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Survey sites can be a great way to make a little extra side money while watching Netflix in bed. But there are so many, it can be tough to decipher which ones give the best payout and which ones to avoid. We went through the best survey sites and examined the pros and cons of each, so you don’t have to.
Here are the ones that we tried that made the list.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks was founded in 2008 and is a rewards and loyalty program with multiple different ways to make money.
Pros
- Swagbucks is available to users in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, India, France, Ireland, and Australia
- The site matches you with qualifying surveys
- You can gain Swagbucks by watching videos and shopping online, giving you a variety of ways to make money
- Users earn money for shopping at their affiliates. For example, if you click the Swagbucks link and shop at Amazon or Nike, you can get points like cash back
- Allows you to see an estimate of the time it will take to complete each survey, which allows you to decide which works best during your lunch break for a little extra cash. Each poll or survey takes around 10 minutes to complete
Cons
- Earning Swagbucks can be a slow process
- Sometimes, they don’t give you Swagbucks for completed offers, and you can easily be disqualified from a survey (which can be frustrating)
- Customer service can be slow to reply if you encounter an issue
Cash Out Info
Every 100 Swagbucks you earn is equal to $1. You can choose from tons of gift cards, or have the cash deposited directly into your bank account through PayPal. You can also shop in their Swagbucks shop. Cash out as little as $3
We chatted with Brittany, a stay-at-home mom who earned over $700 on Swagbucks for her family Disney Trip.
Quality Grade: A-
Survey Junkie
Founded in 2005, Survey Junkie is one of the oldest survey sites. It’s easy to maneuver – just make a free account and begin taking surveys.
Pros
- Points automatically and immediately show up in your account
- Points don’t expire, as long as you take at least one survey per year
- It’s extremely easy to use with a simple interface
- Cash out your points with PayPal and get your money direct deposited into your account
- 7 Million active members, 20 million+ surveys taken, $30,146,900 paid out.
Cons
- You have to be “invited” to surveys.
- You have to “qualify” for surveys, and some don’t qualify for many.
- Even worse, sometimes you will get a survey you don’t qualify for, and you don’t find out till you’ve finished it.
Payment Info
You must earn 1,000 points to get $10 via PayPal, and surveys range from 20 to 200 points on average (making the typical survey worth around $1 to $3).
Quality Grade: B+
InboxDollars
Founded in 2000, Inbox Dollars allows you to earn cash online by completing surveys among other activities such as online shopping or playing games.
Pros
- They encourage members to be active by offering a free gold membership. You don’t have to do anything extra to get this, but it will allow your payments to be processed five times faster than for non-gold members
- Just for signing up you get a $5 bonus, automatically
- There are options beyond surveys, such as watching videos that can also help you earn cash
- Inbox Dollars does not use points – it only uses actual cash, so you don’t need to convert the points to cash in your mind every time you take a new survey
Cons
- You can’t cash out until you reach $30, which can take a while
- Your average earning is only about $1.50 an hour
Payment Info
Many of the surveys are about fifty cents for a twenty-minute survey, and you need $30 to cash out. You can redeem for gift cards or cash through PayPal.
Quality Grade: B
LifePoints
LifePoints was founded in 2001 (as MySurvey) and has rewarded over $32 million dollars to date. It was purchased by WPP in 2010, which is one of the world’s leading communications services groups.
Pros
- You can earn $1.50 for every person that you refer to LifePoints.
- There is versatility in the rewards program and also the referral program, as well as their surveys.
- There is an app for iOS and Android, which can make taking surveys while waiting for a doctor appointment much easier.
- LifePoints offers monthly sweepstakes randomly selecting 10 people and awarding them with free points for regularly filling out surveys. (So stay active!)
Cons
- Pages can take a very long time to load.
- There are many surveys that the site allows you to spend time taking, but sometimes they abruptly tell you that you don’t qualify, and then you do not receive points for your time spent.
Payment Info
The minimum payout is 1,000 points, but to get paid via PayPal the minimum is 1,200 points, which is equal to $10 cash.
Some gift cards offer more money for fewer points, so keep in mind the points payouts are not all the same.
Quality Grade: C
Survey Club
Established in 2005, Survey Club is a research recruitment platform that companies use in order to find out how consumers feel about their products.
Pros
- SurveyClub is a “middleman” that allows you to access a lot of different surveys, such as surveys that you would find on other websites on this list.
- Their customer service is much quicker and more thorough than some other survey sites – even offering a phone number that you can call.
- You can also join several survey panels which allow you to get more surveys delivered to your email, and these typically are ones that you qualify for.
- You get $1 for every person you refer.
Cons
- When you sign up for Survey Club, you’re also agreeing to receive emails from their partners, and that can end up being a lot of spam mail.
- You may spend 15 minutes prequalifying for a survey just to be told you don’t qualify.
Payment Info
The minimum cashout for Survey Club is $20, which is higher than many other survey sites. You can cash out with an Amazon gift card, Paypal, or a check, all of which you will receive within three to four weeks from cashing out.
Quality Grade: C-
PrizeRebel
Founded in 2007, PrizeRebel offers rewards for various activities such as surveys and watching videos.
Pros
- You can see on the app’s home screen how much it has paid users in the past 24 hours, which lends a nice touch of legitimacy.
- This is another platform that offers a variety of ways to earn through filling out surveys, watching videos, signing up for trials, and referring other people.
- There are daily rewards and challenges, which keeps users like you coming back often.
- PrizeRebel processes rewards much more quickly than other survey sites. You receive your item within 24 hours, typically.
- You can sign up with Facebook, which can make the signup process even faster.
Cons
- Besides taking actual surveys, the ROI on other activities is low and may not be worth the actual time.
- As with many of the other sites, you can spend time filling out a survey just to be told you don’t qualify.
Payment Info
$1 is equivalent to 100 points, and you can cash out through different gift cards (from retail outlets or prepaid phone cards), or you can get your rewards through PayPal. You can redeem as little as $2 for an Amazon gift card, but only once you have reached the “Silver” level. (You begin at bronze and get upgraded after 1,000 points.)
Quality Grade: C-
Best Survey Sites: The Final Word
Getting paid to take surveys is a great way to make extra cash for giving your opinion, which is more valuable than you think! Some things to keep in mind when you sign up for survey sites are how much you get paid for your time and how easy the site makes it to redeem your points.
Happy surveying!
