Looking for ways to earn extra cash? You can start a side hustle as a product tester. These 9 options allow you to get paid to test products in 2024.
Are you working a 9 to 5 yet struggling to pay your bills?
Well, there are many great side hustles you can do from the comfort of your home to make extra cash.
For one, you can get paid to test products and offer reviews to companies. And the good thing is that no capital is required to kick-start this idea. However, you have to find sites that offer product testing opportunities.
In today’s post, we’ll show you 9 product testing sites to help you get started.
Product testers can get a gift card or products in exchange for reviews. However, they can earn extra cash from reviewing physical products and offering honest feedback.
According to Glassdoor, product testers earn $42,849 per year on average in the United States. With this amount, you can make a full-time job out of product testing gigs.
Some product testing companies pay between $5 to hundreds of dollars per product review.
However, the amount you’ll earn depends on the product testing program and how many paid online surveys or product tests you can complete.
And when you’re actively reviewing products, you may get 4 to 5 full-size products to review in a month.
You could also get an opportunity to join an online community that offers access to high-paying product review jobs.
You may want to check out the definition of a gig and how it impacts modern freelancers and businesses.
It’s important to note that you don’t need any formal qualifications for product tester jobs. However, most companies require you to have knowledge of their products and the ability to give constructive feedback.
Here’s a list of the requirements for getting product review jobs:
There are many platforms offering payment for testing products. Although not all of them are genuine, we’ve made a list of some tested and trusted sites that you should check out.
Userfeel performs remote usability testing for websites or app optimization and prototypes. It hires testers to give honest feedback, which will assist website owners in providing an excellent user experience for their end users.
When signing up, you’ll provide details about your location, age, web experience, and native language because site owners prefer to test their site’s usability across different demographics.
Also, to become accepted, you’ll watch a video and complete a test. This confirms whether your device has a microphone, internal or external, and you can express your thoughts freely while surfing a client’s site.
Although the initial test is unpaid, scaling through means that you’ll get a rating and become eligible for paid tests.
You’ll earn $30 for a 60-minute test, $20 for a 40-minute test, $10 for a 20-minute test, and $3 for a 5-minute test.
The amazing thing about this website is that you get paid for a few minutes of work, which can be completed on a mobile phone, tablet, or Mac or Windows computer. Also, you may get up to 5 jobs daily, depending on your rating.
Userfeel assures its testers of data security, so you can rest assured that it won’t sell your personal information to third-party companies.
Also, when testing websites, you don’t have to input your real details. If the site requires you to test the checkout process, you’ll be provided with fake credit card details; otherwise, enter any digits.
Companies want actual world feedback about their websites or apps, and Userlytics offers the largest global consumer panel for that purpose.
Signing up as a user tester enables you to carry out easy tasks, such as reacting to advertisements, videos, and images, comparing the checkout process of two websites, and looking around a site to give feedback about the overall layout.
User testers earn between $5 to $90, depending on the tasks they’re assigned.
Working with Userlytics is fun and you get to learn new things while exploring products from both startups and large organizations. Also, you can perform tests from your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
uTest is a large online community of testers. It connects you to popular brands like Uber to help them build products that meet and exceed the expectations of customers.
Your main task is to look for bugs and issues on a website or app and report your findings. There are also tasks that require you to conduct a review in a real-life setting, like in a store or restaurant.
There’s no stipulated amount, but you can earn up to hundreds of dollars per month, depending on the number of projects you handle. Additionally, the platform pays a referral bonus for signing up new testers.
Even if you’re not a professional software tester, you’re welcome to join uTest. Each task comes with detailed instructions to enable you to deliver optimally.
Moreover, you’ll gain access to the uTest academy, a knowledge base for continuous training and skill advancement.
Previously known as GlobalTestMarket, LifePoints is a free paid surveys and reward platform. Getting started is fast and easy, as you don’t need special skills to answer surveys.
Upon signing up, you’ll receive 10 virtual points, also known as LifePoints, to get you up and running. You’ll also earn more LifePoints as you answer surveys.
You can make up to $80 per month, but it requires spending hours daily on surveys.
Getting invitations to surveys on LifePoints is quite fast. However, you’ll have to check your emails and act promptly because the slot may get filled up before you begin.
Also, the platform provides surveys from different fields like politics, health, and sports, ensuring that you don’t get bored with time.
Survey Junkie is one of the market research companies that pay you to share your opinion about products from brands.
You’ll earn points for going through the onboarding process. Upon completion, you’ll access a set of surveys, which requires quick action before they’re filled up. Subsequently, the platform notifies you of new surveys via email.
There are different points for each survey. However, an accumulation of 1,000 points should earn you $10.
Although surveys yield more points, other mini tasks, like confirming your email, referring a friend, and completing your profile, can increase your earnings.
