Online surveys are a super easy way to make extra money, and the best survey sites pay $1 to $3 per survey!

Compared to other side hustles, online surveys are not the most lucrative way to make extra money. However, they’re a good alternative to sitting on your sofa and scrolling through social media.

Because there are so many options out there, we’ve round up the most legitimate and best survey sites to make money in 2024.

Quick Picks:

Branded Surveys

1. Branded Surveys

  • Sign-Up Bonus: 100 points
  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.50-$3
  • Payment Methods: Bank Transfer, PayPal, or Gift Card
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: 500 Points ($5)
  • Trustpilot Rating: 4.3/5.0

Branded Surveys pays you points for taking surveys on their platform, and your points convert to cash, PayPal, or gift cards. They just launched a brand new mobile app, which makes it easier than ever to take surveys on the go. We also love that Branded Surveys lets you cash out with only $5 worth of points!

What’s interesting about Branded Surveys is that they reward users with badges that help you earn more — Bronze, Silver, and Gold — and you earn higher ranking badges as you take more surveys or refer friends. In addition, you unlock more earning opportunities as you move up levels. So it pays to spend more time on their site.

The only real downside to taking surveys on Branded Surveys is that some surveys take you offsite. Those sites may run slower, which can get frustrating.

Branded Survey Eligibility: 16 years old and reside in the U.S., U.K., and Canada.

Read our full Branded Surveys Review.

Survey Junkie

2. Survey Junkie

  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $1-$3
  • Payment Methods: PayPal, Bank Transfer, or Gift Card
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: 500 Points ($5)
  • Trustpilot Rating: 4.4/5.0

Survey Junkie is one of the most well-known and best survey sites available in 2024. It’s 100% free to sign up for Survey Junkie, and the sign-up process takes 5 minutes or less.

Once you sign up for Survey Junkie, you should start filling out their survey profiles, which ask questions about things like health, fitness, technology, and hobbies. You will earn 5-10 points for each profile you complete, and filling out these profiles will help you get matched with surveys that fit your interests and demographic profile.

Survey Junkie users can cash out after earning 500 points. Previously, you needed 1,000 points to cash out, but you only need 500 points now. Each point is worth $0.01, and the points can be converted to cash or gift cards.

Survey Junkie also has a web browser extension called SJ Pulse that you can download to earn even more points. You’ll need to keep it for at least three months to receive the payout, and it looks at which websites you visit, what ads you see, your online shopping activity, and the kind of content you engage with. The browser does not collect sensitive data like email addresses, credit card numbers, etc.

Survey Junkie Eligibility: Must be 16 or older and reside in the U.S., Canada, or Australia.

Read our full Survey Junkie review.

Opinion Outpost

3. Opinion Outpost

  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.50-$5
  • Payment Methods: PayPal or Gift Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $10 for PayPal, $5 for Gift Cards
  • Trustpilot Rating: 4.3/5.0

Opinion Outpost is a 100% free paid survey site. In addition to paying you to take surveys, Opinion Outpost occasionally has product testing opportunities where you’re sent free products to try and share your feedback.

You can expect surveys on Opinion Outpost to take 10-15 minutes to complete, which is on the shorter end, but longer surveys do pay pretty well, around $5 on average.

Opinion Outpost also offers loyalty badges based on how active you are on the site. There’s a silver, gold, platinum, and diamond level, and you can earn additional achievement points the higher you go. 

There’s also a referral program that pays $1 for every friend you refer, up to $5. They’ll need to complete at least one survey before you can get paid.

Opinion Outpost Eligibility: Must be at least 17 years old and a resident of the U.S.

Read our full Opinion Outpost Review.

InboxDollars

4. InboxDollars

  • Sign-Up Bonus: $5
  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.50-$5
  • Payment Methods: PayPal, Check, Visa Prepaid Card, or Gift Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $15
  • Trustpilot Rating: 4.1/5.0

One of the reasons that InboxDollars is one of the best survey sites is because they’re straightforward with the amount of money you can make – before you even sign up to start taking surveys.

InboxDollars says its surveys pay $0.50-$5 and take 3 to 25 minutes to complete. It’s free to sign up for this online survey site, and you see your earnings in dollars, not points. You can also get paid to watch videos, play games, read emails, and earn cash back for shopping online.

