Make Money Side Hustles

5 Ways You Can Get Paid To Test Products

Testing products and filling out surveys online can pay legitimate money, but beware of scams or anyone promising you can earn full-time income.

By Danielle Letenyei
and Lauren Graves

Edited by Yahia Barakah, CEPF

Updated July 28, 2025

Do you enjoy sharing your opinion? Just check out any online comment section or site like Yelp and you'll see people expressing their opinions (often in all caps). But fortunately, instead of shouting into the void, you can actually get paid for offering your opinions on products and services.

You'll probably need to enjoy being online, since you'll be watching videos, testing apps, and completing surveys most of the time.

I don't want you to plan on quitting your job or anything, but you can definitely earn money or rewards doing this in your free time.

Product testing platforms at a glance

	Pay expectations	Minimum redemption	Redemption method
InboxDollars	$0.25 to $5 per survey (in our experience using the platform)	$15 for the first payment, $10 thereafter	Gift cards PayPal Prepaid Visa cards
Survey Junkie	$1-$3 per survey (in our experience using the platform)	$5 (500 points)	Gift cards PayPal Direct bank transfers
Swagbucks	$0.50 to $3.50 per survey (in our experience using the platform)	$1 (110 Swagbucks)	Gift cards PayPal Direct bank deposits Prepaid Mastercard cards American Express reward cards
Freecash	$0.19 to $0.41 per survey (in our experience using the platform)	$20 (first payment, keep bonus cash), $5 (forfeit bonus cash)	PayPal Bank Transfers Stake.us Gift cards
Branded Surveys	$.50 to $3 per survey (in our experience using the platform)	$5 (500 points)	Gift cards PayPal Direct bank transfers Prepaid Visa cards

InboxDollars

Like Survey Junkie, InboxDollars pays users like you to take surveys, test apps, shop online, explore new products and services, and play games. InboxDollars even pays you for reading emails it sends that include promotional materials.

I like that InboxDollars has a pretty long history (it's been around since 2000). In our experience testing InboxDollars, we saw that it generally pays between $0.25 to $5 for surveys that take three to 25 minutes to complete. However, the platform states that some surveys may pay $10, $20, or even more. And you get $5 as a thank-you when you sign up with your email.

InboxDollars sometimes runs focus groups, which may take place on weekdays or require travel. You can often earn more or get extra perks like free lunch, so as long as it's not a long drive, I'd be hoping to get into local focus groups.

InboxDollars claims it has paid its members over $80 million in cash rewards. The platform occasionally holds promotions and contests to help its users earn more. You get paid in cash, not points, but you must earn at least $15 to make your first withdrawal. After that, the minimum withdrawal is $10.

Payments are made via PayPal, virtual gift cards, or prepaid Visa cards. There are no additional fees for virtual gift cards. If you're super-nice, you can donate your rewards to charity.

Visit InboxDollars

… Or learn more in our InboxDollars review.

Get Paid Up to $225 a Month Doing Simple Tasks

Get paid to take surveys, play games, read emails ... even to go grocery shopping.

Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is a popular platform for answering online surveys and testing products. You can earn money on this platform by creating a profile on its website and completing studies or surveys relevant to your background and interests as they become available to you.

You get to choose the surveys you want to participate in once you're deemed qualified. I appreciate that even if you don't qualify for a survey, you'll receive a few points for trying. It's nice to know it's not a total waste of your time if it happens to be about a product or brand you've never used.

After completing a survey, the platform rewards you with virtual points that you can redeem for gift cards to major retailers like Target and Amazon, cash payouts via PayPal, or transfer right into your bank account.

In addition to surveys, opting in to Surf to Earn allows you to earn a bit more by sharing your online activity with Survey Junkie. (All sensitive information is blocked, so it appears to be safe.)

You won't get rich on Survey Junkie, but you can earn a little extra money to spend. Each survey indicates how many points you can earn by completing it, and you can cash out your points after accumulating 500 points in rewards. Survey Junkie states that completing three or more surveys per day could earn you as much as $100 per month.

Visit Survey Junkie

... Or learn more in our Survey Junkie review.

Earn Money Online by Taking Surveys

Get your share of $55,000 paid out daily to Survey Junkie users.

Swagbucks

With Swagbucks, you can earn Swagbucks (SB) for various activities, including answering surveys, watching videos, shopping online, and trying game apps. It's another fun way to earn small amounts of money with extra pockets of time.

The company says you can complete surveys with as little as one question and others that could take up to 30 minutes to finish.

My kids would love the daily trivia and web browser game option on Swagbucks, but maybe you'd prefer regular old surveys.

You can redeem the Swagbucks you earn for gift cards to over 100 top retailers, virtual prepaid Mastercard and American Express reward cards, cash via PayPal, or a direct bank deposit. Your Swagbucks can also be redeemed for Swagbucks swag.

Another feature is that you can earn points for spending at 1,500 online retailers and get access to exclusive deals and coupons.

Visit Swagbucks

… Or learn more in our Swagbucks review.

Earn Free Gift Cards to your Favorite Stores

Get gift cards to Amazon, Target, and more for surfing the web and taking fun surveys.

