15 Ways to Get Paid to Answer Questions: Make Up to $20,000 a Month Online

Can you really get paid to answer questions?

There are several legit websites that will pay you for thoughtful answers, and you can earn even more by starting your own answer-centered business.

In this post, I’ll explain how all those different options work and share the best ways to make money answering questions. 

These selections are based on:

• 20 years of side hustle experience
• interviews with over 500 successful side hustlers
• Feedback from the 50,000+ member Side Hustle Nation community.

Ready? Let’s do it!

1. Create a Helpful Website

Debbie Gartner used to run a local hardwood flooring consultation business. She’d estimate jobs, make recommendations, and match homeowners with reliable installers.

In her spare time, she started TheFlooringGirl.com, with the goal of showing up in some local search results to generate some more business.

“I wrote blog posts that were questions that my customers would have,” Debbie told me.

But as you might have guessed, the site soon started to reach an audience well outside her local area. As she continued to grow her traffic numbers, added affiliate posts, created her own products, and is now making more than $20,000 a month.

Note: If you don’t have a blog of your own yet, my free video series will show you how to get up and running quickly and affordably.

2. Online Surveys

The easiest and fastest way to get paid to answer questions is to sign up with various online survey companies.

These won’t make you rich, but are an easy way to make extra money. Plus, you can do them in your downtime like when you’re waiting in line or watching TV.

Here are some of Side Hustle Nation’s favorites:

If you’re consistent with these, they could be worth $30-50 a month.

3. Focus Groups and Paid Market Research

In-person and online focus groups and paid research studies pay significantly more than typical online surveys. The average compensation on these is $50-150 an hour!

Why would your opinion be worth so much? Well, many companies use customer interviews and focus groups to get early feedback on new products.

Paying a few participants like you to help get the product right is far less costly than launching the wrong product with the wrong messaging!

The downside is it can be difficult to get selected very often.

Here are some of the most reputable market research companies to sign up with.

User Interviews

User Interviews facilitate customer feedback interviews online and over the phone.

I’ve earned $105 with User Interviews so far, in exchange for about an hour and a half. Check out our full User Interviews review for more.

Respondent

Respondent is a similar service, specializing in one-on-one market research interviews, mostly done over the phone or online.

According to the site, the average payout is over $100 an hour. Check out our full Respondent review for more.

(I even got paid $190 for a 2-hour in-person focus group … that involved playing with Legos!)

Rare Patient Voice

A leading source for medical research, Rare Patient Voice pays patients and caregivers $120 an hour. Most of the studies are phone or webcam interviews, and you can browse a full list of available studies on their site.

If you suffer from any sort of medical condition (even if it’s not super rare), I think this one is worth a look.

4. Product Testing

Another well-established “pay for opinions” company is Product Report Card. They offer paid surveys, product testing and review gigs, and online focus groups.

The best-paying work is for in-home product tests and remote interviews and focus groups — often in the $75-$150/hour range.

Product Report Card will also give you a $5 welcome bonus for completing a short survey after you join. There’s a $25 minimum to cash-out.

Related: Amazon Product Tester: Can You Really Get Paid to Test Amazon Products?

5. JustAnswer

Sites like JustAnswer offer a flexible side hustle, where you can earn $2,000-$7,000 per month.

Once you apply as an expert, JustAnswer connects you with people who have tech questions. You can set your own hours and the types of questions you’re best-qualified to answer.

You’ll get paid for each customer you help, but the big advantage is that JustAnswer does all the marketing for you.

6. Start a YouTube Channel

If people are already asking you questions about a certain topic, you might as well record your answers!

After your YouTube channel reaches certain metrics, you’ll be able to monetize with Google’s built-in advertising system.

Other video creators make money from:

• fan donations
• affiliate partnerships
• brand sponsorships
• merch
• selling their own product or service

For example, Marko Zlatic runs a popular channel called WhiteBoard Finance. He answers common personal finance questions — and earns a healthy 6-figure income from home.

7. Solve Interesting Problems

MindSumo is a cool service that asks for your input on certain questions on behalf of its corporate clients. The best and most creative answers earn rewards of $550-1600.

When I was browsing, I saw questions like “How would you improve the car buying experience?” and “How can we make laundry less of a hassle?”

8. Clarity.fm

Clarity is the marketplace to get one-on-one expert advice on a wide variety of business topics. The site makes it easy to facilitate quick Q&A-style consulting calls.

You can set your own rate, ranging from $60-$10,000 an hour!

I’ve earned several thousand dollars answering questions through the site over the years.

9. Maven

Maven is a unique on-demand consulting platform. You can set your own rates to participate in one-off expert interviews, paid market research studies, and online industry surveys.

(Experts can also get hired for longer-term consulting projects, as well.)

Maven has been around since 2008, and routinely has projects paying anywhere from $25-$500+. 

10. Tutoring

Help answer students’ questions and get paid at the same time. For example, Matt Fuentes built his tutoring business up to $1000 a week!

One of the largest marketplaces in the online tutoring world is WyzAnt, where you can set your own rates.

11. Online Homework Help

Beyond one-on-one tutoring, there may be another way to get paid to answer homework questions online. 

Sites like Sweet Study let students post their questions, along with how much the assignment is worth to them — typically $5-20. Kind of crazy that kids are paying that much for homework help on the Internet, but I suppose there’s a market for everything!

If you were an expert student, it could be a pretty easy way to help students and make extra money.

12. Mystery Shopping

As a mystery shopper, you get to try new things and make some extra money at the same time.

For example, you can get paid $3-10 or more to:

• check product displays
• verify inventory levels at stores
• sample new products or restaurants and answer questions

The free Field Agent app makes it super easy to find available tasks in your area.

It’s hard to piece together a consistent income on Field Agent, but it is a fun way to make some money on the shopping trips you’re already making. Check out my full Field Agent app review for more.

In the above video, Jenn Trinidad recommended checking out MSPA America to connect with other mystery shopping opportunities.

13. Coaching and Consulting

Many individuals and companies hire coaches and consultants to help them answer questions and solve problems.

Over the years, I’ve hired several myself for podcasting, SEO, and general business systems. Those professionals got paid for their insight, expertise, and answers on what changes I should implement.

And it’s not just me — consulting is a big business, with an estimated industry size of over $300 billion.

One potential way to connect with clients is to post helpful Q&A videos on YouTube, like Paul Minors did about Asana.

14. Customer Support

Live chat customer support is a common part-time work from home job, where you can get paid to answer customer questions online.

Naturally, you’ll need to be a fast typist and proficient in English. Hours vary on the company and job, but often range from $8-20 an hour.

Check out sites like FlexJobs for current job postings.

15. AI Training

Several companies are paying people to help train the next generation of AI tools.

Among them is Remotasks, which pays up to $18 an hour to help:

• rate and rank AI responses
• draft responses to sample prompts
• edit and improve AI answers

The onboarding process does take some time, but once you get through, this is a viable way to earn from home.

Check out our full Remotasks review to learn more.

Getting Paid to Answer Questions: Your Turn

What’s the best way to get paid to answer questions?

It depends on what you’re an expert in. Obviously if you have some industry-specific knowledge and experience, that is going to pay better than elementary level tutoring.

The best way to get started is to create a profile on these various sites to test them out. That way, you’ll find what kind of question and answer work you enjoy the most.

Serious About Making Extra Money?

• Start Your Free $500 Challenge. My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
• Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.
• Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes.

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