I recently participated in a paid focus group in San Francisco. You know, the kind with the one-way mirror on the wall. We talked about travel habits and preferences for an hour and half, and I got paid $150...

I recently participated in a paid focus group in San Francisco. You know, the kind with the one-way mirror on the wall.

We talked about travel habits and preferences for an hour and half, and I got paid $150 for my time and opinions. Not bad!

The whole thing was pretty quick and painless—and actually kind of interesting—which got me thinking that this could be a great side hustle. Especially if I could do it from home!

So down the rabbit hole I went, trying to find other companies that conduct paid research studies online.

And I should note before we get started that these aren’t the typical companies that pop up when you search for “online surveys.” Those companies, like Swagbucks and InboxDollars, are legit, but pay relatively little.

The companies I was after here were the ones that pay bigger sums to make it more worth your time. I earned $100 an hour for my little focus group adventure, and you can too.

1. User Interviews

User Interviews facilitates in-person and online consumer conversations about products, websites, and services. The pay rates vary, but the average seems to be around $50-100 an hour.

I’ve earned $105 through the site so far, in exchange for about an hour a half.

In one of my studies, I earned a $10 Amazon gift card for completing a short online survey for bald guys! It said it should take 15 minutes, but all the questions were straight yes/no, so it probably only took 5.

Click here to join User Interviews.

Or check out our full User Interviews review.

2. Respondent

Respondent is a cool service that facilitates consumer research studies online—and often pays $100+ an hour!

Once you create your account, you’ll be able to browse all the open studies you might qualify for. The research brief shares the type of person the company is looking to connect with, the expected time commitment, and pay rate.

If it looks like a fit, answer the brief screener questionnaire to throw your hat in the ring. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get selected right away—I’ve been selected for 5 studies out of 50 screeners so far.

While there are some “general population” studies, the best-paying opportunities are for industry professionals—up to $750 an hour!

The company takes a 5% processing fee, but the rest of the funds you earn will hit your PayPal account within 8-10 days of your study. (I’ve earned $395 through Respondent so far!)

Click here to join Respondent.

Read our full Respondent.io review here.

(Since recording, I’ve done a couple more studies.)

3. Rare Patient Voice

A leading source for medical research, Rare Patient Voice pays patients and caregivers $120 an hour. You can browse a full list of available studies on their site—nearly all of which are phone or webcam interviews.

If you suffer from any sort of medical condition (even if it’s not super rare), this one is worth a look.

The site is open to residents of United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

4. Survey Junkie

While most Survey Junkie earning opportunities don’t pay much, you’ll occasionally get emails for better-paying focus group and product testing studies.

These admittedly are pretty rare, but pay up to $75.

Still, power users of the regular Survey Junkie site/app report earning up to $40 a month. 

The site boasts more than 20 million members and pays out more than $1 million every month.

Click here to sign up for Survey Junkie.

5. Product Report Card

Another well-established market research company is Product Report Card. They offer paid surveys, product testing and review gigs, and online focus groups.

The best-paying work is for in-home product tests and remote interviews and focus groups — often in the $75-$150/hour range.

Product Report Card will also give you a $5 welcome bonus for completing a short survey after you join. There’s a $25 minimum to cash-out.

6. FocusGroup.com

FocusGroup.com offers nationwide paid research opportunities. (The site is powered by Sago, a leading market research company.)

Be on the lookout for the “National” studies that pay between $75 and $200. These are scheduled over the phone or webcam so you can take the calls from anywhere at times that are convenient to you.

It took a while, but I eventually earned $115 for an online study related to a well-known Seattle-area company.

The next one I did was an hour-long online focus group on credit cards that paid $100.

Other studies I saw were related to cars, technology, and banking.

I receive a few email notifications every month with studies. Those range from around $2 for 20-minute surveys, up to $150 for 90-minute in-person or online focus groups.

Check out my full FocusGroup.com review to learn more.

7. Lightster

Lightster is a unique money making app, where you get matched with brands and researchers based on your profile.