It takes about 30 seconds to sign up for InboxDollars so you can start making money.

InboxDollars Eligibility: Must be at least 18 years old and live in the U.S.

Read more in our full InboxDollars Review.

Swagbucks

5. Swagbucks

  • Sign-Up Bonus: $10
  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.40-$2
  • Payment Methods: PayPal or Gift Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $1 for Gift Cards, $5 for PayPal
  • Trustpilot Rating: 4.3/5.0

Swagbucks has hundreds of paid survey opportunities on their platform every day, but they’re more than just a paid survey site. Swagbucks has a full-blown rewards program that pays you points for online and in-person shopping, watching videos, discovering offers, searching the web, playing games, and more.

You’re paid in points called SB (for Swagbucks), and each SB is worth $0.01. You can redeem your points via PayPal or Visa gift card. Or you can convert them to an e-gift card for more than 140 different companies, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and more.

Swagbucks also has a solid referral program that helps you earn more points. Every user gets a unique referral link to share with friends and family, and here’s how you earn points with it:

  • When your referral sign-ups and earns their first 300 SB, you both get an additional 300 SB
  • You earn 10% of their SB earnings for as long as they are using their account
  • Earn an additional 100 SB if they add the SwagButton extension

Swagbucks Eligibility: Must be 13 years old, and minors are strongly advised to have parental permission before signing up to make money on Swagbucks. Swagbucks is available in most countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and throughout part of Africa.

Learn more in our full Swagbucks review.

MyPoints

6. MyPoints

  • Sign-Up Bonus: $10 Amazon gift card
  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.50-$5
  • Payment Methods: PayPal or Gift Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $5
  • Trustpilot Rating: 4.4/5.0

MyPoints is owned by Prodege, the same company that owns Swagbucks, so there are some pretty significant similarities between these two best survey sites. 

It’s free to sign up for MyPoints, and they offer more than just paid surveys. You can also get paid to:

  • Shop online
  • Download the MyPoints browser extension
  • Read emails
  • Watch videos
  • Play games

There’s also a strong referral program that pays you points when friends or family sign up through your unique MyPoints link. You can earn extra points when they take surveys for money too. Another reason MyPoints is one of the best survey sites is that you earn some points even when you don’t qualify for the entire survey. 

MyPoints also pays in points, and 150 points are worth approximately $1. 

MyPoints Eligibility: Must be at least 18 years old to take surveys on the site. Users must be residents of the U.S. or Canada.

Learn more in my complete MyPoints review.

Pinecone Research

7. Pinecone Research

  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.50-$3
  • Payment Methods: Check, PayPal, or Gift Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $3
  • Trustpilot Rating: 2.1/5.0

I know Pinecone Research is one of the best survey sites available because I used this platform to take online surveys when I was in college and making extra money. Pinecone Research is owned by Nielsen Holdings, a well-known company for consumer engagement ratings for TV shows and networks.

Pinecone Research is 100% free to sign up for, and you earn points for every survey you complete. 

The paid surveys on Pinecone Research are invite-only, which means you’ll have to fit their demographic profiles to be chosen, but it means you’re less likely to get a late-stage disqualification.

Pinecone Research Eligibility: 18 years old and reside in the U.S., U.K., Canada, or Germany.

Read our full Pinecone Research Review.

PrizeRebel

8. Prize Rebel

  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.50-$1
  • Payment Methods: PayPal or Gift Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $5
  • Trustpilot Rating: 3.1/5.0

Prize Rebel is another paid survey site where you can earn points that convert to cash or gift cards through its free membership platform. Besides taking surveys, you can get paid to sign up for trials and sign up for email lists.

Each point is worth $0.01, and you’ll need 500 points (or $5) to reach the minimum payout threshold. There are account levels you can reach as you take more surveys, and they unlock benefits like automatically processing rewards.

Speaking of rewards, Prize Rebel gives you the option to cash out almost instantly with gift cards, direct deposit, and PayPal cash. They also have a referral program that pays you a commission plus 20% of each referral’s earnings.

