• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Financial Panther

A Lawyer Side Hustling Towards Financial Independence

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Side Hustle Reports
  • Best Credit Card Offers
  • Current Money Bonuses
  • 70+ Side Hustle Apps/Gigs
  • Bank Account Bonuses
  • Archives
  • Press
email-iconfacebook-icontwitter-iconinstagram-iconyoutube-icon
IMG_3252
Hi, I'm Kevin and I'm an attorney, writer, gig economy expert, side hustler, and the blogger behind Financial Panther. I paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer. I started this blog to share all I know about personal finance, travel hacking, and making more money by side hustling. Click here to learn more about me.
As Seen On
Popular

The Dream of Barista FIRE

The Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Bonuses

7 Best Cashback Apps That Everyone Should Use

See All
Side Hustle

The Ultimate List Of Gig Economy Apps

Latest Side Hustle Report

Monetize Your Life And Get Paid To Live

See All
Saving/Investing

How To Get a 5% Interest Savings Account

Where To Get 5% Interest Savings Accounts

The Financial Panther Money System

See All
Current Money Bonuses
US Bank Business ($500)SoFi Money ($275)Chime Bank Bonus ($100)DCU Bonus ($20)View All Bonuses

Doordash Dasher

Uber Eats Driver

Grubhub Delivery Driver

See All
Current Bonus Offers
Chime Bank Bonus ($100) Spiral Bank Bonus ($50)Brex Business Bank Bonus ($250) SoFi Money ($15+$25) Lili Bank Bonus ($100) SoFi Invest ($25) Yieldstreet ($100) View All Bonuses
Popular Posts
The Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Bonuses 70+ Side Hustle Gigs/Apps How To Get 5% Interest Savings Account Where To Get 5% Interest Savings Accounts View All Posts
Get Exclusive Content Delivered
Right to your Inbox.
Latest Posts
observa app

Observa App Review – Can You Use Observa To Make Extra Money?

Last Updated on July 29, 2021March 27, 2021 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links.Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Table of Contents
  • What Is The Observa App?
  • How Does The Observa App Work?
  • How To Sign Up For Observa
  • How Do Observa Assignments Work?
  • How Much Does Observa Pay?
  • Downsides With The Observa App
  • Strategies To Maximize Your Observa Earnings
  • Final Thoughts On The Observa App

Over the past several years, I’ve earned extra income by taking advantage of various types of gig economy apps. There are a couple of obvious apps that you’ve probably heard about before – think food delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats or grocery delivery apps like Shipt and Instacart. But there’s also a subset of smaller apps out there that you might not have heard about before. One app I’ve used on-and-off over the past few years is the Observa app.  

Observa is in a category of app that I like to call “picture-taking” apps. These are apps that pay independent contractors to visit businesses, answer a few questions, and take pictures of specific products. Generally, you do these assignments surreptitiously, without letting anyone at the business know what you’re up to.

The assignments usually don’t take long – 5 or 10 minutes at most – and typically pay you $5 to $10 for your work. It’s not enough to make a full-time income or even a significant income, but it’s something that you can do to earn a little extra money while you’re out and about. And importantly, apps like Observa are pretty easy to fit into your daily routine.

In this Observa app review, we’re going to look at what the Observa app is, how it works, and whether it makes sense to use this app to earn a little bit of extra income. I’ll also look at some of the strategies I’ve used to maximize my earnings with the Observa app.

What Is The Observa App?

Observa is an app that partners with brands to audit their product shelving at businesses. Brands spend a lot of money to get their products in front of customers. As a result, they like to make sure that their products are being properly displayed and are correctly priced.

To do this, Observa pays independent contractors to visit businesses and take photos of certain products on the shelves. The brand can then use this information to make appropriate changes to their product, if necessary. 

For the side hustlers out there, Observa is a way you can make a little extra money by taking pictures and answering questions for these brands. 

Here’s a video from Observa that gives some more information about Observa and how it works: 

How Does The Observa App Work?

