One of the easiest ways to make money online is by taking paid surveys for cash.
You’d be surprised how much you can earn just by answering a few survey questions.
To participate, you don’t need any experience, education or skills. The only qualification is you must be willing to share your opinion and some personal information.
As far as a free lunch goes, online surveys get pretty close.
You can answer survey questions anytime and anywhere whilst watching TV, waiting in line or commuting to work when you aren’t driving.
That said, taking online surveys won’t make you rich.
There are a lot of factors involved that affect your earning potential including your demographic, the survey length and the number of surveys you’re qualified for.
Also, not all survey sites are created equal. They can differ widely in terms of payments, time and effort involved.
Still, taking online surveys for money is an easy side gig anyone can do to supplement their income, but it won’t replace a salary from a day job.
Bear in mind that there are many scammy survey sites that never payout. But don’t worry, we only list legitimate survey sites below.
For each site, you’ll learn what they have to offer, the average payments and how to go about signing up.
You may want to sign up with as many surveys for cash as you can.
That way, you’ll have more opportunities to participate in new surveys every day. If a site doesn’t work in your favor, you can just try another.
Also, create a separate email address just for surveys to better organize the offers and keep them from clogging up your personal inbox
This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure page for more information.
1. Survey Junkie
What is it: Survey Junkie is one of the highest-rated survey sites online with well-vetted surveys and clean interface to help you make money from surveys easily.
Besides offering its own surveys, it also aggregates surveys from other sites. Launched in 2005, it has over 4 million members to date.
It works on a points system where 1 point is worth 1 cent.
How much can you make: Depending on how long it takes, you can earn between $0.50 to $50 per survey. Most surveys take between 1 to 2 minutes to complete.
You’ll earn $2 worth of points immediately by completing profile surveys. Even if you get disqualified from a survey, it gives you three points for trying.
Once your points balance reaches 1,000, you can redeem them via Amazon, Target or other popular gift cards or cash out immediately (sometimes this may take up to 24 hours) via PayPal.
How to sign up: Go to SurveyJunkie.com
2. Nielsen Mobile App
What is it: Nielsen is a global data analytics and research company mostly known for its television ratings.
The Nielsen Mobile app is a little different in that it doesn’t offer any paid surveys. Instead, it’s an app that you can install on your computer or mobile devices and get paid to keep.
Nielsen rewards you just for browsing the Internet as you normally would. They collect stats about your Internet usage over time.
It’s perfectly normal if you’re concerned about privacy but your info is completely anonymously.
The data is encrypted, bundled with other statistics and research, and then used to make charts, graphs, and analysis.
Nielsen’s Privacy Policy stated that your personal info will never be used to send promotional offers or advertisements. This is different from many other survey sites that send promotional emails regularly.
The app itself is only 2.5MB in size and won’t slow down your phone or tablet at all.
How much can you make: They will pay you $50 a year to keep their app on your device. You must keep the app for a minimum of 14 days to get paid.
If you’re looking to make money passively without having to do anything else, this may be an attractive option.
How to sign up: Download Nielsen mobile app here and collect $50 and get a chance to win $10,000 each month without lifting a finger!
For residents from other countries, download the app from the relevant link below. Rewards may differ from country to country:
- Italy – download here.
- Australia – download here.
3. InboxDollars
What is it: Besides taking surveys, InboxDollars rewards you for participating in other online activities such as reading emails, watching videos, playing games or shopping online.
InboxDollars pays with cash instead of points by sharing revenue it generates from advertisers. To date, InboxDollars has paid out over $57 million of cash rewards to its members.
You can decide beforehand whether to take a survey or not. You can see the estimated time required, the exact payment amount and in some cases the topic of the survey.
How much can you make: Joining is free and they’ll even credit your account $5.00 just for registering then another 50 cents for completing a short profile.
While you won’t find many high-paying surveys as often, this is an established survey site with a regular supply of surveys and an array of activities you can do to earn more cash.
So your earnings can add up quickly if you stay active.
How to sign up: Go to InboxDollars.
4. Vindale Research
What is it: If you are into politics and current events, sports, car and trucks, health and beauty, technology, home improvements and various other topics, you can be sure to find a few surveys that fit your interests at Vindale Research.
