Studocu Review (For Notes Sellers)

This StuDocu review is for you if you want to earn money sharing lecture notes and other learning materials with students worldwide.

As you probably know, StuDocu is one of the most popular online file-sharing platforms.

We will try to find out if this has anything to do with seller gratification and decide if it’s worth our time or not.

So is StuDocu a scam? Does it pay? How much can you earn from it? Are you even qualified to use it? Here’s everything you need to know:

What is StuDocu?

StuDocu is a file-sharing platform for learners. It obtains lecture notes, textbook solutions, past exams, etc., from students, graduates, experts, professors, etc., and passes them over to students who need them.

As an uploader, you are supposed to provide documents in doc, docx, and pdf formats.

Photographs, scans, low-resolution documents, and handwritten notes are typically rejected, as they are difficult to read for both students and the StuDocu systems.

As regards focus subjects, there is no limit to what’s allowed. You can upload anything, from physics, math, biology, and history notes to software design guides through to quantum physics and rocket science materials.

For each document you share, you are paid upfront and once.

Who Owns StuDocu?

Born and raised in the Netherlands, StuDocu is the brainchild of Jacques Huppes, Lucas van den Houten, Sander Kuijik, and Marnix Broer.

The former college students didn’t initially see their idea as a probable for-profit venture but would later go commercial and take full advantage of what was then a young market.

Now, the Amsterdam-headquartered company employs 28 people coming from the Netherlands, the US, the UK, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and a host of other nations across the world.

Is StuDocu Legit?

StuDocu is a legit company with numerous positive reviews on the internet. It has been around since 2013 and hosts an estimated 15 million monthly users from over 60 countries.

That and the presence of millions of voluntarily-uploaded resources might be all you need to realize that StuDocu is not a scam.

Is StuDocu Legal?

The legality of sites that facilitate the sharing of study materials is often questioned, but StuDocu is legal everywhere it has a presence.

Otherwise, it would not have stood the test of time operating so openly.

That being said, uploading someone else’s material without their consent is considered intellectual property infringement and could put you on a collision course with both StuDocu and law enforcement.

Note that StuDocu often scans all uploaded materials to check for plagiarism and potential rights violations.

However, this doesn’t put the responsibility on them in the event you manage to trick the system. You will still be solely at fault for the infringement.

You’ll also love our article on SproutGigs Review.

Can You Really Make Money Selling Documents On StuDocu?

Yes, you can make money selling study materials on StuDocu. And the best part is that you won’t be the first to do so.

Perusing review sites, I ran into many reviews from satisfied uploaders arguing that the site indeed pays up.

The user below was 50-50 about StuDocu like the majority of us but received a surprisingly prompt payout on their first try and a free premium subscription as a bonus:

Some users are on StuDocu simply to help others. Most find it interesting that they get rewarded for doing what they love doing and would probably do for free.

Many have problems with how the site works but haven’t alluded anywhere that it doesn’t pay notes sellers.

From these reviews, it is safe to say you can make money uploading notes on StuDocu. All you need to do is upload original content in the correct format.

You’d also save yourself some disappointments by ensuring there are no similar documents in the StuDocu database before uploading yours.

How Much Does StuDocu Pay for Notes?

There are no fixed rates for StuDocu notes sellers. However, you can make as much as $20 per file, according to users.

Pricing is decided by StuDocu evaluators. It’s unclear what criteria they use to determine the worth of a document, but it’s something along the lines of size, quality, and uniqueness.

If a document meets all quality requirements, you could even receive a 30% markup on your initial quote for subsequent uploads.

How StuDocu Works

StuDocu simply tries to connect people who have study materials with people who need them.

It keeps a database of all the notes, solution manuals, practice exams, and other materials that have been uploaded and makes them available to students on demand.

To keep the notes coming, the site pays uploaders and offers them premium access to its resource database.

Getting Started on StuDocu

Using StuDocu is easy and free. Signing up is equally simple.

Just head over to the StuDocu homepage and click on the green “register” button on the top-right corner of your screen.

You can register with Facebook or a logged-in Gmail account if you want to circumvent the whole process of typing your name and email address.

Whichever method you choose, a confirmation link will be sent to your email, from where you can proceed with the registration process.

Back on the StuDocu website, you will be asked to provide the name of your university and when you enrolled. A page like this will open:

Now, you are part of the StuDocu student community.

How to Make Money Selling Notes on StuDocu

Uploading documents on StuDocu gives you access to premium content (20% of all content on the site) and a chance to earn money.

Assuming you’re only interested in the money, there is no pressure to meet the 10-document threshold requisite for free premium access.

Just click on the conspicuous upload sign in the StuDocu homepage and follow the on-screen instructions.

Once you click Submit documents, an automatic scan will be performed, and an offer will be sent to you in less than a minute.

You have the right to accept or reject the offer. If you accept it, payment processing will be initiated immediately.

As stated above, you do not influence whether or not your document will be approved. You also won’t dictate the amount of money you make from the notes you upload.

But there are things you can do to reduce the chances of your documents being rejected. These include:

Ensuring your notes have no grammatical or punctuation errors
Ensuring your documents are clear and easy to read. The right typeface and font size should be used
Converting your documents into a supported format (doc, docx, and pdf) before uploading them
Checking if there are similar documents in the StuDocu database
Checking for plagiarism

If possible and necessary, edit your notes to improve their flow, structure, and phrasing.

It’s upon you to ensure the content you upload is refined and easy to use, whether or not you created it from scratch.

Reviews and Complaints

Like any other online service, StuDocu receives love and hate in equal measure.

There are loads of reviews from unsatisfied people and tons of others from a gratified lot—some conflicting each other and others describing one-off experiences that no one else relates to.

To help you develop your own opinion, I homed in on reviews with some of the most recurrent sentiments:

StuDocu pays its contributors, at least going by the above reviews—problems set in when it comes to pay rates.

Apparently, and rather unsurprisingly, not many people like what the platform offers in exchange for notes and other study materials.

Even for notes that you probably didn’t create yourself, $4 for 100 pages sure feels like a rip-off. You may want to consider this information when making your decision.

Outside compensation, there are very few complaints about StuDocu. The site’s resourceful database and easy registration process seems to keep users hooked despite glaring technical issues and poor customer support.