What Is Appen?
Appen is a crowdsourcing marketplace for gig work and AI-related tasks. Here, organizations can hire from Appen's crowd of contributors (freelance contractors) who get paid to complete tasks like data collection, data labeling, search evaluation, transcription, and more. Founded in 1996, Appen claims to have over 1M contributors across 170+ countries.
General Details 📜
| Status: | Active, Legit |
|---|---|
| Helps You: | Hire Help Make Money |
| Platform Type: | Crowdsourcing Marketplace |
| Opportunities: | Data Collection Data Labeling Microtasking Search Engine Evaluation Social Media Evaluation |
Contact Info ☎️
| Socials: | LinkedIn • Twitter • Facebook • Youtube |
|---|---|
| Emails: | crowdsupport@appen.com (for general support for contributors) • dpo@appen.com (for data-related inquiries) • legal@appen.com (for legal inquiries) |
| Phone: | +61-2-9468-6300 |
| Support Pages: | Contributor FAQ • Customer FAQ • Contact • Contributor Contact |
Company Details 🏢
| Founded: | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Legal Name: | Appen Limited |
| Founders: | Julie Vonwiller |
| Headquarters: | Chatswood, Australia |
Who Is Appen For?
Appen is for two groups: (1) Organizations looking to hire contributors (contractors) for freelance gig work and microtasks; (2) Individuals looking for a way to earn some extra cash from home completing tasks related to social media, search engines, linguistics, and more.
Requirements 🔎
| Minimum Age: | 18 years old |
|---|---|
| Supported Locations: | Worldwide |
| Supported Languages: | English, 中文(简体), 日本語, 한국어 |
| Supported Devices: | Computer, Smartphone, Tablet, Android Phone, Android Tablet Appen can be accessed via web browser on any device (user experience may vary) or via the Appen app on the Google Play and Apple App store. Note that the Appen app is for contributors (workers) only. |
How Does Appen Work?
There are 2 types of users on Appen: Contributors and Customers.
Here's how Appen works for each of those user types:
For Contributors
Appen contributors can make money working on projects and microtasks related to content moderation, data collection, data labeling, translation, transcription, search engine evaluation, and more. After accumulating $5, earnings can be cashed out via Payoneer.
Key Points 🔑
| Work Type: | Contract, Freelance |
|---|---|
| Income Type: | Active |
| Work Schedule: | Flexible, Full-Time, Part-Time Some projects on Appen will require a minimum number of hours while others are flexible. |
| Workplace: | Remote |
| Minimum Payout: | $5 |
| Payout Options: | Payoneer |
| Payout Speed: | 1-30 days Contributors are compensated at the end of each month after submitting an invoice for the hours worked. |
| Pros: |
|
| Cons: |
Pros and cons are based on real Appen Contributor reviews. |
Getting Started 🔢
Becoming an Appen contributor is free. To get started, visit the Appen website and find the "Join Our Crowd" button. From there, you will be routed to create your account where you will be asked to provide your email address, name, and country of residence.
Once you create your account, you will be asked to verify your email. Then, once signed in, you'll be asked to continue setting up your profile by providing your language(s), location, education, prior experience, and phone number. These details will help Appen connect you with relevant projects and qualifications, so be sure to fill them out accurately.
If Appen is unsure about your information, they may ask you to verify your ID.
Earning Money 💵
Appen has different projects available at any given time. These are typically related to:
- Data labeling/annotation (e.g. labeling objects in images)
- Data collection (e.g. gathering addresses of businesses)
- Translation (e.g. converting English text to Spanish)
- Transcription (e.g. converting audio to text)
- Search evaluation (e.g. verifying data found on search engines)
- Social media evaluation (e.g. evaluating social media ads for relevancy)
- Training data contribution (e.g. reading sentences for AI voice recognition training)
Some projects will pay per hour, others will pay per task. Pay rates vary per project.
In some cases, you'll also have to take an exam before being able to work on a project's paid tasks.
Through Appen, you may also get an invite to UHRS, a separate platform with similar work and microtasks.
Cashing Out 💰
Once you have at least $5 in your balance, you can cash out your Appen earnings via Payoneer.
After cashing out, you can expect to receive your Appen payout in 1-30 days. (Contributors are compensated at the end of each month after submitting an invoice for the hours worked.)
For Customers
Appen customers can hire through Appen's crowd to quickly find workers for data collection, data labeling, transcription, search evaluation, and other long-term digital projects and/or microtasks.
Key Points 🔑
| Commissions / Fees: | 20% transaction fee, or lower if you're on a higher subscription level. |
|---|---|
| Payment Options: | Credit Card |
Getting Started 🔢
When creating a job for the Appen platform, you can:
- Create a qualification test that workers must pass to apply
- Target workers by location or skills
- Create a quiz job that workers must complete so you can test their accuracy
When building a job for the platform, you can start with on of Appen's job templates or start from scratch.
