5 Websites That Pay You for Simple Micro-Tasks You Can Do While Watching TV

Let’s be honest – we all do it. You’re watching your favorite drama or a cricket match, but you’re also scrolling on your phone. It feels like wasted time. But what if you could turn that ‘second-screen’ time into actual, real cash? What if you could earn money during the ad breaks without even getting off the sofa? Welcome to the world of micro-tasks. These are tiny online jobs that companies need humans to do, and they will pay you for your time. Forget complicated schemes; this is about earning your first few dollars online, simply and easily. We have tested the platforms and found the 5 best sites to get you started tonight.

What Exactly Are Micro-Tasks? (And What They’re NOT)

Think of micro-tasks as small pieces of a giant puzzle. A big company might need to identify thousands of images for an AI project. They break that huge job into tiny ‘micro-tasks’—like ‘Is there a car in this picture?’—and pay people like you a few cents for each one. When you do hundreds of these tiny tasks, the cents add up. Let’s be very clear: this is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You will not buy a new car doing this. This is a way to earn a few extra dollars an hour ($2-$8 on average) to pay for your mobile data, a meal out, or to save up for something special. It’s about being productive in your spare time. The key is consistency.

Site 1: Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) – The Original Giant

The Vibe: This is the biggest and oldest player in the game is MTurk. It feels like a massive, no-frills job board filled with an endless supply of tiny tasks called ‘HITs’ (Human Intelligence Tasks).

Types of Tasks You’ll Do:

• Transcribing 15-second audio clips.
• Identifying specific objects in an image.
• Answering short survey questions for university studies.
• Verifying business names and addresses.

Earning Potential & Payout: Beginners can expect to earn around $2-5/hour. Payout is to an Amazon gift card or directly to a bank account, which requires a service like Payoneer.

Pro-Tip: Your first goal is to complete 100 HITs with a high approval rating (over 99%). This unlocks thousands of higher-paying HITs that are hidden from new users. Focus on easy, fast tasks at first to build your stats.

Site 2: Clickworker – The All-Rounder

The Vibe: A modern, user-friendly platform with a huge variety of work. Clickworker feels more structured than MTurk and often has more interesting projects.

Types of Tasks You’ll Do:

• Taking short videos of yourself saying simple phrases (for training voice AI).
• Categorizing products for online stores.
• Proofreading short texts.
• App testing (downloading and trying a new mobile app).

Earning Potential & Payout: Averages around $5-9/hour, depending on the project. They are well-known for reliable payments via Payoneer.

Pro-Tip: Take the assessment tests! Many users skip them, but passing the English and other skill assessments unlocks access to the UHRS platform through Clickworker, which is where the best and most consistent work is found.

Site 3: Toloka AI – The Mobile-First Option

The Vibe: Perfect for earning directly from your phone. Toloka has a fantastic mobile app that lets you complete tasks anywhere, making it the ultimate ‘while watching TV’ platform.

Types of Tasks You’ll Do:

• Comparing two search results to see which is better.
• Drawing boxes around objects in photos.
• Location-based tasks: taking a photo of a specific storefront in your city, whether it’s Multan or Karachi, for a small bonus.

Earning Potential & Payout: Similar to others, around $2-7/hour. They have a very low minimum payout threshold and support Payoneer and Skrill, making it easy to get your money quickly.

Pro-Tip: Your ‘skill rating’ is everything on Toloka. When you start, do the free training tasks carefully. A high skill rating acts like a key, giving you first access to the highest-paying tasks before other users even see them.

Site 4: Appen – The Corporate Contributor

The Vibe: More professional and corporate. Appen works with the biggest tech companies in the world. The application process is longer, but the projects are often more long-term (weeks or months) and stable.

Types of Tasks You’ll Do:

• Rating the relevance of social media posts.
• Evaluating search engine results.
• Long-term data collection projects.

Earning Potential & Payout: Can pay higher, often a set rate per project or $10+/hour for dedicated projects. They pay monthly via Payoneer.

Pro-Tip: When you create your profile, be extremely detailed about your skills and the devices you own (specific phone model, laptop, etc.). Many projects require users with specific hardware, and a detailed profile will get you invited to these exclusive projects.

Site 5: Prolific – The Academic Standard

The Vibe: This is the premium, high-quality platform. Prolific only hosts studies for top universities like Oxford and Stanford. It feels less like ‘work’ and more like contributing to science.

Types of Tasks You’ll Do:

• Participating in psychology experiments.
• Answering detailed academic surveys.
• Playing short decision-making games.

Earning Potential & Payout: The best pay rate in the industry, with a minimum of £6.00 / $8.00 per hour. Payout is via PayPal.

Pro-Tip: There is a waitlist to join Prolific. Sign up today, even if you don’t plan to use it for a few months. The key is to fill out your ‘About You’ profile with 100% honesty and detail. The system invites you to studies based on this demographic data, so a complete profile means more study invitations and more money.

Your First Step on the Earning Ladder

Earning your first dollar online is a powerful feeling. These five sites give you a real, legitimate way to do it. Do not try to master them all at once. Pick one that looks interesting, sign up tonight during the ad break, and complete your first task. You have officially started your online earning path.