15 Online Data Entry Jobs – Sites and Advice

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Almost every day, a reader emails us asking about online data entry jobs. 

In some ways, it’s not surprising. Data entry is often one of the first ideas that spring to mind when people wonder about home jobs. 

Data entry positions are popular because they don’t typically include phone calls or dealing with customers. Instead, data processing often involves short tasks that you can do in your own time. 

However, if you imagine that data entry doesn’t need any skills or that you’ll earn lots of money for little work, think again. Those unskilled data entry jobs of the past are done by AI these days. 

I know you’ve seen job ads that promise the world. But, let me assure you, if something seems too good to be true, it’s undoubtedly a scam. Run a mile from those jobs. You could end up losing money, or worse, even having your own data stolen. 

So, if that’s the case, what does data entry involve nowadays, and where can you find legitimate jobs? 

Let’s dive in.

What is Data Entry?

In a nutshell, a data entry clerk takes data in one form (e.g. a Microsoft Word doc, handwritten notes or spoken word) and types it into an electronic format elsewhere. 

Examples might be:

• Meeting notes — Minutes format.
• Sales figures — Microsoft Excel.
• Raw data — Databases.
• Transcribing conversations (especially between multiple parties).
• Typing notes that include technical terms.
• Categorising information and assessing its relevance.

There are still home data entry jobs out there. However, it’s essential to realise that they are primarily in areas where humans can still do the work better than machines.  

15 Places to Find Online Data Entry Jobs

Some companies advertise remote data entry jobs as part of their administration needs. These companies may intend to employ you as part of their staff or as a freelancer.

Other jobs can be advertised on traditional job boards and bidding sites — where many companies look for independent contractors, not employees. 

You’ll also find data entry jobs posted on micro-task websites, which advertise a myriad of tiny tasks for members to complete. 

Companies that Hire Data Entry Specialists

1. Telus International

Telus is a CX (digital Customer Experience) company with a global reach, for both clients and its workforce. The company prides itself on having a “people first” culture. Its CEO believes that technology should enhance, not replace, human experience. 

Telus got into Data Entry when it bought Lionbridge AI in 2020, and you’ll still see it called Lionbridge or Smart Crowd on some home job websites. Data entry jobs at Telus include data annotation and enrichment and online rating and map, and data analysis.   

Indeed.com has both positive and negative reviews about Telus, with some reviewers praising the company culture. In contrast, others say that the low pay rate and lack of full-time work mean this is better suited as a way to earn extra income rather than as a job. 

2. Xerox

Xerox is a US-based international company that develops and sells digital printing and copying products and services. Globally, Xerox employs more than 8000 home-based people in customer care, image tagging, data entry/verification, etc. 

A recent job search for data entry with Xerox didn’t turn up any current openings but does offer an opportunity to sign up for more information and include your resume to be considered for other jobs.

Indeed.com reviews are mixed, with many mentioning low pay as one of the cons. 

3. SigTrack

Sig Track hires US residents to verify voter registration data and tag signatures in petitions, affidavits etc. You’ll need to download the SigTrack app onto a decent computer with a fast internet connection. It helps to have a second monitor to compare signatures easily. 

Each job is shared between two freelancers — the user who initially enters the data and the one who verifies it. You also divide the pay for that job between the two of you. 

The company recommends that you treat your first 1000 tags as practice runs, but once you’ve passed 1000, you must achieve at least 95% accuracy to get paid.

Reviewers say that they enjoy working at home and the flexibility. However, as usual with data entry jobs, the pay is very low for hours worked.  

4. Working Solutions 

Working Solutions is a work-from-home services company that supplies independent contractors to clients all over the United States. Home-based workers from the US and Canada provide many services, including customer service and data entry jobs. 

Each job is called a project, and the company encourages freelancers to handle as many projects as possible. You can schedule work as you wish, but you must work at least 15 hours per week. Job invoices are sent to the company twice a month, and payments are made by direct deposit.

Indeed reviewers like the job flexibility and the inclusive work environment but say the pay can be inconsistent. 

5. Cass Information Systems

Cass is a B2B company that offers client solutions for freight audits and payments, utility bill payments, waste expense management, etc. 

They sometimes hire US-based freelancers and remote workers for data entry and data verification, offering a rate of around $9/hour

6. Axion Data Entry Services

Axion is another company that hires US residents. This is one company that requires skilled operators and insists on a minimum of 2-3 years of experience in data entry, plus an accurate typing speed of at least 50 wpm.

The company has a stable workforce of between 40 and 100 contractors (depending on available projects). The best way to apply for a job with Axion if you meet all their requirements is to register on their database.

7. TDEC

The Data Entry Company (TDEC) is also based in the US and hires people for data verification and extraction and for creating digital entries from paper records and images. 

