If you’ve wondered if CrowdGen by Appen is a worthwhile side gig you should pursue, keep reading! In this CrowdGen by Appen review, we’ll discuss company details, expected earnings, types of work, and real-life user reviews.
Short task jobs are one of the easiest ways to earn money while staying home. If you’re looking for a way to make money without sticking to a set schedule, you may want to consider CrowdGen by Appen. They have been around since 1996 and pay home-based workers to complete simple tasks and collect data online.
Over the years, Appen has slightly shifted its services and how it employs independent contractors. In this CrowdGen by Appen review, you’ll learn more about the company’s remote opportunities and how to get started.
Company Overview
Known for being the world’s largest AI community, CrowdGen by Appen is a global company specializing in artificial intelligence, data annotation, machine learning, and more. They serve clients in more than 170 countries and have worked with over 1 million skilled contractors across 265 languages. Some industries they serve include AI (artificial intelligence), technology, automotive, financial services, and retail.
Appen’s services include organizing, assessing, and presenting different types of data (using human interaction) to help their clients’ AI systems act more “human-like.” They typically hire contractors for short-term data collection tasks, whether it’s assessing information and data for images, video, audio, text, and online content.
Online Job Details
If you want to make extra money with CrowdGen by Appen, they offer several different opportunities.
1. Quick Tasks
Appen hires independent contractors as AI trainers to complete small tasks. These gigs may include content moderation, transcription, translation, survey completion, video and image review, text categorization, and mystery shopping, and they can be completed in a short amount of time. With this type of remote work, you are usually paid per task, and you can set your own hours and work according to your availability. These short-term gigs are perfect for people who need a flexible way to make extra money from home.
It’s easy to get started as a freelancer on CrowdGen by Appen. Just create an account and either apply to open projects on the platform or wait for them to email you with gigs that fit your skill set. You’ll always get clear instructions and expectations for the job before you accept it.
If you’re accepted for a gig, you’ll receive an email asking you to create an account. Once you have your account and have all the necessary requirements verified, you can start working on the task. Once the job is completed and submitted, you’ll be paid via PayPal, Payoneer, Airtm, or another one of their payment options.
2. Short and Long-Term Projects
Appen also offers short- and long-term assignments and part-time jobs. These may include research projects, data entry, fact-checking, or testing a new program, app, or service.
The long-term projects are also where you will find Appen rater roles, where you will perform either social media, map, or search engine evaluation. As a rater, you will evaluate search results, social media posts, maps, or ads for their relevance to search terms. For example, social media evaluators browse sites like Facebook and help them fine-tune their news feeds for users.
There is a wide range of projects, meaning you will likely find something that interests you and aligns with your skill set. For some long-term projects, you’ll need to take and pass a qualification exam to prove your proficiency. CrowdGen by Appen provides study guides so you know what you’ll be tested on.
One example of a long-term project when writing this Appen review was a social media video evaluator gig. This project required the evaluator to watch and evaluate 750 videos across three platforms and paid $300 for completing the project, which was expected to take 25-30 hours.
If you have expertise in STEM, healthcare, law, programming, linguistics, or another area of expertise, you may be eligible to leverage this expertise for various AI projects. These projects fall under CrowdGen’s Domain Experts, where your expertise will improve the accuracy of generative AI services and products. For these roles, you will typically need a bachelor’s degree or higher, and some roles require a background in linguistics or speech science.
3. Data Collection Work
With this option, you can earn money fast by completing short tasks on your smartphone. To complete these tasks, you’ll need to download the Appen app to your smartphone device. For these tasks, you may need to record video or audio clips or take photos of certain objects to train AI tools. For data collection gigs, 90% of your content must pass quality checks to be eligible for proportional payment.
4. Corporate Jobs
Appen also offers full-time employment opportunities in the US, Canada, the UK, Spain, Australia, China, and the Philippines. Positions are in engineering, marketing, sales, finance, HR, and other areas. These full-time professional roles are a mixture of in-person, remote, and hybrid work opportunities that require prior work experience and often a bachelor’s degree. However, this Appen review is more focused on their CrowdGen opportunities.
How Much Does CrowdGen by Appen Pay?
