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Your decisions are stored securely in our database with encryption. We never sell your data or share it with third parties. The AI analysis happens on secure servers and isn't used to train AI models. You can delete your account and all data at any time from the app settings.

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Dcider offers a 7-day free trial with full access to all features. After that, it's $4.99/month or $44.99/year (25% off). The free trial doesn't require a credit card to start.

How is this different from a pros and cons list?

Traditional pros/cons lists treat all factors equally and rely on your in-the-moment thinking. Dcider weighs options against your pre-defined personal values, providing an objective alignment score. The AI also surfaces considerations you might miss and tracks patterns across all your decisions over time.

Does the AI make decisions for me?

No. Dcider provides analysis and alignment scores, but you always make the final choice. Think of it as a thinking partner that helps you see how options align with what you've said matters to you. The goal is clarity, not automation.

Can I use Dcider offline?

You can view your decision history and values offline. However, AI-powered analysis requires an internet connection since it's processed on secure cloud servers.

What kind of decisions is Dcider best for?

Dcider works great for career choices, financial decisions, relationship questions, health and lifestyle changes, and any decision where you want to align your choice with your personal values. It's especially helpful when you're overthinking or facing analysis paralysis.

How do I set up my values?

When you first open the app, you'll go through a quick onboarding where you select values that matter to you (like health, family, growth, financial security) and rate their importance. You can always adjust these later in Settings.

Is Dcider available on Android?

Currently, Dcider is iOS-only. We're focused on making the iOS experience great first. Android support may come in the future based on demand.

TechnologyUpdated Apr 2026

Should I Start a Tech Side Project? A Values-Based Decision Framework

You have an idea that keeps nagging at you—an app, a tool, a product that you're convinced could work. The energy you feel when you think about building it is palpable, but so is the reality of your already-full schedule. You're weighing the thrill of creating something of your own against the risk of burnout, the opportunity cost of your free time, and the statistical likelihood that most side projects never ship.

Key Takeaway

This decision is fundamentally about Creative Expression vs. Learning and Growth. Your choice will also impact your financial potential.

The Core Values at Stake

This decision touches on several fundamental values that may be in tension with each other:

Creative Expression

Building something from nothing satisfies a fundamental human need for creation. If your day job involves executing others' visions, a side project lets you make every decision. The satisfaction of shipping something you designed and built is genuinely unique—but only if you actually ship it.

Learning and Growth

Side projects are one of the most effective ways to learn new technologies because the stakes are personal, not professional. You'll encounter problems that tutorials don't cover and develop real debugging instincts. But learning is only valuable if you're building skills you'll actually use—not just collecting technologies.

Financial Potential

Some side projects become viable businesses, but the vast majority don't. If financial return is your primary motivation, be aware that the expected value of a side project is close to zero. Reframe: would you still build this if it never earned a dollar? If not, your time might be better invested in career advancement or traditional investments.

Time and Energy

Your evenings and weekends are finite and already allocated to relationships, rest, and existing commitments. A side project requires sustained effort over months—enthusiasm fades fast but shipping requires persistence. Honestly assess whether you have 10-15 hours per week to invest without sacrificing sleep, health, or relationships.

Professional Reputation

A shipped side project demonstrates initiative, technical breadth, and follow-through in ways that a resume can't. Even unsuccessful projects signal to employers that you're self-directed and passionate. But an unfinished graveyard of abandoned projects signals the opposite—be realistic about your completion likelihood.

5 Key Questions to Ask Yourself

Before making this decision, work through these questions honestly:

1Have I validated that anyone besides me actually wants this product, or am I building for an audience of one?
2What's the minimum viable version I could ship in 30 days, and would that version be useful to anyone?
3What am I willing to give up to make time for this—and have I told the affected people (partner, friends, family)?
4Am I more excited about the idea of having built something or the process of building it?
5What does 'done' look like, and how will I know when to stop adding features and start showing it to people?

Key Considerations

As you weigh this decision, keep these important factors in mind:

Check your employment contract for intellectual property clauses that may affect ownership of side projects

Start with the smallest possible scope that validates your core assumption—resist feature creep

Set a fixed weekly time budget and treat it like an appointment you can't cancel

Use technologies you know for the first version—learning a new framework simultaneously is a project killer

Shipping an imperfect product teaches more than perfecting one you never release

Accountability partners or public building communities can sustain motivation when enthusiasm wanes

Define a kill criteria: under what circumstances will you stop working on this project?

Consider whether a no-code or low-code approach could validate the idea faster than building from scratch

Watch Out For: Planning Fallacy

You're almost certainly underestimating how long this will take. Software projects consistently exceed initial estimates by 2-3x, and side projects are worse because you can't work on them full-time. That 'two-week project' will likely take two months of weekend work. Build your plan assuming everything takes three times longer than your optimistic estimate, and you'll have a realistic timeline.

Make This Decision With Clarity

Don't just guess. Use Dcider to calculate your alignment score and make decisions that truly reflect your values.

Download on the App Store

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find time for a side project with a full-time job?

The most successful side-project builders treat it like a part-time job with fixed hours—typically 1-2 hours on weekday evenings and 3-4 hours on weekends. The key is consistency over intensity: one hour every day produces more than a 10-hour weekend binge once a month. Protect this time by scheduling it explicitly and communicating boundaries to family and friends.

Should I build in public or work in stealth?

Building in public (sharing progress on social media or forums) provides accountability, early feedback, and potential audience building. Stealth mode avoids premature exposure and competitive copying. For most side projects, the fear of idea theft is overblown—execution matters far more than ideas. Building in public is generally better for motivation and validation.

Can my employer claim ownership of my side project?

Many employment contracts include intellectual property assignment clauses that can extend to work done on personal time, especially if the project relates to your employer's business. Review your contract carefully. Some states (California, notably) limit employer IP claims on personal projects. When in doubt, consult an employment lawyer before investing significant time.

When should I give up on a side project?

Consider stopping if: you've been working on it for months without shipping anything usable, you dread working on it instead of feeling energized, the market has shifted since you started, or you've validated that users don't want what you're building. The sunk cost of time already invested shouldn't keep you going—your future time is the scarce resource to protect.

Related Decisions

Should I Start a Business?

The allure of being your own boss, building something meaningful, and potentially striking it rich is powerful. But beneath the success stories lie countless failures, years of struggle, and personal sacrifices that rarely make the headlines. You're torn between the fear of regret if you don't try and the fear of losing everything if you do.

Should I Start Using AI Tools at Work?

AI tools are everywhere now, and you're caught between the pressure to adopt them and genuine uncertainty about whether they'll enhance your work or make you dependent on something you don't fully understand. There's a creeping anxiety that colleagues who embrace AI will outperform you, mixed with legitimate concerns about accuracy, ethics, and whether automation will eventually replace what you do.

Should I Monetize My Hobby?

People keep telling you that you should sell your work—your baking, your woodworking, your photography, your knitting—and the idea of earning money from something you love is thrilling. But there's a quieter fear underneath: what happens when the thing that restores you becomes the thing that stresses you? The line between passionate hobby and burdensome obligation can be thinner than you think.

People Also Considered

Similar decisions in other areas of life:

Adopt a Minimalist Lifestyle Quit My Job Buy or Rent a Home

Sources

Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Intuitive prediction: Biases and corrective procedures. Management Science.doi:10.1287/mnsc.30.3.313
Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup: How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation. Crown Business.

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