Respondent vs User Interviews: which pays more and how fast you get paid

In short: which suits whom

Both platforms connect researchers with participants for interviews, focus groups, diary studies and short tasks. The difference is in payout size and frequency. Respondent itself says most participants get one to three invitations a month, while single sessions for senior B2B roles regularly pay $400 or more. User Interviews launches over 5,000 studies a month, and you can browse open studies and apply yourself.

Ownership differs too. User Interviews is now part of UserTesting, Inc., and some studies on it are UserTesting studies with their own payment rules. Respondent is a separate company.

• you have a profession, a senior role or niche expertise: Respondent
• you want to join consumer studies more often: User Interviews
• you live outside User Interviews’ list: Respondent, which publishes no country list
• fast payment matters: User Interviews, where most incentives are issued within a day or two

Side by side

The data comes from both platforms’ official pages and help centres, checked on 17 September 2026, plus our catalogue figures from 16 September.

How studies reach you

On User Interviews you create a profile, the platform emails you matching studies, and you can browse open studies at any time. To apply, you answer a few questions researchers use to pick participants; the platform says many applications take under a minute. If you are selected, the researcher sends participation instructions. The incentive type is always shown on the study page before you apply.

Respondent works differently: you fill in a profile about your work, tools and topics once, verify your identity, and the platform invites you only when a study fits. Each study has its own screening questions. Respondent promises no spam, but invitations are few.

Formats are similar. Respondent lists remote interviews of 15–90 minutes, remote focus groups, unmoderated tasks, diary studies, and in-person interviews and focus groups. User Interviews lists one-on-one interviews, online focus groups, diary studies, surveys and tests, and in-person research.

What they pay: the platforms’ figures and our catalogue

User Interviews publishes ranges by format: one-on-one interviews $20–300+, online focus groups $40–200+, diary studies $55–400+, surveys and tests $20–300+, and in-person studies $40–1,000+. Respondent says focus groups and in-person studies pay the most, averaging $150–250 per session, while online surveys and short interviews usually pay $50–150.

Our catalogue shows Respondent’s actual listings. On 16 September 2026 it held 604 open studies with both pay and length. The median was $50, the mean $72, and a third paid $25 or less. The biggest factor is who they are looking for: professionals had a median of $75, general consumers $35.

How and when you get paid

Respondent holds no balance and has no withdraw button. Once the researcher confirms your attendance, the status changes to Payment Sent and you receive an email from Tremendous, where you choose a gift or prepaid card such as VISA prepaid or Amazon. All amounts are in US dollars, and redemption options depend on your country. According to the help centre, money arrives 7–10 business days after confirmation, and a 5% fee, minimum $1, is deducted from each payout: $60 becomes $57, and $10 becomes $9. The participant page meanwhile promises payment within a few days and no fees; plan around the help centre figures, which are more detailed.

On User Interviews the incentive is paid either by the platform or by the researcher. If the platform pays, you choose from dozens of digital gift cards through Tremendous, with no cash options such as PayPal. If the researcher pays, they choose the method: cash, PayPal, direct deposit, a gift card, a cheque or a product. Most incentives are issued within a day or two of the session, though researchers have up to 10 business days.

One nuance: if you complete a UserTesting study through User Interviews, UserTesting processes the payment, 14 days after the study.

Countries

User Interviews publishes a list of 34 countries: the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore and 21 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, including the UK, Germany, France, Poland, the Netherlands and Spain. If your country is not listed you can still sign up, and the platform will tell you when recruiting opens. Ukraine is not on the list.

Respondent publishes no country list. The sample studies on its page carry restrictions such as "US only" or "open to UK, US, AU": availability depends on each study, so check the listing.

Rules that cost people their payout

On both platforms the researcher decides on payment, so small slips cost money. Here is what to know upfront.

• Respondent prohibits accepting payment from a researcher outside the platform: money must go through Respondent only
• on Respondent the researcher decides your attendance status and payout; in disputes, support asks for screenshots showing you were ready on time
• if more than 10 business days have passed on Respondent, message the researcher in the project thread first, then support
• on User Interviews, support looks into incentives only after 10 business days, and not for studies older than 3 months
• on both, answer screening questions honestly: that is exactly how researchers choose

Verdict

They are not rivals but complements. Respondent’s strength is the size of a single session, especially for professionals: in our catalogue their median is $75, and $87.50 for interviews. User Interviews’ strength is over 5,000 studies a month and a published payout time of a day or two, but it only operates in 34 countries, and when the platform itself pays, it pays in gift cards.

A practical strategy: sign up on both, describe your work in your profile as precisely as you can, and do not skip short screeners. And to avoid checking listings by hand, use the LazyBounty catalogue, where Respondent studies are already filtered by your country and profile.