Have you tried tapping into short task sites to make money from home? Yes, short task sites are the perfect way to bring home some extra bucks outside of your regular job. Sometimes, you just want an extra $10 or $20 without spending a lot of time working.
So when you’re feeling brain-drained and the last thing on your mind is to hunt for a part-time job, start a business, or anything else like that, small tasks are one of the quickest ways to boost your income!
Understanding Short Task Sites
Are you confused about where to start (or what’s legit)? This article will discuss how short task sites like TaskRabbit work and list some top choices if you want to make extra pocket change with little commitment. Ready to learn how paid task sites work? Let’s get to it!
What is a Short Task Site?
The internet is a treasure trove for people who want to get paid to do small and easy micro-tasks. The gig economy has exploded in recent years. Short task sites, aka gig sites or micro-task websites, are some of the best-kept secrets in the online earning world.
If you’re in a pinch, these sites have various odd tasks you can complete in a brief period and make some quick money. And, if they do take more time, you’ll earn more money. First, let’s learn more about how they work.
How Do Short Task Sites Work?
You may be wondering, “If the tasks are so easy, why pay someone else to complete them?”
So here’s how it works. You’ll be completing tasks on behalf of advertisers and big companies. Also known as crowdsourcing, this is a practical way to split a manual, arduous project into more manageable tasks to be completed by a pool of workers over the internet.
The tasks may be simple but are complicated enough that machines cannot be taught to complete them. Modern AI needs loads of data for training and quality control. In other words, they need a human touch. This gets the job done by eligible people and gives business owners more time to work on other aspects of their businesses.
Micro tasks have no barrier to entry. You don’t need specialized skills or training, but some micro task sites may require people to undergo a “qualification test.” So it’s really all about what you’re willing to do.
All you need is a PC and/or a smartphone with an internet connection. Just create a profile and get going. The work is mostly flexible, and you can make your own schedule. Tasks are accepted and completed on a first-come-first-served basis.
In most cases, you can do this all from home. But if sitting at home isn’t for you, other short task sites allow you to take a short outdoor trip, visit businesses and report your findings, run errands, do repairs, etc. After completing a task, you get paid. So basically, there is no long-term commitment.
What Kind Of Work Is Available?
Short tasks can include anything from
- watching videos
- playing games
- taking surveys,
- data collection,
- phone call reviewing,
- audio transcription,
- doing repairs,
- mystery shopping,
- website usability testing,
- and a whole slew of professional and non-professional work.
There’s enough work for everyone. In most cases, the tasks only take a few seconds or minutes to complete. Sign up on different task-based sites and get notified whenever a job is available.
Payment varies according to the nature of the task, how much time you’re willing to dedicate to using the site, as well as your location. If you’re in a city or a bigger town, you might find jobs available on paid task sites every day.
How Will I Get Paid?
The major selling point of short task sites compared to other money-making sites is that as soon as your submission is approved (which usually takes no more than a few hours), you can receive payment. Payment is generally on the low end.
The common mode of payment is PayPal. Some sites offer alternative payment modes like checks, bank transfers, reward points, and gift cards to your favorite stores.
Often (but not always!), you need to reach a minimum payout amount to withdraw. Pay schedules are entirely dependent on the site itself.
Best Short Task Sites
Is it just me, or are there a gazillion blog posts out there with the same paid task site recommendations? It seems like everyone wants you to walk dogs on Wag or deliver food with Grubhub! To save you time searching for the best sites, I have prepared a list of the best short task sites through which you can earn cash.
1. TaskRabbit
Do you have some DIY skills that you want to monetize? TaskRabbit helps you earn money your way by matching up your skills and schedule with local needs. It’s one of the bigger micro-task sites for the industry.
There are several handyman services you can bid on, from mounting TVs to painting walls to assembling IKEA furniture. It’s not all fixing and assembling; you make a coffee run, help with moving, do yard cleanup, or buy groceries.
