How much do paid studies pay in the US? Our 2026 report on 636 open studies

The short answer

We looked at every study in our catalog that was open to US residents and had a published reward: 636 studies, all paid in US dollars. The rewards are what the researcher sets and shows before you apply.

How rewards are spread

Half of the studies pay under $50, but the upper half is not rare: 181 studies, more than a quarter, pay $100 or more.

Pay by format and per hour

The format decides most of the reward. Per hour, remote interviews pay about $100, and in-person formats pay the most because you travel and give a fixed slot.

Professionals versus everyday consumers

Studies say whom they want to talk to. For professionals, the median reward is $88 for 42 minutes, about $120 an hour. For everyday consumers it is $30 for 30 minutes, about $67 an hour. There are more consumer studies (406) than professional ones (230), so both paths are open.

How this compares with what platforms promise

The numbers match what the platforms themselves publish. Respondent names about $40–150 for a remote interview of 30–90 minutes and about $75–250+ for in-person interviews and focus groups. User Interviews says its average study pays over $45. Prolific, which is built on short surveys, sets a minimum of $8 per hour and recommends $12 or more.

Two things lower what reaches you. Screeners, the short questionnaires that check whether you fit, take unpaid time: Respondent says its screeners are unpaid. And some platforms take a fee: Respondent keeps 5% of each reward, at least $1.

What this means for you

If you have 30–60 minutes and a camera, remote interviews gave the best median reward in this snapshot: $90. Unmoderated tasks and surveys had lower medians, $25–30 each. Studies for professionals had a median almost three times higher than studies for everyday consumers, so if your job is something companies sell to, it is worth having it in your profiles.

How we counted

We counted live studies in our catalog on 27 September 2026 that accept US residents, using the same country rule as our matching: a study counts if it has no required country or lists the US or worldwide. We used the reward, length, format and audience the platform publishes. Rewards are before any platform fee. We publish totals only, not individual studies.

Longer studies pay more, but not always more per hour

Reward grows with length, but the hourly rate levels off. Studies of 60–89 minutes pay the best per hour; very short tasks pay little each but are not a bad rate for the time.

Remote versus in-person

Remote studies dominate: 597 of the 636 studies with a reward were remote, with a median of $40. The 39 in-person studies had a median of $250. In-person pays far more per study, but only if you live close to where it is held and can travel at the booked time.

New studies versus those that stay open

Studies published in the last seven days had a median reward of $35 (264 studies). Studies that had been open longer had a median of $50 (372 studies). A likely reason: cheaper, simpler tasks fill and close quickly, while better-paid studies with narrower requirements stay open longer while the researcher looks for the right people.

The practical lesson: new cheap tasks go fast, so apply early; better-paid studies are worth checking even if they are not brand new, because they may still be looking for someone like you.

An example week

This is an illustration, not a promise: you earn only from studies you are selected for and complete. Say that in one week you were selected for one remote interview at the median of $90, two unmoderated tasks at $30 each and one survey at $25. That week would bring $175 before platform fees, for under two hours of sessions at median lengths, plus the unpaid time spent on screeners.

In this snapshot, studies aimed at professionals had a median reward almost three times higher than studies for everyday consumers. An accurate profile with your job helps studies with matching requirements reach you, though it never guarantees an invitation.

How to use these numbers to judge an invitation

When an invitation arrives, compare its reward per hour with the typical rate for its format and length. A remote interview typically pays about $100 an hour, so a 30-minute interview offering $50 is in line, while one offering $20 is well below the usual rate. A 20-minute unmoderated task at $25 is above the typical $60 an hour for that format.

A low rate is not a reason to skip every study: short tasks can fill gaps in your week. But if your calendar is tight, the table above shows where your hour is worth the most, and it helps you spot the rare study that pays far above the market.

• remote interview: about $100 an hour is typical
• in-person interview: about $150 an hour
• remote survey: about $80 an hour
• unmoderated task: about $60 an hour

Where these numbers come from

All 636 rewards come from Respondent, the largest source of paid studies open to US residents in our catalog. uTest, the other source, lists testing projects without a published reward in our catalog, so they are not part of these figures. All rewards were published in US dollars.