Is Amazon MTurk Legit? (2024 Review & Pay Data!)
If you want to start making money from home, one of the easiest methods to get started is to use microtask websites.
These platforms pay you for completing short tasks in your spare time. And, the best ones are easy ways to make some extra cash on the side without having any skills or prior experience.
Amazon Mechanical Turk, also known as Amazon MTurk, is one of the most popular microjob sites out there. It pays humans to complete short gigs that can't be automated or done with AI yet, and it's owned and operated by Amazon.
But is Amazon MTurk legit? And how much do MTurk workers make on average?
In this Amazon MTurk review, I'm explaining how the platform works, what to expect in terms of earnings, and what other MTurk workers are saying so you can decide if it's right for you.
Looking for other easy money-making ideas? Checkout:
- Freecash: Earn gift cards and cash by completing easy online tasks!
- Branded Surveys: Share your opinion and get PayPal cash and gift cards!
What Is Amazon MTurk?
Amazon Mechanical Turk is a global microtask marketplace where people can complete short tasks to make extra money. It's completely free to sign up for, and the platform is owned by Amazon.
For businesses, Amazon MTurk provides affordable and easy access to a pool of human workers who can help with certain online tasks machines can't do as well.
And for individuals, Amazon MTurk is an easy online side hustle and one of the fastest ways to make money with Amazon.
This online marketplace offers gig workers a place to find small microtasks that pay. It allows businesses that need live people for small projects to contract workers and for workers to get paid.
Tasks on Amazon MTurk are similar to microtask sites like Appen and Clickworker and include tasks like data entry, image annotation, and similar short tasks.
Is Amazon MTurk Legit?
Yes, Amazon MTurk is legit, and the site lets you complete short human intelligence tasks (HITs) in your spare time to make extra money. The platform also has hundreds of thousands of members from around the world, and there's plenty of online payment proof from workers.
That said, most negative Amazon MTurk reviews complain about low hourly pay.
The reality is that this side hustle often pays just a few dollars per hour. This is because many tasks only pay pennies or a dollar or two at most.
Ultimately, MTurk isn't a full-time online job but rather a source of side income for most people.
How Does Amazon MTurk Work?
I signed up for Amazon MTurk to explore the marketplace and learn how it works. And I've also interviewed my friends who used MTurk during college and looked up other testimonials from workers to learn more.
All-in-all, making money with Amazon MTurk takes three simple steps:
- Sign up
- Accept and complete work
- Get paid
Let's explore each of these steps in a bit more detail!
1. Sign Up
Signing up for Amazon Mechanical Turk is easy, and especially so if you already have an Amazon account. And the platform is free to sign up for and is available in 40+ countries.
I was able to log in using my regular Amazon password and filled out my name and a few other basics in less than a minute.
However, it can take up to 48 hours to be approved once you register. You receive an email to let you know whether or not you are accepted.
After you are approved, you can start accepting jobs and making money online with Amazon MTurk. All jobs are posted on the MTurk dashboard, and there is also a monitor where you can track the progress you make and monitor your productivity.
Just note that you have to be 18 or older to become an MTurk worker.
2. Complete HITS
Gigs on Amazon MTurk are known as HITs, which stands for Human Intelligence Tasks. These are small jobs that need to be done by human beings, rather than AI or a computer program.
You can find and accept HITs on your Amazon MTurk dashboard. Most HITS are extremely easy and can be completed in less than a minute, but you can find slightly harder ones that pay a bit more and take a few minutes.
Some of the most common MTurk HITs you find include:
- Identifying objects in photos or videos
- Transcribing audio and video from recordings
- Researching data
- Analyzing data for duplication
- Completing surveys for money
- Cleaning up data and information
- Identifying differences between similar images
- Evaluating websites and completing surveys about what you saw
- Writing image descriptions for websites
- Completing Internet searches
- Collecting data
- Moderating content
After you complete a HIT, it goes into review since the client and Amazon need to ensure you're following instructions.
