Home Complete List of Side Hustle Ideas Focus Group Participant
Earnings Vary
Participate in research studies or focus groups for money.
| Time to First Earnings | Varies | |
|---|---|---|
| Work Location | Remote or in-person | |
| Startup Costs |
$0–$500
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| Licenses & Certifications |
RequiredNone |
OptionalNone |
Businesses are always looking for ways to innovate their products, and one of the ways they do that is by soliciting feedback from consumers. To do this, they often pay people to participate in focus groups.
Taking part in these can be a lucrative side hustle, and some focus group opportunities allow you to work from home. Read on to find out how to participate in focus groups for money.
Focus groups are meetings of consumers set up by companies, who present them with products, services, or media and ask for their feedback.
As a participant, you may test a wide variety of products in focus groups. However, some of the most common include:
Focus groups traditionally have taken place in person. While this is still often the case, you can also find online focus groups, which tend to focus on media products (as these can be distributed easily over the internet).
Focus groups usually involve a screening process to determine whether or not you’re eligible. When you apply, you’ll need to fill out a survey or questionnaire, and the research team will decide if you fit the prerequisites.
They may consider any or all of these factors:
There’s no legal minimum age to take part in focus groups, but many specify that you need to be over 18 to participate. For studies without an age requirement, under-18s will generally require signed parental consent.
Note that to participate in focus groups, you’ll often need to be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), since you’ll be giving feedback on products that haven’t been made public yet.
Focus groups sometimes pay participants in cash, although many also pay with gift cards. Rates vary for both types of opportunities; some short online studies pay just $5 each, whereas multi-session in-person focus groups may pay as much as $600 each.
Very high-paying focus groups are hard to come by, and unless you’re very lucky or sink a lot of time into finding them, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to regularly participate in them. Realistically, you can expect to earn around $30–$100 per hour as a focus group participant.
As with all side hustles, certain factors influence how much you can make from participating in focus groups, including:
Your income potential from focus groups may be somewhat seasonal. There’s some evidence that companies tend to run fewer studies at the end and start of the year when they’re focused on budgeting, and there may be fewer academic studies in the summer, when most colleges aren’t in session.
We’ve listed 10 market research platforms that offer opportunities to participate in focus groups, as well as surveys and online studies.
About the site: User Interviews connects researchers with participants who give feedback on various products. You can take part in surveys, focus groups, and interviews; many opportunities are online, although User Interviews sometimes offers in-person focus groups, too.
Studies vary in length. Some online studies take just 10 minutes to complete, whereas genuine focus groups may last up to 6 hours.
Earning potential: How much money you can make on User Interviews will vary greatly depending on what opportunities they have available. If you’re solely looking for focus groups, you can expect to earn $60–$250 per study, although when we investigated, we did see a handful of opportunities paying as much as $600.
User reports: Most of the user reports about the platform are positive. Former participants claim that User Interviews is professional, the studies are well-managed, and User Interviews pays participants as stated.
However, there is one complaint that’s been echoed by a number of users: it can be difficult to get accepted for studies, so you shouldn’t rely on User Interviews as a consistent source of paid work.
Payment methods: You can receive your payment either in the form of a deposit to a prepaid card or as a gift card. You can also choose to donate your earnings to charity.
Earning potential: Unspecified; some reports suggest $10–$30 per study
About the site: UserTesting mainly focuses on website and app testing. Most of the platform’s studies are online, although UserTesting also has in-person studies available from time to time.
You’ll need to download the UserTesting app for Android or iOS and check that your computer and microphone meet the company’s system requirements.
Earning potential: There isn’t much information on the average pay for UserTesting studies, but some reports claim you’ll usually get $10 per study, with live sessions paying $30.
User reports: While most users seem to have positive experiences with UserTesting, a few have complained about their payments being delayed or withheld for no apparent reason. Moreover, as with many other market research platforms, some people claim that it can be difficult to qualify for many studies.
Payment methods: You’ll get paid via PayPal.
About the site: Respondent connects researchers with participants for paid studies and focus groups.
Once you create an account, you’ll get invited to participate in studies that Respondent considers you a match for. You can also proactively apply for projects you’re interested in and complete the screeners.
Most of Respondent’s studies are online, although here again, in-person studies are sometimes available. There are opportunities to take part in focus groups, one-on-one interviews, surveys, and diary studies.
Earning potential: The pay rate varies depending on the kind of study you participate in. Most unmoderated studies and surveys pay $5–$50, but focus groups can get you up to $340.
User reports: It can apparently be difficult to get accepted for studies, and Respondent frequently has periods where there’s very little work available.
Participants who have the most success seem to be those who have specialized backgrounds. For instance, anecdotally, one user on Reddit noted that they found a lot of opportunities for “senior-level IT” (information technology) workers.
Payment methods: You’ll get paid via PayPal.
About the site: Fieldwork.com lets you participate in online studies and in-person focus groups from various consumer-oriented brands. A lot of the studies require interviews over the phone or video calls, but there are unmoderated studies available, too.
Earning potential: Fieldwork doesn’t state how much you’ll get for participating, since the compensation for each study varies. Some of the online reports from users suggest that they pay $50–$200 per study.
