Get paid to eat out, shop, and explore your city.
Become a mystery shopper. Earn $32–$50 per visit, get paid weekly, work completely on your own schedule. No boss. No shifts. No resume needed.
How it works
- 01
Apply
Postal code, contact info, payout method. Done in 2 minutes. Activated within 24 hours.
- 02
Claim a mission
Get a text when a business near you needs a shopper. First to claim gets it.
- 03
Visit & report
Go in as a regular customer, snap 4 photos, fill out the report on your phone. Takes 30-60 minutes total.
- 04
Get paid
Weekly direct deposit to your bank via Stripe. No invoicing, no chasing anyone.
Pay
Fast reporters earn more. Simple.
- Submit within 24h$50/visit
- Submit within 48h$43/visit
- Submit within 72h$32/visit
- Submit after 72hStrike — no pay
If you don’t submit by then we release the mission back to other agents. You lose it and the strike stays on your record.
- Per-visit pay
- $32–$50 CAD
- Time per mission
- 30–60 min
- Payout cadence
- Weekly via Stripe Connect
- Annual earnings cap
- $8,000 CAD
- Employment type
- Independent contractor
- Service area
- Canada-wide
Top-tier pay when you submit within 24h of the visit window closing. Required-purchase missions also pay back the receipt up to the customer's reimbursement cap, on top of the fee.
Visit + photo upload + report. Most agents finish in their car right after.
Direct deposit to a US or Canadian bank account. First payout 7 days after report approval.
Designed as supplemental income. Canadian agents get a T4A once they exceed $500/year; US agents get a 1099-NEC at the applicable IRS threshold.
You set your own schedule. No minimum claim requirement.
Most demand in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Montreal metro areas.
What you might shop
- Cafes
Coffee shops, espresso bars, third-wave roasters.
- Casual restaurants
Sit-down dining, brunch spots, neighborhood pubs.
- Retail boutiques
Independent fashion, gift shops, specialty retail.
- Service businesses
Salons, gyms, dental offices, automotive — anywhere customers walk in and expect to be looked after.
The fine print, upfront
- · Independent contractor, not employment.
- · Earnings capped at $8,000/year — this is supplemental income.
- · T4A issued annually once you exceed $500 (Canada) / 1099-NEC at the applicable IRS threshold for US agents.
- · Must be 19+, legally entitled to work, have a phone with a working camera.
Built by a store owner, for store owners — and the people who help them.
The founder spent years paying thousands of dollars to mystery shopping services that were slow, expensive, and painful to set up. So we built something better. Undercover Shopper handles the business side. SpyRecruiter handles you.
Frequently asked
›How much do mystery shoppers get paid?
On SpyRecruiter, pay is based on how fast you submit your report after the visit window closes: $50 per visit if you submit within 24h, $43 within 48h, $32 within 72h. If a mission requires a purchase, the customer also sets a reimbursement cap at booking (usually matching the estimated cost) — you get that paid back on top of the visit fee. Past 72h you get a strike, no payout, and the mission is released back to other agents. A complete mission takes 30–60 minutes including the visit and the report. Annual earnings per agent are capped at $8,000.
›What do I need to apply?
A US or Canadian phone number, an email, a postal code or ZIP, and the ability to receive electronic payouts via Stripe Connect (which means a bank account in your country of residence). You must be 19 or older, be legally entitled to work in your country, and have access to a phone with a working camera for evidence photos.
›How are missions assigned?
When a business books a shop in your area, the platform texts and emails the top five matching agents within travel radius. The first agent to claim wins the mission. There is no bidding or interview — first-come-first-served, race-locked at the database level.
›How often do I get paid?
Payouts run weekly via Stripe Connect Express, deposited directly to your bank account. Each mission pays out within 7 days of report acceptance. You set up your payout method during onboarding (takes about 5 minutes).
›Is this an employment relationship?
No. SpyRecruiter agents are independent contractors, not employees. You set your own schedule, choose which missions to claim, and may decline any mission. You are responsible for your own taxes (HST/GST/PST in Canada; federal + state in the US). CRA requires platforms to issue a T4A slip for fees-for-services payments once you exceed $500 in a calendar year; we'll issue one automatically when you do (and a 1099-NEC for US agents at the applicable IRS threshold).
›What kinds of businesses are mystery shopped?
Cafes, casual-dine restaurants, retail boutiques, and service businesses (salons, gyms, dental, automotive). The exact mix depends on which businesses sign up for shops on the customer side at undercovershopper.ca.
›What cities does SpyRecruiter operate in?
Canada-wide, and expanding into the US. Most active demand is in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, and Montreal in Canada, plus growing coverage in major US metros. Agents anywhere in Canada or the US with a postal code or ZIP are welcome to apply. Mission frequency in your area depends on local business signups.
›How long does a mission take?
Plan for 30–60 minutes total: 15–25 minutes for the actual visit (depending on the format), 10–20 minutes to upload four required photos and complete the structured report on your phone. Reports auto-save as you go so you can finish in your car right after the visit.
›Can I do this part-time?
Yes — most agents do 2–5 missions per month around their day job or studies. There is no minimum claim requirement. The annual $8,000 earnings cap means SpyRecruiter is structured as supplemental income, not a primary job.
›Will I always get paid for my time?
Yes, with three clearly-defined exceptions that are visible up-front: (1) reports submitted more than 72 hours after the visit window closes earn no pay — that's the entire late-pay rule and it's the same for everyone; (2) reports flagged for fraud or plagiarism (e.g. photos taken off-premises, answers copy-pasted across missions) earn no pay; (3) reports that don't meet the deliverables — four required photos plus the structured answers — get a chance to redo before any no-pay decision. Disagree with a rejection? Use the "Message support" form on your dashboard within 14 days; we respond within 5 business days. You keep the copyright on every photo and note you submit — we only license reports we accept and pay for, never rejected ones, and rejected submissions are never delivered to the customer.
›When does the visit window start, and how does the 72h clock work?
Two cases. (a) The customer picked a specific date: the visit window opens that day and runs for 5 days; you can visit any time in that window, and the 72h submission clock starts when the window closes. (b) The customer ticked "No preference, start ASAP": the window opens the moment they pay and runs for 48 hours; the 72h clock starts when those 48h are up. Either way, submitting within 24h of window-close locks the top rate; 48h is standard; past 72h is a strike. Your claim email and mission brief always show the exact window dates and the per-tier deadlines.
Ready to claim your first mission?
Application takes about 2 minutes. Most agents are activated within 24 hours.