Are you looking for online focus groups that pay for your opinions? Participating in focus groups is a time-honored and evergreen side hustle. Companies want to know what you think about the products and services that they represent, and they’re willing to reimburse you for your time. It’s a win/win! As an experiment of sorts, I signed up for 15 different paid focus groups online, and I present my findings here.
Oh, one thing – please note that “online focus groups that pay” are different from “online surveys.” They can be very similar, in fact, I have one survey company that has made the crossover into online focus groups in my list below. However, surveys are usually general interest questions that help gauge an overall feeling, while focus groups’ jobs will, well, focus on a particular product or service.
So without further ado, here are the:
Online Focus Groups That Pay For Your Opinions
User Interviews
The User Interviews website promotes itself as a simple, easy navigate, site for users to find research studies. When visiting the site, you will have access to a list of research studies, including the estimated time to complete them and the approximate payout. The estimated times to complete each study vary, taking anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour. The payouts for the research studies vary much more than the time estimates, ranging from $25-500 payouts, depending on the amount of time the surveyor must put towards the study, as well as the type of study.
Surveyors are required to make a profile in order to begin applying to studies on the User Interviews website but, the process of creating your profile is relatively quick and easy. On the main page of the website, each study will list which platform it is hosted over, so you’ll know whether you should be expecting a phone call from a research study in the future.
When surveyors apply to be a part of a study on User Interviews, they fill out a short survey, which is typically compiled of questions selected by the study program. When a surveyor is completed with their short survey they wait to see if an interviewer reaches out to progress further with the study. Researchers may reach out to their surveyors via email, message, or phone.
I, the market research participant, received a call back from a User Interview researcher and spoke to him for about twenty-five minutes about a mobile game I had experience playing in the past. It was a paid market research and I was paid for my time and the process of the interview with the researcher was very laid-back.
Mindswarms
Mindswarms is a video consumer research study platform. The sign-up process was relatively quick, although, they required a short introduction video in order to begin. The surveys on Mindswarms were also easy to apply for and videos are simple to create and submit.
The pay rate is $50 per study video, which can be recorded via smartphone or webcam, and they typically take ten minutes or less to complete.
Focus Group
Focus Group by Schlesinger, using the domain “focusgroup.com“, is a website for surveyors to share their opinions with researchers and sign up for focus groups to earn money. The sign-up process was made a bit more difficult with the requirement of photo ID verification. Surveyors are offered both over the phone and webcam interviews, allowing them to choose whichever option they prefer. The website was clear and concise, and there were a large variety of market research studies for surveyors to apply to. There are lots of online focus groups that pay for your opinion.
Respondent
The Respondent website was designed for surveyors to help projects and businesses grow. Making a profile was simple by linking it to a social media account, and I was easily able to access all the paid market research online interviews near me. Interviews varied depending on whether the study was remote or in-person, the pay rate is typically based on the time required for the surveyor to complete the research study.
The interviews were easy to navigate but hearing back from researchers wasn’t quite as easy. Otherwise, the website was a great way to connect with upcoming projects and add to your rainy-day fund by helping businesses in local areas grow.
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie wasn’t a website with high payout surveys and considered as one of the best-paid online focus groups, but it had a large variety of survey options for surveyors to choose from. Creating a profile was simple and Survey Junkie provided short surveys to match me with relevant surveys on the website. Points received by surveyors are redeemable after reaching a payout of 500 points, or five dollars.
The process of gaining the points to redeem them takes quite a few surveys, and some take longer than the estimated time frame, but it isn’t a difficult task to complete a few, or more, a day. Overall, the website was easy to use, and the payout is easily redeemable with a bit of work.
Find Focus Groups
On FindFocusGroups.com surveyors can access a list of paid research studies near them or simply online paid research. Users on the site can list their own postings, or search by state, and even specific cities near them, for open research groups. Basic information is shared about each listing, including the required criteria and payout from completing the study. Surveyors can apply to research studies for money and wait for a call or email if the researcher is interested in including the surveyor in their study. The website had a variety of research groups to join and pay ratings ranged from $80-$200 per study.
PingPong
PingPong was designed for surveyors to help startups build their products by giving their opinions on various products and services. PingPong pays in Euros, but they accept surveyors from all around the world for their remote make money market research studies. Unlike other sites, PingPong doesn’t show a list of research studies to surveyors on the site. Instead, they allow the researchers to choose their surveyors directly by sending them research invitations.
This saves surveyors the time of having to apply to the research studies one by one and wait for a call or message from a researcher. The site also offers surveyors a bonus for referring friends to PingPong, which is an extra reason for you and your friends to sign up.
