Are you looking for a real Respondent.io review because you're afraid it might turn out into a scam?
Don't worry after you read this review you will make a confident decision because you will read all the facts and ugly things about this company.
How much can you earn? What will you do to earn? How you get paid?
If you have some burning questions like these you want to stick to this review.
Without wasting time let's dive in! 🙂
Respondent.io Summary Review
Summary: Respondent.io is 100% legit and I recommend it because it pays very well but the problem is they don't accept everyone!
You can jump here to read the requirements of this website!
Rating: 4/5
Recommended? Yes
What is Respondent.io?
Respondent.io is a website that helps companies find their ideal clients to give their opinions and test out their products before going to the market.
As a respondent you have the opportunity to earn some money doing surveys, participating in focus groups and other studies.
I came across this site when I was on Reddit where I read a post of a Redditor saying how good it is, so I was curious and started to research what the members are saying about it.
I have gathered along the way some VERY important information which I don't mind sharing with you in this review.
I've gathered so much info that I break it down for you below in easy to read short paragraphs so you can consume this review quickly 🙂
How Does Respondent.io Work?
To get started you need to sign up as a Respondent and this is my affiliate link please do use it if you find this review honest and useful.
If you don't I will appreciate any feedback, my goal is to improve and provide you the most useful & honest reviews.
Anyway to sign up you need to provide the following info:
- Connect your Linkedin or Facebook profile.
- Provide your contact details
- Your demographics
- And your employment details
The signup process is pretty smooth and simple and Respondent.io is going to use that info you have provided to give you relevant research studies and surveys to earn from so make sure you add your real info if you want to receive lots of survey invitations.
Thereafter you will start receiving invitations to participate in research studies and surveys and then you choose the ones that suit you.
Here's a quick overview of how Respondent.io works for both the researchers and the respondents.
What are the Requirements to Join?
You need to be 18 years old to join Respondent.io and you must have a Paypal account because it's the only payment method they offer.
You don't have to live in the US to join as this website is available worldwide.
Before you start using the site you must complete the screener survey which Respondent will use to connect you with the researchers that are looking for people like you.
With that out of the way, now it's time to see how you can earn money from Respondent.
How Can You Earn Money?
1) Participate In Different Types of Research Studies
After you complete your profile you can click on the "browse projects" button and then you will see a list of research studies you can participate in.
These research studies can take from 15 minutes to 3 hours to complete and they seem to pay very well.
For example here's what kind of surveys respondent.io showed me after I have completed my profile.
Click on the screenshot to zoom it
As you can see each study or survey is looking for some qualified and specific people like architects or engineers and you may or may not qualify to take all the surveys.
In some countries, you won't even see a single project after you click on the browse projects button.
So anyway there are two different types of research studies you will find in your respondent.io dashboard.
1) The in-person Research Studies
In these type of research studies you actually meet in person with the researchers and hold 1 on 1 interviews with them.
A Respondent.io member said that the researchers came to his house and held a 1 on 1 interview.
Not a lot of members are going to be qualified for in-person research studies but if you do you're right to expect some nice paycheck.
2) The Remote Research Studies
The remote research studies are the surveys you can complete from the comfort of your house and you don't have to meet anyone outside but you may find some remote studies that require you to have a 1 on 1 webcam interviews.
And these research studies do pay well.
For example, there are many research studies that pay $120 for a 30 minutes survey.
Not bad at all.
According to a member on Reddit, the webcam interviews are fun and like a casual conversation where the advertisers strike a friendly conversation with you and ask you their questions along the way.
2) Refer Friends
The second way to earn money from Respondent.io and where you don't need any special requirements is the referral program.
With the respondent.io referral program you can earn $50 for every qualified referral you bring in.
There are no bs gift cards or points to collect like most surveys, you get $50 right away when you refer a qualified referral.
Quick Note about the Affiliate Program!
In order to earn $50 per referral, the person you refer needs to be qualified for at least one research study, participate in it and get paid.
Which means your referral needs to cash out before you get the $50.
Unfortunately, it's NOT easy to refer qualified people so you need to refer tons of people and hope to find that tiny percentage that will qualify for the respondent research studies.
The second thing I want to talk about is you have to refer people to specific studies, let's say you have found 7 friends you have to refer each friend to a specific study, if you refer all the 7 friends to one study you will only earn $50 even if they all qualify for that study.
How Much Can You Make with Respondent.io?
The earning potential is big with Respondent and there are many projects that will pay you up to $750!
But unfortunately, these surveys are REALLY super specific and not available to most people.
Let me give you an example.
Have a look at this research study down here
Click on the picture to zoom it
As you can see this research study is going to pay you $70 for a 45 minutes interview.
That's not bad right?
But chances are you're reading this review and you're not an eyewear salesperson.
Here's another example:
Click on the picture to zoom it
This one pays $50 for a 30 minutes!
Nice!
But are you a corporate event planner?
Do you have experience booking event space at an independent hotel?
I don't 🙂
I think you get the idea, that's the problem with this site, but if you know people that might be qualified for such jobs you can invite them using the referral program and earn $50 for each person.
