SproutGigs Review – Is it Legit or Scam? (Why You Should Think Twice)

Micro-task sites can be a good way to earn extra cash. That is, of course, if you join a site that has good earning potential.

One micro-task site that is fairly well-known and promises you can earn decent money is SproutGigs (previously Picoworkers).

But is SproutGigs legit and really a way to earn or a scam to stay away from?

You need to make sure you join a legit site that will really pay you. And let me just reveal right away that, in one sense, SproutGigs/Picoworkers is a legit site. It does pay you for completing small jobs.

However, I have also had some bad experiences, and there are some very important details you need to know before joining.

This SproutGigs/Picoworkers review will answer that question and more. It will take a closer look at what the site has to offer so you know exactly what to expect and can decide if it really is the right fit for you or not.

What is SproutGigs (aka Picoworkers), and what does it offer?

Let's start by going over the name to avoid any confusion. The platform was called Picoworkers for years, but it changed its name to SproutGigs.

Not much else has changed, and you can still use the same login if you signed up when it was called Picoworkers.

But the official name is now SproutGigs, and that is mainly the name I will be using in the rest of this review as that is now the official name.

SproutGigs, as mentioned above, is a micro-task site that will pay you for completing short tasks. All you have to do is sign-up for an account and then perform small tasks in exchange for money.

It's a lot like HireTalents. In fact, both sites are pretty identical in terms of how you will be able to earn, with a slight difference. But to get a good idea of how well you can earn from this site, we have to examine the earning opportunities it offers.

I have, therefore, made a video that gives you an inside look and shows exactly how you can earn from SproutGigs. You can also read all the details below the video.

Recommended: Check Out the Top Micro Job Websites

Option 1 – Small Jobs

The main method of earning on SproutGigs is by doing small jobs. Just as the name suggests, these are short tasks you can complete in exchange for a small amount of money.

The way you find jobs now after it changed its name to SproutGigs is the exact same as before.

When you become a member of SproutGigs, you can log in to their member dashboard and view all the micro-jobs available.

You will be able to see exactly what you will get when completing the job and also have many jobs are available. This is great info to have, and I really like they make this so clear, as it can help you prioritize your time and the jobs to focus on.

As you can see in the image above, you will also be able to see on the left side of the screen which countries the task is for. If it says “INT” it means it is international and you can do the job no matter the country you live in – and luckily there are many jobs that are available for all countries.

Most of the jobs are pretty simple. Some will ask you to visit a website, others will ask you to like a Facebook or Instagram page.

There will also be jobs asking you to sign up to a certain site and do some searches. But regardless of what the job will ask you to do, one thing remains constant. And that is, you need to provide proof that you've done the job.

When you accept a job, it will then open a new form where you can submit proof. You need to Submit clean and correct proofs only. That's why it is important to carefully read the job description and required proofs before accepting the job.

For example, do not say “yes” “done” “finished” “I have the screenshot”. These responses are not proof you did the work, and they waste the time of administrators and employers. When submitting proof, only submit what is asked for.

So, if you do not understand a task, can't complete a task, or even if you encounter an error, it's better not to submit incomplete proof.

If you do not submit proof and if the person who posted the job does not approve the proof and the job you did, you will NOT get paid.

So, you need to make sure to do everything thoroughly.

However, you have to be very picky when you choose jobs. In my experience and opinion, there are a lot of unethical jobs posted on SproutGigs, and the admin team does not do a good job of filtering them, and some jobs can even get you into trouble.

There are many jobs to choose from, but just be careful which jobs you choose.

Option 2 – Referral Program

The other way you can earn from Picoworkers.com is by inviting people to join the platform.

When you invite a person to join, and they successfully register to the site, you stand to earn 5% from every job they complete.

Aside from that, if they also deposit money in Picoworkers (which they can do if they want to post a job), you will also earn 5% of the amount they deposited.

To invite a person to join, you just have to share your referral link with them and make sure they click on it to sign up to the site.

In my opinion, it's a decent form of passive income from the site, even though 5% is quite low compared to many other referral programs.

Option 3 – Joining bonus

An easy way to get started earning on Picoworkers is by just joining because you will get a $0.50 joining bonus just for verifying your email.

I wanted to make a separate section about this joining bonus here as it is not quite the same as many other joining bonuses.

The thing is that you cannot withdraw your joining bonus.

It can only be used for posting a job on the site yourself, and this is important to know before getting too excited about the easy bonus.

So, if you are not planning to use Picoworkers to post a job, then the joining bonus will be useless.

Recommended: Check Out the Top Micro Job Websites

How do you get paid?

Every job you complete on Picoworkers / SproutGigs will earn you a certain amount, which will be credited to your account.

However, the payout system is one of the areas where there have been a few changes since it changed its name.

The payout threshold used to be $5.75, but now it is $5.

Picoworkers offers several payout options. You can get paid via PayPal, Cryptocurrency, AirTM, Uphold, or Skrill. The cryptocurrencies you can get paid in can vary from time to time, in my experience. But most often it will be Ethereum and Litecoin.

Each payment method used to have a certain processing fee. But this has now changed, so all of them have the same processing fee. And you just need to be aware of this, as that means you will not get the full amount.

I do like the fact that they have a low payout threshold of $5. However, the percentage you have to pay to withdraw is quite high, which is definitely a drawback, in my opinion.

In fact, they are charging an 18% processing fee, which is extremely high.

They used to say that they needed to withhold VAT, and the total fees then often ended up being close to 20%.

At least after it has changed its name to SproutGigs they are just being honest about how high a fee they are charging and do not try to hide it.

They say they charge this fee to support the operations of the platform.

