If you focus on the best survey sites that pay you money to use your phone, you can easily make an extra $250 per month just by answering questions!
Taking 20 minutes a day to fill out survey opportunities for an extra couple of bucks can make a big difference in cutting down your bills or toward saving up for your vacation.
Being able to mindlessly take surveys is a fun side hustle while you binge-watch Netflix, cook dinner, or when you need something to do is a great use of time.
If you want to make some extra cash each month, we recommend you sign up for as many of these legitimate online survey sites as you can.
This will give you the best chance of qualifying for focus groups or clinical trials- so you can start making some extra money right now.
Best Survey Sites 2022
In a hurry and want cash instantly? Here are the best survey sites to get started with now.
- Best Overall: Swagbucks
- Highest Earning Potential: Steady App
- Easiest to Cashout: InboxDollars
Interested in taking surveys for money and earning some free Amazon gift cards plus earning cash back on purchases?
Well, let’s go! Here are our 14 favorite apps that offer online surveys for money every day:
14 Best Paid Surveys For Money
1. Swagbucks
We’ve been taking surveys for money with Swagbucks for years, hence why they’re #1 on our list!
Swagbucks tops our paid survey sites because they offer well over a thousand online surveys a day- the possibilities are endless.
Plus you can start with some free money with their signup bonus!
Head over to Swagbucks and sign up for your FREE $5 signup bonus by entering your email address or logging in with Facebook.
Swagbucks offer some of the best paid surveys because you have so many ways to make extra money. You can take surveys, watch ads, shop online, and even play games.
On Swagbucks Surveys, if you take the time to fill out your profile, you will be able to score some more rewards as you’ll find more surveys you qualify for.
Every survey takes about 15 minutes, but the surveys are matched to you so that you’re not wasting your time- hence why you should fill out your profile.
You can earn additional Swagbucks for having the Swagbucks Google extension for online purchases, watching movies, shopping through Amazon, and using coupons.
Swagbucks will pay you in gift cards like Amazon, Target, Walmart, and even through PayPal (cash!).
To earn their goodies, you’ll need to earn 100 Swagbucks for a $1.00 payout. This means that surveys pay $0.5 – $2 per survey (aka per 15 minutes).
Cash Minimum For Payout: $25 for PayPal; gift cards for $3
2. InboxDollars
Not only are we big fans of InboxDollars, but the whole world is also on the bandwagon as well!
With over $50 million in paid surveys given to consumers, you do not want to miss out on this survey site!
With this survey site, you earn points and get paid for online surveys, playing games, watching videos, shopping, and more.
You can get updates to your email when offers are available so you don’t miss out on any opportunities to make money.
If you like to play games online and want a variety of fun activities to earn some cash, this might be the best survey site for you!
You can earn points, which equals about $0.50 – $5 per survey– plus get more points from their referral program.
Read our in-depth review to find out more.
Cash Minimum For Payout: $30 in gift cards, check, or prepaid Visa card
3. Survey Junkie
Do you want to help developers and brands come up with the best products? Ever get frustrated with a product you bought that isn’t 100% amazing?
Survey Junkie and many companies want your opinion!
It’s another top pick for us personally, because the site is user-friendly and the payout is good per survey.
Survey Junkie is a bit smaller but doesn’t lack options or points.
Their questionnaires can be done during your bathroom break, while waiting for your pasta water to boil, or when you’re winding down before bed at night.
After registering, you build your profile so you are matched with surveys that fit your interests- similar to Swagbucks- because Survey Junkie thinks it’s best not to waste your time!
When you complete a survey, you’re rewarded with virtual points. These virtual points are then redeemed from Survey Junkie through PayPal or eGift cards.
Most surveys will earn you $1 – $3 per survey, and you’ll earn points quickly! It comes down to about $0.01 for each point.
If you are interested in learning more about Survey Junkie, you should read our full in-depth review.
You used to need 1,000 points ($10) in order to cash out, but they recently lowered it to 500- much quicker to obtain and plenty of points to earn per survey!
Cash Minimum For Payout: 500 points ($5)
4. Opinion Outpost
Opinion Outpost is a survey site that you can make some extra money on that may have fun survey options.
Signing up is free (never pay to join a survey site), and you will get emails when there are paid surveys available.
The short surveys on Opinion Outpost are quick and easy but may only get you $0.5o – $1 per survey– but like other sites, you can earn up to $5 on longer surveys.
We found that you can make about $1 -$2 per hour, which isn’t much, but that means you can cash out within a day after a few surveys.
