Are you contemplating signing up to SproutGigs as one of their many crowd workers? This SproutGigs review will help you understand how the site works, introduce you to its good and bad sides, and hopefully give you a place to start.
As you probably know, the gig economy has been high on the rise over the past couple of years, thanks in part to a boost from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The industry is said to be worth a whopping $500 billion and at a growth trajectory for the ages. So what does one of its fiercest players, SproutGigs, have to offer? Read on to find out.
What is SproutGigs?
SproutGigs is a crowdsourcing platform that pays freelancers to perform small one-off tasks. It was initially Picoworkers, but a name change seems to have been inevitable following the introduction of “gigs.”
The company has over a million workers and serves thousands of clients, some of whom are well-known industry leaders.
As a worker, you can either do small, often single-click tasks like up-voting Reddit posts and clicking hyperlinks or participate in ongoing projects (gigs).
Small tasks are doable to the bulk of the SproutGigs crowd, while gigs require a certain skill. If you are familiar with data entry, cover letter writing, ad management, or image conversion, you can always create a gig for it, much like you would on Fiverr.
Of course, the latter pay more and subject you to less competition, making them more desirable. On the other hand, they are rarer and might prove the supplement to small tasks, not the other way round.
Is SproutGigs legit? Is it real or fake?
SproutGigs is legit. It’s a real site that provides legitimate online jobs and pays its workers. It also protects against scammers thanks to its escrow feature and ensures fair distribution of work to its crowd.
If credibility was the issue, there is the green light: SproutGigs is not a scam.
I understand that you may have run into negative SproutGigs reviews on the internet from past and current workers and wondered if the company has work to offer, let alone the intention to pay you for it.
However, like many other micro task platforms, SproutGigs has not been safe from the wrath of people who joined it expecting more than it had to offer.
Some concerns are downright legit. For instance, work is not always available, and making money from gigs is fairly difficult. The pay is also low, and the competition is sky-high. These add up.
However, SproutGigs doesn’t promise what it can’t deliver. The advertisement seems to perfectly reflect the experience on the platform.
And if anything is to put the debate to rest, it is the fact that the company has stood the test of time and managed to grow in the process.
You Might Also Like: 15 Sites Like Picoworkers (SproutGigs) To Find Micro Jobs
Can You Really Find Work On SproutGigs?
Yes, you can find work on SproutGigs. That’s been done and it can be repeated. But then this is not a get-rich-overnight scheme. The pay is low, and work is not guaranteed.
Most of the tasks, as noted earlier in this SproutGigs review, are one-offs and won’t impact your chances of finding other work in the future. And the fact that they are easy to do means it’s always a scramble on the job page whenever new assignments pop up.
Gigs at least give you the chance to sway your ability to earn. With proper marketing skills, you can stand out pretty easily and get in the good books of repeat clients.
Again, there is a counterbalance in the fairly low flow of work, so have your hopes in check no matter the gig you sell and how well you advertise it.
How to Find Work on SproutGigs
How can you place yourself in a better position to find work on SproutGigs if that’s even possible? There is a couple of ways.
The first and most important one is to set up your profile correctly. A good profile ensures you qualify for work you can actually do.
For instance, lying about your country of residence could have you receiving offers meant for residents of the country you claim to reside in. And if it involves downloading and installing a mobile app or game, you can only hope the app is not IP-sensitive.
Secondly, you need to be ready to reveal a lot about yourself. This could mean providing your phone number or even credit card information.
Don’t fret, though. Credit card information is not a registration requisite. SproutGigs only incentivizes it by attaching better rates to tasks that require it.
Another way to improve your chances of finding work and raise your earning potential is to spend more time on the site.
Half of the job on micro-job platforms involves refreshing the work page. It’s not the most stimulating enterprise, but it puts you in a position to grab opportunities as they come.
While you’re at it, beware of the natural urge to do everything there is to do, which can easily drive you into making costly mistakes.
Finally, try your luck with gigs. The trouble of creating videos and other marketing material has been shown to pay off and handsomely.
What Does SproutGigs Offer, and How Does It Work?
SproutGigs brings into a single pool opportunities that you would otherwise browse hundreds of different sites to find.
These tasks include:
- Small jobs that only require you to click a mouse, like up-voting a Reddit, visiting a domain and viewing web pages, performing a Google search, etc.
- Small tasks that involve a bit of creative input. These include writing blog comments, reviewing products, and commenting on social media posts.