Prize Rebel Eligibility: Must be 18 years of age and reside in the U.S., U.K., Canada, or Australia for paid surveys. Users who live outside of those countries can still sign up for Prize Rebel and earn points for completing tasks and gaining referrals.

lifepoints

9. Life Points

  • Sign-Up Bonus: 10 points
  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.50-$1
  • Payment Methods: PayPal, Gift Cards, or Charitable Donation
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $5
  • Trustpilot Rating: 2.8/5.0

Life Points was founded in 2019 after the market research companies MySurvey and Lightspeed merged.

Most of the surveys on this site are around 10 minutes long – this is a little shorter than some of the other survey websites. Short surveys typically pay less, but most of the surveys on Life Points are easier to qualify for. 

Life Points pays you points that can be converted to cash. Besides taking surveys, you can also earn points by completing online diaries. This involves recording your behaviors or habits related to a specific product or service.

Life Points Eligibility: Must be 16 years old. Users can reside in over 40 different countries through the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Harris Poll Online

10. Harris Poll Online

  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.50-$2
  • Payment Method: Gift Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $10
  • Trustpilot Rating: 2.7/5.0

Harris Poll Online is another survey website owned and operated by Nielsen, like Pinecone Research, so you know it’s legit.

The surveys on Harris Poll take 5-25 minutes to complete, and you only get paid for the surveys you complete. For ones you can’t complete, Harris Poll will put your name in its quarterly sweepstakes for each disqualification. The drawing pays out $10,000.

Harris Poll has extra opportunities to earn money with focus groups and telephone-based surveys. You’re paid with points that convert to gift cards, and each point is worth a little less than $0.01.

Harris Poll Online eligibility: Open to residents of the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Must be at least 13 years old in the U.S. and Canada, at least 12 years old in other countries.

Ipsos i-Say

11. Ipsos i-Say

  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $0.10-$1
  • Payment Method:s PayPal, Gift Cards, and Prepaid Debit Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $5
  • Trustpilot Rating: 1.9/5.0

Ipsos i-Say is an online survey community that’s part of the market research company Ipsos. The sign-up process is quick and easy, and you earn points that can be converted to cash via PayPal or gift cards.

Besides online surveys, you can also make money with online focus groups, product testing, video surveys, diary surveys, and the refer-a-friend program.

Ipsos i-Say eligibility: 13 years old with parental consent and to residents in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

valued opinions

12. Valued Opinions

  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $1-$5
  • Payment Method: Gift Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $20
  • Trustpilot Rating: 3.6/5.0

Valued Opinions is a fairly large market research company, and they pay users points that can be converted to gift cards. The sign-up process takes you through a series of questions to build a profile that helps you qualify for surveys. So you might not see as many survey opportunities on the site, but you’re much more likely to qualify for the ones you see.

One of the reasons Valued Opinions is one of the best survey sites is that it has a fully responsive mobile app. This makes it easy to take surveys from your phone for even more flexible earning opportunities.

Surveys take about 15 to 20 minutes on average and pay $1 to $5 per survey. Valued Opinions emails you updates when new surveys are available, and their emails include an approximate time it will take for each survey.Valued Opinions Eligibility: Open to residents of the U.S. who are 17 years old and up

13. Toluna

  • Sign-Up Bonus: 500 points
  • Avg. Payout Per Survey: $1-$5
  • Payment Methods: PayPal or Gift Cards
  • Min. Cash-Out Amount: $10
  • Trustpilot Rating: 2.7/5.0

Toluna works with massive companies like Coca-Cola, Amazon, and Expedia to gain customer insights that influence the products and services they offer.

You earn 500 points just for signing up for Toluna, and they pay points for every survey you complete. They say you can earn anywhere from 15 to 50,000 points per survey.

Once you’ve earned enough points, you can start redeeming them for PayPal cash or gift cards.

Besides paid surveys, Toluna will reward you with points for:

  • Participating in sponsored polls
  • Creating content for polls, discussion topics, and opinions — you can earn up to 1,000 points for the content you create, but Toluna is pretty selective.
  • Filling out surveys
  • Playing games
  • Referring your friends

Toluna Eligibility: Open to anyone 17 years or older

How to Watch Out for Survey Site Scams

The best survey sites on this list are 100% legit companies, but there are definitely some scammy ones out there. 

