Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) Review: Is It Worth Your Time?

Amazon Mechanical Turk, often referred to as MTurk, is one of the oldest and most recognizable names in the world of microtasking. If you've ever searched for ways to make extra money online, there's a good chance you’ve come across this platform. But what exactly does it offer—and is it worth your time?

Let’s take a closer look.

What is Amazon Mechanical Turk?

Amazon Mechanical Turk is a crowdsourcing platform that allows businesses and researchers to outsource small digital tasks to workers across the globe. These tasks, known as Human Intelligence Tasks or HITs, are typically easy to perform and don’t require special skills.

In simple terms, MTurk is a microtasking website—similar to platforms like Clickworker, Microworkers, and Hive Micro—where users complete small online jobs for small payments.

What Kind of Tasks Can You Expect?

Most of the tasks on MTurk are repetitive, basic, and require attention to detail. Common examples include:

• Data labeling

• Image and video categorization

• Content moderation

• Audio transcription

• Survey participation

• Product categorization

• Content evaluation

While none of the tasks are high-paying on their own, the idea is to complete several tasks quickly to accumulate earnings over time.

Where is MTurk Available?

Amazon Mechanical Turk has limited geographic availability. As of now, workers can only sign up from a select number of countries, including:

• United States

• Canada

• Barbados

• South Africa

• France

• United Kingdom

• Some parts of Europe and Latin America

Unfortunately, users from many other regions are not eligible to register. For example, if you're based in a country outside the approved list, you won't be able to create a worker account.

How Much Can You Earn?

Earnings on MTurk are relatively low—most tasks pay a few cents to a few dollars. While some HITs pay more (especially those requiring technical skills or longer completion times), the majority are small tasks with small rewards.

For most users, MTurk is best suited as a side hustle, not a primary source of income. It can be a good way to earn a few dollars here and there—for instance, to buy coffee, mobile data, or other small expenses.

Important Things to Know

• Strict Policies: MTurk has strict quality control standards. Poor performance or policy violations can lead to account suspension, often without much warning.

• Low Ratings: According to various user reviews, MTurk has an average rating of 2.4 stars, largely due to its limited earning potential, account suspensions, and inconsistent task availability.

• Legitimate Platform: Despite some negative reviews, MTurk is not a scam. It is operated by Amazon and has paid out millions to users since its launch.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Backed by Amazon (high trust factor)

• Wide variety of tasks

• Great for flexible, part-time income

• Available in select countries

Cons:

• Low pay for most tasks

• Strict account policies

• Not available globally

• Inconsistent task availability

How to Sign Up

1. Visit the MTurk website

2. Choose “Create a Worker Account”

3. Fill in your personal information

4. Wait for approval (this may take a few days)

5. Once approved, verify your email and start working on HITs

Final Thoughts

Amazon Mechanical Turk is a legitimate way to make money online, but it comes with limitations. The work is easy but low-paying, and it’s only available in certain countries. It’s ideal for people looking to earn small amounts in their free time, but not for those seeking full-time online income.

If you enjoy repetitive, simple tasks and live in an eligible country, MTurk might be worth trying. However, if you’re outside of the supported regions or want higher earnings, you may want to explore other microtasking platforms.