To learn more about how Appen can help with your project, head over to the platform's website and request a consultation.
Pricing 💼
Pricing will vary depending on your job. You'll receive an estimate before you launch.
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Our Editorial Appen Review
Is Appen Legit?
We believe Appen is legit. It was founded in 1996, is operated by a publicly traded company, and has positive reviews online. The platform does have some negative reviews from disgruntled workers as well, and the website can be difficult and confusing to navigate at times, but we still don't believe Appen is a scam.
Green flags:
- Founded in 1996.
- Operated by Appen Ltd, a registered Australian business and publicly traded company.
- Has won multiple awards and recognitions.
- Has a transparent website with information on how the service and earning opportunities work, though it could be a bit more detailed and organized.
- Active social media presence.
Red flags:
- Website is a bit glitchy and hard to follow at times.
Note: All research is done independently and could be wrong or change as new information is gathered. Please do your own due diligence.
Is Appen a Good Way to Make Money?
Appen is an interesting opportunity and it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for an easy way to make money or start working from home. There's a large variety of different opportunities on the platform, getting started is pretty easy and quick, and you might learn some new skills along the way. You could even land a long-term project doing something you enjoy, and this can result in a steady stream of income.
That said, don’t set your expectations too high. Appen is not a perfect opportunity and if you’re expecting to easily find full-time work or make a ton of money here, that’s not going to happen.
Safety Rating: 3/5
The main safety concern surrounding Appen is with your personal information. There’s been a data breach in the past and Appen collects some sensitive data like your address, phone number, email, and even potentially a photo of your ID. The chances of this info being stolen and used maliciously are probably low, and the consequences, if that were to happen, most likely wouldn’t be drastic. Still, it’s something to be aware of.
Tip: As always, make sure to use a unique password for your Appen account. Using an email address separate from your primary one is a good idea too.
Another thing to be aware of is the increase in scammers targeting potential Appen contributors. Remember that Appen will only ever contact you from an @appen email address and you should never provide any sensitive personal information to anyone outside the Appen job dashboards.
Support Quality: 3/5
Based on what we've read online and gathered from Contributors, Appen support could use some work.
Earning Potential: 1.5/5
You can expect to earn around $4-$6/hour with Appen. Some jobs will pay more, others will pay less. Work availability however can be a hit or a miss, so you could go long stretches of time without any work.
Payout Minimum Rating: 4/5
Appen has a minimum payout of $5.
Payout Speed Rating: 2.5/5
Contributors are compensated at the end of each month after submitting an invoice for the hours worked. Overall, based on our data, you can expect to get paid in 1-30 days after reaching the minimum payout amount.
Ease Of Entry: 4/5
Appen accepts contributors of all skill levels and backgrounds, so it's quite easy to get started with. That said, landing your first gig on the platform can be a challenge!
Commissions / Fees Rating: 5/5
None.
User Experience Rating: 3.5/5
Appen offers beginner-friendly, flexible remote opportunities. The jobs they provide have some nice variety, can occasionally be enjoyable or interesting, and can teach you new skills. The platform is easy to use as well, though some think the interface is a bit dated and clunky.
In terms of downsides, Appen provides no benefits or perks really, job security is zero, and there's no official community area for workers to socialize.
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Try It!Appen Statistics
General Platform Statistics
#7,792
Global Site Rank
6.4M
Avg. Monthly Site Visitors
500K+
Total App Downloads
1M+
Total Contributors
Data as of July 12, 2023 • Sources: Similarweb, Google Play Store, Appen
Contributor Earnings Statistics
Based on real data from our 14 Appen Contributor reviews. View all Contributor statistics here.
Help make this data more accurate by writing a review!
Appen Reviews From Contributors
Average Scores
Reviewer Recommendation
😊 85.71%Rating Breakdown
Reviews By Total Earnings
- Unknown (0%)
- Less than $100 (64.29%)
- $100-$999 (35.71%)
- $1,000-$9,999 (0%)
- $10,000-$49,999 (0%)
- $50,000-$99,999 (0%)
- $100,000+ (0%)
Reviews By Age Range
- Unknown (0%)
- 13-17 (0%)
- 18-24 (57.14%)
- 25-34 (14.29%)
- 35-44 (28.57%)
- 45-54 (0%)
- 55-64 (0%)
- 65+ (0%)
Reviews By Length of Use
- < 1 month (0%)
- 1-3 months (7.14%)
- 3-6 months (21.43%)
- 6-12 months (28.57%)
- 1-2 years (14.29%)
- 2-3 years (21.43%)
- 3-5 years (7.14%)
- 5+ years (0%)
Legitimate way to make money from home, but can be confusing at first
I would (and do) absolutely recommend Appen to my friends, family, strangers. The internet is flooded with Scams and Spam so I regularly recommend Appen on forums whenever a person is looking for legitimate "make money at home" offer. When responding to forum questions I also let people who are new to the "work from home" search know that legitimate companies and positions will usually be advertised in the $10-15 /hr range. If you are seeing people claiming $28/hr etc - it is absolutely a scam and/or illegal activity. I stay extremely up to date on this market and the highest I have ever found that was legitimate was advertised at $18/hr and that was for a position that you would get licensed to sell insurance through the training.
