If you’re wondering if you can really make money with paid surveys, keep reading. I’ll discuss which survey sites are trustworthy and best for making money, and offer tips to help you make the most of these online opportunities.
There are lots of legitimate market research companies that will reward you for sharing your opinions, demographics, and daily habits with them. With these online opportunities, you can earn cash, gift cards, free products, sweepstakes entries, and even make charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations. While you’re not going to get rich from participating in paid surveys, it is a fun and easy way to receive a little compensation for your time.
Here are 17 of the top-rated paid survey sites to earn cash and rewards in your spare time.
1. Branded Surveys
Since its inception in 2012, Branded Surveys has paid out over 77 million dollars to survey takers! With Branded surveys, you’ll earn 100 points for creating an account, 5 points for answering the daily poll, varying amounts for taking surveys, and 50 points for each friend you refer to the site.
Branded Surveys also has bonus opportunities for signing up for offers, playing games, and reaching varying milestones. Once you’ve accumulated 500 points, you can request a payout via your PayPal account, direct bank transfer, or use your points to purchase gift cards from brands like Amazon, Walmart, Kroger, and many others.
- Branded Surveys receives a 4.1-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
2. Freecash
Freecash accepts users (ages 16 and older) from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and France to make extra money by testing apps, playing games, and taking surveys online; they even reward new users with a $5 sign-up bonus!
To get started, sign up with your email address and a password, or use your Apple, Google, or Facebook account to log in. Next, complete your profile by answering a few simple questions, then start completing tasks that appeal to you.
According to the Freecash website, top earners are making $5,000 to $6,000 each month! For each task that you complete, you’ll earn coins that can be redeemed for gift cards, PayPal, Bitcoin, and even a direct bank transfer. For your first cashout, you’ll need to have a $20 balance to claim your rewards. For future withdrawals, you must have a minimum balance of $5.
- Freecash receives a 4.8-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
3. HeyCash
HeyCash is another paid survey platform that rewards users from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, and many other countries for playing games, signing up for offers, taking surveys, and referring friends to the platform.
To start earning with HeyCash, sign up with your email address or your Apple or Google account. In your dashboard, you can view available games and offers, surveys, the time each takes, and your account balance.
With HeyCash, your online activity is rewarded in dollars and cents, and your account must reach $5, which can be redeemed for cash, gift cards, prepaid cards, and charitable donations. According to their website, top users earn up to $1,200 a month!
- HeyCash receives a 4-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
4. InboxDollars
At InboxDollars, you can earn cash for taking surveys, reading emails, playing games, redeeming coupons, searching the web, shopping online, and more. There are 11 different ways to make money with InboxDollars. You can check out this post for complete details.
With InboxDollars, you’ll need to bank $15 before you can request your payout. Payments are made via PayPal or gift card. New users can also get a $5 welcome bonus when they sign up.
- InboxDollars receives a 4-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
5. GAUGE Research
If you’re looking for paid focus groups and online surveys, a friend of mine recommended the GAUGE Research app. She said that she usually gets invited to participate in a couple of surveys each month, which earns her $20-$60 a month.
I’ve completed 100 text surveys. Each paid between $2 and $30, and each took me 5 to 10 minutes to complete. You can answer surveys in text format, audio, or video (audio and video pay more). Your account must reach $5 before you can request payment via Tremendous, which offers hundreds of payment and gift card options. New surveys are sent via email, and you can earn anywhere from $2 to $500! GAUGE Research is only available for iPhone operating systems right now.
- GAUGE Research receives a 3.7-star rating out of 5 in the Apple App Store.
6. KashKick
KaskKick is a rewards and loyalty program where you can earn money by taking surveys, playing games, signing up for deals, and referring friends to the platform. Each task has a cash value assigned to it and an estimate of how long it will take to complete.
