31 Best Paid Research Studies Online – How To Earn Up To $150/Hr

Did you know that last year, corporations have spent $76 Billion on market research?

Almost 5% of research budgets or $9.4 Million DAILY is spent on participant incentives. Which is a fancy way of saying – paid to people like you and me in exchange for participation. 

So if you are looking for a way to earn some extra cash and make an impact at the same time, you’ve come to the right place. I really believe that participating in research studies is a great side hustle option.

However, often it can take a lot of time because you have to show up be present and in some areas, you will find very few local opportunities.

But luckily, there are also online opportunities that make it easy for you to participate in paid studies, regardless of where you live.

Not all studies are worth it though – therefore, I have made a list of the 13 best online paid research studies so you can easily find the ones worth your time. 

And I will also make it clear exactly what you can expect as a participant so you can see if it is the right opportunity for you

How much can you earn from online research studies?

If you are new to online research studies, you likely want to know exactly how much you can expect to earn by participating.

There is no exact answer to this though as it varies a lot from study to study. 

You will find some online surveys where you might get $1-$2 for a 15 minutes survey and other times you might get up to $50 per hour or more for specialized online interviews or online paid focus groups.

Just don’t expect this to be a way to make a living or anything like that. But it definitely can be a great way to make some extra money and make an impact at the same time. So we urge you to consider getting paid to do research studies. 

Based on our research, Focus Groups Pay an average of $62 Hour. But this includes a very wide variety of topics and some of them actually pay $200+ but you need to be a doctor to qualify. 

And you will always be able to see what you get for participating before you start and can then choose if it will be worth it for you or not based on this.

Top 13 paid research studies online 

The following are what I have found to be the best places to participate in online studies.

1. Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys is one of the platforms where you can almost always find studies/surveys to participate in.

And the more active you are, the higher rewards you get for each online survey. In fact, you can get up to a 19% bonus for each survey which means you will get very good value for your time.

You can get your earnings out in cash via PayPal or choose between a large variety of gift cards.

Click here to Join Branded Surveys

2.  YouGov

YouGov is another platform that offers broad online research studies so you can find surveys you can participate in here no matter your background and location.

The surveys are fairly short and pay decently for your time and are about current and interesting topics.

You will get paid in cash or via gift cards depending on your preferences. YouGov also has an app so you can take the online surveys and research studies on the go. 

Click here to Join YouGov

3. Respondent

Respondent offers some of the highest paying research studies online. Depending on your background, you will get somewhere between $100-$700 per hour.

However, the studies Respondent conducts requires quite a bit of effort to complete, so you need to be willing to invest some time to qualify for them. But for the high incentives, it definitely can be worth it. 

Just be aware that they often look for very specific people to participate, so it can take some patience to find a study you qualify for. Respondent is seeking participants for a variety of online studies that pay well including usability studies, online focus group, psychology studies and many more

Click here to Join Respondent

4. Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie offers several different kinds of studies you can participate in. You can, for example, find online surveys here and that is the fast and easy way to earn as you can almost always find available options.

But sometimes you might also be invited for online interviews or online focus groups. If you get invited for these, you should definitely consider participating as they usually pay well.

You can get your earnings out in cash via PayPal or choose between many different gift cards.

Click here to Join Survey Junkie

5. Carnegie Mellon University

The Center for Behavioral and Decision Research (CBDR) at Carnegie Mellon University is often looking for participants for their focus groups and research studies.

Often the studies will take place at the campus but you can also find online studies you can do at home. 

You will usually get $8-$10 per hour and will get paid in cash or gift cards. Great way to make some extra money.

Click here to Join CBDR

6. Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences

The Department of Psychology at Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences has quite a lot of different research studies that pay– many of them are online studies.

You can see an overview of the current studies on their website (link below) and read descriptions and requirements for each of the studies there as well. They are frequently searching for clinical trial participants, so if you are interested in psychology and want to participate in experiments for money, this is a great option. 

You will usually get paid in cash or gift cards but how high incentives you will get depends a lot on the specific study. 

Click here to Check Current Studies

7. LifePoints Panel

LifePoints Panel will give you access to quite a lot of online studies and surveys and it is very easy to use.

You just sign up and then you will start receiving email invitations for available studies. And usually, you will receive several per week.

You can get paid in cash via PayPal or choose between many different gift cards.

Click here to Join LifePoints Panel

8. Toluna Influencers

Toluna Influencers is another easy-to-use survey site that also occasionally offers bigger studies. 

It also has an app so you can easily participate on the go which makes it very convenient. Usually, you can expect to be invited to a short online survey several times per week. Not a lot of focus groups on this platform but it’s easy to get a quick flow of paid surveys near me.

