Answering survey questions is a great way to make money on the side. You don't need any technical skillset; you can work from the comfort of your home, and do so at your own time.
How much money you make answering survey questions depends on:
- The site you use
- The complexity of the survey
- The time it takes to complete
- How frequent survey questions are available, with the opportunity to make more money if you have a lot of time to spare.
More often than not, surveys will take between 20 to 30 minutes to complete, each paying between $1 and $50 per survey.
Knowing that you can make money by answering questions is one thing. Finding sites that actually pays you for your time and feedback is quite another.
I've tested a few survey sites myself to come up with a list of sites that actually pays. And in this post, I outline the top 15 survey sites that will pay you reap money for answering survey questions.
1. Swagbucks
Estimated Earnings: $5 sign up bonus + Up to 200 SB per survey
I’ve used Swagbucks to make some money on the side by answering survey questions, and my experience has been overall great.
To be clear, Swagbucks won’t pay you money to your PayPal or Payoneer account. Instead, they let you accumulate points, which you can convert into cash and then redeem as gift cards.
SBis a coined term that that company uses to name its points.
Many surveys on the platform will earn you between 40 and 200 SB points. Occasionally, there’ll be opportunities that earn you more than 200 SB, so check the site more often for these offers.
100 SB is equal to $1. So the many SB points you get in your account the higher your earning potential is likely to be.
In addition to completing surveys, Swagbucks also let you accumulate more SB points by shopping online, playing video games, surfing the internet, and watching videos.
2. Survey Junkie
Estimated Earnings: $2 to $5 per survey
Survey Junkie makes earning money on the side from the comfort of your home possible. The requirements are as simple as access to the Internet and the ability to spare time and answer questions.
You receive 25 points as a signup bonus and an additional 50 points for filling up your profile.
With Survey Junkie, the number of pints a survey taker earns varies from survey to survey. Also, you’ll see how much time it’s likely to take to complete the survey.
To succeed on this platform, you should strive to earn as many points as possible. Every 100 points is equal to $1, which you can redeem either as a gift card or as PayPal money.
3. Panda Research
Estimated Earnings: $1.5 to $3 per survey
Panda Research has been in the survey business since 2005. Since its establishment, the brand has paid more than $2 million to its members, which makes it a legit survey site that pays real money.
It’s free to get started with this business, only make sure you use the correct details to set up your account.
You’ll earn between $1.5 and $3 per survey, and these will mostly take between 10 to 20 minutes to complete.
Some surveys pay up to $50, but these may not be so much available to complete.
Panda Research pays twice a month via PayPal, as long as your account balance is at least $50.
One of the drawbacks when it comes to payments is that you get them in the increment of $50. Assuming you have $170 in your account, Panda Research will pay you $150 and carry the balance over to a future payment.
4. Inbox Dollars
Estimated Earnings: $0.5 to $5 per survey
As a member of Inbox Dollars, I can say with certainty that the company pays you real money for your time and effort. And they’ll always send you your payment on time.
Inbox Dollar is more than just a survey site. In addition to answering questions, you also earn when you shop online, search the web, redeem coupon, play games, and read emails.
Anyone can sign up for an account with Inbox Dollars and start making money. You do get a $5 signup bonus for new members, and you can request for a payment every time your account balance hits a minimum threshold of $30.
The company will send your payment via PayPal. And if you like, you can redeem every amount of money you earn from the platform as a gift card.
5. Opinion Outpost
Estimated Earnings: $1.5 per hour
If you have some free time to spare and you’ll like to earn some quick cash this month, consider becoming a member of Opinion Outpost.
All you need to get started is an active email address.
Sign up for an account, activate your email address, edit your profile, and then get down to completing survey questions.
You’ll earn rewards, cash, and sometimes sweepstakes entries for your time. An hour of work should earn you about $1.5, with the number being higher the more hours you put in to work.
Opinion Outpost doesn’t offer a decent payment for every survey question, but they’re a legit company that won’t cheap you on your time and effort.
6. CashCrate
Estimated Earnings: $0.5 to $2 per survey
CashCrate has been in the survey business for years, and it’s one of the most reliable companies that pay members for the surveys they complete.
One of the best things about CashCrate is that it has a very clear objective. They’re not in business to give you survey questions; they put together a list of legit survey websites that you can access with ease.
In my eye, it looks like CashCrate has an affiliation with big survey companies such as Swagbucks and My Point. But it’s a win-win agenda because you also benefit by getting access to survey websites that pay you.
With CashCrate, expect to find platforms that pay between $0.5 and $2 per survey.
7. Toluna
Estimated Earnings: $1 for 3,000 points
Welcome to Toluna, a brand that has been in the market research business since 1994. With the only thing required being your basic registration details, this platform is quite easy to get started with.
