13 Best Survey Sites to Make Money Online from Home
We all have a bit of time to kill, I used to spend my evenings and lunch break watching TV and playing mindless games on my phone. Now I pass my free time with survey and turn my time into money.
Close the YouTube video down, no one needs to watch that many cat videos, and spend your spare time filling out online surveys and testing product for small change. There are a growing number of companies who will reward your opinions for cash. Marketing companies, working on behalf of businesses, learn how to market their product and who to target it to through surveys and consumer focus groups.
The best thing about making money from surveys is that there is no work day schedule, it can be done from home, or on the go and you don’t have to have any special qualifications.
Sadly not every survey website you come across is as legit as they want you to think they are. I’ve created a list of trusted survey sites, personally tested, and I reveal how much you can realistically expect to be making from it.
1. Toluna
Toluna is a trusted website who work on the behalf of leading marketing and media companies. You can build up points and then cash them in for vouchers that include Amazon and money which gets sent to your PayPal.
Each survey takes around 15 minutes to complete and is worth 3,000- 6,000 points, they include topics such as advertisements, vehicles and film. Toluna also features many surveys for film marketing companies so it’s a great way to see exclusive film trailers and footage. This is a varied survey site which allows you to choose the topics that interest you from technology to beauty.
Unlike other sites where you have to wait for surveys to be sent to you, if you log onto Toluna’s website there will always be a survey to be completed. There are many opportunities to get involved in long term panels and to test products. I have become involved with long term project for the likes of Boots and H&M, through using Toluna. Currently, 30,000 points requirement is for getting gift vouchers and prizes.
Toluna also has an easy to use mobile app for surveys on the go.
2. Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is one of the biggest survey sites in the market with 5,000,000 members,
Signing up is super easy, it’s quick to register and you can even log in using your Facebook account. Survey Junkie is one of the highest paying survey sites out there, mainly because they pay for answering the screening question (something most sites do not do).
They have new surveys available every day and they are clear in what you will earn before you even start the survey. The site will award you 3 points for answering the screening questions and if you get screened out of a survey mid-way through you will be awarded 2 points for trying.
If you’ve been intimidated by other paid survey sites with more complex point systems then Survey Junkie is the perfect option for you. The dashboard and the entire website are very user friendly and is perfect for survey starters.
100 Survey Junkie points equals $1 and most of their surveys are between 1 and 20 minutes to complete, and are worth 10-90 points. You can turn your points into cash via PayPal or electronic gift cards for establishments like Target, Starbucks and Amazon.
3. Swagbucks
Swagbucks have paid its members almost $241million and hand out roughly 7000 gift cards a day to its users. Swagbucks is more than a survey site, it has one of the largest online rewards programs on the internet. For those worried it’s a scam it holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Swagbucks has a generous cashback program where users complete tasks so they can earn “Swagbucks”, you can collect these and redeem them for prizes. These gift cards include popular retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target or to be cashed out via PayPal.
There are multiple ways of making money on Swagbucks including using them as a cashback site, make money playing games, watching videos and from completing surveys. Enter demographic information about you when you sign up and Swagbucks will send your surveys they believe your profile will be a good match for. This site is great for those who want a bit more variety in their money making.
Swagbucks surveys are worth anything from 1 to 1000 “Swagbucks”, depending on length. The website is clean and easy to use plus there is an Android and iOS app, so you can earn on the go.
4. SurveySavvy
SurveySavvy is a panel from Luth Research, an industry giant has been active in the world of market research since 1999, and they have some of the highest paid surveys out there. Typically their studies pay between $1 to $20 depending on length and topic. They also pay $1 to $2 for referrals.
The bonus of SurveySavvy compared to other websites of this type is that there is no minimum requirement.
The company will email you the survey and when you enter the page you will be asked several demographic questions that will help determine if the survey is a right match for you. If you don’t match the criteria you will not be allowed to finish the survey and earn the money.
SurveySavvy have recently launched a new market research tool called SavvyConnect, a web extension that gathers information about what you do and for how long you’re doing for. All the information collected, which they promise does not include any personal information like names, passwords or bank details, is used for marketing and research purposes.
The one downside is you will receive your cash via cheque as they do not have a PayPal cash out option.
5. MySurvey
MySurvey is a LightspeedResearch panel that conducts studies on behalf of the world’s biggest and most exclusive brands. They pay out $32 million dollars a year, worldwide, to their millions of panel members.
MySurvey is simple to get started on and their website is super user friendly, the site will even walk you through the process to make you get started on surveys.
