7 high-paying surveys in Canada

Completing online surveys is a popular side hustle to help you earn a little extra money. You won’t earn enough to make you rich or replace a full-time income, but it’s a legit way to give your bank balance a boost. If you’re looking for paid surveys in Canada, here are sites worth checking out.

Summary of high-paying surveys in Canada

• Freecash
• Branded Surveys
• Ipsos iSay
• Survey Junkie
• Prime Opinion
• UserTesting.com
• Userlytics

1. Freecash

How much it pays: For every 5-10 minute survey, you earn $1. You can also earn $0.50-$120 per game for playing games and $1-$75 per task completed in the mobile apps of partner companies. Engaged users can earn $20-$50 per hour on average, depending on the tasks they pick.

Who they are: Freecash was launched in 2020 and is available worldwide. Its parent company is Germany’s Almedia Online LLC, and this GPT (get-paid-to) platform provides multiple ways for users to earn extra income. Freecash has an average rating of 4.7/5 based on over 162,000 Trustpilot reviews.

How to get paid: You can cash out to your PayPal account or redeem your rewards for a variety of gift cards, Visa prepaid cards or cryptocurrency.

What to watch out for:

• No iOS app available.
• 5% fee for PayPal withdrawals.
• You might find more surveys on other platforms.

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2. Branded Surveys

How much it pays: Earn between $5 and $100 per month.

Who they are: Launched in 2012, Branded Surveys is a US-based platform that pays you for completing surveys and polls. If you’re a frequent user, its loyalty program lets you earn even bigger rewards.

How to get paid: Once you’ve accumulated 500 points in your account, you can cash out using a gift card or PayPal.

What to watch out for:

• No bank transfer payout option for Canadians.
• Some complaints about being disqualified after spending a lot of time on a survey.

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3. Ipsos iSay

How much it pays: Earn approximately $0.25 to $1.50 per survey.

Who they are: Ipsos iSay is run by market research company Ipsos, which was founded in 1975. Ipsos is headquartered in Paris, France and has members in over 50 countries worldwide.

How to get paid: Redeem your reward points for cash via PayPal or for gift cards, prepaid cards and charitable donations.

What to watch out for:

• Slow access to funds when cashing out via PayPal.
• Gift cards expire in a few months up to a few years after they are issued, so be careful not to let any of your cards expire.
• Some users complain about getting disqualified from surveys.

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4. Survey Junkie

How much it pays: Survey Junkie says that if you complete three surveys daily, you can earn as much as $40 monthly.

Who they are: Survey Junkie is an online market research platform run by DISQO, a California-based company founded in 2015. It’s also BBB accredited and has an average rating of 4/5 based on over 44,000 Trustpilot reviews.

How to get paid: Withdraw money via PayPal.

What to watch out for:

• E-gift cards and direct bank transfer withdrawals are only available to users in the US.
• Some other platforms offer a wider range of money-making opportunities (not just surveys).
• Some users complain about being screened out of surveys.

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5. Prime Opinion

How much it pays: Earn up to $7 per survey.

Who they are: Prime Opinion is a free and highly rated survey platform run by US-based Prime Insights. It has over 18,000 reviews on Trustpilot with an impressive 4.3-star rating.

How to get paid: You can withdraw your rewards as cash via PayPal, get a Virtual Visa, choose from a range of gift cards or make a donation to charity.

What to watch out for:

• Bank transfer withdrawals are not available in Canada.
• Some users complain about getting disqualified from surveys.

Go to site

6. UserTesting.com

How much it pays: No specific payment amounts are listed, but users report earning anywhere from US$4 to US$120 per test or survey.

Who they are: Founded in 2007, UserTesting is a popular and well-known option if you want to take money-paying surveys and get paid to complete product tests. It is headquartered in San Francisco, has a total of 11 offices around the world and has an average rating of 4.3/5 based on over 1,400 Trustpilot reviews.

How to get paid: Receive earnings via PayPal.

What to watch out for:

• PayPal is the only way to get paid.
• All payments are in USD.
• UserTesting requires a microphone and either a computer or a phone.
• Payment is usually sent 14 days after you complete a test.

7. Userlytics

How much it pays: On average, users report earning around US$5 to US$20 per test. The platform also offers live interview tests and surveys, which require scheduling and pay as much as US$100.

Who they are: Founded in San Francisco in 2009, Userlytics is a popular user-testing and survey platform. It has an average rating of 4/5 based on over 230 Trustpilot reviews.

How to get paid: Withdraw money via PayPal.

What to watch out for:

• Payments are sent out every 15 days.
• PayPal is the only payment option.
• Userlytics requires a webcam for interview surveys, and many tests require a microphone.

