Is the Caden app worth an install?

The app promises to pay you for the data you generate on a daily basis. You know, the stuff we give to Big Tech for free!

And Caden really does pay — it took a couple months to earn my first $40 payout.

In this review, I’ll share:

How Caden works
How much you can earn with Caden
Some alternatives to consider

Ready? Let’s do it!

Is Caden Legit?

Yes, Caden is a legit way to get paid for your data. The company was founded in 2021 and has raised $24.4M in funding to help people “control and monetize their personal data.”

Is Caden Available on Android?

At press time, Caden was only available for iOS.

How Much Can You Make with Caden?

Typical Caden users will earn $8-15 per month. It may not be a lifestyle changer, but hey, it’s passive income!

And as far as apps that pay you real money, Caden actually stacks up pretty well.

There are 3 main ways to earn money with Caden:

Answering questions in your Caden “Vault”
One-time bonuses for connecting new accounts — generally $2-4 each.
A daily “data dividend” — usually $0.20-$0.80 per day, depending on how many accounts you’ve connected.

I’ll break each of those down in a bit more detail below.

Your Caden App Vault

When you first sign up, you’ll be prompted to answer a series of demographic questions in the Caden Vault.

Those include your:

Gender
Date of birth
Zip code
Household income
etc.

Per the app, Caden removes “all identifiable information and only [uses] demographic data to group you into cohorts of aggregated data than can not ever be tied back to you.”

But here’s where Caden’s new-ness and bugginess shows through. It says my Vault is “100% complete,” yet I have 0% scores on:

Fitness Graph
Entertainment Graph
Spending Graph
Identify Graph

On top of that, those options are all greyed out — I can’t click on them to complete those questionnaires.

Connecting Accounts

The fastest way to kickstart your Caden account balance is by connecting supported 3rd-party accounts like:

Netflix
Uber
Amazon
Airbnb
Your credit cards (done securely via Plaid)

Each account you connect is worth 1,000-4,000 one-time bonus points ($1-4).

This is a straightforward process through the app, and for each one, you’ll see a consent screen like the one below:

It states:

Your data will be anonymized and aggregated, so it can’t be tied back to you.
Your anonymized data will be used for research and consumer panels.

The confusing thing here is even after authorizing certain connections, the app prompts me to do it again. It’s unclear if the first connection didn’t stick, or what.

When I do it again, zero bonus points are awarded.

Why connect all these accounts? Aside from the one-off bonus points, the more accounts you connect, the more you’ll earn on a daily basis from Caden.

The other thing Caden does is compares your usage of these apps with other users, which is interesting to see. For example, it says I’ve spent $4800 on Amazon since January 1st 2020, slightly more than the average Caden user.

Interesting, but unrelated to earning money from the app.

There’s also a button to request other services get added to the app, so I suspect Caden will offer additional connections in the future.

Daily Data Dividend

I like the idea of getting free money just going about my day. That’s essentially what the Caden Wallet shows you.

Every day, I earn 434 points, worth $0.43. At that pace, I earn around $12.90 a month, on autopilot.

Your Caden App Dashboard

When you first open the Caden app, you’ll see your account dashboard. The primary feature of this page is your “Data Score,” which ranges from zero to 1000.

This is a measure of the value of the data you’ve consented to share and directly linked to your daily earning.

Mine is currently 880, because apparently Uber and Airbnb got disconnected somehow.

Cashing Out

You must have at least 40k points ($40) to redeem and a connected account for at least 30 days.

The only cash out option is via Stripe. It’s a way for Caden to send money directly to your bank account without having to store your banking details.

While Stripe is secure and really common among businesses, regular consumers probably don’t already have a Stripe account. It’s not hard to set up, but does create another layer of friction.

I’d love to see PayPal, Venmo, or direct deposit added in the future.

After I requested my first payout, the money was deposited within two business days.

Is Caden Worth It?

If I continue to earn around $12.90 a month, Caden will be worth a little over $150 a year. Since the data is anonymized and aggregated, I feel comfortable sharing it.