I know that I stated my wage is approx $18 with Appen, this isn't a fair scale because it will be skewed by the way I use the platform. Also, Appen does not advertise $18/hr - reputable job boards suggest $11-14 so anyone offering more than $15 hourly for entry level with no experience should be looked at closely before you give them any of your personal information. And NEVER pay to access work. Not without heavy research first!
I have made a little over $400 since May 2022 but don't let my earnings make you think it isn't worth it or is a lousy wage because that isn't the case. You have to work to make money and I use Appen in my spare time for a little extra cash! I have read many reviews that say Appen averages less than $10/hr but my hourly wage is close to double that. Do I think it is possible to make a living wage on Appen alone? Yes but I am not sure how consistent or for how long of a time a person could pull that off so I recommend using Appen for additional income and not relying on it as your main source of income.
I like the Appen platform because it is a legitimate way to make money from home. I also like the variety of projects it offers and the invoice payment process is established and reliable. My favorite thing would have to be how easy the projects are. You have to complete the tasks (put the work in) but the tasks are generally simple and most people would be able to complete them. No prior experience or specialized training is needed to make money off Appen.
Appen is EXTREMELY confusing for new "contractors". It took me 3 months (but remember I wasn't putting too much time into the program, especially in the beginning) to even have a clue of what in the heck I was doing. Their "Help Desk" support is absolutely WORTHLESS! The process is pretty standard and similar to most companies- you submit a "ticket" to their support team with any questions or problems you are having and while they do eventually respond- the few times I've used them it didn't appear that they even read my ticket- that or they have a template they send out and they sent me the wrong one because it was off topic or missed my point. Also, there have been times that they take so long to respond to the ticket that the project had ended so it was pointless.
Use the chat rooms when you have questions about a project- the chat room is specific to each project and it seems that the entire chat history is there when you access it so I just do the CTRL + F function to search through the conversation by keyword that matches my question.. 99 times out of 100- if you are confused about a project and need clarification, someone else has already asked the same question. A support ticket will get you no where but the chat room is a good resource for answers.
Apply to anything and everything that you believe you can do. Once you are approved and gain access to your account- go to the Projects page and apply to as many of them as you can (only skipping ones that you know you aren't able to do).
Next step is to watch your email- you almost always get sent an email after applying to a task (instantly auto generated) - usually no action is needed but then within 24/48 hrs you should receive another email with a link to take a qualification exam (if required for the project). You can also click on the active processes link (to check anytime if a next step is needed) at the top of your account screen and scan through the tasks you have applied to but haven’t been accepted yet, looking for any that say “View Task”.
Appen communication is all Email and you will want to open the email and read the first two lines because the format and auto generation of the emails caused me to open and delete believing they were emails confirming I had applied but that isn't the case- they use that same format when you apply, when more information is needed from you, when you need to complete a qualification test, when you have been added to the project, and with the login or "get started" message. So open the emails and double-check because if you don't complete a step your application doesn't advance on the project and you will eventually be dropped from the project.
I have noticed that (after passing qualification) it varies depending on each project on how long you have to wait for an email with the details to begin working on the task and I have even received an email that they had reached the maximum applicants needed and I would not be added so there is ALOT of a room for improvement with the Appen process- you aren't paid for the time that you spend reviewing guidelines and any other available material that you gain access to before the qualification process so it is absolutely a pain to go through the process to be told that I passed everything but no more people were needed or the project had ended.
With that being said- if you follow my advice and apply to everything you will deal with this stuff too but if you then check the project page at least twice a week (daily if Appen is your only income) and are applying to the new projects that appear you won't deal with it again because you would be getting in before those max's have been hit. Or Appen could remove their old projects and make things easier but I don't know if that will happen so it's up to you.
Highly honored to be one member of Appen company and one of its professional team.
Facilitates the application for jobs and projects specially for whom those without and unemployed applicants
Generaly there is Somewhat repetition of projects, even if for applying for new project or jobs.
- Start training
- Reading contracts, see the core requirements
Can't earn a lot and opportunities are slim
I suggest that you try other money-making apps because Appen is inconvenient and there is only little opportunity.
The tasks are easy.
- I have not withdrawn money from Appen yet, because you need a minimum amount of money to cash out. You need to finish a lot of tasks before you can earn the minimum amount.
- It's not convenient because application can take a long time (for a big project)
- For Microtasks, you seldomly get a task because it often becomes unavailable easily due to the volume of people doing it.
- The initial survey can be long but you often do not qualify to answer the main survey
- Find other money-making sites
Appen Reviews From Customers
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