To get started, you’ll add some demographic information about yourself and answer some questions about your experience and interests.

After that, you may see some questions pop up in the app. Answer those to qualify for paid research conversations that pay $1 per minute.

I got invited to my first half hour session within a couple weeks of downloading the app, and got paid (via Amazon gift card) right away.

8. PingPong

I was excited to discover PingPong as a newcomer to the online market research field. The service specializes in user experience testing for apps and websites, with pay rates ranging between €40 and €100 an hour. (Roughly $45-110.)

You might be curious—with the rates in euros—if this one is open to non-Europeans. PingPong let me join as an American and says they welcome testers from all over the world.

Since joining, I’ve received invites to several studies but haven’t been able to book one just yet.

9. Fieldwork

Fieldwork was the company that hosted the San Francisco focus group I participated in. They have locations throughout the US:

Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Los Angeles (Orange County) Minneapolis New York Phoenix San Francisco Seattle

Compensation starts at $75 for participating in focus groups, which usually last between 1-2 hours. The drawback was I got paid in Visa gift cards instead of cash, so I went to the grocery store and bought Amazon gift cards with them instead.

10. Experience Dynamics

Experience Dynamics specializes in user experience and user interface testing (UX and UI). Corporate clients pay Experience Dynamics to help “make their users smile,” and they turn around and pay people like you for honest feedback on website designs and software applications.

According to the site, they recruit testers worldwide with all levels of technology experience. Most studies pay between $50-$150 dollars.

Experience Dynamics also facilitates:

Field Studies, 1-2 hour interviews at your home or work. Diary Studies, where you to record your thoughts over 1-2 weeks. Phone Interviews Online Focus Groups Online Surveys

11. American Consumer Opinion

American Consumer Opinion is another market research company where you can qualify for several surveys a year.

Annoyingly, they insist on using their own “virtual currency” point system. Still, you can earn up to $50 worth of points for longer market research surveys.

There’s a $10 minimum to cash out and you can deposit your earnings directly into PayPal. To give you an incentive to complete the low-paying screener surveys, American Consumer Opinion will add your name to a monthly $50 drawing.

12. L&E Opinions

On L&E Opinions, I found nationwide studies paying $125-250. The company has been in business over 30 years and pays out millions of dollars in research incentives every year.

13. FocusGroups.org

FocusGroups.org is an aggregator service that lists focus groups and paid research opportunities around the country. When I registered, I saw online focus group options that paid anywhere from $75 to $625!

Topics included pets, hygiene, cooking, luxury cars, and lots more. There are some handy filters you can use to select only online or “National” studies.

14. FindFocusGroups.com

Another site that pulls in lots of different paid studies, FindFocusGroups.com was a great find. 

At press time, they had the best-looking interface of most of these sites, but hadn’t been updated in several months.

When I checked, the compensation for these ranged from $50 to $200.

13. SIS International

Through “compensated interviews” and focus groups, SIS helps brands figure out direction for their products. You can see a full list of available paid studies on this page.

I found rates from $25-200, depending on the time required and complexity of the topic. SIS recruits participants from all around the world, not just the US.

14. SurveyFeeds

Similar to FindFocusGroups above, SurveyFeeds isn’t a market research company itself, but instead a promising “feed” of paid survey opportunities.

I found their Facebook page updated more frequently than their website, so it might be worthwhile to check there and see what you might qualify for.

The online studies I saw ranged from $75 to $300.

15. Field Voices

When I checked out Field Voices, I found a couple available studies to apply for. One was a neighborhood improvement interview that paid $150 for one hour, and the other was a group workshop on snacking habits that paid $300!

This firm works directly with companies as well, which means they’re not just pulling together lists of other research projects.

16. Prolific

When academic and research institutions need opinions from the general population, they turn to Prolific. It’s easy to sign up and start completing online surveys.

The pay on Prolific is a bit lower — often in the $8-15/hr range. But in my Prolific review, I found plenty of quick and easy surveys available, and you can cash out to PayPal.

