Respondent review: what interviews pay and how you get paid

How Respondent works

Respondent is a marketplace connecting researchers with people who want to join paid research studies. You find a project that matches your background and complete a short screener. If you fit, the researcher invites you and, for interviews, asks you to book a time. After the session the researcher marks you as attended, and payment is sent through Tremendous.

The screener is unpaid and has 2 to 20 questions. For some partner projects there is a second screener on the partner’s site after Respondent’s, also unpaid, and you can be screened out at either step.

How much Respondent pays

The platform publishes indicative amounts for participants and warns that they are illustrative.

Types of projects

Respondent splits projects into remote and in-person.

• remote one-to-one interview: a video or phone session, usually 15–90 minutes, from a quiet space with camera and microphone
• remote focus group: a multi-participant video call led by a moderator
• unmoderated study: a survey or task you complete on your own by a deadline
• diary study: short entries or tasks over days or weeks on a schedule
• in-person interview or focus group: at a set location; allow travel time and bring ID if asked

Why professionals are paid more

Respondent advises researchers to pay professionals at least twice their hourly rate and gives US examples: a remote interview with an entry-level specialist $100, a manager $200, a director $300, a C-level executive $600. For engineers and developers $100–175 per remote interview, for doctors from $500.

The practical takeaway is that on Respondent your professional experience is your main asset. The platform itself says "$100 per survey" is rare, and $100 is more typical for a 60-minute interview or a specialised audience such as certain professions.

What your earnings depend on

Respondent says honestly that you can make money, but it is not guaranteed or daily: you are paid only when you are invited and complete a study. Asked whether you can make $50 a day, it answers only if you are selected for one or more studies that day, and advises against treating Respondent as a dependable daily income stream.

• fit: job role, industry, region, company size, tools
• method and length: interviews and in-person sessions usually pay more
• responsiveness: accept invitations quickly
• profile quality: complete, specific, up-to-date profiles get more invitations

Personal and work email: B2C and B2B

Respondent splits studies into two groups. For consumer studies (B2C) it is enough to verify your personal email and your phone number by text. For professional studies (B2B) you also verify a work email with your company’s domain.

Addresses at Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, iCloud, Proton and other consumer services are not accepted as work email. If you run your own business with its own domain, such as [email protected], that works. The work email must be re-verified every 90 days, and it is never shown to researchers without your consent.

The profile that gets you selected

Researchers choose participants by job title, tools, industry, company size, region, time zone, languages and availability. Respondent gives a profile checklist.

• a full, clear job title, such as "Product Manager" rather than "PM", plus seniority if accurate
• your industry and company size
• tools you use weekly or monthly, spelled correctly
• every language you can be interviewed in
• a profile photo is required: neutral and front-facing
• screener answers must match your profile: a mismatch lowers your chances

How you get paid

Payment is sent once the researcher confirms you attended, and usually arrives within 7–10 business days. All incentives are listed and paid in US dollars. Since 28 May 2025 Respondent has been moving payouts from PayPal to Tremendous virtual gift cards: you get an email, choose your country and a card, such as a prepaid Visa or a store card. In some cases PayPal via Tremendous is still available, but not for everyone.

The platform deducts a 5% fee from each incentive, with a $1 minimum. Examples from its help centre: $20 becomes $19, $95 becomes $90.25, $300 becomes $285. The fee is shown before you start the screener.

If the researcher does not show up

Sometimes it is the researcher who fails to appear. Respondent says the researcher is still obliged to pay you in that case. Message them through the platform, give the date and time of the session you attended, and ask them to mark you as attended under Respondent’s cancellation policy.

You can try to reschedule at a convenient time. If that is not possible, your status should change to Attended and then Paid within 10 business days. If it does not, contact support: human agents work Monday to Friday, 11:30 to 19:30 US Eastern time.

AI interviews

Some Respondent interviews are now run by an AI moderator: it asks the study’s questions, listens to your answers and follows up, much like a person. You take it in your own time in the browser with a camera and microphone, and the research team reviews the recording.

You may be asked to verify your identity first. Respondent says participants with verified IDs are more likely to be selected, and verification details are not shared with researchers. The tips are simple: a quiet place, a stable connection, light on your face and full-sentence answers.

Safety: things never to do

Respondent lists its prohibitions and red flags separately. Accepting payment from a researcher outside the platform is forbidden: all payouts must go through Respondent.

• never send or accept off-platform payments via cash apps, wires, crypto or gift cards
• never pay to join a study or buy equipment "to qualify"
• never share bank passwords or full ID and account numbers
• be suspicious of requests to install unknown software, grant remote desktop access or upload IDs outside the platform
• report anything suspicious to [email protected]

Respondent from Ukraine

Respondent says it operates in more than 175 countries, but most of its members are in the US, and it advises researchers to adjust pay when recruiting internationally. It publishes no separate country list, so Ukraine is neither excluded nor confirmed.

The key question is the payout. Tremendous shows the options available for your country when you redeem, and some may involve currency conversion. Before your first study, check that the cards for your country include ones you can actually use.

Pros and cons

Respondent pays best for experienced professionals with a company email address.

• pro: high pay for interviews, especially for professionals and managers
• pro: honest pay benchmarks and a fee shown upfront
• pro: remote, in-person and AI interviews in one place
• con: a 5% fee, $1 minimum
• con: PayPal is being replaced by gift cards
• con: screeners are unpaid, and invitations are irregular