Looking for paid online surveys for money? Are you wondering which paid surveys sites are legitimate? Yes, you can get paid to take surveys – I have many times in the past! Here’s how you can find paid surveys and make extra money.
Not too long ago, one of the ways I made extra money to pay off my student loan debt was by doing paid online surveys (I did a lot of other things too, which you can read about here – I’ve Done Over 20 Side Hustles in My Life: Here’s What I Think of Each).
No, I didn’t get rich from them, but I was able to earn some side cash by taking online surveys in my spare time.
The way I made it work for me is that I signed up for as many online survey sites as I could. Due to that, I was able to complete at least a few surveys each week.
There were many times when I would receive an easy $100 check in the mail from completing surveys in a one-month period.
The work is really easy.
It can all be done from home, on your own schedule and timeline, so it’s a win-win!
Swagbucks is a site where you can earn points for surveys, shopping online, watching videos, using coupons, and more. You can use your points for gift cards and cash.
Prime Opinion is a survey website that helps people to earn extra money by sharing their opinions at home. It’s a simple survey site to use: you share your thoughts, and they pay you for them.
Survey Junkie is a survey site that pays you around $1-3 for a survey that may take around 1-20 minutes to answer (the longer the survey, the higher the pay)
Below are some of my tips for side hustling with paid online surveys for money so that you can learn how to make extra money.
Related content on ways to make extra money from home:
- 75+ Ways To Make Extra Money
- 12 Work From Home Jobs That Can Earn You $1,000+ Each Month
- 12 Easy Ways To Earn Free Amazon Gift Cards
- How I Make Over $100,000 A Month Blogging
Here’s what you need to know about the best paid online surveys.
First, why do companies offer paid online surveys? Do online surveys really pay you?
Companies use surveys all the time to learn what their current and potential customers think of their products, services, and company.
With the surveys you take, companies get valuable opinions on how to improve their products, and that’s what they are paying you for.
The companies I’ve listed in this article are market research and consulting companies who put together the surveys for companies. These are legit survey sites.
Sign up for as many paid online surveys as you can.
To increase your chances of making money, I recommend signing up for as many online survey companies as you can.
I say this because individual survey companies may only send a few surveys your way each month, so the more you sign up for, the more money you may be able to make.
By joining as many sites as you can, you’ll receive the most opportunities. It’s really that simple!
The survey companies I recommend signing up for and the best paying survey sites include:
- American Consumer Opinion
- Survey Junkie
- Swagbucks
- HeyPiggy
- NiceSurveys
- InboxDollars
- Branded Surveys
- Prime Opinion
- Five Surveys
- IncomeFindr
- User Interviews
- Freecash
- MyPoints
- HeyCash
- Product Review Jobs
- Rakuten Insight
- Product Report Card
- Clearvoice Surveys
- KashKick
- Pinecone Research
- Prize Rebel
- MySoapBox
You can learn more about taking paid surveys with each company below.
What paid survey sites are legitimate?
1. American Consumer Opinion is one of the best survey sites.
American Consumer Opinion is a free online survey company I highly recommend. They pay you for each survey you complete.
You can usually earn anywhere from $1 to $50 per survey taken through American Consumer Opinion. It all depends on the length of the survey.
American Consumer Opinion also gives you the opportunity to test products for free (yay, free stuff!).
They have paid out over $30,146,855 to survey takers and have had over 20 million surveys taken. They are one of the most popular online survey sites as you can see.
They were created in 1986 and first started by sending out surveys in the mail and by phone, and eventually switched to giving out surveys online on their website.
There are currently over 8,000,000 men, women, and children throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Asia who are active members with them.
You can sign up for American Consumer Opinion here.
2. Survey Junkie provides surveys for money.
Survey Junkie is a top survey company that provides online surveys that pay cash.
You simply build a profile with them and they match you to paid online surveys that fit your demographic information.
They pay either cash through PayPal, bank transfer, or with gift cards to Amazon, Target, Walmart, iTunes, and more. They have over 10,000,000 members taking their surveys.
Survey Junkie accepts members from the United States, Canada, and Australia.
You can take surveys for cash by signing up for Survey Junkie here.
3. Swagbucks allows you to get paid to take surveys.
Swagbucks is something that I have used to earn Amazon gift cards and PayPal cash with very little work. In fact, I have earned over 110 gift cards with them over the years.
They have surveys you can take and there are countless other ways to earn points with Swagbucks such as:
- Shopping on online stores through Swagbucks
- Watching videos on their website
- Playing games on the Swagbucks website
- Scanning your receipts
- Printing coupons on their website
- Answering daily polls that they post
- Searching the web through Swagbucks
You can redeem the points you earn for gift cards or cash through PayPal.
