If you’ve already used GPT apps and survey panels before, you might feel like the earnings don’t justify the effort you put into the tasks.
Sure, they have legit payment systems. However, the idea of answering hundreds of surveys every month for $20 or $30 doesn’t sound appealing.
You’d rather exert more effort into challenging money-making opportunities with better rates.
While exploring your alternatives, you’ll likely come across Audio Bee. It claims to pay around $120 per hour for standard transcription, voice recording, and translation jobs.
The offers already seem better than the $1 surveys on other apps. Audio Bee supposedly offers an escape from low-paying GPT apps, but the negative reviews about it online might make you skeptical.
Our team also caught wind of the controversial Audio Bee. The platform sounded promising, so we wanted to unearth the truth about this money-making opportunity.
We referenced official independent review sites, reviewed user testimonials, and explored the platform ourselves to give you first-hand insights.
Stick with us until the end to understand why Audio Bee draws so much flak. We don’t want you to get disappointed just because you didn’t set your expectations beforehand.
Is Audio Bee real or fake? Let’s dive into our review!
What is Audio Bee?
Audio Bee is a speech AI Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. It provides audio and transcription services through independent contractors in various countries, although clients only connect with the Audio Bee sales team.
For this review, we’ll assess its legitimacy as a task platform. Its earning opportunities include transcription, translation, and voice recording jobs, but most users sign up for the third option.
You might have also seen ads about Audio Bee saying you’ll earn $24 to $120 per hour on the platform. Some gigs offer similar rates.
However, you’ll have to submit your recordings and transcriptions for quality assurance before receiving payments. Sadly, most disgruntled users encounter issues during this stage.
We’ll talk more about them later, but we wanted to warn you right away that you likely won’t average $120 per hour on Audio Bee tasks consistently.
Company history
Ayush Neupane founded Audio Bee in 2020. The platform initially carried voice recording jobs, but it expanded its job board once clients started asking for transcription and translation services.
We don’t blindly discriminate against startups. However, we believe that most of the issues Audio Bee’s contractors face stem from its lack of experience and tenure.
Of course, Audio Bee can still improve. However, based on user reviews and our team’s experience, it should work toward giving its contractors a positive experience as well.
The platform already goes above and beyond to deliver quality output for its clients. Sadly, it’s not above sacrificing freelancers and contractors who don’t meet its unfair, biased standards.
The Audio Bee business model
All the orders on Audio Bee’s job boards come from its partner clients. It offers AI speech data solutions, hence the focus on transcription, voice recording, and translation gigs.
Most of these tasks require hard skills to accomplish. Unlike other GPT apps, you won’t just click ads, watch videos, or answer some surveys; rather, you’ll have to submit quality output that aligns with Audio Bee’s standards.
The extra work yields higher payouts. However, based on our past experience with other freelancing platforms, we think Audio Bee users are underpaid.
You’d do well to go straight to clients. Even after paying various marketing and freelancing platform fees, you’ll still make two to three times more.
Also, Audio Bee muddles order instructions. It doesn’t let clients collaborate with contractors, so you can only reference the job listing you receive—which is often quite confusing.
Who should and shouldn’t join Audio Bee
We’re not impressed with Audio Bee so far. But despite the platform’s disorganized system riddled with glitches, you might still benefit from it if you:
- Need a gateway to the world of freelancing. Audio Bee serves as a good starting point for aspiring freelancers looking to land their first few gigs.
- Already have voice recording equipment. Quality microphones and headsets don’t come cheap, and you likely won’t get a return on investment on them through Audio Bee tasks alone.
- Have a second or third language. Practice your translation skills on Audio Bee and build a solid portfolio to land more clients. Language translation pays well.
- Can transcript recordings quickly. If you can type 50 to 60 words per minute without breaking a sweat, then audio transcription might be right up your alley.
