I just finished collecting data for this Survey Site Review. My goal was to show how much money one can earn by the hour. Time is money – so where can you make the best investment?
Transparency
While the data I collected was consistent, I need to be transparent with the methodology:
- Data was collected over two weeks. Different times of year may yield different results.
- Survey use was based on my personal background, and how fast you can accurately take surveys. Yours might yield different results.
- Rewards for the completion of surveys may vary over time.
- Weekends are horrible for doing surveys. Disqualifications are common due to quickly filling test slots, and other reasons. That results in significantly less earned per hour with one exception – Prolific which is noted below.
- I provide a link to the referral programs which some sites offer. In every case, taking my referral link will earn you no less than what you would if you signed up without a link. Your support helps me keep providing this website. Thank you!
How Survey Sites Work
Once you are signed up on a platform, you are presented with surveys you might wish to take. You’ll see an estimated amount of time and the compensation amount in terms of money or points.
Most pay in points and you are typically on your own to figure out how many points constitutes a dollar.
Now you may notice that surveys that the points earned for the time estimated varies widely. Some surveys just pay more for the time you take than others.
Taking Surveys
Accuracy is very important, and if you rush surveys too much and give inconsistent answers, your account could be flagged for fraud. Take your time to read and understand what you’re being asked to do. There are trick questions to trip up people speeding through tests. Paying attention will help you avoid the traps.
In general, you have to qualify for a survey before you can take it. Usually that’s 3-7 questions that ask demographics (age, location, race, income, etc.). The qualification process may or may not be factored into the estimated time, nor the amount rewarded. Getting kicked out during qualification usually doesn’t take too long and you can move on to another survey quickly.
You may be also be disqualified mid-way through a survey. You may even be rejected at what might seem to be the end of a survey. There’s usually no compensation or appeal to be made for disqualifications. There’s usually no explanation for the survey disqualification. Make sure you take your time on questions and be consistent to reduce the likelihood of getting kicked out of a survey. As mentioned above, the rate of disqualifications is much higher on the weekends because presumably there are many more people taking surveys.
Don’t forget your profile surveys! Many of these offer profile surveys which may help pre-qualify you for surveys and get paid more for surveys which are designed for someone like you.
Getting Paid
You aren’t going to be earning anywhere near what a job will pay in most cases. This is in no way get rich quick money. This is beer money after all so just spend your free time on surveys.
You can use PayPal to get paid cash in most cases, and some offer digital gift cards. Some platforms may charge a fee to use certain forms of payment so it’s wise to check it out before spending much time on the platform.
You should know that many platforms pay out in increments so if you earnings are $9.75 and they only do $5 increments, it might be worth doing a couple more surveys to reach $10 or more.
Bonuses
Many platforms offer bonuses based on how long you’ve been doing surveys. The more time you spend, the more you can earn due to your loyalty. If you are a diligent survey taker with abundant spare time, you can earn up to 19% in bonuses!
Summary & Top 2
Two survey sites really stand out for getting the most from your time. What they have in common is that you have to be allowed in, so you typically have to take a test or join a waiting list.
That’s where the similarities end. These two sites get you the most from your time in different ways.
#1 User Testing
This is a site which you have to join a waiting list first, then once accepted you have to do a few unpaid tests. These surveys are almost exclusively done by video and audio. They show you something for you to review and get feedback on. These can be websites, apps or other things. You can use a desktop or laptop computer or even a mobile device.
Getting your survey can take a long time. For each opportunity you answer a handful of questions and they are looking for very specific participants.
The video and audio part requires you to work in a quiet, well-lit space without interruption for some time. Your computer/mobile must be able to easily have video and audio recording. Some tests even have eye tracking to see what catches your eye on the screen.
The pay here is the best I can find on ANY platform at well over $10/hr. At times I’ve made as much as $30/hr.
#2 Prolific
This is a site that has a long sign up list. It may take weeks or months before getting on the platform. The wait is worth it.
I felt like these surveys were the most rewarding because in most cases you’re not helping someone sell a product; you’re helping someone make the world a better place. Often times if you really put some work into your feedback, you can even earn a bonus. Take your time on these surveys and put forth the effort and I’m sure you’ll feel rewarded.
You can sort surveys by how much they pay per hour to really maximize your time. I highly recommend setting that up!
These surveys are almost all institutional (university/government), international, and nearly anyone qualifies. That means no time wasted by qualifying. The pay is decent at over $5/hr. I’ve made as much as $10/hr. Weekends can be rewarding but refresh the offers before taking one. They show how many slots are open, and if the number is low when you click, you may miss your chance.
