If we could, most of us would be interested in making more money.
But making more money is a complicated thing, it can require getting a second job or sacrificing a lot of your time.
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Making money on the internet would be a far better way to do it.
Of course, this site is a testament to the fact that you can make money online.
I’ve done it, and you can too– but not everybody wants to put in months and years to it. Sometimes, people just want a little extra cash.
An extra $20 to buy this or that, and they’re willing to do small tasks for the cash.
If that sounds like you, look no further.
This is an article that will give you sites to do work on, in return for pay that require very little investment. You don’t need any special qualifications, or education.
Just make a profile and get going.
I’ll be honest and admit that these sites aren’t incredibly easy to make money on. It’s simple, but also easy to get frustrated.
The sites I’ve listed below are verified legitimate, but a lot of other sites are not.
Be careful, and do your research!
What Are Short Task Sites How Do They Work?
A good question before we begin is, “How Do I Get Paid for These Simple Tasks?”
It might seem a little couterintuitive, after all. If the tasks are so simple, why pay someone else to do them?
The deal is that a lot of these tasks are simple and tedious. But they are complicated enough that machines can’t be taught to do them. So the work is passed off to you, the internet worker.
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Simple work for simple pay, but it still needs a human at the helm.
For a more concrete example, let’s say I have 1000 pictures from an event. I need these images sorted by content. But I don’t want to spend 10 hours going through every picture and looking at everything to figure out what’s in it, that’s tedious! I’d rather pay someone to do it for me.
So then that work is taken to one of the sites listed below, who will pay you in return for completing each picture (usually a very small sum, like a few cents.) But since there are hundreds of you all doing the sorting work, my pictures are sorted out in just a few hours.
That’s good for everybody!
And that explains the outstanding rise of the Gig Economy.
Sorting pictures is just one of many types of tasks you might end up doing on these sites.
The idea is that the work is easy, but it comes in a lot of varieties.
The type of tasks you’re doing will depend entirely on the day and on the site that you’re using. Some will certainly be easier than others, and that’s one of the great things about micro task sites.
What About Payment and Pay Schedules?
Payment is generally on the low end, with the expectation that you will be doing a lot of work and adding all the earnings up.
It will usually be a few cents a job, though on certain occasions you may find yourself making as much as a few dollars a job (these are usually longer per-task, though.)
Pay schedules are entirely dependant on the site itself.
First, most sites have a ‘payout minimum,’ or a set amount of money you need to earn before you’ll be compensated.
In addition to this, a lot of sites have their own payment schedule. While some sites will let you cashout whenever you reach the minimum, others will auto-cash out at a certain time as long as you have the minimum amount necessary.
You’ll almost definitely be making more money over time than you will initially.
Doing these tasks is a skill that you’ll get better at with time, so it’s only natural that your rate of pay will go up.
Is This Even worth It?
That question is probably still hovering around in your mind at this point.
I would definitely say ‘yes.’
In addition to being good ways to make extra pocket change, these sites are a great way to get introduced to making money online. You might realize that you love the feeling are pursue an online career, but you’d never know until you tried!
You’ll be making small amounts of money, but it’s a great experience. And you are making some money, so it’s not a waste of time. It just isn’t good enough pay to quit your day job, that’s all.
I’ve arranged these sites from Z to A.
Make sure you try a few to really get a feel for how micro tasks work. While one site might not suit your fancy, another might be just your type.
1. ZoomBucks
Kicking off the list is ZoomBucks, one of the quintessential micro task sites.
While they’re not as popular as ‘The King,’ Swagbucks, they still pull a very respectable amount of traffic.
You can do all the usual micro tasks here. Things like taking surveys, playing games, watching videos, doing little tasks and checking out offers.
While ZoomBucks doesn’t break the mold, it is very reliable and easy to use.
2. User Testing
This is a bit less ‘micro’ than the other micro task sites.
You’ll be asked to record yourself (using screen-capture) on a website, speaking about your experience as you go.
If you make a 10-20 minute video, you’ll get paid $10 (or $15 for a mobile test.)
3. TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit isn’t all-online, strictly speaking. Instead, it’s a hub to get tasks you can do around town.
While the website is online, you’ll almost definitely be mobilizing in real life to go do your task. It can be anything from fixing a sink, buying groceries, making a coffee run, or anything in-between.
A great option for more social people, especially if you live in a densely populated area.
4. SwagBucks
The afore-mentioned “King of Micro Tasks,” SwagBucks is a hugely popular site where people go to make money from a variety of activities.
They have a point system much like many sites do, but no payment schedule. Simply redeem the points whenever you have enough.
There’s a lot of stuff you can do on this site. Games, shopping, videos, searching the web– you name it.
SwagBucks also has a very popular mobile app so you can earn on the go.
