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Online Focus Groups: 26 Paid Research Companies that Pay Up to $250 an Hour for Your Opinion

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.

Earn $50-150/hr, with thousands of new studies added each month.

Earn an average of $75 per project, and get notified of upcoming studies you may qualify for.

Patients and caregivers can earn $120/hour while helping advance medical research.

1. User Interviews

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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.

User Interviews is a legit facilitator of online (and in-person) consumer research studies. Participants can get paid (generally $50-150/hr) to share their opinion and shape future products and services. While this won’t replace your day job, it can be a nice supplemental income.

• One of the best-paying survey companies I've found.
• Easy to sign-up.
• Lots of new studies added every week.
• Can be difficult to get selected.

Click here to join User Interviews .

Or check out our full User Interviews review .

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.)

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.

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 .

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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.

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.

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.

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

• Los Angeles (Orange County)
• Minneapolis
• San Francisco

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.

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.

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

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

I recently earned $250 for a 1-hour call about business banking!

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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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 has 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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.
• 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.
• Adler Weiner Research – In-person studies in Chicagoland and Southern California, plus remote studies nationwide.
• Advanced Focus – Hosts market research panels and focus groups in New York City.
• Nichols Research – Get paid to participate in in-person focus groups, primarily in Northern California.
• Herron Associates — In-person studies in Indianapolis, IN and Tampa, FL.
• PrizeRebel – Earn $10-12 an hour doing surveys or completing other tasks. (Just avoid the low-paying ones.)

As with any side hustle, there’s an opportunity cost. As in, what else could you be doing with your time?

I encourage you to check out our monster list of side hustle ideas , but here are a few that are similarly flexible.

Become a Bookkeeper

One of the first jobs that many companies hire out is “someone to keep the books.” If you have experience in this field, or just love numbers, becoming a remote bookkeeper could way to make extra money.

Most businesses don’t need a full-time bookkeeper so they’re open to hiring someone part-time. Most virtual bookkeepers charge $100-300 per client per month.

Network with business owners locally or online and let them know about your service. It might make sense to check out this  free training on how to start a remote bookkeeping business .

Alternative Investments

If you’re after passive income , you might consider adding some alternative investments .

For example,  Fundrise  allows you to invest in professionally-vetted commercial real estate. This spreads your risk around with properties in multiple geographical locations–and minimums as low as $10 .

Disclosure: I’ve been a Fundrise investor since 2015, and earn a commission when you join through my referral link. Opinions are my own.

Resell Furniture Returns

Reselling furniture returns is a unique low-risk side hustle .

How it works is you join Sharetown as a local “reverse logistics” rep. Sharetown partners with direct-to-consumer mattress and furniture brands to handle their return requests.

When customers decide they don’t want to keep the item, you’ll get dispatched to go pick it up. After that, you’ll:

• clean it up
• photograph it
• list it for resale on sites like Facebook Marketplace

The Sharetown reps I’ve connected with target $150-250 per flip — and, importantly — you don’t have to pay Sharetown for the inventory until the item sells.

Check out my full Sharetown review to learn more.

Sharetown reps make money by reselling gently-used furniture and bed-in-a-box mattresses. Top reps earn $4000+ per month.

• Low startup costs
• Great earning power
• No hunting for inventory
• Requires a truck or SUV
• Bulky items to store
• Not available in all areas

Mobile Notary Service

Becoming a mobile notary loan signing agent is one of the most popular gigs among the Side Hustle Nation community. The flexible, part-time side hustle involves walking new homeowners through their stack of mortgage documents.

Appointments typically take around an hour and pay $75-150.

One big drawback to focus groups or online surveys is you’re limited in how much you can earn. It’s a great side hustle, but it’ll never be a full-time income.

Focus groups or paid research studies won’t pay your mortgage, but one or two a month will definitely help build your side hustle snowball .

Have you had any success in landing paid focus group studies? What do you think of this little supplemental side hustle?

Let me know in the comments below!

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Is there such thing as an online focus group?

Yes! Several companies facilitate online consumer research focus groups, which is great because that means you can earn money from the comfort of your home or office. Check out our full list to learn more.

How much do focus groups pay?

The pay for focus groups depends on how long the session lasts. Most commonly, you’ll find rates average around $100 an hour.

Where can I find legit paid focus groups?

Companies like Respondent, Fieldwork, and FocusGroup.com are all legit facilitators of paid focus groups. Or, for the best results, you might try an aggregator service like FindFocusGroups.com, which pools together focus group opportunities from several sources. Be sure to check the list of providers on Side Hustle Nation as well.

How do online focus groups work?

Online focus groups work either via conference call or more commonly, through a group video chat to more closely mimic the in-person experience. A moderator will lead the group discussion and participants can chime in through their webcam and computer microphone or phone line.

********* Stock photo  by Akhenaton Images via Shutterstock

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About the Author

Nick Loper is a side hustle expert who loves helping people earn more money and start businesses they care about. He hosts the award-winning Side Hustle Show, where he's interviewed over 500 successful entrepreneurs, and is the bestselling author of Buy Buttons , The Side Hustle , and $1,000 100 Ways .

His work has been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Forbes, TIME, Newsweek, Business Insider, MSN, Yahoo Finance, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Financial Times, Bankrate, Hubspot, Ahrefs, Shopify, Investopedia, VICE, Vox, Mashable, ChooseFI, Bigger Pockets, The Penny Hoarder, GoBankingRates, and more.

58 thoughts on “Online Focus Groups: 26 Paid Research Companies that Pay Up to $250 an Hour for Your Opinion”

Nice job, Nick! I have only ever been able to score low paying “mystery shopper” gigs. I get a free meal and $15 or $20 for my trouble. It usually takes about an hour, so am making $15 – $20 per hour. I have repeatedly mystery shopped a “Roy Rogers” restaurant that is on the NYS thruway. Almost every time I have had to travel to or from my daughter’s college campus I have been able to get a free meal, $10 or $15, and a portion of my tolls paid. I wouldn’t make the effort except that I am already driving by and there is a good chance that I would need a bathroom break anyway. Everybody wins. :>) I will be checking on a couple of the sites you provided to see if there is anything I qualify for.

Thanks Kevin. I’ve been half-heartedly attempting to find a mystery shopping expert to school me on how it really works :)

Hi Nick – If you are still reading these comments, I hope you will remove User Interviews from your list. After reading your article, I applied with them and was excited at first, but they have a serious flaw. They do not screen what the companies post for the surveys. First you have to take a questionnaire to see if you will be selected for the survey. Time after time you spend time answering the flawed questionnaire, and then not being selected, probably because of being forced to complete an answer that is not correct. Here’s an example that I just sent to Tabitha at User Interviews:

“I was applying for the Medical Injectibles survey, and the first several questions went well. Then there was the question “Do you care for a child with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis?” with the options of yes or no. I checked no, and I cannot imagine there are vast numbers of people who would have been able to check yes.

The next question was required, and it asked for the age of the person I care for, and had a box, also required, asking for the required medications.

Why was I prompted with that question when I had answered no?”

So that was yet another questionnaire that was flawed that completely wasted my time because I could not proceed. I have asked them to remove me from all further communication as I want nothing to do with them anymore, and I honestly don’t think you should be recommending them.

Hmm sorry for the trouble, Balinda. I agree, their conditional logic on the screener surveys could be better — or they could just advance to a “thanks but you’re not a fit” page. When those types of funky follow-up questions happen for me, I just back out and go back to the list since it’s clear I’m not going to qualify.

Nick, this list is AWESOME! I’ve been using User Interviews for about a month and a half and it seems like I hardly ever get selected for any of the surveys. In fact, I’ve only been selected for 1 so far (which literally took 10 minutes and I got a $30 Amazon gift card) and the second one I got approved for, by the time I got around to actually confirming my spot that evening, it was already fully booked up! I’m wondering with all the different options available if it would be feasible to make some decent side money – assuming the time commitment doesn’t get overwhelming. I’m gonna dig into this a little I think and see what I can come up with.

Hey Kyle, I hope you found some good “side jobs.” You mentioned that you used user interviews and only got 1 job. I’m so surprised by that. I have been using them for a few months and I have made a good bit of money. I had a 20 minute telephone survey and was paid $150! I had another that was in person. They came to my apt (they originally said to see my wardrobe in closet, but never did) they interviewed me on camera for about 10-15 minutes and then we went to a clothing store! They asked me if I liked the store, clothes, etc. In all I was with them about an hour. I got $350! I could have made another $100 for doing “homework,” but I was too busy. That’s just 2 of jobs I had from them. Anyway, I just wanted you to know, bcuz you should keep trying with them. I plan on hitting all these new ones, thanks to Nick! Good Luck!

It’s funny you bring this topic up. I LITERALLY started signing up for focus groups last Monday (going on two weeks) and I’ve already made $650. Most have came from respondent. I also signed up for the Reddit r/paidstudy group as well as the cool work ideas.com FB which posts multiple studies a day. I’m loving it so far!

Hi Nick, I’ve been using ACOP for a few years now it does take a long time to gather up money. I usually wait till I get up around $50 or so to cash in. The problem I find is it takes two to three months for it to show up in my Pay Pal account, very slow turn around.

Nick, I’ve been doing these for several years. I probably average about $1,000 per year doing these. This a great comprehensive list!

I tried Mindswarms. I had no trouble creating a profile video (though it really does not flatter me, nor had I trouble applying for studies. However, I have been on there for over a month, and I have been rejected for every. Single. Study. Besides that, they do not ever bother telling me, or giving me helpful suggestions. Their FAQ section is so useless as to be counterproductive. And I suspect that my mind and my interests are not average enough to make Mindswarms (or online studies/surveys in general) worth my while.

Here is a good rule of thumb: if you prefer the musical works of Vasily Kalinnikov (or just know who Vasily Kalinnikov was) over “Lady” Gaga, do not bother with surveys. Only the most average individuals with the most average minds can succeed with this rubbish. Or so my experiences would indicate.

Actually, the opposite is true. just regular surveys do kind of suck. However, the focus groups and interviews and so forth, all the ones that I’ve actually gotten into have been because I’m weird or different. That’s why so many people get declined. They look for people who don’t conform, mostly because they’re looking for new and innovative ideas. Why would you research the monotonous and mundane?

Thanks so much for the information. I signed up on Respondent today and have a 71% match on 1 survey. We’ll see how it goes.

I just tried to sign up with Respondent, and probably I’m the only one in the world with this problem of not having any social media sites. They want to verify your work on LinkedIn or your FB profile. I don’t have a FB account nor do I have a LinkedIn account. I know, I must be living in a cave, but the work I do does not allow me to use social media. What to do? I guess Respondent is out. Bummer.

This is pretty much the same for me too, Shari. Even if I had an account on social media I would only have my family and close friends on it. I wouldn’t want to give some site access. I also ran into one (can’t remember the name) where they wanted you to upload a video of yourself in order to get the surveys. I am also not comfortable with that. I’ve signed up with all that was listed above. We’ll see how it goes. Good luck to you!

Since I haven’t seen it noted in the comments or main blog anywhere I just wanted to put it out there that technically if you make over $600 with any single company like this they are supposed to issue a 1099 for your payouts. Normally if you accumulate that much over a year they may not bother BUT I was lucky enough to get into a study that paid $875 which immediately put me over that threshold. So then they issued a 1099 for all my earnings from them in that year. That hurt at tax time. This year I’m going to spread it out over as many companies as I can to hopefull get a lot but no single one over $600. And if you are lucky enough to get into a single high paying study, keep the tax implication in mind.

Very nice blog post. Thanks for sharing. On respondent I made $30 today. Not bad!

Thanks Nick, this list is AWESOME! I’ve been doing surveys and focus groups for about a year. I’ve had some great paying, easy jobs. I’ve also spent, what felt like like forever, time trying to qualify for them to no avail. However, from my experience, I can definitely say not to give up! Surveys are time consuming with little pay, for the most part. Focus groups, interviews, etc., is where the money is! I have been looking for more sites and you just gave me a bunch! I am gonna try them all! Keep the info coming! Thanks again!

I’m wondering if the earning need to be claimed on our taxes? Is there a record that we are being paid? Do these companies ask for any personal information? Thanks

Try Jackson/Adept in Los Angeles. They have a Beverly Hills and Encino location.

Here are Metro Detroit Focus Groups and my reviews of them

Morpace Inc. 31700 Middlebelt Road Suite 200 Farmington Hills, MI 48334 Phone: (248) 737-5300 http://www.morpace.com Pays $80-$250 Focus Group Surveys (In Person). If they over fill the group which happened to me on one occassion then you get paid instantly without doing the survey. They pay by check or cash after the 1-2 hour in person survey. They offer surveys 1-2 times a year.

Shifrin Hayworth 26400 Lahser Rd #430, Southfield, MI 48033 Phone: (248) 223-0020 https://www.shifrin-hayworth.com/ Pays $50-$300 Focus Group Surveys (In Person). They pay by check or cash in person after the 1-2 hour survey. They offer surveys about 1-2 times a year.

I recently learned that you can only participate in 1 survey every 6 months which is why after being asked if you’ve done one recently you get disqualified.

I just did a study for them last week. They promised a $200 virtual gift card within 48 hours but it’s been a week and still nothing. They’ve stopped answering my emails and I can’t find a phone number for them, which seems pretty shady.

Did they ever get back to you/pay you?

So I have had really good luck with a lot of these companies you listed. I am a stay at home mom have been looking into all this and actively participating for about 6 weeks and made over 3000 dollars I have made 630 dollars on users interviews, 585 on respondents, 310 on user testing, 270 on validately usability studies , 250 on 20/20 panel, about 140 on intellizoom/ what users do Usability studies, 90 dollars on TrymyUI, and 50 on ping pong research. I have also made 375 dolars from focus point global. plus more companies that i got under 20 each from so there is money to be made here if you invest the time. I have done one on one studies with a web cam, phone interviews, product testing (shampoos, and even new cereal), online diary studies (usually about things you eat), and lots of usability studies. the key is knowing how to answer the screener questions. Thank you so much for your list I am going to check out the companies I have not uses yet

Whoa that’s awesome Casondra – thanks for sharing!

Hi Nick-I just found this post and thank you for “heads up”… I’m writing to share with you two top performers here in Seattle for in-person focus groups. In-Sight Space and Fieldwork / Seattle.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have had a few gigs with each of these company’s who conduct only focus groups. Most of the time the pay is cash on the spot and the groups range from 45 minutes to 2 hours. These two company’s have frequent remarkably high-paying gigs. It’s fairly common to attend a 90 minute focus group that pays anywhere from 150.00 – 350.00. On occasion I’ve landed one of their mock jury groups, sometimes held at one of Seattle’s finest hotels and lasts close to 8 hours. These mock jury groups have paid me between 300.00 to 550.00 for the gig and always provide a catered breakfast and lunch. Again, thanks for sharing your information and I hope you’re able to use my information and experience to help others.

Sincerely, Jason B.

Nice, Jason — thanks for sharing!

I’m registered with two companies for focus group and mock jury participation. I’ve done both and found them enjoyable and worthwhile. Usually payment was cash. One time it was a VISA gift card. The mock juries required more hours than the focus groups. One was Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Saturday evening. My experience has been food and beverages were provided when the event was more than 3 hours.

Participants were usually limited to one event in 6 months.

I’ve seen a large dropoff in opportunities since I reached a certain age. Sigh.

Very occasionally the local newspaper has a classified ad for focus group participants.

I need the mock jury site

Ok…I see several people are interested in Mystery Shopping so I thought I’d share a little info. I have done a lot of mystery shopping in the past and love it. Not amazing money but interesting and I enjoyed it. So…here are a few sites to start with…I hope this is OK…I see a few people said they would send information, but a lot of others requested info and I don’t know if they got what they needed. I hope this helps. So…first… this is the official website of the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association…it has a ton of good info and resources https://www.mspa-global.org/index.html Work available always depends on the type of job you are interested in and where you are located so the best companies to work with will vary for different people. Here are some other resources that may help… https://www.mysteryshopperjobfinder.com/members/resources/mspa-interview/ https://www.mysteryshopforum.com/ https://www.mysteryshoppermagazine.com/?source=forum-top-discussions and last but not least… https://www.shadowshopper.com Shadow Shopper…the first thing that pops up when you google Shadow Shopper will be scam alerts. I’m here to tell you it is not a scam. I have used them for years off and on. They do have a fee option, and to get anywhere, you probably will want to use it at least for a short time. But a lot of job boards charge a small fee. Basically it is where companies post work that they need to get done and shoppers go to find work. It’s a great way to see what is available in your area and skill set and interest and sign up with those companies offering that work. You can go out on your own and start just looking into shopping sites, but that sign up processing can be lengthy and if you pick one that doesn’t offer work in your area or jobs you want, you have wasted time and effort. Once you sign up with a few companies that you’ve found on Shadow Shopper, move on until you want to look for more. No need to keep your subscription if you have the work your want. Just my suggestion, but it has landed me several really good opportunities. One lasted years and was around made me around $2000/yr. Oh…and if you are wanting a list of companies…go here… it’s a tedious process to choose, but it’s an option… https://www.mysteryshopforum.com/companies/ Good luck and enjoy :)

Thank you Anna!

I’ve used Focus Pointe Global and Schlesinger in the Boston area for years. I’ve made really good money with them ($75-200 per session). People seem to over-estimate how difficult this all is. Sign up in the database, fill out a survey if you get an e-mail, if you pre-qualify for a study they call you to screen you again, you either qualify or you don’t on that phone call. If you’re picked, you go to their office and sit with the other people picked and just give your opinion for about 90 minutes. The hardest part for me is fighting traffic to get to the office in the city. These focus groups have been a lifesaver for me in periods of unemployment.

Will you get called every week about a survey? No, you definitely won’t, maybe not every month either. But if you sign up with 5-10 companies your chances of getting picked go up. And I agree that sites like Swagbucks are more or less a waste of time. It’s very small money.

Everyone is asking: How do I join? You have to go to the companies website and sign up for the panel (“Join the Panel”) and then wait. Also, the bigger companies post surveys on their Facebook pages so sign up for their notifications.

I do the best with Respondent, User Interviews and UTest.com. Also check out Affectiva’s job listings if you’re in the Boston area. I’ve made a lot helping to test out their automotive AI.

I have been doing focus groups online for prob 3 years or so. I have done a lot of them with watchlab and user interviews. Also accelerant research is a good one. Field work is another I’ve done them with. I’m sure there is more that I’ve used but i gotta tell u that these have been a life saver for me at times. I most recently did one that paid $400 which is the most I’ve made. I am signed up and in the databases of all that u listed plus a few others like accelerant research. Oh yeah another great place is Elliot Benson research.

Thanks for sharing Shelley!

you might try Mturk if you money to pay…

Great job on this article! I’ve been doing focus groups for many years. Probably made about $2,000 or so altogether.

I’d also recommend instapanel. I’ve been using them for several years to complete video surveys. They pay $20 for about 5-10 minutes of work. Here’s a link: https://instapanel.com/ .

I work for one of the market research companies that hire these focus group facilities/recruiters to get us the research we need. For in person focus groups (in facility) you can expect to get paid around $100 per hour, and more expensive if you’re in a specialty group (certain ailments, professionals such as tech). For online focus groups they run around $75 per hour.

If you want to know the panels to join around your area to join focus groups, I’d recommend going on Green Book (for research) and search on recruiters or facility around your neighborhood. This is where researchers go to find panels to do research with and you’ll get more opportunities with the facilities/recruiters there.

I don’t recommend online surveys bc you might terminate out of many surveys before you complete one and they won’t pay you more than $5 for one, and that’s on the rare end. Hope this helps!

Appreciate the insight — thanks Michelle!

I love love love all the great information I just obtained by reading your blog. OMG ! If anyone has any leads for Indiana specifically please let me know. I know of Herron Associates does a lot of research focus groups. Just go to their website and sign up. Ive done a few for them in the past and made anywhere from $50-150 for about an hour or so in person focus group. I think those are great and very interesting. If anyone wants to contact me to give me some tips on the mystery shopping I’d greatly appreciate it. TIA ( Thanks in Advance) Carrie

Thanks a bunch for the informative post! I signed up for several of the ones you have on this list and already got selected for a study. Just curious – most of the prescreen questions ask if you’ve recently participated in a study. If you have (I’ll fall into this bucket once I complete the study I just got picked for), does that greatly reduce your chances of being selected for another one?

Hi, are any of these open to people under 18?

All clinical trials are for ages 18-99.

Amalia, I apologize. I read your question to quickly & transposed the numbers. I thought you said 81.I’m rarely asked to prove my age, but they may have some way of checking. Product reviews are open to 16+, I believe. I’ve never had to show my ID online, only when I do things in person. Obviously medical care you’d show your ID.

Withpower.com is a great website to checkout medical trials. There are all sorts & bonus if you need medical care & don’t have the money to pay for it. Some just monitor or interview you…all the way up to getting medicated treatment for your condition. I even saw dental work on there.

Every clinical research compensated me for my time & travel. It’s always paid out very well for me & it’s definitely worth the time. I got $365 for downloading an app on my phone that I recorded how long I slept the night before.They sent a little survey with 4 questions every day to the app & I told them what time I went to bed, did I wake up during the night, how long did it take me to get back to sleep, and what time I woke up. I got paid in intervals at week 2, 6, 10, & 14. Super easy money.

I’m on #4 of this list now. User interviews has been fair to me. I’ve seen product reviews, online, and focus groups on there. If they let you know that you are qualified, act quickly!

Clinical research & focus groups are my favorite. I used to like doing product reviews & I still do. But once you really start getting into it, the rewards get better & better. Thank you so much, Nick. Yes, I referred you when signing up. You deserve it.

Hi Nick, this is a great job.

Many of these websites do not authorize participants from Nigeria and Africa. They have country-based restrictions. It sucks.

I have a master’s degree in business administration. I have a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. I have a postgraduate diploma in economics, a postgraduate diploma in education and a professional diploma in early childhood education. I have a CEFR Level C1 in IELTS exam. I have done some surveys in my country, Nigeria and I performed well.

What survey sites do you recommend that do not have country-based restrictions? I am really curious Nick.

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18 Best Places to Take Paid Online Surveys (Up to $50/hr)

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The content on DollarSprout includes links to our advertising partners. When you read our content and click on one of our partners’ links, and then decide to complete an offer — whether it’s downloading an app, opening an account, or some other action — we may earn a commission from that advertiser, at no extra cost to you.

Our ultimate goal is to educate and inform, not lure you into signing up for certain offers. Compensation from our partners may impact what products we cover and where they appear on the site, but does not have any impact on the objectivity of our reviews or advice.

Surveys offer a legitimate way to earn money on the side. Here are the best sites and a few tips so you can make the most of your time.

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• Online Surveys

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Taking paid surveys online is an easy task you can do to earn money in your spare time.

Survey companies work with businesses that need feedback about new ideas or products before they hit the market. Survey takers earn cash for answering questions that will help brands improve their products.

Filling out surveys for cash can be worth your time if you sign up for the right survey sites and implement a few helpful tips.

All you need is an internet connection and a computer or mobile device to get started.

Best Sites to Take Paid Surveys

Registering with too many companies can lead to contact overwhelm, making it difficult for you to find the best opportunities. Rather than sifting through the myriad of options, stick with the ones that fit your demographics and availability. 

1. Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys holds a 4.1 out of 5-star rating with Trustpilot with over 82,000 user reviews. The parent company, Branded Research, has been conducting market research since 2012.

When you register as a new member , you’ll earn 50 points, then another 50 points will be credited to your account after filling out your profile (a $1 sign up bonus in total).

Once your account is created, you can immediately start taking surveys, which can be worth up to $5 each. After you reach 500 points (equal to $5 USD), you can cash out your earnings in your local currency (USD, CAD, GBP).

Branded Surveys’ loyalty program, Branded Elite, offers the opportunity for anyone to earn bonus points on a weekly basis. You can increase your bonus amount by advancing through Bronze, Silver, and Gold tiers. To advance, you must complete a certain number of approved surveys, and your bonus is based on your badge level.

I earned $7.41 and nearly reached the Silver badge tier within the first 2 hours of using the platform. 

Additional ways to collect Branded Survey points include inviting friends to join, taking the daily poll, ranking on the leaderboard, and being randomly selected for up to 1,000 points. Learn more about my experience in our Branded Surveys review .

• Where it’s available: United States, Canada, and the UK
• Age requirements: 16+ years old
• Average earnings: $0.50 to $3 per survey
• Payment method: Branded Pay (direct deposit in the United States), PayPal cash, gift cards, prepaid Visa card, or charitable donations
• Minimum to cash out: 500 points

   Trust: ★★★★★

   # of Surveys: ★★★★☆

   Compensation: ★★★★★

   Cash out process: ★★★★★

2. Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a paid survey site owned and operated by Prodege, LLC. Perhaps the most popular survey site in the world, it holds a 4.4 rating on the App store with 112,000+ reviews, and a 4.2 rating on Google Play with an additional 139,000 reviews. 

Completed surveys pay between 1 and 350 Swagbucks (also called SBs), depending on the length and topic popularity. For every 100 SBs, you’ll earn an additional $1 that can be redeemed for PayPal cash or gift cards to places like Amazon, Lowe’s, and Target.

New Swagbucks members will receive a $10 signup bonus after spending at least $25 at one of the site’s featured retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart.

