There are several questions that often lurk in people’s minds when it comes to online surveys for money. People may be wondering if these kinds of surveys are legit and can really offer a decent amount of money.
There also exists the question as to whether online surveys for money can help supplement your monthly income or not.
There are also many people out there who want to make some cash online but do not have the talent to get something clicking. If that is you, going through online surveys might be of interest to you since they actually pay real money and let you do things like watch videos at the same time (i.e., multitasking).
However, how legit are these online survey sites? Is there any catch to them or are they actually genuine in paying money? We will try to figure this out here, so stick with us until the end of this article.
What are online surveys for money?
When you hear the phrase “online surveys for money”, what comes to your mind? Scammers and tricksters trying to make some legitimate money?
This is mostly because of the many Internet frauds that scare away newbies who want to participate in online surveys.
When you meet someone online who talks about making loads of money participating in online surveys, it can definitely attract you with the promise of fast and easy money.
Online surveys for money help you to earn money by discussing your opinion. You can earn a great amount of money from these survey platforms.
A number of companies offer online surveys for product testing to conduct research and to gather customer feedback about their products and services.
These companies will provide you with some questions about the product or service they want to offer. You have to answer these questions honestly so that they can get an idea about your thoughts and opinions.
Online surveys are a great way to make money online. They don’t pay much, typically $3-$100 per survey, but you can complete them in just 20-40 minutes and they are very flexible.
How do you get paid for taking online surveys?
Once you are on your survey site, you will be given instructions on how to navigate the site. Usually, there will be a point-tracking system through which you are paid for each question, and/or an overall points goal towards which you are working; this is usually detailed in the Getting Started section of the site’s help center.
There are a number of different ways to get paid when you complete surveys online. Here is a list of the most common methods:
Points or rewards
Some surveys offer points that can be traded for prizes like gift cards. Others give you rewards such as discounts or coupons.
Points are the same thing as currency. You can redeem them for gift cards, electronics and more.
In most cases, they can be earned with little effort by simply filling out surveys. Rewards are typically more substantial and come in the form of cash and prizes. They are earned through longer surveys that take a lot more time, but the rewards are well worth it!
Gift cards or discounts
Making money online is easy, especially when you’re being rewarded with a free gift card or discount. Last year, I made $4,300 in just over 8 months taking surveys online.
Answer questions about products and services to receive gift cards or discounts. It’s easy! You can earn up to $50 per survey depending on the length and complexity!
Surveys are a great way to make some extra money and earn valuable gift cards. Gift Cards are given as a reward to consumers who participate in market research or surveys. For every survey you complete, you get “points.” When you accumulate enough of these points, you can redeem them for gift cards.
Some people even make their full-time income doing online survey work! Just imagine what you could buy with all that extra cash! Groceries? Books? Charity donations? Or maybe you could just treat yourself to something nice.
Cash
$300, $500, even $1000 – it’s all possible with online surveys! Whether you’re looking to take surveys on the go or prefer the comfort of your couch, you’re guaranteed to find great rewards with online surveys.
Some companies will pay you cash for taking surveys, and there are thousands available. In fact, most of them will give you a check right away.
You can make $5 for answering a 5-minute survey and up to $350 for completing more complex surveys that require more time (sometimes as much as an hour or more). Financial rewards range from $1 to $100 per survey depending on the length of the survey.
Sweepstakes entries
Keep in mind that many survey panels offer sweepstakes entries as an incentive for you to complete a survey. Each sweepstake offers different prizes and it’s a great way to win something while giving your opinion at the same time.
Sweepstakes entries are an extremely common prize used in online surveys and focus groups. You may not see any sweepstakes-style prizes when joining a site, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
Sometimes the most valuable rewards are given out as hidden prizes and, unless you join every available survey panel out there, it’s hard to know what rewards you can expect from taking online surveys.
Why do companies pay for surveys?
Data is becoming the biggest asset for organizations. But having data and being able to analyze it wisely is what needs to be mastered.
The holy grail of any market research survey is not only to get a huge amount of responses – but also to be able to extract actionable insights out of the collected data.
The worth of any market research on any business action or decision depends highly on the quality of the survey and its findings.
Companies believe that gathering information about the existing or potential customer base will help them choose the best path for their business.
