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As far as ways to make extra money go, taking paid surveys is one of the easiest and most flexible. Taking surveys for money is a great side hustle for anyone with a bit of extra time because you can do them whenever you want. But not all survey platforms are worth your time.
In our experience, the best survey sites make it relatively easy to qualify for and take surveys, paying an average of $2 or $3 per 15- to 20-minute questionnaire. Surveys don't generally pay big bucks, so investing your time in the right ones is key. You might make $1 or less on one survey and $5, $10, or more on another, depending on the platform and survey you're taking. We've found that less reputable survey sites might lead to being disqualified from taking more surveys you're qualified to take, potentially leading you to spend hours trying and failing to earn more than a few cents apiece. All this to say that the survey platforms you choose to spend your time on are important, and we strongly recommend signing up for more than one great one to increase your chances of making good money.
To find the best paid survey sites, we analyzed platforms based on reward variety, payout speed, user experience, and tasks available. Here are the best survey sites and apps we've tested, and what made us include each one on this list.
How we rate products
To compile this list of the best survey sites, we looked at popular survey sites and evaluated them on a variety of factors including:
- Payout options
- Customer ratings
- Payout speed
- Opportunities to earn
We didn't evaluate all survey sites, but tried to include a variety of options that would appeal to a wide range of people.
Compare the best paid survey sites + apps
| Survey app | Best for | Compatible platforms |
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Survey Junkie |
User experience for paid surveys |
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Freecash |
Cashing out instantly |
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Prime Opinion |
High-paying surveys |
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Inbox Dollars |
Making money on more than just surveys |
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Swagbucks |
Finding cash back offers and coupons |
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Branded Surveys |
Taking surveys frequently |
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Survey Junkie
- How to earn: Survey Junkie is a popular survey site that offers two ways to make money:
- Answering surveys: Share your opinions to earn points you can redeem for rewards
- Surf to Earn: Help companies by sharing your internet surfing habits with the Surf to Earn extension so they can conduct behavioral market research
- Qualifications: You must be at least 18 years old and live in the U.S., Canada, Australia, or the United Kingdom.
- Payout options: Gift cards, PayPal cash, bank transfer
- Minimum withdrawal: $5
We've found Survey Junkie's platform to be one of the easiest to use in our testing, thanks to its uncomplicated interface and payouts that make sense. It's also one of the best survey sites to sign up for because of the sheer volume of surveys it offers, giving us far more options when we want to take paid surveys. Everyone interested in taking surveys for cash should sign up for Survey Junkie, at the very least.
You'll know before starting a survey how much it pays. This will help you determine whether a survey is worth your time, which isn't always clear with other sites that pay you to take surveys. If you can't qualify for surveys with Survey Junkie, try one of the other platforms on this list. One of the biggest potential downsides of Survey Junkie is that it is so popular, and the competition is high. This is why we suggest acting on invitations quickly. Surveys are first-come, first-served, and I've seen invitations fill up within less than an hour, especially on higher-paying surveys.
Read our Survey Junkie review.
Freecash
- How to earn: Freecash is a bit like Swagbucks in that it's a get-paid-to survey site you can use to earn money for various activities, including playing games.
- Qualifications: You must be at least 13 years old.
- Payout options: PayPal; bank transfer; gift cards to Amazon, Visa, Google Play Store, and Apple Store (potentially among others); Stake.com (for non-U.S. residents); Stake.us (for U.S. residents)
- Minimum withdrawal: $20 on your first withdrawal unless you forfeit your $5 bonus cash (then $5), and $5 for all gift cards and PayPal or bank transfers
Freecash is one of the best game apps that pays real money, and it also happens to be one of the top surveys that pay instantly when you cash out through PayPal. It's a great option for teens because you can use it as long as you're at least 13, too (many paid surveys are only for people at least 18).