Observa is an on-demand gig economy app where “Observers” can complete short assignments and get paid for them. I’ve done Observa gigs sporadically for the last four years. It’s not a lot of money and I don’t go out of my way to do these gigs, but they can sometimes work out well depending on what I’m doing. 

Here’s all the information you need to know about how Observa works.

How To Sign Up For Observa

The first thing you need to do to become an Observer is to sign up for Observa. Signing up for Observa is very easy. Simply download the app and follow the instructions to sign up. You can sign up to be an Observa Observer using this link. 

Once you’ve downloaded the app, simply follow the instructions to sign up for Observa. When you open the app, you’ll see a button at the top that says join. You’ll then enter your email address and create a password for your account. That’s it! Once you do that, you’ll be able to log in and see available assignments in your area. 

Observa Sign Up

How Do Observa Assignments Work?

Observa assignments are straightforward and most of them are easy to complete. After you’ve created your account and logged in, you’ll see a map that shows you all of the available assignments around you. If the assignment is available, you’ll see it as a red dot. If the dot is yellow, it means that the assignment has already been picked up by another Observer.

Observa Assignments

When you click on an assignment, you’ll see information about what the assignment is and what it pays. The app will also tell you how long you have to complete the assignment (I believe that every assignment gives you 5 hours to complete it once you’ve accepted it).  

Observa assignment instructions
Examples instructions from a recent Observa gig

There are two types of assignments in the Observa app. The first is your typical secret shopper-type assignments where you take photos in the store without making yourself known. Some only require you to take photos. Most will also require you to gather some other information, such as entering pricing information into the Observa app. A few may require you to buy products and get reimbursed for them. 

The second type of assignment is one where you speak to a manager and see if they would be interested in adding a particular product to their inventory. To do this, you’ll have to print out a sell-sheet and give it to the manager. This is basically an order form that the business can use to order a product.

I only do the secret shopper-type assignments because I don’t want to interact with any store employees when I do these gigs, but if you’re comfortable with it, you can try either of these types of Observa assignments.

How Much Does Observa Pay?

After you complete your assignment, you’ll submit it to Observa. The app will then review your assignment and either approve or reject your assignment. This process is quick – usually within 24 hours. In all my years of doing Observa gigs, I’ve never had an assignment rejected, although admittedly, I haven’t done that many Observa gigs either. 

As for pay, each Observa gig typically pays at least $5. Looking at my own Observa history, most of my gigs have paid $5 to $7.50. When I look in the app now, I see a lot of gigs that pay $7.50 or more. I don’t know how the pay is determined, but it seems that the more you have to do for an assignment, the more they tend to pay. 

Payment is made via PayPal, so you’ll need to have a PayPal account if you want to sign up for Observa. I assume most people have a PayPal account already. It’s free to create a PayPal account, so there’s no downside to doing that. 

Downsides With The Observa App

Observa is far from perfect and indeed, there are a lot of downsides with this app. If you’re going to use this app, you have to go into it understanding what it’s for and what it’s not for. Here are some of the big downsides that you need to think about if you’re using Observa.

There aren’t many assignments. I’ve used the Observa app for several years and even though I’ve had it on my phone for a long time, I haven’t done very many assignments. Often, you’ll open up the app and see a handful of assignments at most. If you’re looking for something that will be a consistent source of income, this is definitely not the app for you to use. 

It’s not a very lucrative app. The Observa assignments only pay $5 or so for each assignment, which isn’t very much. The assignments don’t take long – a $5 assignment, for example, should take you 10 minutes to complete at most. When you break it down, $5 for 10 minutes is a solid $30 per hour for your time, which can be worthwhile. At the same time though, $5 isn’t that much money. You’re not going to get rich from this app. 

Many assignments require travel time. The biggest downside with an app like Observa (or any picture-taking app) is your travel time. Even if an assignment only takes you 5 or 10 minutes to complete, it’s not going to be worth your time if you’re spending 10 or 20 minutes traveling to the location. In my experience, most Observa gigs are too far away to spend your time doing them.

