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Online Survey Sites – Which Ones are Worth the Trouble?

Updated March 21, 2008, March 26, 2008, April 7, 2008, April 14, 2008, June 12, 2008

This page is update very frequently, so make sure you bookmark this page or sign up for our RSS Feed to get all the latest updates.

My idea for this page is to be more of a resource of sites than a “how to”. I will be continually updating it, so check back often for the latest info.

For those of you who don’t know, survey sites are similar to focus groups in that there are companies that need your opinions and are willing to pay for it.
The way they do this is by contracting a market research company to do the work for them. These are the legitimate survey companies.

On the other end of the spectrum are Pay To Click websites (PTC) that pay you to sign up for newsletters, credit cards, and trial programs. These companies may or may not pay you, but you will probably also end up with an inbox and mailbox full of spam and junk mail. You can also very easily be tricked into signing up for services that you don’t want and possibly having to pay for it. If you absolutely want to sign up for PTC sites, at least be very careful about what information you give out.

Most survey companies will require you to give out some personal information, as well as an email address and postal address. If you are concerned about privacy, you can set up a secondary email address and/or a P.O. Box. This will not only keep all of your surveys together, it will also keep your personal email private.

Below I have compiled a running list of the sites that I believe are legitimate. I make no guarantee that any site is 100% safe, but I have personally signed up for and been paid by every site on the list.

I will list all websites that I find in this format:
Payment Type - Cash, Points or Sweepstakes Entries?
Payment Method - How do you receive payments?
Minimum Payout - What is the minimum you must accumulate to receive a payout?
Average Payment per Survey - What is the average amount a survey pays you?
Survey Invitation Frequency - How often can you take a survey?
Referral Program - Does the site offer a referral program?
Minimum Age – How old do you have to be to participate
Countries – Which countries are eligible to participate?

Before I get to the list, here are a few tips for maximizing your earnings:

1. Sign up for as many sites as you feel comfortable with – The more sites you sign up for the more money you can potentially earn. For starters, I would sign up for at least 3 of the 4 star sites. If you feel like you can do more, keep signing up for sites based on the highest ranked sites first.
2. Use referral programs if you can – This can be an easy way to increase your earnings. Especially with sites like Survey Savvy that give you a bonus for each survey your referral completes.
3. Create a separate email address – This way all of your surveys will go to one place and not clutter up your personal email address.
4. Complete initial surveys – There are usually introductory surveys that you may or may not get paid for completing. Completing these surveys will greatly increase your chances of being offered surveys in the future.

Before I get to the list,  why not check out our post on Paid to Search. Earn cash or rewards for searching the internet… something you probably do everyday anyway.

Here is the list:

• Opinion Outpost
  
  Payment Type - Points (10points = $1)
  Payment Method - Check
  Minimum Payout - $5.00
  Average Payment per Survey - $3-5
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 2-3 per week
  Referral Program - $1 per referral
  Minimum Age - 18
  Countries- US Only

  Another excellent site. Survey pay is probably the best that I have seen and they don’t send you a ton of emails. Good interface and decent referral program. So far, I have earned more money from this site than any other site. Survey points show up in your account right away, and checks are delivered within a few weeks.

• MySurvey.com
  
  Payment Type -Points ($.01 per point)
  Payment Method -Check or Prizes
  Minimum Payout -$10
  Average Payment per Survey -$.10-$2.00
  Survey Invitation Frequency -1-4 Per week
  Referral Program -$1.50 per referral
  Minimum Age -Unknown
  Countries - US, Canada, Europe and Mexico

  Surveys are usually pretty quick and always give a small payout even if you are ineligible. Nice referral program and a fair amount of surveys to do every week. Make sure you do all available surveys because usually the smaller paying surveys are just qualifying surveys to higher paying surveys. For example, you will be offered a survey for 50 points ($.50) and if you complete it the will sometimes immediately ask you if you want to participate in $10 survey.

• Ipsos
  
  
  Payment Type -Points
  Payment Method -Prizes and Gift Certificates
  Minimum Payout -$5 (50 points)
  Average Payment per Survey -$2.50 (25 points)
  Survey Invitation Frequency -1-2 Per week
  Referral Program -Sweepstakes Entry
  Minimum Age -Unknown
  Countries - US and Canada

  The thing I like most about this site is the fact that they seem to offer product tests a lot more than other sites. Last month alone I got paid to try out 3 different products. Survey payout is good, but make sure you do all your surveys because they usually recruit for product testing with the surveys.

