JustAnswer

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What: JustAnswer pays experts in everything from engineering to medicine for answering consumer questions

Expected pay: $2 to $20 per question

Husl$core: $$$

Where: Nationwide

Commissions & fees: 50% to 80%

Requirements: expertise in a topic covered by the site

Want to respond to questions as an expert on JustAnswer?

1. Click here to sign up as an expert

Or…

1. Click here to consult with an expert

JustAnswer Review:

When we first reviewed JustAnswer, we gave the site a miserable Husl$core mainly because the freelance experts who answer questions here didn’t always get paid for their work. That was because the site’s terms said they only got paid after their client rated their performance. And clients didn’t always rate the freelancer. 

JustAnswer has since updated its terms. Freelancers who work with the site say they’re now paid for every answer, regardless of whether the customer provided a rating. The payment you get varies based on your expertise and your status with the site.

High-paid expertise

If you’re a professional answering questions about technology or appraisals, you could earn a lot. According to JustAnswer, the highest-paid experts on its site provide answers about appraisals (average earnings $8,457 per month), tech help ($7,612) and homework ($6,200).

Those earning the least on a monthly basis provided answers on wellness ($1,167) and “general” ($614). However, the site does not say how much individuals earn on an hourly or per-question basis. But, you apparently do know how much each answer is worth before you accept. If the answer would require a great deal of research for very little money, you can pass.

After speaking to several JustAnswer experts, we revised our review and now give the site an average rating. If you are a person with great expertise about cars or tech or consumer electronics, it appears you could earn a fair amount of money in your free time by answering questions on the site. You can sign up as an expert here.

Complaints

However, you should know that the site continues to have draw significant complaints from customers. More than 2,482 complaints have been filed with the Better Business Bureau. The vast majority of these — like the majority of the complaints logged with SideHusl.com — are from customers, who say they were tricked into monthly subscriptions.

Although this does not impact freelancers who work through the site, we consider this a red flag. After all, if a company is willing to mislead customers, why not mislead workers too? We interviewed several experts, who raved about the company. But we remain cautious.

Recommendations:

Professionals have many flexible and well-paid job options with sites like FlexProfessionals, FreeeUp and SkipTheDrive. If you want to share knowledge online elsewhere, you might also consider the tutoring platforms, Wyzant and Varsity Tutors.

If your expertise is in math or coding, you can find other tutoring platforms worth considering in our blog post “12 best tutoring platforms.” For those who are particularly passionate about a topic and want to teach it to kids who are under the age of 18, we also highly recommend Outschool.

What users say (from the Better Business Bureau):

I signed up to participate as an expert in my field to earn income. The company requires customers to pay for memberships but does not pay the people they employ until a customer rates an answer. Most people will let the answer time out and the ticket gets closed without compensation.  I have emailed the company multiple times to resolve this issue but they refuse to respond. 

From Glassdoor:

“I can work as much or as little as I want, and if really working it, can make a comfy full time living or killer side gig.”

“Experts were promised “payment based on performance”. This is a complete lie. The ‘review’ is an algorithm that they manipulate to pay what they want to pay. No one will tell that side of the story though. Finding a way to cheat hundreds of people is the holy grail of business. This is the biggest scam on the internet. There is nothing fair or honest about this company at all. This company is ripping off experts. Before praising a company like Gods, maybe get both sides of the story. A company that cheats its workers is really not a great company. This company needs to be sued for fraudulent business practices.”

“The system does not allow a lot of time for experts to select calls.”