You get started by sharing demographic information about yourself and they will match you to paid surveys.
In addition to doing surveys, you can also earn cash for playing online games, watch videos, reading emails, searching the web, shopping and more.
How much can you make: The average survey on Vindale takes between 5 to 15 minutes to complete and pays $0.50 to $2.00 each.
While there are a lot of high-paying surveys (sometimes up to $50), there’s equally as many if not more low-paying ones.
The surveys refresh every day so if you find mostly low paying surveys, just come back the next day and hopefully, there are more higher-paying ones available.
The $50 payout threshold can be a turn off although this won’t be a problem if you are lucky enough to complete several high paying surveys.
You can install their browser extension for Google Chrome if you want to get alerts when new surveys become available.
Vindale Research pays cash through PayPal or a personal check via postal mail (instead of points or credits).
How to sign up: Get $1 sign up bonus from Vindale Research now.
Vindale offers a $5 referral bonus when you refer a friend who remains active on the platform.
5. Swagbucks
What is it: Besides participating in paid surveys for cash, Swagbucks also pays you for playing games, searching the web, watching videos or shopping online.
The premise is to incentivised the Internet activities you’re already doing anyway. Since it is an aggregation of surveys from other sites, you get plenty of surveys for money too.
Swagbucks pays you in “Swag bucks” point which can be redeemed for retail gift cards, including Amazon, Target, Starbucks, Walmart and more. One SB point is usually worth one cent.
If you prefer cash instead, you can redeem the points for PayPal credits, which can then be converted into cash.
How much can you make: You’ll get $5 just for signing up. The pay for each survey varies from a couple of cents to a couple of dollars. A typical survey takes around 10 to 20 minutes to complete.
If you are disqualified for a survey, you still earn one SB point for trying. You’ll only be compensated for five failed disqualifications per day and the count is reset the next day.
How to sign up: Visit Swagbucks. They accept members from the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Australia.
6.Toluna Opinions
What is it: Toluna questions revolve primarily around your shopping habits and your opinion on many products. It works on a points-based system and let you pick the topics of the surveys.
As a bonus, you can get selected to participate in free product testings and get to keep the product.
How much can you make: The average surveys pay 500 to 30,000 points depending on its length.
Most surveys take between 15 to 20 minutes to complete. You can see the number of points you could earn and the time required to complete the survey before deciding to take it.
Even if you don’t qualify for a survey, you’ll still earn 15 points for answering the screening questions or Toluna will enter you into a monthly sweepstake.
You can also take profile surveys worth 100 points each which take a minute to complete. These surveys are designed to learn more about you so that they can send the most relevant survey to you.
Once you reach 30,000 points, these points can be exchanged for PayPal cash or retail vouchers like Amazon and iTunes.
How to sign up: You get 500 bonus just for signing up and hundreds of points for referring friends. Click here to sign up.
7. Opinion Outpost
What is it: Opinion Outpost conducts surveys mainly for governments, public bodies and businesses.
Unlike other survey sites, Opinion Outpost won’t keep asking you to take various survey offers whether you’re qualified or not.
It has a simple and easy to understand website which allows you to take surveys smoothly without much thought.
Opinion Outpost works based on a point system where 1 point equals 10 cents.
These points are redeemable via PayPal cash, gift cards from retailers like Amazon or iTunes, Alawar games or even donations to the American Red Cross.
How much can you make: Getting disqualified from a survey can be frustrating. To compensate your time, they will enter you into a $10,000 quarterly prize drawing automatically.
A typical survey takes around 10 to 30 minutes to fill out and pays anywhere from $1 to $5.
The low payout thresholds ($10) makes this an attractive option if you want to claim your surveys for money fast.
How to sign up: Visit Opinion Outpost website to get started. For other countries check out below:
- UK, sign up here.
- Germany, sign up here.
- Canada, sign up here.
- Italy, sign up here.
8. YouGov Panel
What is it: YouGov polls are a little different in that the topics may include current and social issues, politics, TV programs you watch and commercial products.
Whether you are interested in America’s favorite TV shows, Australia’s most loved brands or what Singaporeans and Swedes think about artificial intelligence, you can find out with YouGov.
