Take Surveys for Money: Best Online Survey Sites

Eating ramen noodles might help you save money, but how can you make money quickly and easily? Believe it or not, one way to do so is through paid online surveys.

So you need to make money? In this gig economy, who doesn’t? But we definitely empathize with your situation and can offer a few pieces of advice that will keep you from calling a quick loan company or selling your car title to dodgy guys behind the bowling alley.

In all seriousness, many people need extra cash for daily living or to save for a rainy day emergency.

Yes, that is correct. You can get paid to register and to complete online surveys. Payment ranges from actual money, to points and gift cards, all of which can help ease a financial pinch to some extent.

An extra bonus is that you can share your opinion about everything and anything.

If you feel that nobody is listening to your ideas, think again, because many of the paid online survey sites are connected to big brands and major companies to which the sites provide feedback. Therefore, you can potentially influence a product or a company. Make your vice heard.

As you can now see, participating in paid online surveys is not only quick and easy, but it provides payment and a platform for your opinions!

What could be better?

With today’s tech, you can complete these surveys on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, sitting in your apartment, traveling on the train or having lunch (but don’t do it during class or your professors will get angry!).

Find the Best Online Survey Websites for You

Obviously, when something appears too good to be true, many doubts and questions emerge. Can these sites be trusted? Are they legitimate websites or scams? Do they really pay you?

Of course, with the good comes the bad, and with all of the attempted and real online fraud, it is completely normal and prudent to ask these questions. There have been reports of dodgy sites and complaints about fakers looking to make money instead of paying money, so we have compiled a list of the best authentic sites for you.

If you are just starting out in the world of online work, doing surveys for money is a great way to fill in the gaps when higher-paying work doesn’t show up. It will be hard to make a good living from just doing surveys, but they are an incredible way to monetize your downtime so that you always have money showing up in your account.

Another piece of advice is never to pay to join an online survey site. Remember, you are there to make money, not give it away. Here are some of the best survey sites out there, so you can start earning in your free time. Each site will offer something different, and you can sign up for as many as you want!

SurveyJunkie

The name SurveyJunkie might sound a little odd, but it is actually the research arm of DISQO!, which is a totally legit company. Anyone can sign up for SurveyJunkie, but unless you live in the USA, UK, or Australia, you probably won’t make any money with this site.

For anyone who does live in the above-mentioned countries, SurveyJunkie is a great way to make some extra money with surveys. Unlike many survey sites, this one will pay you even if you get disqualified from a survey after you start taking it.

The payout from SurveyJunkie is in cash (or gift cards), and 100 points on the website is equal to $1 USD.

You will get more than 100 points for signing up and taking a few basic tutorials, which is a nice way for the company to help you get going. All of your points will go into a single account, and the cash value is clearly displayed underneath your points balance.

SurveyJunkie will also let you know when there are surveys you can take via email alerts, and also give you an estimate of how long the survey may take. Some longer surveys can make you a dollar or two, and there are many short ones that add up if you do them all day.

Like all the survey sites on this list, you don’t have to pay to join SurveyJunkie (actually the company will give you a little over a dollar when you join). You will have to bank at least 1000 points to cash out, but you can save up your points if you want as well. The site offers gift cards as a form of payment, but you can also just opt for cash sent via PayPal.

There are no real downsides to SurveyJunkie, although some users report that super-short surveys don’t pay anything. This may or may not be a glitch, and your overall earnings should offset any wasted minutes. You will have to cash-out all your points at once if you want a cash payment, which is something to keep in mind.

Visit SurveyJunkie or Read our Full Review

InboxDollars

Often appearing in the top three rankings on multiple lists, InboxDollars is a fully legitimate online rewards club that reliably pays consumers in real cash, hence the name. it is easy to earn money on the site and to get paid to complete surveys, shop online, play video games and browse new sites!

When you sign up, you will earn a $5 USD bonus, and as noted above, you are paid cash, not points. If you also sign up for offers and emails, you will receive cash rewards. Therefore, InboxDollars gives you multiple money-making options, and they have paid over $57 million USD in cash rewards to more than ten million members.

One of the easiest platforms to use, InboxDollars is also convenient, since you make money quickly and simply by using the internet as you always do. By doing these tasks, you provide vital information to the site and get rewarded for it.

You can earn money right from the beginning, with little effort, but it can take a few weeks to reach the minimum payout.