17. Probe Market Research

Consumers, medical professionals, and executives are in demand for Probe Market Research’s panels. Focus groups pay between $50 and $400, and you can often participate online or over the phone.

Major brands enlist Probe to conduct online surveys, mystery shopping gigs, mock juries, product trials, and more.

18. Recruit and Field

Recruit and Field is one of the longest-running national market research companies. Since 1977, they’ve built up a participant database of over 300,000 consumers, business leaders, and medical professionals.

The company works with lots of name-brand clients and typically pays $100-275 for in-person and online surveys.

19. dscout

The popular and well-rated dscout app connects you with “engaging research missions.” Through those, you can get paid to share your feedback on a product or service.

Typical studies pay anywhere from $2 to $100, paid out via PayPal. The biggest complaints from users are that the often in-depth screener surveys are unpaid.

20. GLG Insights

Less of a market research firm and more of a consulting marketplace, GLG Insights aims to match you up with their clients looking for industry-specific expertise. Request to become a “Council Member” to get notified when relevant paid studies are available.

On GLG, you’ll be asked to connect your LinkedIn profile and upload a resume (or link to an online resume) to verify your career credentials. You can also name your own consulting rate — usually $100-150 and up.

After that, I answered a series of ethics questions based on GLG’s terms and conditions.

21. WatchLab

WatchLab has an obnoxiously inadequate website, but they claim to facilitate all sorts of focus groups, usability tests, interviews, mock juries, and more.

The pay varies depending on the research, and may be in the form of gift cards or cash. I saw ranges from $100 to $175 for 1-2 hour focus groups. WatchLab have locations in San Francisco and Chicago, as well as online options.

For in-person focus groups, you get paid on the spot — online may take 4-6 weeks.

22. Mindswarms

Mindswarms is a unique video consumer research platform. They’ll pay you $50 via PayPal to answer 10 questions about a product or service.

These studies normally take around 10 minutes and can be recorded via your webcam or smartphone, but competition to get selected can be fierce.

To create your account you’ll need to record a 60-second video about one of your passions. Or you can do this through the Mindswarms app on iOS or Android.

24. 20|20 Panel

Earn $50-150 for online focus groups and studies. While the website doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence, 20|20 Panel has been around for over 30 years.

25. Focus Insite

I found several online focus groups paying $50-200 on Focus Insite. The company popped up in my Instagram feed, a signal they’re actively recruiting new participants.

You can join their panel database as a medical, technical, or business professional, or just as a general consumer. Alternatively, you can apply directly to the available market research studies listed.

Other Online Focus Group and Paid Research Study Options

The companies listed above certainly aren’t the only research companies around, and for this side hustle, it makes sense to join as many firms as you’re comfortable with.

That way, you’re presented with all the opportunities available, not just the projects managed by one company.

Here are a few more to consider:

Ascendency Research — On average, studies pay $60-350. Many are local to the Twin Cities, MN, but they have some national studies, too. Elliott Benson — Conducting paid market research since 1995. PRC Market Research — You can browse upcoming projects (and their pay rate) before registering. Most studies pay $100-300/hour. NewtonX — Strictly for industry professionals to share their insight and get paid. Focus Forward — A unique aggregator of paid focus group and survey opportunities. UserTesting – Earn $10 for completing 20-minute online user tests of websites, apps, shopping portals, and more. This is pretty fun but you have to be fast because these tests get snatched up quickly. Brutal – Earn $30 an hour to give feedback on websites and apps. (Love the name!) Pulse Labs – Earn up to $100 a week providing video feedback on products. Intellizoom – Get paid an average of $10 testing and reviewing websites. UserBrain – Receive new websites to test every week, an earn $5 for each 5-15 minute test. Google User Experience – Google pays gift cards for feedback on their products. Nelson Recruiting — Nationwide market research company established in 1980. Marketade – Specializes in remote usability testing, market validation, navigation research, and more. Engage Studies – Earn as much as $100 per focus group through this research company. Tell Us Your Opinion – Mainly operating in Tulsa but may have online/phone opportunities as well. View Entire Post