To browse available gigs in your area, you first need to sign up as a Tasker, complete a background check and pay a one-time, non-refundable $25 registration fee. If you’re a social person living in a densely populated neighborhood, TaskRabbit can be a great option.
The on-demand paid task site lets you keep 100 percent of what you charge + tips. Payment is via direct deposit and the minimum cashout threshold is $25, which is not a popular requirement for many.
- Task Rabbit has an overall rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
2. Amazon’s MTurk
We live in the age of automation, but some jobs still require a human touch. Amazon Mechanical Turk — or MTurk, as it’s normally called — is a platform that allows its users to complete small tasks popularly known as HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks) and make money.
The Amazon paid-per-task marketplace connects temporary employers or “requesters” with workers who perform the requested tasks virtually for a fee. This allows researchers, consumer product groups, businesses, and individuals to outsource their jobs and processes to a distributed workforce.
So many paying gigs are posted here each day. While most are data-entry tasks, you can also land
- blog writing
- keyword searches
- photo captioning
- image and data verification
- short transcription gigs
- removing duplicate content from listings
- and a bunch more
After completing a task and the requester approves your work, payment is made via your Amazon Payments account or Amazon gift card. New workers won’t be able to get earnings for 10 days. If you’re living in the United States, you can transfer your earnings (minimum amount of $3) from your Amazon payments account to your bank account.
Since a requester has to approve the finished product before paying you, this can leave room for scams. To steer away from shifty dealers, consider joining communities like the MTurk and Turker Nation Subreddits or the MTurk Crowd forum.
Depending on the amount of work you do, you can get an average of $50-$100 a week. The more positive ratings you receive as a worker on MTurk, the more the likelihood of getting more tasks. If you already have an Amazon account, use it to set up an MTurk account.
- Amazon’s MTurk has an overall rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars on Indeed
3. Fiverr
Okay, so Fiverr isn’t strictly a micro-task site. However, the leading online freelance services marketplace allows sellers to offer practically any online service for $5 (hence the name). The tasks are called Gig Packages. People sell everything on Fiver. You can create gigs on:
- graphics and design,
- video and animation,
- research work,
- data entry,
- digital marketing,
- voice-overs,
- writing,
- and translation, etc.
Fiverr really spans the spectrum. The buyers are typically small businesses and entrepreneurs that need help building and growing their businesses. The best part about Fiverr is that you can work on your terms. Rather than complete the short tasks other people set, you get to set your own gigs, rates and working hours.
Sign up for an account and fill out your profile so clients can learn more about you. If you’re unsure what services to offer or how to price them, check out people with similar services. You can make your gigs stand out by pointing potential clients in the direction of past work or a portfolio with similar projects.
Buyers are encouraged to review your services after every delivery. So Fiverr has made Level 1, Level 2, and Top-Rated. Once you hit any of the good levels, you’ll start getting more sales. It takes some time to get used to the Fiverr platform, but it is always a reliable source of income once you do. The company pays its sellers through PayPal, bank transfer and Fiverr revenue card.
- Fiverr has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars on Indeed
4. Clickworker
Another very solid online crowd working site. You can get paid for performing and completing small tasks that are available on Clickworker.The online platform offers services to help clients complete tasks they couldn’t otherwise complete in-house. These micro-tasks include:
- creating or correcting text,
- researching,
- taking surveys,
- mystery shopping,
- app testing,
- photo capturing,
- data categorization,
- and tagging.
Clickworker has over 2.2 million internet professionals who are taking micro-jobs and getting paid instantly.
If you’re a researcher, translator, editor or freelance worker, you can sign up for free, fill out your profile, complete a qualification evaluation, and pick tasks based on your skills, how much time you have and the price offered. Available jobs will automatically appear on the dashboard.
How much you earn will depend on how fast you work. Projects can pay between a few cents to two-digit amounts. If you are efficient and do big tasks, expect to earn about $9 an hour.
