13 Best Online Survey and Research Sites To Make Money

While there are many ways to get ahead in life, few are as beneficial as earning more money.

By increasing your income over time, you can boost your cash savings rate, save more money for retirement, and even afford a splurge once in a while.

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And if having more money makes you feel more secure, you’ll probably sleep better at night, too. Of course, it’s not always easy to increase your income.

Your employer might hate giving raises, for example, or maybe overtime at work has become scarce. If that’s the case, you might need to pick up a part-time job, start a side hustle from home, or look for unorthodox ways to earn money in your spare time.

The 13 Best Survey Sites For Money In 2021

1. Survey Junkie
2. Swagbucks
3. Inbox Dollars
4. Ipsos iSay
5. LifePoints
6. Vindale Research
7. Pinecone Research
8. Global Test Market
9. E-Poll Market Research
10. American Consumer Opinion
11. Pro Opinion
12. Harris Poll Online
13. Wonder

If you’re short on time and looking for how to make money fast, one of the easiest ways is with online survey sites. While the payouts can vary, these survey companies let you earn money just for answering questions, browsing the internet, and more.

Plus, unlike a part-time job with strict hours and the standard commute, you can complete surveys during your actual free time – at night when the kids are in bed, early mornings before work, or while you’re watching TV.

And if you’re worried about distinguishing between sketchy sites and legitimate ones, no worries. I’ve taken the time to research and review the good, the bad, and the shady to present you with the best survey sites that can make you money in 2021. 

Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie makes it quick and easy to jump into the survey game.

According to their websites, they say they are the most popular spot online to earn cash and rewards for sharing your thoughts, while that might not be technically true, they are one of the largest survey sites out there.

They were launched in 2005 (which is pretty old for a survey site) and they have over 10,000,000 members. 

Survey Junkie uses a point system for their rewards. For every survey you complete, you’ll get anywhere from 50 – 450 points. 100 points equals $1.

As you can read in my Survey Junkie review, they are very honest about how much you’ll make, unlike some of the other competition. They clearly say on their website, You Will Not Get Rich taking surveys.

You’ll be able to cash out your points either through PayPal or with a gift card. If you request a payout through PayPal and it can take up to 24 hours, but in most cases it is immediate.

Compared to other sites out there, this is a huge advantage. Some companies and sites can make you wait several days or even weeks.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks was one of the first paid survey sites to appear on the internet, but it has grown to offer more options and more fun ways to earn money with each passing year. With Swagbucks, you’ll earn points for shopping online, watching videos, searching the web, and answering surveys.

When it comes to redeeming your points, a wide range of gift cards are some of the best options on the Swagbucks website. If doing surveys for gift cards is not your thing, you can also redeem your points for PayPal cash. Read more in my Swagbucks review.

Signing up for Swagbucks is easy and, best of all, it’s free! If you want to see all the different ways to earn money with Swagbucks

Inbox Dollars

With Inbox Dollars, you’ll earn cash for an array of activities. In addition to earning rewards for completing surveys and questionnaires, you can also get paid to surf the internet, play games, print grocery coupons, and shop online. Best of all, signing up is absolutely free!

If you use the InboxDollars site regularly, you can usually earn up to $20 or $30 per month for your various activities. Plus, you’ll get a $5.00 credit just for signing up! They claim to have now paid out over $57 million of cash rewards. Read more in my InboxDollars review.

Ipsos iSay

iSay is not the most popular survey site out there, but it should be in the consideration when you’re looking for a place to make some extra spending money for sharing your opinion.

In most ways, iSay is identical to the other sites on the list. One thing which sets them apart is the Poll Predictor. If you’ve been on a survey site before, you know one of the most frustrating things is to enter a survey, answer a few questions, and then get kicked out for not qualifying.

If this happens with iSay, you get asked a Poll Predictor question. These are questions like, “Have you ever been overseas? “And you have to guess what percentage of people said yes. The closer you are to the right answer; the more chances you get for winning the prize drawing.

