Mechanical Turk Closed: What to Try

Oct 4, 2026 — Side Gig Finder team

Amazon says Mechanical Turk closed for good on September 30, 2026. October 30, 2026 has passed. This post lists what Amazon’s page still says, then three places to try: Prolific, UserTesting and Userfeel, and DataAnnotation.

Mechanical Turk, or MTurk, was a site for small online tasks. A task was called a HIT. A Requester was a person or business that posted HITs. A Worker was a person who did them.

What Amazon’s help page says

These lines come from Amazon’s help page, checked on October 31, 2026. You can read it here: Amazon Mechanical Turk help. This is what Amazon wrote. It is not advice from us. Amazon may change the page, so check it for the latest.

What Amazon’s page still says

Dates that have passed

Three places to try instead

These are the three gigs on our site that are closest to online task work. We have not checked whether any of them take people who worked on MTurk.

Each pay figure below is what the platform prints. It is not a promise of what you will earn. Some figures are per hour and some are per test, so they are not the same thing. Pay pages change, so open the gig page for the checked-on date.

Amazon’s older page said earnings were transferred to a virtual US bank account or an Amazon.com gift card balance. The live help page no longer shows that line. We read an older copy kept by the Internet Archive. Prolific, UserTesting, and DataAnnotation each say they pay by PayPal.

Prolific

Prolific describes the work as being a research participant. You take part in studies. Prolific says the minimum pay allowed is $8 an hour. That is a floor. It is not an average.

The downside is the wait. Prolific says new people join a waitlist. A waitlist is a list of people who have to wait to get in. You must be over 18. Prolific says it is available to people in most OECD countries, including the United States. OECD is a group of countries. Prolific says payments can only be transferred through PayPal, unless it tells you otherwise.

Read the full page: Take paid studies on Prolific.

UserTesting and Userfeel

These sites have you test websites and apps. UserTesting describes the work as sharing your thoughts out loud or filling out surveys. UserTesting says you can earn up to $60 for each test or interview. Userfeel says testers earn $3-$30 per test. UserTesting says you can join as long as you are at least 18 years old.

The downside is the supply of work. Userfeel says there is no guaranteed number of tests. So the pay per test is not the whole picture.

Read the full page: Test websites and apps for pay.

DataAnnotation

DataAnnotation says its work includes evaluating chatbot answers, comparing AI outputs, and testing image generation. It says General projects start at $25-$50 an hour.

The downside is the entry step. You take a Starter Assessment, which is a test. If you pass, you get immediate platform access. DataAnnotation says you can only take it once. It says its basic bar is a bachelor’s degree or equivalent real-world experience. It says workers typically get approval news within a few days after the assessment.

Read the full page: Rate AI answers on DataAnnotation.

What we could not confirm

Questions people ask

Can I still submit HITs?

No. Amazon says HIT submission closed on September 30, 2026.

Will I still be paid for work that was approved?

Amazon says completed and approved HITs will be paid out. It says payments follow your existing payment schedule. If funds do not arrive on that schedule, contact MTurk Customer Service.

What if I missed October 30, 2026?

That day has passed. Amazon’s page says that after October 30, 2026, you should contact Customer Service. We could not check more than that.

Do I need a PayPal account for these places?

For Prolific, yes. Prolific says payments can only be transferred through PayPal, unless it tells you otherwise. UserTesting says it pays through PayPal. DataAnnotation says it sends payments by PayPal. Userfeel says testers can withdraw funds by PayPal or bank transfer in specific countries.

Is there an age rule?

Amazon’s help page used to say MTurk Workers had to be at least 18. The live page no longer shows that line. Prolific says you must be over 18. UserTesting says you can join as long as you are at least 18 years old. We did not find an age rule for DataAnnotation or Userfeel on pages we may read.

Sources and dates

Pages were checked on October 4, 27 or 31, 2026, as listed.

All posts or all gigs.