Market Research Panels. Get paid for your opinion.
Share your thoughts on everything from sport to renewable energy, supermarkets to banks. Most focus groups are on Zoom these days too.
The best UK market research sites
Market research encompasses a fair few types of studies such as:
- one-on-one interviews
- group interview/focus groups
- diary studies
- recurring surveys
- app/website tests
- product tests
How to earn money with user testing
To sign up for market research studies, you need to join a market research panel. I’ve joined a lot over the years. Check out the recommendations below. Visit the sites to sign up. Then you will be asked to submit a practice test. You will be give instructions for doing so, and will be accepted onto the panel if you pass the test. The test assignments are pretty easy – usually involving visiting a website, and talking about what your experience as you perform a couple of tasks. For example, you might have to navigate a website to find the help section and search for help on a specific problem. As you do, speak your thoughts aloud. Say what you like, and also mention anything you do not like or find difficult/annoying! Remember that these researchers want to know what issues the test product has!
Typical pay rate: £8 ($10) for a 10-15 minute test.
And here are my rules for doing user testing studies:
You don’t get accepted if you don’t apply – apply for lots!
Don’t be shy. If you are shy, snap out of it.
Just tell them your thoughts.
The best UK market research sites
User Interviews
- Lots of opportunities (focus groups and user tests)
- Payment usually within 1 week
- Payment in vouchers (lots of different types)
- Studies can dissapear fast
Scrimpr review: My favourite site (I’ve completed >20 studies). Studies are emailed frequently, but do disappear from the site quickly. Payment is within a week, and often the same day of the study. All communication is via email, or via the own website. All payments are listed in USD but redeemable in GBP. Despite operating in multiple countries, they have a presence in the UK and studies are during normal UK times!
Take Part in Research
- Lots of different focus groups
- Has high-paying extended panels
- Cash payment (usually bank transfer)
- Staff phone to confirm participation
Scrimpr review: Take Part in Research have an nice website portal with all the projects listed. They also email you, but you apply through the portal. It remembers most of your details each time, so each time you apply you only need to answer a couple of new questions relevant to the study. They phone you to confirm some of your answers and book you in. Then you get a follow up email with the session details. Payment was quite fast.
Make Research Pay
- Quick application process
- All kinds of projects
- Usually cash payment
- Not as many opportunities as some sites
Scrimpr review: Make Research Pay sends out emails with links to an online form for registering your interest in their studies. I have applied to ~10 studies so far, but have not been selected. I have never taken part in a study with Make Research Pay. But the site is a favourite for many people on r/beermoneyuk. So I have to include it on my list.
Inspired Opinions
- Lots of different focus groups
- Has high-paying extended panels
- Cash payment (usually bank transfer)
- Staff phone to confirm participation
Scrimpr review: Schlesinger email out opportunities very frequently (I get 1-2 per week). Its quick to apply, but their website does look a bit old. They phone to confirm the details of the study and get you booked in. They also have professional panels and you can be added to these if your job matches what they are looking for.
Repondent
- Quick application process
- All kinds of projects
- Usually cash payment
- Not as many opportunities as some sites
Scrimpr review: I like Respondent because it frequently has usability tests for financial apps. User tests are limited to finance topics, but there are lots of other opportunities to get paid. For example, Respondent is home to the famous homecare panel. This year-long study pays hundreds of pounds a year for information on your use of household products. I’ve applied twice to it, but no luck yet!
Testingtime
- Lots of different focus groups
- Has high-paying extended panels
- Cash payment (usually bank transfer)
- Staff phone to confirm participation
Scrimpr review: Testingtime is a market research site that also offers occasional user tests. It does not have as many opportunities as the other sites listed here, but there are still lots of studies to get involved with. I’ve been on a couple of week-long diary studies that have paid £25 each. Apart from that, you can refer a friend to get a fiver if they sign up to and take part in a study.
Other UK market research sites that pay...
Just join these too. Most of the websites below have fewer studies than my favourites above. But they definitely pay if you get on a study, and some of them pay very nicely.
AngelFish
Scrimpr review: You apply for a study on the website, and everything is confirmed via email/phone. Payment can be a bit slow.
BrandSmash
Scrimpr review: Does not have many projects. But does have user tests and it pays straight to PayPal.
Dscout
Scrimpr review: A nice app. Dscout entered the UK market with a refer a friend offer that paid £10 to sign up.
Focus Force
Scrimpr review: Focus Force has a lot of high-paying studies. But they send out long profile questionnaires via email!
Good Sense Research
Scrimpr review: The Good Sense community doesn’t have a lot of studies from them, but they occasionally send me big bags of crisps to test.
iPoint Market Research
Scrimpr review: Has an awful-looking website, but emails out lots of opportunities and usually pays by bank transfer.
Podengo
Scrimpr review: Has an awful-looking website, but emails out lots of opportunities and usually pays by bank transfer.
Saros
Scrimpr review: I’ve completed one study with Kaboodle, but they do not have many opportunities.
Taylor McKenzie
Scrimpr review: Taylor McKenzie is a market research panel (and now a survey panel) that recruits Scottish residents.
The Viewers
Scrimpr review: The Viewers has very high-paying diary studies about… watching the TV. I was paid £175 for a 2-week project!
Other market research sites
These sites are all on my radar, but I have never performed a test with them. So I can’t really comment on how good they are.
User Crowd
Never been accepted, but there are never many tests to apply for
UserSense
By the time I signed up for this, I was having too much luck with Intellizoom and the others above. So I just never bothered…
uTest
Has a lot of opportunities, but the website is just a bit too complicated for me to bother with.