How to Make Money from Mystery Shopping in 2025

Interrested in mystery shopping as a side hustile? I have the best tips for you below on how to become a mystery shopper AND get paid decently to do it.

I have been mystery shopping on and off for about 15 years, and if you’re good at it, it can pay fairly well.

Mystery Shopping is a B2B (business-to-business) service. Companies and brands pay to have mystery shoppers sent to them to assess their customer service experience.

Mystery shopping isn’t usually something that can earn a full-time income, but it makes a good side hustle to put some extra cash in your pocket.

I did mystery shopping as a university student, as a side hustle to teaching, and as a single parent for extra cash.

Mystery shopping is a fun way to:

• earn some extra money
• evaluate clients (restaurants, banks, retail brands, and healthcare services)
• fine-tune your writing and assessment skills

So, let’s jump in – how to become a mystery shopper and get paid decently!

Steps for Becoming a Mystery Shopper

The first thing you need to realize about becoming a mystery shopper is that each mystery shopping agency has their own requirements for who they accept to be a shopper.

The ones that I know of that operate near me (in Ontario, Canada) usually have very minimal requirements:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Complete their training before you take on any mystery shopping assignments.

Being a mystery shopper is not a salaried position. Rather, you are an independent contractor, and self-employed.

The agency you apply to accepts you as someone to work on their platform, but then you apply or take the individual assignments. So, registering with a company does not guarantee work. You still need to be approved for each individual assignment.

Your steps for getting paid to be a mystery shopper are:

• Step # 1: Apply and get approved by a Mystery Shopping Agency (I will give you several recommendations below!)
• Step # 1: Complete any training that the agency requires before they allow you to take on any assignments. My agency for example, had videos on how to be an effective mystery shopper, how to do restaurant shops, retail shops, how to write quality reports, etc.
• Step # 3: Apply to assignments. Being accepted by the agency doesn’t usually guarantee you any number of assignments. You apply to the assignments and get approved
• Step # 4: Complete your mystery shopping assignments to the best of your ability. Doing quality work will mean that they assign more jobs to you

Is Mystery Shopping Legit?

Yes, mystery shopping is legit. Mystery shopping has been a thing since the 1940s, and many of the mystery shopping agencies running today have been in business for up to 30+ years.

Pro Tip: Mystery shopping, unfortunately, has been used as a very common fake-cheque scam. Only register with ESTABLISHED mystery shopping agencies (again, several recommendations below), and avoid any mystery shopping company that requires you to deposit a cheque in order to complete your job. This is a very common mystery shopping scam that you can read about here.

The mystery shopping agencies I recommend below:

• Have been running for anywhere from 10 up to 36 years
• Have served many clients (businesses who hire mystery shoppers to improve their customer service)
• Have good ratings on Better Business Bureau
• Are free to sign up with, and only require you to complete free training before completing any assignments.

Mystery shopping is an essential part of the customer service development.

So, if you sign up for a mystery shopping agency, you’re taking part in something that helps businesses improve at their customer service game. Your reviews will help them pinpoint where they need to improve in order to provide a better customer service experience.

Remember, be sure that you’re applying to established agencies (see several recommendations below) and not scams.

Additional Important note: A legitimate mystery shopping company will not require any sort of payment from you to get started. Training yes, payment no. I make several recommendations below for legitimate mystery shopping companies to work for worldwide; be weary of anyone who asks for upfront cash for mystery shopping.

How Much Can You Make from Mystery Shopping?

Mystery shop jobs assignments anywhere from a free meal to $100 per assignment. The vast majority of mystery shopping jobs I’ve seen pay somewhere around the $25 mark.

So in general, you can probably expect to earn at least a minimum wage on your time spent mystery shopping (including your time to travel to the place if applicable, the assignment itself, plus writing the report up.)

To get paid for the mystery shop assignment, you need to:

• Complete the task
• Write up a report afterwards (It’s the report that the company is really paying for – this is how they’ll find out about what your experience was like)
• Provide any required proof that you completed the task

Be sure to follow the instructions VERY carefully – sometimes they will require you to keep a receipt, have Geotagging on or take a photo to prove that you actually completed the task, and aren’t just making up your report. If you fail to provide the required proof, they may not pay you – which would be really annoying if you drove all the way there and actually did complete the assignment. So make sure you read instructions and are 100% certain of what the task requires.

Remember, the quality of your reports are what determine how many other mystery shopping assignments will be granted to you on the future. So definitely do your very best on the report.

How to Be a Quality Mystery Shopper

Being good at your job as a mystery shopper is what will determine how many (more) assignments you’re offered in the future.