First, you create your profile and then a short questionnaire before My Survey matches up the relevant survey to your profile. Different surveys will operate in different ways as you are redirected to different third party websites.
My Survey pay depending on the length of the survey and the topic, normally you will earn between $0.5 and $1.25. MySurvey have a threshold before you can cash in your points for gift cards or cash. For every 1200 points that you have accumulated, you will receive a sum of $10. If you make up to 1800 points, you will receive $15. For a standard gift card of $10, you will need 1100 points.
MySurvey have a great referral system; for every person you sign up for the company, you automatically earn 150 points.
6. Global Test Market
Global Test Market (GTM) are famous for having a multitude of surveys available to take each month, making it easy to rack up points. No other sites have as many available surveys as Global Test Market does.
When you reach 1100 point you can cash out your $50 and it will be sent to your PayPal, or you can redeem your points for a variety of prizes including Amazon, Macy’s and Kohl.
Global Test Market was launched in 1999, making it one of the earliest such websites on the internet. You can register with them for free, by providing only your email and name, or directly through your Facebook or Twitter account. Unlike many other survey websites you can register and start earning from the age of 14. The registration is also open to people in 200 countries from around the world.
The most common surveys you will find are on topics such as movies, restaurants, vehicles, current events and hobbies. The website is very rewarding with surveys earning between 25 and 250 points. Even if you fail to qualify after the initial screening you still get 5 points. 23 points equals a dollar and the average survey offers 35 points for completion.
7. Valued Opinions
Valued Opinions have been running since 2004 and are operated by ResearchNow and is available in 15 languages, across 20 different countries, with a total of 3 million members.
Most Valued Opinions surveys reward between $1 and $5 and takes, normally, between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. Points can be redeemed once the minimum of $10 is earnt and it can be cashed out via PayPal or converted into giftcards for places like Macy’s, iTunes and Chillis. Electronic gift cards are delivered within 24 hours but the physical ones can take up to 28 days to arrive. Valued Opinions offer a unique program where active members collect badges for their level of participation.
Valued Opinions is an easy website to sign up for and has a very clean and user friendly website. You will get 2 to 4 emails a day linking you to your best matched surveys. Once you finish a survey, the site usually prompts you to take a few more.
8. Ipsos I-Say
If you are from the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom and are 18 years old or older you can sign up to I-Say and start taking surveys, with no sign-up fee.
Ipsos i-Say strictly focuses on surveys so you will get no downloads or product trials. You’ll get emails for survey invites and there is a dashboard you can log into that will display all pending surveys and all the surveys you have completed. It’s a really good system to be able to track what you are making and how many surveys you qualify for.
Much like other survey sites you have to make it past qualifying questions before you can take the survey, if you don’t qualify you will still get 5 points for trying. Their surveys are roughly 45 or 90 points. Ipsos i-Say also has something not a lot of other survey sites offer, and that is a loyalty program. You can get awarded extra points based on the number of surveys you complete, 5 surveys in a row get you 25 points, 10 surveys will get you 50 points, and so on.
The dashboard also has a polls section, these are different from the surveys and are not a paid task. You will be invited to take part in a poll predictor which will enter you into a prize draw.
100 Ipsos i-Say points will get you $100. 500 points will get you a $5 Starbucks card or a $5 Facebook eCard. 1000 Points will get you an Amazon gift card and 1,530 will let you cash $15 into your PayPal.
9. Opinion Outpost
Opinion Outpost is another survey option, although this is one of the lower paid ones. It’s easy to sign up more and has a user friendly dashboard which shows a snapshot of your accumulated points. This is a lot cleaner than a lot of other survey site’s dashboards which bombard the user with links and banners. Opinion Outpost also send out multiple emails a day which include links to survey opportunities.
You click on the survey, answer the screening questions and Opinion Outpost connect you to a survey and will let you know upfront how long it will take and how many points it will earn you. You will find lots of different surveys from panels asking about your television habits to being asked to review advertisements.
The money you make will depend on your demographics, compared to others in this market Opinion Outpost does have a higher disqualification rate, meaning you will get screened out of a lot of the surveys you try and enter. When you are screened out the site will enter you into a $10,000 quarterly prize drawing. Whether or not you can enter a survey will depend on your demographic answers, like age, gender, location and tastes.
There are several ways to redeem, points, you can cash them out via PayPal, use them for MileagePlus Miles, Amazon points or iTunes. On average you earn $1.50 per hour. You need a minimum of 100 points to redeem $10 via PayPal and only 50 points to redeem an Amazon gift card.
10. Prize Rebel
Since 2007 Prize Rebel has been one of the top money-making websites, paying out $9 million to its 6 million users since its inception.
