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Quick verdict: A legit, long-running German market-research platform that pays real money for testing games, apps and websites, plus quick surveys. The catch up front: it is restricted to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and it pays out by bank transfer only — no PayPal, no gift cards.
Who this is actually for
Before anything else: empfohlen.de only works if you live in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, are 18 or older, and have a German-region bank account (a “Girokonto”) to receive payouts. If that is not you, this is one to skip — there is no PayPal option and no way around the residency requirement. If it is you, keep reading.
What is empfohlen.de?
Despite the name (which translates to “recommended”), this is not primarily a refer-a-friend scheme. It is a market-research portal run by aestimium GmbH, a registered market research institute based in Hamburg. Companies use it to get real feedback on games, apps, websites and products, and you get paid for giving that feedback. Referring friends is a small bonus feature on top — more on that below.
How you actually earn
There are three main ways to make money on the platform:
- Game tests: the biggest earner by far, typically paying anywhere from about €20 up past €170 per game. You are paid in stages as you hit in-game milestones, not all at once, and most tests need to be finished within a set window (commonly 30 days) to unlock the full amount.
- App and website tests: smaller and more variable, ranging from a couple of euros to €20+ for roughly half an hour of focused testing (signing up for a service, trying a feature, giving structured feedback).
- Surveys: the steady filler. Expect roughly €2–4 per survey and 5–10 minutes each, though as with every survey platform, you will occasionally get screened out partway through.
There is also a referral program layered on top: invite a friend with your personal link and you earn a 10% share of what they make on the platform for the following 365 days — a nice passive bonus if people in your circle actually use it.
Getting paid
Payouts go straight to your German-region bank account, typically within about 5 business days of requesting one — there is no PayPal or voucher option currently. One thing worth flagging honestly: different sources (and the platform’s own materials) list the minimum payout anywhere from around €20 to €70 depending on where you look, so treat the exact number as a “somewhere in that range” rather than a fixed figure, and check your dashboard for the current threshold before you get your hopes up on cashing out early.
Is it legit?
By the numbers, yes. The platform carries close to 125,000 Trustpilot reviews with an average of 4.3 out of 5, and roughly 85% of reviewers rate it 4 or 5 stars — a large, consistent sample rather than a handful of planted reviews. It also reports millions of members across Germany, which lines up with how long it has been running.
One honest catch
Game tests pay the best, but the milestone structure means the money trickles in rather than arriving in one lump sum, and lower levels in easier games tend to pay noticeably less than the headline figures. Some testers also report occasional tracking or verification hiccups — not common, but enough that you should not assume a payout will land the second you hit a milestone.
Pros and cons
- Pros: completely free to join; large, long-standing operator with real Trustpilot volume; wide mix of game, app, website and survey tasks; new members get plenty of tasks right away; remaining balance below the minimum still gets paid out if you close your account.
- Cons: Germany/Austria/Switzerland residents only; no PayPal or gift card payout, bank transfer only; minimum payout is on the higher side; entry-level game tasks pay less than the headline numbers suggest.
Is it worth it?
If you are in the DACH region and want to turn spare time into real bank-transfer money — especially if you do not mind the occasional game test — empfohlen.de is one of the more established, better-reviewed options out there. Just go in knowing the payout minimum, the bank-only cash-out, and that the big game-test numbers take patience, not one quick session.
In Germany, Austria or Switzerland?
Joining is free, and your first tasks are usually waiting as soon as you sign up.