Taking online surveys is a very popular side hustle. Companies use survey sites to gather information from participants to improve their products or gauge how customers feel about their brand.
You can most definitely get paid for taking surveys, but we wouldn’t say it’s a surefire way to make ends meet. Since the pay and survey availability can be sporadic, it’s usually not a reliable replacement for a full-time job.
Payment for taking an online survey can range from around $4 to $120 per survey, depending on the platform’s payout structure and the survey’s complexity.
Shorter surveys, which usually take about five to 20 minutes, may only earn $1 to $5 per survey.
In general, the longer the survey, the higher the payout. Users report that “interview” 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 don’t typically calculate tax withholdings for you, which might impact your earnings.
We’ve rounded up some of the most reputable and highest-paying survey platforms. As a bonus, these survey platforms don’t charge anything to sign up.
Ipsos iSay is a global market research company based in the UK. It’s been around since 1975, so it’s got some time behind it. It’s free to sign up for Ipsos and there aren’t any membership fees, and it even covers the mailing costs for sending products or rewards to you. You can take surveys, do live interview tests, participate in studies or test products.
After you complete a task, you’re rewarded with points that can be redeemed for gift card rewards, such as PlayStation, Amazon or Roblox gift cards. You can also redeem points for a money transfer (510 points equals $5), which can be sent to PayPal. Or, you can choose to make a charitable donation.
However, Ipsos doesn’t promise any specific payouts. It will email members up to twice per day if there are available tests, or send the occasional email with news and other updates from the company, and states “you will not earn big money by taking surveys.”
Take surveys and earn rewards
Earn points with every survey, then redeem for your choice of gift cards or prepaid cards
Easily one of the most well-known and popular options, UserTesting can be a great place to take online surveys and get paid. There’s no fee to sign up, and while it doesn’t list specific payouts, many users report earning anywhere from $4 to $120 per test or survey. Exact pay can also depend on how well companies rate you as a contributor.
UserTesting requires a microphone and either a computer or a phone. If you want to use your phone, you must download the UserTesting app. UserTesting pays through PayPal.
Offering up to $5 per survey, Prime Opinion is a free and highly rated survey platform. It has over 12,000 reviews on Trustpilot with an impressive 4.4-star rating. According to the platform, users’ average payouts are around $11 per day, and the average survey takes 17 minutes to complete.
You can choose to receive cash rewards, gift cards or Visa cards as your payout. You can also donate your earnings to charities and select organizations, such as the American Red Cross and Canine Companions for Independence.
Additionally, while most survey sites only pay through PayPal, Prime Opinion offers cash payouts to PayPal or directly to your bank account. There’s also no minimum to cash out.
Userlytics is a popular user-testing and survey platform. On average, users report earning around $5 to $20 per test. It also offers live interview tests and surveys, which require scheduling and pay as much as $100. Userlytics sends out payments every 15 days.
Tests and surveys are selected randomly, and how often you can take surveys may depend on your demographic profile. Userlytics requires a webcam for interview surveys, and many tests require a microphone.
How Gabrielle felt about Userlytics
I chose Userlytics because it was easy to sign up. There was a short practice test required, but it was much simpler than other platforms I'd looked into. Most tests pay around $5 to $20, depending on how long they are and whether they require recorded answers or written responses. There are also opportunities to make around $50 to $100 for moderated tests, but these need to be scheduled with an interviewer. All tests come with a few screening questions to make sure you fit the desired demographic, so it can take some time to find tests you qualify for.
— Gabrielle Pastorek, Publisher, Banking.
As the name suggests, Survey Junkies is a platform where users take surveys and get paid. After signing up, you complete your profile so you’re matched to surveys that fit your demographics. Once you’re set up, you can take surveys and join focus groups to earn rewards.
Survey Junkies doesn’t list exact payouts, simply stating that rewards vary. However, it says that users who take three surveys per day can earn up to $40 per month.
Taking surveys earns points that you can redeem for rewards. You can exchange these rewards for cash via PayPal or as gift cards from places like Walmart, Amazon and iTunes. After cashing out points, some users report making $1 or $2 per day. To cash out your earnings, you must reach a minimum of $5, which equals 500 points.
If you’d like to make surveys a real side hustle, consider these tactics:
Many online survey platforms offer PayPal as their payment method. To make the most of your earnings, consider the PayPal Debit Card, which is linked to your PayPal Balance. This allows you to spend your funds instantly, without the need for transfers to other accounts.
PayPal Debit Card
Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,000 spent in a selected category each month.
Getting paid to take surveys is a legitimate side hustle. Top sites such as UserTesting.com and Prime Opinion have thousands of positive customer reviews, and try as we might, we could not find news of major scams in the online survey-taking industry.
Most discussions labeling online surveys a “scam” stem from the relatively low payouts, especially compared to a full-time job. But just because a survey only pays you $1 doesn’t mean it’s a “scam” — legitimate survey sites state how much each survey pays, which means it’s not a scam, since you get paid what was advertised.
On that same note, some companies may not always be truthful in how much you’ll get paid or how long the 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 a valuable resource for 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. Read through other customer experiences to make sure you’re not signing up for something nefarious.
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Taking online surveys is a legitimate and popular side hustle, but it’s unlikely to replace a full-time job. New surveys may not always be available, and the number of surveys you can take largely depends on your demographics, so we wouldn’t rely on survey taking as a way to pay the bills. On the whole, most survey takers use their earnings to pay for hobbies or as extra spending money.
If you need a place to store your survey-taking earnings, consider opening a high-yield savings account so your funds can grow even more.
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 $100 to $300, depending on the length of the test and the platform.
Typically, most surveys take between five to 20 minutes to complete, but some higher-paying and more involved surveys may take a few hours.
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.
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