Payment is 1 week after the job’s completion via PayPal or wire transfer. The minimum cashout threshold is $10 for bank transfers and $5 for PayPal.In case of any problems, you’ll enjoy 24/7 support from the Clickworker community.
- Clickworker has an overall rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
5. Course Hero
Course Hero is a website that offers online tutoring services to high school and college students. The company hires native English speakers from the US, UK, Canada, and Australia to answer students' questions. Tutors must have a bachelor's degree in order to be eligible for the position.
They are paid $3.00 per question answered. The average tutor makes $12-$20 per hour. Course Hero offers flexible hours so that tutors can work as many or as few hours as they want. The only requirement is a reliable internet connection. This is a great opportunity for individuals who want to work from home doing short tasks.
- Course Hero has an overall rating of 2.1 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
6. Field Agent
Ever fancied being a secret agent? Field Agent is an app-based service that offers sneaky shoppers who have an eye for detail a great opportunity to make money. Field Agent partners with big-name brands, retailers, and agencies such as:
- Walmart,
- Coca-Cola,
- Johnson & Johnson,
- Hershey’s,
- Kohler,
- Nestle,
- and Tyson.
They help these companies be informed about store displays and brand visibility. When businesses need a small market research task done, it’s sent out via the app.
Tasks range from writing product reviews, mystery shopping, and checking shelf availability to price checks with a photo and a bar code scan. There are currently over 1.4 million agents in the United States.
You can do quick tasks around your town or other places you’re visiting. So the app knows where you go, you should keep your location settings.You’ll be notified once a gig arrives in that location. By considering the gig’s scope and pay, you can choose whether or not to complete it. It’s that easy.
Expect to earn an average of $3-$12 per job via PayPal. You can also cash out your earnings directly to your bank account or to a prepaid debit card.
- Field Agent has an overall rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
7. Vericant
Vericant is a great way to make some extra money if you have 5-15 hours per week to spare between September and March. As a rater, you will assess the spoken English of international students applying to schools in the United States.
To be eligible, you must be a native English speaker from North America with a bachelor's degree and an excellent command of the English language. If you meet these requirements, then Vericant is a great way to earn some extra cash while helping international students achieve their academic goals.
The pay rate for this position is $15-$24 per hour, depending on speed and accuracy.
- Vericant has an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor
8. UserTesting
The first thing to say about UserTesting is that they’re a well-trusted company. Businesses are desperate to make their sites better to use, so UserTesting is big business. Best-in-class companies like
- Facebook,
- Home Depot,
- CBS,
- Adobe,
- and Ford
rely on UserTesting to gain valuable insights into their products from internet users like you!
The site typically pays $10 for every website you test and review. You’re supposed to work on the platform, surf a client’s website and see how well — or not so well — the site performs in terms of navigation and responsiveness.
You can do the same type of reviewing for videos you watch. It takes an average of 20 minutes to review one website or video, meaning you can make $30 in an hour. It can be a nice little earner.
Tests involve recording and answering 4 follow-up written questions. There aren’t many tasks available on UserTesting, but they tend to be well-paying and available across the board when they do pop up.
- UserTesting has an overall rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
9. Appen
You may have heard of Appen – one of the busier short task sites out there (both in terms of tasks available and the number of registered users). Appen operates on a simple premise. The digital workspace lets you earn by completing easy projects on your computer.
Find a task you love, solve a problem, and help shape the future. It’s all computer-based, so ensure you have a laptop and headset before you apply. They look for a variety of skill sets. You can try different projects, including:
- language-based jobs,
- surveys,
- audio transcription,
- information assortment,
- web analysis,
- content material creation/moderation,
- data categorization,
- and many more.
With Appen, you pick your schedule and your tasks, and payments are made on a bimonthly basis, via direct deposit. The average Appen hourly pay ranges from $9.00 for an Ads Reviewer to $74.50 per hour as a participant, which makes them one of the best-paying jobs on this list!
