Respondent Review: The $140 an Hour Online Side Hustle

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A Side Hustle that Pays $140 an Hour For Your Opinions: Respondent Review

UPDATE: I’ve noticed since publishing this article that Respondent does not have many studies available to participate in for those who live in smaller cities or outside of the USA. An alternate option for International users or North Americans who don’t live in big cities is Swagbucks. It’s the same general idea; take surveys/complete tasks for rewards that can be cashed out directly to your PayPal account. While it won’t pay $140 an hour it’s still a solid and reliable option to make a few bucks each day without much effort. Swagbucks Free Signup Link. (Remember to verify your email after signing up to complete the registration.)

Related: Check out our 2020 Paid Survey Website Mega Guide. Some offer free cash for signing up!

Respondent still remains a viable option for those who live in larger metropolitan areas. Have a look at our other articles about websites that will pay you for your opinions. 3 Paid Survey Websites that Pay Through PayPal.

Alright, so we’ve all heard about those paid survey websites like Swagbucks that pay people to answer surveys and watch videos, I’ve reviewed a few of them myself. While Swagbucks can be a nice little online side hustle, anyone thinking they can earn hundreds of dollars every week is dreaming.

Those websites pay you pennies to watch videos, and maybe a few bucks at most to answer some surveys. I still maintain they can be useful, and at the end of the day it’s easy money, but there has to be a better way, right?

Enter Respondent. A research website that pays you for your opinion on various topics and products, both online or in person. Sounds familiar, right? We’ve all heard this sales pitch before, but the main difference here is the average payout is $140 an hour…one more time, $140 an hour! Not bad for an online side job.

What Exactly is Respondent.io?

Respondent works on behalf of companies looking for insight into their products or services. These companies pay Respondent to source suitable study participants who can provide valuable feedback. At the core, Respondent is just a consumer research company that moderates online focus groups and gathers customer data for their clients.

make $140 an hour participating in research studies

Will Respondent Really Pay Me $140 an Hour?

Well, that depends. Some studies pay more than others, and from what I’ve observed so far, the in person focus groups tend to be the highest paying. However, there are remote surveys to participate in online that pay very well. One thing is clear, Respondent is by far the highest paying survey website out there, and they state directly on their website the average payout is $140 per hour.

If that sounds like something you’re interested in you can sign up for a free account here, it only takes a couple of minutes.

How Do I get Paid?

Respondent pays through PayPal, so if you don’t have an account yet, you’ll need one. Signing up for a PayPal account is completely free, and only takes a few minutes.

Payments can take a few days before they clear but don’t panic, it is 100% legitimate and you will get paid for your time.

Signing Up with Respondent

Signing up is very simple, and you can use your Facebook or Linkedin account to do so.

You’ll be asked to enter some personal information including your name, email, date of birth, home address, and a phone number. All in all, the signup process is standard, and takes just a few minutes.

Next, you’ll be asked to submit some background information. This information is used to pair you up with relevant studies. Pay attention when you fill this out, and be honest.

Providing inaccurate details about your ethnicity and gender could make for some awkward moments when you show up to a focus group.

Getting Paid for Research Studies

Once you have completed the signup process, you’ll be taken to the main page of your account. This page will act as a hub for all things survey and focus group related.

If you are not seeing any online studies in your feed make sure you have the “remote” box checked in the left hand sidebar and click “load more”. After doing this you should see some new projects pop up.

In case you can’t make out the finer details in the screenshot below, let me break it down a bit for you.

These are remote studies that have been matched with my profile. Listed is the time it will take to complete the study and how much you’ll make for participating in it. Immediately after signing up I was greeted with $200 and $300 studies, woah. Don’t get ahead of yourself though, you still need to qualify to be selected for a study.

Each study will have a set of unique screening questions that must be answered. These questions will ultimately determine if you are selected to participate in that particular project. After you’ve answered all of the screening questions a confirmation box will inform you of the likelihood of being selected for that project. Below you can see I have a 67% chance of participating in a $200 study I applied for, fingers crossed.

Online Focus Groups or In Person Studies?

On the left sidebar, you’ll notice two boxes, in-person and remote. Uses these options to narrow down the type of study you’d like to participate in. Remote studies can be done from home online or over the phone. High paying studies I can do from home? Yep, sounds good.

If in-person focus groups and in person studies sound more interesting, you can use the checkbox to find projects in your area. The amount of face to face projects you are able to do will entirely depend on your location. If you live in Los Angeles you’ll, of course, have more projects happening in your area than if you were to live in rural Canada.

Let’s Get Real

Okay, so $140 an hour is a lot of money, and while that claim is technically true, it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to quit your day job and become a full time guinea pig for consumer research studies.

What it does mean is that you now have a legitimate website where you can make money doing research studies from home now and then

You’ll find projects that pay $10, others that pay $20 and a few that pay $300 or more. Obviously, the lower-paying studies will be less competitive, and you’ll have a better chance of getting into those. I noticed a $20 study that only took 30 minutes, which works out to $40 an hour, so even the lower paying studies have very high per hour rates.

I’d estimate that most will be selected for 10% of the studies they apply to. So if you apply for 10 projects you might be accepted into 1.

Cons

Projects lack consistency. By that I mean you’re never really sure when a new study will be available or if you’ll even be accepted to participate. You can’t count on Respondent as a way to earn a reliable income.

What about people from smaller cities? Living in a big city will give you more earning potential with Respondent. I don’t live in a big city, and so when I check for in person studies it’s often blank. If you happen to live in a large metropolitan area you’ll have the opportunity to participate in a lot more in person studies.

Should I sign up with Respondent

You really have nothing to lose. People are getting paid hundreds of dollars to participate in 60 minute studies, so why not get in on that action. You can make more money from home in 60 minutes with Respondent than you could in a couple of months with a lot of other survey websites.

Even if you live in a rural area, you can still participate in some high paying online studies, that’s what I do. The only thing you have to lose is your time, so if you happen to have a few extra minutes, head over and create a free account.

Ways to Earn More

Be honest when answering screening questions and filling out your profile. You don’t want to come off as an unreliable participant or you may get screened out of future studies.

Check the website weekly or even daily. Remote studies fill up fast, so constantly checking for new studies is a good way to ensure you don’t miss out and make some money online.

Recommend your friends using your unique referral link. You can share your referral link on Facebook or other social media platforms and get paid for each person that signs up and participates in a study.

Stay vigilant and don’t get discouraged. You might find yourself getting screened out of studies often, but the time it takes to apply is so little that it will all be worth it once you’re accepted into a $200 study.

Final Thoughts

Respondent is like the country club of survey websites. It’s high end and classy, and all your friends will want in once you tell them you made 140 bucks answering some questions. Even if you only complete one or two studies a month it’s more than worth it. As long as the payouts stay as high as they are right now, it will always be a great option for someone looking for an online side hustle.

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