To summarise this great site, they are one of the best rewards clubs for smart, efficient consumers who choose to take advantage of the opportunity to make easy cash just by continuing their usual activities on their laptop, phone or tablet. It’s an extremely popular site that pays in cash, rather than points, which makes it a crowd favorite.

Visit InboxDollars or Read our Full Review

Swagbucks

Also a constant top-ranking contender, Swagbucks is another incredibly popular and authentic site. It offers traditional surveys, as well as other options and activities for making extra money.

Filling out surveys for money will reward you with points called Swagbucks, which can be cashed out through PayPal, or redeemed as gift cards for Amazon. They too give you $5 USD for signing up.

Swagbucks remains one of the largest and most reliable sites that offers a wide variety of interesting ways to earn rewards, including playing games, taking offers, searching the web, making online purchases and watching videos.

Completing polls and surveys for money takes around 10 minutes each, meaning that you can make up to $6.50 USD an hour, as taking polls and surveys every day is the fastest way to make money, although there are eleven different ways to make money on the site.

The well-designed website is straightforward and easy to use, providing a range of affiliate links to help increase your money-making while shopping. By simply clicking on the Swagbucks link and shopping at sites such as Amazon, Walmart, and Nike, you will earn points.

The site will even allow you to monetize your internet searches if you are willing to switch from Google or Safari to their own search engine. Swagbucks uses a search engine that will pay you Swagbucks every search that you perform. For games, there are options like Scrabble and Wheel of Fortune, which won’t pay you much but could be fun.

Swagbucks TV will let you watch video adverts on numerous topics, including news items, entertainment, and fitness. Just FYI, TV earnings won’t make you more than 150 Swagbucks. If you love to watch viral clips, this could be a good way to make some extra cash.

The site runs a range of special offers, including awarding random prizes, giving you daily targets to hit for bonus points, and posting deals on their social media feeds. They have a new app that is worth checking out and a referral scheme. The platform has paid over $600 million USD in rewards to its global members, so why not become one of those paid members?

Visit Swagbucks or Read our Full Review

Prize Rebel

Operating for nine years and paying out over nine million dollars, Prize Rebel is another consistently popular site.

On its home screen, it has real-time data informing the visitor of exactly how much it has paid to its users in the last 24 hours. That’s particularly reassuring, especially for people new to online survey sites or those who worry about scams.

Prize Rebel has daily challenges with extra points for people that want to participate. Stocking up on points is encouraged since one hundred points equals one dollar. They pay in gift cards via PayPal and even in Bitcoin, for those who are crypto fans.

Visit PrizeRebel or Read our Full Review

Toluna

Having been operational for seventeen years, and with more than nine million global users, Toluna is a popular site that consistently ranks high with users.

As a free survey site, Toluna offers questionnaires to complete in order to provide leading companies with your opinions. Toluna also runs a range of internal games and schemes, as well as offering product testing to some lucky users who can receive free products.

Like many survey sites, Toluna rewards you with points, which can be cashed out via PayPal or for vouchers from Amazon and iTunes.

An unusual aspect of the site’s payment plan is the chance to take out your points early if you gamble them for prizes.

You can “gamble” with just 500 points, even though you have to save up a grand total of 60,000 points before you can claim vouchers for around $12 USD. If you want to see if your lucky, the platform has a “giftie”, which is similar to an instant lottery ticket.

By gambling some points, you can see if you have won the gift or lost your points – so you should decide if you want to dance with Lady Luck or hold on to those points!

Product testing is another option, but you will be sent items only if you qualify, so please be honest and thorough in your profile. The product testing occurs over the space of a few months, so it is an added bonus rather than regular work. A detailed profile also helps to tailor the surveys to you as well, so there is no wasted time.

For some users, there are a few downsides to the site. Waiting for the vouchers to arrive and the points to appear in your account takes time, which is actually quite standard in the industry.

A few other sites might offer immediate payment but they are the exception to the rule. The accumulation of 60,000 points for a $12 USD voucher is another point of contention. If either of these issues is “make or break” for you, then you should consider what perks you want and which sites meet those needs.

However, Toluna has a huge community and you can even create your own polls and have conversations with fellow users.

Visit Toluna

Vindale Research

One of the oldest and longest-running survey sites, Vindale Research is a genuine means of making money from completing surveys. The company hails from New York and offers surveys that pay cash, as well as other ways to make money.

A survey pays between $1 and $5 USD each, with the product testing starting at $5 USD. It’s free to sign up, and there is a popular daily consumer survey paying $1.50 USD which you can complete every day, for an easy and reliable cash boost.