- Social media marketing-related jobs such as subscribing to a YouTube channel and following a Twitter user
- Registration-related tasks like subscribing to a newsletter, signing up for a service, registering for a free trial or joining a forum
- Downloading and installing computer software, mobile apps, and games
With gigs, there are no restrictions to what you can offer. Anything goes, and it’s totally fine to sell more than one gig.
How to Join SproutGigs
The SproutGigs sign-up process is a simple one. Just head over to the registration page and create an account. You will be asked to provide your real name, a nickname or username, your email address, your nationality, and an account password.
A confirmation email will be sent to you once you tap “Send.”
The link in the email takes you to a gig filter page that looks like this on mobile:
The menu button at the top-right corner lets you view your track record in both gigs and micro jobs, edit your profile, and access your wallet.
The green “FIND JOBS” button at the bottom of the menu takes you to the general work pool, which looks as shown in the following screen grab:
An upward scroll takes you to the filter menu, where you can narrow down your options by job level, category and subcategory, price range, location, and employer stats.
All beginners belong in the “Starter” job level and can only access work in the category. The other levels, “Advanced” and “Expert,” are not available to you until you prove yourself on the starter level.
You can also avoid the filters and pick out jobs manually if you have time on your hands.
Every job comes with sufficient briefing. You can view excluded regions and employer stats and decide whether to pass up a job, do it, or hold it. The submission deadline is also provided on the instructions page.
The client has a lot of say on who can get paid and who can’t. They will ask for proof (usually in the form of a code) that you did the work, review it, and decide whether or not you deserve to be paid.
Your earnings will reflect in your SproutGig account at the top of the job page.
Withdrawing Your SproutGig Earnings
SproutGig lets you request a PayPal, Skrill, or Litecoin payout whenever you have $5.75 or more in your earned balance. Payments are processed within ten business days.
Note that all new users have to achieve what is known as zero interval to be allowed to make withdrawals. If your interval time is 200 seconds, you will need to run it down to zero, a process requiring you to complete 20 tasks successfully.
Reviews and Complaints
What do the people have to say about SproutGigs? Unsurprisingly, the reactions are mixed. Some people like it, some don’t.
On Trustpilot, where the platform has a rating of 3.1 stars out of a possible 5, the highlight of many positive reviews seems to be the sheer fact that it actually pays. Check out these comments:
Repeated complaints include an apparent favoritism for employers at the expense of employees. I found three consecutive reviews expressing concern about how the site has been getting worse by the day, at least from the freelancers’ point of view. Perhaps there is some substance to the claim?
There are also grumbles, albeit few and far between, about unwarranted user purging.
Quite frankly, freelance platforms don’t always attract the prettiest ratings. It’s understandable to want to protect yourself from scammers, bad support, and poor pay, but not all feedback is genuine. Some is misguided, and a good deal comes from a place of bitterness.
What I Like About SproutGigs
Here are some of the things I like about SproutGigs
- It pays its workers (It’s legit)
- It accepts freelancers from all over the world
- It offers a variety of tasks
- It has a range of task filters
- It has a gig section, not so different from Fiverr’s own
- It is fully accessible from mobile devices
- It offers more than one payment option
- It offers protection against scammers
- It requires no prior experience or qualification to join
What I Don’t Like About SproutGigs
- The pay is low even for such easy work
- Free entry means more competition
- The gigs section is still young and can’t be relied on
- Employers have the final say over your eligibility for compensation
- Workers can’t tell who the client is
- Accounts get closed over petty unverifiable issues
Is SproutGigs Worth It For Micro Workers?
If there were better options, I would probably say SproutGigs is a waste of time. But my knowledge of the industry tells me this is in fact one of the best platforms for micro workers.
All sites promise peanuts, but only a few actually pay. SproutGigs is one of those few.
The presence of a gig section is another feature we can’t overlook. Imagine being able to do small jobs while waiting for someone to notice your gig and give you a better-paying job.
From where I’m standing, SproutGigs is worth it. Don’t register expecting to become rich or find a replacement for your day job, and definitely don’t expect a perfect stream of work.
But if you want to work with a tested-and-tried industry leader and have your effort rewarded accordingly, SproutGigs is the site for you.
Conclusion
If you have learned something from this SproutGig review, I can’t wait to see it in the comments. Also, let me know if there is anything I may have left out and whether there is a micro job platform you’d want me to review.