Is FocusGroup.com Legit Or A Scam? Our Honest Review

FocusGroup.com is a legit market research company that lets you make money with focus groups, paid studies, and online surveys.

But how much money can you make with this site? And does it really pay members?

Our FocusGroup.com review is covering how it works, its earning potential, and testimonials from members to help you decide if it's worth your time.

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Key Takeaways:

• Lets you make money by participating in online and in-person focus groups
• You can also answer surveys for money
• Cash out with free gift cards after earning just $1
• Free to sign up for and available if you're 18 or older

Is FocusGroup.com Legit?

FocusGroup.com is legit and lets its members make money by participating in focus groups, remote studies, and by completing online surveys. It has a 4.2 star rating on Trustpilot and over 1,300 reviews, making it one of the more popular focus group companies in the industry.

The parent company of Focus Group is SAGO, formerly known as Schlesinger Group. This research firm was established in 1966. Today, it has 15 offices around the United States and 10 in Europe.

Overall, this is a reputable company and exciting side hustle opportunity. But it's unlikely to be consistent income since you won't always qualify for focus groups and studies.

What Is FocusGroup.com?

FocusGroup.com is a market research platform that promotes online and in-person focus groups. It also lets members earn by answering online surveys or taking part in various studies.

If you've used platforms like User Interviews or Respondent before, FocusGroup.com should feel easy to use and familiar.

Getting started is quite easy and you can sign up with your email. You have to enter some basic information, like where you live and what your job is, and this takes a few minutes. But this is how FocusGroup matches you to the most relevant studies.

Just note that you have to submit photo ID like a passport or driver's license to verify your identity when creating an account. FocusGroup.com doesn't always accept new members from certain areas either.

If you apply and get denied, check out our guide on ways to make money online for free for some easy alternatives.

How Do You Make Money?

There are three main ways to make money once you're a FocusGroup.com member.

1. Interviews & Focus Groups

Taking part in focus groups is the best way to make money. And you can take part in online or in-person focus groups too. Online ones also include Zoom, phone, and webcam sessions.

These opportunities can often pay $50 to $150 per hour or session. However, they're not always available. And focus groups often look for very niche groups of individuals, like people with a certain occupation or medical condition.

The key to finding these opportunities is to check your email every day (and make sure to opt into email marketing). You want to look for emails from SAGO, which is the parent company of Focus Group, for invitations to various interviews and focus groups.

I've been a member of this website for about 3 months now and haven't qualified for any focus groups. Ultimately, this isn't an online job or stable income source, so keep this in mind.

2. Surveys

Answering cash surveys is another earning option. You can find available surveys under the “Surveys” tab once you're logged in.

Surveys all display how many points they pay, a time estimate, and the industry they're for. You can find surveys for topics like automotives, finance, health, entertainment, and similar topics.

Once you complete a survey, the points deposit in your account. However, like other survey platforms, you can get disqualified at the start of a survey or even partway through, which can be frustrating.

One feature I like is that surveys have a conversation bubble icon on them. Clicking on this shows you feedback from other FocusGroup.com members, which is useful for dodging bad surveys.

However, if you just want to answer surveys for money, we suggest sticking with survey-only platforms. Branded Surveys and Survey Junkie are two of our favorites.

👉 The Highest Paying Survey Websites.

3. Other Paid Studies

These are the same as the paid surveys. We’re not really sure why there is even a separate tab since it makes the dashboard a bit confusing.

Cashing Out & Reward Options

It takes 100 FocusGroup.com points to equal $1. There's also a low $1 redemption minimum, and you can cash out with free gift cards to companies like:

• Amazon
• Apple
• Dunkin
• eBay
• Starbucks
• Target
• Walmart

Unfortunately, there's no option for PayPal transfers or ACH-style deposits. However, the point system is simple and a $1 cash out minimum is quite low. And there's sometimes a physical USD Visa gift card option too, which is basically like getting free cash.

Just note that there have been complaints on the Better Business Bureau website about slow and/or lagging payments for surveys and focus groups. Don’t count on Focus Group to cover you in a pinch with quick money. However, for what it’s worth, we did see (on the BBB website) that Focus Group has responded to many of the complaints in the comments and does put effort into customer service.