Maintaining a high approval rating is crucial to staying in the program. And the more HITs you complete and the higher your approval rating, the higher-paying tasks you unlock.
3. Cash Out
After you have completed a HIT and the Requester approves your work, you automatically see your earnings on your MTurk dashboard and on the Earnings page. You can then cash out any earnings immediately.
If you're a U.S. worker, you have the option of transferring your MTurk earnings to an Amazon gift card or to your bank account.
For MTurk workers outside of the United States, you can cash out and transfer your earnings to an Amazon gift card. Some eligible international workers also have bank deposit options.
Overall, Amazon MTurk is a nice online gig that pays daily and a way to get quick money. Just note that Amazon limits how many HITs you can complete per day to prevent people from using scripts or AI to complete thousands of tasks.
How Much Does Amazon MTurk Pay?
Most HITS on Amazon MTurk pay a few pennies, and it can take a long time to unlock higher-paying tasks. This means that most MTurk workers make a few dollars per hour at most. Overall, making $1 to $10 per day is the most you should expect from using Amazon MTurk.
The data supports this claim as well. For example, a 2017 study from Cornell University found that Amazon MTurk workers earn a median wage of $2 per hour, with only 4% of workers making $7.25 per hour.
This article from The Atlantic also found that Amazon MTurk workers aren't making more than a few dollars per hour at most.
That said, the more HITS that you do, the more high-paying opportunities become available. So, more experienced MTurk workers can eventually earn a bit more per hour.
Ultimately, Amazon MTurk pay isn't great, so treat this as a source of beermoney and not a weekly online job.
Tips For Making More Money With Amazon MTurk
If you want to make more money with Amazon MTurk, here are some of the most important tips to keep in mind:
- Avoid Low-Paying Penny HITs: Think about your hourly wage when using MTurk, and avoid tasks that pay pennies per minute since this won't lead to high earnings.
- Follow Instructions Carefully: Always follow instructions carefully to keep your approval rating high.
- Use Amazon MTurk Extensions: Chrome extensions like MTurk Suite help you make more money on MTurk with features like auto-HIT acceptors, useful search filters, and more tasks to help you claim high-paying HITs before they're gone.
- Get Into CloudResearch: High-approval ratings mean you can apply to and potentially get into CloudResearch1, which offers higher-paying surveys to MTurk workers.
This last tip is crucial. The MTurk marketplace is a first-come, first-serve basis. So using browser extensions to automatically claim high-paying HITs is a massive advantage.
Is Amazon MTurk A Scam?
No, Amazon MTurk isn't a scam, and the website pays you for completing short tasks and is run by a legitimate company. However, many people complain that the platform exploits cheap labor and doesn't pay MTurk workers enough.
This isn't a glamorous, fun side hustle either. After I signed up for MTurk, most of the tasks I could see were for data entry, transcription, or repetitive click-based tasks.
Personally, I couldn't picture myself spending hours with this site since the work is slow and boring. But it's not a scam, and Amazon MTurk does pay its workers.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- No skills are required for most HITS
- Available in 40+ countries
- Easy way to earn money even if you only have a small amount of free time
- Beginner-friendly
- No minimum to cash out
- Flexible gigs
- You can get paid with cash or free Amazon gift cards
Cons:
- New users need to be approved which can take 24 to 48 hours
- New users have their earnings held for 10 days after their first HIT
- Many workers outside the U.S. are paid in Amazon gift cards.
- Low earning potential and hourly pay
- Higher-paying HITs can fill up very quickly
- It takes time to unlock higher-paying HITs
Other Amazon MTurk Reviews
After signing up for Amazon MTurk, I think it's a legit platform but a pretty low-paying side hustle.
This is the nature of microtask sites. But some people can make decent side income with sites like Amazon Turk. And it's useful to read testimonials from other workers to learn about their experiences.
