If you’re like 42% of Americans, you’ve taken on debt this holiday season to pay for Christmas gifts. The average consumer has shelled out over $930 on holiday presents, and that’s done from recent year figures that topped $1,000.

Whether you took on credit card debt or used BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) like Afterpay or Quadpay, those purchases need to get paid. And there’s a better way than just making minimum payments each month and letting the interest rack up. In fact, there are side hustles you can do directly from your phone to earn an extra $50, $100, or $1,000 or more. We’re talking paid survey sites.

There are a number of legitimate, online paid survey sites that actually pay real money. You can’t get rich doing online surveys, but it’s a decent side hustle to make extra cash in your spare time. On the popular survey site Swagbucks, for example, the average user who logs in at least twice a week makes an average of $153 a month. Log in every single day, and you could see a much higher reward from doing paid surveys.

And it’s not just Swagbucks. There are dozens of reliable paid survey sites out there, although not all paid survey sites are equal. Swagbucks will let you cash out once you reach at least $3 in earnings (which you can hit in a day), and offers PayPal, Amazon, gift cards, prepaid credit cards, and other payment options. On some sites, you can only cash out once a month or once a quarter (every 3 months), and then only if you’ve reached a certain earnings threshold like $20 or $50.

You could poke around the web or the app store for the best paid surveys, or, take a quick run through our list of the best paid online survey sites for 2023.

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Best Paid Survey Sites 2023

Here’s the lowdown on the 10 best survey sites of 2023. Join one, two, or even all of them, and earn real cash for sharing your opinions.

1 | Swagbucks

California-based Swagbucks has paid out over $790 million in cash and gift card rewards since 2008. In addition to numerous survey and market research opportunities, you can earn money by playing games, installing new free apps, shopping online, searching the web, sharing and watching videos, playing games, doing live trivia, and much more.

While Swagbucks offers a fun variety of ways to earn, it has a huge arsenal of surveys of all lengths, topics, and reward amounts and is the best survey site of 2023.

Earn rewards in SB, and cash out your SB for cash, gift cards, and other prizes. 100 SB are worth $1.00 USD, so it’s easy to convert the points to dollars.

  • Minimum payout: $3
  • Payment options: PayPal, cash (check in the mail), Amazon, gift cards to popular stores, prepaid Mastercard, cryptocurrency, charitable donations, or sweepstake prizes.
  • Average app review score (iTunes and Google Play combined): 4.3 of 5.0 stars
  • Total years in operation: 14
  • Minimum age to join: 13
  • Sign-up bonus: $10 signup bonus for first store purchase of $25+.
  • Best for: Cashing out quickly, total earning potential, variety of ways to earn, flexible payment options, age inclusiveness.
Swagbucks surveys page. It also shows some of the other earning activities the site offers.

2 | InboxDollars

Minnesota-based InboxDollars was founded in 2000 by Darren Cotter. Cotter created InboxDollars from his dorm room as a college freshman at Mankato State University. Best known as a paid survey site, InboxDollars offers a variety of ways to earn including shopping, searching the web, scanning grocery receipts, playing games, trying new products and services, and redeeming prize codes shared on social media.

InboxDollars boasts earnings transparency. Rewards are earned in dollars and cents, not points or other virtual currency. Additionally, you won’t find a more generous referral program. Earn a cash bonus upfront for each referral, plus 30% of their earnings for life.

  • Minimum payout: $15 (for the first payment, afterward it’s set at $10)
  • Payment options: PayPal, cash (check in the mail), Amazon, gift cards to popular stores, prepaid Mastercard, charitable donations, or sweepstake prizes.
  • Average app review score (iTunes and Google Play combined): 4.3 of 5.0
  • Total years in operation: 22
  • Minimum age to join: 13
  • Sign-up bonus: $5. Get $5 free when you signup and register your account (confirm your email).
  • Best for: Transparency, generous signup bonus, generous referral program, variety of ways to earn, flexible payment options, age inclusiveness.

3 | Upromise

Founded in Newton, Massachusetts in 2000, Upromise is best known as a college savings rewards program. Upromise has helped families save over $1 billion (yes Billion with a B) for college. Initially, Upromise offered users cash back rewards for dining out and shopping at featured restaurants and stores. But over the past few years, Upromise has expanded its earning opportunities to include searching the web, trying offers, and taking online surveys. The whole idea is to make money for college for things that you’re already doing. It’s a painless way to save.