You can get your earnings out in cash via PayPal, choose between many different gift cards, or sometimes also get products as a reward if you prefer.

Click here to Join Toluna Influencers

9. PingPong

PingPong is specialized in helping companies get consumer feedback about their apps and websites to improve them.

So if you join, you will be able to participate in online interviews and focus groups where you give feedback about different websites and apps for some really big companies.

You will usually earn $20-$100 per hour and you will get paid in cash within 7 days after an interview finishes via Transferwise (into your bank account) or via PayPal.

Click here to Join PingPong

10. Userlytics

Userlytics is a great platform to join if you would like to give feedback about websites and apps.

They offer both short interviews (usually you can record it when it fits into your schedule) and longer tests. 

You will usually get paid $5, $10, $15, or $20 per test, but some projects will also pay as much as $90. You will get paid via PayPal within 15 days after the interview/test has been approved.

Click here to Join Userlytics

11. Mindswarms

Mindswarms offers you to participate in video interviews – so if you are not comfortable with recording yourself on video, this is not the right option for you.

If you think this sounds fun, you can earn $10-$50 per video you record and they usually do not take long and you can record on your own time. 

Just be aware that they are often looking for very specific people with specific backgrounds for their studies, so it can take some patience to find one you qualify for.

Click here to Join Mindswarms

12. Harvard University

The department of psychology at Harvard University is regularly looking for young adults and volunteers to participate in their research.

By participating, you can help to advance the understanding of human thought and behavior and it can also be a great way to learn more about psychology yourself.

Often the studies require you to show up physically but they also sometimes offer online research studies. You will get paid $10-$25 per hour in cash or gift cards.

Click here to Apply for Harvard Studies

13. American University

The Behavioral Pharmacology and Health Promotion Laboratory (BPHP) at American University conducts research on cognitive and behavioral factors.

The exact topics vary from time to time, but you can see the currently available options through the link below. Many of them require you to show up personally but you can also find regular online research studies you can get paid to participate in. This is a great option if you are interested in medical research and highest paid clinical trials that are safe. 

How much you will get depends on the particular study but you will always be able to see this clearly stated before applying.

Click here to Apply for American University Studies

14. User Interviews

User Interviews is an online paid research studies platform that allows you to participate in research studies, paid focus groups and online consumer conversations.

Unlike other websites that conduct online surveys, User Interviews rewards you for your time not with hard cash, but with gift cards. Although this may seem like a deal breaker, in exchange you can earn a steady rate of $55 per hour.

Moreover, the site has some excellent reviews, putting it in the top rank of paid online studies sites in terms of user satisfaction.

However, surveys on User Interviews are very time consuming, averaging over 60 minutes, and most of them are looking for specialist in a certain field, like medical professionals.

Click here to join User Interviews

15. American Consumer Opinion

American Consumer Opinion is one of the oldest research companies, helping research participants find paid research studies online since 1986.

Being one of the largest market research companies, you can will never run out of surveys to fill. The compensation for each survey varies, as the platform uses a point based system. Shorter surveys offer about 50 points, and some larger ones can go up to 5000 points. You can cash out once you have over 1000 points, which is equivalent to about 10 dollars.

Bear in mind, that turnaround time with American Consumer Opinion is very drawn out. You typically have wait 8 weeks for payment.

Click here to Join American Consumer Opinion

16. MOBROG

MOBROG is an survey platform, which primarily focuses on market research and consumer feedback. This means, that you are helping user experience of companies, while earning money online.

Speaking of money, you can expect to earn about $3 per survey, which takes you approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. This means you can make about $15 per hour.

You can collect your payment through Paypal or by Skrill.

Click here to Join MOBROG

17. Boston University Questrom School of Business Behavioral Lab

Boston University School of Business offers paid research opportunities for a variety of demographics.

While some research studies require in person focus groups, many can be completed online as well. They typically require a long period of time to complete, and may ask you about some sensitive topics. If you do not wish to share personal experiences, then this option may not be for you.

The exact amount of payment can vary drastically, depending on the study, but compensation for participants is typically between $10 and $20 per hour.

Click here to Apply for Boston University Questrom School of Business Behavioral Lab

18. Engage Studies

At Engage Studies or Engage in Depth you can take part in paid market research projects. This can take the form of focus groups, online discussions, website usability studies and more.

With Engage Studies you can expect to make average rates of $50-250 per every survey, which takes approximately 1-2 hours.

Although the pay varies based on your qualifications, this is an excellent opportunity worth checking out.

Click here to Join Engage Studies

19. MIT Behavioral Research Lab

MIT behavioral research lab provides you to be a research participant in paid non-clinical trials, including some fun and interesting experiments.