Once you have created your account, or logged in via Facebook, you can head to the earn tab and choose a survey or offer. They list the different survey providers that Prize Rebel works alongside so you can choose the ones that look interesting to you. They will always tell you how much the reward is before you start the survey and give you a time estimate.
Like Swagbucks, Prize Rebel is far more than a survey site they also have a system called Offers, which is an interactive advertisement by a third party that can gain you rewards. This could be downloading an app or signing up to another platform. Use your common sense when it comes to the Offers and always read the small print.
You can also get played to play games. You can dollars for installing them and even more rewards for playing it. Check the terms of Prize Rebel’s games before playing them, it might be you have to play them for a certain time or up to a certain level before you earn your reward.
Prize Rebel has a large selection of videos where you can get paid to watch them, you will usually get paid for every 3 videos you watch, which include viral videos, science, sport and health.
11. Branded Surveys
Branded Survey is a marketing research company that offers paid surveys to its users. What makes it stand out is that the website rewards people for shopping locally and taking part in focus study groups. Branded Surveys was formally known as Mintvine and is a trusted partner to Facebook and is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
Registration is free to anyone over 13. To activate your account, sign up and confirm your activation via email, just for doing this you will get 200 points. 510 points will be added to your account once you complete all profile surveys.
Branded Surveys will notify you when they have a survey that matches your personality. If you do not qualify for it you will still be gifted 5 points. Most online surveys take between 10 and 20 minutes to complete.
Once you reach 1000 points you are given the choice to transfer the $10 into your PayPal or redeem them as a gift card, which gets sent to your email account within 48 minutes.
Members can earn additional points with the MVP referral programs, for each friend you direct to the site you get 14% of their earned points.
Branded Surveys occasionally invite people to focus groups and if you’re interested you could make between $25 and $50 an hour.
12. Cash Crate
Cash Crate has a large variety of ways to make money, aside from surveys.
Once you have quickly signed up and filled in demographic surveys you are ready to earn money. As well as research surveys Cash Crate also allows users to complete free and paid offers.
Cash Crate interacts a lot with third party providers and companies who will pay you to sign up to their website or to try out their service. The terms and conditions vary for each offers but usually they are upfront and transparent, with the user getting credited immediately. Some of these offers may require you to pay a certain amount in order to claim the offer (it will always result in a small profit).
Cash Crate offers surveys, although not primarily a survey site, and you rarely get disqualified for not meeting requirements. You can also make money on Crash Crate by watching videos, playing games and entering prizes.
Cash Crate has a generous multi-tiered referral program that is one of the best in the paid survey market. You can earn 20% of what your referrals earn and if they refer someone you get 10% of their earnings. You can also win small bonuses when your referrals reach certain milestones.
13. InboxDollars
InboxDollars is one of the easiest and versatile ways to make money on the internet. It also has an easy online rewards club that pays consumers in cash for their online and mobile activities.
InboxDollars was founded in 2000 and boasts over 10 million members and you get $5 for signing up. It offers multiple cash making options like watching videos and TV shows, listening to the radio, using search engines and referrals.
InboxDollars offer monetary rewards for tasks, as well as a wide away of prizes. To cash out you will need a minimum of $30 but there is a $3 processing fee so it is recommended you cash out at $40. Generally you can earn anything from $0.25 for a 10 minute survey and $4.50 for a longer in depth questionnaire.
Now I’ve told you 13 of the best survey websites here is how you can make the most of your time on them
- Treat it like a business. Set up a separate email address to handle the surveys and set aside part of your day to dedicate your surveys. Keep all your log in details documented and track your earnings.
- Do your research. There are so many survey sites out there, so try lots of different platforms and work out what works for you. Check out how they pay out, what topics the surveys are and how user friendly the website is. Also use your common sense to assess if they are a legit company.
- Cash out as soon as you can and as frequently as you can. Don’t build up points or cash with the thought of cashing up or redeeming at a later point. These sites can be closed down overnight and there can be glitches.
- Keep your information up to date. Keeping your profile updated means you can qualify for as many surveys as possible. Let them know if you change jobs, have children or move location as it could open many more opportunities.
- Be honest. You might want to lie in your questions so you can get more surveys but surveys sites will check your answers against previous answers and your account. Getting caught lie may lead to your account being deactivated.
- Stick with it. A majority of people will do a few surveys, realise it won’t make them a millionaire in a year and leave. Don’t be discouraged if you have a day where you don’t earn as much as you’d like. Learn what does and doesn’t work and stick with what is worthwhile.