You will earn points for the surveys that you complete, which you can convert to cash rewards! Or you can grab sweet gift cards for Amazon, which is a fan favorite at our house.
The Opinion Outpost payouts are pretty quick, so you don’t have to wait around for your money with this app.
Cash Minimum For Payout: $10 for PayPal; gift cards for $5
5. MyPoints Surveys
MyPoints surveys separate themselves from the other survey companies by simply being in business for so long and having plenty of surveys for money.
Since 1996, MyPoints has paid out over 236 million dollars in gift cards and PayPal (cash)! They are more known as a gift card rewards program, but it’s good to have both options.
With over 10 million members and counting you know you are in great hands taking paid cash surveys from MyPoints.
The best part is you can use your reward points for freebie gift cards at places like iTunes, Amazon, Starbucks, and so much more.
You’ll earn 50 points per survey on average, so the points can add up quickly with a few surveys.
Also, sometimes you start a survey that you don’t actually qualify for- thankfully MyPoints will still give you some points to make up for your lost time!
MyPoints has many other things you can do to earn points, including shopping, their referral program, and playing games.
Cash Minimum For Payout: $5 in gift cards
6. Pinecone Research
With Pinecone Research, you can evaluate products before they hit the shelf!
Thanks to Pinecone research, I was able to take surveys for money and review a few products before they hit the shelf.
I qualify for surveys and have some influence on products because, like many of you, I’m an active buyer and similar to the average consumer.
I am the one in my family that does all of the shopping so I have a lot of feedback!
After you have acquired enough points on Pinecone Research, you can redeem them for prizes or cash (PayPal or check).
The first 300 points you earn will automatically be redeemed as a check and sent to your home address.
You will earn up to $3 per survey, which is on par with our top picks, and they have a low payout threshold so I recommend checking them out.
Cash Minimum For Payout: $3 in gift cards, check, or prepaid Visa card
7. American Consumer Opinion
American Consumer Opinion is a company with over 7 million users- plenty of people have joined, but don’t worry there are enough surveys for money that everyone can take!
It is free to sign up and you can receive payment in two ways: PayPal or check.
You get points for each survey that you take, and you can earn 100 – 5,000 points per survey depending on how long the questions are.
1 point is equivalent to 1 penny, so that’s $1 – $50 per survey.
Cash Minimum For Payout: $10 for PayPal
8. PrizeRebel
PrizeRebel is a popular GPT (get paid to) website that has a ton of payout options like gift cards, cash, and some merch!
Like other survey sites, PrizeRebel also has options to watch videos, complete activities, and even have daily points and contests for you to earn more on your account.
You’ll earn about $0.60 – $0.85 per survey, which is about 60 – 85 points, whereas some survey sites only start off at $0.05.
You’ll be dedicating only about 10 – 15 minutes per survey which isn’t too long compared to some long marketing surveys.
This means you can easily do 3 PrizeRebel surveys per hour and make $3 for your time. Not bad for just answering questions!
Cash Minimum For Payout: $5 (500 points) for any rewards including gift cards and PayPal; $2 (200) for Amazon gift cards
9. Branded Surveys
Branded Surveys is top-rated for having a wide variety of relevant surveys to choose- the more you can answer, the more money you can earn!
Typically you can get anywhere from 5 – 300 points per survey, and every 500 points are $5 to add to your wallet.
You can explore Branded Surveys’ U.S. rewards, but you can snag hard cash on PayPal or gift cards for Spotify, Uber, Hulu, and more.
Taking surveys is quite a way to earn gift cards and reduce some of your monthly expenses!
An important thing to note for Branded Surveys is that each gift card is in $5 increments, so it seems like cash may be the way to go unless you’re looking for small gifts.
Cash Minimum For Payout: $5 for PayPal or gift cards
10. Toluna
Toluna is another survey site that offers many options with great rewards for your points.
This site can average from $1 – $5 per survey, which you can cash out through PayPal or save up your points to use toward gift card rewards.
One thing we’d like to note is that your points may have expiration dates- the Toluna says most points are good for 12 months, but that can be hard to keep track of so be sure to use your rewards wisely. Don’t want to waste your extra money!
Cash Minimum For Payout: $10 for PayPal or gift cards
11. You Gov
You Gov lets you share your opinion and shape the news!
If you are into politics and government this paid survey company is perfect for you.
You’ll be invited to answer questions on a wide range of topics, by email or in the YouGov app.
You’ll earn points every time you answer a survey. The longer the survey, the more points you’ll earn, and the more money you can make.