Paid surveys and your privacy
Paid surveys are becoming increasingly popular as a side-income source. Most of them require you to sign up, take special surveys or even do a short test. All this is done in order to collect information about your preferences and habits.
Some of the information, like your age and education, is requested by the companies directly conducting research to better understand their consumers.
Other data is tracked by third-party marketing firms. Companies then use this information to market their products and services more effectively.
Many people are nervous about giving away their private information. It’s true, there are certain times when you have to share what you prefer to keep private, just like when you go through airport security before your flight.
But there is a privacy section in your profile that you can use to limit the number of information advertisers gather from you. You’ll be able to choose to share any of the information offered in that section.
A legitimate survey company won’t ever ask you for your identity, bank account, and credit card information to be provided.
Moreover, it is important to realize that they will never ask you to pay some money for participating in their surveys.
Scammers want to get as much of your personal data as possible for one reason – they want to access your bank account or credit card information.
They can offer you dollars and cents under false pretense and then charge your accounts without your knowledge.
Avoiding identity theft
So, if you are interested in taking online surveys for money to make some good money or even more, then there are certain things that you need to know beforehand about how the paid surveys process actually works.
If not, you will most likely get scammed and your time wasted by getting stuck in one survey after another without actually being paid.
However, not all paid surveys are genuine and some do prey on your information for their commercial benefit (and this in itself is shady). You have to be careful with surveys and if you choose to participate in them then you have to take extra precautions before divulging information that can impact your privacy.
You also need to be vigilant about keeping your personal details safe during this journey of making someone rich using your opinions.
Online survey sites that pay
Here is a list of the best online survey websites that actually pay you money for completing surveys. We have personally reviewed all of these sites and they each have an average rating of four or higher stars after at least 100 ratings.
- Branded Surveys
- Harris Poll Online
- InboxDollars
- i-Say Panel
- MyPoints
- LifePoints
- OneOpinion
- Opinion Outpost
- Pinecone Research
- PrizeRebel
FAQs
Can you really make money doing surveys online?
Sure, you can make money doing surveys online. The trick is to be in the right place at the right time. It’s all about choosing the right website and selecting only those surveys that are applicable to your demographic.
It’s important to fill out the surveys honestly because if you lie, you will never get accepted again.
Will I be paid after each survey I take?
Yes, you will be paid. At the end of each survey you complete, you’ll receive a notification and how much you have earned for that specific survey/project. If you do not complete a survey, no money is owed to you.
How does a survey site earn money?
There are a few ways the survey sites make money. First, they earn money via the brands. The brands pay the survey sites for their access to qualified people.
Second, the surveys sites earn money from viewers who cash out points to check out surveys for real rewards.
This makes them incentivized to stay on longer and click more often across their screens since it improves their chances of earning money.
How long do online surveys take to complete?
The amount of time you take to complete an online survey will vary. Many factors can affect the length and frequency of an online survey, such as: –
- Time of day (late at night, early in the morning, during peak and busy hours, etc.).
- Average daily internet usage (normal usage, high usage times, low usage times).
- Geographic location (specific location within a state or country).
What types of surveys for money can I take?
There are several types. You can take polls, which are surveys that you complete and then usually are paid for the time it took you to fill them out.
There are also focus groups, which are only offered in certain cities. The best way to find out if there is one in your area is to make a post on the site’s forum page where people discuss meetups in your area or near the city that you live in.
Are paid survey sites worth my time?
Paid survey sites might be worth your time but avoid the scammy ones. Each paid survey site will have a different purpose and you will need to know what those purposes are in order to get the most out of them.
For example, The purpose of YouGov is to help its clients understand a specific niche better (target audience). I don’t recommend it if you just want to make some extra cash, because it mainly asks multiple-choice questions and takes longer than other paid surveys.
Conclusion
Online surveys for money sites are a great way to earn passive income.
You can make a little extra money by spending just an hour or two per day filling out surveys, and you will never pay for gas, food, transportation, etc.
You do need to be selective about which online survey for money sites you use, but be sure to spend some time reviewing offers and all available research before deciding not to participate.
Surveystor provides information on how to earn extra income on GPT sites, PTC sites, survey platforms, and cashback platforms. Thanks for reading.
