Product Tester: How to Get Paid to Test Products at Home

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Do you want to become a product tester? It’s a great gig. You can do it from home, you’ll get free products, and in some cases, you’ll even get paid to test products and offer feedback so companies can make changes and improvements. Not only will you be first in-the-know on what the big manufacturers are working on, you’ll have influenced the product’s design and got one for free.

Find out what it takes to test products as a bonafide tester and which websites have the best product testing opportunities.

How Do You Become a Product Tester from Home?

Becoming a product tester requires no skills or qualifications. You don’t need to know how a vacuum cleaner works to share feedback that using it made your house much cleaner.

Review opportunities are typically matches with people who fit a specific demographic. For example, a company could have interest in hearing the opinions of moms, athletes or Millennials.

Selection criteria will vary by product. A cosmetics company could be testing one item for women over 50 and another for women in their 20’s.

What Do Product Testers Do?

After receiving the item to review, you’ll use it as you ordinarily would while paying careful attention to your experience. Companies could ask you to assess design, packaging, colors, fit, comfort, effectiveness, taste or countless other aspects.

Some companies will require specific usage amounts. For example, testing footwear may require that you use them for several miles, or testing a washing machine may require you to run a specific number of laundry loads.

How Can I Earn Money to Test Products?

To earn extra money from testing products, seek out opportunities and platforms that host review programs with payment built into the guidelines. Compensation could be in the form of cash, PayPal, a free Amazon gift card or site currency that can be converted into cash.

How Much Do Product Testers Get Paid to Test Products?

Product testers can get paid anywhere from a couple bucks (along with a free box of swag and free samples) to a full-fledged salary of $90,000 a year or more.

Glassdoor, for example, reports product tester salaries ranging from $45K to $90K or more each year, with juicy gigs at Nintendo, international athletic labels, and mobile phone companies.

Or, you can find more casual gigs where you pick up the occasional study (for one product over a set period of time) that can pay $20 to a couple hundred.

And for some gigs, you’re getting paid more to “try” the product than test the product – they’re hoping you’ll enjoy the test products so much you’ll become a paying customer and spread the word to your friends and family. You can get paid $0.20 to $5.00, sometimes more, for testing many consumer packaged goods at home like shaving cream, deodorant, food products, or coffee filters.

Swagbucks is one consumer and loyalty rewards site that connect you with these casual product testing gigs.

20 of the Best Product Testing Sites of 2021

Are you wondering how to start reviewing products? Below are some of the best product testing sites, including a range of brands and a variety of products. A notable change is that the popular Toluna Product Testing opportunity is no longer available.

Try one of these great product testing sites:

1. Swagbucks

Swagbucks Discover is a great resource for finding the latest product testing opportunities, free samples and deals. It’s constantly updating, so you’ll be in the know when there are new opportunities.

Join Swagbucks now!

Not only does Swagbucks help you find product testing opportunities, but you’ll earn Swagbucks when you use the portal to access these opportunities. Which you can redeem for cash or gift cards. It’s as though you’re getting payment to get free stuff!

Other similar market research companies and survey sites to check out include American Consumer Opinion, Pinecone Research, Vindale, i-Say, Opinion Outpost, InboxDollars, and National Consumer Panel. These opportunities are more heavily tied to survey earnings vs in-home consumer product testing, but free product testing opportunities do crop up.

2. Amazon Vine

Become the ultimate Amazon insider with this invite-only product testing program. For Amazon’s product testing panel, participants receive pre-release new products that a vendor plans to sell on Amazon. This may include brand name or off-brand product testing. Selection for the program is based on the helpfulness of your other Amazon product reviews.

If you’ve purchased before on Amazon and given helpful, honest reviews, this could be a great opportunity for you.

Beauty and Cosmetics

3. Johnson & Johnson

With the Friends & Neighbors program, you can test new products at home in exchange for your opinions. You may be smelling new body wash scents, trying mascara, testing dental floss or sampling other household items. After a survey closes, you may even receive a gift card as payment. Definitely a fun way to make money online testing products for a trusted brand name in the United State

4. L’Oreal

Through the Consumer Testing Program, you can complete surveys about skincare, hair and makeup will match you with free products. Completing these surveys soon after they’re posted can help your chances of getting selected. Testers frequently receive full-size products from any of L’Oréal’s brands including Garnier, Urban Decay and Maybelline.

Whether you casually don lipstick or go out fully made up each day, how awesome is this one? Who doesn’t want to get paid to test mascara and other beauty products?

5. Snuggle

The Snuggle Bear Den hosts review programs for laundry products. Interestingly, some product assignments go beyond traditional reviews. One assignment had participants use dryer sheets to make craft projects which could be shared on social media.

6. The Pink Panel

This user testing group focuses on makeup and beauty products although there are some online surveys too. Announcements are made on Facebook of weekly giveaways, samples, sweepstakes, and makeup testing opportunities.