Swagbucks was started in 2008 and they give out 7,000 gift cards every single day to Swagbucks members.
You can sign up for Swagbucks here, and you’ll receive a free $5 signup bonus just for signing up through my link. Also, you can read my Swagbucks Review here.
4. HeyPiggy
HeyPiggy is a newer online survey site that lets you earn money or gift cards for sharing your opinions. I like HeyPiggy because it has a super low payout minimum – you can cash out starting at just $1!
You can choose PayPal, Venmo, a virtual Visa card, or gift cards to places like Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks, DoorDash, and more.
HeyPiggy has an excellent 4.6/5 Trustpilot rating from over 13,100 reviews, with users describing it as “easy to use,” “fast payouts,” and “a nice way to make extra cash” .
I’ve personally tested HeyPiggy, and while you won’t get rich, it’s an easy way to earn a little extra spending money in your spare time. One thing to know is that you may get disqualified from some surveys – that’s normal for most sites. But HeyPiggy sometimes gives you a small bonus even when you get screened out, which is nice.
Please click here to try out HeyPiggy.
5. NiceSurveys
NiceSurveys is another paid survey site that I’ve tested and had a good experience with. Like other survey sites, you’ll answer questions about products and services, and you can earn cash or gift cards.
They also have a low payout minimum, and you can cash out once you reach $1 to $5. Payout options include PayPal, Venmo, and over 150 different gift cards, including Amazon.
In my experience, I didn’t get screened out as much as I have with some other survey sites. That made it feel less frustrating. Just remember to always be honest when you answer surveys.
You can click here to start answering surveys on NiceSurveys.
6. Inbox Dollars for survey jobs.
InboxDollars is an online rewards website I highly recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, watching videos, watching TV, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more.
Most of the paid online surveys on Inbox Dollars pay from $0.50 to $5.00 and take 3 to 25 minutes to complete. If you match certain profile requirements, you can make up to $10, $20, or more per survey.
Inbox Dollars was started in 2000 and they have paid out over $80,000,000 in cash rewards to their members.
Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive a free $5! Sign up for InboxDollars here.
7. Branded Surveys
Branded Surveys is a survey company that you can join for free. You can earn cash and gift cards (such as to Amazon and iTunes) through their website.
They have over 2,000,000 members and are looking to grow!
They have already paid out over $24,575,437.04 to their members.
If you sign up today, you’ll also receive a free 100 point sign up bonus.
You can sign up for Branded Surveys here.
8. Prime Opinion
Prime Opinion is a survey website that helps people to earn extra money by sharing their opinions at home. It’s a simple survey site to use: you share your thoughts, and they pay you for them.
Please click here to join Prime Opinion and get up to a $5 free bonus.
9. Five Surveys
Understanding how Five Surveys works is easy.
Once you complete five surveys, you’ve earned $5, which you can cash out using the payout options offered by the site (such as PayPal cash and free Amazon gift cards).
This survey site is very easy to use and I like how upfront they are with pricing.
Please click here to sign up for Five Surveys.
10. IncomeFindr for survey money
IncomeFindr is another paid online survey company that pays cash via PayPal or with gift cards to places such as Amazon.
You can sign up for IncomeFindr here.
11. User Interviews
User Interviews has the highest paying online surveys. They have legitimate paid online surveys and work with many of the top companies around the world.
Pinterest, Spotify, Macy’s, Home Depot, Trip Advisor, Amazon, and more use User Interviews to gather feedback from users about their latest products, apps, and websites.
Participants can earn $50 to $100 per hour or more for sharing their opinions and feedback. Below are the types of studies that they have:
- Online tests and surveys – These typically take around 10 minutes to several hours and pay around $20 to over $300
- Online interviews – These typically take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours and pay from $20 to over $300
- Online diary studies – These typically take around 3 days to several weeks and pay anywhere from $55 to over $400
- Online focus groups – These typically take anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours and pay around $40 to over $200
- Online studies – These may take 30 minutes to several days and pay anywhere from $20 to over $1,500
User Interviews launches over 2,100 studies each month, and they are in need of more people to sign up and take them. They paid over 50,000 participants in just last year alone, which means that they have plenty of studies that need to be completed.
I have personally done a user interview before and I was paid $400 for one hour of work. It was easy and it was all done online.
You can click here to sign up for free with User Interviews and start taking the highest-paying surveys.
12. Freecash
Freecash is a site that pays you to take surveys, test apps, play games, and more. I have personally made money on this site (over $700 so far!), so I know that it is real.
Click here to sign up for Freecash.
13. MyPoints
My Points has been around for a long time – since 1996! It is a very popular platform for earning free gift cards and extra cash.
