Online Surveys

This page is under construction until further notice. Please check back weekly for updates. There is a lot to share, and it's going to take me a little time to type it all out! I have about 30 companies to review here, so this is only the beginning!

I started doing online surveys in the fall of 2008 and have made a lot of money with it thus far. Surveys are great for "idle time"--when you would otherwise spend your time browsing online, reading everyone's Facebook status updates, playing Solitaire... you get the idea. When times like that come along, I pull up my Surveys folder and start clicking away. It beats Solitaire by a long shot!

Survey panel membership tends to snowball. I started with just a few companies and now have membership in more than I can keep track of! Eventually my complete list will be posted here (I'm going bit by bit). As I find more, I'll add updates, and I will always give each new company at least a month to figure out the innerworkings before I post about it, because I want to give you as much information as I can. Please use the banner links here if you're interested in joining. Many of these panels have referral programs (those are marked by *R*), and joining through these links will earn money for you *and* for me!

Since I want you to be equipped to make decisions about which panels to join, I've included several key pieces of information about each site--pros and cons, how much I've earned so far with the company, the cashout (minimum accrued amount needed to get paid), and payment method. The payment method is important if you're concerned about the time it will take to get paid; checks can often take up to eight weeks to process and mail, then you have to make that trip to the bank... whereas Paypal payments can be done immediately (or at the longest, within a week or so). If you don't have a Paypal account, go ahead and sign up for one (using the email address you will use to sign up for the survey sites).



Upside: This was one of the original few survey sites I joined, and I've stuck with it. They usually send 1-4 survey invitations per day. I've also gotten hooked up with product tests through Survey Spot; the best was when I got paid $50 to eat 6 cans of Campbell's chicken noodle soup. (Free food *and* $50? Yes, please!)
Downside: Some of the surveys do not pay in points, only in sweepstakes entries. As I have never had luck in any sweepstakes, I generally trash those invitations; I also trash the "general invitation" emails that don't list a particular survey or promise a certain reward; they just say, "We need your opinion for a new survey!" No, thank you! : ) Also, no referral program.
My earnings: $75+ (I can only track my earning history to 4/1/09, and I've made $75 since then--not counting the additional $$ for product tests)
Cashout: 1000 points ($10)
Method: Paypal

*R*
Upside: Lots of invitations (normally at least one a day), and you always get at least a point for clicking on the invitation, even if you don't qualify for the survey. They do a lot of product tests as well, and those normally pay additional $$ outside the point system. Also, there's a fun little tidbit at the end of each survey that I've actually grown to look forward to: Poll Predictor. You're asked to guess the percentage of Americans who answered "yes" to a certain poll question, and you get a number of sweepstakes entries based on how close your guess was to the actual number. I stink at these, but my husband is really good at guessing them! I haven't won any sweeps, but it's still fun.
Downside: The referral program doesn't earn points, just sweepstakes entries.
My earnings: i-Say has just changed its rewards website so I can't look up the exact amount I've earned, but the last total I wrote down was $30 (not including $$ for product tests).
Cashout: 50 points ($5)
Method: check, American Express Encompass gift card, or charity donation



Upside: Invitations are frequent (normally one a day), and most are fairly easily qualifiable. Also, everything is done in dollars, so there's no point conversion system to keep track of. Most surveys pay anywhere from $1 to $5, and there are occasional product tests offered as well.
Downside: No referral program. Paypal is not a payment option, so there's a bit of a wait period with processing and snail mail, unless you choose an online retailer gift card. Also, payment for a particular survey can be "pending" for as long as 6 weeks, which can be torturous if you're waiting for that last $1 to be added to your account so you can cash out! (All in all, though, these are *very* insignificant downsides!)
My earnings: I've gotten 4 $20 gift cards (3 Visa, 1 Macy's) and am $.50 away from my 5th.
Cashout: $20
Method: Gift card - prepaid Visa, Macy's, Blockbuster, Marriott, Amazon.com, Fragrance.net, Magazines.com


*R*
Upside: Low cashout, dollar system, and a decent referral program. They offer lots of product tests, and they are partnered with Bath & Body Works' customer opinion panel, "Best Friends." Because of this, I have had the opportunity to test new formulas for body lotion and body butter (both in Japanese Cherry Blossom, the #1 selling fragrance at B&BW), as well as new fragrances months prior to their release in stores (Twilight Woods and Sweet Pea Forever). Mindfield also does "diary" studies (e.g. keep track of your greeting card purchases for 2 months, or your conversations for a day, or cleaning habits for a week). Generally, product tests and diaries also pay more than standard surveys (standard = $1-3).
Downside: I haven't gotten as many invitations from Mindfield in the past few months as I used to. That's disappointing, considering all the upsides of this company.
My earnings: $86
Cashout: $5
Method: Paypal or check


Upside: I almost always qualify for the surveys E-Poll sends me.
Downside: Survey invitations only come 3-4 times a month. The average survey pays 500 points, which works out to less than a dollar. Also, the only referral program is a website affiliate one, which only really applies if you have a high-traffic site. (If my blog ever generates legit traffic, I will be joining this program!)
My earnings: $20 in Amazon gift codes
Cashout: 2500 points for a charity donation; 3500 points for $5 gift cards (and on up the ladder)
Method: Choose from 6 charities for donations, or 10 retailers for gift cards (or online codes where applicable--delivered much more quickly)