Survey Junkie is reliable and can help you make extra money in your leisure time. Also, if you can speak and write in English and reside in Australia, the United States, or Canada, you’re eligible to join.
SurveyClub is a large online survey platform that connects people to companies looking for unbiased consumer opinions on their products and services. The platform also organizes its surveys and rewards participants with points.
Additionally, SurveyClub has a list of surveys and focus groups that you can join to access surveys based on your interests.
You’ll be required to complete your profile with information that enables the platform to match you to the right surveys. In some cases, you’ll be invited to participate in in-house surveys.
Each survey comes with screening questions and if you qualify, you’ll go further to provide in-depth answers to the research questions.
You can earn $5 for a short online survey or up to $60 for testing edible products. Generally, focus group members earn between $50 and $200 per hour.
In addition, SurveyClub allows you to earn money through daily polls and phone interviews.
The interesting thing about SurveyClub is that there are more than enough surveys to go around. You may even participate in a clinical trial and earn thousands of dollars.
Also, third-party surveys qualify you for cash, cash sweepstakes, charitable contributions, prize draws, prepaid debit cards, and gift cards.
Paid Focus Groups offer an opportunity for you to share your opinions about products and services, including ads, and get paid for them.
As the name implies, these groups focus on a specific type of respondents, such as nursing mothers, car owners, coffee lovers, and so on.
So when companies want to create products for their target customers, they sieve through the list to pick members that fit into that category.
This ensures that the feedback is coming from people who could potentially become customers.
You can earn between $20 and $200, depending on the focus group you join.
There are various focus group platforms for both online and in-person product testing and you’re compensated for each session.
Also, you’ll find groups targeting a wide range of products, thereby, expanding your knowledge about different fields.
Product review jobs are rewarding as you’ll gain extra money or gift cards that you can use to purchase items.
So if your main job isn’t bringing in enough funds to meet your needs, exploring product testing opportunities could be worthwhile.
Below are reasons to consider becoming a product reviewer.
Although product testing allows you to test a wide range of products and offer honest customer feedback, it has some drawbacks. Let’s discuss a few of them.
Here’s what you need to do to start getting product review jobs:
The type of product testing you’re interested in will determine the product testing websites you’ll explore.
Examples of popular niches are electronics, software, pet products, baby products, cosmetics, cleaning products, and video games.
Scout for relevant websites and do your due diligence so that you’ll be sure they’re legitimate.
After that, create an account and ensure to keep a record of every site you apply to.
But note that most product testing companies consider your location before you’ll be accepted.
Product testing companies want to be sure that their potential reviewers have a good knowledge of or a high interest in their products. So they send online surveys to ascertain whether you qualify or not.
For instance, if the company sells energy drinks, a suitable candidate would be someone who’s actively involved in sports and exercise.
When you pass the screening, you’ll receive instructions for testing the product. Ensure you follow them as directed, take notes, and write detailed feedback.
Some product tests may require answering online surveys, which are usually simple compared to writing reviews.
Before scouting for product tester jobs, you should ensure you’re a good fit.
Here are some factors you should consider when testing products:
There’s a wide variety of products to choose from, such as food and beverage, technology, and beauty products.
But you’ll fare better when you choose the type of product testing that you’re interested in.
While there are reputable companies, scammers also exist in the world of product testing. So you should do your due diligence to be sure of what you’re getting into.
You can check out reviews from third-party review sites to find out whether other product testers have worked with them and whether they had positive or negative experiences.
Not all companies pay in cash. Some will offer you rewards, such as Amazon gift cards and products.
So you should read the fine print to know whether the payment terms match your financial needs.
Some tasks have specific time frames for you to test the product and submit valuable feedback. As a result, you should be prepared to make time to complete tasks.
Product tester jobs usually require you to sign an agreement not to disclose information about the test.
Otherwise, you’ll forfeit your payment. On the other hand, some companies may ask you to say that you got the item for free.
So ensure you understand what you’re required to do before accepting any tasks.
Does Amazon Pay for Product Testers?
Amazon doesn’t pay for product testers. Instead, it sends new products to members of Amazon Vine, an invite-only group consisting of customers who have been actively reviewing products on Amazon.
The no-pay arrangement ensures that they give an unbiased and honest review.
Does Nike Product Testing Pay You?
Nike product testing doesn’t pay you, but you’ll get free shoes to try on for some time.
The company selects athletes or people who already use their products in specific countries.
So if you’re not living in those eligible countries, you won’t qualify for the user testing program.
If getting paid to take surveys isn’t for you, we’ve got other interesting side hustles you should check out.
Testing products is an exciting opportunity and you’ll get paid to share your opinion about a product before it gets into the hands of the final users.
We discussed 9 reliable options you can try when you’re ready to start testing products as a side hustle.
And if online surveys don’t rake in the amount of money you want, there are other similar gigs that you can consider.
We hope you found this article useful. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section, and don’t forget to share with your network.