In this post, we’re going to look at if it is possible to really earn money through surveys.
A lot of these websites are advertised as a great method to earn a decent side income next to your job or hold you afloat while you’re trying to build your business.
After this post, you’ll have enough information to decide if you should invest time in surveys.
Let’s get into it!
Why do people get paid for completing surveys?
When you first hear it, the idea of earning by completing surveys sounds crazy but people are willing to pay you for your opinion.
In most cases, these are large research organizations and companies that value your feed because the more they know about their target audience, the more effective they can make their value proposition.
This is why platforms such as Facebook can make so much money with ads. They’ve information about all their users and companies can pay them to make sure their offers go to the right people.
How can you start with taking surveys?
The steps to earning money with surveys are pretty simple.
1. Find survey websites
There are thousands of survey websites online that you can use to earn money. A simple Google search using keywords such as “Top survey websites” or “Best Survey websites” will give you enough websites to join to keep you busy for a while.
I’d also recommend looking at mobile apps that provide people with surveys. You can go into the “app store” on your phone and type in “surveys” or “make money with surveys” and a bunch of apps will appear that have paid surveys that you can take.
2. Sign-up for survey websites
Most survey websites and apps will require you to sign-up and become a member before you can start taking surveys.
Most websites and apps will have an opt-in page where you will have to fill in some basic information such as your name, age, sex, location, etc. After that, you’ll in most cases, have access to the entire website or mobile app.
3. Qualify for website
Most surveys that pay meaningful money will require you to qualify first. This happens because the companies behind these surveys want to hear from their target audience.
The feedback from someone that doesn’t do any sport won’t have a lot of value for companies that sell athletic wear for example. This is why surveys have a pre-survey most of the time to find out if you’re the correct person to do the real survey.
3. Complete the survey
Complete the survey to the best of your ability.
4. Earn Rewards
Redeem your rewards after reaching the necessary threshold.
How much money can you make with Surveys?
I can tell you right now that surveys won’t make you rich.
While information is valuable to companies, it’s only effective when they get it in bulk. This means it won’t be possible as 1 individual to command for example a full-time income.
Most people if they commit to doing surveys all day for a month will end up with pocket money at the most. There are multiple reasons aside from companies not paying a lot per survey.
1. Qualification can have an influence on the surveys you complete
As I said in the “how to start” area of this post, you need to qualify for the most meaningful surveys. This means there are a lot of surveys out there you won’t have the chance to complete.
Key factors for surveys can be age, sex geographical location, eating habits, how many hours you sleep, etc. It could be everything.
2. The frequency of new quality surveys coming out
Most websites and apps advertise that they have unlimited surveys they can offer you but the truth is when it comes to quality surveys there aren’t a lot of them coming out.
Top Survey websites
1.Swagbucks
website: Swagbucks.com
Payout threshold: $1 — $5
Swagbucks is one of the most popular GPT websites on the internet. On the website, you can not only make money by completing surveys but also a lot of other small tasks.
What I like about Surveybucks is that it’s available in the majority of countries around the world and has a low payout threshold for its rewards. The threshold is $1 for most gift cards and $5 for getting paid through Paypal.
How many surveys you can take differs per country but the fact that you have other ways to earn money compensates for that.
2.Inbox dollars
Website: inboxdollars.com
Payout threshold: $15
Inbox Dollars is made by the same company that created Swagbucks. This is why when you sign-up for the platform you’ll find a lot of similarities. Just like Swagbucks it’s available in the majority of countries around the world.
They also reward you with either gift cards or cashouts through Paypal. The big difference between Swagbucks and Inbox Dollars is the height of the payout threshold.
Inbox Dollars payout threshold is a lot higher but they have a lot more surveys coming in.
3.Prizerebel
Website: prizerebel.com
Payout threshold: $5
Prizerebel has been around since 2007. It’d be more accurate to call Prizerebel a GPT site rather than a survey website. Just like the 2 alternatives above Prizerebel gives you more options than just completing surveys to earn money.
Prizerebel works with membership levels which means the more active you are, the more opportunities they’ll provide you with. Prizerebel is available all around the world but there seems to be a little bit of a drop-off in the number of opportunities when you compare the US, Canada, and Australia to other countries.
I think these 3 countries are the main focus of prizerebel.
4. Ysense
Website: ysense.com
Payout Threshold: $5 – $50
Ysense formerly known as Clixsense is a GPT website that makes it possible to earn money not only with surveys but all kinds of other tasks. The website was made by the same people that created inbox dollar and Swagbucks.
You’ll notice similarities immediately after signing-up. What makes sense a bit different from inbox dollars and Swagbucks is that they’re a bit stricter with their qualification process.
You could see this as a good thing because it means more meaningful surveys but I can understand people who repeatedly get disqualified and get frustrated. That being said, it’s a great website to add to your portfolio of GPT websites.
Which survey website do I recommend
I can understand that after reading the descriptions you can’t make a clear choice when it comes to which website should I invest my time in. My recommendation is to not choose at all.
The qualification process will likely exclude you from completing multiple surveys and there aren’t new surveys coming in 24/7. This is why I’d recommend signing up for all the websites and trying to qualify for as many surveys as possible to “squeeze” the most amount of money out of them haha.
How to spot fake survey websites
Surveys and GPT-websites are very popular and unfortunately because of that can be used to scam people out of money or their information. I the last 4 years, I have reviewed hundreds of websites promising compensation for filling out surveys and not delivering.
This is why it’s important to learn how to spot fake survey websites. When I review websites I take into account a lot of factors but that’s because I’m a reviewer.
In your case, I’d primarily look at these 5 factors.
- Unrealistic sign-up bonuses
Most sign-up bonuses are around the number of Swagbucks or inboxdollars which is $5. The moment you start to see ridiculous numbers such as $50 it is time to be wary of the website or mobile app. - Unrealistic rewards
The same goes for the rewards and earning potential they claim to have. Survey and GPT-websites will not earn you a full-time income so if you start to see claims as earning $100 daily I’d advise you to stay away from them. - Paying before being able to become a member
Swagbucks is one of the most popular and successful GPT-websites in the world and they don’t charge for joining. So wouldn’t it be strange for other less successful survey websites to require that? A fee for admission, in my opinion, is a red flag when it comes to GPT-websites - If they don’t state that your information is going to be used by third parties
Before signing up for a website, I’d advise you to take a look at their privacy policy. A link to this page will often be in the footer of the website. If it’s not there try using “ctrl-F” to find the link. If it doesn’t state that they won’t share your information with third parties it’s best to stay away from them. - Negative Reviews
Surveys and GPT-websites get reviewed all the time. You could easily find hundreds of reviews about most websites and mobile apps with a 5-minute Google search. If you find a lot of negative reviews, I’d consider it a red flag. It is an important thought to find out why they give it a negative rating. In some cases, people just give it a negative review because they can’t qualify for anything which doesn’t prove that it’s a bad survey website or a scam.
Is it worth it to earn money with surveys?
It depends on what your goals are with completing surveys.
Believe it or not. Some people just enjoy filling out surveys to help out certain companies. If you belong to that group using these websites will be worth it. I also think people with a lot of time that are looking for pocket money ($10 – $50/month) could benefit from surveys.
The group that is looking for a decent side income (+$200/month) or a full-time income (+$5000/month) might have to consider looking for other make money online opportunities.
You could also combine your entrepreneurial endeavor with these websites to make a little money until the main method become profitable.
So yes, you can really make money with surveys but how much value you’ll get from it depend on your financial goals.
That’s all I have to say for today.
If you have any questions or you just want to show some love leave a comment below.
Until the next post!