• LightSpeed Panel
  
  Payment Type -Point traded in for prizes or Paypal money
  Payment Method -Prizes or Paypal Money
  Minimum Payout -550 points ($5)
  Average Payment per Survey -$1-5
  Survey Invitation Frequency -5-6 per week
  Referral Program -None
  Minimum Age -18
  Countries - US and Canada

  They send a good amount of surveys that pay above average and you can cash out with Paypal and receive your payment within just a few days.

• SurveySavvy
  
  Payment Type - Cash
  Payment Method - Check delivered US Postal
  Minimum Payout - None
  Average Payment per Survey - $2-10
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 3-4 per month
  Referral Program - You get paid per survey your referrals complete. Around $1.
  Minimum Age - I believe none
  Countries - Dozens of countries can sign up.

  Great site to get started with, sureveys pay pretty well and they don’t send too many emails. They have the best referral program that I have seen, you get paid for each survey done by a referral and for each survey done by a referral’s referral. With enough referrals, your account balance could start adding up really quickly. One negative to the site is that it takes approximately 4-6 weeks for funds to show up in your account from when you or your referrals complete a survey.

• Global Test Markets
  
  Payment Type -Points ($.05 per point)
  Payment Method -Check
  Minimum Payout -$50
  Average Payment per Survey -$3-$10
  Survey Invitation Frequency -1-2 Per month
  Referral Program -$1 per referral (5 max)
  Minimum Age -14 (with parental permission)
  Countries - Dozens of countries

  Excellent site with good payouts. The great thing about this site is that if you do not qualify for a survey, it will usually try to find another survey you will qualify for immediately . The only downside is the extremely high minimum payout ($50).

• Valued Opinions
  
  Payment Type - Cash
  Payment Method - Check
  Minimum Payout - $20
  Average Payment per Survey - $1.50-$5
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 4-5 per month
  Referral Program - None
  Minimum Age - 16
  Countries - US, Ireland, UK, Australia, and New Zealand

  The biggest advantage this site has is that it pays you ($.50) even if you are ineligible for a survey. Not a lot of money, but it is nice regardless.  The site pays in gift certificates and is generally a good site overal.

• American Consumer Opinion
  
  Payment Type - Cash
  Payment Method - Check
  Minimum Payout - None
  Average Payment per Survey - $2-$10
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 2-3 per month
  Referral Program - Affiliate program pays $.50 per referral
  Minimum Age - Unknown
  Countries - Dozens of Countries

  Excellent Site. Surveys pay very well and a check is sent after each completed survey, so there is no need to accumulate points and cash in. The downside is that they do not send too many surveys and checks are a little slow to be received.

• Global Opinion Panels
  
  Payment Type -Points
  Payment Method -Cash (1000 points = $1)
  Minimum Payout -$5 (5000 points)
  Average Payment per Survey -$1-2
  Survey Invitation Frequency -5 per month
  Referral Program - $2 per referral
  Minimum Age -Unknown
  Countries - 12 different countries in Europe, North America and Asia

  Above average pay and good referral program.  Available to several different countries.

• Greenfield Online
  
  Payment Type- Cash and Sweepstakes Entries
  Payment Method- PayPal or Check
  Minimum Payout- None
  Average Payment per Survey- Sweepstakes or $.25-$5.00
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 5 per week
  Referral Program - $1 per referral if a survey is completed
  Minimum Age- 13
  Countries - US and Canada

  Site sends a lot of email reminders for surveys, you can usually expect at lease 1 a day. Many surveys only give you an entry in a sweepstakes, but they do send a few very good paying surveys each month.

• Buzzback
  
  Payment Type - Cash
  Payment Method - Check
  Minimum Payout - None
  Average Payment per Survey - $5-15
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 1 per month
  Referral Program - None
  Minimum Age - 18
  Countries - No requirements

  Surveys are infrequent, but pay very well. No point system or anything to worry about, when you complete a survey they automatically send a check in about 4-6 weeks.

• HCD Surveys
  
  Payment Type - Cash
  Payment Method - points (1000 points = $10)
  Minimum Payout - $10
  Average Payment per Survey - $1-3
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 1-2 per week
  Referral Program - $.25 per referral
  Minimum Age - 18
  Countries - US only

  Surveys are usually political in nature and are relatively short. They may not pay the best, but the surveys are a little more though provoking than your typical survey.

