Survey Sites That Pay: 6 Best+Free Paid Surveys and What I Earn

We may earn money from the companies mentioned in this post.

Want to find survey sites that really pay? In cash? Survey sites that are legitimate? Safe? Real? Sites that pay in dollars–not cents–for a few minutes of your time? Want me to stop asking questions like this???

You’ll have no trouble finding folks who promote looong lists of survey sites they promise will help you earn “big” money online. That’s because these nincompoops make BIG money by getting others to sign up for surveys. It’s called affiliate marketing.

Survey sites pay a huge commission to people–aka “affiliates”–to promote their surveys to others. The real money comes via folks’ ability to get others to sign up and take surveys, not in the surveys themselves. So if you see an article promoting an ultra-long list of survey companies with no proof or experience to back it up, run the other way as fast as you can.

So, how to find legit survey sites that actually pay?

Spoiler alert: I’m a survey site affiliate too. I too, make money from people signing up for surveys through some (not all) of my links. But don’t run yet. I’m also a stay-at-mama who has learned a thing or two about surveys. I know which ones pay in cash, and which ones barely pay at all. Ask me how I know.

I’ve been looking for ways to make money at home with my babies ever since 2009 when my first was born. I’ve sifted through at countless survey sites and pyramid schemes, and have learned so much.

My list of the best free paid surveys I recommend and can personally vouch for is a short one. Not because I haven’t tried many–I’ve tried dozens. I’d venture to guess I’ve signed up for over several dozen sites over the years, and have whittled the list of the best down to just six.

With this experience in mind, there are plenty of survey companies I just don’t recommend. I don’t recommend these for various reasons, including absurdly low pay, multi-level marketing scams, and/or purposefully confusing points systems that try to disguise said low pay.

Not all survey sites are the same:

Just because a survey company is legitimate doesn’t mean it pays decently. Here are the five worst-paying sites to not waste your time with:

• Inbox Dollars is a popular recommendation among many articles you might find, but their pay is ridiculously low, even by survey standards–25 cents for 20 minutes? No thanks. Even if the pay was better, there are few surveys ever available. It’s mainly a bunch of multi-level marketing signup offers. With that said, I have cashed out $35 from them twice in the past due to some of their offers, and they are legit. Did you know you could sign up for the Robinhood Investment app through them and earn $30 cashback? Inbox Dollars is not worth your time unless you’re looking to sign up for book clubs, credit cards, food/pet subscriptions, or various apps.
• Toluna surveys are legitimate, but they use a confusing points system in an effort to disguise their abysmal pay rate per survey. They take the cake for lousy pay.
• Tellwut surveys offer more of the crappy pay rate hidden behind the confusing points mentioned above. See a pattern with these needlessly complex points systems?
• Survey Club initially looks like they have lots of surveys to offer. Upon further inspection, you see that the majority of the “surveys” are just trying to sign you up for other survey sites. There’s that BIG money for survey affiliates again. I bet the owner of that site is a millionaire!
• Swagbucks surveys are legitimate but will string you along for a while before deeming you ineligible, and/or kicking you out when you’re halfway through. How annoying! Pay is bad too. With that said, their “featured offers” are fabulous, and sometimes a survey helps you to cash out if you’re near the threshold for payment. I don’t recommend them if you’re exclusively looking for the best free paid surveys though.

While these aforementioned sites are all legit, you may proceed to run away from those low-paying companies and/or shady affiliate marketers.

Survey sites that pay OK:

On the other hand, there are many survey companies that pay OK and don’t feel like a consistent waste of time. Imagine that! You won’t make a fortune taking surveys, but I like to aim for at least $10 per hour if we imagine payment is offered on an hourly basis. Of course, this will depend on the availability of surveys, because many companies just don’t have a lot of supply. In general, though, I don’t like to accept surveys that pay less than $1 per five minutes of time.

