Where TimeBucks Wins

A comparison written by one of the two platforms is only worth reading if it concedes something, so here is ours: TimeBucks charges a lower PayPal fee than we do. Theirs is around 4%; ours is around 6%. On a $20 cashout that is roughly forty cents in their favour, every time.

They also offer Skrill with no fee at all, which we do not carry. If Skrill is your preferred wallet, that is a real advantage and no amount of comparison-table framing changes it.

With that said, here is everything else.

Side-by-Side

Category	Shark Earnings	TimeBucks
Minimum cashout	$1.00 (gift cards, PayPal, prepaid), $2.50 crypto	$3.00 general, $10.00 via AirTM
Payout timing	On request	Weekly - processed Thursdays
Payment methods	100+ options, 52 used by members in practice	PayPal, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Skrill, AirTM, Payeer, Wise/bank, TangoCard, Apple Pay, Google Pay
PayPal fee	~6%	~4%
Skrill	Not offered	Yes, no fee
Gift cards	35+ brands - Amazon, Steam, Roblox, PlayStation, Netflix and more	Via TangoCard
Referral commission	10% to 30%, tiered	10% lifetime, plus a one-off $0.30 when a referral verifies
Identity check to withdraw	Face verification, requested when an account is flagged for review. A document is only ever asked for in exceptional cases, affecting very few users	ID document must be entered and verified before any payout
Earning sources	15+ offerwalls, surveys, games, tasks	Surveys, videos, app testing, tasks, PTC

TimeBucks figures are taken from their public help centre at the time of writing. Platforms change their terms - verify current numbers before deciding on the basis of them.

The Minimum and the Wait Are the Real Difference

TimeBucks sets its general minimum at $3, and at $10 if you take payment through AirTM. Ours is $1.00 for gift cards, PayPal and prepaid cards.

On its own that is a modest gap. Combined with the payout schedule it becomes a larger one. TimeBucks pays on Thursdays. Reach the minimum on a Friday and your money waits six days regardless of the amount. We process on request.

For a new user the practical consequence is straightforward: your first payout from us can happen within a day of earning a dollar. On TimeBucks you need three times as much, and then you wait for Thursday.

Referrals: 10% Flat vs 10-30% Tiered

Both platforms start at the same place. TimeBucks pays 10% lifetime on your referrals' task earnings once they verify their account, plus a one-off $0.30 verification bonus.

Ours also starts at 10% - and rises. The tier system takes it to 30% as your referral earnings grow. See how the referral programme works for the thresholds.

If you will refer one or two friends, the difference is small and the $0.30 verification bonus may even put TimeBucks marginally ahead. If you have an audience - a Discord, a channel, a following - the ceiling is what matters, and 30% against a flat 10% compounds into a substantially different number.

Identity Checks: Both Platforms Have Them

Let us be accurate here, because this is the row people most often see misrepresented in comparison articles.

Both platforms verify identity. Neither lets you withdraw unchecked, and neither should - fraud on reward platforms is constant and the checks are what keep the offers flowing for everyone else.

The difference is the method, and how often it applies. TimeBucks requires an identity document to be entered and verified before any payment is sent - for everyone, every time.

Our standard check is face verification, and it is requested when an account is flagged for review rather than from every user by default. A document is only ever asked for in exceptional cases - the kind of edge case that affects a very small number of accounts, not the normal path to a payout.

For the overwhelming majority of our members, that means no passport or driving licence ever leaves their hands. If you are uncomfortable uploading identification to a rewards site, that difference is worth knowing before you start earning rather than at the moment you try to withdraw.

Earning Variety

TimeBucks is broad in its own right: surveys, videos, app testing, small tasks and paid-to-click. It has been running for years and pays reliably.

The structural difference is aggregation. Shark Earnings pulls from 15+ offerwalls - Torox, MyChips, BitLabs, GemiAd, Lootably, AdscendMedia, ayeT-Studios, CPX Research, TimeWall and others. When one wall has nothing available in your country on a given day, another usually does.

It also means the large multi-milestone game offers live here - reward ladders running to tens of thousands of coins, like Mafia City or Rock N' Cash - because they arrive through those partners rather than from us directly.

Who Should Use Which

TimeBucks makes more sense if…

• You cash out mainly through PayPal and the 4% fee matters to you
• You use Skrill, which they offer fee-free and we do not carry
• You are comfortable verifying your ID and happy to collect weekly

Shark Earnings makes more sense if…

• You want your first payout at $1.00 rather than $3.00
• You want to withdraw when you choose instead of waiting for Thursday
• You want gift cards - 35+ brands rather than a single card provider
• You will build referrals and want the 30% ceiling rather than a flat 10%
• You would rather do a quick face check than upload an identity document

The Honest Summary

TimeBucks is a legitimate, long-running platform and the cheaper PayPal fee is a genuine point in its favour. If PayPal is your only payout route and you withdraw in larger chunks, that fee difference may outweigh everything else on this page.

For most people the shape of the difference is this: we are cheaper to start with and faster to leave, they are slightly cheaper on one specific exit route. Using both is entirely reasonable - nothing stops you earning on each and cashing out wherever suits the amount.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Reading

We have the same honest comparison against Freecash, Swagbucks and InboxDollars. For fee details on our side, see our cashout fees explained.