Steady App Review: Your Gateway to the Gig Economy

“Find work. Earn money,” the Steady app promises.

Steady is the first tool I’ve seen that attempts to bring all the “gig economy” and flexible work opportunities under one roof.

Yes, that same gig economy that 36% of the US workforce is already a part of. In some ways, we’re becoming a nation of side hustlers and freelancers, and the free Steady app is a gateway to hundreds of potential ways to earn extra money.

While the app certainly capitalizes on this growing freelance and flexible work shift, it does so with a mission to really help and empower gig workers. 

If you’re looking for a job that fits your busy schedule, maybe something you can do from home, or just want to see the incredible array of available gigs, I think Steady is worth a look.

Fun fact: Steady users earn an average of $5500 more per year after they join.

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About Steady

The mission of Steady is to help people find jobs, increase their income, and plan for financially stable future. The app’s slogan is “Building A Better Financial Future For The Global Workforce.”

How does it plan to build that better financial future?

Steady connects you with flexible job and gig opportunities, and (if you want) also gives you financial advice and presents potentially money-saving offers.

The Steady App Origin Story

Steady began in 2017, when Adam Roseman (one of the founders) saw that his father did not have enough retirement savings to support himself after retirement. He was in need for a part-time job.

So, Roseman helped him out finding work that met his needs, availability, and interests. Roseman also realized that his father’s situation was pretty common, but the process of individually sourcing and vetting work opportunities was incredibly tedious.

Perhaps a technology solution could help! With that, Steady was born.

The company has gained some quick early traction, generating 1,000,000 downloads since 2018, its first full year in business. They’ve also raised more than $29 million in venture funding.

Fun Fact: Shaquille O’Neal, NBA legend and businessman joined as an advocate and advisor.

As of May 2019, Steady has attracted over 2.7 million users.

How Does Steady Work?

Steady is straightforward and easy to get started with. The general process looks like this:

• Download the Steady app.
• Create a free account.
• Browse gigs that meet your criteria.
• Apply / on-board with those opportunities.
• Get to work.
• Get paid!
• Manage your gig earnings in one place.

The Steady App Sign Up Process

Steady is available on both iOS and Android, and is very highly rated. At press time, the app was rated 4.7 stars on Apple and 4.6 stars on Google Play, each with thousands of user reviews:

When you first join Steady (it’s free), it’ll ask for details like:

• your name
• email
• phone number
• password

You can also simply login with Facebook if you don’t want to create a separate profile with another password to remember.

There’s a checkbox to select if you want to receive text message alerts for new gigs.

Getting Started with Steady

Once you’ve got the app installed, the first screen you’ll see will be a prompt to enter your location:

After that, you’ll answer a series of questions based on your financial goals. For example, the app asked me if I:

• was interested in no-fee banking and commission-free investing
• could easily earn an extra $500 in case of an emergency
• wanted to save money on car insurance

Based on your answers, the app presents a number of quick-earning opportunities — often in the form of cash bonuses for signing up for different apps and services.

Browsing for Work on Steady

I was curious to see what kind of gigs the app had available, so I scrolled down to the “Find Work” section.

There are 4 different job types offered:

1. Gigs
2. Part-Time and Full-Time Work
3. Work From Home
4. Recently Added

Let’s take a look inside each to see what kind of gigs you might find.

Gigs

This category is great for finding flexible gigs you can work whenever you have time available. When I click over to Gigs, the app brought up a quick survey to help narrow down my options.

The questions included information about my:

• desired hours
• preferred location (in-home vs. on-site)
• vehicle
• education level
• language proficiency
• current employment
• licenses and certifications

Finally it asked about the job categories I was interested in. After that, the app gave me 51 “jobs” to choose from: 

For me, it brought up a lot of online surveys, transcription, freelancing, and tutoring options. Those included:

• Pinecone Research
• Neighbor (peer to peer storage)
• Rev (transcription)
• Wize (tutoring)
• and tons more

When you click into each of the gigs, you can learn more about the requirements, time commitment, and pay. The gigs that showed up for me went as high as $20 an hour.

I think the survey personalization is pretty slick and recommend browsing through and seeing which gigs sound most appealing to you.

Part-Time and Full-Time Work

The Part-Time and Full-Time Work category inside Steady is by far the largest. When I clicked into it, the app brought up 10,000 results!

Outside of the gig economy apps, there were tons of local options in caregiving, hospitality, customer service, and retail. You can also click on the “Jobs for you” button at the top for more personalized recommendations based on the information you’ve fed the app.

Click into the ones that seem most interesting to you. I found gigs ranging from $10 to $26 an hour, though most didn’t include a concrete salary number.

Work From Home

Under the Work From Home category, Steady found 458 results for me.

These included lots of remote customer support and sales jobs, a few gig economy options, and some online surveys.

While I guess technically the latter can be done from home, I wouldn’t necessarily consider them work from home “jobs.”

As I scrolled down, I found more options that resemble traditional work, including:

• Language tutoring
• Transcription
• Community moderating
• Freelance writing

Steady presents a pretty solid database of work-from-home job opportunities, but seems to focus on the lower end of the market. And compared to other remote work job sites like FlexJobs, the listings look pretty sparse.

For example, FlexJobs found 455 active job listings just in the “Internet and E-Commerce” category — and that’s just one of 50+ job categories on their site.