As an AI trainer for CrowdGen by Appen, you can work on quick tasks, projects, and data collection tasks on your smartphone. Depending on the gig, they may pay per task, project, or hour. Each gig in the portal has an assigned pay rate.
How much you can earn with CrowdGen depends on the type of project, the number of hours you work, and how quickly you can complete a task. To give you an example of what’s possible, at the time of writing, they had an opening for a phonemic transcription specialist, which paid $25 per hour.
AI trainers are paid once a month for all the hours they worked. Appen processes payouts via PayPal, Payoneer, Airtm, and others.
What Do You Need to Work for CrowdGen by Appen?
The requirements to start working for CrowdGen by Appen are minimal. You’ll need to be at least 18 years old, have a computer running Google Chrome, and have a high-speed internet connection. If you don’t have a computer, some data collection tasks only require using the Appen app on your smartphone. The app is available for both iPhone and Android devices.
For some projects, such as transcription or video annotation, you may want additional equipment, like headphones or a microphone.
Is CrowdGen by Appen Legit?
CrowdGen by Appen is a legitimate company offering full-time and freelancing opportunities. However, you should always apply for these positions directly on their website. There are scammers out there who try to use Appen’s name to promote their fraudulent opportunities. These are known as recruitment scams or imposter scams. You can read more about it here.
Wondering what real-life people are saying about working from home for CrowdGen by Appen?
Appen has a 3.7 out of 5-star rating on Glassdoor. Many workers say they like the flexibility and freedom to set their own schedules. Others commented that the task guidelines are stringent, so you’ll need to follow directions carefully.
On Indeed, Appen gets a 3.5-star rating. One Appen employee said, “The pros are the flexibility and pretty simple work depending on the task. Great for retirees, college students, and stay-home-parents. Cons are depending on the task; the pay is low. However, I’d rather have some pay than no pay.”
Reddit also has a thread where users discuss their experiences. One Reddit user said, “I love the flexibility and decent pay.” However, another reader said, “I started on Appen recently, and, at least for me personally, I don’t think it’s worth it. The pay isn’t much, and there aren’t a lot of tasks.”
On Trustpilot, Appen gets low ratings, only receiving 1.5 stars out of 5. Many users complained of a lack of customer support and of accounts being terminated for no reason.
If you average the ratings from the major review sites, Appen’s overall rating is 2.9 stars out of 5.
Pros and Cons of Working for CrowdGen by Appen
Pros:
- You’ll make money by completing short and easy tasks.
- There are no fees, and it’s easy to sign up.
- No experience is needed for simple microtasks.
- Easy application process.
- Flexible work hours (set your own schedule).
- A variety of different projects to work on.
- Available in 170 countries.
- Some tasks can be completed on a smartphone (no computer needed).
- Multiple payment options.
Cons:
- Low pay for some tasks.
- You only get paid once a month.
- There may not always be work available.
- You need to qualify for longer-term and part-time projects.
- As an AI trainer, you work as an independent contractor, so you are responsible for your own taxes.
- Average to low user satisfaction.
How to Apply With CrowdGen by Appen
To be an AI trainer with CrowdGen by Appen, go here and click on the purple “get started” button. Then, browse available projects and apply to the one that interests you. You’ll need to submit a resume and fill out their application to apply. If you’re selected, you’ll be invited to create a CrowdGen account. Some projects may require a qualification exam before you can work, but the terms of each assignment are displayed on each job listing.
Alternatives to CrowdGen by Appen
Since CrowdGen by Appen may not always have remote jobs, you can sign up with other AI training and crowdsourcing platforms. The types of jobs are similar in nature, are also independent contracting roles, and allow flexible scheduling. Again, these work from home opportunities don’t pay a ton, but they are a viable way to make extra money on the side.
Companies to explore include:
CrowdGen by Appen Review Summary
If you’re looking for an easy way to earn extra money from home, Appen is a legitimate company with which to partner. Little to no experience is required to join, and you’ll make money doing things you might already do online for free. CrowdGen by Appen offers a wide variety of interesting tasks that you can easily fit into your schedule.
You just need to keep realistic expectations and know that this isn’t going to earn you a full-time income. However, it can be a decent, part-time side hustle where you can set your own schedule.
Check out this post for more part-time side gigs!
Originally published April 20, 2022. Content updated April 2025.