The company advertises jobs in locations throughout the United States, but it’s not clear whether they’re currently hiring remote workers. Reviews on Glassdoor are mostly positive, citing a good work culture but – as usual – low pay.  

8. DionData Solutions 

DionData is a name that crops up often in data entry articles, which is why I’m mentioning it here. It appears to be a legitimate data management service bureau that hires US-based home workers. The company website says that it offers free training and no hidden fees. 

However, the DionData Solutions opportunities page also says that they are not accepting new independent workers and that information hasn’t been updated since 2018. 

You could send them an application email to get your name on their radar, but don’t count on landing a position anytime soon. 

Job Boards

9. FlexJobs

FlexJobs is a subscription-based job board that curates an extensive range of vetted job advertisements from various companies and employment agencies.

To find home working data entry jobs that suit you, you can filter your search through the dropdown menus. These menus include Remote, Job Type, Schedule (Full-time, Part-time, Flexible, etc.) Category, and more. For more information read our FlexJobs review.

10. Indeed

Indeed is a job search engine and review site that includes listings from many job boards and companies. It has over 250 million visitors every month, allowing them to do free searches for jobs, research companies, and post resumes. 

You can use Indeed to search for work as a data entry specialist in specific countries or for remote or freelance jobs. Then, when you find a position, search the company reviews on Indeed to see what other employees think about working there.

11. Upwork

Upwork is a freelance job board and bidding site that connects independent contractors with clients in Legal, Accounting, Marketing, Tech etc. Data entry jobs usually fall into the Administration category. 

No doubt some genuine clients are looking for data entry specialists on Upwork. However, the job search I did for this article turned up several questionable ads with unusually high budgets, all asking applicants to contact them off Upwork (which is strictly against Upwork’s safety policy.) Be wary of those sorts of job postings which could well be scams.  

12. Fiverr

Fiverr is an online marketplace where freelance contractors advertise their services as fixed-price packages, or “gigs.” It’s free to sign up, and the website’s templates make it easy for you to put your gig together and post it on the site. Fiverr will then take a portion of any revenue you earn as their payment.

Clients who want data entry jobs can use search terms such as “data entry typing” or “excel data entry” to find gigs that might suit their needs. My search turned up dozens of gigs that offer Excel and Microsoft Office data entry, copy-paste, data collection, document conversion and more at reasonable rates.

13. Monster

Monster.com is a global employment website where companies can advertise their workforce needs. When you upload your CV onto Monster, they’ll email you notifications of recommended jobs and help you apply for them from the Monster website.

Monster has website versions for the country you’re in, making it easy to search for local work if that’s your preference. My data entry job search on Monster (UK) turned up advertisements labelled: Clinical Typist, Receptionist & Data Entry Clerk, Data Entry Agent, Data Entry Operator and more. 

These ads ask for a range of skills, including: 

• good command of English 
• high school diploma 
• basic computer skills 
• understanding of Microsoft Office and spreadsheets, and 
• fast, accurate typing skills. 

Micro Task Websites

14. Amazon Mechanical Turk

Amazon’s MTurk is the most popular of all the microtask websites. Many companies head there to outsource tiny tasks like object verification, online research, image identification and data entry. These tasks are called HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks), and MTurk always seems to have plenty available. 

MTurk is a great place to find short tasks to do in your spare time, but you’re unlikely to earn enough to make it your full-time job. We’ve reviewed Amazon Mechanical Turk in detail on HomeWorkingClub if you’re keen to find out more about what it’s like to work there.

15. Clickworker

Clickworker is another website where you can get paid for carrying out small tasks, including data entry, training AI systems, providing voice recordings and more. It’s free to sign up, and all you really need are a good computer system or mobile and an internet connection. 

Clickworker is another site that gives you a great way to generate extra income. If you want to learn more, we’ve written an extensive Clickworker review to provide you with all the details on how it works. 

Skills for Online Data Entry

Many data entry home jobs are low-level work – the kind of thing often advertised as not requiring any experience.

However, there’s a stark difference between being able to do the work and being good at it. These are the basic skills and attributes that will make you a natural for data entry work:

• Fast and accurate typing skills – many jobs require a typing speed of at least 60 words per minute (often more.) That’s especially important for those data entry positions that pay by the word.

• Tenacity – data entry work can get seriously repetitive, so you need tenacity to stick with it.

• Attention to detail – the work often requires a high level of accuracy. You can find yourself suspended from tasks on micro-working platforms if your accuracy slips.

• Organisational skills – you’ll need to do a lot of work to make much money, so you must be able to keep track of what jobs you’re doing and when they’re due.

• Listening skills – especially relevant to transcription, listening skills are essential when you have to accurately detail what people have said.

• Technical competence – as with any online work, the more skilled you are at navigating your computer, the easier the work becomes.

If you want to learn more, taking an inexpensive course could be a good way to develop your data processing skills. This Data Entry Course for Beginners is a Udemy best-seller with a 4.6-star rating from over 2000 reviews. 