More Ways to Make Money:

Electronics and Appliances

7. Apple

The AppleSeed program is a chance to try new software before it’s released and share feedback. This program is voluntary, invite-only and there’s no pay. Another opportunity is the Apple Beta Software Program, which is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID. With this program, you’ll be doing beta testing for new Apple programs for mobile app and the web and you can enroll devices such as iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macs or Apple TVs.

8. Phillips

After signing up to be a Phillips product tester, you’ll have access to about five or six testing opportunities each year. In some cases, the products are sent for free, and in other cases, you can buy the product for a reduced price. You can keep the product you’re testing, and in exchange, you’ll submit a “comprehensive and meaningful evaluation” and share online reviews.

9. Whirlpool

Whirlpool has a user testing for its washing machines and appliance accessories. In some cases, you can review products at home. In other cases there is a $50 cash honorarium for a product review session that lasts 45 to 60 minutes. With payouts like these, Whirlpool is one of the better product testing companies to check out if you want to make money at home as a panelist or product tester.

Footwear and Fitness

10. Nike

The Nike Product Testing program starts with an initial screener application. After becoming eligible to participate, you will be notified if you are selected to test a specific product. After submitting feedback via the website, you’ll have to return the product to be eligible for future tests. There are opportunities for residents in the USA and abroad.

11. Adidas

An Adidas product tester may test include footwear, apparel and accessories. You’ll need to apply to the program, which includes sharing body measurements, agreeing not to test a competitor’s product, and agreeing not to share info about what you’re testing or post to social media. After you start, you’ll test the product for about two to four weeks, hitting the specific hours or mileage requirements. After sharing feedback via the online questionnaire, you’ll mail the product back. This gives Adidas the chance to inspect its performance and look at treadwear.

12. Reebok

Reebok’s user review group testing program functions identically to Adidas’s program. After receiving your product to test, you’ll share feedback via an online survey and return the product. This similarity is because Adidas is Reebok’s parent company.

13. Under Armour

The Under Armour Field Testing program also gives you a chance to test athletic gear. After logging your information as a potential tester, the company reaches out to people who are the best match for the product they’re testing.

Food and Beverages

14. McCormick

McCormick’s Consumer Testing Program runs four times per year to get feedback on a range of foods, snacks, and beverages. To be selected to participate, you do have to meet the demographic requirements for the product’s target market.

15. Red Robin

These reviews don’t happen at home, but you may have a Red Robin restaurant nearby. As a panel member, you could participate in taste tests or focus groups. Plus, your participation is compensated. That means you could get paid to spend an hour tasting burgers.

Free Sample Boxes

In our list of free samples by mail, we’ve already highlighted several product testing opportunities. Because programs are administered by marketing agencies, there can be some overlap between free samples and product testing.

Review a variety of products by signing up for free sample boxes from these companies:

16. BzzAgent

After an initial survey to match you with products to try, you’ll receive your free product samples. Then you’re expected to post about them on social media and/or submit an online product review. You’ll also submit a survey with final thoughts and feedback.

17. Daily Goodie Box

Like BzzAgent, this is another free sample box. The Facebook feed shares information on the latest free goodies from small or niche brands. Leave a comment if you’re interested. After receiving a box, you’ll test out the items, then share your feedback to help the brands know what people really think of their products.

18. PINCHme

When you sign up, you’ll take a survey to match your preferences with products. After using the free samples in a couple of weeks, you’ll then provide feedback and opinions.

19. Influenster

In exchange for free samples, users share their opinions on social media. This can be anything from posting to Facebook, tweeting, blogging or doing an unboxing video. The more ways you showcase the product, the greater the likelihood that you’ll receive another VoxBox.

20. Smiley360

In exchange for free samples of products, you’ll share feedback with other members in addition to your social audience. The more ways you provide product feedback, the more likely you are to get future free samples.

Typically, these companies want the tester to share feedback via online review sites or on social media. Rather than the confidential testing when you’re working directly with a manufacturer, these opportunities are to share consumer opinions with the public.

Other Great Product Testing Opportunities to Check Out:

In addition to these top twenty product testing opportunities, check out these other great product testing websites and market research opportunities. In exchange for your time and feedback, you can receive free products, free samples, cash stipends, prepaid Visa gift cards, and gift card to Amazon, Google Play Store, iTunes, and other retailers.

JJ Friends and Neighbors: Receive invites to participate in product tests, focus groups, discussion forums, and online surveys.

Homescan: Homescan is a sub-brand of Nielsen Company. Test products for Homescan with a handheld scanner or mobile app and earn points and rewards, including entries into sweepstakes.

SheSpeaks: Users try free products and give candid, honest reviews. Users get free products and can enter contests and giveaways for gift cards and cash prizes.

UserTesting: Get paid to test websites, software, and apps for developers and designers. Each test takes around 20 minutes and you’ll earn around $10 per test. Testers are paid via Paypal.

Homeschool.com: Review and test homeschooling resources. You’ll get paid in products like free printables, books, reports, and homeschooling kits.

You can also reach out to a local market research firm or ad agency in your area. Ask them about any upcoming product testing panels and let them know you are interested in future paid product testing gigs. These market research firms will keep your name and contact details on file, so when the right gig comes up you’ll be first on the list.