Get Extra Money By Just Taking Surveys
- Gee Suajay
- Jun 19, 2020
- 7 min read
How to Make Money with Online Surveys (Get Paid $250.00+/Month from Home)

Are you happy with the money that you are currently making? If not, are you doing anything about it?
If your answer was no, and you’re looking for an easy way to make some extra cash, you’ll be happy to know you can legitimately make money with online surveys.
Why? Because big brands are always trying to get a glimpse into consumers’ brains. They want to improve their products and marketing, and they are willing to pay big bucks for information that comes directly from their customers.
You can earn several hundred dollars a month with paid online surveys, but you have to be strategic about the way you go about things. If you haphazardly try and take every single survey you can find, you’re going to be left feeling upset and frustrated.
Your time is valuable. Do some research about the companies that are offering the surveys and try and get an idea of approximately how much each one is worth.
By choosing ones you’re eligible before ahead of time (rather than finding out your ineligible midway through the survey), you can achieve an hourly rate somewhere just below that of an entry-level job.
Now, you’d go nuts trying to make money with online surveys taking them 40 hours a week, but a few hours here and there can really add up.
Our recommendation?
Treat the money you pull in from these paid surveys seriously. If you can, set it aside for something meaningful. Paying for a family vacation, building an emergency fund, or opening an investment account, are all great ideas for stowing away your newly earned cash.
Table of Contents
How to Make Money with Online Surveys
The paid survey sites that you register with are being paid (by big brands) to get your input on all sorts of things — your TV-watching habits, favorite places to eat, what material of sweater you prefer in the fall, etc.
Since they are being paid by the brands themselves, they are basically passing off some of their compensation to you. Think of the survey websites as the middle-man between you and the brands that are doing market research. In order to get you to take these surveys, some survey sites will offer you money, free gift cards, and all sorts of other cool stuff in return.
Now, keep in mind that some of the surveys are fairly targeted. For instance, Bed Bath & Beyond doesn’t really care what kind of candles a 23-year-old guy prefers — so they aren’t going to pay to get his opinion.
So what does that mean for you?
You won’t be “eligible” to take every survey. When you register with a paid survey site, they will collect some basic demographic information on you and match you up with surveys that fit your profile. Since no one survey site is partnered with every brand doing research, that means…
Registering for several survey sites will increase your chances of being matched with an eligible, high-paying survey.
There are a ton of survey sites out there for you to choose from. Some of them can look like spam, and don’t pay very well. But there are several legit, safe, and reputable sites that are known for high payouts and a quality user experience.
We recommend signing up for each of them, as that will give you the best return on your time.
Tip: In order to keep your personal inbox clean and tidy, set up a separate email to use for survey sites, or at least create a separate folder in your normal inbox. You’ll still need to verify your email address though, so make sure you put in a legit email when you sign up.
8 Best Sites for Taking Paid Surveys Online
Without further ado, here are our top recommendations for paid survey sites.
1. Swagbucks ($10 Sign Up Bonus)
Once we got past the gimmicky-sounding name, we were able to see how Swagbucks is one of the most respected companies in the online survey space.
Here’s how it works:
For every survey you take, you are compensated in “Swagbucks,” also called SBs. You accumulate SBs, then convert them into cash, gift cards, or PayPal credit (aka cash). These guys are the real deal — they have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and they’ve paid out over $150,000,000 to users to date.
As it turns out, surveys are not the only way to make money with Swagbucks (which is why we love them so much). They have a bunch of different ways for you to earn:
Online shopping
Watching videos

Our advice?
Use their web search tool, get paid to watch videos, and do a couple of surveys a day when you’re bored at work. If you can consistently do that, your cash and rewards will add up quicker than you think.
2. Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is super straightforward, which is why they’re high up on this list. They’ve got over 5,000,000 members, which makes them one of the top dogs in the game.
