It’s known as the information superhighway, but getting trustworthy answers to complex questions on the internet is still challenging. That’s where JustAnswer comes in. It’s a gig economy platform that allows you to draw on your professional experience to answer questions for people on nearly any topic.
With JustAnswer, you can work in your free time without committing to scheduled shifts. Qualified professionals can earn between $2,000 and $7,000 monthly by providing helpful answers.
In this JustAnswer review, we’ll show you how to make money by answering questions and let you know who can participate.
Table of Contents
What Is JustAnswer?
JustAnswer is an online question-and-answer platform launched in 2003 that connects individuals with questions to experts from various backgrounds, including doctors, lawyers, handypersons, mechanics, tutors, vets, and more. You can call, text, chat, and upload documents and photos to find a solution.
Answers are available 24/7 from knowledgeable experts worldwide for over 150 categories and 700 specialties. The platform states it currently fields between 8,500 and 9,500 questions per day.
This service can provide personalized insights you won’t receive from one of Google’s “People Also Ask” questions or a blog post that serves as a good starting point. These answers are also more reliable than a public forum or Reddit thread where you must trust the responses from unscreened strangers.
Customers pay a one-time join fee plus a monthly fee to ask professionals unlimited questions. The average response time is three minutes, although it can take as long as 24 hours. There are over 12,000 experts on hand, making it possible to receive quick responses.
Now, if you’re here to make money with JustAnswer, you can apply for free and pass a screening process to determine your areas of expertise. You get paid for each question with the income potential depending on the field and expert rating. This can be a lucrative online side hustle as you can earn several thousand dollars in addition to your local customers.
How Much Does JustAnswer Cost?
You only pay fees to have questions answered and can pay month-to-month. It’s free to join as an expert to answer customer questions. Here’s a closer look at how JustAnswer pricing works.
Customer Pricing
The one-time join fee is $5 for most topics but $25 for tutors. In addition to the onboarding fee, you pay a monthly fee between $28 and $125 per month, depending on the category.
While paying to get answers is somewhat of a novelty in an Internet era with many free resources, JustAnswer is cheaper and less time-consuming than paying a local expert for similar assistance.
There isn’t a free plan for single-answer customers, and you must cancel within the first 30 days to avoid a renewal fee. Neither is there an annual or multi-month plan offering potential discounts. The current pricing list is here.
JustAnswer offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and customers can request a membership refund if the responses don’t meet expectations.
Expert Fees and Charges
There are no fees to become a JustAnswer expert, as the customer membership fees cover the wages and operating costs. Experts keep between 20% and 50% of the fee, with higher experience levels keeping the higher amounts.
How JustAnswer Works
Here is a look at the different ways questions are answered on the platform.
Verified Experts
JustAnswer has a third-party firm verify the expertise of its paid contributors. Some of the qualifying criteria include:
- Credentials
- Education
- Licenses
- Significant employment or business ownership
For instance, car mechanics must possess an ASE Mechanic Certification or VoTech Certification and at least two years of relevant work experience. If the mechanic expert doesn’t have qualifying certification, they need at least five years of work experience before applying.
The experience requirements are similar for the other question categories, which helps justify the customer costs and the expert’s income potential. So, a well-meaning yet inexperienced graduate won’t be offering solutions that can provide peace of mind to paying customers.
JustAnswer only wants to provide answers from content experts with trustworthy advice. Even after initial approval, they use secret shoppers to verify how helpful experts are. There are also advisory boards where established experts review responses.
Customers can bookmark their favorite experts and send future questions to them first using the member dashboard. This feature can help the best-performing experts earn more with minimal effort.
Personalized Answers
Customers can receive quick responses to their questions in over 150 categories. After choosing a general category, customers can choose a specialty subcategory, which helps pinpoint the best expert to respond. It’s also possible to attach photos or files to the initial inquiry.
Some of the most popular options include:
- Appliances
- Appraisals
- Automotive Repair
- Etiquette
- Fraud examiner
- Health and wellness
- Homework help
- Jobs
- Legal
- Parenting
- Tax planning
- Tech support
- Wedding
You must leave sensitive information, including your username, out of the question as responses are posted anonymously online and can be found in search engine queries.
Live Chat
Several experts offer live chat that can provide quicker responses than the traditional method of typing in a question and waiting for a response. One-on-one communication can also assist with urgent matters when several follow-up questions are necessary within minutes.
This feature is available 24/7, with experts chiming in from around the world. If a particular expert is unavailable, the platform finds another that can answer questions quickly.
Several customer reviews praise the live chat for emergency questions, sometimes during the middle of the night. A good example would be determining if your pet needs emergency veterinary care.
Premium Services
Experts can offer optional services for an additional fee that may occur outside of the JustAnswer platform. This may include include document prep, remote desktop, and live video or phone calls.
Customers can pay the expert through the JustAnswer platform and exchange the contact information through a private messaging box.
Customers can also be eligible for discounts on select services, such as saving up to 50% on auto parts and roadside assistance. In the pet care category, you may find discounts for pet supplies. Other category-specific savings are available for other niches.
JustAnswer Mobile App
Downloading the JustAnswer mobile app to your Android or iOS devices provides two free premium phone calls each month. That’s a potential savings of $40 per call ($80/month) just by using the app instead of the web platform.
How to Make Money on JustAnswer
It’s possible to start answering questions and making money in less than a week. Here are the steps to become a JustAnswer expert.
Choose Your Speciality
The first step is to choose which category and specialties you know most about. You can apply online for free.
