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Founded back in 2008, TaskRabbit is one of the most popular and well-trusted platforms for people seeking help completing tasks—or looking to complete them for cash!
The on-demand app revolutionized online job boards and the entire gig economy.
While skilled taskers and service professionals have been doing odd jobs for their neighbors since long before the invention of the internet, the TaskRabbit app has made it possible to streamline your income from odd jobs.
But it’s not the only service provider that does so.
Maximize Your Earnings with Odd Jobs Apps and Sites Early on, TaskRabbit was one of the only well-known and trusted odd jobs apps on the market. Nowadays, there are plenty of ways and other apps like TaskRabbit that can empower you to earn extra money from on-demand service in your spare time.
Here are some of the best and most useful odd jobs app options:
1. Fiverr
One of the most popular alternatives to TaskRabbit, Fiverr is a website and app-based platform that enables sellers to offer gigs (services) to potential buyers.
The gimmick? You set your own price as a freelancer, beginning at a $5 dollar minimum.
The kinds of gigs vary widely, but remote work tends to rank among the most popular gigs offered. Some of the most common include:
- Graphic design
- Writing and editing
- Business services
- Marketing and advertising
- Web design and programming
Many sellers will set up a baseline price of $5 dollars and then add additional fees for added features. For example, a seller might offer editing or proofreading starting at $5 dollars for one page of content, but then add $5 (or less) for each additional page.
Also, there’s a catch for sellers: Fiverr does keep 20% (a fifth) of your total fee. So, for each $5 dollar transaction, you’ll net out $4 dollars.
2. NeedTo
Another similar platform to TaskRabbit and Fiverr, NeedTo is a marketplace app aimed at answering a simple question for customers:
“What do you NeedTo get done?”
Users post needs, which include detailed explanations of the context and job requirements, including:
- Specifications of work to be performed
- Deadlines and schedules
- Estimated budget
Then, job-seekers can pitch bids and compete to land the contract. Those who posted the original ad have the opportunity to select which professional service provider they entrust the work to. So, NeedTo is ultimately a way of empowering workers with more potential.
NeedTo is committed to empowering workers to end involuntary unemployment. To that end, the marketplace app donates 10% of all profits to local nonprofit organizations specializing in job training.
3. Jobble
An interactive job board platform, Jobble calls itself “the marketplace for the gig economy.”
Unlike TaskRabbit, Jobble isn’t geared toward household tasks and errands. Instead, it focuses on local service industry labor. For example, some of the most common jobs posted include secretarial and general staffing in:
- Restaurants, catering halls, and hotels
- Healthcare and doctor’s offices
- Retailers and boutique shops
- Miscellaneous offices
Not all of this work is strictly freelance or contract-based. Jobble is less a marketplace and more of a seamless job aggregator and application portal. For job-seekers, it enables you to find local gigs, upload a resume, and apply for jobs all in one place.
Unlike most other platforms on this list, Jobble could be your ticket to long-term employment opportunities.
4. Handy
A specialized jobs site, Handy allows you to sign up as a Pro and offer your services for set rates. As the name implies, Handy focuses on two main areas of work:
Handyman – You can earn up to $45 dollars per hour for jobs like:
- Furniture assembly
- Installations and removals
- Repairs and general maintenance
- Renovations and remodeling
- Changing Tires or fixing cars
Cleaning – Cleaners can bid up to $22 dollars per hour for gigs like:
- Deep cleaning and detailing
- Home or office cleaning
- Move-out cleaning
Handy boasts that its top performers earn over $1000 dollars per week! Payments are delivered directly by Handy, rather than the clients whose tasks you’re doing. After a task is completed and confirmed, you’ll receive payment shortly afterward.
There are other kinds of jobs you can sign up for, but the name says it all: this tasker app is mainly for handy, in-person work.
5. Thumbtack
In contrast with some of the other apps and sites on this list, Thumbtack’s business model revolves around leads. It’s a free app platform for expanding your business and earnings by paying for opportunities. As such, it focuses on people who are trying to make contracting their main or only source of income.
The way Thumbtack works is:
- You sign up as a professional.
- Then, you indicate what kinds of leads and jobs you’re interested in pursuing.
- Thumbtack filters potential client’s queries and sends them to you, for a fee.
- For exact client matches, you’re automatically charged.
- Inexact matches only cost you if you choose to pursue them.
The flip side of this is that, unlike TaskRabbit or Fiverr, you’re not paying out a percentage of your actual earnings for the work. You’re just paying to get your foot in the door.