Although the site claims significantly higher rates of pay, this involves slightly inflated pricing. However, the site pays in cash, so there is no need to mess about with rewards or gift cards. Nonetheless, you will have to earn $50 USD before you can transfer your money from the site, which is a higher threshold than other sites.

In addition to the survey and product testing, there are other ways to increase your income from Vindale. These include rewards for opening adverts sent to your email account or small payments for watching advertising videos online.

Sometimes the survey invitation links may direct you to other survey companies, rather than keeping things in-house, which may seem like spam. You also may be stuck completing lengthy qualifying questions to ascertain if you are eligible for the particular survey, only to discover at the end that you are not, an overall irritating experience.

However, one great feature is the ability to shop through Vindale, as they often have offers available through affiliate links. Before buying something new, it is worth checking their user-friendly website to see if you can get the product for less through them.

Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is a notoriously exclusive company offering surveys and product testing, Pinecone provides great paying deals.

Obviously, “joining” is a bit more complicated than other sites. However, you can use our link to signup here.

Even after you have registered, you still will need to be vetted, so don’t count your dollars quite yet. If you are accepted, a world of high paying options opens to you. Pinecone offers at least $3 per survey and $6 for product testing.

Longevity pays too because the longer you stay with the company, the pay increases well above the standard survey taking rate. The firm also runs lucky draws throughout the year, where you can win between $500 and $5,000 USD, and you are entered into them as a reward each time you fill out a survey.

Owned by the renowned New York market research company Nielson, Pinecone provides a variety of content and email surveys to members, when they are suited to you, displaying a brilliant efficiency.

Unfortunately, the downside to this is that you might not receive many surveys. It should be noted that the site retains the right to remove you from their panel if you no longer fit their desired demographic!

Rewards are paid in points, with one hundred points equalling $1 USD. You only need 300 points, or $3 USD, to claim your funds, which is a lot lower than many survey sites. Pinecone pays cash via PayPal, or Amazon and Walmart vouchers.

Product testing can be a fun way to make some extra money and to try something new before the general public. Unfortunately, this occurs only if the company deems you to be the correct audience for the trial. But if you are selected to try a product, you get to keep it too!

Visit Pinecone Research

Ipsos

Ipsos is one of the largest, best paying and globally respected survey-based companies. They specialize in market research and opinion polls. With a well-trusted panel, they send you surveys every week to answer by email.

You can help Ipsos learn more about the social currents in our world, and make a little bit of money in the process.

Unlike many of the other sites, Ipsos focuses solely on offering surveys, which means you won’t be distracted by videos, games, shopping or product testing. You can receive cash and Amazon vouchers, as well as prize draws for members.

Finding the Right Fit for You

Please note that there are more viable survey sites in the digital world, but we have shared the crème de la creme with you.

Regardless of what sites you choose, or what other sites you might discover in the virtual world, there are a few standard pieces of advice that you should practice. Obviously, as noted previously, do not pay to join a site. If they are asking for money from you, then that is a serious red flag and you should move along without a glance backward.

If a site also promises outrageous rewards or payments, definitely think twice and so some research. If cars and trips to Hawaii are on offer, be assured that something shady lurks behind those pretty pictures and lovely words.

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Make Some Extra Money With Surveys

If you are seriously interested in making some money by doing surveys, then sign up for as many sites as you think you can handle. There is no reason to limit yourself, especially if making money is the name of the game. In this way, you will reap multiple rewards in terms of money, vouchers and trial products.

Some people prefer to create and use an email specifically for these sites. Not only is everything manageable, but it is also safer, and there is no way anyone can get personal information or contacts from a “business” only email.

When completing your profile, it really does pay to be as honest and thorough as possible. You are not going to gain anything by trying to beat the system or outsmart a perceived computer algorithm.

The profile means that surveys and test products are catered to you and your interests. If you lie in the profile, then you are also contributing to misinformation to major brands and companies and there really isn’t a point to that if you want to be taken seriously.

Each site has a limit for cashing out, so be aware of that. The same should be noted for how long it may take you to earn and actually be paid. Plan accordingly. If you need the money, there is little sense is stockpiling cash and points in an online survey site account, unless you are trying for a big prize.

If you think about all of the time that you spend watching cat videos or conspiracy theories on the internet, why not monetize it? Just swap the cute fluffy kitties for surveys and other targeted options, and you could be earning money now!