Paid and Rewarded Surveys
I've been taking paid/rewarded surveys for about five years now. It hasn't made me rich, but it's been a fun way to earn a little extra spending money.
Below you will find some information about what you can expect from paid survey sites, some information on various sites I've taken surveys for, and some information about how to avoid the scams.
Contents
What to Expect - The Basics
A little bit of what you can expect when you sign up with a paid survey program
When you sign up with a paid survey site, you will be asked to fill out some basic information about yourself (usually your gender, age, employment status, yearly income, etc.) and provide a payment address. You may also be asked to complete profile surveys (sometimes optional). These ask questions about you to help match you up with other surveys, and are usually un-paid (though some sites offer a sweepstake entry or some other small compensation for completing these).
Survey invitations are sent by e-mail (though some sites give you the option of receiving them by phone). Most sites send out 1-5 surveys per month, but that varies--usually you will get more survey offers from sites which pay less for each survey then from those who pay higher amounts.
Before completing the paid survey you will usually be asked a few screener questions to see if you are in the demographic they are looking for. If you aren't in that demographic you won't be able to complete the rest of the survey, and usually won't be paid (though some sites will give you a sweepstake entry or some reward just for completing these. If you are in the demographic they want, you will be allowed to complete the rest of the survey and be paid.
You can expect to get paid $0.50 - $5 for most surveys (or equivalent reward). Occasionally you may get $10 - 15 surveys. Though surveys paying over $15 do exist, they are extremely rare. Occasionally you may be sent a product to test which you will get to keep. Many sites also send surveys rewarded by sweepstake entries only. Some sites pay you after each survey, some sites give you points which you can collect and exchange for cash or other rewards. I list some sites below in both categories for which I've taken surveys and received payment or rewards.
Survey invitations are sent by e-mail (though some sites give you the option of receiving them by phone). Most sites send out 1-5 surveys per month, but that varies--usually you will get more survey offers from sites which pay less for each survey then from those who pay higher amounts.
Before completing the paid survey you will usually be asked a few screener questions to see if you are in the demographic they are looking for. If you aren't in that demographic you won't be able to complete the rest of the survey, and usually won't be paid (though some sites will give you a sweepstake entry or some reward just for completing these. If you are in the demographic they want, you will be allowed to complete the rest of the survey and be paid.
You can expect to get paid $0.50 - $5 for most surveys (or equivalent reward). Occasionally you may get $10 - 15 surveys. Though surveys paying over $15 do exist, they are extremely rare. Occasionally you may be sent a product to test which you will get to keep. Many sites also send surveys rewarded by sweepstake entries only. Some sites pay you after each survey, some sites give you points which you can collect and exchange for cash or other rewards. I list some sites below in both categories for which I've taken surveys and received payment or rewards.
Sites Which Pay Per Survey
The surveys listed below pay you a cash amount for every survey you complete. The reward ranges mentioned below just reflect my own experience with those survey programs --they may pay more or less than that on occassion.
- American Consumer Opinion (ACOP)
- This was the first paid survey site I joined, and still one of the best, in my oppinion. They typically pay $5-15 per survey--paid by check.
- Esearch
- They don't send surveys very frequently, but they pay fairly well--usually $5 - $10 (via pay-pal).
- Buzzback Research
- The surveys I've taken with them have paid $3-$6. They've been sending surveys fairly frequently of late. They pay by check.
- Your Two Cents
- They pay $1 - 5 per survey (awarded randomly) plus $1 for each profile you complete (awarded when you take a survey). Though they do pay for survey, you must earn a minimum of $5 before you can cash out. They pay by check.
- Greenfield Online
- Greenfield send A LOT of surveys, but unfortunately most of those are just surveys for sweepstakes entries. They do occasionally send surveys paying $2 -$10, though these tend to fill up very quickly. They pay by check.
- PineCone Research
- Pinecone research frequently sends $5 surveys-paid by check or paypal (your choice). Unfortunately they don't work on Firefox. Though they don't usually accept new members through their main site--only through approved links--if you happen on a banner of theirs requesting new members, I suggest taking advantage of it.
Sites Which Pay on a Points System
Sites on a points system pay you "points" per survey, which you can then exchange for cash or other rewards (gift cards, magazines, gift items, etc.). If you look at what you are getting for the points, they tend to pay less per survey than sites which aren't on a points system (though not always). The dollar amounts below are based off of gift card or cash prizes. I don't attempt to guess the dollar value of other prizes. Again, the points range listed are from my own experience with the site (unless otherwise noted). All of these are free to join.
- Opinion Outpost
- Opinion Outpost is another one of the better paying points sites. 10 points = $1 and you can cash out once you reach 50 points. Surveys range from 5-100 points (most are between 20-50). They pay by check.
- Global Test Market
- Global Test Market sends surveys frequently and is one of the better programs on a points system--if you don't mind hanging in long term. They pay $0.05 per point but you can't cash out until you reach 1000 points ($50). It took me about a year to cash out the first time, which isn't bad considering I missed a lot of their surveys do to browser problems. I would not suggest this as your FIRST survey site, since you would want to find out if you enjoy taking surveys before signing up with a site that takes that long to cash out on. But if you've tried taking surveys and like it this is a good one.
