Do you want to make $100 bucks in as little as 1-2 hours? I think we all do, but with these best paid online focus groups companies, you really can!

You may get excited about getting a $10 survey. The problem with surveys is that they are ordered in high volume, so you don’t get paid much for doing them.

However, focus groups are much smaller groups. This means that every one who contributes gets a bigger “piece of the pie>”

This means you get more like $50-$100 per hour versus $5 to $10 for a survey. So, let’s find out exactly what they are…

What are Focus Groups?

Focus groups are kind of like surveys. You get paid for answering a lot of questions. Businesses pay for your opinions to get clear insight on what consumers want.

Basically an online focus group is a way for companies to collect data that enables the researcher to host a discussion between respondents through an online platform.

The purpose of an online focus group is to create a discussion between multiple people. About a certain research topic.

Unlike surveys that give a one on one answer, focus groups allow members to interact and influence each other.

Most focus groups are carried out in a face-to-face setting, but as technology moves onward and upward, we have found a lot of benefits of doing focus groups online.

When you do focus groups, you are really doing a discussion.

What’s the Catch?

This seems too good to be true, right?! You get to have group discussions and that’s about it, and you get paid $50 to $100 per hour.

I think this would sound too good to be true! And, it does have a small catch…

Although you get paid more with a focus group, there is a problem; they are sometimes very rare to find.

You can make really good money just doing focus groups, but because they only take a limited amount of people, it is hard to snatch many of them.

To improve your odds of making a great living from paid focus groups, we encourage you to read Paid Surveys for more information. It’s FREE.

The other key to improving your odds is knowing where to find the best paid online focus groups companies.

18 Best Paid Online Focus Groups Companies

Lots of people don’t even know what a paid online focus group is let alone where to find one. So, we have taken the work away from you…

Here are 18 Best Online Focus Groups Companies for you to try!

#1 Toluna

Toluna is mostly used for its surveys as you can make $10-$30 bucks taking surveys. However, they also offer focus group activities you can be paid for.

Once you take a survey with Toluna, you have a chance to be invited to their focus groups. Your profile must match up with the qualifications of the group study, though.

You won’t be paid in cash, but in points. However, you can redeem those points for cash when you cash out.

#2 Ipsos i-Say

You have probably already heard of Ipsos i-Say because it’s pretty popular around the world. Most people take their surveys but they do offer focus groups.

In fact, if you get invited into a focus group, they are much bigger paying opportunities. Focus groups and bigger surveys pay about $50 to $100 per hour.

#3 My Survey

You won’t find a lot of focus groups on My Survey. However, they do occasionally offer them, so it’s worth looking into.

Most of the focus groups that are offered actually take days to complete, but the pay is really great.

Additionally, the site will pay you up to 45 for every survey you take. So, while you wait for a focus group, you can take surveys.

#4 Focus Forward

With this company, you can get studies for all kinds of hobbies and brands. Quite recently, they offered a focus group that paid $575 bucks!

Smaller studies that only take a few hours pay $50 each. The smaller ones are usually done over the phone.

Additionally, you can choose to do surveys as a way to make some extra money. Surveys typically pay about $1 each.

#5 Harris Poll Online

Harris Poll Online has been really popular for its paid focus groups for a long time. The focus groups take place in a chat room, phone, or by mail.

Each study you take part in will pay you about $50 a piece. So, you can make some good cash on the side with Harris Poll Online.

#6 Branded Surveys

This site used to be MintVine. Branded Surveys caters more towards surveys, but they do offer focus groups, too.

Once you sign up with them, they email you surveys and focus group offers that you would qualify for based on your answers from signing up.

After you complete a survey or focus group, you will receive points. These points, however, can be redeemed for cash once you reach the payout amount.

#7 VIPVoice

If you ever wonder how new companies take off, they are probably using VIPVoice to get them started.

VIPVoice works with startups and Fortune 500 companies to provide market research. VIPVoice gives the information you provide to these companies.

You can take part in short or long focus group studies. Shorter ones only pay a little pocket cash, but the longer groups pay up to $100 each.

#8 SurveyJunkie

As the name suggests, this site is more for taking surveys. But, they offer a lot of different ways to make money, and this includes focus groups.

You will sign up, fill out your profile, and then the company will email you any time you may be eligible for surveys or focus groups.