Where do you find the highest-paying online surveys?

Payment for taking an online survey can range anywhere from around $0.50 to $120 per survey, depending on the platform’s payout structure and the survey’s complexity.

Shorter surveys, which usually take about 5 to 20 minutes, may only pay $1 to $5 per survey.

In general, the longer the survey, the higher the payout. Users report that interview and testing-style surveys that involve phone calls or video recordings usually offer the highest payouts, sometimes ranging from $50 to $120, depending on the complexity and time invested.

Most user testing and online survey platforms pay through PayPal, but these platforms usually don’t calculate tax withholdings for you, which might impact your earnings.

Which survey sites have the fastest payouts?

There are two factors to consider if you want to make money fast from online surveys: the minimum cashout amount and how quickly withdrawals are processed.

Freecash, Survey Junkie, Prime Opinion and Ipsos iSay are all solid options if you’re searching for fast payouts. All three sites offer low minimum cashouts of around US$5, and all offer fast access to your funds via PayPal. Prime Opinion even claims that you can make your first cash withdrawal in as little as 17 minutes from completing surveys.

How to maximize your earnings from paid surveys in Canada

If you’d like to make surveys a real side hustle, consider these tactics:

• Download the app. If you sign up for a survey site with its own app, download the app to your phone. This will make it easier and more convenient for you to participate in surveys whenever you have some spare time.
• Complete your profile. When you sign up for an account on any online survey platform, take the time to answer any profile questionnaires. This will help ensure that you are matched with more surveys that align with your lifestyle and interests.
• Dedicate time to it. Taking surveys can be time-consuming. Many Reddit users say they take surveys during their downtime, such as while watching TV.
• Consider live interviews and testing. Short surveys are easy, but long interviews and website or app testing can have much higher payouts. To maximize your earnings, consider live surveys that require a webcam and microphone.
• Sign up to multiple platforms. Since your availability for surveys and tests often depends on your demographic profile, joining multiple platforms can widen your chances of qualifying for paid surveys in Canada.
• Check in regularly. Turn on your email notifications or make a habit of checking the survey site daily to take advantage of new opportunities as they crop up.

Survey scams to avoid

Getting paid to take surveys is a legitimate side hustle. Top sites like UserTesting.com and Prime Opinion have thousands of positive customer reviews, and we could not find news of major scams involving reputable online survey platforms.

Many posts labelling online surveys a “scam” stem from relatively low payouts, especially compared to a full-time job. But just because a survey only pays you $1, it doesn’t mean it’s a “scam”—legitimate survey sites state how much each survey pays upfront, and you get paid the advertised amount.

That said, some companies may not be truthful about how much you’ll get paid or how long a survey will take. Check if a survey platform allows users to report misleading listings or has rules for handling these situations. If no such guidelines exist, it may not be a reliable platform.

Customer reviews are useful when evaluating survey sites. If a platform doesn’t have a profile on Trustpilot or any threads about it on Reddit, it may not be legit.

Frequently asked questions

• Are there survey sites that pay instantly?

  It's typically not possible to get paid instantly for completing online surveys due to a couple of factors. First, it will generally take a few days for your survey responses to be processed and the rewards credited to your account. Second, you won't be able to withdraw any money from your account until you've reached the site's minimum cashout limit—this is often around $5, but it may be higher depending on the platform you choose.

• What survey site pays the most?

  Overall, most survey sites have similar payouts, typically offering $1 to $5 per short survey. Some survey sites also offer user-testing options, where you're paid to test new mobile apps, platforms or physical products. These payouts can range from $50 to $100 or potentially more in some cases, depending on the length of the test and the platform.

• How long do paid surveys take?

  Most surveys take between 5 and 20 minutes to complete, but some higher-paying and more involved surveys may take a few hours.

• Can you make $100 a day from paid surveys in Canada?

  Probably not. You would have to qualify for dozens of surveys per day and have enough time to complete them all. Most surveys pay between $1 and $5 for short questionnaires, so making $100 in a single day is unrealistic.

  You may be able to make $100 by completing longer interview surveys and user-testing tasks, but it's not realistic to expect these types of high-paying survey opportunities to be available on a daily basis.

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Leanne Escobal as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Tim Falk

Writer

Tim Falk is a freelance writer for Finder. Over the course of his 15-year writing career, he has reported on a wide range of personal finance topics. Whether you're investing in stocks and ETFs, comparing savings accounts or choosing a credit card, Tim wants to make it easier for you to understand. When he’s not staring at his computer, you can usually find him exploring the great outdoors. See full bio

Co-written by

Bethany Hickey

Banking editor

Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto. Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt. Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others. Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine. See full bio

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