Paid online surveys are not the only way to make money with Swagbucks. The company awards its members SBs to shop online, search the web , and watch videos. You can start redeeming your earnings as soon as you reach 100 points.

In three days of passively using the platform, I accrued 256 points — roughly equivalent to $2.56. Over a thirty-day period with a similar effort, I’d expect to earn around $25.

The more SBs you accumulate, the higher the value of the gift card you can redeem. You can unlock more store options and find gift cards to places like Starbucks, Walmart, and iTunes. Learn more about my experience in in our Swagbucks review .

• Where it’s available: Most countries in the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and some areas in Africa
• Age requirements: 13+ years old
• Average earnings: $0.40 to $2 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal cash or gift cards
• Minimum to cash out: $1 in gift cards or $5 in PayPal cash

3. InboxDollars

InboxDollars has been in business since 2006 and was acquired by Prodege, LLC back in 2019. They hold a B rating with the BBB. According to its website, the company has paid more than $80 million to its members.

InboxDollars users accumulate earnings in cash instead of points, which makes it easy to know how much you’ll earn before committing to a task. Most paid opportunities offer a small amount of money, but the more surveys you take, the more you can earn. 

It’s free to sign up and get started with InboxDollars, and you will get a $5 bonus once you activate your account. You’ll then answer a few simple questions about your income, race, education, and other demographic information. This initial screening will help InboxDollars match you with relevant paid surveys.

Other ways you can earn money with InboxDollars include watching video ads , playing games, and shopping online at stores like Target, Walmart, and eBay.

I earned mere pennies playing the games currently available over the course of 30 minutes but brought in $1.50 taking the paid surveys available to me after registering (l earn more about the experience in our InboxDollars review ) .

• Where it’s available: United States, United Kingdom (InboxPounds)
• Age requirements: 18+ years old
• Average earnings: $0.50 to $5.00 per survey and up to $10 and $20 or more for people in certain demographics
• Payment method: PayPal, e-gift cards, prepaid Visa card, charitable donation, or check in the mail
• Minimum to cash out: $15

Trust: ★★★★☆

# of Surveys: ★★★★☆

Compensation: ★★★★☆

Cash out process: ★★★☆☆

4. Ipsos i-Say

Ipsos i-Say is a survey site based in Paris, but it allows users around the world to get paid to take surveys. It has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and a 4.7-star rating on Google Play with over 32,000 reviews.

You can register with Ipsos i-Say by creating an account using either your email address or Facebook account. You’ll then answer some demographic questions so the company can connect you to relevant opportunities. For example, if you’re a new mom, you may see a survey asking about which diapers you use.

After you complete a survey, you’ll earn points. How much you earn varies, but it’s typical to earn between 45 to 90 points per survey, or $0.45 to $0.90. You can also earn up to five points if you’re disqualified from taking a survey. Once you reach 500 points, you can cash out your earnings for PayPal cash, gift cards, or charitable donations. 

I’ve found Ipsos iSay to be one of the more reliable survey providers and consistently hit the $5 per hour threshold in terms of survey earnings. This is among the highest in the industry, especially for a site that only provides surveys and little to no other ways to earn. 

You can learn more about my experience in our Ipsos i-Say in our review . 

• Where it’s available: United States, Canada, Australia, UK, and Singapore 
• Average earnings: $0.45 to $0.90 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal, gift cards, prepaid Visa gift cards, or charitable contribution
• Minimum to cash out: $5

   Trust: ★ ★ ★ ★☆

   # of Surveys: ★★★☆☆

   Compensation: ★★★☆☆

   Cash out process: ★ ★ ★ ★☆

5. LifePoints

Originally known as National Family Opinion, LifePoints has been around since 1946 and has more than 5 million members around the world. Trustpilot gives the company a 4.1 out of 5-star rating based on 38,000 real member reviews.

You can become a member for free and start earning LifePoints by taking online surveys. You’ll get an immediate 10 LifePoints added to your account when you verify your email address and provide basic information like your name, date of birth, and address. Filling out a complete profile will allow you to view and select surveys that fit your demographic.

LifePoints survey topics range from technology to automobiles, to household brands, and more. Some surveys pay up to 600 points, or $5 each, but most opportunities pay between $0.50 and $1 to complete. We share more about the paid opportunities with the company in our LifePoints review .

• Where it’s available: United States, India, South Africa, Mexico, Hong Kong, China, and 35 more countries.
• Average earnings: $0.50 to $1 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal, e-gift cards, or charitable donations
• Minimum to cash out:  $5

   # of Surveys: ★★★★★

   Compensation: ★★★★☆

   Cash out process: ★★★★☆

6. Freecash

More a survey aggregator, Freecash.com is a “get paid to” (GPT) site that partners with several reputable survey providers like Pollfish and Bitlabs, allowing users to make money taking surveys online.

What makes the platform appealing is that surveys are just one of several ways to make an extra — or several hundred — buck(s). Testing apps or websites, signing up for offers, and taking quizzes are but a few of the many other ways users can earn. In fact, they have over 5,000 different offers users can complete to unlock free cash.

New users will earn a free $1 merely for creating an account and verifying their email address, and get to open a “Free Case” for a chance to win $250 more. 

While not all of them will be relevant to you, it’s not uncommon to see some tasks with earnings of $100 or more, assuming the exact criteria or met. 

Learn more in our Freecash review .

• Where it’s available: International users welcome
• Average earnings: $0.10 to $1 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal, bank transfer, gift cards, crypto
• Minimum to cash out: 250 coins ($0.50)

   Trust: ★★★★☆

7. Pinecone Research

After 21 years in business, Pinecone Research has earned a spot among some of the highest-rated paid survey sites. Pinecone Research is owned by The Nielsen Company, which holds a rating of A+ with the BBB.

Pinecone Research members influence future products and services every time they complete an online survey. Each survey pays 300 points, worth $3, and should take only a few minutes, according to the company.

You can also get paid to test new products as a member of Pinecone Research. You’ll be paid between $3 and $5 to complete a short report on each product. You might even be allowed to keep the product after the study is complete.

Pinecone Research is one of the more elite survey sites and limits its members based on demographics. You can apply for membership to see if you qualify.

• Where it’s available: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany
• Average earnings: $3 per survey
• Payment method: A check in the mail, PayPal, or gift cards
• Minimum to cash out:  $1

8. Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is another leader in the survey industry, with a BBB rating of B. The company has been in business since 2011 and serves more than 20 million members.

Survey Junkie is best known for the basics and mainly offers paid survey opportunities. This site tracks earnings in the form of points. Every 100 points equals $1 earned, and it takes a minimum of 500 points (or $5) to cash out via PayPal or with e-gift cards.

The site does offer some users the chance to earn money testing products, participating in online or in-person focus groups , or via phone surveys. It pays between $5 and $150 per task, but that option is extremely limited at this time.

Start making money within five minutes when you sign up and complete your profile . Most of the surveys are fairly easy to complete. You also won’t be forced to sign up for something or buy anything in order to complete a survey.

Our favorite part about the platform is that they award you a nominal number of points even if you’re disqualified from a survey. You won’t earn the full amount displayed, but it’s better than zero return on your time, as is the case with many other survey sites. 

Learn more in our Survey Junkie review .

• Where it’s available: United States, Canada, and Australia
• Payment method: PayPal cash in all countries, or e-gift cards and direct bank transfers in the United States

9. American Consumer Opinion

American Consumer Opinion (ACOP) is owned by Decision Analyst, Inc. which has been in business for more than 41 years. The BBB gives this site an A+ rating.

When you sign up for an account with ACOP, you can start your first paid survey in under two minutes. Your first survey pays five points and includes questions regarding your demographic information like marital status and education level. If there are surveys available, you will see them listed in your account.

ACOP keeps things simple and offers nothing more than surveys for money. The company accumulates your earnings in points, and you’ll need to earn 1,000 points, or $10, to cash out.

• Where it’s available: Worldwide
• Age requirements: 14+ years old
• Average earnings: $0.05 to $0.50 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal cash, Hyperwallet, sweepstakes entry, or a charitable donation
• Minimum to cash out: $10

10. MyPoints

MyPoints, owned by Prodege, LLC, has been in business since 1996, holds a B rating with the BBB, and has paid out more than $236 million to its 10 million members.

With MyPoints , you can take online surveys for money, but the site also has other paid gigs. These include shopping online and in-store, printing and redeeming coupons, watching videos, playing games , and booking travel accommodations. It also gives you five points if you are not qualified to take a survey, with a maximum of 25 disqualification points per day.

All of your earnings through MyPoints accumulate in points. You can claim a $3 gift card once your account reaches 480 points. Or for 15,800 points, you can get a $500 gift card.

Note that points may stretch further depending on where you redeem them. Redeeming points for a prepaid Visa card requires a minimum of 1,500 and is worth 150 points per dollar, or $10.

MyPoints gives $10 Amazon or Visa gift cards to new users. You’ll need to spend $20 or more using MyPoints shopping to redeem this bonus.

• Where it’s available: United States and Canada
• Average earnings: $0.35 to $0.55 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal cash, gift cards, and e-gift cards, or redeem for travel miles
• Minimum to cash out:  $10

Toluna is a market research firm that’s been in business since 1994. It has an A+ BBB rating and a 3.7-star rating on Trustpilot from 10,000 member reviews. 

After you sign up for a free account, you’ll receive a confirmation link in an email that, once you click, will finalize your registration and allow you to start taking surveys. You’ll also earn 500 bonus points just for signing up . 

Each survey Toluna offers is worth between 15 and 50,000 points, depending on the length and time needed to complete the survey. Like other sites, you will have to qualify for surveys. If you don’t qualify, you don’t receive disqualification points. Instead, you’re entered into a sweepstakes. 

The minimum points you need to redeem a reward is 10,000, which lets you plant a tree in Peru, Thailand, or Uganda. For gift card rewards, 30,000 points will get you a $10 gift card to major retailers like Starbucks, Petco, and Kohl’s.

• Where it’s available: 21 countries include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Mexico
• Average earnings: 15 to 50,000 points per survey
• Payment method: Gift cards or sweepstakes entries 
• Minimum to cash out: 10,000 points

   Trust: ★★★☆☆

   Cash out process: ★★★☆☆

12. Survey Club

Survey Club has been around since 2005 and has an A- rating with the BBB. If you sign up as a member, you’ll join more than 16 million other users.

After you become a member and provide your demographic information, Survey Club will connect you with paid studies. It also refers members to other sites like Survey Junkie, LifePoints, and Pinecone Research. Your earnings from surveys hosted by Survey Club are added to your account in cash, and you can cash out when you earn at least $25.

Survey Club also provides paid focus group opportunities. It reports the average earnings of those who participate as $50 to $200 per hour.

• Where it’s available: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia
• Average earnings: $0.10 to $5 per survey
• Payment method: Cash, gift cards, prepaid debit cards, cash sweepstakes, prize drawings, and charitable contributions
• Minimum to cash out: $25

   Cash out process: ★★★ ☆ ☆

13. KashKick

In addition to surveys, KashKick pays users for watching videos, surfing the web, and signing up for deals through the platform.

Surveys are on par with industry standard, with opportunities to earn upwards of $2 per completed questionnaire. Payments are processed every two weeks, and you need at least $10 before you can cash out via PayPal.

The primary complaint from former users is losing earnings for inactivity. If you fail to verify your email address, provide incorrect contact information, or don’t log into your account for 60 days, your account might be deactivated. In this case, any earnings you had will be forfeited.

You can reactivate your account within 60 months, but you can’t get back any previous earnings. KashKick wiped inactive accounts right before processing payments, so be sure to log in regularly and verify your email address so you don’t lose your rewards.

• Where it’s available: United States
• Average earnings: $0.20 to $2 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal (payouts every two weeks)

   Trust: ★ ★ ★☆ ☆

A globally recognized survey site, YouGov allows users to share their opinions on politics, public affairs, products, and brands. Unique for its focus on current events and societal issues, YouGov provides an engaging platform for those interested in influencing decision-makers and contributing to public discourse.

For example, YouGov has had data from dozens of polls shared across massive networks like CBS News, Politico, Yahoo, and more, across a variety of topics. Trump and Biden head-to-head numbers, support for IFV, where Haley voters will fall after her dropout, and the Israel-Hamas war are but a few recent hot-button topics they’ve shared data on. 

Members earn points for completing surveys, which can be redeemed for various rewards, including cash and free gift cards . Earnings vary based on survey length and complexity, with YouGov offering a transparent and straightforward platform for users to voice their opinions and earn rewards. New members get a free 1,500 welcome bonus for signing up. 

• Where it’s available: 75+ Countries ( See list ) 
• Average earnings: $0.50 to $1.50 per survey
• Payment method: Direct deposit or gift cards
• Minimum to cash out: $15 (gift card)

   Trust: ★★ ★★ ☆

   # of Surveys: ★★ ★☆ ☆

15. Crowdtap

Used by more than 2 million members, Crowdtap is a popular paid survey site because it offers more ways to earn than just taking surveys. Member users can also earn points by participating in online discussions, product testing, art and other content submissions, research programs, and more. 

To get started, merely register for a free account . After completing the registration process, you’ll receive an email confirmation. After that, you can begin earning points by taking surveys you qualify for.

Most surveys are worth $0.25 to $0.75, but their homepage suggests you can find surveys for $25, $50, or even more. I recently took surveys for about 90 minutes and earned 1,000 points, good for a $5 gift card, but earnings of just $3.33 per hour. 

That said, one nice thing about Crowdtap is its low minimum withdrawal threshold. Once you reach the minimum threshold of 500 points, you can cash out for e-gift cards to popular retailers. Learn more about my experience in our Crowdtap review . 

• Age requirements: 13+
• Average earnings: $0.25 to $0.75 per survey
• Payment method: E-gift cards 

16. PrizeRebel

Since its debut in 2007, PrizeRebel has paid more than $19 million to its 9 million members.

PrizeRebel’s signup process is quick to complete. You just need to provide your name and email address. After confirming your email address, you can start taking paid online surveys. The first required survey asks for your demographic information and is worth 10 points.

You can cash out when you’ve earned at least 500 points, worth $5. Most surveys pay between 40 and 60 points and can take up to 15 minutes to complete.

PrizeRebel has a unique program that awards members based on the level of earnings. If you earn 4,500 points, you’ll reach Gold level status and receive a 1% bonus to your earnings and a 1% discount on your prize. Platinum level (10,000 points) gets you a 2% bonus and a 2% discount, and Diamond level (16,000 points) gets you a 3% bonus and a 3% discount.

• Where it’s available: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, or Australia
• Age requirements: 16 or 17 years old with parental permission, or 18+ years old without
• Average earnings: $0.40 to $0.60 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal, physical or e-gift cards, or direct deposit into your bank account

17. Opinion Outpost

To get paid to take surveys with Opinion Outpost, you will need to complete the initial screening . You’ll have to answer questions about things like your education level, work status, and the number of children you have. Then you’ll complete a questionnaire based on recent events like whether you’ve taken your pet to the vet or watched a movie in theaters. Opinion Outpost will ask duplicate questions along the way to make sure you’re answering honestly.

Most surveys are worth 3 to 30 points. You can cash out for free Amazon gift cards or $10 iTunes or App Store gift cards, or a $10 PayPal credit. Alternatively, at 30 points you can unlock games on Alawar.com or join the MileagePlus Program to use your points toward travel credits. You’ll need at least 105 points to receive 300 Award Miles.

Opinion Outpost offers some of the highest-paying surveys we’ve found. I recently completed a shopping and retail survey and earned $2.50 in under 30 minutes. The biggest con we’ve discovered is that the number of surveys users are eligible for is lower than that of other paid online survey sites we’ve used. Learn more in our Opinion Outpost review .

On a philanthropic note, every month Opinion Outpost makes a donation to the American Red Cross in honor of the time its users take to complete surveys. Its corporate donation does not impact your points balance, but you can use your points to make a separate donation if you’d like.

• Where it’s available: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Spain, and Germany
• Average earnings: $0.30 to $3 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal, Amazon gift cards, and Apple App Store and iTunes gift cards, UnitedMileagePlus points, gaming credits, or charitable donation
• Minimum to cash out:  $5 for an Amazon gift card or $10 for PayPal

18. Panda Research

Panda Research has paid out more than $2.2 million to its members since 2005. The company is owned by A&A Marketing, Inc. and has a B+ rating with the BBB.

To get started, you’ll need to complete your member profile and confirm your email address. The company also requires a valid phone number to become a member. Then, you can take surveys that pay up to $50 each. You can also earn up to $25 per time you cash out for reading paid emails.

Panda Research pays members with earnings of at least $50 on the 1st and 15th of each month via PayPal. Note that you will only receive your payments in increments of $50, so if you have total earnings of $110, you will be able to cash out $100 and the balance will carry over to a future payment request.

• Average earnings: $0.10 to $50 per survey
• Payment method: PayPal
• Minimum to cash out:  $50

When to Avoid a Survey Site

Although the sites on our list are trustworthy, you can’t trust every site that claims to pay you to take surveys. Avoid survey sites if they:

🚫 Ask for payment. A legitimate survey site will never ask you to pay to join.

🚫 Ask for private information upfront . You should not be asked to provide your Social Security number unless you’ve earned at least $600.

🚫 Have no history or ratings . Well-established companies are more trustworthy. You can read what real users have to say about them and verify their history of payments and available opportunities.

🚫 Pay too little . Legitimate companies will have some higher-paying opportunities worth completing.

🚫 Have a glitchy or outdated site . Companies that don’t take care of their websites may not take care of their members.

🚫 Make it hard to qualify for surveys . Don’t waste time on a company if it consistently disqualifies you for surveys.

Even if the site seems legitimate, if you’re skeptical about it or it spams you with emails, remove yourself from its list. There are enough quality survey-taking opportunities available that you can avoid ones that annoy you or aren’t a good fit.

Related: 6 Common Work-from-Home Scams to Look Out For

Tips for Earning the Most Money

There are a number of things you can do to maximize your earnings when taking surveys for money.

✅ Stick with a few trusted sites. You don’t have to sign up with hundreds of survey sites to earn some cash. Focus on the best, highest-paying options.

✅ Fill out your profile completely. Completing your personal profile on each survey site allows the company to match you with relevant offers. Update your profile if you have a life change, like having a baby, getting a pet, or quitting smoking. You might find yourself eligible for new or different surveys.

✅ Watch the time. Keep track of the time spent completing surveys. You’re not likely to earn a high hourly rate completing easy surveys so, if possible, do surveys when you have small windows of time, like when you’re standing in line to fill a prescription or waiting for a meeting to start.

✅ Answer consistently. Take the time to read each question and respond honestly and consistently across sites. Survey sites compare answers and can disqualify users who appear to be inconsistent in their responses.

✅ Check for free offers. Some survey sites have a “free offers” section where you can earn points for signing up for free trials or newsletters. You can also watch for exclusive bonus opportunities on social media and refer friends to your favorite sites to earn free money or bonus points.

✅ Take the highest-paying surveys first. If you register with multiple websites, you might receive dozens of surveys to choose from. Take a few minutes to estimate your earnings per hour before you start a survey. You may be able to make more by picking the highest-paying opportunities first.

Best Practice for Taking Paid Online Surveys

Even if a survey site is trustworthy, there are still precautions you should take.

• Use a separate email address. Creating a separate email address for survey offers will keep your work and personal inboxes clear of clutter. Plus, if you stop doing surveys, you can stop checking that email account instead of unsubscribing from a bunch of sites.
• Be mindful of what you share. Good survey companies will keep your individual identity a secret. But that doesn’t make it safe to provide them with your Social Security number, driver’s license number, or bank account numbers. Legitimate survey companies do not need this information.
• Use anti-malware software. Anti-malware software can keep your laptop virus-free. If you visit multiple survey sites per day, it’s important to protect your computer from malicious spyware and viruses.
• Take frequent breaks. Completing surveys can be tedious. Take frequent breaks from your screen so that you’re not tempted to rush through surveys and provide wrong or inconsistent answers.
• Fees and false promises. Any survey site that promises you’ll earn thousands per month is either a scam or at least misleading. Make sure the sites you join make realistic statements about your potential earnings and the amount of time it takes to complete surveys. 

Keep Your Expectations Realistic

Paid online surveys are the perfect side hustle for someone looking for an easy gig to do while at home or on the go. If you’re uncomfortable sharing your demographic information or want to earn a high hourly rate, you should consider a different option.

But if you do want to give online surveys a try, be realistic about how much you’ll make. Manage your time wisely so you maximize your earnings, sign up with multiple sites to receive the best opportunities, and research the company before registering.

While there are better ways to make money online , most will require more skill, training, and time than taking surveys for money.

Rating Methodology

With so many options available, it’s hard to know which sites are worth using. We took a look at some of the most popular ones and considered these three important categories to decide which sites to recommend:

1. Track record . Trust was our number one priority when picking a survey site. The best ones maintained a successful history documenting timely payments and positive user reviews.

2. The number of opportunities . When reading reviews of a survey company, we looked for those that mentioned the number of opportunities available. We didn’t want to recommend sites that offer limited opportunities to earn money.

3. Income potential . We tried to get a feel for how well the companies pay for your time. We did that by testing out a few and by reading reviews to see how much they pay.

Related : 20 Money-Making Apps for Earning on the Go

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The 15 Best Sites for Paid Research Studies

Jenni Sisson, Contributor

• Updated September 11, 2023

Paid research studies are somewhat similar to survey sites , but these studies go a lot more in-depth. The marketing company may ask you to keep a diary of your activities for a week or longer, or they may conduct multiple hour-long phone interviews. They’ll also screen your demographic info much more carefully than if you were conducting simple product tests . 

As such, the payout for research studies is much more than for surveys, with between $50 and $100 per hour being common. Read on to find out more about paid research studies, and which ones are worth your time.

Table of Contents

Key Facts About Paid Research Studies

These studies vary in form and topic and sometimes go by different names, like clinical trials, focus groups, shopalongs, user surveys, paid research opportunities and more. In each case, a company or organization hires a market research firm to answer a question. It could be anything from “Which baby food logo do moms prefer?” to “How many Hispanic citizens in Cincinnati have a favorable view of candidate John Doe?” 

The topic of the research determines what kind of study subjects the project requires, so researchers have to gather respondents of specific demographics. If you sign up for the research company’s database and you fit the profile, they will email or call you to participate in the study. In some cases, you can browse research opportunities and apply to the ones you’re most interested in.

Studies can take various forms: an emailed survey, a phone interview, a video chat, an in-person group panel, keeping a diary of certain activities and more. Your honest responses help companies make marketing and product decisions. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you pursue this side hustle:

• You won’t qualify for every study, so plan to apply to a lot of them and with multiple marketing companies.
• Answer honestly. Lie on the surveys and the recruiter will likely ban you from the platform permanently.
• Check your email regularly. Paid research studies are usually time-sensitive, and often the first respondents are rewarded for their punctuality.
• Do your homework. Not every company that claims to do research is legit. Some take your info, “disqualify you” for the study, then sell that info to other companies. Check sites like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Reddit and Trustpilot to sift out the time wasters and bad actors.
• Check their payment terms. Companies pay in gift cards, cash, or via apps like PayPal. The timeframe of when you’ll be paid varies widely between companies, so read the fine print.

We’ve compiled a list of some popular companies that conduct paid research studies. Some are generalists, while some cater to a specific clientele or demographic. 

#1. User Interviews

In our experience, User Interviews offers a very high payout compared to the time spent. During our test, we earned a net rate of $55 per hour . Most of the payments are in the form of Amazon gift cards rather than cash, though there are occasionally PayPal options.

#2. Respondent

Respondent focuses their recruitment on IT/tech employees, CEOs and other industry professionals. They offer hefty compensation for participants, which can rise to as much as $750 per hour (according to their website). Respondent pays in PayPal only and only allows you to apply to three studies per day.

While the payouts for Respondent studies are high, it can be difficult to qualify for them. Professionals in IT and other technology business roles tend to have an easier time. You can only apply to the B2B studies if you link your work email to your Respondent profile.

We only earned $31 per hour in our Respondent testing , but that still makes this one of the highest-paying market research opportunities we’ve discovered. 

A Reddit user who goes by the screen name sauciestcoconut claims to have made over $2,000 with DScout , noting that their key to success is that they “literally apply to almost every single mission that I might qualify for. I skip the ones that obviously don’t relate to me (about kids or certain occupations) but I submit several applications a day.”

#4. Universities

These are the original source of paid research studies, so if you live near a university, they can be a great option to make some extra cash. They can be trickier to locate, as each department will have its own recruitment methods.

There is no central repository for these studies that we could find, but here is a list of a few major institutions to get you started:

• Carnegie Mellon (offers online research opportunities)
• University of Nebraska
• University of Texas
• University of Colorado

To sign up to be part of the pool of research study participants at your local university, do an internet search for the university’s name and “paid research studies.” Many (though not all) research studies are conducted in person.

Here’s another route to find these opportunities: if you live near a medical research university, ask your doctor if they know of any clinical trials going on that you may qualify for.

#5. Fieldwork

Fieldwork offers focus groups in 13 locations around the U.S. If you don’t live near one, you can join their online database. They especially need doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals for their studies.

After you register with their site, an employee will call or email you when you come up as a match for a study’s requirements. They have a good reputation as a legitimate company, but users say it’s imperative that you answer the phone when they call . Otherwise, they’ll move on to the next qualifying person on their list.