• Harris Poll Online
  
  Payment Type - Points redeemed for prizes, cash and gift certificates
  Payment Method - Cash via PayPal, prizes are shipped free of charge
  Minimum Payout - 800 points for the first tier of prizes (worth about $5)
  Average Payment per Survey - $1-2
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 2-3 per month
  Referral Program - None
  If Ineligible - Sweepstakes for$10,000 (unknown frequency)
  Minimum Age - 13 for US and Canada, 14 elsewhere
  Countries - Dozens of Counties

  Good site, surveys are rather infrequent, but pay pretty well. You can choose to get your rewards via Paypal and usually receive the cash within just a few days.

• SurveySpot
  
  Payment Type - Cash and Sweepstakes Entries
  Payment Method - Check
  Minimum Payout - $5
  Average Payment per Survey - $1-5 or sweepstakes entry
  Survey Invitation Frequency - Surveys are almost always available on the website
  Referral Program - None
  Minimum Age - 18
  Countries - Unknown

  A lot of surveys available to take, and they send a lot of email, and many only give sweepstakes entries. However, there are usually some really good surveys if you go onto the site and keep taking surveys. Usually you will end up making at least a few bucks per day. One negative however, is that it takes about 4 weeks for the money to show up in your account.

• Your2Cents
  
  Payment Type -Cash
  Payment Method -Check
  Minimum Payout -$5
  Average Payment per Survey -$1-$10
  Survey Invitation Frequency -1 per week
  Referral Program -None
  If Ineligible -Sweepstakes Entry
  Minimum Age -14 with parental permission
  Countries - US and Canada

  For every initial survey you complete you get and additional “bonus buck” the next time you complete a survey. Surveys can also be done on mobile phones for higher rewards. One negative is that they take quite a while to deliver a check to you after you cash out.

• Surveys.com – added 7/24
  
  Payment Type - Cash or Sweepstakes Entries
  Payment Method - Paypal
  Minimum Payout - None
  Average Payment per Survey - $2-5
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 2-3 per month
  Referral Program - None
  Minimum Age - I believe none
  Countries - Dozens of countries can sign up.

  Most surveys only award a sweepstakes entry, however once or twice a month they will offer a survey with a cash incentive. The nice thing about this company is that if they do offer a cash incentive, they will pay you automatically through Paypal within a few weeks.

• Planet Panel – added 7/24
  
  Payment Type - Sweepstakes Entries for monthly Sweepstakes
  Payment Method - Paypal
  Minimum Payout - None
  Average Payment per Survey - Only sweepstakes entries
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 3-4 per month
  Referral Program - $1 for the 1st survey completed by referral, $.25/survey after
  Minimum Age - 18
  Countries - 21 Different Countries.

The big negative is that surveys do not have cash incentives. On the positive side, the sweepstakes are pretty frequent and have good cash prizes. They also allow members from a large number of countries and have a good referral program.

• Global Net added 4/23
  
  Payment Type - Points
  Payment Method - Cash or Gift Cards
  Minimum Payout - $10 Gift Card
  Average Payment per Survey - $.70-$2
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 3-4 per month
  Referral Program - $.10 per referral (10 max)
  If Ineligible - None
  Minimum Age - 18
  Countries - Any I believe

  Not too many surveys to take and surveys are infrequent. Poor referral program and surveys do not pay very well.

• NPD Online
  
  Payment Type -Points for sweepstakes entries
  Payment Method -Sweepstakes Prizes
  Minimum Payout -None
  Average Payment per Survey -10-40 Points
  Survey Invitation Frequency - 4-5 per month
  Referral Program -Entry into drawing
  Minimum Age -13
  Countries - Any

  No cash awards on this site. However there are daily drawings for movie tickets and $100 dollar checks as well as larger sweepstakes every month. You also get rewarded regardless of whether or not your qualify to complete the survey.

• E-Polls
  
  Payment Type -Points
  Payment Method -Prizes and Gift Cards
  Minimum Payout -$5 (2500 points)
  Average Payment per Survey -$1
  Survey Invitation Frequency -5-10 per month
  Referral Program - Unknown
  Minimum Age -13
  Countries - US and Canada

  They don’t send that many emails, and surveys don’t pay incredibly well, but worth signing up for.

• Zoom Panel
  
  Payment Type -Points
  Payment Method -Prizes
  Minimum Payout -1000 points (about $5 in prizes)
  Average Payment per Survey -$1
  Survey Invitation Frequency -5 per month
  Referral Program - 100 points per referral
  Minimum Age - 18
  Countries - US, Canada, Australia, UK and France
  No cash incentives and you need a lot of points before you can get any decent prizes. I usually ignore emails from this site.

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