- Appen has an overall rating of 1.4 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot and 3.5 on Indeed
10. Fancy Hands
Here’s a little something for people who’d like to specialize in work-from-home administrative tasks.
A prime strategy in business today is to outsource work wherever possible. Many small and medium-sized businesses don’t have enough work to warrant a full-time job. Because of this, they may subcontract work to virtual assistants.
Fancy Hands is a virtual assistant portal that links US-based VAs with thousands of clients who need them for
- appointment setting,
- social media management,
- phone calls,
- data entry,
- web analysis,
- and lead generation.
But that’s not all you can do on Fancy Hands. Some clients search for more general or personal stuff like making a trip itinerary for their family or sending holiday gift baskets.
There are 2 types of tasks- live and standard. Live tasks are when you’re automatically connected to a client through web chat or SMS. Standard tasks are those posted and need to be completed within 24 hours.
This could be a lot of fun if you have a reliable internet connection and the ability to use common websites and software. Once that job is complete, report back to Fancy. You’ll receive payment after the client approves the task.
You can choose your own hours. Payment ranges from $3-$7 per job and is made via Dwolla every other Tuesday.
Fancy Hands allows for upward mobility. If you do an excellent job, you could get a promotion into a managerial position, putting you in charge of other assistants.
- Fancy Hands has an overall rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
11. GigWalk
GigWalk is a micro-task platform that allows you to find short tasks in your area.
With the app, you can become profitable by completing small tasks like verifying that marketing events finish on time or that products display accurately on shelves. Other types of gigs include
- verifying road signs,
- app testing,
- price checks,
- and mystery shopping.
Most gigs on the site use geotagged photos to document your tasks and product compliance. Every completed task as a GigWalker earns your performance score. The higher your scores, the more likely you will land higher-paying gigs.
Whether you’re looking for a little spending cash or want to receive an entire extra paycheck, Gigwalk can help. Expect to earn $3-$100 per task, although I’m sure that $3 is closer to the norm. Payment is made via PayPal.
Available in select US cities (sorry to our rural readers out there), you just need to register and apply for a project. The jobs are quite varied, so if you get bored easily, this is probably a good recommendation.
- Gig Walk has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars in the Apple app store
12. OneSpace
Formerly CrowdSource, OneSpace allows you to create your own workstation and earn online. While it isn’t as active as it used to be, you may still find some extra gigs to complete in your spare time.You can get paid to complete small tasks such as:
- foreign language transcription,
- quality assurance,
- image tagging,
- web categorization,
- taking surveys
- and copywriting.
Work when and where you want to – you can even start earning today! You can get started by creating an account for free. Consider taking a qualification test to unlock higher-paying gigs.
OneSpace pays its users through PayPal. The payment for each task varies according to the complexity of the task. The payment rate is usually 10¢ per task. Writing tasks pay $0.02-$0.035 per word. Payments are made weekly.
- One Space has an overall rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
13. Humanatic
As a Humanatic worker, you’ll help companies sort and review their calls. You know how when you call a company and the operator says, “This call is being recorded for quality purposes?” Services like this one are why!The recorded calls are usually customer service-related. You’ll be asked to:
- log in,
- listen to recorded phone calls,
- check for friendliness,
- the accuracy of info given, etc.
Thanks to your feedback, the service can provide detailed analytics to improve customer service processes.
Consider joining the platform if you have durations of quiet time in your schedule. While you can review calls at any time on your own schedule, the number of calls available to review will depend on the time of day. The busiest time is between 7 am – 7 pm Eastern time.
It’s free to sign up on Humanatic, and you get paid every week for your time. The pay depends on the type of phone call you review and your skill level. Expect to make anywhere from $1-$4 per hour.
Humanatic links to PayPal, so once a task is finished and approved, the money is sent directly to your personal account. The minimum cashout threshold is $10.