Obviously the app won’t make you rich or replace your day job income, but every little bit counts.

Caden App Alternatives

Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel

Nielsen is one of several companies that will pay you to just to install their apps and run in the background on your computer, smartphone, and tablet.

As Nielsen tracks your Internet usage, you earn points — worth up to $60 per year.

Users can redeem points for gift cards or cash out via PayPal.

Pogo

The free Pogo app is one of my latest finds. By sharing your location and credit card transaction data, Pogo gives you points that you can cash out to PayPal or Venmo.

Just enable location tracking and link your bank account credentials when you sign up.

You’ll start to receive location-based rewards as you drive around town, and other points for your credit card spending. Based on my results so far, I expect Pogo to be worth around $5-20 a year. 

Check out my full Pogo app review to learn more.

Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards is a favorite of mine. All you have to do is snap a picture of your grocery receipts after your shopping trips.

Why are they paying for pictures of your receipts? I’m not really sure, but I also don’t care if strangers know what food we bought.

Eventually you’ll earn enough points to cash out for a gift card. In our house, it probably adds up to around $10-20 a year, but I’m sure other shoppers earn much more.

I usually opt for the Amazon gift card options, but Starbucks, Apple, Target, Home Depot, and lots more are available as well.

Remote Market Research Studies

Many companies conduct market research to get feedback on new products — and a lot of this research is done online.

User Interviews and Respondent.io are a pair of cool services that facilitate those interviews online and over the phone.

The best part? The average compensation is $50-150 an hour!

Here are some other companies that facilitate focus groups and paid research studies.

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I recently participated in a paid focus group in San Francisco. You know, the kind with the one-way mirror on the wall.

We talked about travel habits and preferences for an hour and half, and I got paid $150 for my time and opinions. Not bad!

(I also won an extra $50 in a raffle for showing up 10 minutes early, which definitely sweetened the deal.)

The whole thing was pretty quick and painless—and actually kind of interesting—which got me thinking that this could be a great side hustle. Especially if I could do it from home!

So down the rabbit hole I went, trying to find other companies that conduct paid research studies online.

And I should note before we get started that these aren’t the typical companies that pop up when you search for “online surveys.” Those companies, like Swagbucks and InboxDollars, are legit, but pay relatively little.

(Though sometimes they do have higher-paying online focus groups.)

The companies I was after here were the ones that pay bigger sums to make it more worth your time. I earned $100 an hour for my little focus group adventure, and you can too.

1. User Interviews

User Interviews facilitates in-person and online consumer conversations about products, websites, and services. The pay rates vary, but the average seems to be around $50-100 an hour.

I’ve earned $105 through the site so far, in exchange for about an hour a half.

In one of my studies, I earned a $10 Amazon gift card for completing a short online survey for bald guys! It said it should take 15 minutes, but all the questions were straight yes/no, so it probably only took 5.

Click here to join User Interviews.

Or check out our full User Interviews review.

2. Respondent

Respondent is a cool service that facilitates consumer research studies online—and often pays $100+ an hour!

Once you create your account, you’ll be able to browse all the open studies you might qualify for. The research brief shares the type of person the company is looking to connect with, the expected time commitment, and pay rate.

If it looks like a fit, answer the brief screener questionnaire to throw your hat in the ring. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get selected right away—I’ve been selected for 5 studies out of 50 screeners so far.

While there are some “general population” studies, the best-paying opportunities are for industry professionals—up to $750 an hour!

The company takes a 5% processing fee, but the rest of the funds you earn will hit your PayPal account within 8-10 days of your study. (I’ve earned $395 through Respondent so far!)

Click here to join Respondent.

Read our full Respondent.io review here.

(Since recording, I’ve done a couple more studies.)

3. Rare Patient Voice

A leading source for medical research, Rare Patient Voice pays $100 an hour. You can browse a full list of available studies on their site—nearly all of which are phone or webcam interviews.

If you suffer from any sort of medical condition (even if it’s not super rare), this one is worth a look. The site is open to residents of United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

4. Survey Junkie

While most Survey Junkie earning opportunities don’t pay much, you’ll occasionally get emails for better-paying focus group and product testing studies.