#6. U.S. Government Clinical Trials

The federal government is always looking for people to participate in clinical trials of various medications and treatments, many of which are conducted through the National Institutes of Health.

These studies can be a particularly good option if you suffer from a chronic medical condition, as you may gain access to cutting-edge treatments before they’re widely available. And as a general rule, these trials are safe; although they may not produce the results that the researchers are hoping for, researchers don’t conduct trials that they believe have the potential to cause harm. 

You can find a list of ongoing clinical trials at clinicaltrials.gov . This is just a repository for the information; each trial is conducted by a different company, university or organization, and you’ll have to contact each study you’re applying for by phone or email. No compensation information is available on the site, and pay rates vary widely depending on factors such as the required time commitment. 

#7. FocusGroup.com

FocusGroup.com has 16 facilities nationwide where you can participate in face-to-face focus groups and panels. These typically pay well, since there’s more work involved in attending an in-person interview than a phone or internet survey.

This company is now owned by Schlesinger Group (rebranded as SAGO), and the change has caused some operational hiccups. For example, there have been several complaints to the Better Business Bureau of participants not getting paid and receiving poor or no communication from the company. However, most of these issues have reportedly been resolved. 

#8. Rare Patient Voice

Due to the nature of this company’s clientele, it is extremely difficult for them to match people to research studies, as they focus on rare diseases and conditions. That said, if you do qualify (and they list their ongoing studies directly on their site), you are handsomely compensated.

Rare Patient Voice has a good reputation, earning an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau . Most of the complaints from participants are related to delayed payment due to an investigation on whether the participant sped through the questions too quickly to give a thorough review. 

#9. FindFocusGroups.com

This site doesn’t host paid research studies directly; it’s more like Craigslist for vetted, high-paying focus groups. (That means you’ll have to apply to each study individually.) Focus groups are sorted by city and state, but there are nationwide online groups as well.

The interface of the site is filled with ads, so make sure that when you click on a sign-up link you’re signing up for an individual study, not clicking over to a random advertiser (some of whom make their ads looks like study invitations).

The reputation of FindFocusGroups.com is hard to speak to as the site is just a board that posts the focus groups of various companies.

#10. SIS International

As you might guess from the name, SIS International is one of the few companies on this list that is open to participants around the world. Their research covers a broad range of industries — everything from burgers to butane.

Participants seem to like participating in SIS International’s research. The company has five stars on Trustpilot and many complimentary reviews from former study participants. 

#11. Probe Market Research

Probe Market Research has three focuses: consumer studies, business-to-business research and healthcare. It’s a legit company, though some participants complain of late payments and the inconvenience of getting paid in virtual Visa cards , which can only be used online and expire in 90 days. However, the company has four stars on Yelp and most reviews are positive.

#12. Focus Insite

Though they pay well, several Reddit users note that it’s pretty hard to qualify for these studies . Though the reviews aren’t all bad; for example, Redditor stormborn29 said , “Focus Insite sent me a really nice vacuum to test, and I was paid $200 — plus I got to keep the vacuum.” 

Focus Insite does, however, have a few unresolved BBB complaints regarding the lack of payment to participants . They have an active Facebook page, but the reviews on that page look unrelated to market research or surveys. In other words, this research company appears to be legit, but we still recommend proceeding with caution. 

#13. WatchLab

If you’re curious about the latest WatchLab studies, check out their Facebook page . WatchLab’s website is geared toward companies that employ them, not participants, so you’ll get more information on Facebook. Many studies are related to social media use.

This firm is notorious for taking a long time to pay , and they’ve been dinged by many users for not paying at all. They only have 2.5 stars on Yelp (based on 32 reviews), and most of the complaints are due to nonpayment. 

GLG presents a different type of opportunity than most of the other companies on this list. They do research on big purchasing decisions, recruit expert witnesses for trials and more. They keep a list of industry experts in management, law, finance and other professional fields to interview or consult on special cases or niche studies.

“Consultants” usually have years of industry experience, and often have leadership roles. A handful of other companies do this too; AlphaSights, Guidepoint, Third Bridge and Coleman are a few others. 

The screening required to become a consultant for GLG and other high-paying research firms is extensive, as they only want respondents that have specific credentials. To get selected, veterans in this consulting side gig world recommend being very detailed in your LinkedIn profile, as recruiters for these studies rely heavily on the platform to identify potential participants.

Many studies are geared toward mid to senior-level professionals, and if you’re matched with a study, you can make up to $500 per hour or more.

#15. Recruit + Field

Recruit + Field covers the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They have an impressive list of clients, including Apple, Netflix, Clinique, Spotify and more. This company is somewhere between a GLG (looking for experts) and FieldWork (looking for all walks of life plus healthcare professionals), as they recruit in each of these areas.

Their reputation is fairly good; Recruit + Field has an A- rating on BBB (only 4 complaints, all of which have been answered). 

What About Apex Focus Group?

When we tested Apex Focus Group , we found that the platform offers none of its own paid research studies and uses misleading marketing tactics to get users to sign up for its email list. Once opted in, the company sends affiliate marketing messages to your inbox. Some of those messages contain legit focus group opportunities, but they’re the same focus groups you could find on your own — often by visiting the sites listed above.

Paid Research Study Sites: Summary and Final Thoughts

You won’t qualify for every study, and unfortunately, no amount of hard work will change that. (Plus these companies now have layers of checks and AI algorithms to vet cheating and lying, so don’t try that either). 

Because of this, paid research studies fall squarely in the side-hustle-only camp. For the best return, apply to a number of studies you have a good chance of qualifying for, and quickly respond when you get a call or email from the market research company (as many studies are deadline driven). 

Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent looking to make a few bucks during naptime or a senior project manager looking for a good-paying, low-maintenance side gig , paid research studies can be an easy way to make extra money.

Different companies cater to different demographics, and hence, want different research participants. So do your homework on the research company before you sign up to get a better response rate. 

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19 Best Paid Research Studies in 2024

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Table of Contents

Best Paid Research Studies

Online Surveys Top Pick

$0.50 – $5 on average per survey

Surveys length up to 20 minutes

$5 minimum withdrawal

Best for Free Gift Cards

Redeem e-gift cards from $1

Free coupons and daily deals

100+ gift cards available

Great for Earning PayPal Cash

Withdraw to PayPal from $5

Take 3 surveys per day and earn $40 monthly

Bank transfer available

Best for Online Shopping

Up to 10% cashback for shopping

Rewards for playing games

$3 minimum withdrawal

19 Paid Research Studies

Survey junkie.

Survey Junkie Summary

• $0.50-$3 average earnings per survey
• Get 2-3 extra points if you screened out of survey
• Additional ways to earn up to $150
• Install Survey Junkie extension for bonus

Survey Junkie is one of the most well-regarded survey platforms available. You can earn money simply by sharing your honest opinions, which brands can use to improve their products and services. What makes Survey Junkie stand out from other platforms that offer paid research studies is that you can start making money immediately. 

During sign-up, you will need to provide some of your personal details, so Survey Junkie can match your personal profile with research studies and surveys. You can then earn up to $100 per survey or focus group. Nonetheless, high-paying opportunities are rare and most surveys pay $0.50 to $3.

You can redeem your earnings via PayPal or via gift card starting from just $5. Depending on how active you are on the platform, you can stand to earn up to $200 per month.

American Consumer Opinion

American Consumer Opinion Summary

• Easy to understand point system
• Longer surveys can pay up to $50, but most of them pay $0.50 to $2.50 on average
• Product reviews pay up to $200
• Low minimum payout threshold of $10

ACOP, also known as American Consumer Opinion , has accumulated millions of members since it began in 1986. This platform offers some great opportunities to participate in paid research studies . Most shorter surveys will pay you around $0.50 to $2.50, but there is the potential to earn up to $50 with longer studies.

You can redeem your earnings via PayPal starting from just $10. Alternatively, you can donate your points to charity or use your points to enter into sweepstake draws for the chance to win cash or other prizes. 

Ipsos i-Say

i-Say Summary

• You can earn as much as $50 each month
• Earn $1 for each friend you invite
• Low minimum cash out threshold of $5
• Instant cash out for e-gift cards

Ipsos i-Say believes that personal opinions can make a massive difference. This platform has more than three million members who regularly earn rewards from paid research studies conducted via surveys.

On average, you can earn up to 150 points per survey. In addition, one unique feature of the platform compared to other platforms on this list is that you will receive 5 points even if you get screened out of a survey. The platform also features a loyalty program, and you can earn more points per survey the more you take. 

When you accumulate at least 1530 points (worth $15) in your account, you can withdraw your earnings via PayPal .

Note that it can take up to 3 weeks for your earnings to appear in your PayPal account.

Respondent Summary

• Earn up to $700 per hour for your opinion
• Get between $20 to $50 for each referral
• Get paid even if the study is cancelled
• Get paid via PayPal, usually within 5 days

Respondent is a platform that frequently conducts market research through online focus groups and in-person studies.

When you create your Respondent account, you can browse the available studies that you qualify for based on your demographic information. You will also see the number of hours you will need to commit to each study and how much you can earn.

If you are interested in a project, you will need to answer a brief screener questionnaire to determine whether you qualify for it.

How much can you earn with Respondent?

You can earn an average income of $140 per hour by participating in the company’s paid research studies. Respondent charges a relatively low 5% processing fee. Your earnings will usually arrive in your PayPal account within 10 days of completing the study. 

User Interviews

User Interviews Summary

• 4 types of studies you can join to earn
• Over 2k new studies launched each month
• Get a $30 bonus when you refer a friend
• Earn up to $100 per hour for your opinion

User Interviews is a popular platform that organizes online and in-person paid market research studies. In general, study participants can expect to earn $50 to $200 per hour. Depending on the study’s goal, participants could discuss anything from their financial decisions to the types of skincare products they use.

Like most other platforms on this list, you will need to answer a screening survey before each study to determine your eligibility.

Before answering the screening survey, you can see what the research study pays. Thus, you can decide which studies really interest you.

Related: 10 Sites for Phone Surveys

Valued Opinions

Valued Opinions offers paid research studies that pay up to $5 per survey. On average, it takes 15 to 20 minutes to fill out one survey and you may need to complete 2 to 20 surveys to reach the $10 threshold. 

Once you have at least $10 in earnings, you can redeem them for gift cards. You can claim gift cards from Amazon, Target, Macy’s, The Home Depot, and Restaurant.com.

The paid research studies topics typically revolve around:

• Environmental issues
• Blockbuster films
• Fashion trends
• Favorite food

Toluna Influencer

Toluna Influencers is a market research platform that has been around for over 20 years.

Some of the paid market research studies you can earn money by participating in include:

• Focus groups
• Product testing

On average, most opportunities on the platform will reward you with around 100 points. You can also earn more points by referring family and friends. You will get 500 points for each successful referral, up to a maximum of 10 friends per month.

You can redeem your earnings for a $10 PayPal payment.

Related: 9 Highest Paying Survey Sites for Money

Mindswarms is an innovative market research platform that uses video surveys instead of traditional online surveys . Thus, this means that you will have to record yourself answering each question in a survey. Similar to other platforms on this list, you will need to answer some qualifying questions to determine your suitability before each survey.

Each project will have specific instructions that you will need to follow. Typically, you will need to record your answers for up to seven questions. Usually, there is also a set time for you to answer each question. 

Up to $50 can be earned per project. However, shorter surveys typically offer $10 per question. Mindswarm processes payments through PayPal, and generally, the money will be in your account within 1 day of submitting your video recording.

Brand Institute

Brand Institute is a branding company that specializes in the medical industry. Although the company has surveys on various topics, the medical surveys are the best paying. Regular surveys can pay up to $5, whereas medical surveys can pay up to $30. 

To join the platform, you need to complete a simple questionnaire with your basic personal details.

Brand Institute also gives priority to applications from medical professionals such as:

• Pharmacists
• Medical technicians

However, note that the company processes payments quite slowly. Brand Institute only releases payment when surveys close, so you may sometimes need to wait several weeks to receive your payment.

Nonetheless, there is no minimum cash-out threshold, and you can redeem your earnings via PayPal or check. 

Engage Studies

Engage Studies regularly advertises for participants to join the various market research studies that it organizes. The format of the paid research studies hosted by Engage Studies can range from online discussions to in-person focus groups .

To join the platform, you need to provide some personal information. Engage will then review your application, and you will receive an email notification when a suitable study becomes available. 

The topics of research include:

• Electronics
• Food Products
• Medical Conditions
• and many more

You can expect to earn $50 to $250 for your participation, paid via PayPal or check. 

Focus Group

Focus Group Summary

• Many ways to earn money
• Make money online
• Earn $1 to $10 per survey
• Work from home or on the go

As its name suggests, FocusGroup .com conducts paid research studies and online focus groups. 

The company conducts national research studies that can pay between $75 to $200 each. You can participate in research studies over the phone or using a webcam. As with most other platforms, you will need to complete a relatively simple screening survey to qualify for projects.

The research studies conducted by the company can be on any topic ranging from banking and pets to entertainment and beer. As such, you are sure to find the best paid online focus groups that align with your hobbies and interests. 

Related: 20 Places that Offer Paid Research Studies

PingPong is a relatively new online market research company. Unlike most of the other platforms on this list, PingPong does not conduct its studies through surveys. Instead, the platform specializes in website testing for websites and apps. You can test these products and get paid for providing feedback on your user experience. 

On average, you can earn between $45 to $110 per website testing job. Each job usually takes no more than an hour to complete.

Payments are made via PayPal or Wise within 7 days of completing each job. 

Fieldwork is one of the most popular companies that carry out in-person paid research studies in various cities across the USA.

The company has locations in:

• Minneapolis
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco

Typically, most sessions hosted by Fieldwork take around one to two hours to complete. Compensation for participating usually starts from $75. Fieldwork usually pays via Visa gift cards and you will receive your payment on the spot after each study.

WatchLab is a leading company that facilitates all types of focus groups and research studies. The pay varies for each project, although it typically ranges from $100 to $175 for a 1 to 2-hour focus group. 

The company has locations in Chicago and San Francisco, where you can receive on-the-spot payments for joining a focus group. You can also work online, but you will need to wait four to six weeks to receive your payment. 

Related: 28 Online Paid Focus Groups for Money

Probe Market Research

Probe Market Research also regularly conducts research panels for medical professionals, executives, and consumers. You can participate over the phone or online to help researchers gather the data they need.

The company works with major brands and manufacturers, conducting mystery shopping projects, online surveys, product trials, and other paid research studies. 

Focus groups conducted by Probe Market Research typically cost between $50 and $400 and last just a couple of hours.

Survey Feeds

SurveyFeeds isn’t a market research platform itself but provides access to the best paid online focus groups and survey opportunities. The projects are mostly online, but there are some that are conducted physically throughout the US. 

This company frequently updates its website and social media feeds. Thus, you can browse its Facebook page or visit its website to get an idea of the types of paid research studies available. 

The payout for each study can vary, although most studies typically pay between $75 to $300. 

Resolution Research

Resolution Research offers paid research studies in various subjects. After you create your account, you can immediately start participating in opportunities.

Once you have earned at least $10, you can withdraw your earnings via Payoneer or exchange them for gift cards. 

Recruit & Field

Recruit & Field is one of the longest-running platforms on this list and has been conducting paid research studies for over 40 years.

As a participant, you can participate in various types of studies to earn money, such as:

• Online surveys
• Phone interviews

In general, you can expect to earn between $100 to $275 per research study. The company typically pays participants via PayPal, but some studies may offer the option for payment via gift cards. 

Research studies on the platform are open to participants of any age or gender. However, medical professionals such as nurses, doctors, and lab technicians get priority for participation slots.

Carnegie Mellon University Research

If you’re an English speaker over 18 years old and have never joined any studies at this research center, you can join paid research studies at Carnegie Mellon University Research . 

The topics of the studies vary, and can include topics such as:

• Decision making
• Personal beliefs
• Interpersonal perceptions

Online studies typically take 5 to 20 minutes and you’ll earn approximately $8 per hour.

However, the institution does not compensate study participants in cash. Instead, participants will get gift cards as a token of appreciation for their time.

What Is a Paid Research Study?

Companies pay research studies to get honest feedback about their products and services from consumers. Online surveys are one of the most common ways that companies conduct such studies.

In general, paid research studies take the following format:

• A business hires a market research company to get feedback on their product
• The researcher creates a survey or focus group
• Participants answer questions in the survey or focus group anonymously
• The researcher collates the data and presents it to the business
• The business uses the feedback collected to improve their product

What Are the Requirements for Research Studies?

Most studies are designed to gather feedback from a target demographic.

Depending on the goal of the survey, you may need to:

• Be of a certain gender
• Be of a certain race
• Fit into an age range
• Have a specific occupation
• Meet some other criteria

Due to the targeted nature of paid research studies, you will usually be asked to answer some screening questions before each survey. These screening questions identify whether you fit the target demographic of the survey. If you don’t you may be disqualified.

Most platforms offering paid research studies do not provide any compensation if you screen out of a survey. However, there are some platforms that will pay you a small amount even if you do not qualify for a survey, such as Ipsos i-Say .

Do You Get Paid for Research Studies?

Depending on the platform that you join, you could earn up to $100 or more per hour by participating in paid research studies.

For instance, Respondent pays its market research participants one of the highest rates on the market. Research study participants on the platform can earn an average of $140 per hour. Participants from certain in-demand demographics can even earn up to $700 per hour.

Are Focus Groups Safe?

Focus groups are generally safe. However, you need to ensure that you choose a legit platform. As with most industries, some scam companies promise unrealistic pay and usually require you to sign up for something. 

If you choose a legit company, you can rest assured that participating in a focus group is safe and a fun way to earn cash in your spare time. 

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Marketing tips

How to conduct your own market research survey (with example)

After watching a few of those sketches, you can imagine why real-life focus groups tend to be pretty small. Even without any over-the-top personalities involved, it's easy for these groups to go off the rails.

So what happens when you want to collect market research at a larger scale? That's where the market research survey comes in. Market surveys allow you to get just as much valuable information as an in-person interview, without the burden of herding hundreds of rowdy Eagles fans through a product test.

Table of contents:

What is a market research survey?

Market surveys are what's known as "primary research"—that is, information that the researching company gathers firsthand. Secondary research consists of data that another organization gathered and published, which other researchers can then use for their own reports. Primary research is more expensive and time-intensive than secondary research, which is why you should only use market research surveys to obtain information that you can't get anywhere else. 

A market research survey can collect information on your target customers':

Experiences

Preferences, desires, and needs

Values and motivations

The types of information that can usually be found in a secondary source, and therefore aren't good candidates for a market survey, include your target customers':

Demographic data

Consumer spending data

Household size

Why conduct market research?

Here are some examples of how market research surveys can be used to fill a wide range of knowledge gaps for companies:

A B2B software company asks real users in its industry about Kanban board usage to help prioritize their project view change rollout.

A B2C software company asks its target demographic about their mobile browsing habits to help them find features to incorporate into their forthcoming mobile app.

A printing company asks its target demographic about fabric preferences to gauge interest in a premium material option for their apparel lines.

A wholesale food vendor surveys regional restaurant owners to find ideas for seasonal products to offer.

Primary vs. secondary market research

Market surveys are what's known as "primary research"—that is, information that the researching company gathers firsthand. Secondary research consists of data that another organization gathered and published, which other researchers can then use for their own reports. 

Primary research is more expensive and time-intensive than secondary research, which is why you should only use market research surveys to obtain information that you can't get anywhere else. 

If you've exhausted your secondary research options and still have unanswered questions, it's time to start thinking about conducting a market research survey.

6 types of market research survey

Depending on your goal, you'll need different types of market research. Here are six types of market research surveys.

1. Buyer persona research

A buyer persona research survey will help you learn more about things like demographics, household makeup, income and education levels, and lifestyle markers. The more you learn about your existing customers, the more specific you can get in targeting potential customers. You may find that there are more buyer personas within your user base than the ones that you've been targeting.

2. Sales funnel research

With a sales funnel research survey, you can learn about potential customers' main drivers at different stages of the sales funnel. You can also get feedback on how effective different sales strategies are. Use this survey to find out:

How close potential buyers are to making a purchase

What tools and experiences have been most effective in moving prospective customers closer to conversion

3. Customer loyalty research

The demographics of your most loyal customers

What tools are most effective in turning customers into advocates

What you can do to encourage more brand loyalty

4. Branding and marketing research

The Charmin focus group featured in that SNL sketch is an example of branding and marketing research, in which a company looks for feedback on a particular advertising angle to get a sense of whether it will be effective before the company spends money on running the ad at scale. Use this type of survey to find out:

Whether a new advertising angle will do well with existing customers

Whether a campaign will do well with a new customer segment you haven't targeted yet

What types of campaign angles do well with a particular demographic

5. New products or features research

What features they wish your product currently had

What they think of a particular product or feature idea

6. Competitor research

Whether your competitors have found success with a buyer persona you're not targeting

Information about buyers for a product that's similar to one you're thinking about launching

Feedback on what features your competitors' customers wish their version of a product had

How to write and conduct a market research survey

Once you've narrowed down your survey's objectives, you can move forward with designing and running your survey.

Step 1: Write your survey questions

A poorly worded survey, or a survey that uses the wrong question format, can render all of your data moot. If you write a question that results in most respondents answering "none of the above," you haven't learned much. 

Categorical questions

Also known as a nominal question, this question type provides numbers and percentages for easy visualization, like "35% said ABC." It works great for bar graphs and pie charts, but you can't take averages or test correlations with nominal-level data.

Multiple choice: Use this type of question if you need more nuance than a Yes/No answer gives. You can add as many answers as you want, and your respondents can pick only one answer to the question. 

Checkbox: Checkbox questions add the flexibility to select all the answers that apply. Add as many answers as you want, and respondents aren't limited to just one. 

Ordinal questions

This type of question requires survey-takers to pick from options presented in a specific order, like "income of $0-$25K, $26K-$40K, $41K+." Like nominal questions, ordinal questions elicit responses that allow you to analyze counts and percentages, though you can't calculate averages or assess correlations with ordinal-level data.

Dropdown: Responses to ordinal questions can be presented as a dropdown, from which survey-takers can only make one selection. You could use this question type to gather demographic data, like the respondent's country or state of residence. 

Ranking: This is a unique question type that allows respondents to arrange a list of answers in their preferred order, providing feedback on each option in the process. 

Interval/ratio questions

For precise data and advanced analysis, use interval or ratio questions. These can help you calculate more advanced analytics, like averages, test correlations, and run regression models. Interval questions commonly use scales of 1-5 or 1-7, like "Strongly disagree" to "Strongly agree." Ratio questions have a true zero and often ask for numerical inputs (like "How many cups of coffee do you drink per day? ____").

Ranking scale: A ranking scale presents answer choices along an ordered value-based sequence, either using numbers, a like/love scale, a never/always scale, or some other ratio interval. It gives more insight into people's thoughts than a Yes/No question. 

Matrix: Have a lot of interval questions to ask? You can put a number of questions in a list and use the same scale for all of them. It simplifies gathering data about a lot of similar items at once. 

Example : How much do you like the following: oranges, apples, grapes? Hate/Dislike/Ok/Like/Love

Textbox: A textbox question is needed for collecting direct feedback or personal data like names. There will be a blank space where the respondent can enter their answer to your question on their own. 

Step 2: Choose a survey platform

Most survey apps today look great on mobile, but be sure to preview your survey on your phone and computer, at least, to make sure it'll look good for all of your users.

If you have the budget, you can also purchase survey services from a larger research agency. 

Step 3: Run a test survey

Before you run your full survey, conduct a smaller test on 5%-10% of your target respondent pool size. This will allow you to work out any confusing wording or questions that result in unhelpful responses without spending the full cost of the survey. Look out for:

Survey rejection from the platform for prohibited topics

Joke or nonsense textbox answers that indicate the respondent didn't answer the survey in earnest

Multiple choice questions with an outsized percentage of "none of the above" or "N/A" responses

Step 4: Launch your survey

If your test survey comes back looking good, you're ready to launch the full thing! Make sure that you leave ample time for the survey to run—you'd be surprised at how long it takes to get a few thousand respondents. 

Even if you've run similar surveys in the past, leave more time than you need. Some surveys take longer than others for no clear reason, and you also want to build in time to conduct a comprehensive data analysis.

Step 5: Organize and interpret the data

Tips for running a market research survey.

You know the basics of how to conduct a market research survey, but here are some tips to enhance the quality of your data and the reliability of your findings.

Find the right audience: You could have meticulously crafted survey questions, but if you don't target the appropriate demographic or customer segment, it doesn't really matter. You need to collect responses from the people you're trying to understand. Targeted audiences you can send surveys to include your existing customers, current social media followers, newsletter subscribers, attendees at relevant industry events, and community members from online forums, discussion boards, or other online communities that cater to your target audience. 

Focus questions on a desired data type: As you conceptualize your survey, consider whether a qualitative or quantitative approach will better suit your research goals. Qualitative methods are best for exploring in-depth insights and underlying motivations, while quantitative methods are better for obtaining statistical data and measurable trends. For an outcome like "optimize our ice cream shop's menu offerings," you may want to find out which flavors of ice cream are most popular with teens. This would require a quantitative approach, for which you would use categorical questions that can help you rank potential flavors numerically.