You do need to activate your account by clicking the link sent to your email. So make sure you use an email address that you can easily access.
You get 500 bonus points for signing up.
You can earn between 15 and 50,000 points depending on the type of survey and its length.
A downside to using Toluna is that you won’t qualify for all surveys. Don’t worry if you fail to qualify for a survey because you won’t get disqualification points.
You’ll need at least 10,000 to redeem your rewards. About 30,000 points equal $10 for redeemable gift card rewards. You can use the gift card to shop at major retailers such as Petco and Starbucks.
8. OneOpinion
Estimated Earnings: $25 for 25,000 points
If you’re looking for a survey website that’s both informative and easy to use, consider trying OneOpinion.
OneOpinion has a thorough screening process, so you may not qualify for many surveys. Even then, your qualification rate can be at least 40% or maybe even higher.
You’ll love this website because it’s easy to use. The dashboard is easy to navigate and you get a quick access to the customer support form.
You’ll earn between 500 and 1,000 point per survey. That isn’t much considering that the conversion is $1 for every 1,000 points. But if you qualify for many surveys, you can earn thousands of points quit fast.
Also, you have to reach at least 25,000 points, an equivalent of $25 to cash out.
9. MyPoints
Estimated Earnings: $25 minimum to cash out
MyPoints won’t be easy to crack most of the time. And in my opinion, they look like a stricter survey website to try.
Still, you can be sure you’ll get your money in good time provided you meet the minimum threshold for cashing out.
Some people report a success rate of at least 10%. It can be higher or lower for you depending on your region and on how you’ve setup your profile.
The minimum threshold for cashing out is $25.
10. Harris Poll Online
Estimated Earnings: $10 for 1,250 points
Harris Poll Online is as old as I can remember. Having been in business for about 45 years already, it’s no doubt a reliable survey company that pays real money.
This website work based on point system. In other words, you’ll earn points for every survey question that you complete.
You’ll need a minimum of 1,250 points to make $10 on Harris Poll Online. That’s a good deal unlike OneOpinion, which requires you to have 10,000 points to earn the same amount of money.
Harris Poll Online won’t pay cash to your PayPal account. But they allow you to convert the points you earn to money, which you can then redeem as gift cards at stores such as Amazon and Starbucks.
And if you like, feel free to donate your points to charity via the platform.
11. Branded Surveys
Estimated Earnings: $10 minimum threshold
Branded Surveys, a sister business to Branded Research, is a well-built platform that pays you real money for sharing your opinion.
After all, branded research has been in business since 2012. From that time until now, it has earned itself decent ratings online, and it’s therefore a platform that you can trust.
You’ll get 50 points when you sign up, and then another 50 when you fill out your profile. That’s 100 points, which is equivalent to $1.
You’ll need 1,000 points to make $10, which is the minimum account balance that Branded Surveys allow you to convert into your local currency and withdraw.
Branded Surveys even has loyalty programs, which give you the chance to earn bonuses and build up on your balances fast.
The only problem with Branded Surveys is that it’s available only to the US, Canada, and UK participants.
12. Vindale Research
Estimated Earnings: $50 minimum threshold
If you’re interested in a survey website that pays higher than many competing websites, I suggest you check out Vindale Research, a company that has been in business for more than 12 years.
Having paid more than $5 million to its members since start, this is a business you can trust to help you make some money on the side.
You’ll get a $1 bonus for creating a free account and completing your profile.
Many surveys on the site take 5 to 15 minutes to complete and their earnings range between $0.5 and $2. That’s quite little, but there’s always work that you can do.
The company does have some paying surveys, but they’re always in short supply and target specific countries. If you’re lucky, you can earn up to $50 per survey.
13. Pinecone Research
Estimated Earnings: $3 per survey
Owned and managed by the Nielsen Company, the Pinecone Research is one of the most reputable survey websites to try.
This platform has an easy to understand point system. Basically, the more point you accumulate the better, with 100 points being an equivalent of $1.
Apart from completing survey questions, Pinecone Research can also pay you for testing new products and giving your honest feedback.
14. American Consumer Opinion
Estimated Earnings: $10 minimum threshold
The American Consumer Opinion is a platform owned by Decision Analyst Inc. It currently has more than 7 million members and it has paid more than $30 million to the active participants.
Conclusion
Each of these survey sites is very easy to navigate and use. All you have to do is create a free user account, complete your profile, and start answering survey questions for money.
While you won't make a lot of money from this (type of online jobs), you can still make something decent enough to pay some bills. All you need to get started is time, ability to answer questions, and an internet connection.