How much are you going to earn using iSay? Their rewards are on par with other survey sites out there, and similarly, the amount you get paid is going to differ depending on the length of the survey.

You’ll need to accumulate at least 500 points (equals $5) before you can request a payout with PayPal or transfer the money to a gift card. Read more in my iSay review.

LifePoints

Formerly MySurvey, LifePoints is actually an adaptation of a program that was started back in 1946. It began as the National Family Opinion organization that used to send out surveys through the mail.

In 2001, they joined the digital age, and now they are one of the best survey sites around. According to the website, they have issued out more than $15,000,000 rewards to members.

With LifePoints, your opinions are collected for Lightspeed Research, a company which provides survey-based research solutions to businesses using consumer data.

The rewards are on par (or better than some) with most other sites. They offer $0.50 to $1.25 for every survey that you complete, with the shorter surveys only taking around 5 minutes to finish.

When you want to cash out, you’ll have to accumulate $10, which is less than some of the other sites, and you’ll be able to get your money through a check, PayPal, Amazon gift card, or the more than 60 other gift card options.

Vindale Research

Vindale Research isn’t going to be the highest paying survey site, but that doesn’t mean that you should automatically eliminate it. It’s a great addition to your survey sites and can help you earn a couple of extra dollars every month. 

Vindale Research is one of the oldest survey sites out there, which means the company knows what they are doing. For every survey, you’ll get anywhere from $1 to $5, which isn’t bad money for the time that you’ll invest. Obviously, the more detailed a survey is, the more you’ll get paid.

The company also offers product evaluations that you’ll earn more cash for (because they are more time-consuming). They will give you a product or service, and you’ll be required to write an honest review on it. This can pay anywhere from $5 to $75.

Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research works a lot like other paid survey sites. Once you sign up, you’ll earn points for each survey you complete.

As an added bonus, the responses you give during surveys will help you learn about new products before they hit the market and influence their respective marketing campaigns. And once you start racking up the points, you can redeem them for cash or prizes.

While you have plenty of options when it comes to redeeming your points, Pinecone research is also one of the few online survey sites that will actually send you a check in the mail instead of making you redeem for gift cards or merchandise.

Global Test Market

Global Test Market is one of the rare survey sites that has received accreditation from the BBB. They are one of the most diverse survey sites that include topics of anything from cars to movies.

Just like the other survey sites, every time you complete one of the surveys, you’ll receive anywhere from 35-250 points, which equals about $1.50 to $1.75 per a survey.

Once you rack up enough cash to payout (which you’ll have to accumulate at least $50), you’ll have several different options to receive your money. Global test market will pay you through a check, through your PayPal account, or redeem it for gift cards.

In addition to getting points for each survey, you’ll also be entered into monthly cash drawings. Sure, there is no guarantee, but it’s a nice additional incentive.

ePoll Market Research

One of the lesser-known survey sites is ePoll Market Research. The company was established in 1997 and helped pave the way for the hundreds of different online survey sites that we enjoy today.

While there are no clear guidelines, ePoll surveys tend to revolve around the media and entertainment business. So younger survey takers and TV/movie watchers will probably enjoy ePoll more than some of the other demographics.

With ePoll, you may be required to watch a commercial, or even a TV episode and then answer questions about it on the survey.

In fact, on rare occasions, ePoll will send out a movie or TV show for you to watch at home and then review on the site. These opportunities are infrequent but are a nice additional perk of using the site.

Most of the surveys take around 10-15 minutes, not counting the time it takes you to watch the required viewing if there is any.

American Consumer Opinion

While it might be hard to believe at first, American Consumer Opinion will pay you real, actual money to share your opinions and complete online surveys.

Once you join their online opinion panel, you’ll be asked to offer opinions on new products you have tried, test out new advertising campaigns, and tell companies what you think of their marketing techniques and slogans.

