The word “scam” is thrown around very readily in the home working world. At HomeWorkingClub we like to separate the good opportunities from the bad, and this RapidWorkers review looks at whether RapidWorkers is worth your time, or best avoided.
I’ve tried out many different microworking platforms and “side hustles” over the years. Micro working sites won’t make anybody rich, but can still provide a decent side job to fall back on, and bring you a little extra regular money for relatively little effort.
RapidWorkers promises a lot: “low cost” projects that are “accomplished fast” by “happy” workers who are “compensated promptly.”
So lets see how it lives up to that.
What is RapidWorkers?
RapidWorkers is a microworking site, matching users (workers) to small online tasks posted by other individuals (employers). The tasks are typically quick to do, and the payments are of small value – generally cents rather than Dollars.
RapidWorkers claims to have more than 100,000 workers on the platform
The micro jobs available on RapidWorkers are focussed around publicity and marketing campaigns, particularly on social media. It is available internationally, although some tasks are geographically restricted.
Is Rapidworkers Legit?
Rapidworkers provides a genuine platform for individuals to find micro-jobs. Proofs of payment from the site can be found online, and so it does clearly work for some.
As with some similar sites, however, the format is open to misuse and can be used both by ‘scammers’, or by individuals posting opportunities that are somewhat questionable.
For these, and other reasons I will move onto next, I can summarise my RapidWorkers review by saying that this is NOT a site for me. I would urge considerable caution to anyone who is looking to sign up. We provide some alternative ideas at the end of this article.
How to Contact RapidWorkers
The only contact option on the RapidWorker’s website is a web form. No address or telephone number is provided. The site provides quite detailed task guidelines. However, there appears to be no opportunity of appeal should an individual worker feel they have been unfairly treated by an employer on the platform.
Other Reviews of RapidWorkers
There are lots of online reviews of RapidWorkers. Some of these are positive, however they are rather outnumbered by those claiming a negative experience with the platform.
The most common complaint is users claiming that their account was suspended before they were able to withdraw any funds. I cannot claim to know the truth about these complaints, but they are something to be aware of should you decide to work on the site.
RapidWorkers Review: Our Experience
RapidWorkers Review: Our ExperienceSigning Up
Signing up to RapidWorkers is straightforward and quick. The only information you need to provide is a name, email address and password, and confirmation of what country you live in. You then need to confirm your details via an emailed link to get started.
The tasks on RapidWorkers are location specific, and you are cautioned not to try to hide or disguise your IP address. To do so risks you being removed from the platform, and losing any earnings you may have accrued at that point.
What Kind of Tasks are on RapidWorkers?
The tasks on RapidWorkers typically involve carrying out small actions on websites – such as liking posts, adding reviews, creating accounts, and adding comments to blogs or videos.
You can find meatier pieces of work like article writing on the site, but these appear to be rare.
The type of jobs on RapidWorkers are the main reason why I will not be returning.
By their nature, many are designed to artificially impact how online content is viewed, and mislead other internet users, for example by producing artificially inflated ‘likes’. This is something that many people do, and some would say is just part of the online world, but it is not something I choose to be a part of. (We’ve seen lots of similar work on Picoworkers, which we reviewed here).
I was particularly disappointed to see tasks like the one below, asking for negative reviews on a business, with little context provided:
You can search for jobs according to the location(s) where they are available, the estimated about of time they will take, or money you can earn.
When I visited the site the rates for available jobs ranged from $0.03 to $1.70. The amount of time each job was expected to take ranged from one minute to 31 minutes, with the exception of a couple that were apparently paying up to $0.24 for 7200 minutes’ work!
Getting Paid by RapidWorkers
In order to be credited for a job you have completed on RapidWorkers you are required to submit evidence that you have completed the task.
In the most part this is in the form of uploading a screenshot. In some cases, you are also asked to provide details such as an email address, so the employer can verify your information against their records.
Once you have submitted your evidence, the employer has up to seven days to either approve your work or reject it. If it is approved, your account is credited, if it is not then users have no options to appeal.
You can cash out of RapidWorkers once your account contains a minimum of $8. Withdrawals can only be made via PayPal. Cashing out is done by emailing admin confirming your email address and your IP address. Payments are said to take up to 48 hours and are subject to a 6% fee.
Given my experience with the site, and my misgivings about the type of work available I did not get as far as withdrawing any earnings from my account.
More Details
Support
There are few opportunities to receive support from RapidWorkers should you be having difficulty with the site. Tutorial videos are hosted on a Facebook page, and they are useful in helping you navigate the site.
Questions received in the Facebook group are directed, somewhat curtly, to the FAQ section of the website.
The Facebook page is not updated regularly. At the time of writing the last published post was more than six months previous.
Hiring People on RapidWorkers
Once you have a RapidWorkers account you can also use your account as an employer. As such you can add jobs for others to do as well as complete them yourself, should you wish to do so.
Interface
The layout of the site has an old-fashioned appearance and is somewhat cluttered. The colour scheme (the result of employers highlighting jobs) I found to be particularly jarring.
That said, it is easy to navigate and does what it needs to do. There are a LOT of spelling mistakes throughout the website, both from RapidWorkers and from contributing employers. This unfortunately does not create the impression of a quality site and added to my existing misgivings.
RapidWorkers Review Conclusion
It will likely come as little surprise that RapidWorkers is not a site for me.
It is a perfectly usable platform, and it does provide the opportunity to pick up small amounts of money with very little effort, although it won’t make you rich any time soon. In my opinion, if this is what you’re after there are better options out there (see below for some ideas).
Unfortunately, as with some other sites of this kind, RapidWorkers does attract micro-tasks that many would see as morally questionable. User reviews are varied so if, despite misgivings, you decide to give it a go, my advice would be proceed with considerable caution.
RapidWorkers Pros and Cons
The Good
- Easy, accessible tasks.
- Most of the tasks can be completed from any location.
- Easy sign up process.
- Easily navigable site.
The Bad
- Little support or follow up should things go wrong.
- PayPal is the only option to withdraw money, and withdrawals are subject to charges.
- Low rates of pay.
- Little protection against potential scammers or “click fraud.”
Better Alternatives to RapidWorkers
We end this RapidWorkers review with some other things you may like to consider instead:
Other Microworking Sites
We’ve reviewed several microworking sites here. Better options we’d suggest include Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (full review here) and Clickworker (full review here).
Survey Sites
If you’re keen to find sites where you can make a little extra online, survey sites like PrizeRebel and SwagBucks are worth a look.
Establishing yourself on a Freelance Platform
We’re painfully aware that the reason many people find themselves forced to consider platforms like RapidWorkers is because other more reputable and higher-paying options are off limits to certain countries.
Our advice in these situations is always the same: have a think about doing online freelance work instead. You can get started wherever you are, and this gives you the chance to earn a meaningful amount of money from a better standard of clients. Take a look at (or listen to) to our feature on winning your first clients on the freelance job boards.
Amy Edye is a freelance Social Media Manager for small businesses and charities. She also provides policy and operational support for local charities, alongside her part-time role at a national charity.