These admittedly are pretty rare, but pay up to $75.

Still, power users of the regular Survey Junkie site/app report earning up to $40 a month. 

The site boasts more than 20 million members and pays out more than $1 million every month.

Click here to sign up for Survey Junkie.

5. FocusGroup.com

FocusGroup.com offers nationwide paid research opportunities. (The site is powered by Sago, a leading market research company.)

Be on the lookout for the “National” studies that pay between $75 and $200. These are scheduled over the phone or webcam so you can take the calls from anywhere at times that are convenient to you.

It took a while, but I eventually earned $115 for an online study related to a well-known Seattle-area company. Other studies I saw were related to cars, technology, and banking.

I receive a few email notifications every month with studies. Those range from around $2 for 20-minute surveys, up to $150 for 90-minute in-person or online focus groups.

Check out my full FocusGroup.com review to learn more.

6. Lightster

Lightster is a unique money making app, where you get matched with brands and researchers based on your profile.

To get started, you’ll add some demographic information about yourself and answer some questions about your experience and interests.

After that, you may see some questions pop up in the app. Answer those to qualify for paid research conversations that pay $1 per minute.

I got invited to my first half hour session within a couple weeks of downloading the app, and got paid (via Amazon gift card) right away.

7. PingPong

I was excited to discover PingPong as a newcomer to the online market research field. The service specializes in user experience testing for apps and websites, with pay rates ranging between €40 and €100 an hour. (Roughly $45-110.)

You might be curious—with the rates in euros—if this one is open to non-Europeans. PingPong let me join as an American and says they welcome testers from all over the world.

Since joining, I’ve received invites to several studies but haven’t been able to book one just yet.

8. Fieldwork

Fieldwork was the company that hosted the San Francisco focus group I participated in. They have locations throughout the US:

Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Los Angeles (Orange County)
Minneapolis
New York
Phoenix
San Francisco
Seattle

Compensation starts at $75 for participating in focus groups, which usually last between 1-2 hours. The drawback was I got paid in Visa gift cards instead of cash, so I went to the grocery store and bought Amazon gift cards with them instead.

9. Product Report Card

Another well-established market research 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.

10. Experience Dynamics

Experience Dynamics specializes in user experience and user interface testing (UX and UI). Corporate clients pay Experience Dynamics to help “make their users smile,” and they turn around and pay people like you for honest feedback on website designs and software applications.

According to the site, they recruit testers worldwide with all levels of technology experience. Most studies pay between $50-$150 dollars.

Experience Dynamics also facilitates:

Field Studies, 1-2 hour interviews at your home or work.
Diary Studies, where you to record your thoughts over 1-2 weeks.
Phone Interviews
Online Focus Groups
Online Surveys

11. American Consumer Opinion

American Consumer Opinion is another market research company where you can qualify for several surveys a year.

Annoyingly, they insist on using their own “virtual currency” point system. Still, you can earn up to $50 worth of points for longer market research surveys.

There’s a $10 minimum to cash out and you can deposit your earnings directly into PayPal. To give you an incentive to complete the low-paying screener surveys, American Consumer Opinion will add your name to a monthly $50 drawing.

12. FindFocusGroups.com

FindFocusGroups.com is an aggregator service that lists focus groups and paid research opportunities around the country.

At press time, they had the best-looking interface of most of these sites. The banner ads are distracting, but you can easily navigate to find a list of studies near you or online.

When I checked the compensation for these ranged from $50 to $200.

13. SIS International

Through “compensated interviews” and focus groups, SIS helps brands figure out direction for their products. You can see a full list of available paid studies on this page.

I found rates from $25-200, depending on the time required and complexity of the topic. SIS recruits participants from all around the world, not just the US.

14. SurveyFeeds

Similar to FindFocusGroups above, SurveyFeeds isn’t a market research company itself, but instead a promising “feed” of paid survey opportunities.

I found their Facebook page updated more frequently than their website, so it might be worthwhile to check there and see what you might qualify for.