But that just does not make sense, in my opinion. They are already charging other fees, and they should have built a business where it would not be necessary to charge this high a fee from workers who already get very low pay for the tasks.

In my opinion, this just sounds like an excuse to make more money, and they know many people will likely not realize the fee is this high until after they have worked for a while and are ready to cash out.

This is definitely something to consider so you know what to expect.

But it does pay, and I have been paid by it several times myself. Below you can also find a video where I show SproutGigs/Picoworkers payment proof, so you can see for yourself.

However, just be aware that is not always the case. Since I recorded this video, I had some issues one time when trying to withdraw. I will explain more about that later.

If you are interested in sites with a low cash-out threshold and with no fees, I suggest you check out the fastest paying sites.

How much money can you make?

Now is the important part of the review. To determine how viable a site is, we have to take a look at its earning potential. And to evaluate the earning potential of a site, there are two things we need to consider.

The first one is the availability of jobs. Picoworkers has this covered since there are usually more jobs than you would be able to complete. So you won't run out of things to do to earn money.

The other factor deciding the earning potential is how well the site pays. This, in my opinion, is where Picoworkers fall a bit short. You won't earn a lot because their tasks don't pay well. You will only earn cents for each task you complete.

This is not surprising, really, because the tasks available on this site are not from companies and businesses but from other members. The jobs will come from members who have most likely found offers they can promote to earn a commission.

So, in reality, you will only receive a cut from what they earn. That's why you seldom find a job that will earn you more than $0.50 (and most will pay less).

However, if you choose the jobs wisely and only take on jobs that offer fair pay (and that are ethical jobs to do as not all jobs are), then it definitely can be a way to earn some extra cash. Just remember that you will not get the full amount when withdrawing, as explained earlier.

And overall, there are better options to spend your time on, in my opinion.

Especially because I have had bad experiences with SproutGigs, and they actually terminated my account temporarily, and I will explain more about this below

How SproutGigs terminated my account!

As I mentioned earlier in this review, I have been paid in the past by SproutGigs, but last time I tried to cash out more than $100, I was suddenly told I could not cash out but had to contact support.

I contacted them and was told I was suspected of using a VPN and, therefore, had to submit a photo of myself and a government ID.

I know you have to verify your identity on many sites, but I felt it was very strange they suddenly asked about this and, honestly and do not trust this platform enough to share it. Also, I definitely have not used a VPN.

I even said I did not mind verifying in some way but just did not feel comfortable about sharing my government ID with them.

And I asked for a proper reason and asked to be put in contact with a manager to talk about this. Then, they terminated my account and took all my earnings.

So, because I questioned what they wanted to do with a photo of me holding my government ID, they decided to terminate my account. That seems very suspicious to me.

However, I have since been able to log in again, and I have again been allowed to withdraw my earnings.

So I am not saying that you will never get paid by them or that the same will happen to you, but know you know what has happened to me and can then judge based on that, whether you feel safe about this platform or not.

You might suddenly be asked to submit personal documents, and it might not happen until you are about to withdraw. Just so you are aware.

Can you use it on mobile?

Another drawback of this site is that it doesn't have an app you can download so you can work on small jobs on your mobile device. However, you will be able to access their site from a mobile device using a web browser.

And since SproutGigs had a huge update a while ago, it is now optimized for mobile use. So, now you can complete jobs on your mobile device quite easily.

But considering the nature of most of the jobs offered, it is really best that you work on it from a desktop or laptop, in my opinion.

Who can join SproutGigs/Picoworkers?

A big advantage of SproutGigs is that it is available globally. Anyone can join. You just have to be at least 18 years of age or older to join.

To sign up as a member, all you have to do is fill out their registration form and then click the activation link in the email you will receive from them. Once you've done that, you can then log in to the site and start doing jobs.

Can you get support?

Picoworkers does have an FAQ page you can check out if you have any questions. It covers most of the common topics.

But if you can't find the answer you are looking for, you can contact their support team through their Support page.

To access their Support page, just log in to the site and click on the Support tab. You can find it in the upper right-hand corner of the dashboard.

You will then be redirected to your Inbox. This is where you can send a message to their support team. Just click the button “Create New Ticket”. They do say that support messages are answered in 24 hours.

And I have contacted their support several times, and they have always responded within 24 hours.

However, as I explained above, the support is not always great in my experience. They actually terminated my account because I wanted to have more info before sharing my personal ID with them.

Final Verdict

SproutGigs is a micro-task site that does pay you for doing small jobs. It has a couple of advantages and some big drawbacks as well.

Let me wrap up this review with a summary of its pros and cons. That way, you can get a clearer picture of what the site has to offer so you can decide if you should join or not.

Pros:

• Good payout options
• Plenty of available jobs

Cons:

• Low rewards per job
• High transaction fee per withdrawal
• Joining bonus cannot be withdrawn
• Many unethical jobs
• The support is not always good

At first glance, you might say that SproutGigs/Picoworkers is a good site to earn extra cash because of the convenient payment method it offers and the low payout threshold. It also offers plenty of jobs daily.

The caveat is that they don't really pay you well. In addition to this, they charge an extremely high processing fee once you cash out – I have tested hundreds of sites and have never seen a site charge this high fees before.

Also, a big issue I have with SproutGigs is, of course, that they temporarily closed my account because I questioned why they wanted a photo of me and my government ID.

For these reasons, SproutGigs is a platform I do not really recommend.

There are many better sites out there that will allow you to earn more. So, if you want to earn more efficiently, I recommend you check out the top GPT sites instead.

The sites on this list all have good earning potential and will allow you to earn a significant amount. Plus, you will also find sites you can join regardless of where you live.

If you have any comments, questions, or have any experiences with SproutGigs/Picoworkers yourself, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.