Equipment for Data Entry Work

If you want to do online jobs from home, you don’t need much equipment. However, having the right equipment will make the work faster, more enjoyable and could help you earn extra money. Consider the following:

A Reliable Computer

At HomeWorkingClub, we don’t believe anyone serious about their career should try to limp along with a computer that slows them down. 

Check out our article on the best laptops for freelancers to see what’s available.

The RIGHT keyboard

It may be fashionable for people to do all their work on a Macbook. Still, a laptop keyboard isn’t necessarily the right thing for doing hours of data entry work. Perhaps a desktop keyboard will work better for you, or even something specifically designed to be ergonomic. We’ve long been a big fan of Microsoft’s range of ergonomic keyboards. 

A Headset

It’s not essential, but a headset can make a tremendous difference if you’re required to listen to and transcribe the spoken word. A dedicated transcription headset like this will work better than one intended for gaming.

A Transcription Pedal

If you want to really go for it with transcription, a pedal (which allows you to start and stop playback without lifting your hands from the keyboard) will help you take things to the next level. They cost about 50 bucks, but that’s a small investment if you’re quicker getting through those “audio hours”. This particular pedal seems to be the industry standard.

Proper Office Software

I KNOW that plenty of people survive with free Office software like OpenOffice. In fact, I invariably get roped into a debate every time I discuss it! However, I’m a firm believer that people who take their home working careers seriously should have industry-standard software.

Thankfully, Microsoft Office is now sold on a subscription basis via Office 365, which you’ll find here. When you can have the same bang up to date software that big companies have for around ten bucks per month, that seems like a “no brainer” to me.

Is There Any Well-Paid Data Entry Work?

Legitimate data-entry work can pay reasonably well, and people often mention a typical figure of around $12-14 per hour.

However, we need to be realistic; Low-skilled work is extremely unlikely to pay high rates. If you see an advert for “no experience required” work that promises to pay a high hourly rate, chances are you’ve come across a scam.

Furthermore, the people earning $12-14 per hour typically have developed high-level transcription skills or worked hard to master the micro-working platforms. In reality, the only “easy money” in data entry is the non-existent easy money that the scammers promise.

Avoiding Scams

With so many scams in the data entry world, how can you avoid them and drill down to genuine online jobs? Here are some tips:

• Check out this article on avoiding scams – it will teach you various ways to investigate opportunities and websites to check if they’re legit.

• Don’t get sucked into sites that offer unrealistically high rates. Data entry work is usually “entry level.” Don’t expect more than an entry-level pay rate unless you’re bringing something additional to the table (such as a second language or knowledge of medical terminology).

• Stick to the golden rule that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

• Don’t pay for courses or membership schemes that promise to find you work that’s hidden away somewhere – the legitimate work is easy enough to find yourself with a bit of effort.

When The Work is Really Something Else

When you read the job description, some of the data entry positions you’ll see advertised are more accurately described as transcription.  

Transcription involves listening to audio files or video files and typing them into text. It has its own set of skills, and you need to be very accomplished, with plenty of prior experience, to earn good money. 

We’ve found many legitimate companies that offer job postings for experienced transcriptionists. 

However, if you’re a beginner, you may want to do some study to boost you up past the entry-level transcription jobs offering minimum wages. Transcribe Anywhere is a great place to start. This well-respected site offers a free mini-course, leading to a more advanced paid option. 

Administrative assistants sometimes do word processing and data entry work, but that tends to be one part of their role.   

Conclusion

With all this in mind, the reality is that most of the work from home sites that claim to have extensive lists of places to find online data entry jobs are – in fact – just listing a mixture of microworking and transcription sites. 

Some even include companies hiring proofreaders and editors on their lists – and it’s a bit of a joke to describe this as data entry.

I say this because HomeWorkingClub is site that prides itself on honesty and realism. 

So, yes, data entry work is still a legitimate way to make money, but there’s NO secret place where there are heaps of well-paid jobs available on tap. 

Alternatives to Online Data Entry

If you’ve gone off the idea of data entry, here are some other home working ideas you might want to investigate:

Freelance Writing: Another job that only rewards those who work hard at it, freelance writing at least has the benefit of being less repetitive than data entry! This article is a good place to start, as it looks at how easy it really is to get started in the writing world.

Blogging: More of a slow-burn way to make money, blogging and affiliate marketing can be lucrative, but it takes a lot of up-front work to get started. For a good primer, our beginner’s guide to blogging is worth a read, or you might want to try a free membership to Wealthy Affiliate.

Other Online Jobs: There are plenty of online jobs out there in all sorts of sectors. If you want a head-start on your job search, you might want to sign up to FlexJobs, or alternatively, there’s a free list of 125 companies that take on home-based people here.

There are also LOADS more home working ideas here.