TimeBucks
Depends
Confidence: Low
Evidence is thin: TimeBucks is fine as a free pocket-money app for people with idle time, but a Google Play reviewer says earnings are quite low.
Comparison
TimeBucks vs Amazon Mechanical Turk
TimeBucks lands on Depends, and Amazon Mechanical Turk lands on Skip.
Amazon Mechanical Turk
Skip
Confidence: Medium
Amazon stopped accepting new Mechanical Turk customers in July 2026, so most buyers cannot even sign up.
| Compare | TimeBucks | Amazon Mechanical Turk |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Skip |
| Best for | People with idle time wanting pocket cash | Existing requesters finishing legacy HITs |
| Who it's not for | Anyone needing real income . payouts are tiny | New buyers . it is closed to new customers |
| Privacy | No public vulnerabilities found, but Gridinsoft published a blacklist warning page for the domain.⁴ | No known public vulnerabilities; worker-privacy and account-governance concerns documented.12 |
| Support quality | Only self-reported claims in sources | Suspensions without explanation; little recourse |
| Public sentiment | The only substantive independent user review found says TimeBucks is genuine but pays very little.³ | Users report very low earnings, arbitrary account flags, and a shrinking task pool, while researchers are told to move on. |
| Biggest gotcha | Gridinsoft published a 'Blacklist Warning' page for; read it before sharing personal data⁴ | Account flags and suspensions come with little explanation or appeal path12 |
Pick TimeBucks when
- People with idle time wanting pocket cash
- Gift-card hunters
- Survey-takers in high-demand regions
When TimeBucks is not a fit
- Anyone needing real income . payouts are tiny
- People unwilling to share personal data for surveys
- Businesses . this is a consumer side-gig app, not a work tool
- Anyone expecting reliable, substantial hourly pay
Pick Amazon Mechanical Turk when
- Existing requesters finishing legacy HITs
- Bulk micro-task annotation (legacy only)
When Amazon Mechanical Turk is not a fit
- New buyers . it is closed to new customers
- Researchers needing quality participant data
- Anyone needing income . pay is pennies
- Teams wanting a long-term vendor
Sources
- TimeBucks homepagetimebucks.comofficial
- TimeBucks security pagetimebucks.comofficial
- TimeBucks on Google Playplay.google.comreview
- Timebucks.com Scam Check: Blacklist Warning (Gridinsoft)gridinsoft.comsecurity
- timebucks.com scam/legit check (ScamAdviser)scamadviser.comsecurity
- timebucks.com alternatives (Sitelike)sitelike.orgreview
news
- Amazon's Mechanical Turk to stop accepting new customerstheregister.comnews
- Amazon's Mechanical Turk service now on life supportsiliconangle.comnews
news
news
- Amazon Mechanical Turk workers suspended without explanationcomputerweekly.comsecurity
- Mechanical Turk is Not Anonymouscs.cmu.edusecurity
- Stop using MTurk for your researchprolific.comreview
review
review