The online studies I saw ranged from $75 to $300.

15. Field Voices

When I checked out Field Voices, I found a couple available studies to apply for. One was a neighborhood improvement interview that paid $150 for one hour, and the other was a group workshop on snacking habits that paid $300!

This firm works directly with companies as well, which means they’re not just pulling together lists of other research projects.

16. Prolific

When academic and research institutions need opinions from the general population, they turn to Prolific. It’s easy to sign up and start completing online surveys.

The pay on Prolific is a bit lower — often in the $8-15/hr range. But in my Prolific review, I found plenty of quick and easy surveys available, and you can cash out to PayPal.

17. Probe Market Research

Consumers, medical professionals, and executives are in demand for Probe Market Research’s panels. Focus groups pay between $50 and $400, and you can often participate online or over the phone.

Major brands enlist Probe to conduct online surveys, mystery shopping gigs, mock juries, product trials, and more.

18. Recruit and Field

Recruit and Field is one of the longest-running national market research companies. Since 1977, they’ve built up a participant database of over 300,000 consumers, business leaders, and medical professionals.

The company works with lots of name-brand clients and typically pays $100-275 for in-person and online surveys.

19. dscout

The popular and well-rated dscout app connects you with “engaging research missions.” Through those, you can get paid to share your feedback on a product or service.

Typical studies pay anywhere from $2 to $100, paid out via PayPal. The biggest complaints from users are that the often in-depth screener surveys are unpaid.

20. GLG Insights

Less of a market research firm and more of a consulting marketplace, GLG Insights aims to match you up with their clients looking for industry-specific expertise. Request to become a “Council Member” to get notified when relevant paid studies are available.

On GLG, you’ll be asked to connect your LinkedIn profile and upload a resume (or link to an online resume) to verify your career credentials. You can also name your own consulting rate — usually $100-150 and up.

After that, I answered a series of ethics questions based on GLG’s terms and conditions.

21. WatchLab

WatchLab has an obnoxiously inadequate website, but they claim to facilitate all sorts of focus groups, usability tests, interviews, mock juries, and more.

The pay varies depending on the research, and may be in the form of gift cards or cash. I saw ranges from $100 to $175 for 1-2 hour focus groups. WatchLab have locations in San Francisco and Chicago, as well as online options.

For in-person focus groups, you get paid on the spot — online may take 4-6 weeks.

22. Mindswarms

Mindswarms is a unique video consumer research platform. They’ll pay you $50 via PayPal to answer 10 questions about a product or service.

These studies normally take around 10 minutes and can be recorded via your webcam or smartphone, but competition to get selected can be fierce.

To create your account you’ll need to record a 60-second video about one of your passions. Or you can do this through the Mindswarms app on iOS or Android.

23. 20|20 Panel

Earn $50-150 for online focus groups and studies. While the website doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence, 20|20 Panel has been around for over 30 years.

24. FocusGroups.org

Another site that pulls in lots of different paid studies, FocusGroups.org was a great find. When I registered, I saw online focus group options that paid anywhere from $75 to $625!

Topics included pets, hygiene, cooking, luxury cars, and lots more. There are some handy filters you can use to select only online or “National” studies.

25. Focus Insite

I found several online focus groups paying $50-200 on Focus Insite. The company popped up in my Instagram feed, a signal they’re actively recruiting new participants.

You can join their panel database as a medical, technical, or business professional, or just as a general consumer. Alternatively, you can apply directly to the available market research studies listed.

Other Online Focus Group and Paid Research Study Options

The companies listed above certainly aren’t the only research companies around, and for this side hustle, it makes sense to join as many firms as you’re comfortable with.

That way, you’re presented with all the opportunities available, not just the projects managed by one company.