When you’re looking at available surveys on KaskKick, be sure to make the most of your time by choosing surveys with the highest earning potential for the time invested. You don’t want to take a ridiculously long survey that only pays $0.25; that is not worth your time!
To withdraw your earnings, you’ll need to reach the $10 minimum threshold. Like other online survey sites, you can receive your earnings via PayPal or free gift cards.
- KaskKick receives a 4.1-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
7. MyPoints
MyPoints is owned by Prodege, which is the same company that owns Swagbucks and InboxDollars. With this platform, you can earn points for taking surveys, playing games, uploading receipts, shopping online, referring your friends to the platform, and more.
You’ll need to earn around 2,500 points to purchase a $15 gift card. With MyPoints, new users earn a $5 bonus (800 points) once they verify their email address.
- MyPoints receives a 4.3-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
8. National Consumer Panel (NCP)
National Consumer Panel conducts market research surveys by collecting barcodes from items you purchase. By offering your shopping data to them, you’ll earn points that you can use for gift cards, merchandise, and sweepstakes entries. You can also earn additional points by taking surveys and participating in special studies.
- National Consumer Panel receives a 4.4-star rating out of 5 in the Apple App Store.
9. Qmee
Qmee has paid out $45 million to research participants in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany, who have provided input through surveys, games, offers, daily polls, and more. To start earning cash with Qmee, sign up with your email address and a password. Then, begin completing offers when it fits into your schedule. With Qmee, you can cash out via PayPal, Venmo, gift cards, and even charitable donations.
- Qmee receives a 3.9-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
10. Respondent
Respondent conducts focus groups, paid surveys, and website testing gigs. This platform is open to the general public but focuses on professionals like marketers, software developers, business owners, software users, and executives. A recent study for teachers paid $115 for a 70-minute session.
I’ve used Respondent before, and it’s legit, but the platform can be very glitchy. It took me multiple times to verify my email address.
If you check out my review, you’ll see many positive testimonials from readers. Payments are made via the Tremendous platform, which offers cash, gift cards, pre-paid cards, and charitable donations.
- Respondent receives a 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot.
11. Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie offers attitudinal research studies like focus groups, product testing, and paid surveys. They also have behavioral research studies that collect your internet browsing data.
When you register for a free Survey Junkie account, you’ll immediately receive 25 bonus points for creating the account and 50 points for answering 16 basic questions. Each survey lists the number of points you’ll earn and the approximate time it will take to complete. On Survey Junkie, 100 points equals $1 and can be redeemed for gift cards or PayPal cash. Your account must reach 500 points before you can redeem your prize.
- Survey Junkie receives a 3.8-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
12. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is an online platform where you can earn points called SB, which you can redeem for gift cards, coupons, and real cash via PayPal. With Swagbucks, you earn points by playing games, answering survey questions, taking daily polls, shopping online, and surfing the web using their search bar. If you refer your friends to the site, you’ll earn even more points.
Points can be used to purchase gift cards from retailers like Amazon, Starbucks, Target, Visa, and Walmart. With Swagbucks, you can redeem as few as 300 points for a $3 gift card or payment. New users get a $10 signup bonus when they complete a qualified action.
A couple of things I like about Swagbucks are their low payout threshold and the wide variety of ways to earn money.
- Swagbucks receives a 3.9-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
13. TellWut
TellWut is a survey site where you can earn points for sharing your opinion. Internal surveys award 5-15 points per survey, external surveys award 25-2,000 points per survey, and you earn 25 points for referring your friends. You’ll also get 100 points for creating your account and 150 points for providing some personal information. Points can be redeemed for gift cards from major retailers.
- Tellwut receives a 4.4-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
14. Toluna Influencers
Toluna Influencers is a survey and product testing site where you can earn points for participation. Most surveys take between 15 and 20 minutes, and members receive anywhere from 15 to 50,000 points per survey. You’ll also receive 500 points for creating an account, and you can refer friends, create content, and play games to earn even more. You can redeem points for gift cards from major retailers or cash via PayPal.