With MyPoints, you can earn rewards by completing tasks such as shopping online at Walmart and other stores, taking surveys, reading emails, answering polls, and more.
Over 10,000,000 people use MyPoints, and they have already earned over 236 million in free gift cards and PayPal cash earnings.
You can sign up for MyPoints by clicking here.
14. HeyCash
HeyCash is a site where you can earn rewards for answering surveys and completing offers (like playing games from your phone or downloading an app).
You can redeem your points for gift cards and cash to places such as Amazon, Visa, Apple, Spotify, Netflix, PayPal, and even bank transfer.
You can click here to sign up for HeyCash.
15. Product Review Jobs
Product Review Jobs is a company that is currently hiring for paid product testers. You can work from home and test their new products before they hit the stores.
The average amount paid per product review is $25. You can earn up to $500 a week doing this.
You can sign up for Product Review Jobs by clicking here.
16. Rakuten Insight
Rakuten Insight is a survey company where you can take surveys and earn points for completing them. Then, you can turn your points into rewards such as PayPal cash and Amazon gift cards.
You can sign up for Rakuten Insight by clicking here.
17. Product Report Card
Product Report Card is a popular website for product testing, such as cleaning supplies, kitchen appliances, cosmetics, and baby products.
You can get paid through direct deposit, check, PayPal cash, Amazon gift cards, and more.
You can sign up for Product Report Card by clicking here.
18. Clearvoice Surveys
Clearvoice Surveys pays you to share your opinion and runs focus groups.
You can also choose to participate in paid telephone interviews, which pay significantly higher than online surveys.
You can sign up for Clearvoice Surveys by clicking here.
19. Kashkick
Kashkick is a rewards site that helps people earn extra money. You can earn rewards by answering surveys, watching videos, playing mobile games, and more.
20. Pinecone Research for the highest paying online surveys.
When I was regularly taking surveys, Pinecone Research is the company I used the most. Pinecone Research is a great survey company to sign up for if you want to make money online.
From my personal experience, I believe they are one of the best online survey sites. And, I honestly know they are a legitimate company to use. They pay you for each survey you complete, and they also occasionally send free products to review!
For each survey that you complete on Pinecone Research, you will receive $3.
You can sign up for Pinecone Research here.
21. Prize Rebel
Prize Rebel is super easy to use and you can sign up in just 10 seconds. You are paid through cash and gift cards to places such as Amazon, Walmart, Visa, Starbucks, and more. You can even get rewards such as a PlayStation and a computer.
Prize Rebel was started in 2007 and they have paid out over $20,000,000 in rewards to their over 12,000,000 members.
You can sign up for Prize Rebel here.
22. MySoapBox
MySoapBox is open to residents on the U.S.A. who are over the age of 18. They pay you for your feedback on the things that you use, buy, and do every day.
You can sign up for MySoapBox here.
What kind of questions and surveys are there?
There are many different kinds of surveys that you may take on an online survey company.
Some of the recent online surveys that I found have asked their survey takers to help with include:
- Evaluating a store’s new advertising plan
- Helping a company understand how and why a person may buy a gift card
- Reviewing an idea for a new fuel additive product for a car-related company
- Taste testing a new snack food
- How happy people were with customer service from a local utility company
- Evaluating a new clothing brand
- Seeing which toilet paper is a household’s favorite
As you can see, it is quite easy and you don’t need to be an expert to answer surveys.
Instead, they want to hear your real opinions and thoughts so that they can improve their company, products, strategy, and more.
How do I get paid to take online surveys? Do I need any special equipment to take online surveys?
All you need is internet and some sort of device such as a laptop, computer, or tablet. There isn’t any extra equipment or tools you need to take paid online surveys through the sites I’ve just listed.
Paid online surveys are quite flexible – you can take them at any time of the day, which makes it an easy way to make extra money.
For most of the survey companies above, you can get paid to take surveys from your desktop, laptop, tablet, cell phone, and so on.
If you can access the internet, then you can probably get paid to take a survey.
What kind of questions will you be asked when getting paid to take surveys?
When filling out the survey forms, you will be asked many different kinds of questions. These could be things related to what you like to eat, your birthday, your favorite movie, and more.
Survey companies ask these kinds of questions because they are trying to figure out what people want – hence the surveys. Remember, this is market research you are helping them with.
You should always be honest when answering because the survey companies want people who actually fit what they are looking for.
Plus, you don’t know what each survey is looking for anyways, so lying may actually hurt your chances of earning money.
Are paid surveys a scam?
The free online survey sites above are all real, but there are many not-so-legitimate ones out there. I am often sent emails from readers asking whether so-and-so is real and what I would do.