Freecash

Freecash is another legitimate testing platform that will pay you for a variety of activities, but the main focus is on game apps and paid surveys, making it similar to Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, and InboxDollars. You'll get paid to download and try out different mobile games, answer surveys, sign up for brand promotions, and watch ads, among other tasks.

Compared to the other paid survey sites on this list, your earning potential may be limited initially due to Freecash assigning some users to Lite Mode based on region. Getting assigned to Lite Mode limits the number and variety of earning opportunities available, but users can work their way up to Advanced Mode to receive more offers.

You'll need to earn $20 on Freecash before you can make your first withdrawal and keep the $5 in bonus cash the platform awards new users, or you can cash out at $5 and forefeit the bonus.

Freecash gets positive user reviews, earning a Trustpilot rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars and a Google Play rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars with more than 180,000 reviews.

Visit Freecash

... Or learn more in our Freecash review.

Earn Free Cash Within Minutes — Up To $1,000

Get rewarded to download games, take surveys, or even join Netflix with 1K+ offers to choose from.

See how much you could earn

Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys is another platform that pays you to give feedback on products and services. It conducts market research for Fortune 500 companies.

When you sign up, you'll answer questions to build your profile. That information helps Branded Surveys match you with appropriate surveys, and the more details that you provide, the more surveys you may be eligible to take.

Depending on your habits and lifestyle, the surveys you receive may be about health, politics, shopping, travel, music, sports, education, and other topics. They vary in length, usually between five and 20 minutes, but Branded Surveys gives you an estimated time before each survey (which is nice, so you know what you're getting into.

You earn points for each survey you take. You can choose to have the money you earn deposited directly into your U.S. bank account or exchange the points you earn for merchant gift cards, prepaid Visa cards, cash via PayPal, or direct bank deposits. The minimum redemption is 500 points, which are worth $5.

You can make even more money as a Branded Elite loyalty program member. This program allows you to earn bonus points for completing at least 12 surveys a week, which gives you a 5% bonus. Completing 30 or more surveys qualifies you for the highest bonus of 19% more points. Plus, you get bonuses for referring friends.

Visit Branded Surveys

... Or learn more in our Branded Surveys review.

Get Paid For Sharing Your Opinion on Fortune 500 Companies

Top companies are willing to pay top dollar for you feedback — over $59M paid out to date.

The pros and cons of product testing

Pros

Make money on your own time
Provide valuable input to companies
Free to try out

Cons

Low reward for sometimes lengthy surveys
May be difficult to qualify for surveys
Points may expire quickly
Must earn a minimum amount before cashing out

As you'll see, you definitely can get paid to test products and offer your opinions and your experience as a user. Just be aware of the limitations of this as an income-earning activity, and don't forget to cash in your points before they expire.

How to become a product tester

Joining a product testing program or platform so you can get paid to test can be simple. Of course, you'll need a reliable internet connection to complete the surveys or participate in focus groups.

Assuming you have that, here are the steps to creating an account on most product-testing platforms:

Provide your name and email address
Create a password
Answer questions about yourself and your lifestyle
Provide details about the products you use or the products you're interested in
Link your bank or PayPal account, if applicable

Once you've signed up, the testing platforms typically send you an email inviting you to participate in the survey or product test and provide details on the completion deadline and compensation.

While many platforms reward product testers with points that they can redeem for gift cards and cash payouts, other platforms may send them free products for their insights.

For example, Amazon Vine doesn't pay you as a product tester for your opinion, but you get to keep the products or the free samples sent. Keep in mind that you need to be invited to join the Amazon Vine program.

FAQs

Are product testing jobs legit?

Yes, plenty of legit product-testing platforms exist, and some companies also form focus groups for more in-depth research.

For example, McCormick & Company has a consumer testing program. National Consumer Panel learns about consumer spending habits by having people scan the products they buy.

However, scams do exist. Check online for honest reviews of any platform before signing up.

Red flags of illegitimate companies include:

Requiring you to pay
Offering to send you a check for a mystery shopping assignment
Asking for sensitive data like your driver's license or Social Security Number

Does Amazon work with product testers?

Yes, Amazon hires product testers through its Amazon Vine Voices program. It's invitation-only and doesn't pay for your opinion. If you are invited and accepted, you can order items without having to pay for them in exchange for your product review. I like this for the chance to get free products (and would hope the products align with my interests).

Can you be a full-time product tester?

Becoming a full-time product tester may provide enough earning potential to become a primary source of income. ZipRecruiter lists the average wage for product testers at $37 per hour. The average annual income for a full-time product tester is about $45,500. However, to be hired and get paid to test products, you typically need extensive experience in the field.

For example, a successful product tester working with a market research firm that tests beauty products or care products may need experience in the beauty industry and familiarity with companies such as Johnson & Johnson, L'oreal, and more. This could include experience as a makeup artist, esthetician, or cosmetologist. In other words, not just anyone can jump into a full-time product testing position.

Bottom line

If you are looking to learn how to make money in your spare time, working with product testing sites and platforms to provide your opinion on consumer products via questionnaires can be a fun way to get paid as a side hustle. It typically costs nothing to sign up as a product tester and begin answering online surveys.

Alternatively and if you want to earn at a faster rate, you can explore our list of the best side hustles to find other opportunities to earn extra cash.