👉 The Best Apps To Earn Free Gift Cards.

Earning Potential

How much you make with FocusGroup.com largely depends on how many focus groups and studies you qualify for. A single study can pay $100 to $200 or more depending on what's involved. Some months, you'll make $0, while others you might make $50 to $200 or more.

In the first month I was signed up for Focus Group, Sago sent us opportunities for:

• $300 for an in-person 6-hour interview on social issues ($50 per hour)
• $350 for an all-day interview about social issues (potentially $35 to $70 per hour)
• $300 for a web session and a 5-day diary on a certain illness

Like I mentioned, I haven't qualified for any focus groups or interviews in the 3 months I've been a member so far. But this is just the nature of paid focus groups.

But what about the paid surveys? Well, it's all about calculating your hourly rate in this case.

For example: we saw a 12-minute survey for 120 points and a 25-minute survey for 190 points. Surveys fill up quickly. Which one should we take? Isn’t it better to snag 190 points over 120?

As it turns out, the survey paying fewer points has a better “hourly” rate if you do the math ($6 versus $4.56.) So, it pays to be selective with the surveys you complete and to do some quick math.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Free to sign up for
• Low $1 minimum cash out requirement
• Offers high-paying online and in-person focus groups
• Survey rates are also competitive
• Variety of gift card rewards

Cons:

• It can take a long time to qualify for a study or focus group
• You can't redeem points for PayPal money or cash transfers
• FocusGroup.com isn't always accepting new members
• Survey disqualification rates can be high

Other Sites Like FocusGroup.com

Since you won't always qualify for studies and focus groups, we recommend using several sites like FocusGroup.com at a time to maximize your earning opportunities.

Some of our favorite FocusGroup.com alternatives include:

• User Interviews
• Respondent
• Sermo
• UserTesting
• Survey Junkie
• Rare Patient Voices
• Pinecone Research
• Recruit & Field
• Apex Focus Group
• Inspired Opinions
• Focus Insite

Of course, you can also try out various get-paid-to sites that offer more consistent earnings. But try out a few of these focus group and survey panels to at least get the ball rolling.

Other FocusGroup.com Reviews

Since I haven't qualified for a study quite yet, I looked up some other FocusGroup.com reviews and testimonials from longtime members.

Here's what some recent reviews have said from TrustPilot, Reddit, and Quora users:

• Milton Schachter says: “participated in 2 video interviews within 3 weeks of each other. I was promised I would be paid $400 for one of the interviews and $300 for the other. Both wee supposed to be paid within 7-10 business days. It's now 6 weeks later and no payment. When I tried to reach out to them I could not reach anyone.”
• techclubmaster says: “Another vote for legit. I’ve had some great interviews with them. They pay well and quickly.”
• emphasisx says: “Legit. Did an in person study and got paid like 3 hours late.”
• Breezybaby79 says: “It’s legit much better now have earned like 600 dollars last year or a bit a more and this year I have earned 300.”

As you can see, several members are quite happy and report getting paid on time. But one negative Trustpilot reviewer claims they never got paid and couldn't get in touch with customer service.

👉 How To Make Money Without A Job.

Who Can Sign Up?

You can sign up for FocusGroup.com if you're 18 or older. However, SAGO isn't looking for new members all the time. You might get put on a waitlist or blocked when signing up depending on where you live and your demographic information.

If signing up doesn't work out, check out our guide on the best international survey sites for more friendly options.

Is There Customer Service?

Yes, Focus Group has customer care. You can email [email protected] or leave a message on their voicemail: 855-244-0886. Focus Group does not provide word about how long their response will take, but Reddit comments indicated 24-hour response times.

Final Thoughts

Our Focus Group review has found the site to be legit. However, there are some considerations. It can be frustrating for some users that they only pay in gift cards. Some members also report that it takes a while to get their paid.

However, this site is one of the top ways to find paid focus group opportunities. And while it might take months for you to qualify for a study, the hourly pay is pretty enticing.

If anything, you can add this site into the mix of your other online side hustles and hope you get lucky eventually!

Want some more ways to make money? Checkout:

• How To Make $2,000 A Month.
• Is Focus Group Panel Legit?
• The Best Apps Paying $100 A Day.