Surveys can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 60 minutes on average so there is a wide variety, but per hour, you can make more for the long surveys.
Cash Minimum For Payout: Depends on how many points you earn and turn in for cash
12. Survey Premium
Survey Premium is a middleman site that connects you with stores, restaurants, and more. These paid online surveys are for free gift cards rather than cash, but we won’t complain about that!
These companies are looking for reviews on their businesses and will offer gift cards and other rewards as incentives.
Survey Premium is a good way to get freebies, especially if you’re just giving feedback on places you go frequently. It’s super easy to complete, but the one drawback is the time it takes to receive your freebies.
When you complete a survey, the company is contacted directly and will send you your reward within 30 days. All incentives go through the companies rather than Survey Premium.
Cash Minimum For Payout: Variable, the company that receives your survey compensates you; gift cards and other freebies are given within 30 days
13. Product Testing USA
So Product Testing USA is only kind of a survey site- in reality, they are giving you products to check out and give them feedback on.
It may honestly be just as fruitful as surveys since you get to keep the products you test (sometimes worth hundreds of dollars!) and can even get some first-rate goodies like an Xbox, Fitbit, or other new technology.
It’s as simple as signing up on the site and tossing your hat into the ring for various products to test.
When your name is selected, you receive the item(s) to test and then give a detailed review of it.
Cash Minimum For Payout: N/A
14. LifePoints
LifePoints is easy to join, and you can get 10 bonus points for signing up now!
You’ll receive surveys via email, rather than scrolling through a bunch that you may or may not be eligible for.
The offers you get could be basic questions, where others will ask you to check out websites for feedback or even send you products to physically test out.
LifePoints claims that their members have helped with baby products like car seats, and some even get to try out new rewards credit cards, which would be a dream come true for us Savvy folks!
You’ll earn $0.20 – $1 per survey, which is a bit less than other paid survey sites, but you can redeem points for PayPal money, gift cards (Starbucks and Amazon for the win!), and you can even donate your points to charities on their website.
Cash Minimum For Payout: $10 for PayPal, gift cards, and charity donations
Online Surveys FAQ
We’ve taken the time to go over several questions that you may have for taking surveys for money. Let us know any more you may have in the comments below.
Why Should I Take Paid Surveys?
Why not use your free time to make money?
Paid online surveys may not make as much as your day job, but it’s easy extra cash that you can use on whatever you need!
A few bucks here and there can go towards your morning Starbucks, to knock off some more debt, or can be tucked away for a great vacation.
You don’t get money for taking Buzzfeed quizzes or watching ads on YouTube- so join Swagbucks or InboxDollars to get paid for it instead.
Can I Actually Make Money Doing Nothing?
Yes! If you’re looking for a solution for how to make money doing nothing, you’ve found it!
There are plenty of paid online survey sites you can pick from, with a variety of easy tasks you’re already doing without being paid.
You can earn money from surveys while watching TV and you can literally do a survey at any time of the day with little effort.
This is a great way to make money without much effort.
Everyone enjoys winding down for the night and watching their favorite television show. It’s so easy to take these online surveys and make money while relaxing with your feet up on the couch.
While you’re just waiting around, you can also make money from apps, as long as you bring a phone charger.
Are Survey Sites Worth My Time?
This is really up to you, but we 100% think they are worth the time!
If you’re just scrolling through videos and pages on Facebook, or even taking Buzzfeed quizzes, why not spend a few extra minutes on a survey site to earn money instead?
We think that using our time wisely- making more money when we can through even the smallest side hustle- then we really think it’s worth any time and effort you make!
Most of these paid survey sites have options for taking surveys on your phone.
The next time you are waiting for someone in the car, sitting in line at the doctor’s office, or relaxing on the beach, take some online surveys and start making money.
How Do I Maximize My Earnings From Surveys?
I highly recommend signing up for as many survey sites as possible. The main reason I recommend signing up for a bunch is that the more surveys you take, the more money you can make.
Most survey options will only have a survey for you to complete every other day or even once a week. The more survey sites you sign up for the more survey opportunities you get and more often.
You could easily go through the entire list and sign up for each one within 10-15 minutes.
How Do I Get Paid?
How you get paid depends on the survey site and their payment terms.
But, there are a few commonly accepted systems:
- Sweepstakes
- Gift Cards
- Cash/Check/PayPal
- Points
In any case, you will receive money of some form. But, remember that you won’t get rich from taking surveys.
You will have to take many surveys in some cases to reach the thresholds for payout.
But, I promise that they do pay off if you do a lot of surveys.
What Are The Best Survey Sites That Pay Cash?
