Data
How much paid research pays per hour: 692 studies analysed
Updated 10 September 2026
The median study in our catalogue pays about $87 per hour of stated time. One in nine pays $200 an hour or more. Contrary to popular advice, short studies do not pay better per hour: the rate stays at $80–100 regardless of length, and the highest rates go to long in-person sessions.
The headline numbers
We divided each study’s payout by the duration stated by the platform. The sample is 692 open studies from our catalogue on 10 September 2026.
- median: $87 per hour
- average: $113 per hour, pulled up by a few very expensive studies
- 11% of studies pay $200 an hour or more
- 15% pay less than $50 an hour
How hourly rates are distributed
The largest group pays $50–100 an hour, two in five studies. That is above typical hourly pay for side work in most of Europe, but these are one-off sessions, not a job.
| Rate | Studies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| under $50 | 102 | 15% |
| $50–99 | 270 | 39% |
| $100–149 | 185 | 27% |
| $150–199 | 60 | 9% |
| $200 and over | 75 | 11% |
Short studies do not pay better
A common tip is to take short surveys because they "pay more per hour". Our data does not support it: fifteen-minute studies pay a median of $80 an hour, hour-long ones $88. The difference is within noise.
The only group that stands out is studies longer than 90 minutes, at $125 an hour. These are mostly in-person sessions and interviews with narrow specialists.
| Length | Studies | Median per hour |
|---|---|---|
| up to 15 min | 185 | $80 |
| 16–30 min | 214 | $94 |
| 31–60 min | 244 | $88 |
| 61–90 min | 32 | $98 |
| over 90 min | 17 | $125 |
Your real rate is lower, and here is why
The platform states the length of the session itself. It does not include finding the study, the screener, or applications that were rejected. So your real earnings per hour spent are always lower than the stated rate.
Working out your real rate is simple: add up every payout you received in a month and divide by all the hours spent on studies, including searching and screeners. That is the number to compare with other side work.
How we calculated this
A snapshot of open studies in the LazyBounty catalogue on 10 September 2026, limited to studies where the platform stated a payout in US dollars and a duration: 692 studies, all from the one platform that publishes both fields. The rate is the payout divided by the stated duration in hours. Participants receive a fixed amount per study, not an hourly wage; the hourly rate is a way to compare studies with each other. You may quote these figures with a link to this page.
Questions and answers
How much do paid research studies pay per hour?
In our catalogue on 10 September 2026 the median was about $87 per hour of stated time and the average $113. 11% of studies paid $200 an hour or more.
Are short surveys better value?
No. In our data the hourly rate is almost the same for studies from 15 to 90 minutes, $80–100. Only sessions longer than 90 minutes pay noticeably more.
Why are real earnings lower than the stated rate?
Because the stated time excludes searching, screeners and rejected applications. Work out your real rate as all payouts divided by all the time spent.
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