estate investments with companies like Fundrise, or some other vehicle that can generate steady returns
- Renting out assets for profit.
You can also watch the YouTube video I made above about some of my favorite passive income ideas.
These ideas won’t make you rich, but they are a decent way to start generating new income streams for yourself at the very least!
Is Fluidstack Legit?
Fluidstack is a legit company and lets people rent out computing power from around the world. However, it’s not accepting new members anymore, so it’s not a viable side hustle these days.
When Fluidstack first started, I was really excited about the platform since almost anyone could make some passive income with their internet power.
I’ll admit, Fluidstack’s narrowing of service offerings is a bit disapointing…albeit understandable.
Fluidstack is trying to let a specific group of people make more money with their computing power, and the company does have a track record of paying users and is pretty respected on Reddit.
Ultimately, I think Fluidstack is legit, although it’s certainly not the right platform for everyone.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, I think companies like Fluidstack are trying to do something pretty cool.
On the one hand, Fluidstack helps companies, researchers, and gamers secure remote cloud computing power at an affordable rate.
On the other hand, if you have a dedicated machine and want to make some easy passive income, Fluidstack works if you have the right hardware.
It’s a shame that GPU and selling bandwidth aren’t options anylonger. Hopefully, these both make a return in the future to make it easier to make money.
However, I also want to add that you should be careful when considering the benefits of passive income vs active income.
Fluidstack might look great on paper, but if you’re looking for serious cash and something that’s more straightforward, you’re better off turning to gig economy apps or other side hustle ideas.
I hope this Fluidstack review has helped clarify how this platform has changed and the best ways to make money!
I’ll catch you guys in the next one.
Looking for even more ways to make money? Checkout:
Fluidstack Review
Name: Fluidstack
Description: Fluidstack lets you monetize spare computers to earn guaranteed payout at the end of each month.
Operating System: Linux
Application Category: Passive Income
Author: Tom Blake
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Tom is a full-time blogger and freelance writer with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and the gig economy. His work has appeared on dozens of personal finance websites like Money Crashers, The College Investor, Investor Junkie, and more. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!
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