Categories with the highest demand include:
- Appliances: Dishwasher, refrigerator, and washing machine (Bosch, Fisher, GE, Maytag, Paykel, and Whirlpool brands in particular)
- Appraisers: Books, coins, foreign currency, paintings, and stamps
- Automotive repair: Boat, car, and RV
- Finance: Banking and tax preparation
- Health and wellness: Cardiology, dentistry, dermatology, psychiatry
- Homework help
- International law: Canadian law along with attorneys located outside the U.S.
- Legal: Family law and immigration law
- Pets: Veterinary and pet behavior
- Tech support: Computers and consumer electronics
Like many niches, there is a seasonality factor, and certain specialties have busy months. However, you are more likely to earn a consistent income if you fit into one of the above topics.
Verify Credentials
A third-party service will verify your professional background and active certifications or licenses. The verification process usually takes 4-7 days for U.S. and Canadian applicants and as long as 2-4 weeks for other countries.
For example, you may upload your resume, CV, university diplomas, and other relevant documentation to verify your experience and expedite the verification speed.
Approximately 80% of the 12,000+ JustAnswer experts own a business or work for another organization (such as a full-time practitioner).
Start Answering Questions
After completing the application process, it’s time to start answering questions. The onboarding process concludes with an onboarding meeting with JustAnswer to learn how to navigate the platform and optimize your availability.
You can create an expert profile listing your background. This page also includes recently answered questions and feedback ratings.
As you answer questions, customers can provide ratings. In fact, you must receive a positive rating to get paid.
Further, several experts may attempt to answer the same question. In this situation, only the answer that the customer accepts makes money. The income uncertainty can be frustrating with competitive questions.
Positive reviews increase the number of questions you receive, and you get to keep more of the customer fee. New experts can anticipate earning 20% of the customer fee and eventually receive 50% after satisfying several milestones.
This can be an easy job that pays well as you can draw from your current experience to earn at least $2,000 monthly through regular contributions.
Get Paid
Experts receive payment through HyperWallet, which is an escrow service between the customer and the expert.
The minimum withdrawal is $20 through these platforms:
How Much Money Can You Make on JustAnswer?
The question-and-answer platform claims that the average expert earns between $2,000 and $7,000 monthly, depending on the category and question volume. Some top-performing experts earn as much as $88,000 a month.
You will earn more by being available more often and offering quick responses. Premium call, text, and live chat answers can help you gain a competitive edge.
The platform sends weekly updates to experts stating the per-question pay rate with respect to their experience level, category, and current customer volume.
Here are several examples of how much JustAnswer experts make:
- Nora Curl has been one of the platform’s appraisal experts since 2012 and earned more than $124,000 in 2022 by answering questions about art and antiques. Her previous experience includes serving as an appraiser in the New York City art world for Christie’s and, eventually, her own business.
- Matthew Morrison has been answering appliance repair questions for over six years and earns between $10,000 and $15,000 monthly. His previous experience includes 20 years as an appliance technician with Sears and GE factory service.
- Randall Gibbons is a retired, 75-year-old RV mechanic earning between $10,000 and $15,000 monthly. His income potential has increased since the pandemic, thanks to the RV craze over the last few years.
Remember that the above income examples are above the average monthly earnings between $2,000 and $7,000. You can become a high-earning expert with quick and helpful responses. As a result, loyal customers will return to you with follow-up questions.
JustAnswer Pros and Cons
Here are the positives and negatives of using joining this service.
Pros
- Experts can answer questions for most categories
- You can answer questions 24/7
- Customers can request a specific expert
- Available worldwide
Cons
- Income potential varies by category
- The monthly fee is expensive for single questions
- Only get paid if the customer accepts your answer
JustAnswer Alternatives
Below are some other question-answering services you may want to consider besides JustAnswer.
PrestoExperts
PrestoExperts offers 24/7 answers to complex questions on many topics. Some of the best categories are counseling, tutoring, programming, and technology services. You can connect with customers by chat, email, or text.
This platform has more flexibility with pricing, as experts can set their own fees. Receiving positive ratings increases your appearance in search results to potentially receive more inquiries.
StudyPool
StudyPool is a tutoring platform, whereas JustAnswer is more for general knowledge questions. Many tutors can earn up to $7,500 monthly, and the platform fees are 20% of earnings.
Tutors can text and chat with paying students to get answers and explanations to their questions. Video tutoring is also available. Additionally, you can sell study documents and make money each time a student views them.
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is an option if you don’t meet JustAnswer’s experience requirements or want to make money fast. You can attempt multiple consumer opinion surveys daily and qualify for higher-paying extended studies.
The minimum redemption is $5 for PayPal Cash or gift cards. No prior experience is necessary to join, although you can qualify for more studies based on your shopping habits and interests.
Read our Survey Junkie review for more.
FAQs
The average expert earns between $2,000 and $7,000 monthly by answering multiple weekly questions. The pay potential updates each Sunday and varies by category and current question volume.
Established experts with many positive reviews and a loyal customer base can earn more than new experts. Further, consider offering premium services like private phone calls, document prep, and remote assistance to earn more from customers than the base pay-per-question.
Yes, most initial questions are public and can appear in web searches. Therefore, the platform asks users not to leave personally identifiable information in the questions or responses. It’s possible to remove sensitive details later.
Help is available to customers and experts 24/7 by live chat, email, or phone. An approximate 15-minute wait is for phone-based service.
Final Thoughts
JustAnswer is an exciting way to make money online when you have professional, mechanical, or technical knowledge and qualifying experience. It’s an excellent way to diversify your income as a business owner or an employee.
Many experts have used this platform to replace their day job income, and while this won’t happen overnight, you can make good money by answering questions.
JustAnswer
Strengths
- Experts can answer questions for most categories
- You can answer questions 24/7
- Customers can request a specific expert
- Available worldwide
Weaknesses
- Income potential varies by category
- Monthly fee is expensive for single questions
- Only get paid if the customer accepts your answer