Don’t fret if you have doubts about Audio Bee. In fact, you might want to reconsider other gig apps and platforms if you:
- Can connect with clients directly. Again, Audio Bee has industry-low rates. Many freelancers make a full-time living from transcription and voice recording gigs. Meanwhile, translation jobs could pay up to six digits per annum, depending on your fluency.
- Already have a steady funnel of freelance work. Apart from the low rates, Audio Bee doesn’t have enough tasks for you to make a steady monthly income. You’ll get more orders on other platforms.
Overall, Audio Bee doesn’t suit experienced freelancers. The rates and lack of collaboration will only disappoint you.
Is Audio Bee legit?
Despite the negative Audio Bee reviews, the platform is still legit. Upon signing up for an account, you can use its job board to look for transcription, voice recording, and translation jobs.
However, the disorganized earning system hurts the site’s overall user experience. You’ll likely have to repeat voice recordings and transcriptions if your output doesn’t meet the QA team’s stringent, unreasonable demands.
In the worst case, you might miss deadlines and end up not getting paid. It happens way too often to first-time users who don’t have the proper recording and transcription setup yet.
However, Audio Bee’s customer support team is its redeeming feature. Based on the user reviews we read, you should get a reply within three to five business days if you email them at [email protected].
Surprisingly, Audio Bee even responds to the hate comments on Reddit and Trustpilot individually. It has a dedicated social media manager.
Just note that eliciting a response doesn’t guarantee a solution. We even found some users saying they never heard from Audio Bee after having their output unfairly judged.
Making money on Audio Bee
You can access Audio Bee from almost any country, but you can only apply for jobs in your language a certain number of times.
For instance, let’s say you want to transcribe notes. You have two chances to qualify for audio transcription jobs, and you’ll have to try another language if you fail.
Signing up for the platform
Step 1: Head over to the Audio Bee website for independent contractors.
Step 2: Press the Become a Freelancer button and wait for the Sign-Up page to load.
Don’t fret if it doesn’t work the first time. Based on user reviews and our team’s experience, Audio Bee has a buggy Sign Up page that glitches when accessed outside the U.S.
It should work after a few minutes.
Step 3: Enter your login credentials and choose your preferred job type (i.e., transcription, voice recording, and translation). Next, wait for the site’s confirmation email.
Step 4: For the final step, Audio Bee will require you to undergo the corresponding screening exam of your selected job type. We’ll flesh out the details of this stage in the next section.
Ways to make money on Audio Bee
Audio Bee offers four ways to make money, namely through:
1. Voice recordings
The Audio Bee job board primarily consists of voice recording gigs. However, its services focus on AI speech data solutions, so most of the paying clients on the platform need someone to record specific texts.
The job itself is easy. And the rates range from $5 to $50, depending on the text you need to read and record.
However, Audio Bee follows a stringent screening process, which requires three sample recordings for you to qualify.
Also, you need to redo your samples if they’re not up to par with Audio Bee’s standards. Note that Audio Bee doesn’t compensate users for failed samples and orders, so your average hourly rate drops with every redo.
You might not even get anything if the client cancels the order altogether.
To minimize the risk of redos, carefully read your order instructions, follow the sample guide to a T, and keep track of your dB noise level when recording.
2. Audio transcriptions
If you don’t have a quiet room for voice recording tasks, try audio transcriptions instead. The site pays $24 to $120 for every audio recording you transcribe.
However, you likely won’t come across many lengthy recordings. Most of the audio transcription orders we found spanned 10 to 30 minutes, which were on the lower end of the average payout rates.
You also need to pass a 30-minute test before taking orders. Audio Bee gives you two chances to score 80% or higher; otherwise, you’d have to try transcription tests in another language.
3. Text translation
Audio Bee started doing translation services recently. It pays up to $2 per audio minute that you translate, so you’ll easily make $100+ per order.
However, it’s a relatively new offer, so the platform doesn’t have enough clients to create a steady stream of translation gigs yet.
Our team didn’t even come across one. Most reviews that we found only talked about how translation gigs weren’t available in their regions.