Some people might scoff at the idea of $10-$12 an hour, but it’s all relative. If you’re a stay-at-home mom or dad and you do surveys whenever you have free time between diaper changes and play dates, it’s not a bad rate at all! You don’t have to adhere to a set schedule, use gas in your car, or even get out of your pajamas if you don’t want to. When you view surveys as a few extra bucks a week during your free time–not a means to make a living–it can often be worth your spare time.

My list of the best free paid surveys is short–but good

Don’t waste your time signing up for 20 different survey sites pay pennies for your hours. Just sign up with a few that are actually worth it.

This list includes survey companies with the following criteria:

• I have personal experience with them and either currently use or have recently used their site.
• I’ve successfully received payment from each of these survey companies. They pay in cash or they offer an Amazon/Walmart gift card if you prefer.
• I find each of these companies to pay a decent amount per survey for the time required, usually $1-$10 each per 5-20 minutes of time.
• They forego the confusing points system. If they have a points system at all, it’s a simple one that anyone can immediately understand, like 100 points = 100 cents = $1.
• Survey-taking can be a little tedious by nature, but these sites keep the waste-of-time pre-screener questions to a minimum. Sometimes you might answer a few questions and then not qualify for a survey, but these companies won’t string you along for too long before recognizing that. *I’m looking at you, Swagbucks.

Use these best free paid survey sites in addition to other ways to make extra money, and you’ll have a cushion of cash by the end of the month. Clear some space at the desk and get to work.

1. Usertesting.com offers surveys in addition to user tests

I know, I know. Technically, usertesting.com is known as a user testing site, not a survey site. The thing is, many of the user tests I do each week are actually just surveys. A surprising amount of companies like to offer surveys through the user testing format because they like to hear folks’ thoughts as they’re answering the questions. The whole point of user tests is to speak your thoughts while the software records you going through the required tasks. Interestingly, many of the surveys I do with user testing do not require you to speak–simply input your survey answers.

User testing surveys are definitely worth your time. Most take about 15 minutes, but many take less than 10! Tests pay $10 each–though they’ve recently also started offering short tests that pay $4.

My favorite user testing companies: usertesting.com and intellizoom.com. Each company has a software extension you add to Chrome and/or your smartphone. I watch for Intellizoom surveys through my email, but you can also set up notifications through your phone. Usertesting opportunities alert me via my laptop, but they also offer tests via their app.

Usertesting pays via Paypal 7 days after the test is completed.

Surveys are my favorite type of user tests because you have all the questions laid out for you. All you have to do is answer the questions and elaborate on any thoughts or concerns you have. And of course, $10 per 10-20 minute survey/user test is the best payment out there for survey taking.

Cons of user testing

The downside of user testing is that you sometimes need a quiet environment. This is especially true with Intellizoom since you can’t pause your software on this one to yell at the kids. Sometimes you don’t need a quiet environment, and you’ll know this by whether or not you need a sound check. Of course, peace and quiet can be difficult to achieve sometimes with kiddos around the house. However, I still successfully did user tests several years ago solely during my kids’ nap time, and succeeded in earning about $400 per month.

More recently, even when my youngest was three, I’d tell him, “Mom’s doing a user test.” He knew to be quiet! Of course, ten minutes was pretty much the extent of his quiet-time abilities. Now that he’s five, it’s easy for him to play quietly and independently.

You don’t need much for these tests and surveys, just your built-in microphone on your pc or smartphone and internet access. If you want, you can buy a headset to make you feel like you’re really working hard.

Usertesting is popular!

User tests disappear as suddenly as they pop up. To snag them on a consistent basis, you need to listen for the “ding” of a new survey. Quickly answer the several screener questions and snag the test. After you snag it, you have 15 minutes to start the test or else it will go to another tester. Companies will rate your tests, and consistent five-star testers get a heads-up for new tests. I was a three-star tester when I started, but have consistently been a five-star tester for the past few years. Oddly, I don’t notice a difference in how many tests I get.