Here are a few more to consider:

PrizeRebel – Earn $10-12 an hour doing surveys or completing other tasks. (Just avoid the low-paying ones.)
Focus Forward — A unique aggregator of paid focus group and survey opportunities.
UserTesting – Earn $10 for completing 20-minute online user tests of websites, apps, shopping portals, and more. This is pretty fun but you have to be fast because these tests get snatched up quickly.
Brutal – Earn $30 an hour to give feedback on websites and apps. (Love the name!)
Pulse Labs – Earn up to $100 a week providing video feedback on products.
Intellizoom – Get paid an average of $10 testing and reviewing websites.
UserBrain – Receive new websites to test every week, an earn $5 for each 5-15 minute test.
Google User Experience – Google pays gift cards for feedback on their products.
Marketade – Specializes in remote usability testing, market validation, navigation research, and more.
Engage Studies – Earn as much as $100 per focus group through this research company.
Tell Us Your Opinion – Mainly operating in Tulsa but may have online/phone opportunities as well.
Adler Weiner Research – In-person studies in Chicagoland and Southern California, plus remote studies nationwide.
Advanced Focus – Hosts market research panels and focus groups in New York City.
Nichols Research – Get paid to participate in in-person focus groups, primarily in Northern California.

In doing all this research, a new side hustle came to me: web design and social media for these companies.

I ran into dozens of severely-outdated sites with copyright dates in the footer going back to 2010 in some cases. Their Twitter accounts where ghost towns and the blogs (if they had one) hadn’t been updated in years.

They might have a hard time making sales if their online presence makes it look like they went out of business!

Online Focus Groups Alternatives

As with any side hustle, there’s an opportunity cost. As in, what else could you be doing with your time?

I encourage you to check out our monster list of side hustle ideas, but here are a few that are similarly flexible.

Become a Bookkeeper

One of the first jobs that many companies hire out is “someone to keep the books.” If you have experience in this field, or just love numbers, becoming a remote bookkeeper could way to make extra money.

Most businesses don’t need a full-time bookkeeper so they’re open to hiring someone part-time. Most virtual bookkeepers charge $100-300 per client per month.

Network with business owners locally or online and let them know about your service. It might make sense to check out this free training on how to start a remote bookkeeping business.

Alternative Investments

If you’re after passive income, you might consider adding some alternative investments.

For example, Fundrise allows you to invest in professionally-vetted commercial real estate. This spreads your risk around with properties in multiple geographical locations–and minimums as low as $10.

Disclosure: I’ve been a Fundrise investor since 2015, and earn a commission when you join through my referral link. Opinions are my own.

Mobile Notary Service

Becoming a mobile notary loan signing agent is one of the most popular gigs among the Side Hustle Nation community. The flexible, part-time side hustle involves walking new homeowners through their stack of mortgage documents.

Appointments typically take around an hour and pay $75-150.

Start a Business

One big drawback to focus groups or online surveys is you’re limited in how much you can earn. It’s a great side hustle, but it’ll never be a full-time income.

Some popular alternatives that have more room for scale are re-selling products or starting a service business.

For instance, my friend Abbey started a virtual assistant business while she was on maternity leave. Now she helps others do the same. Check out her free training on how to get started and land your first clients.

Your Turn

Focus groups or paid research studies won’t pay your mortgage, but one or two a month will definitely help build your side hustle snowball.

Have you had any success in landing paid focus group studies? What do you think of this little supplemental side hustle?

Let me know in the comments below!

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there such thing as an online focus group?

Yes! Several companies facilitate online consumer research focus groups, which is great because that means you can earn money from the comfort of your home or office. Check out our full list to learn more.

How much do focus groups pay?

The pay for focus groups depends on how long the session lasts. Most commonly, you’ll find rates average around $100 an hour.

Where can I find legit paid focus groups?

Companies like Respondent, Fieldwork, and FocusGroup.com are all legit facilitators of paid focus groups. Or, for the best results, you might try an aggregator service like FindFocusGroups.com, which pools together focus group opportunities from several sources. Be sure to check the list of providers on Side Hustle Nation as well.

How do online focus groups work?

Online focus groups work either via conference call or more commonly, through a group video chat to more closely mimic the in-person experience. A moderator will lead the group discussion and participants can chime in through their webcam and computer microphone or phone line.

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