Establish a timeline: Set a realistic timeline for your survey, from creation to distribution to data collection and analysis. You'll want to balance having your survey out long enough to generate a significant amount of responses but not so long that it loses relevance. That length can vary widely based on factors like type of survey, number of questions, audience size, time sensitivity, question format, and question length.

Market research survey campaign example

Let's say you own a market research company, and you want to use a survey to gain critical insights into your market. You prompt users to fill out your survey before they can access gated premium content.

Survey questions: 

1. What size is your business? 

<10 employees

11-50 employees

51-100 employees

101-200 employees

>200 employees

2. What industry type best describes your role?

3. On a scale of 1-4, how important would you say access to market data is?

1 - Not important

2 - Somewhat important

3 - Very important

4 - Critically important

4. On a scale of 1 (least important) to 5 (most important), rank how important these market data access factors are.

Accuracy of data

Attractive presentation of data

Cost of data access

Range of data presentation formats

Timeliness of data

5. True or false: your job relies on access to accurate, up-to-date market data.

Survey findings: 

63% of respondents represent businesses with over 100 employees, while only 8% represent businesses with under 10.

71% of respondents work in sales, marketing, or operations.

80% of respondents consider access to market data to be either very important or critically important.

"Timeliness of data" (38%) and "Accuracy of data" (32%) were most commonly ranked as the most important market data access factor.

86% of respondents claimed that their jobs rely on accessing accurate, up-to-date market data.

Insights and recommendations: Independent analysis of the survey indicates that a large percentage of users work in the sales, marketing, or operations fields of large companies, and these customers value timeliness and accuracy most. These findings can help you position future report offerings more effectively by highlighting key benefits that are important to customers that fit into related customer profiles. 

Market research survey example questions

Your individual questions will vary by your industry, market, and research goals, so don't expect a cut-and-paste survey to suit your needs. To help you get started, here are market research survey example questions to give you a sense of the format.

Yes/No: Have you purchased our product before?

Multiple choice: How many employees work at your company?

<10 / 10-20 / 21-50 / 51-100 / 101-250 / 250+

Checkbox: Which of the following features do you use in our app?

Push notifications / Dashboard / Profile customization / In-app chat

Dropdown: What's your household income? 

$0-$10K / $11-$35K / $36-$60K / $61K+

Ranking: Which social media platforms do you use the most? Rank in order, from most to least.

Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn / Reddit

Ranking scale: On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our customer service? 

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Textbox: How many apps are installed on your phone? Enter a number: 

Market research survey question types

Good survey apps typically offer pre-designed templates as a starting point. But to give you a more visual sense of what these questions might look like, we've put together a document showcasing common market research survey question types.

Use automation to put survey results into action

Related reading:

This article was originally published in June 2015 by Stephanie Briggs. The most recent update, with contributions from Cecilia Gillen, was in September 2023.

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Amanda Pell

Amanda is a writer and content strategist who built her career writing on campaigns for brands like Nature Valley, Disney, and the NFL. When she's not knee-deep in research, you'll likely find her hiking with her dog or with her nose in a good book.

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Market Research: A How-To Guide and Template

Discover the different types of market research, how to conduct your own market research, and use a free template to help you along the way.

MARKET RESEARCH KIT

5 Research and Planning Templates + a Free Guide on How to Use Them in Your Market Research

Updated: 02/21/24

Published: 02/21/24

Today's consumers have a lot of power. As a business, you must have a deep understanding of who your buyers are and what influences their purchase decisions.

Enter: Market Research.

Whether you're new to market research or not, I created this guide to help you conduct a thorough study of your market, target audience, competition, and more. Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

What is market research?

Primary vs. secondary research, types of market research, how to do market research, market research report template, market research examples.

Market research is the process of gathering information about your target market and customers to verify the success of a new product, help your team iterate on an existing product, or understand brand perception to ensure your team is effectively communicating your company's value effectively.

Market research can answer various questions about the state of an industry. But if you ask me, it's hardly a crystal ball that marketers can rely on for insights on their customers.

Market researchers investigate several areas of the market, and it can take weeks or even months to paint an accurate picture of the business landscape.

However, researching just one of those areas can make you more intuitive to who your buyers are and how to deliver value that no other business is offering them right now.

How? Consider these two things:

• Your competitors also have experienced individuals in the industry and a customer base. It‘s very possible that your immediate resources are, in many ways, equal to those of your competition’s immediate resources. Seeking a larger sample size for answers can provide a better edge.
• Your customers don't represent the attitudes of an entire market. They represent the attitudes of the part of the market that is already drawn to your brand.

The market research services market is growing rapidly, which signifies a strong interest in market research as we enter 2024. The market is expected to grow from roughly $75 billion in 2021 to $90.79 billion in 2025 .

Free Market Research Kit

• SWOT Analysis Template
• Survey Template
• Focus Group Template

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Why do market research?

Market research allows you to meet your buyer where they are.

As our world becomes louder and demands more of our attention, this proves invaluable.

By understanding your buyer's problems, pain points, and desired solutions, you can aptly craft your product or service to naturally appeal to them.

Market research also provides insight into the following:

• Where your target audience and current customers conduct their product or service research
• Which of your competitors your target audience looks to for information, options, or purchases
• What's trending in your industry and in the eyes of your buyer
• Who makes up your market and what their challenges are
• What influences purchases and conversions among your target audience
• Consumer attitudes about a particular topic, pain, product, or brand
• Whether there‘s demand for the business initiatives you’re investing in
• Unaddressed or underserved customer needs that can be flipped into selling opportunity
• Attitudes about pricing for a particular product or service

Ultimately, market research allows you to get information from a larger sample size of your target audience, eliminating bias and assumptions so that you can get to the heart of consumer attitudes.

As a result, you can make better business decisions.

To give you an idea of how extensive market research can get , consider that it can either be qualitative or quantitative in nature — depending on the studies you conduct and what you're trying to learn about your industry.

Qualitative research is concerned with public opinion, and explores how the market feels about the products currently available in that market.

Quantitative research is concerned with data, and looks for relevant trends in the information that's gathered from public records.

That said, there are two main types of market research that your business can conduct to collect actionable information on your products: primary research and secondary research.

Primary Research

Primary research is the pursuit of first-hand information about your market and the customers within your market.

It's useful when segmenting your market and establishing your buyer personas.

Primary market research tends to fall into one of two buckets:

• Exploratory Primary Research: This kind of primary market research normally takes place as a first step — before any specific research has been performed — and may involve open-ended interviews or surveys with small numbers of people.
• Specific Primary Research: This type of research often follows exploratory research. In specific research, you take a smaller or more precise segment of your audience and ask questions aimed at solving a suspected problem.

Secondary Research

Secondary research is all the data and public records you have at your disposal to draw conclusions from (e.g. trend reports, market statistics, industry content, and sales data you already have on your business).

Secondary research is particularly useful for analyzing your competitors . The main buckets your secondary market research will fall into include:

• Public Sources: These sources are your first and most-accessible layer of material when conducting secondary market research. They're often free to find and review — like government statistics (e.g., from the U.S. Census Bureau ).
• Commercial Sources: These sources often come in the form of pay-to-access market reports, consisting of industry insight compiled by a research agency like Pew , Gartner , or Forrester .
• Internal Sources: This is the market data your organization already has like average revenue per sale, customer retention rates, and other historical data that can help you draw conclusions on buyer needs.
• Focus Groups
• Product/ Service Use Research
• Observation-Based Research
• Buyer Persona Research
• Market Segmentation Research
• Pricing Research
• Competitive Analysis Research
• Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research
• Brand Awareness Research
• Campaign Research

1. Interviews

Interviews allow for face-to-face discussions so you can allow for a natural flow of conversation. Your interviewees can answer questions about themselves to help you design your buyer personas and shape your entire marketing strategy.

2. Focus Groups

Focus groups provide you with a handful of carefully-selected people that can test out your product and provide feedback. This type of market research can give you ideas for product differentiation.

3. Product/Service Use Research

Product or service use research offers insight into how and why your audience uses your product or service. This type of market research also gives you an idea of the product or service's usability for your target audience.

4. Observation-Based Research

Observation-based research allows you to sit back and watch the ways in which your target audience members go about using your product or service, what works well in terms of UX , and which aspects of it could be improved.

5. Buyer Persona Research

Buyer persona research gives you a realistic look at who makes up your target audience, what their challenges are, why they want your product or service, and what they need from your business or brand.

6. Market Segmentation Research

Market segmentation research allows you to categorize your target audience into different groups (or segments) based on specific and defining characteristics. This way, you can determine effective ways to meet their needs.

7. Pricing Research

Pricing research helps you define your pricing strategy . It gives you an idea of what similar products or services in your market sell for and what your target audience is willing to pay.

8. Competitive Analysis

Competitive analyses give you a deep understanding of the competition in your market and industry. You can learn about what's doing well in your industry and how you can separate yourself from the competition .

9. Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research

Customer satisfaction and loyalty research gives you a look into how you can get current customers to return for more business and what will motivate them to do so (e.g., loyalty programs , rewards, remarkable customer service).

10. Brand Awareness Research

Brand awareness research tells you what your target audience knows about and recognizes from your brand. It tells you about the associations people make when they think about your business.

11. Campaign Research

Campaign research entails looking into your past campaigns and analyzing their success among your target audience and current customers. The goal is to use these learnings to inform future campaigns.

• Define your buyer persona.
• Identify a persona group to engage.
• Prepare research questions for your market research participants.
• List your primary competitors.
• Summarize your findings.

1. Define your buyer persona.

You have to understand who your customers are and how customers in your industry make buying decisions.

This is where your buyer personas come in handy. Buyer personas — sometimes referred to as marketing personas — are fictional, generalized representations of your ideal customers.

Use a free tool to create a buyer persona that your entire company can use to market, sell, and serve better.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

25 Tools & Resources for Conducting Market Research

What is a Competitive Analysis — and How Do You Conduct One?

SWOT Analysis: How To Do One [With Template & Examples]

TAM SAM SOM: What Do They Mean & How Do You Calculate Them?

How to Run a Competitor Analysis [Free Guide]

5 Challenges Marketers Face in Understanding Audiences [New Data + Market Researcher Tips]

Causal Research: The Complete Guide

Total Addressable Market (TAM): What It Is & How You Can Calculate It

What Is Market Share & How Do You Calculate It?

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Free Guide & Templates to Help Your Market Research

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

The Best Survey Sites To Make The Most Money In 2022

By: Stacy Garrels & Matthew Woodward

Updated: March 8, 2022

Start Earning

The best survey sites to make the most money.

There are lots of ways that you can make money while still in your PJ's. No need to shuffle out the door. With a smartphone, you can make money from your couch, a coffee shop, or anywhere you can connect to the Internet.

You can get paid to give your opinions. You have them; companies want them. There are plenty of great paid survey sites like InboxDollars , MyPoints , and Swagbucks where you can get paid to give your solicited opinions. (And you can even "gently" suggest your opinionated family members join too.)

In your free time, while binge-watching TV from your couch or hanging out with your friends, you can make a little bit of extra money by sharing what you think about products, services, sports, and other current events. Different market research companies will have varying reward payouts. Still, generally, you can earn cash or Paypal rewards , gift cards to Amazon , Target , iTunes , Walmart , and other retailers, prepaid Visa cards , and other prizes and sweepstakes rewards.

Let's take a look at some of the best survey sites where you can get paid for having opinions. If you've ever shared your mind with friends and family or on social sharing apps, you're already great at it. The best survey sites allow you to make money online through questionnaires and focus groups.

With online survey sites , you're also helping companies create better products and services. By product testing, answering short surveys, and taking polls, you can shape the brands you care about.

Not every survey club is legit. If a survey site promises you thousands of dollars or that you can quit your day job, run away. Legit paid surveys are a great side hustle to make extra cash, not a regular income source. But they are still a great side hustle for survey takers to get free Amazon gift cards , cash, and other rewards.

There truly is a market where your voice can be heard. This article is a definitive survey taking guide. It lays out everything that you need to know about taking surveys and when and how you can get expect to get paid.

Here's a look at the best legit survey sites of 2021 so you.

Information This Article Covers:

Which Are The Best Survey Sites?

• In-Depth Overview of Top 12 Legit Survey Sites
• Why Should I Take Online Surveys?
• Are Paid Surveys Worth My Time?
• What Sort of Topics Do Paid Surveys Cover?
• How Much Money Can I Make By Doing Online Surveys?
• How Can I Make $50 in An Hour Online?
• How Can I Make Cash Right Now?
• What Are Some Advanced Survey Taking Strategies to Earn More Money?
• How Can I Avoid Survey Scams?
• Other Ways to Make Money Online

There are genuinely many legitimate survey sites out there. Swagbucks , MyPoints , InboxDollars , OneOpinion, Prize Rebel, LifePoints, Ipsos, i-Say, Toluna, MySurvey, Vindale Research, Survey Junkie, and more.

For this article, I'm focusing on the survey sites that I have most tried, tested, and proven out. The best paid surveys are the ones that pay. I'll share with you paid online survey sites where I have earned actual rewards. I've cashed out Google gift cards , Apple gift cards , Safeway gift cards , and checks (in the mail). I'll share how you earn on these survey websites and how you cash out. We'll look at some legitimate survey sites and evaluate how much you can make and how long it takes to earn, and whether or not they offer a signup bonus.

We'll take an in-depth look at these 12 survey sites:

InboxDollars

Pinecone research, surveysavvy, survey junkie.

• Branded Surveys (MintVine)

Vindale Research

Opinion outpost.

All of these survey sites and market research companies are legitimate money-earning opportunities. You can voice your opinions in online surveys, make money, and get your reward cashout.

With surveys for money, Amazon gift cards and PayPal cash are the most popular reward options. But you can also opt to complete paid surveys for a check in the mail, prepaid Visa or Mastercard, or other free gift cards to popular stores.

And if you want to max your earnings, you can sign up for all of them. After reading the overview of these survey companies, read the next section to read up on making money right away by taking surveys.

You cannot get rich taking surveys, but you can absolutely make an extra $500 to $2,500 with fairly minimal effort.

Disclosure: I have spent a lot of time playing with various online survey panels, phone surveys, rewards sites, and shopping apps over the last 10 years. That's what eventually led to my current job at Prodege, where I work in digital media. If there's a hack for making money online, I want to try it. From flipping thrift store finds to extreme couponing to online surveys, I love a great side hustle. I've banked a few thousand dollars doing surveys. I've shared these sites and apps with my friends and family who either a) say it doesn't work or b) don't understand how they work.

And that's why I've written this piece. To break down the in's and out's of how to earn. We want to help consumers and members earn money taking surveys. Market research firms make money when authentic surveys are taken and completed. We want survey-takers to have a good experience and to understand the process. When consumers don't complete a survey or bail on a survey site, everyone loses out. And as a professional part-time hustler (I hope), it kills me when survey takers leave money on the table by missing out on little things like clicking a button or checking off a box on a list.

My rundowns on Swagbucks and InboxDollars are more through because I'm the most familiar with those survey companies. But from a survey insider to you, here's the scoop on how to earn money on the best survey sites.

Swagbucks is the best survey site , in my opinion. I have had positive experiences as a survey taker over the past couple of years and made around $800. Swagbucks typically pays within 24-48 hours. The first payment can take longer because Swagbucks will need to verify your account details. Cash funds get directly deposited into your Paypal account . Gift cards are delivered to you as electronic vouchers over email. You can enter the voucher codes online to redeem or store the voucher in your preferred digital wallet.

• Average Payment (Payout) per Survey: 50 to 500 SB (or $0.50 to $5.00)
• Time Investment: 5-25 minutes per survey (most surveys)
• Minimum Earnings to Cashout: $3
• Signup Requirements: Age 13+ in the US, available in many other countries including Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany
• Devices Supported: Desktop/laptop, Tablet/iPad, Mobile (Mobile Web, iPhone App, Android App)
• Signup Bonus: $10.00 (Must complete $20+ shop activity)
• Trustpilot Review Score: 4.3 of 5 Stars (18,500+ Reviews)

100 SB equals one dollar. On Swagbucks , as with any legitimate survey site, you need to qualify for and complete the survey to get the associated payout reward.

What Sets Swagbucks Apart from Other Survey Sites

• Earn SB Even When You Don't Qualify. You earn SB even if you disqualify from a survey as a thank you for at least trying the survey and a nod of encouragement to keep going.
• Low Cashout Needed. Some survey companies require that you've earned $20, $30, or $50 to redeem your rewards. At Swagbucks, you can cash out if you've banked at least $3 or 300 SB. At $3, you can cash out with an Amazon gift card . Swagbucks sets the lowest cashout amount required among all survey companies.
• Variety of Payment Options. You can cash out with PayPal, a prepaid Visa card , or choose from gift cards to over 500 popular merchants.
• Earn free cryptocurrency for taking surveys. As of early 2022, Swagbucks has offered survey takers the ability to earn free Bitcoin for taking online surveys. Redeem your earnings for a gift card to buy Bitcoin on a cryptocurrency exchange. Or, you can cash out your earnings for completing surveys as PayPal or a prepaid Visa and use those funds to buy crypto on your performed platform.
• Discounted Gift Cards! When you cash out your rewards, you can get a $25 gift card to Target or to Amazon for 12% off. That's like spending $22 cash to get $25 in cash. (Since you can buy just about anything at Target or Amazon, a gift card to either merchant is basically cash in hand.) Other gift cards will have discounts throughout the year. For example, right now, you can get an Apple Gift Card for 10% off, or a Visa $25 card for 13% off (for $21.75, get a $25 Visa card).
• Loads of Other Fun Ways to Earn. Swagbucks offers lots of other ways to earn, like playing online games, web search, trivia, uploading receipts, and watching videos. Recently, Swagbucks has added new features for shopping and savings. You can earn cash back from shopping at over 2,000 different retailers (including Kohl's , Macy's , Hobby Lobby , and buybuyBABY ) when visiting their website from the Swagbucks shop page . You'll also find loads of online coupon codes and promo codes, printable grocery coupons , and dining deals that you can redeem in-store to save money and earn cash back.

How to Get Started Earning On Swagbucks:

• Sign up. You can download the Swagbucks app , or register on their website with a phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop. Just provide your email and create a password.
• Confirm your email address. It can take anywhere from 10 seconds to 2 minutes for the confirmation email to arrive in your inbox. Make sure to check your spam folders just in case.
• Complete the new member checklist. It'll walk you through how to earn and how to find surveys.
• Every time you visit Swagbucks, complete the daily to-do list.

Swagbucks is very user friendly because there are lots of little ways to earn. 1 SB here, a few SB there. It all adds up. I recommend Swagbucks as a first stop.

And I know a few people who use Swagbucks to top up their bank account for the holidays or tackle a bit of debt. Not bad for answering a few questions from the sidelines at your kid's soccer game, right?

» You can sign up for Swagbucks here «

• Average Payout per Survey: $0.50 - $5.00
• Minimum Earnings to Cashout: $10
• Signup Requirements: Age 18+ in U.S., 18+ in Canada, 18+ in UK
• Devices Supported: Desktop/Laptop, Tablet/iPad, Mobile (Mobile Web, iPhone App, Android App)
• Signup Bonus: $5.00
• Trustpilot Review Score: 4.3 of 5 Stars (12,000+ Reviews)

InboxDollars is one of the largest online survey sites out there. For over 20 years, it's connected consumer with relevant paid surveys.

InboxDollars has a good blend of surveys available, lots of other ways to earn (like watching videos or reading emails) and full earning transparency. You earn dollars and cents for each completed survey, not points or virtual currency.

As with Swagbucks (and all other survey websites), you do need to qualify for the surveys, and there is a survey pre-screener you need to complete to make you are part of the target audience. I've made over $2,500 taking surveys on InboxDollars.

What Sets InboxDollars Apart from Other Online Survey Sites:

• Generous Signup Bonus. New members get $5 free just for signing up to try InboxDollars. (You have to reach a certain threshold in earnings before you can cash out the $5 bonus.)
• Generous Referral Program. You earn $1 for each qualified referral (when a friend joins), and then 30% of their qualified earnings for life. Many other survey referral programs only give you 10% to 20% of your referrals' earnings. Sometimes nothing at all.
• Follow Social Media for Fun Extra Ways to Earn. You can earn a couple of cents to $50 or more for different social contests. The smaller prize contests (where you have a greater chance of winning a cash prize) run a few times a week or more.
• Transparency. You earn money in dollars and cents, not in points or other virtual currency.
• Other Fun Ways to Earn. InboxDollars has rolled out a lot of additional ways to earn over the years, including their daily trivia poll, printing free grocery coupons (earn 1-cent for each coupon you print, up to $0.50 a day or $183 a year), and scanning featured product barcodes in-stores.

How to Get Started Earning On InboxDollars:

• Sign up. You can download the InboxDollars app or sign up on their website with a mobile, tablet, laptop, or desktop. Just provide your email and create a password.
• Confirm your email address. It can take anywhere from 10 seconds to 2 minutes for the confirmation email to be delivered to your inbox. Make sure to check your spam folders just in case. The email confirmation is how you activate your account and get the $5 cash bonus.
• Complete the new member checklist. It'll walk you through how to find surveys and other ways to earn on the site.
• Every time you visit InboxDollars, try to complete the Daily List of ways to earn. In addition to surveys, it will feature other tasks and activities like visiting current coupon promotions or visiting a retailer's website.

I've earned the most from InboxDollars over the years. Surveys and market research are the backbones of the site. Consistency is key. At first, my goal was to attempt X number of surveys per day, just attempt. Then it was to complete 2 per day. And now, my goal is to earn $1.00 per day.

» You can sign up for InboxDollars here «

Best known for its shopping offers (earn points when you shop your favorite stores), MyPoints offers a ton of survey earning opportunities. Most surveys pay 30 to 500 points, but you will find surveys that pay even more. Redeem your points for free gift cards to Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and other popular merchants. They also offer prepaid Visa gift cards as a payment option. The point to dollar ratio can fluctuate, but generally, it's 175 points = $1.

• Average Payout per Survey: 50 points to 500 points (roughly $0.25 to $3)
• Time Investment: 5-30 minutes per survey
• Signup Requirements: Age 13+, except where local laws state you must be older. Additional rules apply for international issuers in terms of site usage, but non-U.S. members may join MyPoints.
• Devices Supported: Laptop/Desktop, Tablet/iPad, Mobile (Mobile Web, iTunes App, Android App)
• Signup Bonus: $10 (Must complete $20+ shop activity)
• Trustpilot Review Score: 4.4 of 5 Stars (5,500+ Reviews)

MyPoints has its roots as a shopping deals website. So it has a fantastic selection of ways to earn points through shopping deals: cashback (or point back) shopping to thousands of merchants, promo codes, discount codes, printable coupons, visiting featured sites, booking discounted travel, and more.

If you've ever purchased anything online or will ever purchase anything online in the future, it's worth joining MyPoints. You'll get a free $10 signup bonus for joining. To get the bonus, you just need to spend $20 or more at any featured retailer on MyPoints (there are over 2,000), and your account will get credited 1,750 points that you can redeem for a free $10 gift card to the retailer of your choice.

» You can sign up for MyPoints here «

Pinecone is one of the higher paying survey sites. Most surveys pay 300 points ($3). Pinecone is more selective about its membership base, and there can be fewer surveys available. Additionally, Pinecone Research offers only survey-earning opportunities.

• Average Payout per Survey: $3
• Time Investment per Survey: 20-30 minutes per survey
• Devices Supported: Laptop/Desktop, Tablet/iPad, Mobile Web
• Signup Bonus: None
• Trustpilot Review Score: 2.4 of 5 Stars (Fewer than 100 Reviews)

It takes longer to complete Pinecone Research surveys, but they're often for more well-known brands and companies, and you get a relatively high payout ($3) for each survey you complete. Typically you can join Pinecone Research by invite-only, but we have an affiliate invite link we can share with you to join.

If you do not get accepted right away, do not try to join again immediately (same day) or lie about your profile. This can get you blacklisted. It's better to wait a couple of weeks and try back again. Market research opportunities and demographic needs are always changing. And once you're in, you're in.

• Average Payout per Survey: $0.15 to $0.50
• Time Investment per Survey: 10-30 minutes
• Signup Requirements: Age 13+, except where older age required by local laws. Members outside of the US may join, but they will have limited earning opportunities. Additionally, payment is sent via a check made out in USD and sent to the residence on file.
• Devices supported: LaptopDesktop, iPad/Tablet, Mobile (Mobile Web, App)
• Trustpilot Review Score: 2.6 of 5 Stars (Fewer than 100 Reviews)

The appeal with SurveySavvy is you only need to be 13 to join, and you can cash out after you've earned at least $1. But, none of the surveys pay $1. They all pay a lot less than the other sites.

There are other ways to earn, though; by connecting your smartphone, desktop or laptop, and tablet device, you can make $5 per device each month. (You need to remain an active member though and interact with SurveySavvy site or SurveySavvy Connect.)

Payment is made by check in USD, so it takes a little longer to cashout and gets your rewards. There is no option to receive funds electronically via PayPal, gift card, or other vouchers.

Although surveys don't pay as much as with other sites, you can get $10 a month just by connecting 2 Internet devices. $15 a month if you connect 3 devices. You are giving up some privacy (Survey Savvy is doing to research to better understand consumer behavior online), but it's not really that different from using Chrome or Bing to search the Internet.

