If you spend any time online, you have seen ads telling you to sign up for a website to make money by taking surveys. You probably have a lot of questions about those survey sites and how taking surveys can help you earn money at all.

Legitimate survey sites do exist and you can actually make money or earn gift cards for taking surveys. There are a lot of survey websites out there, so you always want to be sure that you are dealing with the best ones in terms of potential earnings and of course, whether they are legitimate or not.

What Paid Survey Sites Are Legitimate?

One of the easiest ways to tell the difference between legitimate and scam survey sites is by reading reviews and looking for online complaints. Scam sites also tend to promise over-the-top earnings and may want way too much personal information before allowing you to try a single survey.

The best survey sites are going to be honest and upfront with your potential earnings, offer additional ways to make money, and will be easy to use.

#1 InboxDollars

Inbox Dollars is free to join, easy to use, and clear to navigate. You have several ways to earn money on the site including:

  • Taking surveys
  • Watching videos
  • Clipping and using coupons when you shop online or in stores

New surveys or other tasks are sent directly to your email or can be found on your account dashboard. You can download the app and use the site on your mobile device as well.

  • Total Rewards Paid Out: Since it started, Inbox Dollars has paid out over $60 million dollars
  • Reward Options: Cash in the form of PayPal, prepaid Visa, or a gift card to Amazon or other popular retailers.

Additionally InboxDollars offers a $5 signup bonus to new members. Cash out when you reach at least $15 in earnings. Join InboxDollars today!

#2 Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a very popular site with survey opportunities and other ways to both earn and save money. In addition to survey invitations sent to your email, you can answer the daily poll question for 1 SB, plus additional side questions to earn additional points.

Like the other survey companies, each survey pays based on factors such as length of time to complete, how urgently the answers are needed, and the type of demographic the survey is targeting. If you do any shopping online, you can install the Swag button to not only save money on each purchase but to earn points at the same time.

  • Total Rewards Paid Out: Swagbucks has paid out over $650 million dollars
  • Reward Options: Cash (paid to your Paypal account) gift cards, charitable donations
  • Signup Bonus: $10 for new members completing their first shop offer.
  • Cashout with as little as $1 in earnings
  • Earn rewards in SB (100 sB to $1.00)

And as of early 2022, free cryptocurrency for surveys (and other Swagbucks activities) is now a popular new rewards option.

Sign up for Swagbucks now!

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#3 MyPoints

MyPoints can be used on your computer or mobile device and allows you to earn points like many other survey sites. MyPoints also allows you to save money while online shopping, earn money on your purchases, and gives you a choice of rewards once you hit your minimum.

In addition to taking paid surveys, you can watch videos, or play games to earn cash with MyPoints.

  • Total Rewards Paid Out: Over $300 million
  • Reward Options: PayPal, Amazon eGift card, or eGift cards to other popular merchants
  • Signup Bonus: $10 gift card for completing 1st eligible shopper offer

Join MyPoints now.

#4 Ysense

Ysense is another legit survey company although you may find that earnings are lower here than on other sites. As with the other sites, you can earn points for cash in several different ways.

Most surveys will be paid to your account immediately, however, there are “red-flagged” surveys that may take as long as 30 days to pay.

  • Total Rewards Paid Out: Over $621 million
  • Reward Options: eGift cards, Paypal
  • Signup Bonus: None offered
  • Minimum to Cash Out: $10

Join Ysense.

#5 Upromise

Upromise is a site that helps parents and even grandparents save for a child’s college education. You can link your account to a 529 plan. Other savings options are coming, like the ability to link Upromise to a savings account to save for other life goals like a down payment on car or mortgage or Disney vacation.

Upromise recently added the option to answer surveys to earn additional rewards on the site. You can now earn cash with each completed survey plus additional methods including:

  • Grocery shopping
  • Dining out
  • Shopping online or in stores at thousands of retailers
  • Getting gas

Through the cash back reward options, Upromise has helped families save over $1 billion for college. Additionally, each month 5 Upromise winners win a free $529 scholarship for the scholar they are saving for.

And if that’s not reason enough to join, Upromise is giving away $30.29 in free college money.

Get a $5.29 bonus when you join Upromise as a new member.

And get an added $25 free when you link your 529 savings account. It’s easy to set up a 529 account if you don’t have one, and it’s easy to link that 529 account to Upromise so you can get $30.29 free.

#6 Harris Poll

Harris Poll is actually one of the oldest market research companies. Members earn Hipoints by completing online surveys which are then used for a variety of rewards. In March of 2020, Harris Poll stopped offering surveys to members in the US. Canadian members are still able to complete surveys as usual.

Harris Poll is unique among the sites listed here in that you do not have the option to take surveys for money. Instead, all rewards are in the form of gift cards and merchandise. Members who do not qualify for a survey may also be rewarded for their time with a sweepstakes entry.

  • Reward Options: Gift cards, merchandise. May also qualify for sweepstakes entries
  • Signup Bonus: None offered
  • Minimum to Cash Out: 1250 points/$10

#7 LifePoints

LifePoints lets you take paid surveys and also encourages members to participate in the community. Members earn points for every online survey that they complete and can also win random prizes that range from new phones to smart TVs.

  • Total Rewards Paid Out: $22 million
  • Reward Options: Gift cards, Paypal, charitable donations
  • Signup Bonus: 10 life points
  • Minimum to Cash Out: $5

#8 Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is different from other online survey sites as it is one that does not allow everyone to join. You must be invited to become a member of their research panel. It is also only available in the US at this time.

Payments are also restricted in terms of how they can be completed. After your first online survey, you are eligible to get a payout but that payout must be completed by a bank transfer. Currently, all bank transfers are handled through a third-party payment service called Wallet by Rewards on Demand.

