13 Best Surveys That Pay Cash Instantly in 2024

Taking surveys that pay cash instantly is an easy and fast side hustle. You’re not going to get rich taking cash surveys, but they offer you a great way to bring in some cash during your downtime. Think of paid surveys as an alternative to scrolling through social media or playing games on your phone!

To help you find the best options, we’ve compiled a list of the best online survey apps that pay cash instantly through PayPal or gift cards, have low minimum payouts, and have high ratings. What are the best surveys that pay cash instantly? Let’s dive in with our top recommendations!

What Are the Best Surveys That Pay Cash Instantly?

2. Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys is a market research company that was known as Mintvine until 2017. As far as surveys that pay instantly, Branded Surveys has one of the fastest processing times, even on PayPal payments. You can see the money hit your account in just 1-2 business days — this is practically instant pay for paid survey sites!

You’re paid points that convert to cash for each survey you complete, and the average pay per survey is $0.50-$3. You’ll need to have 500 points in your account before you can cash out, and 500 points = $5. 

Branded Surveys launched a brand new mobile app in 2023, giving users even easier access to surveys with push notifications. The app is available in both the Apple Store and Google Play Store.

Branded Surveys also has a user loyalty program called Branded Elite that offers bonuses as you complete more surveys.

Read our complete Branded Surveys review to learn more. 

3. Swagbucks

Swagbucks is one of the most popular market research rewards users for taking paid surveys, watching videos, searching the web, and shopping online. Read my full Swagbucks review to learn more about each opportunity.

Swagbucks has surveys that pay in points (called SB) that convert to cash or gift cards. The average survey payout on Swagbucks is 40-200 points, which equals around $0.40-$2. The payout threshold is based on how you want to redeem your points, but you need as little as 110 SB to cash out.

Swagbucks says you can expect the payout process to take anywhere from 1-5 business days. The range depends on how quickly the third-party company (like PayPal or whoever the gift card is from) can process your request.

Besides low minimum payouts, another reason Swagbucks is one of the best places to find surveys that pay cash is that they’re committed to educating consumers about paid surveys. They have an entire page on the site dedicated to explaining survey scams and debunking the idea that you can make a ton of money taking online surveys. 

4. Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost is owned by the market research giant Dynata. The surveys on Opinion Outpost take an average of 15-20 minutes to complete, but if you are matched with a longer one, you can earn around $5 per survey.

Like many of these other surveys that pay cash instantly, Opinion Outpost pays in points that convert to cash. You can get paid faster depending on how you want to cash out. It takes 100 points to reach the minimum cashout amount for PayPal, which equals about $10. Or, it’s $5 to cash your earnings out and have them transferred to a gift card.

After making a payout request, Opinion Outpost pays in 15 minutes to 48 hours. That’s pretty close to getting paid instantly for surveys.

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

Read our full Opinion Outpost Review for more information.

5. InboxDollars

Inbox Dollars pays you for completing different tasks that help them gain valuable market research data. There’s much more than paid surveys, like playing games, watching videos, reading emails, playing games, and redeeming coupons.

Most of Inbox Dollar’s surveys pay in the range of $0.50 to $5 and take 3 to 25 minutes to complete. As with most surveys that pay cash, longer surveys generally pay more, and you can see the estimated earnings before you get started.

The biggest downside about Inbox Dollars is that you’ll need $30 in your account before you can cash out. But we’re still including them on this list of surveys that pay cash instantly because they pay in cash — not points!

Once you’ve hit $30, you can request payments starting at $10.You see the exact dollar amount for each survey you take, and you can withdraw your earnings for PayPal cash, checks, gift cards, or Visa prepaid cards.

Check out our InboxDollars Review to learn more. 

6. MyPoints

MyPoints is actually owned by the same company that owns Swagbucks, so you’ll notice some similarities. Just like Swagbucks, MyPoints pays you in points for shopping online, taking paid surveys, reading emails, and watching videos. There’s also a browser extension you can download for an extra 100 points.

You earn points for any task you complete on the MyPoints platform, and once your account hits 700 points (the equivalent of $5) you can redeem your points for gift cards or cash via PayPal. MyPoints says it can take 4-5 days for the money to hit your PayPal account. Gift cards are delivered electronically and generally take less time.

MyPoints also has a referral program that pays 25 points for each person who joins through your unique referral link.

You can learn more in our detailed MyPoints review. 

7. Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research also has surveys that pay instantly, considering that the average payout per survey is $0.50 to $3 per survey, and you only need to reach $3 to receive the minimum payout. The way Pinecone Research works is that after you sign up, you’ll go through and fill out demographic information about yourself. That’s how Pinecone Research matches you with surveys.