So, you want to take pride in your work and do a good job.

Not following the assignment instructions, or not having sufficient detail in your report may lead to a bad rating from the client, which means your agency may not want to assign jobs to you again.

Important note: The “client” is the company that is paying the agency for mystery shopping services. They can be restaurants, banks or retail stores. The mystery shopping agency that you work for is simply the middle-man who assigns jobs to you, but the services you’re providing are for the client.

Quality mystery shoppers should know how to:

• Pay attention to detail
• Follow instructions carefully
• Be discreet (obviously, don’t let on at any point that you’re a mystery shopper – the staff should have absolutely no idea. It’s kind of an acting position as well!)
• Have decent written communication skills, so that they can write a quality report of their experience for the client

Is Mystery Shopping Worth It?

Mystery shopping is worth it if you’re looking for some extra money. It’s not going to pay for college and it’s very unlikely to turn into a full-time income (any agency who says it is may not be telling the truth.)

But if you’re good at what you do, and consistently get offered assignments, then you can probably make a few hundred dollars every month from mystery shopping.

Ultimately, mystery shopping is a great asset to society. It plays a role in ensuring that companies are providing decent customer service experiences to their customers. By being a part of it, you’re not only earning yourself some extra cash, but you’re helping a company maintain good service standards for everyone.

Why I Don’t Take Restaurant Assignments Anymore

I’ve been mystery shopping on and off for about 15 years now, and I’ve noticed that it has become less lucrative over time – especially the restaurant gigs.

For example, restaurant mystery shopping jobs that used to pay you a set rate for having a meal at a restaurant (in addition to covering your meal) now only cover your food expenses but don’t pay you for your time.

I believe this is common across the board when it comes to restaurant assignments.

Now for some, being given a free meal may make the assignment and the report they have to write worth their time. This might have been true for me at one point too, but as I grew older and had expenses to pay (a mortgage, kids) it wasn’t worth it for me to work simply for food.

That might be different for you depending on your circumstances of course! But my opinion is, you should always be paid for your time – this is a part of my money mindset.

The beauty of mystery shopping though is that you can select which jobs you want to apply to from a job board. You can select:

• How far you’re willing to travel
• Which jobs you take
• The date and time you complete the assignment (the clients often have due dates, or prefer within a certain window but you can choose the most convenient time for you within that window)

Once you’re signed up with an agency, they will have filters that you can apply so that your job board only shows you the jobs within your preference range. Of course, the more flexible you are, the more jobs open to you.

The BEST Mystery Shopping Agencies to Apply To

The mystery shopping industry is huge global industry, and there are countless agencies worldwide. The agencies I’ve listed below and tried and true, and have been in business somewhere between 10 and 40 years.

My advice is to apply to more than one agency that you’re eligible for, and even work for a few of them. This will give you an idea of what the assignments are like with each; plus it offers more work opportunities.

Worldwide

• Market Force Information (US, Canada and UK) Running since 2005. Apply here
• Global Surveys (has offices in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and South Asia) learn more here

In the US ONLY

• Sinclair Customer Metrics – running for 30 years. Apply here.
• Mystery Shopping Service, running since 1999. Check out their shopper opportunities here

In US and Canada

• Market Force Information
• Intouch Insight – has been running since 1992 and its former name was In Touch Survey Systems. You can apply to be a shopper here
• Intellishop – running since 1999. Apply here
• Second to None – this is possibly the oldest mystery shopping company that I know of, having been founded in 1989. Apply here

In Canada ONLY

• Mystery Shopping Canada – Running since 1996. This is the main agency that I’ve taken assignments with for over 10 years. Apply here
• Shoppers Confidential – Apply here.
• One Stop Shoppers Ltd – Founded in 2010, and is based in Western Canada only. If you’re in BC or Alberta, apply here

In the UK only

• Silent Customer – Established in 2008, and most assignments pay between £15 and £60. Learn more here
• Mystery Shoppers UK – check it out here

Pro Tip: Considering applying to a Mystery Shopping Agency not on the list above? If you’re wondering how credible it is, look it up on Better Business Bureau, and look in the bottom left-hand corner for their BBB rating. Trusted companies should have an A+ rating.

Final thoughts on Becoming a Mystery Shopper

I hope that this article has answered some of your questions on how to become a mystery shopper and get paid. Mystery shopping is a flexible way to bring in some extra dollars here and there. It’s by no means a passive income but its a fun and legit way to bring in some extra bucks.

If mystery shopping is a stepping stone for you before you move on to a different career, then I recommend some of the career change books which helped change my life for the better.