- Lightspeed Research
- With lightspeed you can trade points for cash (via pay-pal), gift cards, or various other prizes--and they send surveys frequently. The lowest point redemption level is 100 (for a song download). You'll need 1150 before you can exchange for cash--$10 via paypal. 115 points = $1. Surveys range from 10-300 (75 is the most common). Be careful, because your points can expire if you don't use them within 6 months.
- Harris Poll Online
- With Harris you can trade points for gift cards or prizes. 160 points = $1 (in Gift Cards**). Surveys range from 10 - 250 points (most common is 30 points). The lowest point level you can cash out at is 800. Though they are one of the lower paid site, they send surveys often, and some of the surveys are on interesting topics like politics and religion (not just marketing surveys, although they have pleanty of those too).
- E-Poll
- With E-poll you can trade points for gifts cards or donate them to charity. 700 points = $1. The lowest redemption level is 2500 (for charity donations) and 3500 (for a $5 gift card). Surveys range from 200 - 2000 points. If you don't take at least one survey in 12 months, you loose your points (this happened to me--since their surveys didn't work on Mozilla/Firefox when we switched to Linux). Though I haven't taken surveys with them for some time, when I did they were offering a lot of entertainment/video surveys as well as the regular marketing surveys.
Avoiding Scams
1. Don't sign up for any survey site which asks you to pay to access the surveys. These generally only offer links to other survey sites you will have to register at separately (and you can find these other ways without paying a dime).
2. Watch out for sites which make extravagant claims for how much you'll make. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
3. Always carefully read a site's terms of service and privacy policy before registering (and never sign up with any site which doesn't post their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy). Make sure the policy states that they don't share your personally identifiable information, or that they only share aggregated information (Aggregated information is info, such as answers to survey questions, that is grouped together so it can't be connected with anyone's personal information like name, e-mail, phone or address.) If their terms of service or privacy policy say they give, rent, or sell any personal information (info that is not aggregated) to third parties, stay away.
4. There are sites which say they pay for surveys, but actually pay you only if you also sign up for offers. Watch for language like "get paid for taking surveys AND SIGNING UP FOR OFFERS" if you don't want to have to sign up for stuff with other companies to get paid. If you decide that you want to try any of these sites, be careful to read all the information on the specific offers--as these offers come from separate companies with their own terms of service and privacy policies. Otherwise, you may end up paying more than you're getting (or give away your info to those who will sell it).
5. NEVER sign up for a survey site (or any other type of site) through un-solicited e-mail. These may be phishing schemes trying to get your information to mis-use it (often pretending to be legitimate sites). Since some legitimate sites have e-mail referral programs, if the e-mail is from a friend it's probably alright to sign up--but first check with the friend to make sure they actually sent it.
6. Check around and do a little background research. You can check the site's rating on SurveyPolice.com (a very good survey rating a review site) and see if there are any reports against it on RipOffReport.com. A google search under the survey name and the word scam or review can also be revealing. Remember though, many survey sites offer affiliate commissions for sign ups, so the ab
2. Watch out for sites which make extravagant claims for how much you'll make. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
3. Always carefully read a site's terms of service and privacy policy before registering (and never sign up with any site which doesn't post their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy). Make sure the policy states that they don't share your personally identifiable information, or that they only share aggregated information (Aggregated information is info, such as answers to survey questions, that is grouped together so it can't be connected with anyone's personal information like name, e-mail, phone or address.) If their terms of service or privacy policy say they give, rent, or sell any personal information (info that is not aggregated) to third parties, stay away.
4. There are sites which say they pay for surveys, but actually pay you only if you also sign up for offers. Watch for language like "get paid for taking surveys AND SIGNING UP FOR OFFERS" if you don't want to have to sign up for stuff with other companies to get paid. If you decide that you want to try any of these sites, be careful to read all the information on the specific offers--as these offers come from separate companies with their own terms of service and privacy policies. Otherwise, you may end up paying more than you're getting (or give away your info to those who will sell it).
5. NEVER sign up for a survey site (or any other type of site) through un-solicited e-mail. These may be phishing schemes trying to get your information to mis-use it (often pretending to be legitimate sites). Since some legitimate sites have e-mail referral programs, if the e-mail is from a friend it's probably alright to sign up--but first check with the friend to make sure they actually sent it.
6. Check around and do a little background research. You can check the site's rating on SurveyPolice.com (a very good survey rating a review site) and see if there are any reports against it on RipOffReport.com. A google search under the survey name and the word scam or review can also be revealing. Remember though, many survey sites offer affiliate commissions for sign ups, so the ab
Articles and Blogs
A few of my favorite articles, blogs, and websites about surveys.
- Survey Police
- I've already mentioned this site but it is worth mentioning again. They have user generated ratings of over a hundred programs. The comments users leave (scroll down below the ratings) I find very helpful. They also have some nice articles about surveys on site.
- Surveys for Fun and Pocket Change
- A survey taker talks about his experience. What he mentions about the programs I'm familiar with seems right on topic.
- What You Need to Know about Paid Surveys
- A nice complete article about paid surveys.
- My Experience with Paid Online Surveys
- Another Squidoo on this subject with excellent information and tips.
Your Comments
Comments welcome! Let me know what you think of this lense and share your experience with paid survey sites.