User reports: Fieldwork has a solid reputation among its former participants, with many users commenting that the studies are well-managed and pay as advertised.
How Fieldwork.com pays you: You’ll get your money on a prepaid Visa card.
About the site: FocusGroups.org gives you the opportunity to join in-person focus groups, surveys, clinical trials, and product testing sessions. The company runs studies in cities across the US, but you can also take part in online surveys, although they pay a lot less than genuine focus groups.
Earning potential: The pay rate varies for each focus group. On average, you’ll get $100–$200 per study. We also found some opportunities paying close to $600. Unfortunately, online surveys pay a lot less, usually just a couple of dollars.
User reports: User reports are largely positive. Former focus group participants comment that they enjoyed the overall experience of participating in the studies and were paid on time.
Payment methods: Since you’ll get paid by the facility or market research company running the study rather than by FocusGroups.org itself, payment methods vary.
Earning potential: $100–$600 per study
About the site: L&E Research puts companies in touch with participants for both online and in-person focus groups and surveys, as well as specialized studies for medical personnel. Some surveys only take a few minutes to complete, but focus groups can last for a few days.
Many of the studies on L&E Research require participants aged 18 and over, although not all.
Earning potential: Rates depend on the length of the study and other factors, but pay $100–$200. In-person studies may pay up to at least $600.
Medical professionals get access to the highest-paid studies, which often pay over $500 each.
User reports: Anecdotal reports from users corroborate these average earnings and verify that the company is legit. However, per usual for a focus group site, some users also claim that it can be difficult to get accepted for studies, especially less specialized ones.
How L&E Research pays you: L&E Research will pay you in cash (via a prepaid card) or in gift cards.
About the site: Validately is an offshoot of Userzoom that offers both unmoderated and moderated online studies. Lower-paying unmoderated studies take around 10–30 minutes to complete, and more lucrative moderated studies usually take 1 hour.
Earning potential: While Validately doesn’t state their pay rates on their site, some user reports suggest that:
These may be average rates, and it’s possible you’ll see studies that don’t match them exactly.
User reports: While user reports generally state that Validately is legit, some suggest that shorter unmoderated studies may take longer than expected (up to 30 minutes), but still just pay $10.
Payment methods: You’ll get paid via PayPal seven business days after completing each study.
About the site: Prolific offers participants the chance to take part in academic or scientific studies from researchers in various industries. All of the studies Prolific offers are online. Once you create your account, you’ll be invited by email to participate in studies your profile matches.
Earning potential: Prolific doesn’t pay as well as some of the other platforms we’ve mentioned, but many of their low-paying studies only take a few minutes to finish, meaning you can potentially complete many in one go.
There are longer studies available, too, but user reports suggested that even 90-minute studies only pay $6 each.
User reports: Prolific receives similar reviews to the other platforms on this list; the buzz is largely positive, but some users complain that it’s hard to find and get accepted to studies.
Payment methods: You’ll get paid via PayPal.
About the site: FindFocusGroups.com connects you with nationwide opportunities to participate in paid in-person focus groups.
There are no online opportunities on the site; you enter your city, and FindFocusGroups.com lists available opportunities in your area.
Earning potential: Compensation depends on the study you take part in, but on average, you can make $50–$200 per study, with some higher-paying opportunities also available.
User reports: Since FindFocusGroups.com is a focus group aggregator, it’s hard to find reviews that describe the experience of using the platform (as opposed to the groups it advertises), but all of the opportunities featured on the site are legitimate.
Payment methods: How you get paid varies depending on the study. Most focus groups pay in cash or by check at the end of the study, or you’re compensated with a gift certificate or free product.
About the site: Field Voices offers opportunities to join paid surveys, focus groups, product testing, and one-on-one interviews, both in-person and remotely. You’ll see studies advertised on Field Voices’ site, but they’ll also email you to tip you off to available opportunities.
Earning potential: The majority of studies pay $100–$500 each. You can also find quick online surveys that pay a couple of dollars.
User reports: There isn’t much chatter online about Field Voices, and when we checked out their site, there was only one study currently available, which suggests that this isn’t a reliable option for those looking for a consistent supplemental income.
Payment methods: While the payout methods depend on the study you participate in, Field Voices usually pays via a Tango gift card. Their site doesn’t specify if any of their studies pay in cash.
If you’re struggling to find consistent opportunities to participate in focus groups, don’t despair—there are other ways to take surveys for money.
There are dozens of websites and apps, referred to as microtasking platforms, that offer online surveys. These are generally quite short—you can often complete them in just a few minutes—and they’re very plentiful, so if you sign up for a few of these sites, you probably won’t run out.
Read our reviews of some of the most popular survey sites out there:
Be aware that some of these market research platforms don’t pay in cash, compensating you with gift cards instead. They also tend to pay relatively low rates.
However, online survey sites are generally safe, and while they won’t make you rich, you don’t have to carve out a substantial chunk of time to use them (as you’ll often have to do with legitimate focus groups). You can fit them into quiet moments in your day, such as your commute, making them viable options if you’re looking for a few extra bucks for sharing your opinion.