We’ve got the list above of companies that offer surveys for money, but here they are condensed.
These are the best paid survey sites we’ve found that are legitimate:
- Swagbucks
- MyPoints Surveys
- Inbox Dollars
- Pinecone Research
- American Consumer Opinion
- Survey Junkie
- Opinion Outpost
Make sure you read the terms of payout on each of these survey sites.
Some companies pay out by cash, but others allow you to accumulate credits, which you can then combine to get a reward. When you make your budget for the month, take some time to factor in the money from survey sites.
You could redeem your payouts from surveys in ways that will help your budget.
How Do Online Surveys Work?
The process is quite simple. Here is an overview:
- A company or brand decides that they want to know more from market research groups, usually in their target market (aka fill out your profile!).
- They figure out the specific topic they would like to address.
- They hire out a market research company to develop the questions so that the questions address the actual problem or topic of interest (solving the wrong problem is a Type I research error or an error of commission).
- The marketing company partners with legit survey sites to house this new survey they’ve developed.
- Then you (on survey sites) take online surveys for money, and the survey company takes their part from market research companies.
- The brand now has accurate data that it can use to shape future business decisions.
Not too complicated, right?
What Kind of Companies Use Paid Surveys?
Many industries will use paid surveys to get market research information on their products, and there are sometimes qualifying questionnaires to make sure you fit their target audience.
For example, if the survey was about baby bottles, the survey wouldn’t target people who aren’t parents or work with infants.
Here are some industries that will use survey sites to get info from consumers like you:
- Baby products
- Beauty and Cosmetics
- Electronics
- Video Games
- Hobbies/Crafts
- Sports/Workout Gear
- Toys
- Travel
What Will I Answer In A Survey?
All kinds of questions, to be honest, because market research can be about many topics and many industries.
Your job is to answer survey questions, things that brands want to know about their product and their consumer.
These are usually simple questions that give the brand insight into you as a typical consumer and how you react to the product.
For example, if you were participating in a survey about Panera, you might get asked:
- Do you eat sandwiches?
- Are you looking for healthy options at restaurants?
- Are you a part of the loyalty program?
- Do you have any dietary restrictions or allergies?
The questions are up to the brand- it’s about what data they want to collect from you and other users.
Will I Receive A Payment For Every Survey I Take?
Not exactly- not every site above is a pay-per-survey site, where you get items for free, but you may also not qualify for every survey.
As mentioned earlier, a brand really wants to survey the right demographic of people so that they can deduce the right conclusions.
Sometimes, you might take a brief qualifying survey to see if you’re a good fit or an ideal customer. Then, you would take the full-blown survey.
If you take the qualifying survey and aren’t selected, then you won’t get paid for the time you’ve put into the qualifier.
A market research company will only compensate people who have completed the full survey.
How Do I Recognize An Illegitimate Survey Site?
These are the best survey sites, but there are illegitimate sites. Here are some signs to look out for:
- It’s WAY too good to be true. With most things in life, when things seem too good to be true they often are. If a company is offering you hundreds of dollars for a few minutes of your time, it’s fake.
- You get an email from a company you don’t remember signing up for. Some companies will get your email without your permission and send emails with offers. Unless you are confident in signing up and you can go to the site and log in, be careful.
- They require an upfront cost to get started. All of the companies on my best survey site list are 100% FREE. If a company is requiring you to pay before you can start taking a survey, look elsewhere. Honestly, this list has enough to keep you more than busy.
- They don’t offer a good payout method. Most companies will offer payout services via check, PayPal, gift card, and direct deposit. If the company does not have one of these four payment methods it might be fake.
What About Vindale Research?
One of our affiliates, and a very popular survey website, was Vindale Research. You may be wondering why their name wasn’t on our list.
You may see them mentioned in other articles or on Reddit posts, but sadly Vindale Research closed in November 2021 and isn’t paying people for surveys anymore.
If you look them up, their website will recommend you check out Opinion Outpost.
Final Thoughts on Surveys That Pay Cash
Surveys are an easy way to make money online and there are great survey websites for you to try.
You can take surveys at your leisure, but you won’t grow rich on them.
You can also find other jobs online if you’re looking for a side hustle or want to work from home, but surveys are a good way to earn money for a little extra spending money.
You have to put the effort in, which is why we recommend you sign up for many sites to receive the most opportunities.
Surveys can pay out in many different ways, so do your research as to what sites fit within your budget and timeframe.
Do you like making free money? Check out our articles on how to earn free PayPal money and free gift cards for more awesome ideas.