5. ShortTask
A site for task-tasks that will probably require a little bit more time and attention.
You can choose between design, research, writing or data entry.
The great thing is that you get better pay here in return for contributing your skills to these group tasks, so you will be more engaged and better compensated than other sites.
The downside is that it has less ‘stop and go’ freedom.
6. Shopkick
This is a smartphone-dependent task service.
Basically, you earn points for going to stores.
The GPS on your phone coordinates with the app itself, you get compensated, and it’s that simple.
There are a ton of participating companies: Old Navy, Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, Mobil, just to name a few.
Not only do you get points just for walking in, but you can also make points for scanning bar codes and making purchases.
7. Skyword
A twice-monthly paying writing service. Great for beginning writers.
You make $10 per article and a small small percent of the traffic revenue (ad revenue.)
It’s not going to stuff your wallet, but it’s actually a pretty good way for a writer to get some experience.
8. Points2Shop
While this site has a shopping and rewards focus, you can still get paid for doing things like watching ads and taking surveys.
It’s a good, but if not ‘standard’ micro task site.
9. RapidWorkers
A site for marketing-focused micro tasks, the goal of RapidWorkers is to help people grow their site’s presence.
You might be asked to do things like social media actions, following or liking or tweeting, and you can get paid out immediately to PayPal as soon as you make $4.
Users of Microworkers may notice that the layout is similar. Indeed, RapidWorkers’ interface was completely copied from MicroWorkers!
10. NeoBux
NeoBux is practically the definition of a micro task site. It’s all about ads, so you click through ads of various types and make a few cents every time.
The pay is micro-sized, as are the tasks.
A great mindless way to rack up some money when you’re not looking to get too deep into anything.
11. MiniJobz
Similar to the functions of RapidWorkers, MiniJobz is primarily focused on social media actions as their micro-tasks.
Important to note is that they do *not* pay out to PayPal, but rather MoneyBookers or Payza.
You can cash out at $5.
12. MobileWorks
MobileWorks.com, not to be confused with MobileWorks.org, is a subunit of the ‘Lead Genius’ company, and they specialize in Lead Generation.
While that’s a fancy name, it refers to a similar type of data hunt and entry that you could end up doing on other sites. A very formal service for doing micro tasks.
13. Jobboy
This is an alternative to Amazon mTurk that is available internationally and pays out to PayPal and Payza.
The payment is low-key for easy work, but you will have less competition than on mTurk (no more having a job expire before you can accept it.)
The downside is that since it isn’t as big a site, you won’t see as many tasks here.
14. InboxDollars
Another very solid micro task site.
You have the usual options, surveys, games, web searching, shopping.
There are certain companies which pay a lot of money out to InboxDollars, so you may see a lot of their ads on the site.
One of the definite ‘must-try’ sites, it’s rather popular in micro task circles.
15. GigWalk
GigWalk is an app-based, real world micro-task workforce.
It is the sort of service where you can get paid for doing small, on-the-street tasks. That could be anything from snapping a picture of a geographic landmark or scanning a street sign with your phone.
Like TaskRabbit, GigWalk is only available in certain cities, sorry to the rural readers out there!
16. Gig Coin
Gig Coin is something like a mini-oDesk. You bid for jobs like a freelance website, and the tasks might be anything from designing a logo to writing a blog post.
You get paid in cash that goes to PayPal with a cashout minimum of $5 (the great news about that is that Gig Coin covers the transfer fees instead of charging you.)
If you want to bid on the go, you can even download their app from the app store (iOS only.)
17. GigBull
This is an interesting site that lets you sell your services (whatever those are) in certain increments. It brings to mind an immediate comparison of Fiverr. The difference here is there are many static increments: $3, $5, $6, $9, $12, $15, $27, $45, or $90.
The increment system that GigBull uses is, in some ways, superior to the Fiverr system.
Since the site has its own function for setting a $90, it isn’t as difficult to advertise a higher-priced service on this site!
18. FusionCash
FusionCash is another platform similar to InboxDollars or SwagBucks that allows you to make money doing short, simple online tasks.
They offer $5 just for signing up, and after that you can make anywhere from 25¢ to $30 per offer, which is paid out to PayPal. They also offer options to cash out via direct deposit or check, which is a deal-maker for some.
This is a BBB-certified business, so you don’t need to be concerned about scamming.
Even still, if you’re nervous about using your credit card, you can always avoid the options that require it. They’re marked with a “CC.”
19. Fiverr
A site that has really been making waves in the online money making world.
Fiverr isn’t strictly a micro task site, since it requires that you self-start a bit. Like Gig Bull, you put up a service and set your price, with the base price being $5.
You can then try to get people to buy more expensive services.