6. Zaarly
Similar to Thumbtack, Zaarly is targeted more toward service professionals than people simply looking for an odd job here or there. However, it is a marketplace rather than a paid lead service.
Its main features include protections for customers. Zaarly has several distinct protective measures in place that set it apart from its competitors:
- Professionals are vetted through a 9-step process
- A $100 dollar no-show fee penalizes any pros who stand up customers
- All work provided is backed by a $10,000 dollar refund fee
While these measures can make earning via Zaarly slightly less easier to get started, they pay off in the long-run. Its protections aren’t just for customers; they also enable you to charge higher prices with the confidence that your qualifications justify them. And Zaarly only takes 10% of your earnings, which is much lower than other tasker app competitors on this list and is a major perk.
7. Upwork
A more specialized platform, Upwork is ideal for anyone seeking more technical work to be done remotely, often on the computer. It’s also slightly higher scale than some other options.
Upwork focuses not on household tasks, but on larger-scale employers who need staffing and labor for bigger and more consistent projects. The listings can range from a small job to administrative tasks, to a massive project. On this odd job site you act more as a freelancer or independent contractor than as a job seeker looking to run errands for some passive income. Upwork connects these job creators to highly talented professionals and agencies. They then bid on the posted projects.
Some of the main kinds of jobs posted on Upwork include:
- Web and software development
- Content creation and design
- Writing, copywriting, and editing
- Analytics and research
- Customer service
In addition to the basic, free account that job creators can utilize, there are also paid options that offer enhanced features, such as streamlined invoicing and dedicated managers and advisors.
This is a premium task service best suited for those looking to be their own boss and freelance full time.
8. Care.com
Another specific, industry-based platform, Care.com connects caregivers to those who need their attention. This blows any babysitting job out of the water. It’s a one stop-shop for all kinds of domestic labor needs.
Founded on the principle that family care is vital to both human development and economic growth, the mission of Care.com is to ensure that all individuals and families have access to quality care, regardless of their scheduling and budgetary constraints.
Care.com enables skilled, experienced caretakers to provide services like:
- Child care and babysitting
- Tutoring and assistance with homework
- Petcare, including walking and playing
- Senior care and accompaniment
- Housekeeping and maintenance
For those with experience in homecare, Care.com provides an excellent way to monetize work that too often goes uncompensated.
9. Amazon Mechanical Turk
One of the most unique work platforms online or off, Amazon Mechanical Turk (https://www.mturk.com/) is a crowdsourcing engine that allows job creators to outsource small tasks to a wide network of individuals, all of which are working remotely from a computer.
It’s the closest thing to automation for tasks that still do require human labor.
In practice, it’s a system for turning spare moments at the computer into incremental earnings that add up over time. Individuals working on MTurk can expect to take on small jobs as varied as:
- Survey completion and processing
- Data entry and basic analysis
- Reading and reporting
- Quality control
By breaking up larger projects into many small individual tasks, job creators can disperse work to many individuals at once, paying each worker according to how much of the task is accomplished.
Individual tasks are typically short and can be finished in as little as a few minutes. Likewise, the rate of pay is low, sometimes measured not in dollars but cents.
These spare cents for spare minutes can add up to significant sums over time.
Complement Your Earnings with Savings
Now that you know all the best odd jobs apps for real-world and online tasks that pay, you’re ready to get out there and start earning some extra cash. But increasing your net worth and preparing yourself for financial stability isn’t just about how much you make.
It’s also about how much you save. Which is why we provide not only consumer insights on the most beneficial odd job apps, but also share a sneak peak into the best budget apps for couples or the best app to sell clothes at a discounted price.
Here at RebateKey, our mission is helping you get the most out of your income by supplementing it with side gigs and complementing it with savings. That’s why our Chrome extension makes it free and easy for you to save money on purchases with streamlined rebates. In addition, we publish countless blogs and guides on how to make and save money every day.
Save your hard earned cash with RebateKey!
Sources:
Lists
https://www.frugalforless.com/apps-like-taskrabbit/
https://www.housecallpro.com/learn/taskrabbit-competitor-apps/
https://thisonlineworld.com/apps-like-taskrabbit/
Sites/apps and related information
https://www.fiverr.com/start_selling
https://needto.com/pages/mission
https://help.thumbtack.com/article/pay-for-leads
https://zaarly.com/zaarly-guarantee
https://www.upwork.com/i/overview/