While every survey pays with rare exception, the approval process may take a bit longer, and you’ll see there’s money which is awaiting approval. I’ve had no rejections in over 6 hours of surveys, but I have had to wait over a week sometimes for the approvals.
Remaining sites ranked on earnings over time:
#3 Opinion Outpost
Easy to qualify for and start earning. Very achievable levels to earn which get you bonus points every week. After spending about 3 hours on surveys I’m earning 5% bonus points.
Speaking of points, each point is worth $0.10. That means a 15 point survey taking 15 minutes to complete earns $1.50 or $6 an hour.
I recorded earnings of over $4 an hour during my review process. Weekends are rough and you may go 15-20 minutes before even getting a survey qualified.
I do like they tell you the category of the survey (like healthcare, social topics, etc.), which may help you choose surveys you’re better qualified for.
Speaking of qualification, they have an extensive profile to build on yourself. By doing so, it is presumed they’ll know the details to send you surveys you’re likely to be qualified for. Every day you can earn a few points to work on profile questions. That is worth your time on the long haul.
#4 Prime Opinion
This is another site which is easy to qualify for and get earning right away. They also have a loyalty program which leads to more earnings over time.
This one has a referral program which doesn’t skim off your friends AT ALL! Your friends earn just like you do but Prime Opinion bonuses you for their work.
When you join you may qualify for a bonus to start out, but that likely means a higher amount to earn before your first payout. I got a $5 bonus to start but I need to earn a total of $25 before my first payout.
There’s plenty of bonuses here. Achievements get you a bonus to claim after 5, 50, 500 and 5000 surveys. A nice cash back of $0.05 per survey when you hit those levels. Ranking in the weekly leader board (at least 1859 points) can put more money in your pocket!
A point on Prime Opinion is $0.01, so it’s easy to see how much a survey pays. Like others, the amount per survey varies but when you sort the surveys by “Most Points” and look at the time estimate, you can quickly find high-paying surveys. I’ve come close to making $4 an hour and as I level up, it’ll get easier.
This platform lets survey-takers rate the surveys with a 5-star system, so you get an idea of what you’re in for.
#5 Toluna
This site is easy to get started with right away and get to making some money.
There is a referral program that pays $0.16 per new sign up per month, up to 10. Needless to say that’s not much.
The biggest thing you’ll notice right away is the huge points offered per survey. The reality is that when you are ready to cash out, you’ll see that it’s 3,000 points per $1 rewarded. This makes calculating your reward for your time a bit challenging. Most of the reward offers start at $10, so you’ll need over 30,000 points before getting rewarded.
That might seem intimidating but many surveys pay out over 2000 points, so you’ll only need about 15 completed to get your first payment.
How easy is it to do those surveys? Well I gotta tell you, not that easy. A sample session of 2 hours work only got me about 4 surveys completed. That worked out to be almost $3/hr. A few days later, I spent 15 minutes being disqualified over 10 attempts, then got a 15 minute survey which only paid $1 which works out to $2/hr.
I do have some advice to improve your luck a little. Stick to taking only the “Priority Surveys”. The rate at which I was disqualified dropped a little bit. I would also strongly urge you to quickly progress through the first page or two of the survey. I found that once you click “Take a Survey”, the next page only has a 2-4 second window for you to click. If you don’t, you’re taken to some odd preparatory survey page which causes your rejection rate to go up.
That’s not sounding good is it? Well you can earn a few more points doing Sponsored Polls, do your Profile Surveys, check out Contests in the Community section, Spin the Wheel in the games section, and try to maximize your time with Quick Surveys.
#6 Branded Surveys
This is last place for the survey platforms I reviewed this time. This is another site which is easy to get signed up for and start earning right away.
The referral program only pays 50 points when someone you invite reaches the Silver badge.
Speaking of points, it is easy to calculate when each point is $0.01! That’s where the easiness stops unfortunately.
The number of disqualifications is fairly high and I found myself spending a lot of time getting kicked out because I didn’t match a profile. During my review, I barely squeaked out $1.50 an hour.
That said, there are some ways to do better. One is to take advantage of the many other earning opportunities on the dashboard like taking Profile surveys to help qualify for other surveys later and also earn points, take a TV study, and don’t forget the daily poll.
Loyalty program bonuses are based on the number of surveys completed in a month. There’s also bonus tiers for even more which can earn up to a 19% bonus if you’re consistently cranking out over 30 survey completions a week. Not too shabby.
Wrapping Up
I want to thank you for checking out this review, I hope it helps you make a good choice where to spend your time earning some beer money!