I’ve written about Fiverr before, so I won’t get too into it here. There are a lot of ways to go about succeeding with Fiverr, though.
Make sure you are selling a task that you can pull off frequently and (relatively) easily.
20. Field Agent
FA is an app-based service that wants you to do little tasks around town like checking price, checking shelves, or taking pictures of products.
Each task pays between $3 and $12 which is paid out to PayPal.
Unfortunately, this service is only available to iPhone users, so Android users won’t be able to get in on the action.
21. EasyShift
EasyShift is kind of like Field Agent, except you take on the work in ‘shifts.’ That means that you take on a variety of tasks at once and attend to all of them while you’re out and about.
It takes 48 hours to verify, but then you’ll be credited and able to pay out to PayPal.
The nice thing is that this is available to users of iPhones and Android devices, so all smartphone users can do shifts while they’re out.
22. Click Chores
Another mTurk-like site that benefits from the fact that it is internationally available, Click Chores is a great option for those living outside the US that are looking to make money with micro tasks.
23. Click N Work
A data entry/micro task focused site that allows people to work from around the world.
These guys are going to be asking you to do web-specific work, so there won’t be any leaving the house like with some of the previous entries.
The payment can fluctuate quite a bit by task, so make sure you seize on the best paying jobs when you can.
24. Crowdtap
The first thing you’ll notice about Crowdtap is that you are asked to link your Facebook account to it. This is good if you were looking to avoid making your own sign-in.
Since Crowdtap is a US-based company, you’ll need to live in the States to take advantage of this service.
Crowdtap will ask you to do tasks like EasyShifts or Field Agent, product research and feedback types of things.
Of course, you’ll also need a smartphone to get started.
25. CloudCrowd
This company was actually acquired by CrowdSource a while ago and it has since merged with CrowdSource.
Writers can get check here for work if they’re willing to pump out content.
CloudCrowd offers three varieties of writing-based work: ‘General’ writing, ‘Marketing’ writing, and editing. Payment is made via PayPal same-day as you turn it in.
26. CrowdSource
The first thing to say about CrowdSource is that they’re a well-trusted company.
When you go to do work for them, you’ll likely be routed through Amazon mTurk, which means you need to live in the US.
They offer above-minimum wage payment for writers and editors.
Another thing to say about CrowdSource is that their entrance tests are *tough.* I had tried to apply here to test it out a little while back, and I wasn’t able to clear through their examinations. They are looking for you to follow the style guide to a T.
27. ClickWorker
One of the up-and-coming micro task platforms that seeks to dethrone mTurk, Clickworker is based in Germany (though it does have an English section of the site.)
You’ll need to give them some real information to get started, tax information and the like, as well as passing some entrance tests.
After that, you’ll get access to their microtasks as well as the ability to sign up for the UHRS program, which is by far the best pay available through ClickWorker (though several other sites also use UHRS.)
28. Agent Anything
Agent Anything is another out-and-about task service where you bid on the ability to do simple tasks like laundry and coffee runs.
Strangely, they ask that you be a college student to sign up, so that may limit your qualifications.
29. Amazon Mechanical Turk (mTurk)
If SwagBucks is the ‘king of microtasks,’ then it might be right to call mTurk ‘the queen.’
More realistically, the truth is that mTurk is a more serious, more demanding online work platform that is aimed towards more committed workers.
Companies come to mTurk to get US citizens to do their micro tasks for them.
You can find very high-paying work on the site. I myself have done hour-long transcriptions that paid upwards of ~$40 (though they took much longer than an hour to do.)
You can make a pretty fair amount of money on mTurk, but it will require honing some skills first.
The tasks can be very difficult when you start out, compared to the pay.
30. Appen (Appen Butler Hill)
Finishing off the list is Appen, one of the well-known international ‘language solutions’ and translations companies that hire people to work from home.
While they are looking for translators and other types of bilingual users, there are sometimes microtasks available for those who are capable of committing to a full translation at the moment.
The pay is small, but the tasks tend not to be very difficult compared to micro tasks from other services.
So What’s the Bottom Line?
I really like micro task sites and I’m glad that they exist.
But I won’t tell you that they are the career platform of the future, because they’re definitely not.
However, it’s a great option for making small amounts of money and all that they tend to require is an internet connection.
In my opinion, the best way to use these sites is to make them a passive part of your day. Maybe you use Field Agent when you go downtown to get food, or you get on ClickWorker while you’re waiting for your dinner to cook. Integrating the services into your routine makes them seem less difficult and strenuous.
If you’re someone who wants to add a little extra cash to their budget, why not check out these websites? There is no investment cost, and the tasks are very easy…
So, let’s make some money!
The post Top 30 Short Task Sites to Make Money on the Side appeared first on Best Work from Home Jobs & Online Part time Jobs.