Here's what some other Amazon MTurk reviews are saying about their weekly earnings on forums like Reddit:
- LaughingAllTheWay83 says: “I made $250-350/week consistently before it started slowing down for the Summer, but it dwindled down to about $150 by the end of June. It has held steady around $125-150/week through July so far, though I do have $10-30 pending for each of my July weeks still so those numbers aren't final.”
- Intelligent_Donut125 says: “Anywhere from 10-30 dollars a week, but I just do this very casually for beer money.”
- ShaiNYC says: “Average around $38 a day ~ anywhere from 200-400 a week.”
- Jen29H says: “My last 7 weeks vary from 112 to 295. It's highly variable, and dependent on numerous factors.”
As you can see, people are making anywhere from $10 to $30 a week to $100 to $200+ a week with Amazon MTurk. But factors like how much time they put into working and seasonality also impacts earnings.
This Amazon MTurk review from Chris D'Andrea also shares more info about how Amazon MTurk works and how much money he made after using it for 30 days:
In his review, Chris explains how he made $177 from Amazon MTurk after spending an hour or two a day on the site for an entire month.
This isn't great hourly pay. But as Chris points out, it's an easy way to make money online for beginners, and the flexibility is a major selling point.
Sure, you won't make $10k a month with Amazon MTurk. But $50 to $200 a month is certainly possible based on the data.
The Best Amazon MTurk Alternatives
Amazon MTurk is one of the most popular microtask sites. But I think there are higher-paying apps and websites out there that you can also mix into your routine.
Some of my favorite Amazon MTurk alternatives include:
- Using paid survey sites like Branded Surveys and Survey Junkie to earn cash and gift cards
- Using other microtask sites like Appen, Clickworker, Remotasks, and Rev.com
- Participating in paid research studies with platforms like Prolific and Repsondent.io
- Making money online by selling your skill as a freelancer
- Website testing gigs with sites like Userlytics and TestingTime
I also made a video sharing even more legitimate online jobs that pay daily, and they don't require any experience like Amazon MTurk.
Again, you won't make a full-time income with these get-paid-to sites and ideas. But they're flexible and reliable ways to make a bit of money.
Extra Reading – The Best Sites Like Clickworker.
Is Amazon MTurk Worth It?
Amazon MTurk is worth it if you want a flexible online side hustle to make a bit of money in your spare time without needing any experience or skills. In contrast, it's not worth it if you want stable hourly pay and to make above minimum wage.
Most MTurk workers only make a few dollars per hour at most. In comparison, many easy online jobs and gig apps can pay minimum wage or even $20+ per hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Make $50 A Day On MTurk?
You can make $50 a day on MTurk, but this isn't common for most workers. Unlocking enough high-paying HITs to make $50 a day requires completing thousands of HITs, so only experienced workers can achieve this.
Can You Make A Living Off Amazon MTurk?
No, the average person can't make a living off Amazon MTurk. It's a nice source of side cash for many people, but the hourly pay isn't enough to be someone's only income stream.
Can You Make $100 A Day On Amazon MTurk?
No, you can't make $100 a day guaranteed on Amazon MTurk. Experienced workers might occasionally make this much if they qualify for a lot of high-paying HITs or a good batch of HITs. However, most people only make a few dollars per day with MTurk.
What Is The Average MTurk Payment?
The average MTurk payment is just a few pennies since most HITs are low-paying and only take a minute or two to complete.
Final Thoughts
I hope my Amazon MTurk review helps you understand how this microtask site works and what to expect in terms of earning potential.
After testing out different money-making apps and sites for the last 5 years. And, a lot of them are similar to Amazon MTurk and don't pay a full-time income.
However, Amazon MTurk is still legit. It lets you make free money in your spare time without having any skills, and it's completely flexible.
Just have realistic expectations and consider the opportunity cost of this side hustle. If you do those two things and still want to make money with Amazon MTurk, dive right in! Just make sure you use an extension to maximize your earnings.
Best of luck!
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