I took surveys with Pinecone Research when I was in college and tried to make extra money. It’s completely free to sign up for this site, and you earn points for every survey you complete. You’re only sent surveys you are eligible for, so you’re less likely to get a late-stage disqualification.

The fastest way to get paid with Pinecone Research is to have your balance transferred to PayPal, but you can also request a check or gift card.

We have even more details in our full Pinecone Research Review.

8. Prize Rebel

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.

9. LifePoints

LifePoints is one of my top picks for surveys that pay cash instantly because they pay you for more than just surveys. You can also earn redeemable points for completing online surveys about your experience with a specific product, participating in online discussions, or answering questions about a product they’ve sent to your home.

You can redeem the points you earn for PayPal cash, Amazon gift cards, or even charitable donations. Each point you earn is worth about $0.09, and when you have 550 points in your account, you can redeem them for a $5 gift card to Amazon.

You can redeem your points even faster if you want to donate them to UNICEF. It only takes 205 points to donate to UNICEF, which equals a $1.80 donation. You can also redeem your LifePoints survey payout to PayPal, but you will need to earn 1,200 points to do so. That’s the equivalent of a $10 PayPal cash. 

Even though it will take longer to earn that number of points, your points are worth more if you redeem them as PayPal cash. Each point converted to PayPal cash is worth $0.083 instead of $0.09 when converted to an Amazon gift card.

Learn more in our LifePoints review.

10. Ipsos i-Say

Ipsos i-Say is part of a market research company founded in 1975, and it’s unique because you can redeem points for PayPal, gift cards, or items through its GCodes catalog. The catalog contains things like are home goods, beauty items, sports equipment, and so on.

For surveys that pay instantly, Ipsos i-Say lets you redeem your points once your balance hits 500 points, or $5. You can get an instant payout for a $5 electronic Starbucks card or Facebook Game eCard. There are no instant PayPal payouts on Ipsos i-Say, though, and payments take 1 to 3 weeks to process.

Ipsos does pay for disqualifications, or what happens if you’re taking a survey and you answer a question that screens you out of the survey. You earn 5 points for every screen out.

11. Harris Poll Online

Harris Poll Online is a paid survey company that’s owned and operated by Nielsen Media Research, which is a very legitimate company known for consumer engagement ratings for TV shows and networks.

The average length of a survey on Harris Poll can run anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes, and the longer the survey, the more it pays. You only get paid for surveys you complete, which is kind of a bummer, because disqualifications aren’t uncommon on survey sites. But Harris Poll will enter your name in its quarterly $10,000 drawing for every disqualification.

Harris Poll has surveys that pay in points that convert to cash, and you’ll need to collect 1,250 points to cash out via gift card. That’s equal to $10. Harris Poll is one of the only companies that doesn’t pay cash via PayPal.

12. InstaGC

IntaGC is a real standout on this list because it has a number of unique features. This includes cryptocurrency payouts and $1 cashout minimums. There are also a bunch of ways to make money — cash surveys, referring friends, watching videos, searching the internet, and participating in product trials.

The average survey pays between $0.50 to $1, which is pretty low but remember the low minimum payout threshold. You can start cashing out via gift cards for as little as $1. For PayPal, you need to have redeemed at least $50 in cash or gift cards first, and then you can start claiming PayPal payments for as little as $1.

13. CashKarma

CashKarma is an app-based survey site that pays you points for completing surveys, signing up for offers, earning location rewards, and referring people to the platform. You can also increase your earning potential by moving up through different member levels, and higher levels offer bonus points each time you complete a survey.

One of the nice things about CashKarma is that you earn a small number of points even if you don’t qualify for a survey. Surveys you qualify for pay around $0.50 worth of points, and the minimum payout is $10.

CashKarma offers payouts via PayPal cash and gift cards. You can also claim Amazon gift cards, which are available for use instantly within the app. 

The Final Word on Instant Pay Surveys

Taking online surveys is a mindless and flexible way to make extra money, but the reality is that they don’t pay very well. So if you’re going to take surveys, why not find ones that pay cash instantly (or at least faster than average).

Again, my top recommendations are:

• Branded Surveys: Earn $0.50-$3 per survey and cash out with as little as $5.
• Survey Junkie: Get paid $1-$3 per survey and cash out with as little as $5.
• Swagbucks: Make up to $2 per survey, and new users can earn a $5 bonus.

It’s worth mentioning that you can sign up for multiple survey sites. They all do market research for slightly different companies, and you’ll usually find more survey opportunities when you sign up for multiple sites.

Looking for even more ways to make extra money, check out Best Side Hustles fo 2024 (Make $1,000+ Per Month).