I easily do 2-5 user tests each day. More tests seem to be available in the early morning, late afternoon, and around dinner time. There aren’t as many available in the evening for usertesting.com, and late morning tests go quickly to the competition. Intellizoom offers evening tests more often. Payment is via Paypal seven days after you complete the test. It’s pretty exciting to consistently get $20-$50 in your Paypal account on a daily basis for very little work. I’d estimate it’s about an hour’s worth of work each day!

Update: Intellizoom has dropped their pay from $10 per test to $5-$8 per test, depending on length. Usually, the $5 tests are a card sort or survey where you do not need to record sound, and these are often only 5-10 minutes of your time. Still a great way to earn extra cash without a schedule!

2. Survey Savvy offers some of the best free paid surveys

Survey Savvy is one of my favorites for many reasons. They offer consistently decent pay per survey, and they usually have a pretty steady supply of surveys available. It takes about a month to receive the check, but they say in their FAQs it can take 4-12 weeks. For this reason, it’s fun to save up that money throughout the year and cash out around October to be ready for a November check. Extra Christmas cash, anyone?

Update: They’ve recently created a “Survey Savvy Partner Offers” variety of surveys, and I notice these particular surveys can be cumbersome to qualify for. I’d avoid these “partner offer” surveys and just go for the regular surveys. You will recognize the partner offers because they’ll have the same recurring last few digits in the survey link number. From your dashboard, look for the same last three digits in the survey number listed multiple times to spot these.

Survey Savvy payment

After you earn at least $1, you can request payment by using the “Request Payment” tool under the Account section once logged in. Payment is made by check in USD and will be mailed via U.S. post to the residence on file. Remember, this takes around a month.

Here’s a Survey Savvy payment:

Savvy Connect

In addition to offering surveys, Survey Savvy also offers SavvyConnect. This is their desktop application that “unobtrusively includes you in behavioral market research while you browse the internet. When you install the software, you help our clients better understand online behavior and can receive supplementary paid surveys for remaining active.”

They basically pay you $5 per device that you install their extension, up to $15 per month–so your laptop, phone, and tablet if you choose. Read more about that here. It sounds like that could invade privacy, but doesn’t the internet already do that to us? Might as well get paid for it. I only have Savvyconnect on my laptop and it earns a passive $5 each month without slowing down my computer: you have to use a password if you connect it to your phone or tablet, and that’s just too much work for me.

3. Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is a popular survey site among survey takers because, after the initial application questionnaire, you always qualify for the surveys sent to your email. Meaning you never get screened out of surveys for not qualifying! With that said it can be hard to get accepted into their panel. They’re usually only looking for certain demographics; minority females 18-24 and males of all ages.

Pinecone payment

Their other reason for the popularity is their pay; $3 per 10-minute survey. Back in the good ol’ days of pre-2012, it used to be $5 per survey! You also have several days to complete any given survey and don’t have to worry about others snagging it before you can finish answering questions.

I made over $160 with Pinecone in 2017, and over $120 in 2018, plus earned a free product every couple of months!

Another perk for Pinecone is the freebies. I used to get sent all kinds of freebies to test out after a survey. Some examples I’ve received include a full pack of diapers, cough syrup, diet soda, crackers, antacids, and even laundry detergent. I don’t get as many freebies anymore, they seem to have dried up around 2018. I’m not sure if they did away with that, or if I just don’t fit the freebie demographics anymore. I did recently move out of the 18-34-year-old range and into the (gasp) 35-54 range.

Pinecone survey frequency

I receive around three surveys each month. This brings me to my next point; Pinecone’s only downfall is its survey supply. I usually don’t get more than three surveys each month.

Their surveys all follow the same format, so once you learn it you can breeze right through them with your morning cup of coffee. When I cash out $30-$40 quarterly from Pinecone, it feels like free money for very little effort. For the record, you can cash out after just one $3 survey, and payment takes a couple of days via Paypal.

