Amazon Mechanical Turk (Mturk) is one of the most popular short task sites online. It's flexible, there's lots of easy work, you can get paid daily, and signing up is a piece of cake.
Most people would agree that you're not going to break the bank doing work on Mturk, but it's one of the best “back-up eggs” online for freelancers — one of those things that's good to have access to when you really need it!
A lot of people who love using Mturk start looking around for sites that are just like it, hoping to have access to even more short task work and make more money.
People who are located outside the US may also be in need of an Mturk alternative since it's not possible to get a bank transfer from Mturk if you're not in the US.
I think it's safe to say there's nothing out there exactly like Mturk, but there are some short task sites you can use that are pretty similar to it.
I'm already familiar with a few of the more reputable ones, listed below:
1 – Microworkers
This is probably the most popular Mturk alternative. I have barely used this site myself, but they've been around for years and I know that they do pay.
Microworkers has a lot of different tasks available, some of the most popular being writing reviews, searching keywords, engaging on various sites (liking and commenting) etc. You'll usually find a lot of work posted at Microworkers.
They will pay via Paypal, but the people behind the site are in a different country so you will have to wait for them to mail you a PIN number (this can take three weeks or so). Then, once you receive that in the mail and enter it, you should start getting payments regularly.
The FAQ says you need at least $9 to request a withdrawal to Airtm, Paypal, Skrill, or Onto. For Transpay, the payout amount is $10. For Payoneer, you must have $20 in your account to request a withdrawal.
Go here to sign up at Microworkers.
2 – Prolific
People on the Beer Money Reddit are continually singing the praises of Prolific. You can join as a research participant and earn fair money for very easy work – studies and tasks. This is in many ways similar to Amazon Mturk.
The downside is that everyone KNOWS this site is good, and for that reason there is a waitlist to sign up. Some people have been on it for over two years!! I, myself, am also on the waitlist and have been for probably eight months.
Still, it's worth getting on it. Regarding payment, the site says: “All participants receive a guaranteed minimum of $8 or £6 an hour, with instant cash-outs after your first 4 payments. Some studies even pay hourly rates of $20+ with additional bonuses.”
And yes, they are open worldwide! Go here to get on Prolific's waitlist.
3 – Clickworker
This short task site is pretty popular in the work from home circles and they are open worldwide. Tasks available include everything from simple research to tagging. Their UHRS tasks are extremely popular among their workers.
Payments are made via PayPal, Payoneer, ACH, direct bank transfers for non-EU countries. They pay every week.
The Clickworker website does not provide an estimate of hourly pay. This is task-based work, so your actual rate of pay will depend on how fast you can go and whether or not you can find tasks available to do.
Go here to sign up at Clickworker or read the Clickworker review.
4 – TELUS
TELUS (formerly known as Lionbridge) is a site that is almost always looking for people to work at home as “raters.”
While the work is task-based, getting accepted here is more involved than it is with Amazon Mturk.
Doing work for TELUS, “you'll assess online search results to enhance their quality. You'll analyze and rate content relevance to search terms, while also reviewing language for grammar, tone, and cultural appropriateness. Your contribution improves a major search engine's quality by evaluating web content using your PC and smartphone.”
The requirements to start are minimal. It's very entry-level. You can work on your own schedule, and it pays $12 to $15 hourly.
They do ask that you work at least 10 hours per week, but you can work as much as 35. This is why it's valuable for extra if you need that — you can easily use it for supplemental income since the time of day you work isn't important.
TELUS pays via bank direct deposit every two weeks.
There are some tests and assessments you have to spend time going through before you can officially start working, but once you do, it can be lucrative for you when you need it.
5 – Swagbucks
Many people compare Swagbucks to Mturk because they both have task work available, but really Swagbucks is more of a rewards site, and also not as lucrative.
Still, I've listed it here as an alternative to Mturk, but don't expect to earn as much as you could with Mturk.
Swagbucks will pay you for completing short tasks, answering surveys, playing games, watching videos, and more.
They pay in redeemable points. You can cash these in for different types of gift cards and also Paypal cash when you have enough for about $5.
Go here to sign up for Swagbucks.
Be Careful Which Tasks You Accept
I also want to point out that pretty much anyone can post a job on these sites.
Because of that, be super careful about which tasks you accept!
If something sounds unethical, scammy, or you think it may lead to you getting a lot of spam, you should probably pass.
Good luck!
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