4. User referrals
Audio Bee offers $1 to $20 per referral, which you’ll get after they submit their first task. Your exact commission will depend on the job type and rates.
The earning potential on Audio Bee
Audio Bee has an appealing earning potential for a GPT app. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have enough orders for you to make a decent side income.
Based on user reviews, most people only get one to two tasks weekly. Also, the stringent screening and job qualification process further limits the orders you can complete.
Realistically, you can earn around $40 to $50 per month if you complete two tasks successfully. Although one order only takes an hour or two to finish, you could spend several days sending samples and redoing failed orders.
Cashing out your Audio Bee earnings
You can cash out your Audio Bee payments via Payoneer, PayPal, or direct bank transfer if you live in the U.S.
The site doesn’t follow a minimum cashout threshold. Instead, it automatically sends your processed payments weekly, so make sure you link an active account that you regularly monitor.
Also, Audio Bee has no processing fees. However, you have to shoulder your mobile wallet’s fees yourself, so choose Payoneer and direct bank transfers to avoid steep PayPal charges.
The pros and cons of Audio Bee
After exploring Audio Bee and reading user reviews, some of the most noteworthy advantages we found include the following:
PROS
- Weekly payouts
- Multiple cashout options
- Better rates than GPT and PTC apps
The pros might seem convincing. However, familiarize yourself with the app’s worst disadvantages before signing up for an account.
CONS
- Audio Bee registration often glitches
- Lower rates compared to freelancing platforms
- Not enough incoming orders
- No client-contractor collaboration
- Stringent qualification requirements
- Website often glitches
Sadly, we think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. You’d do well to explore other safe, legit freelancing platforms and sites instead.
Reviews and complaints about Audio Bee
Perhaps the most alarming issue we found while reading Audio Bee reviews involved missing and delayed payments.
As we mentioned above, Audio Bee has stringent qualification procedures. You’ll have to redo your output until you meet the set standards, no matter how many times it takes.
Unfortunately, Audio Bee doesn’t compensate you for redos. If the client decides to cancel their order while you’re redoing your output, you won’t get paid for anything.
Top alternatives to Audio Bee
Instead of Audio Bee, try any of the following GPT apps and freelancing platforms:
- Fiverr: Promote your transcription, translation, and voice recording services on Fiverr. The platform connects you with clients directly. Voice recording gigs run from $10 to $30, while translation jobs could run up to $100+.
- Upwork: If you don’t feel comfortable promoting yourself, apply for gigs on Upwork instead. Hundreds of clients pay $10+ for voice recordings. You can also score long-term gigs that pay $400+ per month for only 3 hours of work per day.
- Swagbucks: Swagbucks stands as one of the most widely known GPT apps on the market. You can make anywhere from $0.50 to $5 for simple tasks like answering surveys, watching videos, and playing games.
Feel free to explore any other app or platform. Just make sure to do your research before signing up so that you don’t end up getting scammed.
Verdict: Is Audio Bee worth it?
We can’t call Audio Bee a scam since the platform doesn’t seem to withhold user earnings on purpose. Several reviews claim successful cashouts.
However, we also can’t call Audio Bee a safe, reliable platform for freelancers. Although the founders won’t intentionally scam users, the platform has many shortcomings and inconsistencies—which compromise payments.
Several disgruntled users share how they never got paid. They spent hours redoing the same recordings only to come home empty-handed because Audio Bee’s clients weren’t satisfied.
Also, you won’t find too many earning opportunities. Transcribing audio files and making voice recordings are common ways to make money online, so you’ll find them on several other gig apps.
In our opinion, you’d do better to join freelancing platforms like UpWork or Fiverr. Find a niche that suits your skill set, pitch to prospective clients, and accomplish your deliverables.
However, if you still want to try Audi Bee yourself, by all means, go ahead. Just make sure to manage your expectations so you won’t end up disappointed.
Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.