- Toluna Influencers receives a 4.1-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
15. User Interviews
User Interviews is a market research site that connects companies with focus group participants, survey takers, and website testers. You can create an account by filling out their online application. Once you’re logged in, browse projects and answer a few simple questions to see if you qualify for the project. If you’re eligible, you’ll be notified via email. With User Interviews, projects can be done in person (one-on-one) or remotely. A recent travel app study paid $125 for 60 minutes. Payments are made via PayPal and Amazon gift cards.
- User Interviews receives a 4.5-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
16. Prolific
Prolific is a market research platform that pays users in cash for taking surveys, testing apps, training AI tools, and playing games. To start earning with Prolific, you’ll need to complete a detailed profile that includes your demographics, education, languages, work history, and other details. Next, you’ll wait for an email invite. Once you accept the invite, they’ll verify your account and identity. After verification, you can log in to your dashboard and start earning extra cash for a variety of tasks. Payments are made via PayPal.
- Prolific receives a 4.4-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
17. YouGov
With YouGov, you’ll complete surveys around the topics of politics, sports, entertainment, and more. For each survey you take, you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for cash via direct deposit or free gift cards like Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Sephora. You’ll need a minimum of points to redeem your earnings. For instance, 25,000 points is a $15 gift card, 30,000 is a $25 gift card, and 55,000 is a $50 gift card.
Tips For Making Extra Cash with Paid Surveys
By no means are you going to get rich taking paid surveys, but they are an easy way to earn a little extra income while you’re watching TV, listening to an audiobook, or waiting for an appointment. I’ve read a couple of accounts where people have used their survey earnings to pay for all their Christmas gifts or a weekend vacation. I use my survey money to cover my Starbucks habit.
Are you ready to jump in? Here are some survey-taking tips to make the most of this side hustle.
Set up a Separate Email Account
Before you sign up with a bunch of survey companies, set up a separate email account for your survey-taking activities. You will get a TON of emails from these survey companies, and you won’t want these emails clogging up your personal or work email accounts. I personally use a free Yahoo email account for the survey sites that I use.
Sign up With Multiple Survey Sites
Paid surveys are sporadic, and you’ll need to qualify for each one, so it’s best to sign up with multiple platforms to increase your chances of landing good-paying opportunities.
Understand Demographics
Many paid surveys include a qualification questionnaire to ensure you’re the right target audience to answer the survey questions. After all, you wouldn’t want to answer questions about dog food when you don’t even own a dog. The more boxes you check in terms of things you have and products you use, the more likely you’ll qualify for survey opportunities.
Create a Plan
To be successful with paid surveys, you just need to create a plan and execute it. For instance, if you answer four surveys a day, each paying $1.00, and you do this for 30 days, you’ll have $120 at the end of the month! Keeping a spreadsheet or daily log of your activities can help you track your efforts.
Use Your Time Wisely
When you’re looking at your options for paid surveys, use your time wisely. If a survey takes 60 minutes to complete and only pays $0.10, it’s not worth your time.
Also, never use your work time to take surveys.
Your work hours should be spent on tasks that are going to make you a living wage. This means that if you don’t currently have income coming in, your time should be spent searching, applying, and interviewing for jobs. Or, if you’re a business owner or freelancer, your work time should be used for getting new clients or marketing your business. Again, surveys are a side earner; they will only provide a little extra money.
Red Flags: Watch Out For Survey Scams
Lastly, look out for scam survey sites. You should never have to pay a fee or provide sensitive information like a credit card number, bank account info, or social security number when you sign up for paid survey sites. If you’re using a smartphone app to take surveys, be sure to read the reviews before installing it. If something seems off, it probably is; always trust your gut.
For more ways to make money by giving your opinion on things, look into paid focus groups!
Do you take online paid surveys? Which paid survey platforms do you recommend? Drop us a note; we’d love to hear from you.
