Generally, we like to talk about fulltime employment on this site, but sometimes you just need some cash from a side hustle. Amazingly, there are some great opportunities to work with website user testing companies to make some money. Some of them actually pay quite decently actually. Generally what you will be doing is using a website’s user interface for a certain amount of time or answering questions about a product or website. Some of these website testing sites will consistently allow you to do get paid to test websites from the comfort of home through available tests, while others will require you to be invited to less often testing opportunities (and sometimes they are few and far between).
Respondent has the highest payment per hour at $100/hour. Their website testing sessions are generally 30-90 minutes. TestingTime and Checkealos are the next most lucrative with payouts of €50/hour and €32/hour respectively. Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and Loop11 pay the least per hour on the user testing platforms. Most website testing services will pay out through Paypal or direct bank account transfer once a minimum threshold is met either monthly or bi-weekly.
How much do website testing companies pay testers?
We found all of the most popular website testing companies that are accepting testers currently. We then figured out how much they pay per session, and where possible, how much they pay per hour if you can consistently get into testing sessions. Keep in mind that sometimes these sites won’t have testing opportunities for you at a given time, so it makes sense to sign up to several of them so you have some consistency in your income.
| Site | Session length | Payment per session | Pay per hour (avg) | Payment method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Mechanical Turk | Variable | Variable | $2/hour | Amazon Payments |
| Checkealos | 15 minutes | €8 | €32/hour | Paypal |
| Enroll | 1-15 minutes | Variable | N/A | Paypal |
| Ferpection | Variable | £2 (variable) | N/A | Paypal (monthly) £20 threshold |
| IntelliZoom | 10-35 minutes | $2 – $10 | $12/hour | Paypal (monthly) |
| Intuit User Research | 30 – 120 minutes | $50 | $40/hour | Visa Rewards Card |
| Loop11 | 30 minutes | $2.50 – $5 | $7.5 / hour | Paypal |
| PingPong | 30 – 60 minutes | €15 – €40 | €37 / hour | Transerwise (bank account), PayPal |
| Respondent | 30 – 90 minutes | $60 – $140 | $100 / hour | Paypal $75 threshold |
| test IO | Variable | $50 per glitch or bug | N/A | Paypal (monthly), Payoneer, Skrill, Bank transfer |
| TestingTime | 30 – 90 minutes | €50 on average | €50 / hour | Paypal |
| TryMyUI | 15 – 20 minutes | $10 | $34 / hour | Paypal (biweekly) |
| Ubertesters | Variable | Variable | N/A | Paypal |
| Userbrain | 5 – 15 minutes | $3 | $18 / hour | Paypal |
| UserCrowd | Variable | $0.20 per test | N/A | Paypal $10 threshold |
| Userfeel | 10 – 20 minutes | $10 | $40 / hour | Paypal (weekly), Amazon gift card |
| Userlytics | Variable | $5 – $90 | N/A | Paypal |
| UserTesting | 20 – 120 minutes | $10 – $60 | $30 / hour | Paypal |
| uTest | Variable | $10 – $50 | N/A | Paypal, Payoneer (biweekly) |
| Validately | 15 minutes | $5 – $10 | $30 / hour | Paypal |
How to get paid to test websites from home
Each of the above websites operates a little differently. Some pay by the session of a certain period of time, others offer payments for findings bugs and other glitches on websites. Some even rely on you having a webcam and microphone to be able to record your feedback and reaction to websites. What is common to all of them is these companies have relationships with other companies who want to either get feedback from real users or want to test the sites for stability and user-friendliness.
Some of the sites will only take on testers once they have passed a specific test. This test is usually just something to make sure you understand how the process works and what the requirements are for them to actually pay you.
I wouldn’t argue that you can get rich off of using these sites, but for many, they could provide a major source of occasional income. Essentially what you are doing here is trading some of your precious time for money. In most cases, you don’t need any specific skills whatsoever, so it really is just your time.
Most sites will give you assignments that are between 10 and 25 minutes long and will pay out on average about $10 per test. This can vary widely, of course. If you look at our analysis above, you can see that sites like Respondent and TestingTime can pay out substantially more.
Overall this may be a good approach to take while you are out of work or still searching for a working from home career.
The 20 best services that will pay you to test websites/apps
Amazon Mechanical Turk
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform has long been a favorite among those looking for a little side cash. Amazon basically gets lists of tasks sent to them from their platform partner companies that need to be done. These tiny “micro-jobs” might be things like transcribing chunks of audio, or filling in online marketing surveys. While not technically “testing websites” the MTurk platform is indeed a legit way to make a bit of cash on the side. The downside? Their payments are tiny! As you can see in our table above, Mechanical Turk pays about $2/hour. Not exactly huge. Supposedly as you become efficient at their system, Amazon will send you more specialized assignments. I would likely consider looking at one of the other services below before I moved on to Mechanical Turk.