Here are some red flags to watch out for so you don’t get caught in a scam:

  • The promise of a major payout. None of the sites above pay a ton, and that’s a sign of a legitimate company. Sites that say you can earn $100 taking one survey are probably too good to be true.
  • There’s no “About” page. Some of these survey websites have antiquated-looking home pages, but they all provide basic company info. You should be able to find out who the company is and how to contact them.
  • There’s no privacy policy. Survey sites collect a lot of data about their users, and real companies will have a privacy policy that explains how that information is used.
  • They ask for sensitive data. Your Social Security number, bank account info, credit card numbers – you shouldn’t give that out to any of these sites, ever. Doing so puts you at risk for identity theft.

The Final Word on the Best Survey Sites of 2024

Taking online surveys is an easy and mindless way to earn extra money. The commitment is low and pretty much anyone can do it.

Again, you’re not going to get rich taking online surveys, but it’s a little extra money that you can put towards paying off debt, investing, your vacation fund, etc. Every little bit counts!

While there are good opportunities with all of these sites, here are my top picks:

  • Survey Junkie: Get paid $1-$3 per survey and cash out with as little as $5.
  • Branded Surveys: Earn $0.50-$3 per survey and cash out with as little as $5.

If you’re looking for ways to make even more money, check out Best Side Hustles for 2024 (Make $1,000+ Per Month).

FAQs

How much can I make taking online surveys for money?

You’re not going to get rich taking online surveys, not even from the best survey sites on this list.
You’ll average around $0.25-$5 per survey, and you can realistically expect to make $20-$50/month, especially if you sign up for multiple sites. Not a ton of money, but it’s a decent little chunk.

If you’re looking for better-paying side hustles, check out 40 Best 2020 Side Hustle Ideas (Make $1,000+ Per Month).

Why do survey sites pay you to take surveys?

Survey sites do market research for companies that want to know what consumers think about their products and services. Companies can use that information to come up with more targeted marketing campaigns, create better-tailored products, etc. Because this is such valuable information, they offer surveys for money.

Most companies are looking for consumers that fit specific demographics, and this is why you can suddenly become disqualified – you no longer match the target market.

For example, I remember being disqualified for a survey after they asked about my preferred allergy medication. Zyrtec must not have been one they were interested in.

How do I not get disqualified from a survey?

Being disqualified or screened out of a survey makes you no longer eligible for the survey, and it happens when you’re no longer a good fit for the survey.

You’ll spend a lot answering questions that seem random or irrelevant, but these questions ensure that you are in the demographic the company wants to know more about – you’re the target customer. Something simple like not owning a dog or buying the wrong allergy medication can be the breaking point.

Everyone will be disqualified at some point, but you stand the best chance if you fill out survey profiles. These help companies match you with the right surveys, meaning you’re more likely to qualify.

How long do surveys last?

It depends on the market research company and what the survey is about. They typically last anywhere from 5-50 minutes, and the longer ones generally pay more.

What kind of information will I be asked to share?

Demographic information can include things like your age, gender, race, income, profession, number of kids, etc. You’ll also be asked lots of questions about how you use products and services, like how often you watch TV, where you buy your groceries from, etc.

If a survey asks for your Social Security number, bank account number, or driver’s license number, leave the survey immediately. This isn’t relevant information, and it could mean you’re on a spammy site.

Are the surveys for $350 real?

There’s a survey opportunity going around that promises a payout of $350, but it’s not just a simple survey. It includes a phone call, online bulletin boards, and in-person focus groups. The whole process runs several hours for a few weeks. That’s a lot of time and a major commitment.

Are paid surveys worth it?

You can take surveys for money while vegging out and watching Netflix, not many side hustles require as little mental energy. So while they don’t pay well compared to some of the best side hustles, it’s not bad pay for the work you’re doing.

Can kids and teens take paid online surveys?

Yes! Some of the companies on this list have opportunities for kids as young as 13. Here are the best survey sites for kids:

Swagbucks: 13 years or older
Survey Junkie: 13 years or older
MyPoints: 13 years or older