Anyone looking to generate side income can earn extra money by participating in paid online survey sites. Some of them are even reputable. Paid online survey sites are pretty straightforward: Participants answer some questions or fulfill some task online and earn money in exchange for their time.
But is it easy cash? Unfortunately, no. Some paid online survey sites may be worth your time, however, if you keep a few rules in mind:
1. Never pay to use an online survey site. You’re the one who is supposed to get paid. If you have to spend any money to join these sites, you are probably being scammed. Shopping at a retailer through these sites is obviously fine; in those cases, you’re buying products.
2. Don’t depend on the income from survey sites. There are better side gigs. These paid online survey sites work best if you get some enjoyment by trying to score good deals and earn extra cash — and if you don’t mind spending a few minutes filling out a survey, only to be told you don’t qualify because you fall into the wrong demographic.
3. Be realistic about the time investment. Filling out a survey sounds like something that will take just a few minutes. Don’t be fooled. Sometimes the surveys can take as long as 15 or 20 minutes.
4. Don’t expect to get paid quickly. It can sometimes take days or weeks before you earn enough points or money to cash out.
5. Don’t invest significant time on survey sites. If you’re having fun earning a little extra money, great. If it feels like work, you should try to find some work that actually pays decent money.
With those caveats in mind, here are some of the best paid online survey sites that can help create extra income.
[READ: Ways to Build a Passive Income Stream.]
BrandedSurveys
You can sign up or join through Facebook. You create a profile and answer a few questions about your life. The more personal information you give, the more the company knows about you (You really shouldn’t use any of these sites unless you’re OK with companies knowing some things about you.) and so it can offer surveys tailored to your interests or lifestyle.
You earn points from doing surveys for market research clients of Branded Surveys, which are being done for Fortune 500 companies, and the points are redeemed for cash.
The average payout is up to (note the “up to”) 300 points per survey, and you can cash out once you hit 500 points, which equals $5. According to BrandedSurveys, 100 points is equal to $1. You can be paid via PayPal or gift cards or receive the money in a PayPal or Branded Pay account.
Google Opinion Rewards
Google is everywhere, including in the paid online survey site industry. You’ll download an app and answer some questions about yourself, and then based on that information you’ll receive surveys “around once a week, although it may be more or less frequent,” according to the Google Opinions Rewards website.
These surveys are typically short, and you may be finished in under a minute. You’ll get a notification on your phone when a survey is ready, and for offering your opinions, you’ll receive “up to” $1 in a Google Play credit or a Paypal credit.
Harris Poll Online
This is a respected company that’s been around for decades, and if you sign up to fill out its surveys, you will get email invites to surveys. If you qualify for them — based on things like your age and gender and profession — then you can participate. You receive what are called HIpoints when you fill out these surveys, which you can eventually redeem for gift cards to places like Starbucks or Amazon. You can also donate your points to charity.
InBoxDollars.com
For taking surveys and watching videos, you’ll receive points, which you can redeem for cash. You can’t actually cash out until you earn $30, though, and so if you don’t enjoy taking the surveys, it may be a bit of a drag to wait until you reach $30. Meanwhile, payments are processed every Wednesday, and so if you reach $30 on a Thursday, it may take about a week to get paid. There is a $5 welcome bonus to help you get started, though.
LifePoints
Every time you fill out a survey, you’ll get points that can be redeemed for things like e-gift cards for Amazon and Starbucks and PayPal credit. Reportedly, most of the surveys can be finished in about 10 minutes or less.
You won’t get rich doing this, but if you do a survey here or there, and you find the process painless, it may work out well.
[Read: How to Make Fast Cash.]
MyPoints.com
This is also a popular website. You’ll earn gift cards for answering surveys, watching videos, taking polls and other activities, such as shopping. There is also a $10 welcome bonus.
But keep in mind that you’re really getting 1,750 points that are worth $10. Also, to get those points, you have to spend $20 or more on the site, not counting taxes and shipping, on a merchant through the website or through MyPoints emails in your first 30 days of membership. Still, if you’re buying something you were going to buy anyway, that’s not a bad welcome offer.
OneOpinion
After registering with OneOpinion, you’ll be given the chance to take surveys. You’ll get points for completing surveys, like 500 or 1,000 points, but note that 1,000 points is worth $1 (and so if you earn 500 points, you’ll get 50 cents). Once you hit 25,000 points and have earned $25, you’ll be able to cash in those points through Amazon or PayPal.
You register at the site and you take surveys. You get points for each survey you take (generally, you can expect to make 10 cents per point). As with all of these sites, you won’t make much money — maybe a buck an hour or a little more if you try hard — but you can redeem what you earn for useful things like virtual gift cards.
Opinion Outpost
After registering on the site, you earn points for each survey you take (generally, you can expect to make 10 cents per point). You can redeem the points for things like Amazon gift card claim codes and cash.
[Read: 12 Best Websites to Make Money Online.]
Survey Junkie
You take surveys, collect points and you get money. In the website’s FAQs, it says, “You will NOT get rich taking surveys.” But if you’re 16 or older and live in the U.S., Canada or Australia, you can take surveys and earn points. Each point is worth a penny. Once you get 500 points (which would be $10; 100 points equals $1), you may be able to cash out, though the website says it depends on factors such as what country you live in.
Survey Junkie says that you can earn up to $45 per survey. Just remember to focus on the “up to,” which means that the best surveys will net you $45. You may find that many surveys pay much less. As Survey Junkie says, you won’t get rich doing this.
Swagbucks.com
This is one of the more well-known websites. You take surveys and earn Swagbucks points. Earn enough, and you can redeem them for cash or gift cards. Swagbucks’ website says that while some offers pay in the neighborhood of $50 to $250, most Swagbucks members should be able to earn $1 to $5 a day or $365 to $1,825 a year.
It’s one of those websites that will not make you rich at all — one Swagbuck is worth a penny. None of these websites will make you wealthy. Still, if you’re up for answering surveys, watching videos and just tooling around the site to see what points you can get and what coupons and free samples are to be had, you may find it worth it and even fun.
Toluna Influencers
You can access Toluna Influencers surveys on its website, or have them emailed to you. If you qualify for a survey, it will probably take between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. You’ll get points — anywhere from 15 to 50,000 — and you’ll have a dashboard, which you can use to see how many points you’re accumulating.
Some users have suggested that you’ll likely make less than a buck an hour, and so like so many of these sites, it may be interesting and fun rather than a good way to earn money.
Valued Opinions
You’ll be asked to complete an online survey, or you may be asked to do a diary study (where you keep track of your habits and behaviors) or even test products at home. For your trouble, you’ll receive “up to” $7 per survey in the form of a credit you can exchange for gift cards to places like Amazon, Macy’s and Target.
Once you earn $10, you can redeem your credits.
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Paid Online Survey Sites to Earn You Extra Money originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/14/22: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