But unlike Steady, FlexJobs does charge a nominal monthly fee (save 30% w/ promo code FLEXLIFE) to access their listings.

There are some helpful filters to narrow down your options on Steady, but the one that’s glaringly missing? Pay rate, or average hourly wage.

Recently Added Work

And finally, the Recently Added category is for Steady app aficionados who are looking for the latest and greatest opportunities.

I was happy to see a couple dozen new gigs when I clicked over here, which signaled to me that the app is being regularly updated and maintained.

How Do You Apply for Gigs on Steady?

Once you use Steady to identify the gig (or gigs) you want to go for, you follow the link in the app to complete the registration or application.

This will normally take place on the 3rd-party site of whatever gig you’re applying for.

For instance, if delivering for Postmates sounds cool, Steady will send you over to Postmates to sign-up.

After that, your relationship with Steady can be over (if you choose to). All your work communication will happen directly between you and the app or service you contract with.

Track Your Earnings

If you end up using Steady to connect with multiple gigs, using the app’s Income tracker might be helpful.

Once you connect your bank account (securely, of course), Steady will pull in your relevant earning data into a handy dashboard. Over time, you’ll be able to monitor your different income streams and total monthly earnings.

How Much Can You Make on Steady?

Gigs on Steady typically max out around $20-25 an hour, but the company reports that Steady users earn an average of $5500 more per year after they join.

Of course your earnings will depend on your location, skills, and the time you put in.

The Steady Income Boosters Section

Inside the Steady app, you might notice a section labeled Income Boosters.

What you’ll find there is a menu of interesting products and services aimed at the Steady workforce. These companies promise to help you:

• Save money on insurance.
• Get the tax deductions you deserve.
• Improve your rideshare earnings.
• Save on prescriptions.
• And tons more.

Each one pays anywhere from $5-75, just for signing up for some third-party product or service. It’s definitely a cool supplemental service inside the app, and worth checking out which tools might make sense for you.

Side Note: How Does Steady Make Money?

Since Steady is free, and obviously took quite a bit of time and money to develop, you might be wondering how the company makes money.

It operates on an affiliate or lead-generation model. Many of the apps and services featured on Steady are hungry for new people to help meet growing demand.

Because of that, they’re willing to pay companies like Steady (and, for transparency, Side Hustle Nation) for referring new users, drivers, hosts, caregivers, etc.

Who is Steady Best For?

Who will get the most benefit from the Steady app? Here are the audiences I think the app is best-suited for.

Side Hustlers

You have a traditional full-time job, but want to have another stream of income. Maybe you have some extra time on your hands, or want to work on something more enjoyable.

One Side Hustle Nation reader mentioned:

“I wish I could have had this kind of service back when I was working at the airport. It might have helped me figure out myself sooner or made my life a little more purposeful.”

Freelancers/Independent Contractors

Steady is heavy on jobs for freelancers. There are countless opportunities in creative, media, and IT: graphic design, programming, content writing, voice acting, etc.

Steady can help point you to the various freelance marketplaces where you might begin to find clients for your skills.

Full-Time Job Seekers

The majority of full-time jobs on the app are in customer service, personal assistance, retail sales, caregiving, hospitality, and cleaning.

The positions range from entry-level staff to manager level. However, it’s not an ideal place to seek salaried professional work or more advanced roles in specific area like medicine.

College Students and New Grads

Steady is great for college students and new grads looking for experience and building their resume.

It can also help you earn extra money while you look for a full-time job, or try different jobs at the same time. That way you might better learn what you enjoy doing before committing to a full-time job.

Those Pursuing Entrepreneurship

Even though the app mainly wants to play matchmaker between you and existing marketplaces and gig economy apps, it can be helpful for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Browsing through the Steady listings will get you thinking about the services you can offer. These gigs are one way to improve your entrepreneurial skills and help you earn more money during your startup journey.

Steady App Earning Potential

How much could you make on the Steady app?

As mentioned above, I saw gigs going as high as $26 an hour. (Though the majority were in the $10-15 per hour range.)

I’d probably avoid the “micro-task” platforms unless you really like that type of work and don’t want to commit to anything with a set schedule.

As with any side hustle, consider the opportunity cost. Is it worth toiling away for potentially less than minimum wage, when you could be using that time to build a business or asset of your own?

Steady App Pros

• Fast, simple sign-up process.
• Free to use and browse flexible work opportunities.
• Incredible variety of gigs available, all in one centralized location.
• Quick company profiles let you compare gigs and choose the best for you.

You can be as selective as you want or as your experience allows. If nothing is a fit today, no harm done.

Steady App Cons

• Filters could be better; some of the options presented aren’t great (in my opinion).
• Approximate earning power is not listed for every gig.
• Each gig requires its own separate application.

What Are Some Alternatives to Steady?

Outside of monster “make extra money” posts like this, I honestly haven’t seen an app that attempts to do what Steady does: aggregate all the gig economy opportunities and put them in one place.

(The most similar is AppJobs, and FlexJobs is the leading site for part-time and full-time remote work.)

For that, I commend the team at Steady. I met several of their team members at FinCon last year and I’m impressed with what they’ve built.

Related: 63 Apps that Pay You: The Best Money Making Apps of the Year

Your Turn

Have you used Steady yourself? What do you think?

Leave a comment or review below and let the Side Hustle Nation community know about your experience.

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