Signing up is super easy — you can register and log in using your Facebook profile (and no, they don’t post anything to your profile and they won’t spam you). It takes mere seconds to do and they’re one of the highest paying survey sites in the business. Survey Junkie even pays you for answering their screening questions — something most survey sites don’t do.
There are no special requirements, nothing to install, and new surveys are available every day. Better yet, they tell you exactly how much you stand to make before you even start the survey. That way you know exactly how much cash you’re going to make for your time.
3. InboxDollars ($5 Sign Up Bonus)
Another huge name in the industry. Not only can you get paid to take surveys online with InboxDollars, but you can also earn $5 just for signing up with them. Are you noticing a pattern here? Your opinion is worth real money.
One neat little feature with InboxDollars is the option to play games and compete for rewards. It’s not my thing, personally, but if you’re into that, go for it! Otherwise, they have cashback programs similar to Swagbucks, plus surveys and all the other basics, of course.
Sign Up & Claim Your Free $5
4. Vindale Research ($1 Sign Up Bonus)
This NYC-based survey company has been around for over 12 years. One of the best features of Vindale Research is that there’s no point system to keep track of. Take surveys, get cash — it’s that simple.
Even better than that, Vindale beats the industry average payout when compared to other paid survey sites. And just like with Swagbucks and other sites where you can get quick cash online, you get a nice cash bonus just for creating your account.
Collect Your $1 Sign Up Bonus
5. Pinecone Research Pinecone Research is a survey site affiliated with Harris Poll Online — the online survey and rewards branch of The Harris Poll. Founded in 1963, it’s one of the most well-known research organizations in the United States. The best part about the site?
1) They’re legit and
2) Pinecone is extremely transparent about how much you’ll make with each online survey.
Exactly $3.
Getting started is easy. Register for Pinecone by filling out a little information about yourself. They’ll then begin to match you to surveys distributed by companies interested in your age range and demographic. It’s that simple.
Furthermore, Pinecone offers the most flexible cash out threshold of any survey site. According to their FAQs, all you have to do is select the quantity of $3, $5 or $15 increments that you wish to redeem, and then wait 3-5 business days for the money to hit your PayPal account.
6. MyPoints ($10 Sign Up Bonus)
MyPoints rewards members when they shop online, take surveys, play games, watch videos and more.
It’s similar to Swagbucks, but they’ve upped the ante a little by giving new users a $10 gift card that you can earn for free after signing up.
They are owned by the same company as Swagbucks, so they are definitely top class.
7. LifePoints
Established in 1946 as National Family Opinion (NFO), and most recently known as Global Test Market, LifePoints is one of the largest consumer and market research companies in the world. Boasting over 5,000,000 members, LifePoints bills themselves as more than just a survey site.
In fact, their stated goal is to provide a platform “that will allow you to change the world…by providing opinions and views that influence brands across the globe [and how they shape new products and services].”
In return for your contribution, they “empower you to collect LifePoints that always turn into amazing rewards.” They’re not the highest-paying survey site on our list, which is why they come in at number 7, but they’re legitimate, and it’s another option to make money with paid online surveys.
Fast Facts:
Get 33 Bonus LifePoints for filling out your demographic information.
100 LifePoints equals approximately $1; it’s not an exact match, but it’s pretty close.
Cash-out to PayPal (allow up to 10 days for deposit confirmation).
8. Survey Club Participate in the latest and highest paying research, product test, focus groups, clinical trials, and survey opportunities. Get paid each time you take part in a paid research study (deposited directly to your PayPal account). Sign up for Free at Survey Club Be Strategic About Taking Paid Surveys Like I said before, if you stick to the reputable survey sites out there and are consistent in your survey-taking efforts, there’s no reason why you can’t make money with online surveys. If you’re diligent, you can reasonably execute on this money-making idea and earn several hundred dollars a month in cash and other rewards. How you use your cash and gift cards is up to you, but I always recommend keeping the big picture in mind. Which of these paid survey sites have you used? Let us know in the comments!
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