• Average Payout per Survey: $0.20 to $5.00
• Time Investment per Survey: 10-30+ minutes
• Signup Requirements: Age 18+ for residents of the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and EU.
• Devices supported: LaptopDesktop, iPad/Tablet, Mobile (Mobile Web, iTunes App, Android App)
• Signup Bonus: $0.25
• Trustpilot Review Score: 4.5 of 5 Stars (21,000+ Reviews)

On Survey Junkie, members can earn points for taking surveys or for having their digital activity monitored online in a program called SJ Pulse.

When you participate in SJ Pulse, Survey Junkie will track the ads you see, websites you visit, online shopping, and other digital behaviors. The data is anonymized. Survey Junkie is doing market research and building a broader picture of online consumer behaviors. You earn points as you search the web and go about your daily digital activities, but exact payouts are unclear.

You can cash out once you've reached $10 or more in earnings via PayPal or a gift card to a retailer of your choice.

• Average Payout per Survey: 40-400 Points ($0.20 to $2.00)
• Time Investment per Survey: 20-30+ Minutes
• Signup Requirements: Age 16+ for residents of the USA, UK, and some other countries with limited earning opportunities.
• Devices Supported: LaptopDesktop, iPad/Tablet, Mobile (Mobile Web, iTunes App, Android App)
• Signup Bonus: $1.00
• Trustpilot Review Score: 4.3 of 5 Stars (1,100+ Reviews)

YouGov is a British based market research company. Survey taking opportunities are open to residents of the US or UK who are 14 and older. You get a $1.00 signup bonus. You earn points for taking surveys, and 1 point = 1/2 a cent. You can cash out once you've reached 5,000 points ($25). Points can be redeemed for cash deposits to PayPal, gift cards to your favorite retailers and restaurants, or mobile credits.

Branded Surveys (formerly known as MintVine)

• Average Payout per Survey: 25-300 points ($0.25 to $3.00)
• Time Investment per Survey: 15-30 minutes
• Signup Requirements: Age 18+ for residents of the US, or minors age 16+ with the consent of parents or guardians
• Devices supported: Desktop/Laptop, Mobile Web
• Signup Bonus: 100 points (or $1.00)
• Trustpilot Review Score: 4.3 of 5 Stars (28,500+ Reviews)

Earn points you can redeem for Amazon gift cards, Visa cards, or Paypal rewards. Reach 1,000 points minimum (or $10.00) to cash out. Branded Surveys typically process payments within 15 days after the end of the month.

• Average Payout per Survey: 50 points to 2,500 points ($0.05 to $2.50)
• Signup Requirements: Age 18+ for residents of the USA and UK, or minors 13+ with the consent of parents or guardians
• Devices Supported: Desktop/Laptop, iPad/Tablet, Mobile (Mobile Web or App)
• Trustpilot Review Score: 2.0 of 5 Stars (Fewer than 200 Reviews)

The signup process is a little bit different. Instead of filling out fields or a short form like other survey sites, a virtual chatbot named Emily will get your info. She'll ask you for your first name, last name, agreement to terms and conditions and privacy policy, agreement to use cookies, agreement to how your data is used and shared, your birthdate, your street address, gender, and that you create a password. And at every step, you'll be asked to confirm "YES", you agree that. The info you've provided is inaccurate.

While it feels a tad annoying, OneOpinion is a legit company. I think it's a lot of personal information to give out to see what's behind the curtain.

After you've given that info to Chatbot Emily, you receive a message stating they will review your details and email you if you are accepted. The notification says it takes 3-5 days, but it can take less time in my experience. It can even come through the same day. This is just a security control measure.

Once accepted, invitations to take surveys are emailed to you. Or you can log onto OneOpinion and check out the available surveys in your dashboard. Earn points for completing surveys. Every 1,000 points = $1.00. After you reach at least 25,000 points (or $25), you can redeem your points for rewards like an Amazon gift card, Paypal, prepaid Visa card, or gift card to another popular retailer. OneOpinion does not pay cash.

• Average Payout per Survey: $0.50 - $2.00
• Time Investment per Survey: 5-25 minutes
• Signup Requirements: Age 18+ in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia
• Devices Supported: Desktop/Laptop, Tablet/iPad, Mobile Web
• Signup Bonus: $1
• Trustpilot Rating: 3.8 of 5 Stars Based on 4,300+ Reviews

Similar to InboxDollars, Vindale Research is transparent with how much money you earn for each survey. Survey takers are paid in dollars and cents, not points. Once you reach at least $50 in earnings, you can cash out via Paypal.

Fifty dollars can seem like a high figure to hit, but Vindale Research does occasionally offer longer, more complex surveys that can pay up to $75. These will generally require more time commitment (over multiple days) and require more in-depth knowledge or expertise.

• Average Payout per Survey: 5-15 points ($0.50 to $1.50)
• Signup Requirements: Age 17+
• Trustpilot Review Score: 4.3 of 5 Stars (2,500+ Reviews)

Earn points for taking surveys. Redeem your points for Amazon gift cards, prepaid Visa cards, or Paypal. 100 points = $10. You can also earn points for testing products, watching adverts, and completing "real-world missions" in your neighborhood, like checking into stores or scanning products.

• Average Payout per Survey: 60-85 points ($0.60 to $0.85)
• Time Investment per Survey: 10-20 minutes
• Signup Requirements: Residents of US, UK, Canada, or Australia. Must be 18+ or 16+ with • parental consent.
• Trustpilot Review Score: 3.3 of 5 Stars (Fewer than 200 Reviews)

Earn points for taking surveys. You can redeem them for payment via PayPal, Amazon, Bitcoin, game codes, or gift cards to popular retailers. 100 points = $1.00 on PrizeRebel.

• Average Payout per Survey: 1,000 - 2,000 points ($0.33 to $0.66)
• Time Investment per Survey: 15-20 minutes
• Signup Requirements: Age 16+, US and Worldwide
• Devices supported:
• Signup Bonus: $5
• Trustpilot Review Score: 3.9 of 5 Stars (3,500+ Reviews)

Toluna is a market research company based in France. Earn points for taking surveys. Once you're reached 30,000 in points ($10), you can cash out for prizes that include sweepstakes tickets, getaway vacations, electronics, and other merchandise, gift cards and vouchers, or cash.

You can also earn for participating in Topics, Polls, Thumbs it, and Battles. These are ways of participating in the Toluna community and creating discussion, and sharing feedback around products and ideas.

Toluna is intriguing because it offers more unique ways to earn rewards and some actual physical prizes. For points to dollars conversion on Toluna, it's 3,000 points = $1.00.

Other Legitimate Survey Sites to Check Out:

• RewardSurvey
• Harris Poll
• Valued Opinions
• LifePoints (Global Test Market)
• American Consumer Opinion
• Focus Forward

Why Should I Take Online Survey Sites?

Because the legit online survey sites really pay. If you ever waste time online or on your smartphone, why not get paid for it?

If you've ever through news headlines, Bored Panda or Reddit, or social media feeds, you're probably a good fit for it. Answer questions, make money.

You won't get rich. In fact, you might only make $0.55 while doing a survey from your phone, while watching the game on TV, or waiting for your friend to show up at the restaurant. But $0.55 every time you do that, it adds up.

You get paid $0 for scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest, or answering social quizzes about which Disney villain you are. Why not answer those same types of questions and make actual money. And at the same time, you're helping brands you care about create better products and services for you and your family.

I have friends who are "always broke" who do online surveys and find it a godsend for extra money to fill up the gas tank or buy groceries. And I have friends who don't need the extra money. They do online surveys as a way to make extra cash when they've got spare time to fill.

I am always fiddling around on my phone. Especially when I spend hours at a time sitting on the couch with a new baby. In the 3 months since his birth, I've banked $ 450 (about $5 a day). Instead of playing Candy Crush (old-school, but I am still so addicted), I just decided to spend that time on survey sites instead. I've used that survey money on a Dyson cordless vacuum (dream vacuum), and Christmas presents for the kids.

If you ever waste time, ever watch online videos, ever play games, or shop online, then there's no reason not to make money on an online survey site. You just need an internet connection and a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

What Kind of Topics Do Online Surveys Cover?

Paid online surveys cover a number of topics. The sky is the limit. Common topics often include:

• Baby Products
• Beauty & Cosmetics
• Electronics & Technology
• Entertainment
• Food / Grocery
• Food / Food & Beverage / Restaurants & Dining Out
• Home Improvement
• Sports & Leisure
• Video Games

How Much Money Can You Make Taking Surveys?

You can easily make an extra $50-$150 per month if you use these survey sites and strategies in this article. Wall Street Journal , Forbes , Mashable , Fox News , The Los Angeles Times , and The New York Times have all written articles covering survey taking as a legit way to make extra cash.

I've made over $5,000 over the past 6 years by doing survey sites and a couple of other shopping rewards apps.

It's not about adopting new habits in 2021. Instead, it's about making money for the things you're already doing. If you search the web, use a different search engine that will pay you instead of, or in addition to, Google. If you play games on your phone, play games in the InboxDollars app. If you shop online, visit a website through a Swagbucks shop page link to earn cashback. It's about just getting paid for things you're already doing, and you can try out other site making activities too.

Another way to look at it: you already waste time on your phone. Get paid to waste time on your phone. And if you join multiple survey sites, you can build your earnings even quicker.

Imagine what you might do with an extra $1,500 (or more) this year. Things on my family's list:

• Car repairs
• Pay Down Debt
• Next Year's Christmas and Holiday Season
• Just Have Extra Cash in Your Wallet

While you can't get rich from doing survey websites, online survey opportunities provide you with a steady way to add extra cash to your monthly budget. If the idea of earning a little extra money when you have spare time sounds appealing, find some more tips below on how to give it a go.

How To Make $50 In the Next 60 Minutes

In your first 60 minutes on the paid survey site InboxDollars, you can earn $50. (Or easily a little bit more.)

• Signup for InboxDollars and create a free account.
• Confirm your email — total earnings at $5.00.
• Complete the welcome activities on the "My List" to get started for an extra $0.50. Total earnings at $5.50.
• Complete the profile survey (under "My List") to earn $0.50. Total earnings at $6.00.
• Watch your first video (link under "My List") to earn $0.02. Total earnings at $6.02.
• Play a game and confirm your first paid email (under "My List"). Total earnings at $6.02.
• Print 50 coupons on InboxDollars coupons page for $0.50 (50-cents per coupon). Total earnings $6.52.
• Complete your first survey listed as "Best Survey" on InboxDollars surveys page for $0.50. Total earnings $7.02.
• Complete 1 other survey for $0.75. Total earnings $7.77
• Complete InboxDollars top 17 free offers. They change frequently and may have specific eligibility requirements, but as of the article's publication's date, if you complete the top 17 free offers, you can earn over $45.00 cash. Offers include signing up for Betty Crocker recipes and newsletter, signing up for a free sample of Dove deodorant, getting insurance quotes (for free), Total earnings $52.77

There are plenty of other ways to earn: more surveys, more free offers, and free samples to sign up for, games, videos, and so on.

Keep in mind that it may take a couple of hours or a couple of days for the funds to post to your account for some of the activities. Even though you may be able to bank your first $50 quickly, it can take time for some of the earnings to credit to your account.

The $5 signup bonus and survey earnings do post right away, though. These funds post to your earnings dashboard within seconds.

So while you can quickly bank your first $50 (or more), it may take a couple of weeks before you can request payout and get your Paypal, check, Visa, or gift card reward.

And while you can legitimately earn $50+ going through this list, you will not be able to earn $50+ an hour consistently. For some items - the signup bonus, initial profile survey, and offers - you can only do them once. New surveys are continually added, and new offers too.

Remember to be honest when you sign up for free samples, freebies, and free offers, and when you take surveys too. This helps build an accurate member profile, so you can get matched with the best and most relevant surveys and earning opportunities. When you inconsistently answer questions repeatedly, you will see fewer surveys. (The system won't know who you are and how to match you up.) And your account can get flagged or even blacklisted.

Honesty pays.

Sit down and spend the next 60 minutes working through this list, and you can easily earn $50. If you're using your smartphone, it may take an additional 10-20 minutes. Thumb-typing can slow things down.

And if you need a spot of cash right now (or within a couple of days), check out Swagbucks.

How To Earn $10 Right Now on Swagbucks

You can earn $10 right now on Swagbucks. 100 SB is one dollar.

• Create your free Swagbucks account.
• Take the initial profile survey - 5 SB
• Add the SwagButton to your browser extension - 25 SB
• Verify your first email from Swagbucks - 5 SB
• Complete your Daily Goal (to-do list of activities) - 30 SB
• Discover and play 3 Free Games - 30 SB
• Add select items to your virtual grocery list - 25 SB
• Upload a grocery receipt - 2 SB
• Print 50 free grocery coupons - 50 SB
• Join the Swagbucks Recognition Program - 3 SB
• Install & login to the Swagbucks app - 1 SB
• Watch & earn - watch your first video - 3 SB
• Discover and complete the featured offers (deals) that credit immediately. (After you click or tap the offer, it will tell you if the offer credits right away, in a few days, a week, or longer. Complete the free ones that credit right away. Please note that offers and offer availability change daily.) - 275 SB
• Complete 4 surveys with an average payout of 94 SB

Completing all of these items on your list, you can earn $10 right now on Swagbucks. If you're a new member, it will take a couple of days longer to get your first payout. (Your account details and personal information need to be vetted.) But otherwise, after you cash out, you can usually receive your payment within a couple of days.

Depending on how many surveys you try out, getting to your first $10 right now on Swagbucks could take away from 20 minutes to a few hours.

How to Spot Fake Survey Sites & Avoid Survey Scams

There are lots of legit survey sites, and we've discussed many of them in detail and we've listed dozens more. But there may be news ones you come across. Hopefully, most are legit, but there are plenty of scam survey sites out there too. Let's talk about what to look out for so you don't fall victim to a survey con job.

When sizing up a survey site, here are 8 things to watch out for:

• You're promised enough extra income to quit your job or retire. This should spike your BS meter. Survey sites are a good side hustle but not a regular income stream.
• You are promised free gift cards and free products for doing absolutely nothing. You can earn gift cards for answering surveys. Or evaluate free products (free samples) on legit survey sites. But you can't get paid for doing nothing.
• If the survey site asking for your bank account info, run. Huge red flag. A legit survey site doesn't need it. Not even to pay you. A legit survey site will send you payment as a check, Paypal, or gift card.
• The survey website charges you a fee to sign up. Another sure sign that the site shouldn't be trusted. It should be free to sign up and take surveys. You should never pay to take surveys; they should be paying you. (Survey sites may have other site activities that do cost money, like shopping or buying discounted gift cards. But taking surveys is free.)
• The reviews posted on the website look too good to be true. Fraud survey sites and legit survey sites often post reviews. But take a look at what the reviews are saying. Is it a man gushing about how he now has financial freedom? Scam. Is it a woman saying how happy she is to make $200 an hour or $7,000 a month? Total scam. If you read member reviews on legit survey sites, like Survey Junkie, LifePoints, or InboxDollars, you'll see that members write about being happy to earn some extra money to pay for back-to-school or Christmas. They will talk about lifetime earning amounts of $50 to $1,500 total, not thousands of dollars every month.

• Over 99% of the reviews are positive on third-party sites like BBB or TrustPilot. Huge red flag. Most people only take the time to leave a review when they're steamed. A clerk was surly to them, the item was damaged, or they couldn't get a refund. They've had an off experience. The same is true, with paid survey sites. Even the best-paid survey sites will have critical reviews from unhappy people. With reputable sites, good reviews should far outnumber the bad reviews. But if you only see glowing reviews with perfect scores, that survey site is somehow "rigging" the game. Run.
• The survey site does not have functional customer support. Fake survey sites will often advertise they have excellent customer support (and may show stock photos of smiling agents wearing phone headsets). Fake sites will display chat support icons or list a toll-free number. What happens when you try calling the toll free number? Or when you try to chat with an agent? This is where a fake website will fall apart. On an authentic survey site, there is legit customer support you can use to reach a human being.

These are 8 major red flags you should be looking out for when scoping out a survey site. You should be looking for signs that a survey site is legit.

Here are 6 signs of a legit survey site:

• Longevity. The survey company has been in the game for a while. They're not just claiming that they've been around for 10 years. You've looked at their Facebook page and review sites and see that they've been up and posting and responding to content for a long time. Fraud sites don't last as long.
• You've heard of it before - from people you trust. You have family, friends, coworkers, or people you know in real life who earn money on the survey site.
• The survey site has positive news and media coverage. When you search the Google site, you see results pop up for the survey website in Google's News results. The site has been featured in legit media outlets.

• The survey site has terms and conditions, disclaimers, and a privacy policy for its members. Typically you can find links to this data in the footer of a webpage on the survey site. Click on these links. Do they bring you to working pages? Now skim through the info. It should feature real physical addresses, real names, and actual dates. For fake sites, it will often have nonsense information listed (if anything at all). Like Company XYZ, or they'll put down an address that doesn't exist if you google it.
• The survey company has an active social media presence. The best survey sites are active on Facebook and Instagram, often Twitter, Pinterest, or TikTok too. This signifies that the survey company stands by its brand and wants to engage and interact with you. Look at the kind of content they post and check the timestamps of these posts, too. While some survey companies might be too small to do social media, an active presence with regular posts and updates is a very positive sign.

Advanced Survey Earning Tips

Below are some more advanced tips so you can make the most of your time on survey sites. You want to go for the juiciest bits on survey sites to make the most money. That's why I, for example, don't play games featured on survey sites. If it's a game I like, sure, I'm all in. But otherwise, games can take a lot longer than surveys to earn money.

I recommend waiting until you get to a hefty amount, like $50, $100, or more, before you cash out. The reward will feel that much more satisfying, and you can do something significant with your payout. Getting a $3 reward right away might feel good, but it can't buy you anything super special.

And if you sign up for the best-paid survey sites, you can earn the most gift cards and cash for your time.

Sign Up To 2-3 of the Best Paid Survey Sites

A nickel here, a dollar there, it all adds up. Earning $2.00 a day on a survey site isn't much. But over an entire year, that's $730. And now imagine you're doing two survey sites. That's $1,460 a year. And if you're doing three survey sites, that's $2,190 a year.

While you could do dozens of paid survey sites, I think that it becomes harder to manage. I think 2-3 is a good number, and if you have extra time, you could even go up to 4 or 5.

Belonging to multiple survey sites will increase your earnings and keep this side hustle fun. You could hit a lull with one survey site, where you are finding the surveys boring and tedious. Instead of giving up on that survey website altogether, you can just focus more energy on other sites (s) until the rut has passed. Also, different survey sites will offer different extra ways to earn. Swagbucks has a lot of coupons, promo codes, and cashback shopping offers. InboxDollars has a lot of social promos, daily trivia polls, videos, and games.

In addition to the money, you need variety. If you get bored, you'll burn out.

If MyPoints doesn't appeal to you today, check out YouGov or Pinecone Research. Also, there are times when survey sites are down for maintenance or technical issues. You'll want backups.

And if you decide to quit a paid survey site, don't leave money on the table. Figure out what the minimum is to cash out, get to that amount, cash-out, and then go. Don't walk away with $8 or $18 on the table.

Try to Answer As Many Surveys As You Can

Virtually all surveys on paid survey sites will have a screening process in place. Be patient. It's not a big deal and doesn't take that much time.

Brands are paying survey sites big bucks to get accurate market research data. They need to reach the right audience.

While a paid survey company like Toluna or Survey Junkie will have basic profile information about you that you've provided in a survey, they don't know everything about you.

If a market research company is looking for women age 25-44 (survey website knows this) who are interested in buying a new pair of boots for $50-$99 in the next 30 days, they'll need to ask some qualifying questions.

You'll answer a survey pre-screener to see if you're a good fit. The survey website will show this survey opportunity to its members' broad group: women age 25-44. But the survey website will have no idea if you're in the market for new boots soon, especially if you joined the survey site and completed your profile survey months ago.

Most pre-screeners take a couple of minutes to complete. Some can take a lot longer. It can be frustrating if you answer many pre-screener questions only not to qualify, but with most survey sites, you'll earn rewards just for applying. Swagbucks will give you SB, and on InboxDollars you will make progress towards a virtual ScratchCard (to win a cash prize worth up to $100).

In my experience, the longer the pre-screener, the juicier the reward.

The most important thing is, to be honest, and be consistent. If you answer surveys dishonestly, trying to qualify for as many as possible, that's a red flag. The survey matching algorithm will have no idea who you are or how to match you. If you say you're a young Hispanic mother in one survey, and in another, you say you're a 64-year-old male white retiree, this is a glaring discrepancy. These red flags add up. Over time, you'll be shown fewer survey opportunities (ones open to everyone because they don't know how to profile you). And eventually, you could be blacklisted from a survey website.

If you disqualify from a survey, it's not because you're not the right age, gender, occupation, or education level for that survey website. It's because you're not the demographic that one particular survey is looking for. That's all. Keep trying. The more survey opportunities you attempt, the more you'll complete, and the more you'll earn.

Go for the Low-Paying Surveys

It probably sounds crazy. Everyone doing surveys wants to earn lots of money. The juicy $3.00 surveys look way better than the $0.40 surveys. Everyone knows that. And that's the problem: everyone knows that.

When "everyone" goes for the same survey, these surveys fill up quickly. This can be another reason you don't qualify. A survey may only have the budget for 500 respondents. If the survey gets 500 valid completions while you're registering for the survey, you're not going to be able to take it. And you'll be frustrated at the time you put in on the pre-screener.

Lower-paying surveys are low-hanging fruit.

These surveys are way less crowded or competitive to get into, and usually shorter in length and easier to qualify for. They are often looking for a broader audience segment (i.e. people who like music).

Surveys Change All the Time, Check In Often

Surveys change all of the time. Some change by the minute. It's possible to see a dozen survey opportunities available at noon, and then only 1-2 just an hour later.

• The refresh button is your key. Reload the page. (Put mouse or cursor in the URL bar that has the web address and hit ENTER.) On many sites, you'll see a different assortment of surveys.
• Check back throughout the day on survey sites.
• Many survey sites, like Swagbucks or InboxDollars, will have a browser extension. While you're online, it will notify you when a new survey opportunity becomes available. Not only are these extensions free, but there's also generally a cash or point award for installing it on your toolbar.
• You can receive email notifications about good survey opportunities, too.
• Make sure to read the beginning and ending survey instructions carefully. It can include information about other related survey and focus group opportunities.

You just need to be consistent. Some days, you'll hit the jackpot. Other days you'll come up short. But keep checking back and keep trying.

Do Surveys On Your Phone and Laptop

Generally, I do surveys on my laptop. When I have a 10-minute lull at work or over my lunch break, I'll try to crank through a couple of surveys. But by sticking with just one device type, I'm missing out on a lot of surveys.

• While many (most) surveys are available on desktop and mobile web, some surveys are desktop web only or mobile-only. Try both ways.
• The best survey sites have a mobile app version. Make sure to install it on your phone. It'll make the mobile experience much better, and there's probably an incentive (cash or points) for you to install it.

Set Small Daily Goals

If your goal is "I need $100", a survey site can be a confusing and overwhelming place. When I log onto Swagbucks or InboxDollars, my goal is usually to make at least $1 to $2 during my time on-site.

Or when I was a much more active survey taker, I made a set list of things every day.

• Answer daily trivia poll -- $3.65 a year
• Complete 2 surveys -- $1.50 a day or $547.50 a year
• Watch available video content (I watch-listen while doing spreadsheets at my desk) -- $0.15 a day or $54.75 a year
• Print 50 coupons a day -- $0.50 a day or $182.50 a year
• Complete the latest free offers -- $0.80 day (average) or $292 a year
• Complete 20 web searches -- $29.20 a year
• Redeem prize codes -- $1.86 a year
• Shop through shopping pages to earn cash back a few times per month. (If there is something you need to buy at Best Buy or Old Navy or Home Depot, make sure to visit the site through a special link in the shopping portal so you can earn cash back. Thousands of stores a featured.) -- $120 a year

I don't regularly do games or other earning features, but those are other ways to earn too.

Completing a small list of activities everyday is manageable, easy, and fun. And when you do it daily, it becomes a habit. Some sites have additional bonuses for coming back every day. Doing all these things does add up. Pennies turn into dollars. And day after day, the figure is $1,231 for a year. My pace is closer to $730 a year (or $2 a day) right now, but the point is these daily tasks I was doing were easy and stress-free. And often, they were a nice 5-minute mental break.

Everyday at my office, I listen to all the available videos while loading reports, doing spreadsheets, and looking at email. I have earbuds in. I can't say I'm 100% focused, but I am listening and occasionally glancing over at the screen. I like the cooking and current event videos, and celebrity gossip is just a guilty pleasure. I mean, where else can you get paid to find out what Justin Bieber and Harry Styles are up to?

And the great thing is you can complete these tasks on other survey sites too. You can do this same set of activities on Swagbucks, Branded Surveys (formerly MintVine), MyPoints, InboxDollars, and Tada.

Make Money Buying Products You're Already Buying (or Planning to Buy)

Survey sites Swagbucks, Branded Surveys, InboxDollars, MyPoints, and Tada all have shopping portals. This means survey sites partner with retailers who want more online web traffic. Survey companies send shoppers (you), and when you make a purchase the survey companies get a commission. And they share part of that commission with you in the form of cash back rebates.