In addition to surveys, Pinecone Research does offer the chance to use and review products to some panelists.

  • Total Rewards Paid Out: Information is not readily available
  • Reward Options: Gift cards, bank transfers, prepaid Visa cards (unclear whether this is still an option)
  • Signup Bonus: None offered
  • Minimum to Cash Out: $3 which is earned with the first survey.

#9 Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie offers online surveys, focus group invitations, and the chance to participate in another program. You can opt into the Survey Junkie Pulse program and get paid for online shopping or visiting certain websites. This is voluntary and does not impact your potential earnings if you chose not to do so.

Payment options for this site may vary by the country the user resides in with the US customers having the most available options overall.

  • Total Rewards Paid Out: $10,000 per day
  • Reward Options: Paypal or gift cards, direct bank transfer
  • Signup Bonus: Varies between $10-30 depending on the offer
  • Minimum to Cash Out: 500 points/$5

#10 Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys is a very interesting online survey site in that it is one of the few that offers a tiered rewards system to increase the amount you can earn. In addition to surveys, Branded Surveys offers daily challenges, polls, online focus groups, product reviews, and video testing.

The rewards that are offered may vary by user location. US customers have an option to use Branded Pay as a payout source.

The reward system that Branded Surveys uses has three tiers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. There is a minimum number of surveys that must be completed per month to meet the standards for each tier. After that, there is a weekly minimum number to earn the additional bonus.

Bronze Level:

  • Must take at least 2 surveys per month
  • Must take 12 surveys per week to earn a 5% bonus

Silver Level:

  • Minimum of 10 per month
  • At 12 surveys per week, the bonus earned is 10%
  • At 20 surveys, the bonus is 12%
  • At 30 surveys per week, the bonus is 14%

Gold Level:

  • Minimum of 25 surveys per month
  • At 12 per week, the bonus is 15%
  • At 20 surveys per week, the bonus is 17%
  • At 30 surveys per week, the bonus is 19%

Other Information About Branded Surveys

  • Total Rewards Paid Out: Information is not readily available
  • Reward Options: Paypal or gift cards, Branded Pay for US members only, charitable donations
  • Signup Bonus: $1
  • Minimum to Cash Out: 500 points/$5

What is the Best Paid Survey Site Overall?

Overall, Swagbucks is the best of the paid survey sites for a number of reasons. For most people, Swagbucks does offer the most surveys so qualifying for a paying option is much easier. It also offers far more ways to earn money even for people who prefer not to do take a lot of surveys.

When survey sites offer only one or two ways to make money, it becomes easy to get frustrated, burned out, or even convinced you are being scammed. Swagbucks lets you earn cash by watching videos, referring friends, shopping online, or just answering simple, one-question polls. You can watch a video on your computer or mobile device while watching a favorite tv show or movie on another.

You don’t even have to actively pursue extra cash if you don’t think you have the time to do so. Simply install the Swagbucks extension and you will see coupon codes, cashback bonuses, and other offers whenever you shop online. That’s like getting free money.

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Can You Really Take Surveys and Earn Money?

Yes, you can take surveys and make money. The amount that you can make per day or month will vary by the amount you are paid per survey, how many new surveys you are offered and accepted into, how much time and effort you put into completing them.

The reality is that yes, you will make some extra cash but if you are ready to quit your job to live a life of luxury, survey sites are not the answer you are looking for. Even if you take as many surveys as you are offered every single day, the odds are that you will only make $100 a day or less and that is counting on you being accepted into every one of those surveys. That’s very, very rare. Most surveys have very specific people they need and you are never going to be that specific person for every single survey.

A fun way to view the survey sites is not as a way to make extra cash but as a way to get a quick gift card for a treat that you would like. Set a goal and then work toward reaching the goal.

What Surveys Pay Instantly?

Nearly all of the survey websites listed here do pay instantly but that is different from the instant payout. For example, you can take a survey on Swagbucks with a value of 300 SB or $3. You complete the survey and your account is credited instantly. You will still have to wait to hit the minimum payout amount to get a reward.

Not all surveys on these sites are automatically credited to your account, though. You may see that the points to be awarded will be pending for a period that could be as little as 1 day to as long as 30 days. This information should be available to you before you take the survey. Some survey sites will send you an email to let you know how long your points are pending and the date they will be available in your account.

The best survey sites are transparent every step of the way, providing you with all of the information that you need to continue as a satisfied member of their community.

Do Surveys Really Pay $350?

If you see an ad or get an email for the $350 survey, please run the other way. One of the most common survey scams uses the promise of super high payouts to lure you in and then try to get as much information as possible. Legit surveys do not offer outrageous amounts per survey.

Another scam is when a company uses another company’s name or logo and then suggests that you cash a check or perform another action as a “mystery shopper”. By the time that you realize that you have been scammed, they may already have your bank account information leaving you with debt, fraud, and the worry that additional problems may arise.

Several of the legit survey sites have posted warnings about these scams on their website to help educate people and to try to protect them.

Final Thoughts on Getting Paid to Take Surveys

Getting paid to take surveys is fun and can be a great way to spend a few minutes while you are doing other things. It stops being fun when you start counting on getting more money than is realistic and let that stress get to you. No, you are not getting rich taking surveys. Get that out of your head!

If you like to be online, there is no reason that your time can’t be put to good use. You are perfectly able to join several online survey sites and earn what you can per day. If you are not getting relevant paid surveys on site 1 for that day, go on to site 2 and so on. Tell all of your friends and Twitter followers to sign up so that you can get the referral bonuses on each site as well. Go hog wild! Just don’t lose yourself and think you have found the pot of gold when you are barely climbing the rainbow.

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