Not all survey sites were created equal. A few are, unfortunately, scams while a lot are legit. For today’s review, I’ll be covering Respondent. Right off the bat, Respondent is pretty amazing. Why so? Read my Respondent review to find out!
How to Earn on Respondent
On Respondent, you participate as a, well, respondent by taking surveys or participating in focus-group discussions. These surveys can be done either in-person or remotely.
Studies that are applicable to your demographic will be made available on your profile dashboard.
If none are assigned to you, here’s a little tip: simply select “Browse Projects” and manually check if there are any surveys that you are qualified to join. These surveys can take anywhere from 15 minutes up to two hours to complete.
Actually, the term “survey” probably isn’t the best description of what the site gives you. The proper term is probably “study” and that’s because the topics covered here are pretty specialized and take quite a bit of effort to answer.
For example, below are a few of the studies available on Respondent at the moment. If you’ll notice, some are focus groups. These ones pay really well - way higher than regular studies. But they do require more participation on your part. But if you want to make next-level pay, you gotta do next-level work, as they say on TV.
Referral Program
Respondent also has a high-paying referral program. They will pay you a flat fee of $50 when you refer a friend who participates in a study. No percentages, no multi-tier earning schemes… but hey, you’re earning fifty bucks per referral, so no complaints there!
Earning Potential
Earning potential is pretty big on Respondent. As you can see above, it ranges from $35 bucks up to $150. The focus group study I listed (“Have you used Alibaba.com?”) pays higher than other studies, as you would expect. And those are just the ones I’ve listed here. On the site itself, I’ve seen some projects pay up to $750!
But here’s where the other shoe drops - these high-paying studies are super-specific. For example, that $750 one is for a Dallas-based dermatologist who is willing to participate in in-person studies for new product development. Some of the studies on Respondent blur the line between quick money-earning gig and an actual job. And I think that’s awesome.
Don’t let that discourage you; there are still a lot of studies that regular peeps can participate in. But do take note that this isn’t your run of the mill survey site.
Payout Options
Respondent pays only via PayPal. No gift cards, no rewards, no gimmicks. It’s pretty consistent with the site’s serious, no-BS approach. Other people might miss the gift card options, but not me. Give me PayPal over other payment options any day of the week. You know what I always say: cash is king, baby.
After you’re done with a study, a researcher will have to have to go over your results. Once they’re done, they will mark the study “attended” and processing of your payment will begin. The entire process takes about five to eight days. You can always check the status of your earnings under the My Surveys tab in your dashboard.
Oh, and if in case you haven’t noticed, they don’t have a minimum payout requirement! C’mon - when you’re earning 30 bucks for a study, do they really need to impose a minimum payout?
How to Join
If you want to become a respondent, you will have to login using either a Facebook or Linkedin account. That’s because they want to make sure the people registering on the site are legit. Membership is open to people around the world.
Normally, it’s us people who try to determine if a company is legit. But with Respondent, the company is the one that’s trying to determine if the person registering is legit!
I’m pretty hesitant to login using my social media accounts in survey sites - especially one that seems to super into research and data gathering. But I’ll let you decide on your own whether this is a deal breaker or not.
Respondent: Pros and Cons
I am thoroughly impressed with this site. But let me break things down for you. Below is a list of the Pros and Cons of using Respondent.
The Pros
High Pay for Each Survey - Surveys on other sites pay a few cents up to a few dollars. Not on Respondent. The earnings for each survey is mind-blowing.
Lots of Higher-Paying Studies - If you’re a specialist like a doctor or an engineer, you’ll find lots of studies here that pay even higher. This is definitely an opportunity you should look into.
Kickass Referral Program - You get $50 for each friend who completes a study! That’s a crazy-high amount. I usually look forward to multi-tier referral programs or ways to earn percentages of my friends’ earnings. But not here. A flat referral fee of $50 is already plenty high, thank you very much.
They’re Really Professional - Respondent ain’t joking around; they’re a serious company with serious clients looking to get serious information and data. Sound serious enough for ya?
The Cons
Social Media Signup Required - This is needed for them to determine whether you’re a legit human being. It’s not a red flag per se, but I’m not really comfortable giving my social media details to companies.
Complicated Studies - These studies require careful answers. And they take quite a lot of time to complete. These aren’t the types of surveys you can complete in a couple of minutes.
Qualifications Needed - Like any site, you need to qualify for a study before you can take it. Since some of the studies on Respondent are super-specific, you might not always have something to do here.
The Verdict: Legit or Scam?
Respondent is legit! Even the cons I’ve listed down aren’t bad per se; they’re simply how the site operates. Getting studies and completing them may be difficult, but that’s just the nature of the studies.
If you qualify and are up for the challenge, I highly recommend Respondent!
Respondent Screenshots
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You Turn
So that’s my review for Respondent. Now it’s your turn to share! Have you tried out the site? What studies did you participate in?
Let’s hear your stories!