You can make money from cash back rebates in the form of cash (like InboxDollars) or points or other virtual currency. Amounts vary, but typically cash back amounts range from 2% to 10%.

On Swagbucks, for example, there are over 2,000 different merchants in their shopping portal. Meaning you can earn cash back from shopping at any or all of those retailers. Some of the more popular cash back shopping stores include:

I made all of my holiday purchases online this year, and I'll admit it. And it only takes a second to see whether or not the survey site offers cash back for the retailer's website. And there are some items I bought online and then picked up in-store.

For example last month, I purchased a vacuum online at Best Buy and then picked it up in-store earned 800 SB (or $8.00) for visiting Best Buy from a survey site link.

I also employed this tactic when buying a baby shower gift at buybuyBABY just a few days ago. I'm getting 158 SB (or $1.58) for purchasing a registry gift that I would have bought anyway.

It only takes a second to check out the featured cash back stores. If you're going to make a purchase anyway, make some cash for doing it.

Summary (Or Cliff Notes on Making Money from the Best Survey Sites)

Here's a quick run-through or low-down.

There are many legit survey sites. You can join them and earn extra money, but it's not a full-time job. You'll need to qualify for and complete the surveys, and reach the minimum cashout amount.

Most survey sites pay you in points or virtual currency that you can redeem for cash, Paypal, or gift cards.

How to make the most money and have the best survey-taking experience:

• Sign up for multiple survey sites. The best survey sites to try are Swagbucks, InboxDollars, and Pinecone Research.
• Look for signs that the survey site is legit.
• Take as many surveys as possible or at least register for them. You won't be eligible for all of them. Be persistent.
• Be consistent and honest in how you answer questions. Inconsistent answers are a red flag and can lead to you getting blocked.
• Go for the low-hanging fruit. Take the lower or lowest paying surveys. They are less competitive to get into and are often shorter.
• Make sure to check out the survey site from your desktop or laptop machine and your smartphone. There are different surveys and different earning opportunities on different device types.
• Check out the extra, non-survey ways to earn, like cashback shopping, redeeming offers, trying free trials and free samples, playing games, watching videos, and using coupons.
• Bite-size goals! Try to earn a small, achievable amount every day like $1 or $2. Have a plan to reach this amount by doing a set of easy, achievable tasks.

And if you're like me, you'll become a survey addict after you get your first payment. It's a total rush. And it feels like *free money* or *prize money*. And it's not just surveys that you'll get hooked on. It's all the other fun ways you can earn on survey sites.

If you're consistent, you can make a tidy sum each year. Survey taking sites are a great side hustle for when you want to kill time or fidget on your phone while watching TV.

What Are Other Ways to Make Money Online

In addition to taking paid online surveys, there are lots of other ways to make money online. There are lots of great gigs and apps that pay cash. Check out these other great reads to get you started.

• Test websites for money - Find the best online web tester jobs .
• Get paid to be a medical test subject .
• Make money off your hobbies.
• Drive for Lyft or Uber . There's always a generous sign up bonus. And to find out what you'll be getting to, see a review of what it's like to work as a rideshare driver .
• Work for Instacart , Shipt , Postmates, DoorDash , or similar food delivery service. Read an insider review of what it's like doing food delivery .
• Make money searching (and cleaning up) the web. How to get paid to evaluate search engine results .
• Flip thrift store finds to make money .
• Upload receipts on shopping apps like ibotta , SavingStar , Checkout 51 , Dosh , Fetch Rewards , Shopkick , and Magic Receipts .
• Earn cash back for your online shopping. Many survey sites in this article have this feature. You can also check out Paribus , Rakuten (Ebates), and Tada. Just like survey sites, it's a good idea to join multiple cash back shopping apps. Different apps will feature different stores and different payout amounts.

Start putting cash back in your wallet!

We have paid our members over, how people have used swagbucks to earn free gift cards..

"This site has been my backbone for about a year now with no money to pay bills. Every $5 I earn in gift cards is another $5 that I can spend on groceries at Walmart. Without Swagbucks I wouldn't be able to survive living off of one income! Thank you swagbucks for everything that you offer." - ltbst4

"I use Swagbucks to get free gift cards because my hours at work and bonuses got cut because of the economy. Swagbucks has helped my family buy homeschooling supplies, Christmas and birthday gifts and loads of food." - swaggerdadthomas

"I work fulltime to support my family. My wife is a stay at home mom for two of our children. I make just enough to pay bills, buy food and keep a roof over our heads. With Swagbucks, I can finally make a little extra to provide my family, whether its extra cash on Paypal to pay for a special dinner or Amazon gift cards to pay for "Amazon Mom" subscriptions for diapers and supplies for my kids." - FWeatherwax

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Market Research Survey: The Complete Guide

This process involves gathering primary (self-conducted) and secondary (information already researched and made available) sources, to fully assess how a business will fare within a particular market and audience.

A market research survey is typically a source of primary information that businesses can use as part of their market research campaigns. It can also exist as a secondary source, in which case, its studies and results are published online or in a print publication.

This article will take a close look at the market research survey, so that you can use it to the optimum benefit for your business.

What Can you Achieve with Market Research?

A market research survey, as its name entails, is used for research purposes. Before we dive into all the aspects of this survey, it is apt to learn how you can use market research to your full advantage.

Market research is critical for a variety of purposes, including marketing , advertising , and branding campaigns. 

Aside from providing data-based support for these macro purposes, market research gains you invaluable insight into particular markets. For example, you may consider running a research campaign for the retail market . Market research will help you gather all the relevant information pertaining to this specific market.

Aside from retail, you can conduct market research in a number of verticals, including ecommerce , technology, real estate and many others.

There are plenty of other applications for market research. Here are some of the ways to use market research to your advantage:

• Observe data to prepare for challenges in advance
• Gauge the demand for your product or service
• Learn key market trends and staples
• Discover how your competitors are winning or losing
• Uncover your target market’s desires, preferences, aversions and thoughts

The final point is remarkably crucial for market research and for generally keeping your business afloat. And so, we’ll now dig deep into the market research survey, as this tool is especially useful for this purpose.

Defining a Market Research Survey

This tool is the most commonly used market research method — and for good reason. A market research survey allows you to gather data on your target market. Moreover, it allows businesses to do so by accessing any insights they need, as long as they form corresponding questions to their investigation.

Surveys have a far-reaching history, as they date back to ancient civilizations such as Greece and Rome. There was a surge in survey use in 1930s America, in which the government sought to understand the economic and social state of the nation.

Surveys have taken up a variety of forms, including analog forms, such as paper and mail-in formats . 

Telephone surveys were the medium of choice for survey research during the 1960s-90s. But, as technological advancements would have it, those have declined in usefulness as well.

In the present day, surveys are conducted online, particularly through the use of designated software platforms. This type of software has paved the way for easy access to primary research. 

Businesses can use online survey software and tools and to carry out all their survey research (save for creating the screener and questions). Many such tools available both allow you to build surveys along with deploying them. 

To reiterate, market research surveys are powerful tools, in that they empower businesses to ask any question they choose to better understand their market and consumer base. They also can offer key insights into competitors. 

The Components of a Market Research Survey

This tool contains two major components: the screener and the questionnaire . These form the bulk of the insights your primary research will gather.

There are also two auxiliary components to incorporate to make your survey research successful. These include the call-out (introduction) and the thank you message (conclusion).

Unlike the essential components, the need to use these will vary based on your survey deployment method and campaign. For example, an emailed survey won’t require a call-out, as the email itself serves this purpose.

A web or mobile survey, on the other hand, will need a call-out to get the attention of your respondents. 

Here is a break-down of each component, beginning with the essential elements:

• These conditions often deal with demographics, which is incredibly important, as you would need to first and foremost, survey your target market. The screener will ensure it is only your target market that takes part in the survey.
• The screener is often comprised of 2-3 questions.
• The questionnaire should ask all the necessary questions you need for a particular campaign or sub-campaign. Or, if used in a preliminary stage of your market research, they can deal with questions particularly designed to segment your target market.
• If respondents are contacted via email, the call-out is in the email’s body, inviting participants to take it, listing why it’s important, its length and what it’s used for.
• If the survey exists within a website (either as a banner, or button), the call-out is the clickable element itself (the button/banner to the survey). It too should explain the survey to respondents.
• If the survey is on a website/app, the call-out has to be visible and attractive enough for users to notice it and click on it.
• The survey often routes users to another page with a thank you message. 
• It’s important, as it lets participants know that their survey has in fact been submitted.

How to Create a Market Research Survey

Here are a few steps to take into consideration when starting on a market research survey project.

Step 1: Find a topic your business needs to learn more about.

This is particularly important if it is a topic that has little to no secondary sources. In this case, opting for a survey is the best way to learn more about it firsthand, from the people who matter most: your target market. Pay attention to any problems your business may experience, as surveys should help resolve them. 

Step 2: Consider the topic in regards to your target market

When you’ve narrowed down a problem or two, think about your target market. Do you know who constitutes it? If yes, tailor your survey topic into a subtopic that they’ll be most likely to respond to. For example, if your target market is middle-aged men who watch sports, consider whether your problem/topic will be relevant to them.

If you don’t know your target market, you should conduct some secondary research about it first, then perform market segmentation (surveys can help on this front too).

Step 3: Find the larger application of the survey campaign

Now that you’ve settled on a topic/problem and decided on whether it’s fitting for your target market, consider what the parent campaign of the survey would be. Let’s hypothetically say your topic is related to a product. Would a survey on that topic benefit a branding campaign like finding your next slogan? Would it be better suited to settle on a theme for an advertising campaign? 

Once you find the most appropriate application or macro campaign to house the survey, your market research will be organized and your survey will be better set up for success.

Step 4: Calculate your margin of error

A margin of error , in simple terms, is a measurement of how effective your survey will be. Expressed as a percentage, it measures the difference between survey results and the population value.

You need to measure this unit, as surveys represent a large group of people, but are made up of a much smaller group. Therefore, the larger the margin of error, the less accurate the opinions of the survey represent an entire population. 

Step 5: Create your survey(s)

Now that you’ve calculated the margin of error, start creating your campaign. Decide on how many surveys you would need, in regard to your margin of error and your market research needs. 

Start with a broader topic and get more specific in each question. Or, create multiple surveys focused on different but closely related subtopics to your main topic.

Send out your surveys through a trusted survey platform. 

Questions to Ask for Various Campaigns

The steps laid out above are part of a simple procedure in developing a market research survey. However, there is much more to these steps, especially that of creating the survey. 

Namely, you would need the correct set of questions, as they are the lifeblood of a survey. With so many different survey research campaigns and purposes, brainstorming questions can seem almost counterintuitive. 

To avoid information overload and any confusion that creating a survey may incite, review the below question examples. They are organized per campaign type, so you can discern which questions are most suitable for which corresponding research purpose.

Questions for Branding

Branding campaigns include efforts that build the identity of your business; this includes gathering data-backed ideas on logos, imagery, messaging and core themes surrounding your brand. You can use these when embarking on a new campaign, revamping an existing one or when you’re looking to change your brand’s reputation and style.

• Which of these brands do you know?
• What do you like most/least about this brand?
• Which idea is more important? (Use an idea behind setting up your brand’s image/style)
• Which images do you find the most inspiring? (To compare images you’ll use in your marketing/ definitive to your brand)
• What do you like about [brand]? (Can be open-ended)

Questions for Advertising

Using market research for advertising will help you obtain ideas for new advertising campaigns, testing already established campaign ideas and predicting the success of new ones.

• How would you rate the motivating power of this ad?
• Which of the following ads resonate the most with you?
• Do you remember this ad? (Name and image/video of a popular ad within your industry)
• How do you feel after watching this ad?
• What kind of use do you think this product/service produces?

Questions for Comparing Yourself with Competitors 

Studying your competitors is often associated with secondary research, but you can gain intelligence on this topic through your own survey research. The great thing about surveys is that you don’t have to focus on one competitor when managing these surveys.

• How often do you use this product/service?
• Which brand do you use for this product/service? (Include one open-ended answer).
• Which of the following products (same kind, different brand) do you find the most useful?
• What about [competitor product] would you like to see change?
• Which brand has improved your life? (Include one open-ended question).

Questions for Market Segmentation

This application is possibly the most challenging, as it involves understanding who your target market already is, then further segmenting it. We understand coming to terms with your target market first, before narrowing it any further down.

Here is how to segment your target market; you’ll notice that the questions are much more granular than the typical questions associated with each topic. (Ex: demographics typically ask for race, age, gender, income, etc).

• Demographic segmentation: Which of the following groups do you identify with most closely? (It can involve anything from music, to shopping habits, to lifestyle choices)
• Geographic segmentation: Which of the following areas do you typically spend time in to make physical purchases?
• Psychographic segmentation: How do you feel about retailers who test their products on animals?
• Behavioral segmentation: How often do you buy this kind of product?
• Sentimental segmentation: How do the following [practices, images, actions] make you feel?

Securing the Most Benefits Out of Your Market Research Survey

As we can deduce from this guide, the market research survey is a critical tool for market research . There is so much to discover about your industry, competitors and chiefly, your customers. But before making any hasty decisions, it is vital to peruse all your research documents, not just the primary research ones, such as surveys.

When you combine primary and secondary research sources, you’re setting up any business move for greater success. 

That’s because market research involves studying more than one source. It may appear daunting, but with the right tools, you can design better products, innovate on existing products, appeal to a wider audience and gain more revenue from your marketing efforts. 

Thus, pair your market research survey with other research means for a lucrative market research campaign. Knowledge truly is power. 

Frequently asked questions

What is a market research survey.

A market research survey is a survey used for conducting primary market research and is the most commonly used market research method. Market research surveys help you understand your target market, gathering data necessary to make informed decisions on content creation, product development, and more.

What are the components of a market research survey?

There are 4 major components in a market research survey. First, we have the callout to get digital visitors to participate in a survey. Next is the screener which determines who is eligible to take the survey based on their demographics information and answers to screening questions. Then, there is the questionnaire—-- this is the heart of the survey, containing a set of open-ended or closed-ended questions. Lastly, there’s the callout. This introduces the survey to respondents. Next, there’s the thank you message. This acts as the conclusion to the survey.

How can you create a market research survey?

Creating a market research survey starts with identifying the topics your business needs to learn more about. Next, you consider topics within the context of your target market and find the larger application of the survey campaign. Calculate your margin of error and then create your survey using online software.

What types of questions should you ask on your market research survey?

You can ask branding related questions to gather information on how your identity of your business is perceived. You can also ask questions that spark ideas for new advertising campaigns. To supplement your secondary research on competitors, ask questions about your business’s place in the industry. Questions can also be used for market segmentation. These are questions on demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioral and sentimental topics.

How can you get the most benefits out of your market research survey?

You can get the most out of your market research survey by using the correct online survey platform-- one with specific audience targeting for real consumers, radius targeting and quality screening questions-- you’ll get relevant answers from the right audience.

Do you want to distribute your survey? Pollfish offers you access to millions of targeted consumers to get survey responses from $0.95 per complete. Launch your survey today.

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Guide to market research surveys

Research Director

Market research surveys are powerful tools that help companies better understand current and potential customers. This information can be used to make business decisions based on facts and data —not flimsy gut feelings. But how, exactly, do you go about conducting market research surveys? We answer this question and more below.

What are market research surveys?

Market research surveys are a reliable means of gathering insight into the people that matter most: your target audience. Put more simply, surveys help market researchers get to know current and potential customers. And in some cases, like new product launches, can help to determine who your customers are.

The type of information extracted from these surveys varies. However, businesses typically use market research surveys to collect demographic data as well as data related to consumer desires, beliefs, and purchasing behaviour. For example, a company may develop a market research survey to evaluate brand awareness. Meanwhile, another company may design a market research survey to assess demand for a potential product.

It’s worth noting that market research surveys are an example of primary research. That means you are collecting information that hasn’t already been collected. Comparatively, secondary research involves using pre-existing data. For example, market researchers may reference census data.

Furthermore, it’s also important to note that the data collected through market research surveys is usually quantitative. This allows company executives to make quick, fact-based business decisions. For instance, information gleaned through a market research survey may show that customers in certain areas are willing to spend 50 percent more on a particular product. Companies can use this information to adjust pricing accordingly.

While online surveys are typically used to collect quantitative data, they can also be useful in collecting qualitative information as well. Market researchers achieve this by including open-ended questions that require panellists to type answers into a comment box. From there, market researchers can analyse the text manually or use text analysis tools.

Why use market research surveys?

Market research surveys provide a window into the consumer psyche, helping market researchers and end users better understand consumer wants, needs, and pain points. Companies can then use this information to develop products and services that resonate with the target market or better understand and respond to consumer concerns.

Simply put, market research surveys can boost the bottom line by helping businesses:

Research and analyse a target market

The primary goal of a market research survey is to gain insight into the people who are buying or who may buy your products or services. This insight may range from customer satisfaction to a consumer’s reaction to advertisements (i.e., ad testing).

Market research surveys often collect demographic data as well to enable deeper analysis among sub-groups of the population or your target market. For example, a questionnaire may request information regarding gender, location, and education level.

Measure brand awareness

When you live and breathe your company, it can be difficult to objectively assess what your target market thinks of your products and services. (Or, if your products and services are even on their radar.) That’s where a brand awareness survey comes into play.

A brand awareness survey seeks to evaluate consumers’ awareness of your brand, frequency of usage, and their perception of it compared to competitors. This information can be used to determine if your company is breaking through the noise or if more energy needs to be invested in marketing efforts.

Gain insight into current or future products

Is a product meeting customer needs? The best way to find out is to ask customers directly through an online product feedback survey. This questionnaire may ask questions like: ‘What changes would improve the product?’ and ‘What do you like most about products available from other brands?’

A similar type of survey can be conducted prior to releasing a product as well. These surveys help companies work out kinks or determine which features are most important to consumers before officially launching the product.

Types of market research surveys

Market research surveys can give companies the information needed to make key decisions, from adjusting or determining pricing to providing a new service. However, to collect meaningful data, market researchers must be sure to select the correct type of survey based on the target audience and the overarching research goal.

Online surveys

Online surveys (aka panel surveys ) are developed using survey platforms and then distributed to panellists (typically via email).

In recent years, online surveys have exploded in popularity, and with good reason. Thanks to the internet, market researchers can use this tool to reach consumers across the globe quickly. Even better, this survey method is relatively quick and affordable.

However, there are some downsides. Namely, online surveys are vulnerable to survey fraud—a phenomenon in which panellists or online bots offer disingenuous responses. Respondents may, for example, straight-line or speed through questions. Meanwhile, some scammers make a living by intentionally hacking surveys to collect economic incentives.

• Relatively low cost
• Global accessibility
• Real-time access to results
• Convenient for both panellists and researchers
• Quick execution
• Vulnerable to survey fraud
• Vulnerable to response bias
• Sampling is limited to respondents with internet access

In-person interviews

In-person interviews have long been a staple of market research. To conduct these interviews , participants must travel to a physical location. From there, a market researcher asks a series of questions that are answered verbally.

There are clear benefits of this survey method. In particular, a market researcher is present to answer and clarify any questions that the interviewee may have. In comparison, panellists completing online questionnaires may abandon the survey altogether if they become confused.

Nevertheless, in-person interviews are significantly more expensive and time-consuming. Participants may also feel less inclined to offer honest responses to potentially sensitive questions (e.g., ‘How many alcoholic beverages do you consume each week?’).

• Market researcher is available to offer clarification
• Moderators can take note of non-verbal cues
• Panellists can experience products in real life (in the case of product testing)
• Relatively higher cost
• More time-consuming
• Panellists are geographically limited

Telephone surveys

During a telephone survey, market researchers ask panellists a series of questions over the phone.

As with the in-person survey, the primary benefit of a telephone survey is that the moderator can offer further instruction and clarification if a respondent is confused by a particular question.

There are downsides, though. Chiefly, it can be difficult for market researchers to connect with panellists. Most people screen their calls and are hesitant to answer a phone number they don’t recognize. Additionally, questions that can be asked in an online survey to keep the respondent engaged typically do not translate over to phone interviews well. For example, an exercise where respondents are asked to rank a list of 10 items in order of importance is easier to complete when you can see all 10 items on your screen vs. a phone interviewer having to read them off to you.

• Wide geographic access
• Relatively cost-effective
• Market researcher available to answer questions
• Difficult to connect with panellists
• Questions must be simple and brief
• Panellists may be unwilling to share sensitive information

Mail surveys

With a mail survey, questionnaires are sent directly to panellists’ homes. The panellists then complete the surveys and mail them back to the company.

Though this method may seem antiquated, it allows market researchers to target segments of the population based on geography and reach people who are not part of online panels or are an underrepresented group. Panellists may also be more willing to offer honest answers in writing as opposed to online, in-person, or via phone.

However, there are some clear downsides. Namely, it can be difficult to motivate panellists to return the surveys via mail and there is no way to ensure that the sample that responds is representative. The process is also significantly slower than other methods, particularly online surveying.

• Lower administrative costs relative to in-person/telephone surveys
• Geographical segmentation is possible
• Panellists may offer more honest responses
• Time-consuming
• High nonresponse error
• Difficult and time consuming to process data

How to conduct market research surveys

If you want to gain insight into what makes your target consumers tick, then market research surveys are a must. But it’s important that these surveys be conducted properly, otherwise you risk wasting company time and money. A faulty survey could also sour a customer’s relationship with your company.

Fortunately, you can conduct market research surveys that yield high-quality data by following the six steps below.

Step 1: Set clear research objectives

Start the process by establishing a clear research goal. What do you hope to discover by conducting this research? Be sure to get specific here; the more granular, the better.

Examples of research objectives include:

• To better understand our customer journey, we aim to discover what triggers our five user segments to purchase Product X.
• To improve our spring marketing campaign, we want to assess brand awareness among consumers ages 18 to 25.

Knowing what you hope to discover will help you design an effective market research survey.

Step 2: Identify your audience

Before you can conduct a survey, you must determine who you will be surveying. In other words, you must identify your audience. Will you be targeting existing customers? Or are you hoping to collect information about prospective consumers?

If you’re struggling with this step, let your research objective act as a navigational compass. For example, let’s say your goal is to gauge customers’ willingness to purchase a product at a certain price point. With this in mind, you may target people who earn over a certain amount. Or, you may segment based on geography to determine how different areas respond to price changes.

Again, use your research goal as a guide. Then, work to determine the key demographics of your target audience.

Step 3: Create survey timelines

This step is rather straightforward but important nonetheless. Essentially, you want to answer questions like:

• When will the survey be sent to panellists?
• Will the survey be sent multiple times?
• When do you hope to collect all of the information?

Keep in mind that when you send surveys will affect the quality and quantity of data collected. If you choose to send a survey at midnight, for instance, it will likely have a lower response rate than a survey sent to panellists in the morning.

Step 4: Determine margins of error

In an ideal world, companies would survey every single consumer. But since this is unrealistic, market researchers instead survey a subsetof the total population. Ergo, the resulting data may not fully reflect the total population but our goal is to make it representative.

Exactly how much your sample data differs from “true data” that would be achieved if the total population were surveyed is called the margin of error. The larger the margin of error, the higher the uncertainty. As a market researcher, it’s up to you to determine how much uncertainty is acceptable. This value will help you determine an appropriate sample size.

Step 5: Send the survey

After designing the survey with respect to survey design best practices , it’s time to send it to your target audience.

As responses roll in, you must check the quality of your data . It’s also important that you set a total sample size for the number of responses collected. The value you land on will be determined by your margin of error.

Step 6: Analyse the data

Once responses have been collected, the last step is to use data analysis tools to answer your overarching research question. Collecting data that is representative of your consumer universe also allows you to analyze the data by different subgroups such as men vs. women or Millenials vs. Gen X. The information gleaned through this process will help you make data-driven decisions that serve your consumers and give your company a competitive edge.

As a leader in the realm of online survey design, Kantar is committed to helping brands develop questionnaires that yield meaningful, high-quality data. We do this by equipping market research partners with state-of-the-art programming tools and results-driven survey consultation. Our audience network is also the biggest and best source of real people who are who they say they are—not scammers or bots.

Want to know more? Speak to our award-winning survey design team to learn how we can help you design surveys that provide invaluable business insights.

Want more like this?

Read: 11 best practices for more effective survey designs  

Read: How to combat survey fraud  

Read: Your guide for writing open-ended questions for more thoughtful feedback

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35 Paid Online Research Studies Seeking Participants

How can one participate in paid online research studies and get paid for your brain, your health, and your opinions?

• Inbox Dollars - Get paid to check your email. $5 bonus just for signing up!
• Survey Junkie - The #1 survey site that doesn't suck. Short surveys, high payouts, simply the best.
• Nielsen - Download their app and get paid $50!

Well, you’re in the right place.

Today, let’s look at 35 different opportunities to get paid as a participant in research studies.

Types of Paid Online Research Studies

A medical study involves a group of people within an age group, gender, race, ethnic group, or individuals with the same specific health issues.

Participating in these studies often involves answering a combination of interviews, tests, surveys, or experimentation to be able to answer questions on how to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure health disorders and diseases.

Aside from paid medical studies, market research makes use of paid online research to find out what customers want or need from various products and companies.

