I’ve been participating in focus group research studies since college (and that was a long time ago)! The first one I did was for a radio station. For two hours, I listened to snippets of songs and rated them on a scale of one to ten. For my time, I earned $100 in cash! I’ve been doing focus group studies ever since, and for good reasons; they offer good money, and they’re fun!
A few years ago, a woman in my local business group told me that Respondent was looking for focus group participants for a web-based service I was using. The survey paid $200 for a 90-minute interview, so I applied. They didn’t select me for this project, but there have been others that I’ve done over the years.
What is Respondent?
Respondent is a market research platform that recruits focus group participants, survey takers, and website testers from around the globe. They work with a wide range of companies like SendGrid, GoDaddy, Dropbox, Microsoft, Airbnb, and Allstate, and connect them to consumers who can give them honest feedback on their products and services. The majority of their studies revolve around professionals, like small business owners, industry professionals, and medical professionals, and the tools they use in their day-to-day work life. But, occasionally, they’ll have general population studies too (I just completed one for a beauty brand).
How Do You Join Respondent?
To get started, create a Respondent account using your email address, LinkedIn account, or Facebook account. Once inside the platform, you’ll fill in some basic information such as your personal and work email, phone number, employment status, social profile links (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (X), GitHub, and Slack), and demographics. You’ll want to include your social profiles because they help researchers verify your identity and increase your chances of selection. Lastly, you can add a short video introduction, which allows you to introduce yourself to researchers. Once your information is complete, you can start browsing available studies.
Each day, you can apply for a maximum of ten projects. When you find a study that you’re qualified for, you’ll answer a screener survey to ensure that you’re the right target audience for the study. If chosen to participate, you’ll receive a text message, an email, and a notification in your dashboard with a link to the study.
The process can take a little time and be discouraging if you’re not chosen to participate immediately. I suggest logging in a couple of times a week to browse new studies and apply for relevant projects; that way, you always have a steady stream of work in the pipeline.
How Much Can You Make With Respondent?
According to their website, most surveys take between 30 and 90 minutes, and the average pay rate is $75 per study. As you can see from the image below, payments and time commitments for studies vary greatly.
I think the three most significant factors in determining pay rates are the length of study, the type of participation, and the availability of the target demographic. As you can see in the image above, you can filter studies by these factors.
Here are the types of studies you can participate in:
- Online Focus Groups
- Online Surveys
- Quantitive Studies
- One-on-One Discussions
- Unmoderated Studies
- Diary Studies
- Telephonic Interviews
- In-Person Studies
Once you’ve completed your task, the company that conducted the study will verify your submission. They may ask for clarification on answers if something isn’t clear. Once the submission is accepted, they, meaning the researcher, will issue payment to your PayPal account, which can take 5-10 business days.
Another way you can earn money with Respondent is by recruiting others to the platform. For each person that you refer and that completes a study, you’ll earn $20 for general platform referrals and $50 for specific study referrals. Payments are made via PayPal, and the person you refer must complete a study that pays at least $75 for payment to be issued. Referral bonuses are subject to fulfillment fees, which I’ll talk about below.
What I Think of Respondent
To give you an idea of how Respondent works and the timeline for projects and payment, I recorded the details of my most recent study.
I took a screening survey on January 15th for a website testing gig for a beauty brand, which took 45 minutes and paid $25.00 for completion. Side note, unmoderated studies tend to pay less, but I prefer doing these since they are more flexible, and I’m not being recorded via audio or video.
On January 21st, I received the invite to participate in the study, and I ended up completing it on the same day. Then on January 23rd, the mission was confirmed, and I received payment on February 4th via PayPal for $23.75; Respondent takes a fulfillment fee of less than 5% or $1 minimum.
Personally, I enjoy doing studies when I have free time. They’re easy and interesting, and it’s a nice way to earn a little extra pocket cash. I’ve had some users tell me they’ve had difficulty logging into the Respondent website and that they had to clear their cookies and cache and try multiple times. I had to verify my email address three times before it stuck, but to me, these are minor annoyances I can get past.
Other Respondent Reviews
Here are some testimonials from readers who have made money using the platform:
Thank you so much for sharing all of your remote work resources. I’m from the States but have moved to Ireland for graduate school. I figured it might be harder for me to find remote work from abroad, but I just received my first payment from Respondent! I’m delighted! I would not have known about them if it were not for you. I look forward to doing more surveys with them, I find that they’re really fun! – Christina
Thank you, Holly, for introducing me to the Respond survey platform. I was given an assignment, and it paid well and worked out great. Thanks again for your thoughtfulness and your kindness. – Terrilyn
I have just received my very first payment from participating in Respondent’s case study interview! It was all online, remote, and finally proved to me that I can make money online! I was always doubtful if I could earn anything as I am living in Hong Kong, and I rarely qualify for any opportunities. I kept trying to register for everything from your lists that allowed me to do so, and learned about Respondent from your post back in June. Now, in September, this was the first opportunity that actually matched me and paid an amazing $150! – Nadya
Is Respondent a Scam?
Having done studies through Respondent, I can tell you 100% that Respondent is legit. But to ease your worries, here’s more about the company. They are a NY-based company started in 2016 by Jack Pratten, Harri Thomas, and Pierrick Ganon.
On Trustpilot, Respondent gets positive reviews, receiving a 4-star rating out of 5.
With Respondent, you will receive numerous emails for available research opportunities. To reduce the number of emails you get daily, go to your settings, and under notifications, choose the options you want.
Alternatives to Respondent
To increase your chances of being picked for focus group studies and surveys, you should sign up with multiple platforms. Here are a few that I recommend.
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is market research firm that conducts attitudinal studies like paid surveys, product testing, and focus groups, as well as behavioral research studies, which include opting into sharing your online browsing activity. With Survey Junkie, you’ll earn points for participating in different activities on your laptop or mobile devices. The points you earn can be redeemed for gift cards from major retailers or cash via PayPal. Survey Junkie accepts users who are at least 18 years old from the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
User Interviews
User Interviews recruits research participants for surveys, focus groups, and website testing gigs. Most studies take 30-120 minutes, and the average study pays over $50! User Interviews uses the Tremendous platform to issue incentives, which has over 2,000 different options for users to choose from. User Interviews accepts participants from the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
Check out this article for my survey and focus group opportunities.
Respondent Review Wrapup
If you’re looking for a fun way to make some extra money in your spare time, Respondent can be an excellent way to do so. You’re not going to get rich, but it is one of the better-paying survey, website testing, and focus group study platforms. If you’re willing to do in-person or one-on-one studies, you can earn bigger payouts. The key to being successful with this platform is patience and persistence.
Are you ready to become a Respondent participant? Sign up HERE to get started and view upcoming studies!
What questions do you have about Respondent? Have you done a survey or study through Respondent? Drop us a note; we’d love to hear from you.
Originally published February 11, 2020. Content updated May 2025.