4. Rethink Online Research is a survey company with great pay, but low frequency

Why oh why can’t this site offer more surveys? I love Rethink’s $2-$10 payments for quick 5-10 minute surveys! I sure wish they had more surveys available though! Only 1-2 surveys pop into my email each month through this site, but I thought they were worth mentioning due to the ease of sign-up and payment. They don’t hassle you with a point system, it’s purely $x payment for an x-minute-long survey. They’re always upfront about the survey time, and it’s usually a $5 survey for 5 minutes of your time.

Fast, easy, nice pay. It’s like Pinecone, but better.

Rethink Payment

Rethink usually credits my payment within three days after the completion of each survey. The payment is in the form of a Tango card. You go to the Tango website they give and input your Tango code, then pick the gift card you want. Gift cards include all the major retailers, and the first on the list is Amazon. The gift card is sent to your email immediately.

5. Opinion Outpost

Here’s an oldie but goodie. Opinion Outpost was one of the first survey sites I discovered so many years ago when trying to find a legitimate survey company. I like this company because of its steady supply of surveys and unique format for survey taking.

Outpost asks you screener questions one at a time and will offer an applicable survey after you qualify for one of the questions. The survey then awards you through a simple point system. Ten points equal one dollar. Their points vary with each survey between 30-200 points or .30-$2, but you can reject anywhere you feel the value for your time is too low. You are awarded the points immediately upon completion of the survey.

Opinion Outpost payment

You can cash out your points with Outpost as soon as you hit 50 points=$5, but this option only applies if you’re getting an Amazon gift card. If you want to get paid in cash via Paypal with Opinion Outpost, the payment threshold is $10. I accomplished this within a week by doing surveys in the mornings while watching cartoons with my toddler. Usually, though, I prefer to cash out at $5 with an Amazon gift card, since that’s as good as cash in our house.

6. Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is a site I just found recently while researching the best free paid survey sites that actually pay in cash. I signed up just to give it a whirl for this article. I did a few surveys in the morning and suddenly I have $4.57 in my account. It took maybe 40 minutes of time while I was watching Spongebob with my little guy. I’m definitely digging this one so far.

Survey Junkie payment

The payment per survey can be pretty good, as long as you skim over the surveys available and only take the ones that are worth your time. They have a simple point system: 100 points = $1, and you may cash out at $10. I like how they show your points and the cash equivalent at all times on the left side of the page. To easily figure if they’re worth your time, look for points in the 200 range and make sure that the amount of minutes it estimates is 10 or less.

Here’s a screenshot of one morning’s “work” after signing up. If you install their Survey Junkie extension it gives you more survey opportunities and an extra $1.50 if you leave it installed for 30 days. Some of their surveys also lead to higher paying survey studies, up to $75 per survey for around 45 minutes of time!

UPDATE 6/25/19: I’ve logged in eight times since 6/5/19, so around 2-3 times a week. I attempted 24 surveys overall and qualified for eight. You do get paid a few cents for surveys you try to start, whether you qualify or not. Plus I usually knew fairly quickly when I qualify due to the question continuation.

I reached the $10 payment threshold within three weeks of signing up, with minimal effort. Each survey’s points are added to your account immediately after the survey completion. I’d say this site is comparable to my list of sites above, though on the lower-pay end. I’d recommend them overall. If you sit down with your laptop for half an hour once a week, you should be able to earn a little fun money as I did soon enough.

Like all survey sites, you won’t get rich with Survey Junkie. It’s a little bit of extra money at the end of the month for a couple of Little Caesar’s $5 pizzas. Or the $6 Extra-Most-Bestest pizzas if you want to splurge.

I requested payment via Paypal, and it came immediately. Now I’m off to Little Caesar’s.

Do you have a favorite survey site?

Don’t stop at survey sites. There’s more lucrative stuff out there. Check out other legit ways to make extra money from home too. I use all these methods to make extra money as a stay-at-home mom!