Additionally, Upromise is the best survey and rewards app to help you save for major life goals and milestones. You can easily link your savings, bank account, IRA, or other financial plans to Upromise. Every month, funds are automatically transferred to your account. Out of sight, out of mind. Upromise makes it easy for you to save for your major life goals without changing a single habit.

  • Minimum payout: $50 for a transfer to a college savings account, or $10 for a transfer to a linked bank account. Funds are automatically transferred during the first week of every month if minimum payout requirements are met.
  • Payment options: College savings account deposit, bank account deposit, or other payment options by customer service request.
  • Average app review score (iTunes and Google Play combined): 3.6 of 5.0 stars
  • Total years in operation: 22
  • Minimum age to join: 18
  • Sign-up bonus: $5.29 for creating an account, $25 free for linking your college savings account, $10 bonus for your first shop purchase of $25+
  • Best for: Effortless savings, parents and grandparents saving for college, generous signup bonuses, financially savvy.

4 | MyPoints

Delaware-based MyPoints was founded in 1996. Originally a rewards program for consumers to earn airline miles for shopping, MyPoints has evolved over the few decades to become a reputable and versatile way to earn points for all your online activities. Earn points when you take paid online surveys, shop online, try new apps, scan supermarket receipts, test out new products and surveys, and more. Redeem your points for cash rewards, PayPal, or gift cards. There are also occasional shop bonuses, like earning $5 free for spending $75 or more

  • Minimum payout: $3
  • Payment options: PayPal, cash (check in the mail), Amazon, gift cards to popular stores, prepaid Mastercard, charitable donations, or sweepstake prizes.
  • Average app review score (iTunes and Google Play combined): 3.9 of 5 stars
  • Total years in operation: 26
  • Minimum age to join: 13
  • Sign-up bonus: $10 (Spend at least $20 at any merchant in the MyPoints portal within 30 days of signup.)
  • Best for: Airline miles accrual, cashing out quickly, variety of ways to earn, flexible payment options, age inclusiveness.

5 | Branded Surveys

Formerly known as MintVine, BrandedSurveys has been a favorite among survey app enthusiasts since the company’s founding in 2012. Unlike other paid survey sites like Swagbucks or InboxDollars, there are no other earning activities. Taking surveys is the only way to earn points. Cash out your points for gift cards to popular stores, PayPal, or a prepaid Mastercard. It’s 100 points point to $1 USD, and you can cash out once you reach a minimum of $5.

How many points you earn per survey is mainly based on its length and topic. Most surveys pay at least 50 points. You can earn additional points for being highly active on the site. Rank on monthly leaderboards for extra bonus points and earn a rewards increase (around 10% or more) for each survey you complete.

  • Minimum payout: $5
  • Payment options: Gift cards, PayPal
  • Average app review score (iTunes and Google Play combined): 2.0 of 5 stars
  • Total years in operation: 10
  • Minimum age to join: 17
  • Sign-up bonus: $1
  • Best for: Cashing out quickly, competition-motivated individuals, survey-taking enthusiasts

6 | Survey Junkie

Founded in 2011, Survey Junkie is similar to Branded Surveys. It’s a popular paid survey site for market research enthusiasts. Earn points for taking surveys that you can exchange for PayPal or gift cards. You can generally earn at least 50 points per survey.

In addition to taking online surveys, you can earn points for participating in field research work. The program is called SJ Pulse. Here, you can agree for all of your Internet data to be tracked across all devices. Survey Junkie describes it as behavioral market research. It’s unclear how much users can earn by participating, but blog reviews suggest anywhere from $2 to $10 per month. Survey Junkie does not share any monthly earning potential specifically for this program.

  • Minimum payout: $5. Your first cashout may require screening or verification over the phone with a customer service agent.
  • Payment options: PayPal, gift cards, Dwolla
  • Average app review score (iTunes and Google Play combined): 4.5 of 5 stars
  • Total years in operation: 11
  • Minimum age to join: 16
  • Sign-up bonus: $0 (None listed on the Survey Junkie website but blog reviews suggest Survey Junkie has offered $0.25 and $10 bonuses in the past.)
  • Best for: Survey taking enthusiasts looking to join a second or third survey site in order to increase their earnings.

