🎯 Respondent.io promises $140/hour for research studies — a figure that gets repeated constantly across “make money online” sites. After signing up and waiting for months, here’s what actually happened.
⚡ Honest Verdict First
Respondent is real and does pay those rates — when you get accepted into a study. The problem: acceptance rates are brutal. You’ll apply to dozens of studies and get rejected from most. It’s not passive income; it’s more like a competitive job application process with occasional large payouts.
🔬 What Is Respondent?
Respondent is a US-based platform that connects market researchers, product teams, and UX designers with research participants. Unlike standard survey apps, Respondent focuses exclusively on high-value qualitative research — interviews, usability tests, and focus groups — typically via video call.
Platform Basics:
- 📍 Available to Australians ✅
- 💰 Typical pay: $50–$200 AUD per study
- ⏱️ Session length: 30–90 minutes
- 💳 Payment: PayPal
- 💻 Web-only platform
- 🎯 Focus: B2B and consumer UX research
💰 What Respondent Actually Pays (Real Numbers)
The “up to $140/hour” headline is accurate — but here’s the full picture of what we experienced over 5 months:
- 📋 Studies applied to: 34
- ✅ Accepted into: 4
- ❌ Rejected/not selected: 28
- ⏳ No response: 2
- 💰 Total earned: $280 AUD across 4 studies
- ⏰ Average hourly rate for completed studies: ~$105 AUD
So yes, the pay per study is excellent. But your effective hourly rate including application time is much lower. Screening questionnaires alone take 10–20 minutes per application.
🏢 Who Gets the Most Studies on Respondent?
Respondent strongly favours participants who can provide professional or niche expertise:
- ✅ Software users (specific SaaS tools, CRMs, developer tools)
- ✅ Business decision-makers (managers, founders, procurement)
- ✅ Healthcare professionals
- ✅ IT administrators and developers
- ✅ People who match very specific product use cases
If you’re a general consumer without a specific professional angle, your acceptance rate will be low. Respondent works best for people with B2B knowledge and professional backgrounds.
✅ Respondent Pros
- ✔️ Genuinely the highest per-study pay we’ve seen
- ✔️ Professional, well-organised sessions
- ✔️ Fast PayPal payment (usually within 5 days)
- ✔️ Studies can be done from anywhere in Australia via Zoom
- ✔️ Studies are genuinely interesting (real products, real companies)
❌ Respondent Cons
- ❌ Very low acceptance rate for most Australians
- ❌ Dominated by US-based studies that may exclude international participants
- ❌ No guaranteed income — weeks can pass with nothing
- ❌ Application process is time-consuming
- ❌ Profile verification requires LinkedIn — not ideal for everyone
🆚 Respondent vs Prolific
These two are often compared but they’re fundamentally different experiences:
- Prolific: High volume, consistent $15–25/hr, academic studies, everyone qualifies for something
- Respondent: Low volume, occasional $80–200 payouts, professional focus, many rejections
Winner for most Australians: Prolific. Unless you have strong B2B credentials, Prolific will earn you more consistently. Add Respondent as a supplementary platform and treat every acceptance as a bonus.
💡 Tips to Maximise Respondent Acceptance Rates
- 🔗 Connect your LinkedIn profile — it dramatically improves credibility
- 🎯 Apply only to studies where you genuinely match the target profile
- ⚡ Apply quickly — studies fill fast (within hours of posting)
- 📋 Write strong screener answers — treat it like a job application
- 🌏 Filter for studies open to international/Australian participants
📊 Overall Rating
- ⭐ Pay per session: 10/10
- ⭐ Frequency of opportunity: 3/10 (for most Australians)
- ⭐ Acceptance rate: 3/10
- ⭐ Payment reliability: 9/10
- ⭐ Overall: 6/10
🏁 Final Verdict
Respondent is worth signing up for — especially if you have professional expertise — but don’t make it your primary income strategy. Treat each study acceptance as an unexpected bonus of $100–200. Over a year, that could add up to $500–$1,500 AUD with minimal ongoing effort.
👉 Best for: Business professionals, tech workers, healthcare staff, or anyone with niche expertise that product companies want to interview.
❓ FAQs
Is Respondent available in Australia?
Yes, but many studies are US-only. Filter by “International” in the study search to see ones open to Australians.
How does Respondent pay?
PayPal, typically within 5 business days of completing a study.
Do I need a LinkedIn profile for Respondent?
It’s not mandatory but strongly recommended. Connecting LinkedIn significantly improves your credibility with researchers and your acceptance rate.