It's available on both iOS and Android devices, unlike many similar rewards apps, and the two main ways to earn money are by taking paid surveys and playing games. Generally, we prefer to use Freecash to make money playing games, but having the option to jump over to surveys is great when we want something different. You'll get paid to advance in a variety of mobile games, and you can choose the ones you'll be best at to earn the most money (other paid gaming apps will reward you just for logging time in a partner game, but Freecash can potentially be more lucrative if you're actually good).
According to Freecash, the average user can earn up to $12 a day. This is competitive for a survey site, but this estimate assumes you're playing games, too. In our experience, we earned around $2 per hour and devoted most of our time to games. Choose Freecash if you know you'll get bored just taking surveys and/or are really good at video games. But if you only want to take surveys, consider another platform on our list.
Visit Freecash | Read our Freecash review.
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- Get paid for testing apps, games, and surveys
- Payouts can go as high as $225 per offer
- “Excellent” Trustpilot Rating (54,000+ reviews, 4.6/5 stars)
- Cash out instantly with PayPal starting at only $5
Prime Opinion
- How to earn: Prime Opinion is yet another paid survey site we suggest, though this one is still relatively new compared to established sites like Survey Junkie and InboxDollars.
- Qualifications: You must be at least 18 years old and live in one of 20+ countries, including the United States, Australia, France, Canada, and Spain
- Payout options: Cash, gift cards, prepaid cards, charitable donations
- Minimum withdrawal: $1 (If you choose the regular welcome bonus)
Prime Opinion touts itself as one of the highest-paying survey sites, and our research into consumer sentiment has revealed that it also has more satisfied users than most. Reddit user sad_potat_07, for example, states, "[T]his is the only survey app I've ever had luck with." Another claims that they cash out $15 or $20 per day with Prime Opinion, compared to $5 to $10 per day with another platform.
According to Prime Opinion, it pays up to $5 per survey, which is much higher than the average of $2 or less you'll find with many of its competitors. It's also unique for not having a payout minimum and being available globally. Its app and platform are well-reviewed, too. In the App Store, the app boasts a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. On Trustpilot, it has 4.1 out of 5 stars on over 21,000 reviews (which is impressive for a site that pays you money to complete tasks).
Overall, we think this platform is holding its own against older, more established survey sites and feel comfortable recommending anyone check it out if they're looking to try to earn more money per survey. However, know that whether you qualify for higher-paying surveys depends on your demographic, including your career background. So don't put all your eggs into one basket and rely too heavily on this platform to make money, especially because it can't compete with the number of offers on larger platforms.
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- Answer questions, get paid
- There is no limit to how much you can earn
- Cash out via PayPal or gift cards
InboxDollars
- How to earn: InboxDollars is more than a survey site. You can also earn money playing games, shopping, watching videos, and reading emails. Surveys can be lower paying than other apps; according to InboxDollars, pay is usually $0.02 to $5.
- Qualifications: You must be at least 18 years old and live in the United States.
- Payout options: Gift cards, PayPal, prepaid Visa
- Minimum withdrawal: $30 for paper checks, $15 for PayPal and gift cards
Like Survey Junkie, InboxDollars is one of the less complex survey sites we've tried. We like that the platform rewards you in dollars, so you don't have to convert points or wonder how much an activity is worth. But we especially like that you can get paid to take surveys, play games, and even just read emails. Taking survey after survey can get tiresome, and InboxDollars makes it easy to pivot from one money-making task to the next.
One of the main potential pitfalls of InboxDollars is that payouts can be on the lower side, especially compared to high-paying survey sites like Prime Opinion. But what you lose in payout potential with InboxDollars, you gain in offer variety. That's why you'll get more out of this survey site if you don't limit yourself to surveys, since you won't always qualify to take them. During our testing, we earned $11.63 with InboxDollars by taking surveys, reading emails, and playing games over several days.
Visit Inbox Dollars | Read our InboxDollars review.
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- Get a $5 bonus when you register with your email
- You could earn money by taking surveys or making online searches
- Over $80 million paid to members so far - how much can you earn?