The app interface isn’t great. Observa has a pretty dated-looking interface compared to many other apps. I’ve found the app to be glitchy and slow. And it definitely isn’t optimized for the latest version of iOS (I have an iPhone, so that’s the phone operating system that I use).  

Some assignments are unrealistic. There are occasional Observa assignments I’ve noticed that are unrealistic for anyone to complete. For example, you’ll sometimes see assignments that ask you to take photos in a small convenience store. That’s going to be difficult to do since most business owners aren’t going to be happy with you walking into their store and taking photos. In a larger store – like a grocery store or a big box store – it’s no problem, but in a small store, you’re going to have trouble taking photos without being noticed. I always avoid any assignments in small convenience stores, even if they’re close to me.

Strategies To Maximize Your Observa Earnings

Observa isn’t a lucrative gig economy app. You won’t make a lot of money from it. But there are strategies you can use to make it more worthwhile for you. Here are the main strategies I recommend. 

Combine Observa with other gig economy apps. The most important thing you can do to make Observa worthwhile is to combine them with other gig economy apps you might be using. For example, I also do a lot of food delivery using apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats. If you’re doing one gig that takes you past an Observa gig, it can make sense to quickly run in, snap some photos, and then continue on your way. 

Do Observa gigs while you’re running errands. In my opinion, the best way to use Observa is to do these gigs while you’re doing errands. For example, if you’re going to be at the store anyway, then it would make sense to do an Observa gig that is at that store. Not too long ago, I had to run an errand that took me past a couple of Observa gigs. It was easy enough for me to stop by these stores and complete these gigs along the way. 

Do not go out of your way to complete Observa gigs. This is fairly obvious, but worth mentioning. Observa gigs are not worth doing if you have to travel out of your way to do them. Even though the gig itself might pay a decent amount for the time it takes to complete it, the travel time will destroy your earnings, making your real hourly wage very low. Instead, only do Observa gigs if you’re already at the store, it’s very close to where you are, or you’ll be going in that area anyway.

Final Thoughts On The Observa App

Observa is an app that will allow you to make a little bit of extra income while you’re out and about. You won’t make a lot – but it’s at least some extra income you can use, especially if you can incorporate Observa into the activities you’re already doing. 

In addition to Observa, there are a variety of other similar types of apps that you should download and keep on your phone. If earning extra income in this way makes sense to you, then I recommend you download the following apps and keep them on your phone: 

  • Gigwalk
  • EasyShift
  • Field Agent
  • Observa
  • IVueIt (you can read my in-depth review on IVueIt here)
  • Merchandiser
  • Pickl

All of the above apps work similarly to Observa, so download all of them and keep them in a folder on your phone. Of all of these apps, Field Agent is the best one, in my opinion.

I hope you find this Observa app review helpful. And if you’re interested in signing up for Observa, you can do so using my Observa referral link.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:

  • GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
  • Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
  • Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
  • Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
  • Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

  • M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
  • SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
  • Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
  • Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
  • Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
  • Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

  • Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
  • US Bank Business ($500) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: AZ, AR, CA, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, NC, ND, OH, OR, SD, TN, UT, WA, WI, WY. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
  • SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
  • Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
  • Upgrade ($50) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $50 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on April 15, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before April 15th, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $50 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
  • Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
  • Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
  • Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
  • Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
  • Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
financial panther

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

  • SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
  • US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $500 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
  • M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
  • DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
  • Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.

