10 Websites to Make Money Doing Paid Research Studies

One of my favorite side hustles and ways to make extra money is by doing paid research studies! Most of these market research studies easily pay over $75 per hour and are some of my favorite ways to make money on the side. You can do many of these in the comfort of your own home and they also pay extremely well, easily making paid research studies some of the best side hustle jobs. So what are the best websites to make money doing paid research studies? I’ll cover them below!

What are Market Paid Research Studies?

Market research studies are when companies look for people in the general population to give feedback on their products before they launch them. This can entail getting feedback for anything from websites, products, movies, applications, and more.

Paid research studies are a more unique side hustle because you have to qualify for each study. However, these paid research studies pay very well, easily paying over $50/hr. I’ve even been paid $200/hr for some that I participated in! So it’s well worth the time to fill out the qualifier surveys.

Where Can I Find Paid Market Research Studies?

Paid studies are usually conducted by third party agencies that are not affiliated with the company that is wanting the study to be completed.

You can find paid market research studies on places such as Craigslist gigs, Facebook groups, Reddit r/FocusGroups, or Discord servers. Another common place to find them are on various websites that partner with companies and conduct their own studies, that I will list below.

Paid market research studies often have various names. They can be called research studies, focus groups, market research, field research, and more. Be sure to be on the lookout for name variations when searching for paid market research studies.

How Do I Qualify for Research Studies

It can be frustrating sometimes applying for paid research studies because you never seem to qualify. I’ve done paid research studies for almost ten years and have a couple of tips to help you qualify for more!

Apply for Relevant Research Studies

This may seem like a no brainer but many people spend a lot of time applying for every research study they find. Rather than applying for every single one, try applying for those that you know you have an above average interest in. For example, I tend to apply for the ones related to personal finance and credit cards because I know that I know a lot about these areas and could be a good research study subject. If you’re a big streamer

Apply to Studies Early

When the email is first sent out about a research study that is recruiting, try to respond as quickly as possible. Recruiters and screeners work diligently to fill their studies as fast as possible. This means that the quicker you apply, the more likely you are to be called or emailed to re-screen you and schedule you for the study.

Pick Up Phone Calls

Many research study agencies will call you to rescreen you and schedule you for a particular study that you filled out a screener for. If you don’t pick up on their first call, they may leave a voice message to call back but it’s difficult to get them on the line because they’re always on the phone with another candidate. Remember to pick up every phone call, even if it’s from an unknown number. If it’s a spam call, you can always hang up quickly.

Don’t Lie to Qualify for Research Studies

Speaking about picking up phone calls, most research studies will rescreen you when you pick up. When you apply for research studies, it’s impossible to remember what answers you gave to what agencies so it’s important not to lie. If you get caught, you will quickly get put on a black list and potentially never get scheduled again for that agency.

The only gray area for this is when answering the question about if you’ve participated in a research study recently. If you want to qualify for many paid research studies over time it’s important to say that you haven’t participated in one in the last year.

Be On Time and Give Your True Opinions and Feedback

These two tips pertain to when you are already scheduled for your market research study. Research study facilitators have a busy schedule and are conducting research on multiple people per day with a tight schedule. It’s important for you to be on time so that they can start and end on a prompt schedule. They also didn’t select you to give no opinion about all the questions that they ask you or products that they show you so remember to give your true opinions and honest feedback.

How Much Do Paid Research Studies Pay?

In my experience, and I’ve done paid research studies for almost ten years, most research studies pay a minimum of $50 per hour. I’ve participated in some that paid me up to $200 per hour. It all depends on the subject area, how hard that niche is to fill, and what agency you are working with. If you qualify for a study, you will definitely be paid well for your time.

10 Research Studies Online That Pay

I’ve accumulated an endless list of research study agencies that recruit for paid research studies throughout my life and compiled a list of the best ones here! I personally use one separate email dedicated to paid research studies and spend around 15 minutes daily to fill our qualifier surveys for them.

Respondent.io Research Studies

Respondent.io has online research studies, many which are catered towards working professionals. You initially do a screener survey and then they contact you via the portal if they decide to pick you.

Respondent.io has studies that are mostly geared towards working professionals rather than your personal interests, which are different from most of the other research studies here. For example, I tend to qualify and get invited to the ones that are geared towards software engineering and the general tech industry.

I’ve personally found that Respondent is a great platform to find tech research studies with my occupation as a software engineer. It’s also great for other professionals in other industries to find studies as well!

Sign up for Respondent.io here!

L&E Opinions

L&E Opinions has a ton of research studies available, predominantly online. Last year, they gave over $4.4 million to their participants for participating in paid research studies. They have in person studies in various metropolitan areas such as San Francisco, Austin, and Denver and also have online studies. You can sign up for L&E Opinions here!

Adler Weiner Research Studies

Adler Weiner has a mix of in person and online research studies. Their in person focus groups are predominantly in the Los Angeles and Orange County area as well as in Chicago. However, you can participate in their online research studies from anywhere across the United States.

Advanced Opinions Research

Advanced Opinions Research is a nationwide research study agency that recruits people of all ages and walks of life for their research studies. They don’t have only focus groups or research studies and actually recruit people for everything from music tests, ethnographies, mock trials, and more.

Opinions for Cash

Opinions for Cash is another nationwide focus group platform where researchers are looking for study participants. They also have a variety of types of groups such as mock juries, ethnographies, taste tests, and music tests.

Schlesinger Group

Schlesinger Group, in my experience has always been the most prompt in responding quickly after you fill out the survey if you qualify. This is why it’s even more important to fill out the surveys early once you receive them because their studies fill up fast.

Schlesinger hosts research studies in the United States as well as Canada and Europe.

Good Gamer Group

Good Gamer Group is a big one for the gamers out there! Many gaming companies want to test their products before they go live. This includes testing functionality, appeal factor, graphics, and more. Good Gamer Group is always looking for people who play games on a variety of platforms whether it’s in desktop, mobile, Nintendo Switch, or other consoles.

The cool part of this is that you get to have a sneak peak

Note: It doesn’t seem like they’re taking public sign ups at this time but remember to check back to see if they open sign ups!

DecisionDrivers.com

Decision Drivers has in person locations in New York and New Jersey while having online studies all across the United States. This is another great website to find research studies about food, drinks, and personal finance.

Galloway Research

Galloway Research is always look for new research study participants! They even have paid research studies that are specific to Spanish speakers, military members, and healthcare workers.

FocusGroups.org

FocusGroups.org has a big compilation of a lot of other research study agencies and sends out emails multiple times a week with a list of the studies they are currently screening for. If you don’t sign up for many of the platforms on this list, FocusGroups.org is a great single one to sign up for because they are good at finding research studies from other platforms and sending it to you in a comprehensive list.

The downside of only signing up for FocusGroups.org is that they don’t necessarily send you studies the minute that they start looking for participants. You may be late in signing up for studies if you only sign up for FocusGroups.org

Other Research Studies

There are other research studies that may not necessarily be giving feedback on a particular product. Medical research studies are one of the most common ones that fall in the “other” category. These can pay you for doing various tasks for medical research purposes, taking a preliminary vaccine, or participating in psychological experiments.

Paid Research Studies – Summary

Paid research studies are a great way to make some extra money and really do pay well for their time. Just remember to be proactive in filling out the surveys, know what kind of studies you can and can’t qualify for, and don’t give up! There’s a paid research study out there for everyone and you’ll be sure to qualify for one if you keep trying.

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