The cool thing about paid online research studies available today is that even if you are not a part of the target audience, you can still participate in the study in another capacity.

Online research studies can be either quantitative or qualitative.

Quantitative studies are the ones with static, pre-planned answers. A questionnaire with multiple-choice answers is a good example of this study. It is made as such so that the researcher can easily analyze the results.

Qualitative studies are a bit more complex since they involve open-ended answers.

However, this type of study ends up with better data. Focus groups and interviews are both methods used in qualitative studies.

How Much Can You Earn from Paid Research Studies?

Imagine earning up to $1,000 just for sharing your opinion, review of a product, or thoughts about a particular experience without even stepping out of the house.

You don’t even have to spend a cent to participate in these research studies.

Most of the time, you’d only have to be at least 18 years old and currently live in the US.

Even when you’re below 18 years old, researchers sometimes allow you to participate as long as you had a waiver from your parent or legal guardian.

The amount you earn from joining research studies depend on the following:

• Method of research — Did you join a focus group? Answered a lengthy interview? Filled out a survey form?
• Length of study — Some interviews only take an hour and earn you $150. Some focus groups could take several sessions and end only after several weeks.
• Type of payment — Not all companies pay cash. Some use PayPal, while others prefer checks, gift cards, prepaid cards, and so on.

Quick surveys can be as little as $10 and high as $100.

Focus group sessions range between $50 and $500 per session.

Interviews can earn you somewhere from $50 to $400 for an hour of your time.

Simply put, the amount you’ll be paid will vary from study to study.

Join These to Start Making Money Today!

Before digging into the list below, I suggest you sign up for the 3 best focus group/market research companies.

Anyone can participate and you will be invited to take part in research studies, focus groups, and product testing opportunities.

These companies pay in cash and offer cash signup bonuses to get you started.

• SurveyJunkie - Get paid CASH to share your thoughts on some of the world's biggest brands.
• Branded Surveys - Work directly with companies like Nike, Samsung, Amazon, and Disney to improve their product lines.

On to the list!

35 Ways to Get Paid for Research Studies Online

The following universities have year-long research studies in a wide range of topics.

1. Northwestern University Department of Psychology

Earn from $10 to $40 an hour if you participate in one of the school’s online studies.

The studies change regularly and vary widely from topics such as phone usage, changes in thoughts and feelings, Artificial Intelligence,  sleeping patterns, psychosis, aging, and even products like hearing aids.

2. Harvard University Psychology Study Pool

Join Harvard’s Psychology Study Pool and earn from $10 to $25 an hour, paid via gift cards.

The online studies are available year-round for both Harvard students and guests.

3. Carnegie Mellon University

If you’re at least 18 years old, can read and speak English, and have never joined any research studies at the Center for Behavioral and Decision Research at Carnegie Mellon, you can sign up for their paid online research studies.

Topics range from personal beliefs, attitudes, decision-making, human judgment, interpersonal perceptions, and group performance, among others.

You’ll earn $8 an hour, paid in gift cards. Each study takes anywhere from 5 and 20 minutes.

Paid participants are needed for in-person studies in labs on campus, but may sometimes be able to participate online on a home computer.

Note that only students are accepted (ID will be requested).

4. Center for Decision Sciences Columbia Business School

For participating in an online survey or study, you can earn $16 an hour, as long as you’re 18+ years old and have a PayPal or Amazon.com account to receive payments.

No need to be a student at Columbia Business School, but you need to register in the CDS Virtual Lab Online Panel.

5. MIT Behavioral Research Lab

There are in-person and paid online research studies available at MIT.

Payment amounts vary from study to study, but participants usually earn $11 to $20 per hour for online studies.

Anyone aged 18 or older, residing in the United States, and proficient in spoken and written English can join the BRL participant pool.

Membership is open to all; you don’t need any association with MIT to participate. Other requirements may be needed for studies requiring specific respondents.

6. University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business

As long as you’re a current Smith student (and eligible for certain studies), you can get paid for research studies online here.

Make sure you create an account, sign up for the studies that you want to participate in, and get paid once you fulfill your role.

7. Purdue University

You can find a lot of paid online studies here.

Currently, they have studies on Parkinson’s disease (and other neurodegenerative diseases), flavored water, biosensors, mushroom nutrition, linguistics, cancer, and so on.

Participants are paid somewhere between $10 and $500.

What’s great about Purdue University is that the studies are varied and open to the public.

8. Stanford Graduate School of Business

You’ll be paid up to $25 an hour for online research studies, but you’d have to be eligible and complete a prescreen form.

You also can’t participate in the same study more than once.

9. UCLA Anderson School of Management

The behavioral lab has some paid online studies, if you’re interested in topics like consumer behavior, organizational behavior, judgment, and other similar topics.

Most studies here pay from $10 to $20 an hour.

They also have in-lab and in-person studies.

10. Boston University Behavioral Lab

If you’re interested in human behavior and is willing to participate in online studies, try to join if you’re eligible.

These studies pay between $10 and $20 an hour.

The studies from Boston University’s Behavioral Lab is open to both BU students and the general public.

11. University of Maryland Department of Psychology

You need to create an account at the SONA System website to see available research studies.

Each of the studies have different eligibilities and payment.

12. University of Nebraska-Lincoln

This college holds a wide range of research studies revolving MRI research, human brain, behavior, and so on.

There are studies exclusively for seniors, and those that are for teens.

There are two ways to volunteer for these studies:

• Join the CB3 Research Participant Volunteer Registry (and wait for them to e-mail you)
• Pick the study and contact researchers directly.

Pay can go as high as $80 per study.

13. American University Psychology Department

Topics vary widely, but they are related to psychology and human behavior.

You can earn up to $20 an hour for just filling out a form as a smoker’s first-hand experience during stressful situations.

14. Respondent.IO

This next one isn’t a university, but it’s a comprehensive resource if you plan to participate in numerous market research and other online studies.

Pay ranges from $25 to $200.

Eligibility requirements vary between studies.

Make sure to check details and never pay to join a focus group or study.

15. Brand Institute

Want to be at the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry?

Join consumer market research panel groups by signing up with Brand Institute.

16. mindswarms

It’s sort of like an interview since you are required to answer ten questions with a video.

In exchange for your thoughts, you’ll be paid $50.

Earn somewhere between $50 and $250 by participating in healthcare or consumer market research studies.

18. Probe Market Research

The company pays people for online, phone or group interviews about their clients’ products, services, ads, or other campaigns.

Payment goes as high as $400.

19. Penn State University

(Quick shoutout to my Alma Mater… We Are!)

… and they are seeking just about anyone who’s alive to participate in a research study. With over 200 current open studies, odds are, you’ll qualify for something they have available.

Keep an eye out for “Total Compensation” to see just what the study pays.

20. User Interviews

Get paid for your feedback on real projects.

Create an account by filling up a form and wait for project invitations if you’re eligible.

There are online and in-phone interviews available.

21. Yale School of Management

If you live anywhere near Yale campus, be sure to sign up for their newsletter as they frequently put out requests for both in person and paid online research studies.

You will be paid, in cash, at the completion of your study.

They also have a Facebook group that announces when new studies are available to participate in.

22. Georgetown University Department of Psychology

Georgetown’s Department of Psychology is regularly looking for both students and non-students alike to participate in studies.

Average pay will run you about $10 per hour, so it can be some nice change to pick up in your spare time.

Their research includes personality, memory, and impulse control tests to name a few.

23. UCLA Semel Institute

UCLA offers both in-person and online research studies to check out.

They have a massive list of open opportunities for you to click through. The highest paying ones often need you to come into their offices for scans and interviews, but there are a lot of remote positions available too.

24. PingPong

Web designers and developers working on websites and applications value the input of real-life users and are willing to pay for these users’ opinions and insights

You can get paid anywhere from €15 to €40 per hour and even up to €100 for special projects.

Payment is credited through Transferwise or PayPal.

25. American Consumer Opinion

Yet another survey site, American Consumer Opinion (ACOP) pays you for your answers to their survey questions.

You can even get paid up to $100 if you fit a certain demographic and able to participate in special projects.

Research studies on this site may not be constantly available, though. It’s best to check back frequently.

26. Recruit and Field

Recruit and Field is a market research company that hosts paid online research studies all around the US and even in international locations.

They look for participants from any gender and age for their studies, including professionals and medical professionals (doctor, nurse, lab technician).

They normally pay via PayPal but also offer Amazon or digital gift cards.

The pay ranges from $100 to $275 for phone interviews, online surveys, and sometimes in-home product testing.

27. Focus Group

Focus Group is an aptly named online community comprised of participants interested in sharing opinions and views on popular products and brands through in-person, telephone, or online surveys.

The pay ranges from $75 to $200, and specialized health studies may pay more.

28. 20|20 Panel

Since 1986, 20|20 Panel has been recruiting participants to share their opinion on various companies.

They specialize in qualitative market research, which is achieved via in-person or online roundtable discussions. You can get paid from $50 to $350 to participate in these discussions.

They also send out quick surveys for which you can get paid smaller amounts (from $1 to $10).

29. FindFocusGroups

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a directory of all the paid research opportunities in the country?

FindFocusGroups is probably the closest one, as it lists more than 75,000 verified and legitimate focus groups in the country.

It’s quite simple to search by city and state, and check the information for details on whether the discussions are online or in-person.

It’s difficult to know how much the average payment would be, but upon browsing the first few studies on the homepage, they range from $50 to $300.

30. SIS International

SIS International conducts focus group discussions in cities all over the US and globally and collects consumer feedback on anything from appliances, skincare products, gadgets, and just about anything.

Rates range from $25 to $200 for 2 to 3 hours of your time.

31.  Apex Focus Group

Apex Focus Group connects regular people like you and me with researchers, who will pay for participants to join clinical research trials, phone interviews and focus groups.

As a participant at any Apex Focus Group study, you can be paid up to $750 a week.

Online and in-person studies are available.

32.  Fieldwork

If you live near New Jersey, New York City, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, or Minneapolis, you can participate in current Fieldwork research studies.

Most of the paid focus groups are face-to-face (but online are sometimes available).

Each study lasts about 1 or 2 hours. Participants earn between $75 and $100 for their time.

33. Rare Patient Voice

This company mostly looks for participants who have rare diseases and medical conditions. As such, only eligible people can benefit from the studies.

However, anyone who qualifies will receive $120/hour.

You can share your views via online surveys, clinical trials, or web-assisted phone interviews.

34. ClinicalTrials.gov

The federal government continually seeks individuals willing to participate in clinical trials testing different medications and treatments.

Studies are often conducted by the National Institutes of Health.

You can check out a list of ongoing clinical trials at clinicaltrials.gov.

Unlike other paid online research studies on this list, DScout is an app you can download.

You need to register to become a “scout” and participate in research “missions,” which will earn you money after completion.

DScout studies are usually 1-on-1 interviews or video responses, so you’d have to be comfortable in front of the camera.

Missions pay from $50 to $100, each lasting about 30 minutes.

Can I turn these Paid Online Research Studies into a Full-Time Job?

While paid online studies are highly interesting and offer legitimate side cash, this gig cannot replicate the steady income and benefits you can get with a full-time job.

You’d have to consider that many research studies:

• have eligibility requirements (which means you’re not guaranteed a slot every time)
• cannot be joined twice (once you’ve participated in a specific study, you can’t do a repeat)
• have varying payments (there’s no stability in such income)

I do think it’s a legitimate side gig if you’re in between jobs or have a lot of free time on your hands.

You can also get paid answering surveys , joining focus groups , or testing products .

READ THIS NEXT: The EASIEST ways to make money online. See how.

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• What is market research survey

Why use surveys?

Survey research methods.

• Conducting market research surveys
• Common mistakes with market research surveys?

The different types of survey methods

Survey tools for your survey method, what can businesses do with these types of surveys, how to write a research survey (free example templates), try qualtrics for free, types of market research surveys.

20 min read There are different types of survey research you can run, but the majority of research is conducted with just a handful of research survey methods. We explore what they are and how to use them.

What is a market research survey?

A market research survey is a way of getting feedback directly from the people who have the ultimate say in your organization’s success: your customers.

Unlike focus groups or interviews, market research surveys allow you to get detailed feedback at scale — from behaviors to overall experiences — and in a standardized format. Also, as the data is easy to process, you can quickly turn it into actionable insights .

Surveys are used to collect primary research, which means market research data that you collect yourself. The other type is secondary data, which is obtained from other sources, for example census data.

Surveys are among the most popular methods of primary market research, since they can be used to gather qualitative and quantitative research on market trends, and they can cover a huge range of respondents across your customer base. They’re also a format familiar to many people.

Get started with our free survey software

Surveys are ultimately about understanding your target audience, but they can go beyond your customer base. They can be taken by anyone — employees, potential future customers, and even those who don’t want to engage with your business (helping you to identify the ones that do).

However, a survey isn’t a stand-alone solution. It can work alongside other survey methods, such as focus groups, field studies, observation, and market analysis, to help you get a clear picture of your market and decide what direction to take.

But with all these different types of survey methods, and some being better than others in specific areas (e.g. data quality, collecting feedback), where should you start?

To get the best out of each survey research type, consider what you can invest in terms of:

• Time: How quickly do you need the survey research? Do you have time to conduct research?
• Money: Do you have the budget to invest in research overheads?
• Knowledge of analytics: Are you trained to interpret the collected data? If not, do you have a partner you can work with to get the insights you need?
• Research expertise: Do you have clearly defined problems or challenges that you want to explore or understand through surveys?
• Technology capability: Is your survey software up to the task of analyzing the data?
• Your audience’s response: Is it likely that your audience will respond? What survey types (online surveys, etc.) would they be most receptive to?
• Slow responses: Do you have a strategy in place to avoid low response rates?

Conducting market research surveys: best practices

Today’s market research industry is advancing rapidly, thanks in part to new technologies which make it easier to conduct market research, and offer more power and sophistication when it comes to analyzing your data.

Data-driven research is the standard across market research and other disciplines, and within the sector competition between brands is driving progress towards better and better market research tools. Beyond customer satisfaction, demographic questions and competitive analysis, today’s tools can dive deeper into your data, unearthing key drivers behind trends and even providing aggregated data on emotions and attitudes in customer feedback.

However, none of these technological advances can replace humans. To conduct market research successfully, you need to be able to combine tech with insight, intelligence and intuition, especially when you’re dealing directly with target customers, for example during a phone interview or when you’re approaching existing customers whose relationship to your brand needs to be maintained.

As we’ll see in this guide, market research can be used in a huge range of contexts, including brand tracking, customer experience research, employee experience programs, and of course product development. Whichever application you’re looking at, it’s essential to prepare thoroughly before sending out your surveys.

• Make sure your research question has been formulated and agreed by everyone involved in the project
• Develop a communications plan to maximize the chances of people engaging with your survey, including introductions, publicity, reminders and follow-up
• Consider using pre-testing before you fully launch your survey to thoroughly road-test it and iron out any issues
• Close the loop – after the study is complete and actions have been taken, let participations know how their contribution helped
• Consider a research panel for future surveys, either one you’ve built yourself or one managed by a third party provider

What are some common mistakes with market research surveys?

With the right survey tools and appropriate support from your survey platform provider, everything should go smoothly, even if you’re not an expert at doing your own market research. However, there are a few things to watch out for.

Choosing the wrong people to survey

Figuring out who you’re going to survey in the first place may seem like an obvious first step and not one you need to spend much time on. But in fact it’s possible to get it wrong, survey the wrong people and end up running a market research study with unreliable data. This is sometimes called ‘sample framing error’

Getting your sample size wrong

If your sample is too small, you run the risk of getting a sample group that doesn’t adequately reflect your target population. This can throw your entire market research survey off course. But if the sample is too large, you spend time and money on research that doesn’t add significant value. Have a look at our sample size calculator to help determine the right sample size for your market research surveys.

Using the wrong kinds of analysis

Do you know your conjoint analysis from your T-test? Understanding the basic types of statistical tests you can use to analyze market research survey data is essential if you’re not using a survey tool with built-in analytics. You’ll need to match the kind of data you’re collecting to the analysis method you choose in order to get accurate insights from your market research surveys.

Writing confusing survey questions

Survey questions aren’t like the questions we use in everyday speech, or even like the ones we ask in formal writing. They need to be highly specific, include appropriate context, and be free of any kind of descriptive or persuasive element that might introduce bias. For a primer on writing great market research survey questions, see our guide to great survey questions

You should choose your survey method based on your target audience, distribution capabilities, and the questions you want answered. For example, interviews are far more personal and explorative by nature, but they’re difficult and costly to scale. Online surveys, on the other hand, have far greater reach and much more affordable — but you lose the opportunity to connect with respondents. Let’s go through the different types and how you can use them.

Online surveys

Online surveys are accessible to any participant across the globe, providing they have an internet connection. You can create online surveys using survey platforms and distribute them via email using a link, or respondents can go directly to the online survey and complete it.

Paper surveys

Paper surveys (or written surveys) are printed surveys filled in by hand. This method works well if respondents have enough time (and incentive) to complete the survey, and the researcher is happy to manually collect the data before collating and interpreting the answers.

Mail surveys

Mail surveys provide exceptional geographical coverage as they can be printed off and sent via the post. However, as recipients need to return the surveys for counting, it’s recommended that you include a pre-paid returns envelope in the original envelope, otherwise you’ll have lower response rates.

Telephone surveys

Telephone surveys involve asking respondents a series of questions over the phone. It’s a popular survey method as it’s convenient for researchers and doesn’t require a lot of capital to do. However, researchers may need to invest time to set up interviews with participants and take notes during the process.

In-person interviews / face-to-face surveys

In-person interviews and face-to-face surveys are great opportunities to get more insightful and valuable responses from participants. You can quickly find out why they think and feel the way that they do, providing an unbiased view of a subject or issue. However, like telephone surveys, they require a lot of time to set up and gather data.

Panel surveys

Panel surveys use a pre-selected group of people as the sample, so that the research can be carried out quickly. It presents a happy medium between the speed and quality of research data.

Based on the type of survey method you choose, here are the types of tools you need and can use for each:

A good internet connection is required for participants to access online surveys, though mobile devices data plans mean that most people can connect to the internet easily.

A good survey software platform is needed to give you full functionality and flexibility, so your online surveys can be customized and optimized. However, businesses can get more for their money with a survey software system that does more for the company.

For example, the Qualtrics XM Platform™ is a best-of-breed experience operating system for experience management. It brings all your operational and experience data together from across the organization to help create and improve experiences for employees, customers, prospects and more. It automatically updates records, has an in-built analytics engine and can handle research projects, from start to finish, in a few clicks.

All you need are paper, ink, pens and clipboards — but due to environmental and sustainability concerns, particularly paper waste and ink pollution, you may want to opt for a more digitized solution.

For mail surveys, the resources and concerns are the same as with paper surveys — but the main difference is distribution.

Ultimately, you need a reliable postal service that can deliver to your target audience. It also becomes costly if you want to include international respondents.

As long as you have good connectivity and network coverage, telephone surveys are straightforward. That said, survey calls can last a long time, so if you plan to include international audiences, ensure you can afford the calling costs.

The only requirement for in-person interviews and face-to-face surveys is a venue to hold them in.

These require participants to be available at the time of the research. Traditionally, third-party generated research panels are available as a service to companies that don’t have access to the audiences they need.

The surveys we explored can be used for four purposes in any business:

1. Market surveys

These help you understand who’s out there, what they want, and how you can best meet their needs.

Market description surveys

Purpose: to determine the size and relative market share of the market. Such studies provide key information about market growth, competitive positioning, and tracking share of the market .

Market profiling / segmentation surveys

Purpose: to identify who the customers are , who they are not, and why they are or are not your customers. This is often a descriptive market segmentation and market share analysis.

Stage in the purchase process / tracking surveys

Where is the customer in the adoption process? This information shows Market Awareness – Knowledge – Intention – Trial – Purchase – Repurchase of the product.

2.   Customer experience surveys

This kind of survey helps you put yourself in the customer’s shoes and look at your business from their perspective.

Customer intention – purchase analysis surveys

Purpose: Directed at understanding the current customer. What motivates the customer to move from interest in the product to actual purchase? This is key to understanding customer conversion, commitment, and loyalty .

Customer attitudes and expectations surveys

Purpose: Used to direct advertising and improve customer conversion, commitment, and loyalty. Does the product meet customer expectations ? What attitudes have customers formed about the product and/or company?

Learn how you can set up and run customer attitudes and use surveys

Sales lead generation surveys

Purpose: Sales lead generation surveys are for

• assuring timely use and follow-up of sales leads
• qualifying sales leads (thereby saving valuable sales force time)
• providing more effective tracking of sales leads

Customer trust / loyalty / retention analysis surveys

Purpose: Especially helpful for high-priced consumer goods with a long decision and purchase processes (time from need recognition to purchase), this type of study explores the depth of consumer attitudes formed about the product and/or company.

Salesforce effectiveness surveys

Purpose: A combination of measures that focus on the sales activities, performance, and effectiveness in producing the desired and measurable effect or goal. Often measured as a 360-degree survey completed by the salesperson, the client (evaluating the sales call), and the supervisor responsible for evaluating the salesperson.

Customer service surveys

Purpose: Akin to customer satisfaction surveys, customer service surveys instead focus in detail on the actual customer service that was received, the process involved in receiving that service, and the evaluation of the participants in the service process.

Customer service representative (CSR) surveys

Purpose: CSRs often exhibit frustration, burnout, and high turnover . Surveys focus on CSR retention, reducing costs, and increasing the quality of customer relationships.

Attitudes, burnout, turnover, and retention: CSRs hold attitudes that reflect on their job-related activities including:

• the allocation of time
• solutions to customer needs
• how to improve their job
• best practices
• how well internal departments help customers

3. Product surveys

As part of product development, surveys help you find out what features, benefits and attributes appeal most to your customers, and how best to package your product, experience or service.

New product, service or experience concept analysis surveys

Purpose: Concept test studies are appropriate in the initial screening of new product concepts . Likes and dislikes about the concept and evaluation of acceptability and likelihood of purchase are especially useful measures.

Concept optimization, demand estimation, and cost analysis surveys (conjoint analysis)

Purpose: Determines an optimal bundle of features and benefits, and estimates associated demand. This kind of survey develops market share estimates of market potential for the alternative potential products.

Habits and practices, or attitude and usage surveys

Purpose: Directed at understanding usage situations, including how, when, and where the product is used. Habits and practices studies sometimes include a real or virtual pantry audit. Attitude and usage studies are used to understand consumer attitudes towards the product category and to life in general. They also look at product and brand usage, including how, when and where the product is used.

Product satisfaction surveys (attribute, features, promised benefits)

Purpose: Evaluation of the product’s promised bundle of benefits (both tangible and image). Are expectations created for the product by advertising, packaging , and the product appearance fulfilled by the product?

Competitive benchmarking surveys

Purpose: A “best practices” study of “how does the market view us relative to the competition?” Competitive positioning analyses often compare the attributes and benefits that make up the product using multidimensional scaling. These analyses also include an evaluation of key competitors, looking at the same KPIs and attributes as product satisfaction surveys.

Sales forecasting and market tracking surveys

Purpose: Sales forecasting and market tracking studies can include expert opinion (experts estimate the market), judgmental bootstrapping (expert-based rules describing how to use available secondary market information), conjoint analysis (estimation of consumer intentions based on product attributes that are important in the decision), and intentions evaluations (consumer self-reported intentions of future purchases).

Price setting surveys and elasticity of demand analysis

Purpose: Price surveys estimate the elasticity of demand and show optimal price points, including prices too low or too high. Price surveys may estimate the demand for different product or service segments, or different usage situations.

4. Brand surveys

A survey can help you understand how consumers perceive your brand and what values and ideas they associate with it. You can explore what value your brand has and whether people would choose you over competitors in your market niche.

Brand equity analysis surveys

Purpose: What is the psychological value that a brand holds in the marketplace? Brand equity is a composite of brand awareness , brand quality, brand associations, and brand loyalty measures.

Advertising value identification and analysis surveys

Purpose: Advertising value analysis focuses on mapping the hierarchical attributes, benefits, and values that are associated with and portrayed by an advertisement. Means-end analysis is often part of this type of study.

Advertising message effectiveness surveys (media and message)

Purpose: Message effectiveness testing identifies the impressions, feelings, and effectiveness in moving the respondent to a desired goal (increased awareness, more product information, trial, repeat purchase).

Once you know the right type of survey to run, the next step is to write a survey that your respondents will love to take!

Survey methods can be used to help collect data on real business issues and help you answer questions. Qualtrics supports customer surveys on every channel, at every journey stage to get you answers for more informed decisions.

We’ve put together a range of survey example templates that you can use for free to help you get started:

• Employee satisfaction survey template
• Employee exit survey template
• Customer satisfaction (CSAT) survey template
• Ad testing survey template
• Brand awareness survey template
• Product pricing survey template
• Product research survey template
• Employee engagement survey template
• Customer service survey template
• NPS survey template
• Product package testing survey template
• Product features prioritization survey template

In addition, for large-scale research studies, Qualtrics offers market research services to help with everything from questionnaire design and survey methods, to implementation and analysis.

Related resources

Post event survey questions 10 min read, best survey software 16 min read, close-ended questions 7 min read, survey vs questionnaire 12 min read, response bias 13 min read, double barreled question 11 min read, likert scales 14 min read, request demo.