How Will Respondent.io Pay Me?
The only payment available at Respondent.io is Paypal, you will receive your payment within 8-10 after you request it.
Keep in mind that sometimes it may take more than 10 days it just depends on the advertiser.
After you complete a research study the researcher will mark you as an attendee and then process your payment.
You can always go to your "my surveys" tab on your Respondent dashboard and see the expected date of your payment.
A Quick Note about the Paypal Payments!
First of all, there is no minimum cashout limit as soon as you complete a survey and get paid, the payment will be processed via Paypal.
But keep in mind that if you receive a payment from the advertiser a 5% fulfillment fee is deducted from your payment for example if you earn $200 you will receive $190.
Respondent.io - Reviews and complaints
As I was researching Respondent.io I came across different members complaints, below I share with you the most common complaints I have found about this website.
There are Shady Advertisers
As I was reading reviews on Reddit I came across a negative review that says how he got scammed by Respondent.io.
So basically he qualified for a research study where he was interviewed for half an hour with some advertisers from India.
So these advertisers instead of asking him questions related to the research study they were trying to sell him into something.
That's the not the problem because in any platform there are ethical and shady advertisers but the problem is Respondent.io does not do anything about it.
This respondent.io member has wasted lots of time without receiving any payment because the advertisers refused to pay him.
So basically the advertisers are the ones to decide whether to pay your or not and if they are shady the respondent.io support team cannot help and that's not good in my opinion.
Here's a screenshot of the complaint I'm talking about.
Click on the picture to zoom it
Many People Don't Earn Anything!
As I was reading complaints from members not being able to even make a cent I wasn't surprised at all.
From the first glance, I quickly understood that this website is not for everyone.
There are many complaints from members that have been members for Respondent.io for several months without receiving a single invitation.
You can read below some of their complaints.
With this Program I can earn a full-time income without any experience or special skills.
If you have no experience like me then you definitely want to check it out 😉
You Can't Use Respondent.io on Mobile Devices
Another complaint is about the fact there is no way you would earn money with Respondent.io using your smartphone or tablet.
I quite understand this problem, not a lot of people like to fire up their laptops or desktops and prefer to just use their smartphones or tablet.
Anyway, these are pretty much the negative reviews I was able to find.
But I'm happy to say that the majority of the reviews are positive because Respondent.io does pay if you get selected!
Respondent Pros & Cons
Pros
- High earning potential.
- Good referral program.
- Respondent.io is a Legit & transparent website.
- User-friendly interface.
Cons
- The majority of people won't qualify to take their surveys.
- Not usable on smartphones or tablets.
- The support team does not protect you against the shady advertisers.
Respondent.io Alternatives
If you have failed to make any money with respondent.io like most members don't worry because I have gathered for you some similar websites you can check out:
- Prolific
- Ubertesters
- Appen
- Lionbridge
- Amazon Mechanical Turk
- Survey Spotter
If you don't have the requirements that Respondent.io and some of these alternatives require, make sure you check out my top recommended Program.
Is Respondent.io a Scam?
Respondent.io is a legitimate website that pays very well, but they are not for everyone as they are only looking for people with specific expertise and demographics.
If you think you have what it takes to make money with Respondent.io don't hesitate to sign up and start making some good money!
If respondent.io is not for you then feel free to check out my recommended training for newbies with no experience that want to build a nice solid income by learning how to create a solid affiliate website step by step.
That's how I make money and this training is the same that turned me into a successful affiliate marketer.
If you want to learn more just click the button below.
Thanks for your article, however I have not had a good experience with Respondent io. Taking the surveys to qualify for the tests are very time consuming, often very repetitive with the info for each survey.
After a lot of time taking surveys I was finally accepted for one with Intel – a company with a net worth of $200 billion that 1) was 15 min late to the interview 2) never paid me a measly $50 after I gave them a REALLY in-depth feedback of their beta product and went over-time on the interview.
Respondent doesn’t really do anything about it – out of 4-5 emails I sent to them, they replied to one but then total silence. I definitely would not recommend them.
Hi, Sabrina thank you for your comment! Unfortunately, Respondent.io is not a website that is going to make you rich 🙂
Yep, so far Respondent is a major time waster.
Thanks for sharing your feedback with us!
What a fantastic review! This sounds like a very appealing program with the earning potential compared to the time it takes. It is very tempting although I do understand they pay well because of how specific they are that not every body will have a chance to participate. The fact that the advertisers have control over the funds does worry me because of course no body wants there time wasted. Thank you for all the info, will look into furt
You’re welcome Alisha! I’m glad you liked my review!
Seems like a good program. It pays much better than your regular survey site. It’s really unfair that most of this projects are only focused to the US and other top European countries. I won’t be registering for this because I know there will be little or no survey in my country.Thanks for sharing
Respondent.io is definitely not your average survey but unfortunately is not available to everyone, feel free to check out Wealthy Affiliate because it’s an INCREDIBLE opportunity to earn as a newbie!