Amazon 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:
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. They have 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 Paypal or Skrill (Moneybookers).
Go here to sign up at Microworkers.
ClickChores
This is a “new to me” site. Unlike RapidWorkers and Microworkers, the people behind this site are based in the United States. However, they allow workers worldwide. To get an idea of the types of jobs they post before actually creating an account, you can check out their Twitter feed here. It looks like they post all their available jobs via Twitter. Before you sign up, you may also want to read what it says under their terms and conditions about inactive accounts and chargebacks.
Go here to read more about working for ClickChores.
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 amongst their workers. Payments are made either via Paypal or bank transfer. Paypal payments are weekly and bank transfers happen once per month. The Clickworker website claims most of their workers earn on average $9 to $10 hourly, but since this is task-based work, 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 here to read my review of the site.
Crowdsource
This is another very reputable company you can do short task work for, and they appear to be open worldwide. Many of their tasks are actually posted on Mturk, but they’ve recently launched their own platform you can work from, bypassing Mturk entirely. This is so they can pay workers directly with Paypal — something that can’t be done with Mturk. They have everything from photo tagging to writing/editing work available. I got an invite to their workstation but have not done any work there. From what I can tell, there is no work posted on it — at least none that I can see. But they do have tasks up on Mturk almost all the time.
Go here to sign up at Crowdsource or here to read my review of their site.
Crowdflower
Crowdflower used to post most of their tasks on Mturk, but nowadays you will find them on various rewards sites. They have all kinds of tasks — surveys, categorization, search engine evaluation, etc. The pay per task varies widely and changes frequently. Crowdflower is open worldwide. One things that’s different about Crowdflower is that they do not pay you directly. To do their tasks, you have to be registered with one of their channel partners and then you will receive payment for the tasks via those partners. Some of the Crowdflower partners I am aware of include Swagbucks, Inbox Dollars, InstaGC, Fusion Cash, Unique Rewards, and Zoombucks. There are likely several others. Keep in mind that all of these sites pay out differently and work differently. This may not be the most lucrative way to get paid for short tasks since these sites are not known for paying much, but it’s one option available to you if you are interested in doing short task work apart from Mturk.
Go here to learn more about doing short task work for Crowdflower.
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.
Please comment below and let me know of any other sites you use that are similar to Mturk, or share your experience with the ones I’ve listed above.