One of the easiest ways to make real money online is to share your opinion by taking surveys. However, not all survey sites are the same or pay the same amount. The best way to maximize your earnings is to consider a site that recruits for a variety of short surveys and longer focus groups and panel studies.
User Interviews is one of the top and highest-paying survey and remote focus group sites. In this User Interviews review, I’ll go over how this site works, what to expect, and outline some key pros and cons. But first:
What Is the Difference Between an Online Survey and a Focus Group?
Both surveys and focus groups involve collecting market research. Companies want to know your thoughts and opinions about certain brands, services, and experiences you’ve had. With an online survey, you may be asked a series of questions that you can read through and select a multiple-choice answer.
Focus groups are a bit different. They usually involve a more in-depth interview with the actual brand or a representative. This could be one-on-one or in a small group with others. Each focus group participant is encouraged to contribute to the conversation and share their honest thoughts and opinions.
Like surveys, you also need to qualify for focus groups, so this may require filling out some preliminary questions. Since focus groups tend to be longer and more involved, they pay much more than surveys. User Interviews provides primarily focus group opportunities (which are also referred to as research studies) and can pay an average of $60 or more per study.
How User Interviews Works
User Interviews is a site that provides you with research study or focus group opportunities across a wide selection of companies and brands. They are a market research company that works with several clients looking for feedback on different services and products. The best part about User Interviews is that you can do surveys and research studies solely online.
Some of the opportunities you can find on the site include:
- Online Tests and Surveys: 10 minutes to several hours ($20-$300+)
- Online Interviews: 30 minutes to 2 hours ($20-$300+)
- Online Diary Studies: 3 days to several weeks ($55-$400+)
- Online Focus Groups: 1 to 3 hours ($40-$200+)
- All Online Studies: 30 minutes to several days ($20-$1,500+)
How this site works is simple.
Step 1: Create an Account
Head to User Interviews and click the maroon button in the upper right-hand corner that says ‘Sign Up.’ From there, you’ll be asked for your email address and phone number, or you can create an account by logging in with your LinkedIn or Facebook account.
Step 2: Fill Out Your Profile Details
This is probably the most essential step. Brands want to know specific details about you to see if you would be a good fit for a research study. So be sure to fill out your profile details in full and include information like what industry you work in, your age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, and other common demographic details. User Interviews also recommends connecting your social media accounts (Facebook and LinkedIn) to increase your chances of being selected for a study.
Step 3: Look for Studies and Complete the Screener Survey
When you’re finished creating your profile, you can immediately start searching for paid research studies. You will need to complete a pre-screen survey and answer a few general questions to qualify you for the study. You may not get selected each time, but it’s good to keep applying for the ones you are interested in to increase your chances of getting picked.
Step 4: Confirm Your Study, Participate, and Get Paid
If you’re selected for a study, be sure to confirm the time you must appear online for the interview. Once you’re approved for the study, you’ll receive instructions and an online meeting link to use at the scheduled start time. Or, if it’s a survey, you can likely take the survey right away.
With panel studies and focus groups, make sure you participate even if others are in your group. Since you’re also getting paid, it’s important to voice your opinion and answer any questions honestly. Once you complete your panel study, you’ll be paid in 10 business days.
What Types of Market Research Do They Do?
User Interviews has different study formats (in-person, over the phone, and online) and study types (1-on-1 interviews, focus groups, multi-day studies, and unmoderated tasks). When you browse the platform, you’ll be able to view the estimated time requirement and payout for the format and type of study. Remember, there are multi-day studies available, where you may need to participate for a set number of hours over a series of days. Or you may be asked to test out a product for a week and then do a 90-minute, one-on-one study to discuss your thoughts and feedback.
How Payment Works
With User Interviews, you can browse through opportunities before signing up to see how they are compensated. Online focus group studies pay around $40 to $200+ and take between 1 and 3 hours. User Interviews will pay you within 10 days of completing your assignment. Payment is distributed through the incentives provider, Tremendous. With Tremendous, you can choose payment via gift cards to popular retailers like Amazon, PayPal, and Starbucks or Prepaid Cards, charitable donations, and more.
User Interviews Reviews
User Interviews is a legitimate company that offers over 2,500 new survey and focus group opportunities each month. I did some digging to see what actual users were saying about the platform, and most responses were very positive.
On Reddit, there is lots of positive feedback from users saying they enjoyed the survey opportunities and got paid on time. On Trustpilot, User Interviews receives a 4.5-star rating out of 5 stars. This is great news for anyone looking to make extra cash in their spare time!
Who Can Join User Interviews?
User Interviews accepts participants from the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. According to their terms of use, you must be at least 16 years old to join and have a parent’s consent. However, users who are 18 or older have a better chance of getting picked for panel studies. Currently, they have a high demand for participants who are data scientists, software engineers, product managers, IT managers, and small business owners, but they also have general types of studies.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It’s easy to sign up even if you’re not 18.
- Surveys and panel studies pay well for your time.
- There are a variety of panel study types and genres to choose from.
- There are a variety of payment options.
- High ratings on Trustpilot.
Cons
- Pre-screening surveys are required, so you’ll need to apply before getting selected.
- Payment could take up to 10 days.
Alternatives to User Interviews
One downside to studies is that, due to your demographics, you may not be the ideal participant for current studies. To increase your chances of getting selected for opportunities, you can sign up with multiple market research platforms. Here are some companies that recruit study participants.
Gauge Research
Gauge Research is a market research firm that recruits users for in-depth online surveys. With their surveys, you can answer questions via text, audio, or video response, with the latter two offering higher payouts. Gauge Research pays $10 for quick POV surveys and up to $500+ for deeper engagements. With this market research platform, payments are made through Tremendous, where you can get gift cards and prepaid cards, make charitable donations, and more.
Respondent
Respondent conducts market research for large companies like Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, and Intuit. They offer a wide variety of study formats and study types. Respondent accepts users from all over the world, and the average project pays a $75 incentive.
Survey Junkie
With Survey Junkie, you can earn points by taking surveys, participating in focus groups, product testing gigs, and surfing the web. They accept users who are at least 18 years old from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK. Points that you earn can be used to purchase gift cards from major retailers, cash via PayPal, Visa gift card, or direct bank transfer.
Summary: Should You Sign Up for User Interviews?
It’s not every day that you come across a high-paying online survey site that also offers online focus groups and panel studies. User Interviews makes it easy to earn money for your thoughts and opinions from the comfort of your own home.
If you’re looking to earn extra money online, you should consider giving this site a try. Realize that this probably won’t be a consistent job, but it can be a great way to earn some extra money on the side with very little time or effort on your end.
Ultimately, the best way to know if User Interviews is right for you will be to sign up and see for yourself. It’s free, and you can do that here.
Originally published July 5, 2021. Content updated July 2024.