A great benefit to MIT Behavioral Research studies is that everything has strict standards and regulations, which means they will respect your thoughts and boundaries, and they will compensate you appropriately.

Click here to Apply for MIT Behavioral Research Lab

20. Brand Institute

Brand Institute offers companies market research services, which is why they connect willing participants to various surveys and research studies, while compensating them appropriately.

For regular surveys, you will paid $2-5 per survey, while for medical research studies you will earn more at about $5-10.

However, many users have complained about not being able to find suitable surveys. Because of this I would recommend giving it a try, before committing to it.

Click here to Join Brand Institute

21. Panelbase

Panelbase is an UK-based online survey panel offering members cash rewards for their opinions on various services like product testing, SMS, postal, telephone, and much more. 

You can expect to make $0.25-10 for a completed survey, which takes between 3-10 minutes. For further incentive, for every survey you can earn a prize draw of up to $50.

The downside is that there is no option for PayPal, so you have to enter your bank account details at each step.

Click here to Join Panelbase

22. Prolific

Prolific is a survey and research studies site that boasts high reviews and is one of the most recommended platforms on various social media. It is one of the only services that has a $6.5 hourly minimum wave requirement.

You can expect to be paid $9-12 per hour on the platform. However this depends on the researcher in question.

Click here to Join Prolific

23. Valued Opinions

Valued Opinions is a research studies survey website that has over 3 million members worldwide. It connects people with online surveys on topics that interest them, and rewards them for their time.

It offers compensation as gift cards for top retailers, instead of direct cash. This might seem like a major negative, but with gift cards you don’t have to worry about long turnabout time on your payment.

On Valued Opinions you can earn up to $5 per short survey.

Click here to Join Valued Opinions

24. Opinium

Opinium is a market research and insight agency established 15 years ago. It is a reputable platform that has operated for many years so you can trust them with your time and efforts.

The surveys offered are short 5 minute questionnaires. For them you can expect to be paid about 50 cents. You may cash out once your account reaches $25.

Click here to Join Opinium

25. Y Live

Y Live is another UK based survey platform that works on a point based system for its members, where 1 point is equivalent to $1.

Unlike other sites, it offers a fixed hourly wage of $1 for every 5 minutes you spend completing surveys, but don’t expect to cheat the system as it has security measures in place.

You can redeem your points only after you reach 50 points in one month.

Click here to Join Y Live Community

26. AttaPoll

AttaPoll is a survey app that makes it easy to fill out surveys and make a few dollars on the side-all on the convenience of your phone.

You can earn money two ways, either by referral or by filling out questionnaires. After you are done, you can cash out right away via PayPal or by cheque.

Payment varies based on your demographics and expertise.

Click here to Join AttaPoll

27. Ipsos iSay

Ipsos iSay is a rewards community that allows users to voice their opinion on subjects important to them, while making some profit on the side.

It is the third largest research company and has over a million users worldwide. Its clientele comprises of some of the largest advertisement companies.

The platform operates on a points based system. One survey gets you between 45 and 90 points, where 100 points is equal to $1. You can redeem your points once you have earned $5.

Click here to Join Ipsos iSay

28. Focus Group

Focus Group is a site that offers online surveys and other research opportunities like focus groups to help you side hustle and earn some cash in your spare time.

One great positive about Focus Group lies within its diversity. It doesn’t have demographic nor a professional requirements that other platforms do. You can fill out a survey by phone, email, in person, or just on the Internet.

If you join focus groups and complete long surveys, then you can make up to $150. The best part is you can check out almost immediately after you have accumulated 100 points or $1.

Click here to Join Focus Group

29. Apex Focus Group

Apex Focus Group connects people with paid focus groups, clinical research trials, and phone interviews, supporting the interests of both the companies and the participants. You can take part in it from the safety of your own home, and still make up to $700 a week.

The only downside is that many have complained about the low acceptance rate of these studies, and some couldn’t even find suitable surveys.

Click here to Join Apex Focus Group

30. Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost is a market research panel where members collect points for their opinion in free online surveys.

These surveys mainly come from small companies, looking for feedback and consumer feedback. Like many other platforms it works on a points based system. Rewards can vary drastically between 10 to 250 points per survey.

The bad news is that 10 points equal a dollar, which is quite a low pay rate.

Click here to Join Opinion Outpost

Stan

I am a father to a beautiful baby girl, a husband and a serial gigster 🙂 I live in Toronto, Canada. My claim to fame: I made thousands of dollars from focus groups and surveys over the last 15 years. Studied Marketing in Ryerson Univerity and worked in Marketing and Marketing Research for the last 14 years+ My mission is to educate others how to be successful with side hustles. You can contact my be email or  on Facebook.