- Humanatic has an overall rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
14. Capterra
Capterra is a website that helps people find the right software for their business. They have a directory of software programs, as well as user reviews and ratings. You can sign up to be a reviewer on their website. Once you're signed up, you can apply to write reviews for specific software programs. If your review is accepted, you'll be paid $10 for each written review and up to $45 for video reviews.
In order to be a successful reviewer, it's important to be honest and objective in your reviews. You should also be familiar with the software you're reviewing. If you're not already familiar with the software, take some time to learn about it before you write your review. Capterra is a great way to get paid for writing reviews of software programs.
Pro Tip: You can use artificial intelligence (AI) software to help you write quick reviews.
- Capterra has an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
15. Respondent
Respondent is an analysis research group that lets you participate only in the tasks you want to do, and most won’t take you any more than 30 minutes to complete.
If you’re comfortable testing products and sharing your opinion, you can sign up to become a survey participant in Respondent’s focus groups, online studies, and other activities involving market research.
Respondent’s matching algorithm will assign research studies that fit your profile. The common hourly pay is $100. A research project can take several hours to complete.Payment is via PayPal, and the company takes out a 5 percent fulfillment fee on the compensation.
- Respondent has an overall rating of 2.0 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, but the majority of complaints are due to a lack of available studies.
16. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is my favorite get-paid-to site on the web because it allows you to earn money for what you already do already every day.Advertisers pay Swagbucks to do market research or publicize their wares, and the site passes a cut to you.
You can find just about any type of short task on Swagbucks. From getting paid to search the web using its page instead of Google, watching entertaining videos, shopping online, and answering online surveys, there’s something for everyone on Swagbucks.
You’ll earn SBs every time you complete a task and refer a friend.What can you redeem your Swagbucks points for, you ask? PayPal cash, coupons or gift cards to Amazon and Walmart.
- Swagbucks has an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
17. InboxDollars
InboxDollars is in more ways than one similar to Swagbucks. The loyalty rewards site offers many of the same tasks but has different payment options, including a VISA prepaid card, check, and cash.
Companies often want to know how they’re performing from a customer’s perspective. Businesses like Target, Netflix, and Walmart use InboxDollars to get feedback from users.
Tasks here range from playing online games, watching ads, taking surveys, searching the internet, reading emails, and shopping online. With over $59 million paid to members, there’s no doubt that InboxDollars is legit.
Membership is free, and you will get $5 for signing up. 1,000 SB points will get you a $10 gift card.
- Inbox Dollars has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
18. JustAnswer
Short tasks are a great way to make some extra money, and JustAnswer is a great platform to do so. You can earn up to $7,000 per month by answering questions in your area of expertise.
You'll need to provide your relevant licenses or certifications, but once you're set up, you can start earning money right away. Payments are distributed via PayPal, so you can receive your earnings quickly and easily. If you're looking for a flexible way to make some extra cash, JustAnswer is a great option.
- JustAnswer has an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
19. Cambly
Are you looking for a flexible, work-from-home job? Do you enjoy talking to people from all over the world? If so, Cambly may be the perfect opportunity for you. Cambly is an online platform that connects English language learners with native speakers for conversation practice.
As a Cambly tutor, you can set your own hours and work as little or as much as you like. You'll make $0.17 per minute talking to adults and $0.20 per minute talking to kids, and you'll get paid every Monday via PayPal. No experience or a degree is required to get started, so why not give it a try? You might just find that Cambly is the perfect way to earn some extra cash while doing something you enjoy.
- Cambly has an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
Final Thoughts
When it comes to short task sites, the name of the game is diversifying. Maximize your chances of making a steady income stream by signing up for a few of the above sites that sound like a good match for you.
Don’t expect them to make you rich, but short tasks can give you the extra cash you need to treat yourself to something, do a wardrobe upgrade (that dress won’t buy itself) – or even buy a gift for that someone special!
Are you already making extra money doing short tasks? If so, how’s your experience like? Your awesome comment will inspire other readers to try short tasks and make money.
