Respondent is a research platform that pairs verified participants with paid interviews, surveys and tasks, and its own help centre calls it a legit, safe place to do paid research. You're paid in gift cards through Tremendous, minus a small fee. The catch is that studies aren't promised, screeners are unpaid and it isn't a steady income.
Respondent lands in your inbox with a promise that sounds almost too neat: get paid to share your opinion. If you've been invited and want to know whether it's worth the effort, I've read through Respondent's own website, terms and help centre to see how the money side really works.
What Respondent is and who runs it
Respondent's help centre describes it as a platform that matches participants to high-quality paid research studies. Researchers, such as product teams and market research firms, post projects, and Respondent introduces people who fit. The footer of its website credits Respondent Australia Pty Ltd, and the help centre says it maintains SOC 2 compliance and is GDPR and CCPA compliant.
Respondent's site says its panel is identity-verified, covering 150+ countries, and that sign-up checks run against 50+ signals. It sorts participants into everyday consumers, professionals and subject-matter experts. That sorting is why a nurse, a software buyer and a student see completely different invitations.
How you qualify for studies
Joining is the easy bit. Getting chosen is harder. Respondent's terms say that by using the service you confirm you're at least 18 years old. Its help centre says you need to verify a phone number and an email address, and that business-to-business studies need a verified business email linked to your profile.
After that, the matching works on fit. Respondent's help pages list role, industry, region, company size and tools, plus the study method and length, how fast you reply to invites and the quality of your profile. A detailed, honest profile is your best lever, because nobody can invite you to a study you don't appear to fit.
Study pay on Respondent, in its own examples
There isn't one rate to quote, because Respondent doesn't promise one. It says rates vary by method and length, and gives illustrative ranges: roughly 40 to 150 US dollars for remote interviews of 30 to 90 minutes, and roughly 5 to 25 US dollars for unmoderated tasks or surveys of 5 to 25 minutes. Those are Respondent's examples, not a promise of what any study will offer you.
Respondent's earnings article is blunt about the downsides. It says studies aren't promised and don't arrive daily, that you're only paid when you're invited and attend or complete a study, and that screeners are unpaid. It adds that Respondent shouldn't be treated as a dependable daily income stream. I'd take that warning seriously.
Fees and how the payout arrives
Respondent says incentives are paid through Tremendous after the researcher marks you as attended, and the payment typically arrives 7 to 10 business days later, excluding weekends and holidays. All incentives are listed and paid in US dollars, and Tremendous shows the payout options available for your country or region when you redeem.
There's also a deduction. Respondent says incentives are paid minus a fulfillment fee of 5% with a minimum of 1 US dollar. Its example is a 60 US dollar incentive becoming 57 US dollars, and a 10 US dollar incentive becoming 9 US dollars. So the number on the invitation isn't quite the number you receive.
| Question | Respondent's answer |
|---|---|
| Who runs it? | Respondent Australia Pty Ltd, per its website footer |
| Minimum age | At least 18 years old |
| How are you paid? | Through Tremendous, after the researcher marks you as attended |
| How long does it take? | Typically 7 to 10 business days |
| What's the fee? | 5% with a minimum of 1 US dollar |
| Are screeners paid? | No |
Respondent's safety rules and common scams
The help centre's own legit-and-safe article gives practical warnings. Never send or accept payments off-platform, and never pay to join a study or buy equipment to qualify. It also tells you to report suspicious activity to the support team. Those rules match what I'd want from any research site.
In practice, a fake invitation tends to look like one of these:
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- A message asking you to pay a deposit or fee before you can take part.
- A researcher who wants to move the conversation or the payment to a cash app or gift card.
- A request to install software or share your screen with someone you haven't verified.
- An email asking you to upload your ID somewhere that isn't Respondent itself.
If any of that happens, stop replying and report it. A real study on Respondent is paid through Respondent, not around it.
Getting more invitations without gaming the system
Since selection drives everything, a few habits matter. Fill in your profile completely and keep it current, because Respondent's help pages say a good profile helps it match you to the best studies. Reply to invitations quickly, as response speed is one of the factors it lists. And answer screeners honestly. Claiming a job or tool you don't use might get you into a session, but researchers can tell, and the identity checks Respondent describes are there to protect that trust.
Is Respondent worth your time?
It depends on who you are. If you have a professional job, specialist knowledge or buy products for a business, you may be invited to better-paid sessions than a general survey site would send. If you're hoping to fill your week, it won't. Fees, unpaid screeners and a ten-day wait are the honest costs.
If you'd like some low-effort alternatives, my guide to paid survey sites in the UK covers the bread-and-butter options, and what UserTesting pays covers a platform built around recorded website tests.
Whatever you receive may count as income, so check with an accountant or your local tax office, and read my explainer on side hustle tax if you're in the UK.
Frequently asked questions
Is Respondent a real company?
Its website footer credits Respondent Australia Pty Ltd, and its help centre says it maintains SOC 2 compliance and is GDPR and CCPA compliant.
How does Respondent pay participants?
Through Tremendous, after the researcher marks you as attended. Respondent says payment typically arrives 7 to 10 business days later.
Does Respondent take a fee?
Respondent says incentives are paid minus a fulfillment fee of 5% with a minimum of 1 US dollar, so 60 US dollars becomes 57 US dollars.
Can anyone join Respondent?
You need to be at least 18, verify a phone number and email, and fit the study the researcher is recruiting for.
Is Respondent a steady income?
No. Respondent says studies aren't promised and don't arrive daily and it shouldn't be treated as a dependable daily income stream.