Swagbucks
- How to earn: Swagbucks is a get-paid-to site, like InboxDollars, that offers opportunities to answer surveys and complete other tasks, like watching videos, playing games, shopping online, and signing up for offers.
- Qualifications: You must be at least 13 years old, but have parental permission if under 18
- Payout options: Gift cards, prepaid debit cards, PayPal transfer
- Minimum withdrawal: $25 (2,500 Swagbucks) for PayPal, $3 (300 Swagbucks) for gift cards
Why include a shopping app in this list of paid survey sites? Swagbucks stands out because it offers other opportunities to earn money besides paid surveys, with unique savings opportunities you won't see with many sites (even InboxDollars). It's one of the best coupon websites we've found, with cash back offers and discounts at thousands of retailers. We recommend Swagbucks over the other platforms on this list if you'd benefit from a combined survey and coupon site to make money and save. We've used Swagbucks countless times to pay ourselves back when online shopping.
One downside to taking surveys on Swagbucks is how long it can take to receive rewards after redeeming. Once you cash out, it can take 10 to 14 days to receive a PayPal reward, and gift cards are sent by regular mail. Many survey sites we've used offer much faster payouts, including Survey Junkie and Freecash. And like InboxDollars, Swagbucks doesn't always offer high payouts for each task. For example, we've seen 20-minute surveys paying as much as 500 Swagbucks (SBs), which is about $5, but many pay less and can be as low as 25 SBs.
Visit Swagbucks | Read our Swagbucks review.
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- Get a $5 bonus when you earn 2,500 Swagbucks in the first 60 days of opening your account
- Earn gift cards for surfing the web and taking fun surveys
- Over $609,000,000 paid out to members so far! That's 7,000 gift cards each day
- Earn free gift cards to your favorite stores - Amazon, Target, Walmart, and more
Branded Surveys
- How to earn: Like Survey Junkie, Branded Surveys offers a variety of survey opportunities. But unlike Survey Junkie, you can earn bonus points just for taking more surveys with Branded Surveys.
- Qualifications: You must be 17 years old or older and live in the United States
- Payout options: Gift cards, PayPal cash, bank transfer
- Minimum withdrawal: $10
Like Prime Opinion, we're impressed by Branded Surveys' high customer satisfaction. The platform is rated 4.1 out of 5 stars on over 115,000 reviews on Trustpilot, with 4.4 stars on Google Play and 4.6 on the App Store. Branded Surveys also stands out from other survey platforms for its Branded Elite Program, which rewards you for using the site more regularly. When we want to make a little extra cash with surveys, we tend to take as many as we can as often as possible. Getting paid more for loyalty could definitely boost our earnings without requiring us to change our habits. The Branded Elite Program consists of the following tiers:
- Bronze: Answer at least two surveys monthly
- Silver: Answer at least 10 surveys monthly
- Gold: Answer at least 25 surveys monthly
You earn the tier badges monthly based on the previous month's performance and can earn a bonus — between 5% and 19% — when you take 12, 20, or 30 surveys per week. This is why we recommend Branded Surveys for anyone who wants to use taking surveys for money as a regular side hustle. Other survey sites that are more competitive, like Survey Junkie, may be more difficult to take many surveys with. But if you want to do this on a regular basis, choose Branded Surveys. According to the survey site, members could earn $5 to $100 a month.
Visit Branded Surveys | Read our Branded Surveys review.
Another paid survey and game app we recommend
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- Super fun games with hardly any ads
- The more time you spend playing, the more you can potentially earn
- Cash out via PayPal or with gift cards to Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, and more
Are paid surveys worth the time?
If you're looking for a legitimate way to make a lot of money quickly, paid surveys probably aren't the best fit. But if you want a flexible side income that you can earn during downtime, like while watching TV, waiting for appointments, or during your commute, surveys can be a solid option.
