12 Product Testing Gigs to Earn Money From Home

At Gig Worker, we’re always on the hunt for ways you can earn money from home in your spare time.

A majority of the work-from-home gigs we usually talk about are in the areas of entry-level remote work, freelance positions, or passive income opportunities.

Let’s throw one more side hustle into the ring that you can use to make some cash for completing simple work — product testing.

Today we’re going to talk about product testing opportunities that pay cold hard cash.

We’ll go over what a product tester does, how you’ll be compensated, and plenty of options for you to explore to start earning.

What Exactly Is Product Testing?

Product testing is when companies or third parties send you products to use, test, and provide feedback on through some form of survey.

Once the process is completed, you’ll receive compensation for your efforts.

Companies offer this opportunity to a global test market because they need feedback from testers like you.

The products you’ll be testing are typically in the early stages of development or haven’t been rolled out to markets around the U.S.

Consumer testing gets products into customers’ hands and can help work out the kinks and make any changes to products before scaling up production.

These could be products like food items, cosmetics, household items, cell phones, toys, video games, or nearly anything else you can dream up.

This means that you’ll be able to get access to many new products before they’re sold to the general public. In many cases, you’ll also be able to keep the products that you test.

It’s a win-win for both you and the company looking for feedback on their product.

Beyond being able to keep the products that you test, you’ll also be compensated in a few additional ways.

Product Testing Compensation

Depending on which product testing company you review products through, your compensation structure will vary.

The compensation structures different companies offer include cash payouts, gift card redemptions, free samples, sweepstakes, and point-based systems that can be redeemed for products, gift cards, or cash.

What you might be looking for are opportunities that offer cash compensation for the products you test and review. In some scenarios, this will be the case.

You can receive cash payouts directly from the company or through Paypal.

Other services will offer gift cards that you can redeem.

This may be in the form of a prepaid Visa card or gift cards to specific retailers.

Another form of “compensation” is the opportunity to be entered into a sweepstakes for a range of prizes.

This could range from any number of consumer goods to vacations around the world. It really all depends on which platform you’re dealing with.

Lastly, there’s a good chance that you might be dealing with a point-based system that combines elements of each type of compensation mentioned above.

This could also mean that you can only redeem once you hit a certain threshold of earnings.

Product Testing Opportunities

Now that you have a good idea as to how you’ll be compensated from product testing sites, let’s take a look at some of the best product testing opportunities out there today.

All of these options offer some form of payment to testers and for the most part, are through third-party survey sites.

iPoll

This unique mobile survey app serves you product surveys when you’re out and about throughout your day.

This could be at the grocery store, at a car dealership, or at a clothing store.

Once you receive a survey notification, you can complete the survey to redeem reward points.

Compensation: Cash, gift cards, and $10,000 quarterly prize draw

Apply at: https://www.ipoll.com/en

Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is more of an online survey option.

Sure, you’ll be providing feedback regarding products you are familiar with.

But you shouldn’t expect to be receiving products sent in the mail to you, at least not on a regular basis.

Compensation: Rewards program that offers gift cards and Paypal cash payouts

Apply at: https://www.surveyjunkie.com

Ipsos i-Say

Ipsos has been in the market research business for nearly 50 years.

With i-Say, you’ll be prompted with surveys to provide feedback regarding certain products.

In some cases, you’ll even receive these products in the mail for you to have first-hand exposure.

Compensation: Rewards program that offers gift cards and Paypal cash payouts

Apply at: https://rec.i-say.com

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is different in the sense that it offers more than just product survey opportunities.

You can also watch movie trailers, online videos, and TV commercials.

Watching videos for cash — how hard is that?

Compensation: Rewards program that offers gift cards and Paypal cash payouts, plus a $10 signup bonus

Apply at: https://www.swagbucks.com

OneOpinion

OneOpinion’s goal is to improve customer products, one opinion at a time.

With this platform, you’ll be sent product samples to test.

In some cases, you’ll even receive food samples you and your family can taste test.

Sound like something you could get used to?

Compensation: Point-based system that offers gift cards and Paypal cash payouts

Apply at: https://www.oneopinion.com

Pinecone Research

Pinecone research allows you to test products before they hit the shelves of your local retail stores.

Through this platform, you can learn about products before they’re available to the general public and help guide the development process in the early stages.

Compensation: Point-based system that offers products, music, movies, gift cards, and Paypal cash payouts

Apply at: https://www.pineconeresearch.com

Influenster

Influenster is geared towards all you Insta-stars out there.

By signing up to become an Influenster product reviewer, you’ll receive a “VoxBox” full of food, cosmetics, beauty products, and many more.

Not everyone gets to receive these product samples, so make sure you check the box on all of the requirements.

This is a social-heavy platform, so be prepared to be prompted to share product pictures on your social media feeds.

Compensation: Free products and cash back through eBates

Apply at: https://www.influenster.com/registration

American Consumer Opinion

Not only will you test new products before they hit the market, but you’ll also rate product packaging and company advertisements.

With American Consumer Opinion, you can expect to take several surveys a year that last around 10 minutes each.

You’ll also receive compensation for short “screener” surveys before taking full-length surveys.

Compensation: Point-based system that offers $1 to $50 for each survey

Apply at: https://www.acop.com/sign_up

National Consumer Panel

The NCP is powered in part by Nielsen.

What sets this survey platform apart from the rest is that its primary focus is gaining insight into your shopping experience.

Therefore, while you’re shopping in stores, you’ll be asked to scan barcodes on certain items.

You’ll then relay this information back to NCP and later receive compensation for your efforts.

Compensation: Rewards points used to redeem products through a gift catalog, discounts, and sweepstakes entries

Apply at: https://www.ncponline.com

Friends & Neighbors

Friends & Neighbors is powered by Johnson & Johnson and gives you quite a few options when it comes to how you make your money.

They offer in-home product testing of household items, surveys, participating in online forums and discussions, product testing panels, focus groups, and consumer panels.

The drawback is that the payment details seem a little murky and don’t guarantee payment.

Compensation: Prepaid Visa gift card, but not guaranteed

Apply at: https://jjfriendsandneighbors.com/register

BetaTesting

BetaTesting focuses on making the digital world a better place.

Instead of having tangible products sent to you in the mail, you’ll primarily be focused on reviewing websites, apps, and digital products.

You can expect to complete up to five “beta tests” each month using this testing platform.

Compensation: $10 to $20 Paypal payment for most tests, or more

Apply at: https://betatesting.com/beta-testers

UserTesting

Beyond having a similar name, UserTesting is even more aligned with the previously mentioned platform, BetaTesting.

UserTesting is meant to make websites and apps better for companies.

The difference is that as a tester, you’ll be given a set of tasks that you must complete.

While you walk through these tasks, you’ll be talking out loud and creating a video recording of your entire test.

Compensation: $10 via Paypal for every 20-minute video you complete, sometimes even up to $60

Apply at: https://www.usertesting.com/be-a-user-tester

Earn Cash Giving Your Two Cents

Testing products and leaving honest reviews as a side gig is a fun way to make some extra cash when you have time to spare.

The money you make won’t be life-changing, but if you make it a habit to do a few every week, it may all add up.

Make sure to try out a few different options mentioned above.

You could even sign up for all of them to increase your chances of receiving more survey opportunities.

Have fun with all the new products coming your way!