Give your Mac
a side hustle.
Your Mac can earn money while you’re away. Acorn finds paid AI jobs, such as transcription, for its spare time. You choose when it works.
10 to 1,000+ Macs? Put your fleet to work with Acorn.
Plan your onboardingA little more, every job.
Earning- Photo enhancementImage processing (future)+$0.0010
- Product illustrationImage generation (future)+$0.0004
- Molecule simulationScientific research (future)+$0.0015
Your Mac. Your call.
Spare time. Put to good use.
AI needs computing power. Your Mac has time to spare. Acorn connects it with paid jobs, starting with transcription, and each completed job adds to your balance.
Paid work that fits your Mac.
Put your chip to work on paid AI jobs, such as transcription. Acorn finds work suited to your Mac.
You decide when it runs.
Choose your hours and leave your Mac plugged in. Balanced, the default, allows light work while you use it. Choose Gentle for away-only work.
Cash, not points.
Each completed job adds to your balance. Approved payouts go to PayPal or Venmo after the earnings hold.
What your Mac could earn.
Choose your Mac and how many hours a day it does paid work. See an estimate after electricity costs.
Your Mac
Set your model, hours of paid work, and electricity rate. Your estimate updates as you go.
Not sure? On your Mac, open the Apple menu → About This Mac to find your model and chip.
Your Mac stays yours.
Choose the work you allow. Keep your own work first. Pause whenever you want.
Your chip. Not your information.
Acorn uses your chip’s computing power to process customer jobs. It doesn’t request access to your personal files, screen, microphone, or camera.
Your work comes first.
You choose whether Acorn works alongside you or only while you’re away. Power and heat checks also govern when it can take on work.
You choose what runs.
Choose which kinds of jobs your Mac accepts. When new categories arrive, you can leave them off.
A few things you might wonder.
Earnings & payments
What kinds of jobs run on my machine?
Acorn runs AI jobs such as transcription: turning customer recordings into text. You choose which categories to allow, and Acorn finds work suited to your Mac.
How do I get paid?
Completed jobs build your Acorn balance.
New Macs start with a 14-day earnings hold, which can drop to 7 days and then as little as a day as they build a track record.
With PayPal or Venmo on file, eligible balances enter Friday’s payout review. Approved payments are sent by the team. The cash-out minimum is $10.
What about my electricity bill?
The calculator subtracts estimated electricity costs using the rate you enter. Your actual costs depend on your Mac, usage, and electricity plan.
What does “alpha” mean?
Acorn is still early, and there isn’t much work on the network yet. Earnings may be lower than the estimate, and the app will keep improving. You can reach the team directly for help or feedback.
Your Mac & your control
What happens when I use my Mac?
Balanced, the default, allows light work while you use your Mac and more when you’re away. Choose Gentle during setup for away-only work. Later, turn off “Run Acorn when I'm using my Mac” in Schedule & limits. You can adjust the separate away and in-use settings and pauses for calls or demanding apps. A pause does not mean every running calculation stops instantly.
Does Acorn record anything on my Mac?
No. Acorn needs your chip’s computing power, not the information on your Mac. It processes customer-supplied jobs and doesn’t request access to your personal files, screen, microphone, or camera. Job files are temporary and deleted when finished. Read how job data is handled →
What about Intel Macs, iPads, or battery mode?
You’ll need a Mac with an M1 or newer chip, macOS 14 or later, and a power connection. Acorn doesn’t currently support Intel Macs, iPads, or working on battery power.
Is there a minimum commitment?
No. You can pause Acorn, stop hosting, or uninstall whenever you want. Any unpaid balance that has reached the $10 cash-out minimum is still yours to withdraw.
Start your Mac’s side hustle.
Install Acorn, choose your hours, and let it look for paid work while you’re away.