We've found that the most successful survey takers are those who approach it with realistic expectations. You're not going to quit your day job or replace a full-time income with surveys alone. But earning an extra $50 to $200 per month is achievable if you're consistent and strategic about which platforms you use.
The key is treating it like any other side hustle. Take the time to evaluate your hourly earnings, stick with reputable sites, and avoid platforms that aren't worth your effort.
Ultimately, paid surveys work best as supplemental income for specific goals. Maybe you want to cover your streaming subscriptions, save for holiday gifts, or build up an emergency fund slowly over time. If that sounds appealing, surveys can be worth exploring.
- Work whenever you want from anywhere with internet
- No special skills or experience required
- Multiple ways to cash out (PayPal, gift cards, bank transfer)
- Easy to start
- Low earning potential compared to other side hustles
- You won't qualify for every survey, which can be frustrating
- Some platforms have high minimum withdrawal thresholds
Our tips for earning more with surveys that pay
Here are a few of our top tips for making more money with this side hustle.
Create a separate email
Creating a separate email for survey invitations ensures you won't miss important opportunities to earn money. It also keeps your personal inbox decluttered since you'll get a lot of notifications about new surveys and platform updates, which can get noisy if you're also getting doctor's appointment reminders and bills.
Use multiple survey sites
Instead of using just one paid survey site, use several. That way, when you inevitably get screened out of surveys you try to take, you have more opportunities available to you to try again.
Evaluate your ROI
Time is money, so it's important to evaluate how much you're earning for the time you spend taking surveys. If you sign up for sites like Freecash or Swagbucks, don't forget to take into account anything you spend on special offers or deals. Ensure you aren't impulse buying or spending too much and not earning enough in return.
FAQs
Why do companies pay you to take surveys?
Companies pay you to take surveys because it's one of the best ways for them to get the information they need to successfully sell their products. By understanding your needs and wants as a consumer, companies are better able to improve their product offerings and focus on selling the stuff people really want to buy.
Can you really take surveys for money?
Although taking surveys is far from a get-rich-quick scheme, you can definitely earn a bit of pocket cash by taking them with legit survey sites. The key is to set your expectations accordingly.
If you're wondering how to make $1,000 a day, surveys won't be the answer. Rather than trying to save up for a new car, think of this easy extra income as a way to fuel your expensive coffee addiction or afford that extra streaming service you've been wanting.
The amount you make will depend on the number of surveys you qualify for and take. It won't be a full-time job, and it's not best for earning a lot of money fast, but it can give your budget a boost.
Which survey sites pay the most?
It can be hard to determine the highest-paying survey sites, and it's even harder to determine which ones pay the best. In general, you can expect most points from these companies to be worth 1 cent each, which means 500 points equals $5, though this isn't always the case.
How much you earn will depend a lot on how many companies you sign up with and what they need. For example, sometimes a company focuses on a certain demographic, so you might not have as many surveys available to take. This is why it's important to learn as much as you can about what each company offers and whether there are any limits on your participation.
Are survey websites a scam?
Although I can confidently say that none of the survey companies on this list are a scam, that doesn't mean others aren't. You should always be cautious when giving your information out to any website or service online. If a company seems fishy, don't share your info.
Consumer protection sites like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the BBB are great resources for checking the validity of any given company before using their products or services.
Bottom line
Taking surveys won't make you rich, but it is a fun and easy side hustle. Although there are lots of ways to earn money on the side, surveys are a particularly great side hustle for introverts or anyone with an internet connection and a little spare time.
Because all survey sites work differently, it's worth taking the time to get to know each one and choosing a combination that works for you without being frustrating. Sign up for a few if you're serious about making extra money with paid surveys.
- Get paid for testing apps, games, and surveys
- Payouts can go as high as $225 per offer
- “Excellent” Trustpilot Rating (54,000+ reviews, 4.6/5 stars)
- Cash out instantly with PayPal starting at only $5