Experience Dynamics
Experience Dynamics is a website where surveyors can sign-up which adds their name to the participant list. Participating surveyors will receive a call or email if a researcher believes they may be a right fit for a research study. The pay rates range from $50-$150 for the studies and there are a variety of different types of studies hosted on the Experience Dynamic website. It was a simple sign-up process and very convenient to avoid applying for studies individually.
American Consumer Opinion
Another great online focus groups that pay is American Consumer Opinion, using the domain name “acop.com”, which is a website for surveyors to shares their ideas and opinions by taking various surveys. Signing up is a bit more tedious than other survey websites and email verification is required to begin completing surveys on the site. Surveys are picked based on criteria and shown on the American Consumer Opinion account profile when the surveyor meets the required criteria for the study. The pay rate ranges from .5 to .50 cents per survey. Points are redeemable as a money reward when the user reaches one thousand points.
Focus Forward
Focus Forward by Survey Squad is a website where surveyors can take surveys based on a variety of different topics, services, and lifestyles. A basic profile survey is taken to gather criteria, then surveyors may begin taking surveys on the Focus Forward platform which are described and listed in the left-hand column of the homepage. Surveyors may redeem a check after receiving 20,000 points from surveyors on the site, they may also choose to donate their earned points to a listed charity in the “Rewards” section of the website.
Survey Feeds
Survey Feeds is a small and simple website that displays online studies that pay. Pay rates for the studies ranged from $25-$200 per study, but the survey options on the website were sparse. Survey Feeds also allows users to submit their profile, which is a quick process, so that they may get into contact with you if a researcher feels you meet the criteria for their study.
Plaza Research
Another of our online focus groups that pay is Plaza Research. Plaza Research has several research facilities across the country and hosts research studies online and via phone call. The pay rate for surveys is $40-$150 for each study and users can easily sign-up to join the panel of participants on the website. Researchers on Plaza Research target a wide audience with a large variety of different research studies.
WatchLab
WatchLab is a quick and simple website where surveyors can sign-up to participate in research studies. Upon signing up, surveyors will be able to receive text message alerts when they can be a part of a research study. All new users are entered into a quarterly drawing for a chance to win $100. Pay rates vary based on the type of research study and the time required to complete the study.
WatchLab has a couple of locations, Chicago and San Francisco, which may host more in-person focus groups or studies. They also offer online studies for remote locations and the surveyor’s payment is typically deposited into their account within two weeks.
Probe Market Research
Probe Market Research, domain “probemarket.com“, is a website for surveyors to review products and services in order to earn money. These reviews provide researchers with the information needed to improve and grow their business ideas. Signing up was a relatively easy process, but users are required to provide a decent amount of information about themselves and their lifestyle in order to match them to studies. The website mainly features product trials and research studies, pay rates ranged widely from $35-$300 per study.
SIS International
The last of our online focus groups that pay is SIS International is a basic website for users to find surveys and focus groups to participate in. Registration is not required to apply to the research studies on SIS International, which was convenient. There was a wide variety of focus groups to choose from and the pay rate ranged from $50-$350 depending on the study and time required to complete the research study.
Pros and Cons of Online Focus Groups That Pay For Your Opinions
Pros:
- It’s pretty easy to work. No hard labor and you don’t have to get dirty doing it.
- You can work from home, from the library, or wherever you have a laptop and an internet connection.
- You can set your own schedule. No one will ask you to punch a clock in order to join online focus groups that pay for your opinion.
Cons:
- Opportunity cost. Like with any side hustle, doing online focus groups that pay takes time. Are there ways you could better spend your time?
- Low earnings potential. I said they’re “online focus groups that pay,” not “online focus groups that pay a lot!” You’ll make a few dollars, and if you get good at it, you might be able to make some decent extra money, but for the time you’ll put in, the return is pretty small.
Q&A
“Are online focus groups legit?”
Yes and no. There are a lot of real, profitable online focus groups for users to participate in, but they’re sometimes hard to find among some of the less reputable focus groups found online. Websites that require more information to sign up are typically the sites that will match you with relevant and rewarding groups.
“What happens in an online focus group?”
Users who are participating in online focus groups may be asked to join online group sessions or interviews, answer questions, or even play games.
“Where can I find online focus groups to join?”
Several universities in the country run in-person and online focus groups which users can join based off criteria. There are also several reputable websites where participants can find and apply to be a part of further online groups.
Conclusion
If you are persistent and open-minded, you might be able to find one of the online focus groups that pay you for your opinion, too! Have you ever tried one of these online focus groups that pay? I’d love to hear about your experiences! Please comment on online focus groups that pay below!
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