You will be rewarded for each survey or focus group in points. You can then redeem those points for cash. You only need $10 to cash in (1,000 points).

#9 Engage in Depth

With Engage in Depth, short-focus studies will pay you about $50 each, but the bigger ones can go up to $250 a piece.

If you are a nurse, doctor, or healthcare professional, you can sign up to be part of the Healthcare Professional Panel.

Or, if you are a business professional, they have the Business Professionals Panel.

After you sign up, they will email you with qualifying offers.

#10 Brand Institute

If you work in the healthcare field, you are in luck. The Brand Institute mostly works with healthcare and other medical industries.

Most of the focus group material is about brand names, tag lines, concept testing, and more that refer to the medical field.

Simply sign up and fill out your profile. You will then be emailed any time you qualify for a focus group.

#11 WatchLab

With WatchLab, you can get paid for participating in focus groups, taking user tests, interviews, mock juries, and more.

Your pay will depend on the activity you do, but you can get around $100 for two hours worth of work. That’s like $50 bucks and hour.

Additionally, if you live in Chicago or San Francisco, you can sign up to do focus groups and activities in person. Then, you get paid immediately after completing them.

When you do tasks online, it does take about a month to receive payment. Keep in mind you may not find many focus groups to join online with this company.

#12 User Interviews

This company is pretty unique. Instead of just answering questions to find out where you qualify,  you do 1 on 1 interviews.

Interviews can be done by phone or online. Additionally, you can also find in person focus groups.

What’s great about this site is that you can see what you will earn for each focus group before you even apply for it.

Most studies pay about $50 for 30-minutes of your time. But, if you keep your eyes peeled, you can find higher-paying ones that pay about $250 bucks for just 30-minutes.

As with any company, you may not find a lot of paid focus groups, so don’t count on 40-hours a week worth of work.

#13 Probe Market Research

At Probe Market Research, the pay varies tremendously. You can get paid anywhere from $50 to $400 for simple focus group projects.

The companies they work with are considered “fun” companies. So, you would participate in things like TV commercials, beauty products, soda, and more.

Most studies are done online or over the phone.

#14 Respondent

You can average about $140 per hour with this site. The average time it takes to complete just one study is about 30-minutes.

Respondent doesn’t just cater to the US, though. In fact, international people can join in on these focus groups as well.

All you have to do is create an account. Then, you can browse all the open studies that you qualify for. Answer a quick questionnaire to apply for the study.

If you are accepted into the study, you will get contacted by the company to start working on it.

#15 Recruit and Field

To do focus groups for Recruit and Field, you are going to need a web camera. They are looking for business professionals, consumers, and medical personnel for panels.

To sign up, you will complete a registration form, verify your email, and then sign in to your profile and complete the information about you.

If you qualify for certain focus groups, the pay will range from $100 to $275 per study.

#16 Inspired Opinions

Inspired Opinions is another market research company that offers focus groups. When you sign up, you will need to do an interview.

Interviews are done over the phone, the internet, or in person. It is totally your choice how you want to interview.

When you participate in a focus group, you can earn anywhere from $50 to $250 each time.

You will be paid through points. So, 1,000 points will be about $10. However, you can redeem those points for cash!

#17 Plaza Research

With Plaza Research, you can do online focus groups or in-person focus groups. If you meet in person, you get food and refreshments. How nice!

With these focus groups, you may need to sample a product, preview a TV commercial, or talk about future products of the company.

The average pay for these tasks are $50 to $200 for a two-hour session.

#18 Indy Focus

The Indy Focus is specifically for medical professionals or consumers with experience in the healthcare industry.

There is no interview process. All you do is sign up and start joining their groups. This is a great way to make easy money if you know medical stuff.

Final Thoughts

You can get paid really well for doing focus groups. However, it is important to keep in mind that because of the high pay, there may not be many opportunities.

With that being said, we would suggest you sign up for different companies to increase your chances of getting a paid focus group opportunity.

As stated above, many of these companies do not offer consistent focus groups. So, if you sign up for 3 or 4, you may be able get into 1 group per week.

You will not make a full-time income by completing focus groups, but you can make some extra cash that you can save up for a vacation, something you want, or to pay a bill.

Let us know how you liked these online focus groups companies in the comments below. If you know more companies, please share! We would love to know your thoughts.

Good Luck!