Below are some warning signs that a survey site may not be legitimate:
- Are they promising you the world? It would be very hard to earn a full-time income by just answering one website’s surveys. Surveys are meant more as a way to earn side income so get-rich-quick schemes are usually fake.
- Do they require an upfront fee? I have taken many paid surveys over the past several years and I have never had to pay a penny to take any of them. If a website asks you to pay for access to a survey, they are most likely a scam.
- Do you remember signing up? Some scam websites are just there to take your information. If you don’t remember signing up for the company, definitely ignore their emails and don’t click on anything!
Those are some easy red flags to look out for when it comes to online survey scams. If you are careful, then surveys can allow you to earn a little extra money online.
Do online surveys really pay you?
Yes, online surveys do actually pay you. I have been personally paid many, many times over the years and I have earned over 100 gift cards, checks, and even PayPal cash by completing surveys.
With the paid online surveys above, the payouts will vary depending on what you are doing. You may earn extra cash by shopping with a retailer, participating in focus groups, giving them a referral, testing new products, entering sweepstakes, answering new surveys, seeking out bonuses, and more.
How do online surveys pay you?
Online survey companies may pay you in many different ways such as:
- Check delivered to your home
- PayPal cash
- Gift cards such as to Amazon, Target, Starbucks,
- Visa gift card
- Charitable donations to your charity of choice
- Gift vouchers
- Bank transfer to your bank account
The payment method will depend on which one you choose, as many online survey companies will allow you to choose one of the above as your payment method.
Many will have a minimum payout threshold, such as $5 in order to withdraw your earnings.
For myself in the past, I have mainly chosen PayPal cash, check delivered to my home, and gift cards for completing surveys. What you choose may be different, though!
Looking for specific reviews on paid online surveys?
If you are looking to learn more about each paid online survey company, I do have in-depth reviews on three of them. You can find them below:
- American Consumer Opinion Review
- Survey Junkie Review
- User Interviews Review – Make $50 To $100 An Hour Sharing Your Opinion
- Product Review Jobs Review
- Pinecone Research Review
- Prime Opinion Review
Recommended reading: 21 Best Free Surveys That Pay Cash Instantly
Which survey sites pay the most in Canada?
Did you know that you can make money with paid online surveys in Canada?
The online paid survey companies I recommend signing up for if you live in Canada include:
- Swagbucks
- Survey Junkie
- Branded Surveys
- Pinecone Research Canada
- Maru Voice Canada
- Prize Rebel
- American Consumer Opinion
- User Interviews
- HeyCash
You can learn more at The 9 Best Paid Survey Sites in Canada.
Are paid surveys a good side hustle?
Like I said in the beginning, you are not going to get rich by taking surveys for cash. You are earning small amounts of cash, PayPal cash, earn points, or gift cards that can help you make extra income.
Paid surveys are needed for market research companies. Market research companies want to learn what you think about their company, product, and so on for your valued opinions.
You may be testing products, watching videos, and so on when on paid survey websites. Many of them just take minutes to complete and there are many paid survey opportunities.
You will want to think about why you’re taking the surveys to see if they are a good fit for you. I put every extra dollar I earned from online surveys towards my student loan debt, and it helped me pay it off (of course, when combined with my other side hustles, which you can read about here – How To Pay Off Student Loans Faster by Starting a Side Hustle). But, this isn’t money you earn the day you take the survey, and it’s not something you could really do full-time.
Online surveys are good for helping you pay off your debt (every little bit really does help!), save up for vacation, put money in an emergency fund, and more! When you think about how easy they are, it makes taking them almost a no brainer.
If you start signing up for lots of survey sites, your email inbox can start to get very cluttered. A way to lessen the clutter is to start a separate email address simply dedicated to the paid online survey companies that you have signed up for. This can help keep you more organized, but make sure you check it on a regular basis.
What are the top survey sites?
Here’s a quick recap of the top survey sites mentioned above:
- American Consumer Opinion
- Survey Junkie
- Swagbucks
- HeyPiggy
- NiceSurveys
- InboxDollars
- Branded Surveys
- Prime Opinion
- Five Surveys
- Opinion Outpost
- User Interviews
- Univox
- MyPoints
- HeyCash
- Product Review Jobs
- Rakuten Insight
- Product Report Card
- Clearvoice Surveys
- OneOpinion
- Pinecone Research
- Prize Rebel
- MySoapBox
Paid online surveys – summary
I hope you enjoyed today’s article on the best paid online surveys. This is an easy way to earn a little extra cash from your computer or mobile device, in a small amount of time.
What do you think of paid online surveys? What paid survey websites are you a part of? Have you taken surveys for money?
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