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Types of market research: Methods and examples

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Here at GWI we publish a steady stream of blogs, reports, and other resources that dig deep into specific market research topics.

But what about the folks who’d appreciate a more general overview of market research that explains the big picture? Don’t they deserve some love too?

Of course they do. That’s why we’ve created this overview guide focusing on types of market research and examples. With so many market research companies to choose from, having a solid general understanding of how this sector works is essential for any brand or business that wants to pick the right market research partner.

So with that in mind, let’s start at the very beginning and get clear on…

Market research definition

At the risk of stating the slightly obvious, market research is the gathering and analyzing of data on consumers, competitors, distributors, and markets. As such it’s not quite the same as consumer research , but there’s significant overlap.

Market research matters because it can help you take the guesswork out of getting through to audiences. By studying consumers and gathering information on their likes, dislikes, and so on, brands can make evidence-based decisions instead of relying on instinct or experience. 

What is market research?

Market research is the organized gathering of information about target markets and consumers’ needs and preferences. It’s an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness.

If a business wants to know – really know – what sort of products or services consumers want to buy, along with where, when, and how those products and services should be marketed, it just makes sense to ask the prospective audience. 

Without the certainty that market research brings, a business is basically hoping for the best. And while we salute their optimism, that’s not exactly a reliable strategy for success.

What are the types of market research?

Primary research .

Primary research is a type of market research you either conduct yourself or hire someone to do on your behalf.

A classic example of primary research involves going directly to a source – typically customers or prospective customers in your target market – to ask questions and gather information about a product or service. Interviewing methods include in-person, online surveys, phone calls, and focus groups.

The big advantage of primary research is that it’s directly focused on your objectives, so the outcome will be conclusive, detailed insights – particularly into customer views – making it the gold standard.

The disadvantages are it can be time-consuming and potentially costly, plus there’s a risk of survey bias creeping in, in the sense that research samples may not be representative of the wider group.

Secondary research 

Primary market research means you collect the data your business needs, whereas the types of market research known as secondary market research use information that’s already been gathered for other purposes but can still be valuable. Examples include published market studies, white papers, analyst reports, customer emails, and customer surveys/feedback.

For many small businesses with limited budgets, secondary market research is their first choice because it’s easier to acquire and far more affordable than primary research.

Secondary research can still answer specific business questions, but with limitations. The data collected from that audience may not match your targeted audience exactly, resulting in skewed outcomes. 

A big benefit of secondary market research is helping lay the groundwork and get you ready to carry out primary market research by making sure you’re focused on what matters most.

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is one of the two fundamental types of market research. Qualitative research is about people and their opinions. Typically conducted by asking questions either one-on-one or in groups, qualitative research can help you define problems and learn about customers’ opinions, values, and beliefs.

Classic examples of qualitative research are long-answer questions like “Why do you think this product is better than competitive products? Why do you think it’s not?”, or “How would you improve this new service to make it more appealing?”

Because qualitative research generally involves smaller sample sizes than its close cousin quantitative research, it gives you an anecdotal overview of your subject, rather than highly detailed information that can help predict future performance.

Qualitative research is particularly useful if you’re developing a new product, service, website or ad campaign and want to get some feedback before you commit a large budget to it.

Quantitative research

If qualitative research is all about opinions, quantitative research is all about numbers, using math to uncover insights about your audience. 

Typical quantitative research questions are things like, “What’s the market size for this product?” or “How long are visitors staying on this website?”. Clearly the answers to both will be numerical.

Quantitative research usually involves questionnaires. Respondents are asked to complete the survey, which marketers use to understand consumer needs, and create strategies and marketing plans.

Importantly, because quantitative research is math-based, it’s statistically valid, which means you’re in a good position to use it to predict the future direction of your business.

Consumer research 

As its name implies, consumer research gathers information about consumers’ lifestyles, behaviors, needs and preferences, usually in relation to a particular product or service. It can include both quantitative and qualitative studies.

Examples of consumer research in action include finding ways to improve consumer perception of a product, or creating buyer personas and market segments, which help you successfully market your product to different types of customers.

Understanding consumer trends , driven by consumer research, helps businesses understand customer psychology and create detailed purchasing behavior profiles. The result helps brands improve their products and services by making them more customer-centric, increasing customer satisfaction, and boosting bottom line in the process.

Product research 

Product research gives a new product (or indeed service, we don’t judge) its best chance of success, or helps an existing product improve or increase market share.

It’s common sense: by finding out what consumers want and adjusting your offering accordingly, you gain a competitive edge. It can be the difference between a product being a roaring success or an abject failure.

Examples of product research include finding ways to develop goods with a higher value, or identifying exactly where innovation effort should be focused. 

Product research goes hand-in-hand with other strands of market research, helping you make informed decisions about what consumers want, and what you can offer them.

Brand research  

Brand research is the process of gathering feedback from your current, prospective, and even past customers to understand how your brand is perceived by the market.

It covers things like brand awareness, brand perceptions, customer advocacy, advertising effectiveness, purchase channels, audience profiling, and whether or not the brand is a top consideration for consumers.

The result helps take the guesswork out of your messaging and brand strategy. Like all types of market research, it gives marketing leaders the data they need to make better choices based on fact rather than opinion or intuition.

Market research methods 

So far we’ve reviewed various different types of market research, now let’s look at market research methods, in other words the practical ways you can uncover those all-important insights.

Consumer research platform 

A consumer research platform like GWI is a smart way to find on-demand market research insights in seconds.

In a world of fluid markets and changing attitudes, a detailed understanding of your consumers, developed using the right research platform, enables you to stop guessing and start knowing.

As well as providing certainty, consumer research platforms massively accelerate speed to insight. Got a question? Just jump on your consumer research platform and find the answer – job done.

The ability to mine data for answers like this is empowering – suddenly you’re in the driving seat with a world of possibilities ahead of you. Compared to the most obvious alternative – commissioning third party research that could take weeks to arrive – the right consumer research platform is basically a magic wand.

Admittedly we’re biased, but GWI delivers all this and more. Take our platform for a quick spin and see for yourself.

And the downside of using a consumer research platform? Well, no data set, however fresh or thorough, can answer every question. If you need really niche insights then your best bet is custom market research , where you can ask any question you like, tailored to your exact needs.

Face-to-face interviews 

Despite the rise in popularity of online surveys , face-to-face survey interviewing – using mobile devices or even the classic paper survey – is still a popular data collection method.

In terms of advantages, face-to-face interviews help with accurate screening, in the sense the interviewee can’t easily give misleading answers about, say, their age. The interviewer can also make a note of emotions and non-verbal cues. 

On the other hand, face-to-face interviews can be costly, while the quality of data you get back often depends on the ability of the interviewer. Also, the size of the sample is limited to the size of your interviewing staff, the area in which the interviews are conducted, and the number of qualified respondents within that area.

Social listening 

Social listening is a powerful solution for brands who want to keep an ear to the ground, gathering unfiltered thoughts and opinions from consumers who are posting on social media. 

Many social listening tools store data for up to a couple of years, great for trend analysis that needs to compare current and past conversations.

Social listening isn’t limited to text. Images, videos, and emojis often help us better understand what consumers are thinking, saying, and doing better than more traditional research methods. 

Perhaps the biggest downside is there are no guarantees with social listening, and you never know what you will (or won’t) find. It can also be tricky to gauge sentiment accurately if the language used is open to misinterpretation, for example if a social media user describes something as “sick”.

There’s also a potential problem around what people say vs. what they actually do. Tweeting about the gym is a good deal easier than actually going. The wider problem – and this may shock you – is that not every single thing people write on social media is necessarily true, which means social listening can easily deliver unreliable results.

Public domain data 

Public domain data comes from think tanks and government statistics or research centers like the UK’s National Office for Statistics or the United States Census Bureau and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences. Other sources are things like research journals, news media, and academic material.

Its advantages for market research are it’s cheap (or even free), quick to access, and easily available. Public domain datasets can be huge, so potentially very rich.

On the flip side, the data can be out of date, it certainly isn’t exclusive to you, and the collection methodology can leave much to be desired. But used carefully, public domain data can be a useful source of secondary market research.

Telephone interviews 

You know the drill – you get a call from a researcher who asks you questions about a particular topic and wants to hear your opinions. Some even pay or offer other rewards for your time.

Telephone surveys are great for reaching niche groups of consumers within a specific geographic area or connected to a particular brand, or who aren’t very active in online channels. They’re not well-suited for gathering data from broad population groups, simply because of the time and labor involved.

How to use market research 

Data isn’t an end in itself; instead it’s a springboard to make other stuff happen. So once you’ve drawn conclusions from your research, it’s time to think of what you’ll actually do based on your findings.

While it’s impossible for us to give a definitive list (every use case is different), here are some suggestions to get you started.

Leverage it . Think about ways to expand the use – and value – of research data and insights, for example by using research to support business goals and functions, like sales, market share or product design.

Integrate it . Expand the value of your research data by integrating it with other data sources, internal and external. Integrating data like this can broaden your perspective and help you draw deeper insights for more confident decision-making.

Justify it . Enlist colleagues from areas that’ll benefit from the insights that research provides – that could be product management, product development, customer service, marketing, sales or many others – and build a business case for using research.

How to choose the right type of market research 

Broadly speaking, choosing the right research method depends on knowing the type of data you need to collect. To dig into ideas and opinions, choose qualitative; to do some testing, it’s quantitative you want.

There are also a bunch of practical considerations, not least cost. If a particular approach sounds great but costs the earth then clearly it’s not ideal for any brand on a budget.

Then there’s how you intend to use the actual research, your level of expertise with research data, whether you need access to historical data or just a snapshot of today, and so on.

The point is, different methods suit different situations. When choosing, you’ll want to consider what you want to achieve, what data you’ll need, the pros and cons of each method, the costs of conducting the research, and the cost of analyzing the results. 

Market research examples

Independent agency Bright/Shift used GWI consumer insights to shape a high-impact go-to-market strategy for their sustainable furniture client, generating £41K in revenue in the first month. Here’s how they made the magic happen .

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Reset Retail responsibly

Now is the time to responsibly reset, which means better serving the needs of customers, employees and the communities where they live and work. The challenge is to leverage both digital and physical retail experiences to meet new demands—without compromising results.

of tasks undertaken by retail workers could be automated or augmented by large language models

of global consumers worry about their country’s economy

of high-income consumers plan to increase spend on ‘health and fitness’

consumers say that inflation and the rising cost of living are their top economic concerns

How to reinvent retail

Create a motivated frontline workforce to exceed evolving customer demands while fostering long-term retail careers.

Embrace a new, responsible management approach that improves the planet while driving profit

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Redefine the “how” and “what” of work by eliminating mundane, repeatable tasks from your employees’ responsibilities, create lasting customer relationships that bridge the digital and physical worlds, segments we support.

Delivering aspirational, immersive experiences in-store and online to a discerning luxury goods clientele.

Staying competitive in a fast-changing food, beverage and personal goods marketplace while meeting increased customer expectations for quality, convenience, and value.

Enabling a one-stop shopping experience for consumers by offering a broad selection of products in various categories under one – physical or digital – roof.

Providing customers, including DIY enthusiasts and professional contractors, with the products and services needed to improve, renovate, or maintain their homes and properties.

Connecting healthcare and retail by providing essential pharmaceutical, personal care, and health and wellness products all in one place.

Creating a comprehensive and convenient shopping experience that includes fast food options, essential everyday items, and fuel for vehicles, often in one integrated location.

Offering tech-savvy consumers the latest technology and electronic gadgets, along with knowledgeable staff who can assist with product information and technical advice.

Enabling cost-conscious shopping by providing overstocked or discontinued brand-name merchandise at lower prices.

Catering to niche markets by selling a specific category of products, along with a unique and innovative customer experience.

What’s trending in retail

Sustainability is evolving beyond impact measurement and disclosure into a core business imperative. The 2024 playbook empowers business leaders across the fashion value chain to integrate sustainability into core operations.

Five imperatives the C-suite must address to reinvent in the age of generative AI.

Information overload is impacting people’s confidence in their decisions — big or small.   AI tools can help companies deliver hyper-personalized experiences that cut through the noise, deepening loyalty in the process.

We’re in a state of flux, but there’s hope and unparalleled opportunity. Five trends explore people’s evolving relationships with businesses and technology. What do you need to know to navigate the coming year and beyond?

Accenture’s Holiday Shopping Survey 2023 shows that ongoing financial pressures are inspiring consumers to make the most of their available spend.

Accenture explains how to create value for retail employees through omni-connected experiences, shifting the workplace and retail culture. 

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Survey: 47% of Americans say money is negatively impacting their mental health

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Kyle Connolly is exhausted.

Connolly, a 41-year-old in Gulf Breeze, Florida, separated from her husband in March 2023, leading to an expensive and emotionally taxing divorce. Then, the Friday before Thanksgiving, she was laid off from her full-time corporate job. She took on part-time retail work to make ends meet.

Even though she took on gig work dogsitting, March was her worst month yet financially. By then, her savings were gone and she had to turn to family for help for the first time to provide for herself and her three young children.

“My mental health has been a roller coaster. It’s just been a lot,” Connolly says.

It’s no secret that it’s more difficult to manage your mental health when you’re struggling to get by. Millions of Americans are suffering from money-related stress as they try to juggle everything from debt and student loans to saving and retirement.

Around half (47 percent) of U.S. adults say money has a negative impact on their mental health, at least occasionally, causing anxiety, stress, worrisome thoughts, loss of sleep, depression or other effects, according to Bankrate’s latest Money and Mental Health Survey.

If you’re struggling due to money, you’re not alone. This is how money is affecting Americans’ mental health and what you can do to prepare if you’re worried about your financial future.

Bankrate’s insights on money and mental health

• Money is impacting millions of Americans’ mental health. 47% of U.S. adults say money has a negative impact on their mental health, at least occasionally, including effects like anxiety, stress, worrisome thoughts, loss of sleep or depression, at least occasionally.
• Rising prices are the chief culprit. 65% of U.S. adults who say money negatively impacts their mental health cite inflation and/or rising prices as a reason.
• But paying for everyday items and building savings were also frequently cited. 59% of people who say money negatively impacts their mental health cite paying for everyday expenses, such as groceries or utilities. 56% cite not having enough emergency savings and 47% cite being in debt.

Money affects more Americans’ mental health than work, health or current events

Nearly half (47 percent) of U.S. adults say money has a negative impact on their mental health, at least occasionally, causing anxiety, stress , worrisome thoughts, loss of sleep, depression or other effects, according to Bankrate. That’s the highest percentage among all other suggested factors, some of which include:

• Money: 47 percent
• My own health: 39 percent
• Current events (e.g. world news, politics, climate change, etc.): 38 percent
• The health of my family/friends: 33 percent
• Relationships with friends/family: 30 percent

“If you’re lying awake at night worrying about something, there’s a good chance it has something to do with money,” Bankrate Senior Industry Analyst Ted Rossman says.

The percentage of people in 2024 who say money has a negative impact on their mental health, at least occasionally, is slightly lower than it was in 2023 (52 percent), when Bankrate asked the same question :

• Money: 52 percent
• Health: 42 percent
• Current events (e.g. world news, politics, climate change, etc.): 41 percent
• The health of my family/friends: 36 percent
• Relationships with friends/family: 32 percent

At present, around half (51 percent) of women say money negatively affects their mental health, compared to 42 percent of men. Women were more likely to report a negative impact on their mental health, at least occasionally, than men from nearly every factor suggested by Bankrate, including:

• Money: 51 percent of women, 42 percent of men
• My own health: 44 percent of women, 34 percent of men
• Current events (e.g. world news, politics, climate change, etc.): 40 percent of women, 35 percent of men
• Health of their family/friends: 36 percent of women, 29 percent of men
• Relationships with family/friends: 33 percent of women, 27 percent of men

Not all generations share the same worries. Gen Xers, who are at the age where they may be juggling both trying to improve their credit and planning their upcoming retirement, are the most likely generation to say money negatively affects their mental health, at least occasionally:

• Gen Zers (ages 18-27): 47 percent
• Millennials (ages 28-43): 50 percent
• Gen Xers (ages 44-59): 54 percent
• Baby boomers (ages 60-78): 40 percent

On the other hand, only 40 percent of baby boomers say money has a negative impact on their mental health, at least occasionally. Unlike other generations, baby boomers are actually more likely to be worried about their own health (45 percent) or current events (44 percent) than money:

Note: Participants could select more than one answer. Source: Bankrate survey, March 18-20, 2024

People who say money negatively impacts their mental health, by education and income

When comparing U.S. adults with different levels of education, people with only some college education are most likely to say money negatively affects their mental health, at least occasionally:

• High school diploma or less: 45 percent
• Some college or a two-year degree: 52 percent
• Bachelor’s degree: 45 percent
• Post-graduate degree: 43 percent

Americans who report a household income of under $50,000 a year are far more likely to say money negatively impacts their mental health, at least occasionally, compared to people with a higher household income:

• Under $50,000 per year: 53 percent
• $50,000-$79,999 per year: 48 percent
• $80,000-$99,999 per year: 39 percent
• $100,000 per year or more: 40 percent

Nearly 2 in 3 people whose mental health is affected by money cite inflation and/or rising prices

The high cost of everyday living is negatively affecting a massive percentage of Americans. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of U.S. adults whose mental health is negatively impacted by money cite inflation/rising prices, and 59 percent cite paying for everyday expenses, such as groceries and utilities:

• Inflation/rising prices: 65 percent
• Paying for everyday expenses (e.g. groceries, utilities, etc.): 59 percent
• Not having enough emergency savings: 56 percent
• Being in debt (e.g. credit card debt, medical debt, student loan debt, etc.): 47 percent
• Not enough discretionary spending money: 43 percent
• Paying for housing (e.g. rent, mortgage, etc.): 40 percent
• Being unprepared for retirement/low return on my investments: 37 percent
• Not having a stable income/job security: 33 percent
• Rising interest rates: 28 percent
• Something else that is money-related: 21 percent

Inflation has remained a major concern among Americans for over a year, even as the inflation rate itself has fallen. In March 2024, consumer prices had risen 3.5 percent year-over-year, down from the 5 percent annual rate in March 2023, but still higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . Meanwhile, the percentage of people whose mental health is negatively affected by money and cite inflation barely budged, from 68 percent in 2023 to 65 percent in 2024:

• 68% cited inflation/rising prices.
• 60% cited paying for everyday expenses.
• 56% cited not having enough emergency savings.
• 47% cited being in debt.

This year, more men who say their mental health is negatively affected by money cited not having a stable income or job security, as well as rising interest rates, compared to women. Women whose mental health is negatively affected by money were more likely to cite nearly all other factors, including inflation/rising prices and paying for everyday expenses:

• Inflation/rising prices: 67 percent of women, 61 percent of men
• Paying for everyday expenses (e.g. groceries, utilities, etc.): 63 percent of women, 55 percent of men
• Not having enough emergency savings: 59 percent of women, 52 percent of men
• Being in debt (e.g. credit card debt, medical debt, student loan debt, etc.): 49 percent of women, 44 percent of men
• Not enough discretionary spending money: 44 percent of women, 41 percent of men
• Paying for housing (e.g. rent, mortgage, etc.): 42 percent of women, 37 percent of men
• Being unprepared for retirement/low return on my investments: 38 percent of women, 34 percent of men
• Not having a stable income/job security: 32 percent of women, 34 percent of men
• Rising interest rates: 26 percent of women, 32 percent of men
• Something else that is money-related: 21 percent of women, 22 percent of men

Unlike older generations, Gen Zers whose mental health is negatively affected by money are far less likely to cite the same factors as the culprits. Notably, around two-thirds of millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers whose mental health is negatively affected by money cite inflation and rising prices, compared to only 50 percent of Gen Zers:

Notes: Participants could select more than one answer; Percentages are of U.S. adults who have money concerns that impact their mental health Source: Bankrate survey, March 18-20, 2024

Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, a financial therapist who helps people untangle their anxiety around money, says right now, her clients are generally feeling anxious about a possible future emergency , like a potential recession or job loss. Though the economy is recovering in some areas, her clients have been worried about money for a while now, and Bryan-Podvin says the economy isn’t improving fast enough to ease many people’s minds about money.

“When we don’t have that forward (economic) momentum that we’re supposedly used to here in the States, it can feel really disorienting,” Bryan-Podvin says. “Overall, the general trajectory is growth. But when we don’t have that massive growth like we had over the last couple of years,  that slowdown can feel like (people are) going backward. That can cause a lot of anxiety.”

Financial changes alone won’t heal poor mental health — but these tips might help

Connolly was laid off last November, but she had been worried about her employer’s financial stability for a long time before that. She saved more money to prepare for the future while she worked there, but when that layoff finally came, she quickly used up those emergency savings.

Now, living on only a fraction of the income she brought in before, she’s been making ends meet by canceling subscriptions, cutting out restaurants and doing free activities with her kids, like hiking and going to the nearby beach.

“I have to be very, very mindful of every single thing that I spend my money on. I have my debit card locked, so I’ll unlock it, and then use it, and then lock it, just in case I get hit with an unexpected charge,” Connolly says.

Stress or depression from money-related struggles may not go away from simply saving more or cutting expenses. But if you’re worried about your financial future, you can take small actions to help.

“When we worry about things, a lot of the time it’s because we feel out of control. Take some of that power back by putting a plan together,” Rossman says. “There are plenty of things you can do to get moving in the right direction.”

For example, if you’re worried about your savings, Rossman recommends automatically depositing a portion of your paycheck into a high-yield savings account every payday. Additionally, if you’re carrying a large amount of debt, debt consolidation can help you pay more of your principal while paying lower interest.

If you’re still concerned and need more local, personalized guidance, call 211 or visit your state’s 211 site for a list of mental health and personal finance resources in your area.

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Maps May 2024: Media consumption stable despite increasing financial strain on consumers

The Marketing All Product Survey (Maps) May 2024 release shows that media consumption has remained stable overall.

The research shows that streaming video and social platforms have carved out their space in the video viewing universe Television seems to have stabilised and is holding its own in terms of overall audience share.

The Marketing Research Foundation (MRF) and Plus94 Research recently announced Maps through a global webinar presented in partnership with Esomar, the world's leading voice for the data analytics profession.

The latest comprehensive Maps dataset comprises three full years of data from 2021 through 2023.

Increasing financial strain

Key findings from the Maps May 2024 release painted a picture of South African households grappling with increasing financial strain amidst rising costs for basic goods and persistent issues like crippling electricity blackouts.

Data showed significant declines in expenditures for discretionary purchases like dining out and cinema visits, however, alcohol sales have remained fairly constant with beer and wine being increasingly consumed.

The insights from Maps include:

- Impact of escalating inflation on grocery and consumer goods purchasing power.

- Shifting habits around traditional and digital media consumption.

- Households' reliance on mobile banking and money transfer services.

- Evolution of e-commerce and online shopping adoption across categories like clothing.

- Emerging trends in alcoholic beverage preferences and liquor retail channel choices.

Johann Koster, CEO of the Marketing Research Foundation says the insights derived from Maps are invaluable for any entity looking to understand and engage with the South African market.

Media consumption habits

“Our data is a critical tool for developing strategies that resonate with consumers, drive growth, and adapt to the dynamic market environment."

With a robust annual sample size exceeding 20,000 respondents across metro, urban and rural areas, Maps offers visibility into media consumption habits and consumer goods purchasing patterns nationwide.

The study's rigorous methodology, covering over 3,000 brands across more than 150 media and product categories, ensures Maps data maintains stringent quality thresholds.

The Maps May 2024 release provides marketers and their agency partners with an unmatched opportunity to analyse emerging consumer trends and shifting product purchasing behaviours across South Africa.

Market intelligence

"Our long-standing Maps programme exemplifies the cutting-edge market intelligence capabilities within the South African research community," says Koster.

"By collaborating with organisations like Esomar, we were able to highlight how the quality, integrity and thoroughness of Maps aligns with the highest global standards for consumer analytics."

The webinar recording and presentation are freely available to all. For more information on accessing these assets, visit the MRFSA .

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• Test for Fentanyl
• if You Think Someone is Overdosing
• Stop Overdose
• Naloxone FAQs
• Stigma Reduction

About Stop Overdose

• Through preliminary research and strategic workshops, CDC identified four areas of focus to address the evolving drug overdose crisis.
• Stop Overdose resources speak to the reality of drug use, provide practical ways to prevent overdoses, educate about the risks of illegal drug use, and show ways to get help.

Drugs take nearly 300 lives every day. 1 To address the increasing number of overdose deaths related to both prescription opioids and illegal drugs, we created a website to educate people who use drugs about the dangers of illegally manufactured fentanyl, the risks and consequences of mixing drugs, the lifesaving power of naloxone, and the importance of reducing stigma around recovery and treatment options. Together, we can stop drug overdoses and save lives.

What you can do

• Get the facts on fentanyl
• Learn about lifesaving naloxone
• Understand the risks of polysubstance use
• Reduce stigma around recovery and treatment

Explore and download Stop Overdose and other educational materials on CDC's Overdose Resource Exchange .

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Mortality 2018-2021 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2023. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 2018-2021, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10-expanded.html on Mar 5, 2024

Every day, drugs claim hundreds of lives. The Stop Overdose website educates drug users on fentanyl, naloxone, polysubstance use, and dealing with stigma.