Findings from YouGov surveys are often used by the media, public affairs groups and political campaigns.
You can redeem your rewards for cash or gift cards by the major retailers like Groupon, Amazon, Walmart, Nike and more.
How much can you make: You’ll receive a 2000 points sign-up bonus. You must complete the profile questionnaire to get paid.
Expect to earn 400 points for completing a 10-15 minutes survey.
That said, you probably won’t receive a steady stream of surveys so it may take a while to reach the payout threshold. But those that come your way are great if you have big opinions.
How to sign up: Head over to YouGov website to sign up. For other countries:
9. Ipsos Panel
What is it: Ipsos was founded in 1975 in France and is one of the largest market research firms in the world. So this is a legit surveys site you can count on.
It has fewer surveys than other survey sites that aggregate survey from different companies.
Ipsos focuses solely on offering surveys for money without cluttering their site with other activities like getting rewarded for watching videos or playing games.
How much can you make: You can redeem your points for gift cards, cash or charity donations when your balance reaches 500 points which is equivalent to $5.
If you get disqualified for a survey, Ipsos still awards you five points for trying.
How to sign up: Visit their website to sign up. For other countries, click the relevant link below:
Paid Online Surveys For Cash FAQ
Below are the most commonly asked questions that new survey takers may have. Knowing the answer will help you make the most money from these online surveys sites.
Can You Really Make Money Online with Surveys?
Yes, but taking paid surveys for money won’t make your rich.
Instead, look at it as a side gig to help you make extra money in your spare time.
To increase your earnings, you can sign up with several survey sites so that you have a steady stream of surveys to fill out regularly.
You may even discover a few sites that are making you way more money than the others.
For sites that pay you for product testings, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be selected to test a product so look at it as a bonus opportunity.
The best thing about taking online surveys for cash is everyone can do it as long as they have an Internet connection.
How Much Can You Make from Free Paid Surveys?
The amount you make depends on many factors including your demographic profile, how many surveys for money sites you’re registered with and the time and effort you’re willing to put in.
Most surveys take between 10 to 15 minutes and pay from 50 cents to 5 dollars. If you are able to qualify for higher-paying surveys, you’ll be able to make more money quicker.
If you’re consistent and are able to take surveys regularly, you can expect to make several hundred extra dollars (or more) per year.
How to Qualify For More Surveys For Money?
One of the most frustrating things about online surveys is that you can be disqualified while taking one.
Sometimes you’re booted out within a few minutes of starting a survey. At other times, you may have spent 15 minutes only to be told you didn’t meet the survey’s requirements.
And sometimes the reason given for the disqualification is vague. Having patience in this case is necessary.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to prevent this – you’re probably just not what the company is looking for.
The best you can do is try to be honest when answering survey questions.
The system will try to match you with relevant surveys based on specific profile and if you’re contradicting yourself too often, you’ll likely get disqualified.
If you don’t like how a site work, move on to the next one.
What Are the Surveys That Pay Cash Instantly?
This varies from site to site. Opinion Outpost for example often pays on the same day or in some cases immediately.
All the sites listed above pay cash via PayPal.
Unless your goal is to win a bidding war, it’s recommended that you cash out your earnings as soon as you reached the minimum payout threshold.
Otherwise, if the website went down, they could take your money with it.
Also, you don’t want to spend the points later only to discover they are no longer valid (if the site has time restriction).
If you’re not getting paid, contact the website for support. Try to draw attention to your complaint through their social media channels too.
Which Are the Legitimate Paid Online Surveys?
The survey sites listed on this page are all legitimate and genuine. Just watch out others you found online that sound too good to be true because they probably are.
A legit paid survey site will never ask you to pay any fee or make an investment. It will never ask you for your bank or financial information, your social security number or driver’s license.
It should be free to join and does not require anything to redeem your earnings.
In addition, it’s smart to set up a separate email address exclusively for survey offers.
This will not only prevent survey offers from cluttering your personal inbox but it will be easier to notice if there are new surveys coming your way.
Conclusion
There you have it! A dozen paid survey sites, each with a unique proposition to offer.
I hope you find the list of surveys for money useful.
Have you tried any of these paid survey sites? Do you have a favorite site that’s not included on the list?
Let us know in the comments below!
