Earn money with online surveys

Paid surveys are a great way to make money with minimal effort. Paid surveys are a great way to make quick cash by expressing your opinions online.

Surveys may not provide as much income per hour as some other side hustles. What’s great about these side hustles is that you can earn money even while you wait in line for coffee at Starbucks or in the parent pick-up queue at your kid’s school.

Sounds interesting? Keep reading to find out how to earn money by taking online surveys, as well as where you can find the highest-paying surveys.

What are paid surveys?

Paid online surveys are just what they sound. Sign up for a survey website and complete online surveys. You are paid a small sum by the online survey company for completing a survey. Most surveys will pay less than $0.25 and take between 5 to 30 minutes.

Paid online survey are legit, but are not a way to get rich fast. They aren’t a get-rich-slow scheme. Check out our 10 rules for getting rich and growing wealth.

Paid surveys can be completed when you are bored at work, whether it’s working as a librarian, an RA or in between security rounds. You can earn some money by taking surveys during the “dead time” that occurs throughout the day.

How can I earn real money from paid surveys?

It depends. The answer depends. If you are referring to a large amount of money by “real” money, then the answer is most likely no. Most paid survey apps or websites offer low payouts, which can result in earning around $.05 ($3 per hour), if your internet moves quickly.

Even though I was in the most sought-after demographic, a mom with a middle-income and babes, I never earned more than $0.20 / minute for the surveys. Some companies, such as L&E Opinions, prefer to select focus groups from survey participants. When I have been chosen for focus groups, I typically earn $50-$100 an hour and receive a few free products.

Despite my meager earnings, you should not be discouraged from taking online surveys. One friend plays online surveys. She does them every time she takes one of her children to the dentist or doctor. She has paid for her Christmas gifts with the money she earned from paid market research and surveys for several years.

Are there any fine print associated with online surveys?

Minimum payout requirements are one of the most irritating aspects of many of the most popular survey and reward sites. Minimum payouts can range anywhere from $5 to $20.

You can often earn a $10 sign-up bonus, but it is not “realized” until you reach the $20 payout. You will never be paid unless you are willing to spend a few hours completing surveys. You’ve also given away a lot of demographic data for free.

Pre-screening is also a problem I have found on several survey sites. This means that you spend 3-4 minutes on demographics only to have the survey rejected. These survey companies are a legit way to make a little money. While you may not get rich, reputable businesses are willing to pay you according to the agreement.

What are the best paid surveys?

Do you still find it appealing that you can earn money by giving your opinions online? These are the top online survey sites at present.

1. Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie offers slightly higher payouts than other survey companies (think $2 to $3 per survey). These surveys may take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete, which could include watching some videos. Survey Junkie also has a mobile application, but I only use it if I am connected to WiFi as the app can consume data very quickly. Survey Junkie pays out a minimum of $10.

2. InboxDollars

InboxDollars allows you to earn money by completing surveys, online tasks and locati0n-dependent tasks (such as scanning items at stores). InboxDollars is not recommended because of its low payouts and minimum payout of $30. It does offer a “daily” gambling bonus that could be worth it.

3. Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a survey site that has been in existence since 2005. It offers users the chance to earn a few dollars per month. It was difficult for me to multitask and complete surveys while watching television. The Swagbucks app on your mobile device makes it possible to complete surveys during a morning commute. The maximum earning potential is $5 to $10 a month. Minimum cashout is $25.

4. Freecash

Freecash is a survey and rewards portal that is very transparent about earnings and what rewards are available. 

What we love about Freecash is that they show a lot of statistics about how much people are actually earning on their platform. For example, as of writing this, users earned $21.26 each on average, and 17 minutes is the average time it takes for a user to earn their first payout.

5. Unlock

Unlock lets you earn points by completing surveys. You can redeem the points for Amazon or PayPal gift cards.

Unlock offers a great number of survey opportunities, but there are not many members. There are many ways to earn rewards!

6. MyPoints

MyPoints offers a rewards program that includes a survey. MyPoints is not a good primary survey site because of the low payouts. Cashback could be enough to make MyPoints worth signing up. When you set up your account, you might find some surveys that will help you get closer to the next reward.

7. Toluna

Toluna has been a pioneer in the field of surveying. You may love social media and be interested in the way you can interact with others as you learn more about your next purchase. For 10-20 minutes, you can earn 100 points. A point is only worth about a quarter cent.

8. L&E Opinions

L&E opinions, unlike most other sites is more a site for “focus groups” than paid surveys. It does offer some online surveys, and users can sign up for lucrative focus groups. Focus group opportunities aren’t something you can do in your pajamas, but they pay out much better.

9. User Testing

UserTesting doesn’t have a survey. You do have to complete the tasks and give feedback. You earn $10 for each 20-30 minute session of testing in exchange for your feedback. PayPal is the only way to receive payments.

10. Prime Opinion

Prime opinion, a more recent online survey platform, allows you to earn points by completing surveys. These points can be redeemed for cash. They try to provide a large number of surveys for their users. The platform had more than 1,000 surveys when we reviewed it.

For ACH and Venmo the minimum redemption amount is $1. If you want a Giftcard you will need to redeem $20 in points.

11. Nielsen Digital Voice

Nielsen lets you download a browser add-on and browse the web as normal. You can enter your data and be entered to win $10,000 each month. Members may be asked to complete surveys in order to receive rewards or extra entries.