7 | OneOpinion

Founded in 2011, OneOpinion offers US And UK users an opportunity to earn rewards by taking online surveys. Similar to a few other survey companies reviewed, OneOpinion focuses exclusively on market research. It’s purely an online survey site with no other earning activities.

I tried to sign up for OneOpinion a couple of weeks ago and today. I wanted to take a few surveys, make some extra money, and get a firsthand understanding of the platform. On both occasions, I was told the community is full and not accepting any survey applicants. (I clicked the button “Apply Now” and received the message “OneOpinion is not currently accepting
new members at this time. Please check back later.”)

In reading other member reviews, after you click on “Apply Now” you talk to a ChatBot Emily. She verifies your email address and asks you some screen questions. Then after you verify your email, you can start taking online surveys. The site does not have the highest-paying surveys, but it is a reputable site and it does pay. As one reviewer put it, “It’s not the best survey site, but it is a worthwhile site.”

  • Minimum payout: $25
  • Payment options: PayPal, Amazon, prepaid Visa gift cards
  • Average app review score (iTunes and Google Play combined): 4.1 of 5 stars
  • Total years in operation: 11
  • Minimum age to join: 17
  • Sign-up bonus: None
  • Best for: Survey taking enthusiasts looking to join a second or third survey site in order to increase their earnings.

8 | Opinion Outpost

Founded in 2005, Opinion Outpost is a Utah-based survey rewards site. Earn money by taking paid surveys and sharing your opinions. There are no other earning activities and there is no survey app. Opinion Outpost is exclusively web-based. You can take surveys in your mobile browser from your phone, but it’s a far better user experience on a laptop or desktop.

While not the sleekest of survey sites, Opinion Outpost is a legitimate way to earn money and gift cards online.

  • Minimum Payout: $3
  • Payment options: PayPal or gift cards
  • Average app review score: 2.6 of 5 stars. (Based on Site Jabber and TrustPilot reviews. No app rating as Opinion Outpost has no app.)
  • Total years in operation: 17
  • Minimum age to join: 17
  • Sign-up bonus: $0
  • Best for: Survey taking enthusiasts looking to join a second or third survey site in order to increase their earnings.

9 | Pinecone Research

Founded in 1998, Pinecone Research is one of the more established survey sites on the market. Users earn points for completing online surveys about shopping, politics, interests, or other topics. Points can be redeemed for gift cards or PayPal.

Unlike other survey sites, you earn $3 per survey for any online survey that you complete. While this is a relatively high amount to earn, there are fewer online surveys available. When new surveys are available, you’ll receive an email from Pinecone Research. If you qualify for and complete that survey, you will be able to earn the associated reward.

When checking the website earlier today, Pinecone Research stated that their survey panel was full. Temporarily, they are not accepting any new participants. It’s worth checking back later, as Pinecone Research is a trustworthy company.

  • Minimum payout: $3
  • Payment options: PayPal, gift cards
  • Average app review score (iTunes and Google Play combined): 2.6 of 5 stars
  • Total years in operation: 24
  • Minimum age to join: 18
  • Sign-up bonus: None
  • Best for: Survey taking enthusiasts looking to join a second or third survey site in order to increase their earnings.

10 | i-Say

Ipsos i-Say, often referred to as just i-Say, is a well-known market research company with a dominant global presence. Headquartered in Paris, France, Ipsos is a publicly traded company with over 15,000 employees across nearly 90 countries. Ipsos is best known for its political polls and has a partnership with Reuters. In the lead-up to elections, Ipsos/Reuters polls figure in heavily.

i-Say is a survey rewards community for consumers. Earn points for taking surveys, watching videos, and playing games. Redeem points for a prepaid Visa or gift card.

i-Say has much fewer online surveys than other survey sites. They guarantee their members at least 1 survey invitation per month, sent by email, based on your member profile. While there are fewer surveys available, they are likely to be more interesting and engaging opportunities.

  • Minimum payout: $5
  • Payment options: Prepaid Visa, gift cards
  • Average app review score (iTunes and Google Play combined): 2.3 of 5 stars
  • Total years in operation: 47
  • Minimum age to join: 18
  • Sign-up bonus: None
  • Best for: Survey taking enthusiasts looking to join a second or third survey site in order to increase their earnings.

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