Checkealos
Checkealos is very basic in its structure. Sign up as a tester, and do short sessions of about 15 minutes each where you provide feedback on website user design. Basically you will be asked whether an interface is easy to navigate and understand. At about $32/hour it is also one of the better-paying website testing sites out there. You will generally be making about €8 per feedback session.
Enroll
Using a PC, phone, or tablet, complete small tests that pay less than a dollar each. These can add up if you are lucky enough to be sent multiple tasks from Enroll. Payment is handled through Paypal, but you won’t be getting rich with this service.
Ferpection
Clever name huh? Ferpection runs what they call “missions,” small tasks that earn you money. These tasks are generally oriented towards marketing research for companies. The payout is variable depending on the actual task, but some users have reported doing well-paying missions that paid more than $20 a shot.
IntelliZoom
IntelliZoom is a big player in the website testing industry. In fact, they have recently bought out several of their competitors. They pay you for doing user testing and usability testing on websites. You can opt to test on desktops as well as mobile devices. We calculated that they pay about $12/hour. Not terrible, but far from the best on this list. What IntelliZoom has going for them is that they are a very legitimate company. No shadiness here.
Intuit User Research
This is a bit of a different one since it is Intuit actually recruiting testers for its own products like Turbotax, Mint, and Quickbooks. This is more along the lines of market testing. So you will be asked about features in the products and how easy they are to use. Pay is pretty decent at about $40/hour and you get paid in a Visa Rewards card. For this one, you do need to attend web conferences with audio and video.
Loop11
Loop11 is pretty standard in that it collects user feedback through web conference. This means that you will attend sessions where you need to have a webcam and microphone. They payout somewhere around $7.5/hour but also offer generous bonuses.
PingPong
PingPong does testing of both websites and mobile apps. If you get consistent jobs from them they pay quite well at €37/hour (just about $50/hour). You can get your payment through Paypal or directly to your bank account through Transferwise. We highly recommend PingPong due to their very competitive payout structure.
test IO
Test IO is focused on paying testers to find and report bugs and glitches on websites as well as using and rating apps on mobile. The more you do tests on test IO the more higher-paying tests you will be sent. If you are talented at finding glitches on websites, they pay $50 for each, so you could do very well.
TestingTime
TestingTime is our second favorite site on this list. They conduct video conference calls with testers via Skype where they ask you questions about new products and services online. Their sessions average about 30 to 90 minutes and can pay a whopping €50/hour. Again, these guys work with some big companies and are very legit. Highly recommended.
TryMyUI
This is again, a pretty basic service where you are doing usability tests on websites. You then give feedback on any issues you encountered in the user interface and will be paid $10 per session. Each of these tests will last about 20 minutes. That’s the equivalent of about $34/hour if you can consistently get tests from TryMyUI. Not bad!
Ubertesters
To be honest, these guys don’t seem to be too transparent about either their process or payout amounts. I suggest keeping them at the bottom of your list.
Userbrain
UserBrain relies on you downloading a Chrome extension to your web browser to track your testing of websites. You will provide basic feedback on the user interface of websites and get paid $3 per test which lasts 5-15 minutes. That works out to somewhere around $18/hour.
UserCrowd
Yikes, this one is rough. They only pay about $0.20 per test which is quite tedious. Yes, they may be short tasks, but your time useful and valuable. I just can’t imagine making even beer money from the UserCrowd model.
Userfeel
At 10-20 minutes per test and a payout of $10 per test, you are looking at $40/hour with UserFeel. This is basic usability testing on websites on desktop and mobile. You will need to have a Windows or Mac PC to take part in this service. You will also need a working microphone. They pay through Paypal or Amazon gift cards. This one is a winner!
Userlytics
They will ask you to use a website or mobile app and then give some honest feedback for $5 – $20 per test. Some tests will pay even more but they aren’t guaranteed. They focus heavily on tests in Europe and North America so keep that in mind when you apply. You will need to have a working microphone and webcam for desktop and an iPhone or Android phone for mobile tests. Both need the Userlytics app to be installed to track the tests.
UserTesting
This is another good one. They pay $10 for every 20-minute test. That works out to $30/hour on the UserTesting platform. Again, you will need either a Windows PC or Mac, a working microphone, and the internet. You will also need to download their screen recorder software and have the ability to speak English.
uTest
UTest focuses on people who are serious about testing. As you get a better testing rating, you will get more invites to bigger testing sessions that pay better. You will get anywhere from $10 – $50 per session. They don’t disclose how long each session is.
Validately
Validately is firmly in our top website testing companies. They pay about $5 – $10 for 15-minute tests. This means you can make an average of $30/hour if you can snag consistent tests with them. They work with some big hitter companies so tests come quite often.
Conclusion: Can you actually get paid to test websites at home?
Yes! Several of the above companies pay over $30/hour, meaning you can feasibly make a decent side income if you can spare a few minutes every day. We recommend starting with Respondent, TestingTime, and Checkealos since their payout structure is much more in your favor.
