Amazon shuts down Mechanical Turk after 21 years

Amazon is permanently closing Mechanical Turk on Wednesday after 21 years. Launched in 2005, the crowdsourcing marketplace let workers earn cents for transcription, image labeling and surveys that early software couldn't handle. Amazon stopped onboarding new clients earlier this summer.

• Mechanical Turk launched in 2005 and ran for 21 years
• HITs paid cents for transcription, labeling and surveys
• New client onboarding stopped earlier in summer 2026
• Workers are seeking alternatives on forums like r/mturk