If you want to make money online, there are two big platforms out there that pay you to take surveys. Compare Swagbucks vs. Survey Junkie and choose the best for you.

If you’re looking to earn money in your spare time, chances are you’ve heard of taking surveys online. Some companies will pay you for answering questions and sharing your opinions. Sounds easy enough, right?

There are two major survey websites worth looking into. They’re both legit, but you’ll need to decide which one is the best fit for your lifestyle. We’ve done the hard work for you so you can start getting paid as soon as possible. Here is everything you need to know about Swagbucks vs. Survey Junkie. 

Are Swagbucks and Survey Junkie Legit?

Swagbucks and Survey Junkie are two survey sites. They’re owned by large market research companies, which help brands understand consumer needs and shopping habits. Every time you answer online surveys, you’re helping all sorts of companies create better products.

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These two reputable survey companies stand out from the rest. Unlike smaller platforms, Swagbucks and Survey Junkie have a solid track record of paying users on time.

Swagbucks vs. Survey Junkie: Top Differences

Both Swagbucks and Survey Junkie boast millions of active users. Yet despite their similarities, each survey site is unique.

1. Earning Opportunities

These two websites are known for their surveys — but that’s not the only option they offer for making some extra cash.

Swagbucks

Unlike most survey sites, Swagbucks lets you earn points in many different ways:

  1. Complete surveys. After answering a few questions about yourself, you’ll be shown a bunch of surveys you can take. Most surveys are pretty interesting and should fit your interests. Some take as little as a few minutes to complete, while others are more time-consuming. Of course, shorter surveys pay less than longer ones. You can take them on your desktop or through the Swagbucks mobile app.
  2. Playing games. If you want a break from survey opportunities, you can play mobile games for points. Typically, you’re asked to download an app and play for a few minutes. If you want, you can even play games the whole time you use Swagbucks.
  3. Entering sweepstakes. Swagbucks allows you to enter sweepstakes for all kinds of prizes — from a couple of dozen points to hundreds of dollars. Entering will cost you some Swagbucks points, but the payoff can be well worth it.
  4. Trying new products and services. Earn rewards ($0.05 to $200) for trying new products and services. The offers and offer requirements to earn the reward vary greatly from offer to offer. Most of the offers are free, and consist of being asked to sign up for newsletters, install free new apps, downloading eBooks, or getting quotes.
  5. Magic Receipts. Swagbucks’ Magic Receipts serves up coupons the 21st century way. Instead of printing a coupon, like save $3.00 on 2 boxes of General Mills cereal, Swagbucks will offer you $3.00 cash for purchasing thee featured items. Just is take a pic of your receipt after purchasing. Find hundreds of available cash making offers like this — for all sorts of brands and grocery items.
  6. Using the SwagButton. It’s a free browser extension for Chrome that alerts you to coupon codes and cash back deals for different retailer websites you visit.
  7. Get cash back for your purchases. Put money back in your wallet when you enable Swagbucks cash-back rewards. There are a few ways you can do this:
  • Browse the Swagbucks main page and click the link to an offer you want. For instance, you can max out your savings on Lowe’s Black Friday deals online.
  • Download the Swagbucks browser extension and get a notification every time your favorite retailers have special offers.
  • Scan your in-person shopping receipts with the app and get points sent to your account — no, cash-back rewards aren’t just for online shopping!
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Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is focused on paid surveys. Yet, there are still a few different ways to make extra money.

  1. Complete relevant surveys. The platform creates a demographic profile for you so you only get shown interesting surveys. Expect to be asked about your gender, age, employment, race, sexual orientation, income, and more. Answer questions honestly and you’ll be shown more surveys.
  2. Join focus groups. You could earn even more points if you participate in a focus group. Marketers for different companies may invite you to research studies, which typically pay better than online surveys. However, keep in mind that these don’t tend to happen all too often.
  3. Install a survey app and browser. Survey Junkie is interested in your shopping and internet browsing habits. If you want to, you can install a browser extension and share that information with the platform — for extra points, of course.

2. Payout Plan

Swagbucks and Survey Junkie share a similar point system. For each platform, 1 point equals 1 cent. So, if you accrue 100 points, you’ll get $1 in real money.

They both let you send your survey earnings to a PayPal account. If you don’t want PayPal cash, you could instead redeem your points for free gift cards. Swagbucks has a much more diverse set of gift cards. For example, you could get a gift card to use on Home Depot Black Friday sales.

Where the two platforms differ is in their minimum payout. With Survey Junkie, you can only cash your earnings once you get 500 points, or $5. The minimum payout for Swagbucks sits at 100 SB or $1. That means Swagbucks pays more quickly.

3. Referral Program

Do your friends want to also earn money by taking online surveys? Swagbucks awards you 300 points (or $3) for every friend you bring to the survey app. You also get to keep 10% of what your friend makes during their entire time with the platform. And, if they install the Swagbucks extension on their browser, you’ll get 100 extra points.

On the other hand, Survey Junkey pays nothing for your referrals.

4. Availability

Paid surveys on Swagbucks are available in dozens of countries. Most adults in countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia can earn money this way. Some African countries also work with Swagbucks.

Survey Junkie is much less available worldwide. It only works in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

How Much Money Can I Make?

You won’t get rich on either of these paid survey sites. However, the extra income can help you put your personal financial affairs in order. It can also help you get some gift cards to enjoy by yourself or share with friends.

Generally speaking, you can expect to make anywhere from $20 to $200 per month with Swagbucks. Following these tips for maxing out your earnings can raise your chances of making money regularly on the platform. Survey Junkie is less transparent with how much users can hope to make monthly.

Which One Is Better, Swagbucks or Survey Junkie?

If you like answering questions, have some free time every day, and want to make real money, both Swagbucks and Survey Junkie are worth looking into. But if you only want to try one, this could help:

  • Want PayPal payments quickly? Swagbucks is probably for you, due to the lower minimum payout threshold.
  • Want to redeem your points for gift cards to your favorite stores instead of PayPal cash? Although both platforms offer this option, Swagbucks has a lot more choices.
  • Want the option to test out a product for a brand? Join Survey Junkie (but there aren’t many product tester studies)
  • Want to do more than just take surveys? Swagbucks is the way to go.

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