Steady

Steady Review:

Steady is a job board for part-time, hourly and on-demand work that sorts job opportunities based on your location and skills. None of these jobs are unique to the platform. However, what makes Steady stand out is that it also offers “income boosters” that pass on incentive payments for trying a new product or a new gig to users.

Income boosters

These income boosters can provide hundreds — even thousands — of dollars of additional income each year. Moreover, the site will help financially needy freelancers apply for grants. This makes the site unique among job boards and particularly attractive to low-income freelancers.

The only catch is that you’ll need to link a bank account to the app to get full use of it. If you do that, Steady will automatically pay any income boosters that you earn directly to your account.

The app will also provide financial advice on ways to earn more money or save money on commonly-used services, such as auto insurance and banking. (These referrals appear to be how Steady makes money.)

Pay varies

As with all job boards, the pay available for listed jobs varies dramatically, based on the type of work you do, your experience and income requirements. Pay for gigs when we tested the platform ranged from $10 to $25 an hour. However, a handful of gigs offered signing bonuses of up to $3,000.

Outside of paying the income boosters, the app doesn’t pay you to work. Instead, it simply connects you to other companies offering work. The extremely positive feedback from Steady users points to a great overall experience.

Recommendations:

The app is generally free to use. However, it does have a premium service option that promises to help you compare different jobs and see which are likely to pay the most. We’re not sure that this $5 monthly service is worth the cost. But the free version is certainly worthwhile.

By the same token, there are other job boards that might be better suited to those searching for full-time employment. In these cases, Glassdoor or Indeed can help you narrow your leads more quickly.

If you want remote employment, FlexJobs might be a better fit. And finally, if you are looking to design your own gigs, TaskRabbit or Fivver are good choices. 

What their users say:

The platform has earned good reviews from its users. On Trustpilot, Steady earned 4.5 out of 5 stars with over 2,700 users.

It scored similarly high in the Apple App Store with 4.7 out of 5 stars and in the Google Play Store with 4.4 out of 5 stars

From the Apple App Store:

“My experience with other financial memberships and supplemental income apps, have been hit or miss and, overall, underwhelming. Even though Steady had a better reputation, I was skeptical. Assumed I’d run into issues like being matched with partner companies that oversell and underdeliver. Or I’d fail to receive a booster for some minor fine print issue. That hasn’t been the case. I went with the $75 for opening a Varo checking account (which I’m very happy with BTW) and received the $75 in my new account no more than a week after I spent the required $25 on my new debit card.”

“I completed a booster thinking that I probably wouldn’t actually receive a deposit. That there had to be some kinda catch. But I was wrong. Once I completed the booster, two days later the money was sent straight to my account and for the correct amount.And it was awesome that I didn’t have to deal with crap like having to wait until I had a certain amount or buy a gift card. Just make sure you pay attention to what is required to receive the booster. This helped me out tremendously when I needed help the most. Definitely plan to complete more boosters.”

Super helpful

The Steady App talks the talk AND walks the walk.  Super helpful in learning about your own finances and connecting me with SOOO many resources and other apps that help with anything from student loan debt, investing, insurance, raising your credit score, loans, etc. AND THEY PAY YOU FOR IT. LEGIT. ”

“I was pretty skeptical, especially because it wanted not only my zip, but on the next page, my name, email and phone number, something I never like to give out…But what I got was an amazing array of possibilities of work from home… For reference I’m a stay at home dad trying to find more income with 1 year old.”

From Google Play Store

“Some of the boosts take time, so if you complete a request from this app be sure to check the fine prints, some of these payouts can take up to 3 months, so if you delete this app or whatever other app you needed to participate in within the times stated, then of course you won’t get paid. Just think of it as money in the bank. You’ll also get a notification as soon as they pay you. This app is worth a try.”

“Most of the gigs are easy and at no cost but some take time to complete requirements. Still, all of them have actually paid out as described and did very quickly. Steady seems to be trustworthy and I have used Plaid securely in the past, but read offers carefully and use strict judgement choosing which are best for your financial situation and type of employment.”

Great app

“This is a great app. It’s helped me track my financial accounts, find jobs and innovative ways to make extra money, and the boosters are the best. I just received my first booster for $50, it was easy and fast. Steady delivers what it promises.”

“Pretty solid customer service and a ton of great features already in the app, the boosters are nice but the convenient layout to search for freelance or work from home opportunities have been the real draw.”