The internet has created money making possibilities that didn’t exist before. Companies will literally pay you for your opinion. Granted you’re not going to become a millionaire, but getting an extra $100 check in the mail at the end of the month is definitely real money. Paid surveys are all the rage these days, and if you haven’t heard of them by now, you will soon.
Taking paid surveys is easy and can be done from the comfort of your own home, sounds like a win-win to me.
Start by signing up for multiple surveys because they often have a monthly limit. The more you sign up for the more you make.
You can sign up for all five easily and quickly, so why not? Oh, and the best part? Some of them will pay through PayPal. Super easy. Super convenient. No need to worry about sketchy sites taking your personal information.
1. Pinecone Research
Pinecone Research is an great place to start and pays through PayPal for your opinion. I have personally used these guys and can say they are legit.
Occasionally, Pinecone will send you products to test from home with a follow-up survey. You can get free food or products for you to review before they hit the market!
They also do two separate sweepstakes (a bi-weekly and quarterly), as a thank you to their survey takers. Bi-weekly sweepstakes are usually an impressive $500, but it gets even better with the quarterly sweepstakes, which awards $4,500 to one lucky winner. Yup. Just for taking surveys on their site. A cool $4,500. Straight to your pocket.
2. Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is another must sign up. They are one of the more common survey sites on the web.
People have reported making $600 in 10 days. Not bad considering they’re just filling in surveys.
As long you’re above 13 it’s easy to sign up and get started. Survey Junkie has top notch customer service and you can redeem points through your PayPal account for real cash.
3. Swag Bucks
Swag Bucks is one of the most respected and well known survey sites in the space.
For every survey you take, you are compensated in “Swagbucks”, also called SBs. You accumulate SBs, then convert them into cash, gift cards, or PayPal cash.
As it turns out, paid surveys are not the only way to make money with Swagbucks, you can get cash back for online shopping, get paid to search the web, and even get paid just to watch videos.
Definitely one of our favorites.
4. Vindale Research
Vindale Research is another well respected company. They’re based out of New York and have been around for over 10 years.
An awesome feature about Vindale is that there is no points system, everything is cash. You complete the surveys you get cash simple and straight forward.
However, the best part about Vindale is that they pay higher then any other survey site on the web. Usually between $0.25 and $50 for each completed survey.
5. Inbox Dollars
The two biggest perks of InboxDollars is the ease of use and getting compensated with cash.
Signing up is super simple and they often give $5 sign up bonuses after you enter a few basic questions about yourself.
Because InboxDollars is a cash only reward system, you don’t have to worry about converting points or only getting paid with gift cards.
If you have a few extra minutes in the mornings, definitely worth clicking around and checking out.
Paid Survey FAQs
Okay. But can you actually make money?
Yes! Big corporations and brands need to know if their products will be successful in the eyes of the consumer.
Your opinion can change the way they market their new products. In fact, your opinion is so valuable to them they will pay you for it.
Market research companies are actually the ones administering the surveys on behalf of the big corporations.
Think of online surveys as a type of focus group except they can pull from a larger sample size because everything is done online.
How do you get paid?
Overall, there are three ways you can get paid:
- Cash – paid via PayPal or by check.
- Points – that you can convert into gift cards or prizes.
- Sweepstakes Entries – using points to enter into cash and prize giveaways.
It seems like the survey sites are starting to realize that if they want to keep people coming back there’s nothing like paying them in cold hard cash.
Are all paid survey sites legit?
The short answer is no. Some are scams.
It’s unfortunate because these fake sites give the entire survey industry a bad rap. Taking surveys to make money in your spare time sounds like such a great idea, there will always be someone trying to take advantage of people looking for the opportunity.
Here are a few ways to spot a scam site:
- They charge you a fee to join their group.
- Promise that you will make thousands of dollars each month.
- They ask for credit card or social security numbers.
If you come across a site doing any of the above, stay away. I repeat, stay away.
Keep in Mind…
You will not get rich quick or become a millionaire from taking surveys. Sorry. I wish it weren’t true.
But, you CAN make a few extra $100 bucks if you take the time and make it a habit. You might be surprised how quickly it starts to add up.
There are a lot of options out there for taking paid online surveys to make money. I suggest you start with the sites listed in this post. They’ve all been vetted to make sure you won’t be wasting your time.