Related

Read More

Filed Under: Gig Economy, Side Hustle Reports

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    June 8, 2022 at 7:20 pm

    Observa is a waste of time. Don’t do the observations, your wasting gas and time.i spent 3 hours and $20 in gas only for all 3 ($75) to be rejected. They are so kind and said I can do them again……KISS MY ASS

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Close
Side Hustle Income(View Reports)
chart-icon
$147,309
Get exclusive content delivered right to your inbox.
My Reviews
Bank Signup Bonuses (Step-by-Step)
US Bank Biz ($500) SoFi Money ($275) Chime Bank Bonus ($100) Upgrade Bank Bonus ($50) DCU Bonus ($20) Fairwinds Credit Union Bonus ($100) Current Bank Bonus ($50) Netspend Account Bonus ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) Novo Business Bank Bonus ($40) Varo Bank Bonus ($30)
Other Signup Bonuses
M1 Finance ($100) SoFi Invest ($25) Webull (6 stocks) Moomoo (10 stocks) Arcadia Power ($25)
Finance App Reviews
Albert Savings App Prism Bill Management App Bank Novo
Side Hustle Reviews
Doordash Uber Eats Grubhub Rover Pet Sitting Wag Dog Walker Shipt Grocery Shopper Airbnb Lime Scooter Charger Observa IVueIt
Most Commented
Popular
  • Insight Card: A Step-By-Step Guide to 5% Interest(690)
  • Netspend Account: 5% Interest Savings and $20 Signup Bonus(680)
  • The Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Bonuses(142)
  • Bird Charger and Lime Juicer – Side Hustling As An Electric Scooter Charger(125)
  • My Postmates Review: Getting Paid To Bike Around Town(78)
  • I Quit My Job – Rejecting The Clear Career Path And Going Out On My Own(76)
  • Barista FIRE: Not Quite Financial Independence, But Pretty Close
  • The Reverse Latte Factor – How You Can Side Hustle Your Way To Financial Independence
  • Where To Get 5% Interest Savings Accounts Now That Insight Is Gone
  • Monetize Your Life And Get Paid To Live
  • The Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Bonuses
  • Over 600,000 Miles Earned In One Year – A Recap Of My First Year of Travel Hacking

Footer

My Reviews

Bank Signup Bonuses (Step-by-Step)

Chime Bank Bonus ($100)
US Bank Business ($500)
SoFi Money ($275)
Upgrade Bank Bonus ($50)
DCU Bonus ($20)


Fairwinds Credit Union Bonus ($100)
Current Bank Bonus ($50)

Netspend Account Bonus ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account)
Novo Business Bank Bonus ($40)
Varo Bank Bonus ($30)




Other Signup Bonuses

M1 Finance ($100)
SoFi Invest ($25)


Webull ($27-$9,600)
Moomoo ($75-100)
Robinhood ($2.50-$200)
Arcadia Power ($25)

Finance App Reviews

Albert Savings App
Peak Money Savings App
Prism Bill Management App
Bank Novo

Side Hustle Reviews

Doordash
Uber Eats
Grubhub
Rover Pet Sitting
Wag Dog Walker
Shipt Grocery Shopper
Airbnb
Lime Scooter Charger
Observa
IVueIt

Popular Posts

The Ultimate List Of Gig Economy Apps
The Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Bonuses
Best Credit Card Offers For August 2021
The Dream of Barista FIRE
Coast FIRE
How To Get a 5% Interest Savings Account
Where To Get 5% Interest Savings Accounts
7 Best Cashback Apps That Everyone Should Use
Other Reviews

GEN3 Outcross Electric Bike
Varla Eagle One Electric Scooter
Himiway Escape Electric Bike
Espin Sport
Fucare H3 Scooter
Ororo Heated Jacket

Recent Posts

  • Vanpowers Manidae Review – A Powerful Fat-Tire Ebike For All Conditions
  • The Ultimate Guide To Multi-Apping With DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub
  • Snagging 200k Chase Ultimate Rewards Points With The Chase Ink Unlimited
  • January 2023 Side Hustle Report – $791.59
  • US Bank Business Checking $500 Signup Bonus – Step By Step Guide
  • About
  • Blog
  • Side Hustle Reports
  • Best Credit Card Offers
  • Current Money Bonuses
  • 70+ Side Hustle Apps/Gigs
  • Bank Account Bonuses
  • Archives
  • Press

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Copyright © 2023 FinancialPanther.com. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy * Disclaimer * Affiliate Policy * Contact Us