Payouts from American Consumer Opinion vary, but your payout will come in the form of points you can redeem for cash. You can also get your cash through PayPal if you want, and redemptions start at 1,000 points or $10.

Pro Opinion

With Pro Opinion, you’ll get paid to answer questions in your field of expertise. In addition, you’ll provide valuable research that is used to create expert responses and articles on the Pro Opinion website.

After you sign up, you’ll receive surveys on various topics and products via email. Once you complete these surveys and build up a stash of points, you can redeem them for cash via PayPal, purchases made through Amazon.com, or gift cards to various retailers.

As an alternate suggestion, you can even redeem your rewards as a donation to the Red Cross.

To get started, you’ll need to offer quite a few personal details including your gender, home address, birth date, employment status, education level, and household income.

After that, however, you’ll be matched with surveys that line up with your individual strengths and existing wealth of knowledge.

Interested in learning more? Sign up with Pro Opinion here.

Harris Poll Online

Like American Consumer Opinion, Harris Poll Online offers cash incentives to people who are willing to log in regularly and complete online surveys and questionnaires. Once you join, you’ll begin earning rewards for each survey you take.

Once you earn enough reward “points”, you can turn them in for purchases made on websites like Amazon, iTunes, Home Depot and Walmart. Conversely, you can also turn in your points for movies, books, and home goods ordered straight from the Harris Poll website. Plus, you’ll be entered into a $10,000 sweepstakes each time you complete a survey.

While exact payouts per survey aren’t advertised and can vary quite a bit anyway, Harris Poll Online is free to join and the rewards can be lucrative if you use the website often enough.

Wonder

Unlike the other paid survey sites on this list, Wonder will actually hire you to conduct independent research on a wide range of topics. In that sense, Wonder offers much more of a “part-time job” than a side hustle you can complete in your spare time.

If you meet their criteria and get hired, you’ll conduct expert research on anything from historical events to government laws and regulations. In turn, that research is used by professionals who pay to use this service.

Earnings vary highly depending on your level of skill and the amount of time you spend finding the crucial details your clients need. Still, this is a great way to earn some money online and from the comfort of your own home.

How to Get the Most Out of the Best Online Survey Sites

The allure of free money can be hard to walk away from, especially if you can earn that money just by clicking around on the internet a few times per day. Still, there are plenty of ways to maximize the amount of money, merchandise, and gift cards you earn over time. Here are some tips that can help:

Sign up for every legitimate online survey site you can find.

While you can earn money from any of these sites fairly easily, the amount of money you can earn from each might be limited. If you have plenty of time on your hands, it can pay to sign up for several online survey sites and participate in each.

The more surveys and online tasks you complete, the more money you’ll earn over time. You may even find that a few sites are your favorites this way, or that one site ends up helping you net more cash than the others. Regardless, you won’t really know how each works until you try them out.

Watch out for scams.

While every online survey site mentioned in this post is absolutely legitimate, there are some copy cat websites and even fraudulent websites out there.

If a website is making wild claims about free money or asks for more personal information than you feel comfortable giving, that’s a good indicator that they are up to no good.

Make sure to read reviews and follow up with research to make sure a website is legitimate before you begin using them. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Set aside time to complete surveys each day.

If you feel like you don’t have time to complete surveys, you’re not alone. Most of us live busy lives, and it can be difficult to keep up, let alone take on a new side hustle.

Still, if you watch television each day, then you have plenty of time to complete surveys online. Simply turn on your favorite show and complete survey questions during the commercial breaks.

If you like some quiet time at night, that’s also a great time to earn extra money through online search or complete a few online surveys while you relax.

The Bottom Line

The best online survey sites will reward you for everything from searching the internet to watching targeted videos, opening emails, completing surveys, and giving your honest opinions on products and services.

But to get your hands on that free and easy money, you have to sign up first!

Have you ever earned money through an online survey site? Why or why not?