Upside: Lots of invitations (usually one a day), most of which are pretty easy to qualify for.
Downside: The referral program has been discontinued until further notice. It also takes a very long time to cashout. A fair number of the invitations only offer sweepstakes entries and no points--I trash these.
My earnings: $50 (and a little over halfway to my next $50)
Cashout: 1000 points ($50)
Method: Check


*R*
Upside: Good referral program. I receive multiple invitations daily from Outpost. They are up-front with all the vital info in each survey invite--points you can earn, approx. time it should take, and what company is hosting the survey (they redirect to a lot of partner sites).
Downside: Outpost sends a lot of OTX surveys, which I find particularly difficult to qualify for. I normally still try them if the points are worth it, but since this info is included in the invitation, I put OTX surveys further down on the priority list and just get to them when I can.
My earnings: $60
Cashout: 50 points ($5)
Method: Amazon gift code (immediate) or check (4-8 weeks)

*R*
Upside: OpinionSquare is very consistent; you earn 200 points for each survey you complete (and if you don't qualify, you'll get a "token" for a lotto-type game where you can earn 25 or more points). The surveys are easy and not too time-consuming; at least half of the ones I've done for them included watching Walmart commercials and giving my opinions about them. You can also earn more points by downloading their software that monitors your computer activity. This is not malware or spyware, and I can say from experience that it is safe. None of your personal information goes anywhere; it is just a tool to gather information about the computer habits of the general public.
Downside: I only receive an invitation every week or two. There is a page where you can view the surveys available to you, but you can only access it after finishing a survey to which you've been invited; I've tried bookmarking this page, but it always gives an error message when I try to access it from the bookmark. Very frustrating!
My earnings: $60 (and about to cashout another $10)
Cashout: from 1500 points ($5) up to 5700 points ($25)
Method: Gift cards for over 20 places, including retail stores, restaurants, and movie theaters.

  *R*
Upside: Ah, Toluna... Toluna and I have a rocky, love-hate relationship. Toluna recently took over my most favorite survey company of all time (Greenfield), and I was quite irritated at first, but they seem to be trying really hard to make Toluna like Greenfield. At any rate, Toluna is a unique panel--so unique (and complicated) that it needs bullet points.
   - 500 points signup bonus, plus extra points for completing "personal interest surveys" (basically, detailed profile information)--600 points per profile survey (there are 15 total), and a one-time bonus of 2000 points when you complete all of these. So essentially, you can earn 11,500 just by signing up and completing these questionnaires--not bad!
   - Earn points for surveys. I receive 1-3 survey invitations a day from Toluna, varying widely in point values (usually relative to the time the survey will take). I have done many product tests through surveys sent to me by Toluna (and Greenfield before it).
   - Earn points for answering "sponsored polls" on the website; to find these (once you have signed up), hover over the "Explore" heading, then click "Sponsored." Answer one or a few questions, and you'll get anywhere from 15 to 200 points. New polls are posted daily.
   - Earn points for posting opinions on topics on the website. The catch is that your opinions have to be 80 words or longer and must make sense (you can't just type in a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to get to 80 words). Each "quality opinion" earns you 100 points (with a limit of 5000 points per month).
   - Has a referral program (you get 500 points for each friend who "completes advanced registration"), but there is not a unique referral link... I think the registration process asks you for the name email address of the person who referred you.
Downside: As you can see from the upsides, this site gives you a lot to keep up with, and it can get overwhelming! Also, the opinion topics aren't always easy to answer with 80 words. You have to find topics that interest you enough to "get you going" enough to be long-winded! Finally, the cashout is done in points (a confusing system) and is sort of high.
My earnings: I made $110 from Greenfield before it switched over to Toluna (and that wasn't including the product tests and focus groups they hooked me up with); since the switch, I've gotten $20 and am about halfway to my next $20.
Cashout: $20 or $25
Method: Choose check or Paypal for the $20 level, or a variety of "VIP Rewards" at the $25 level--charity donations, Visa gift cards, catalog items, movie tickets, or other retailer gift cards.



Upside: Quality surveys, a decent number of invitations (I get one every day or so), and relatively easy to qualify for.
Downside: My huge irritation with Lightspeed is that you can only access each survey once. If anything happens to interrupt your survey experience--page doesn't load right, browser decides to freeze, you accidentally close the browser, you lose connection while a page is loading--you can't go back and finish it at all. Because of this, I'm very careful when and where I will access a Lightspeed survey; I have to make sure I'll be able to finish it in one sitting without any possible interruption! Also, no referral program.
My earnings: $40, and this is a relatively recent add (5 months)
Cashout: 110 points ($1); this goes proportionally up the ladder (550=$5, 1100=$10, etc.)
Method: Lower point redemptions available for cell phone downloads (ringtones, wallpapers); Amazon codes available from $1 on up; other gift cards and codes including several restaurants and other types of retailers. My favorites (other than Amazon, which you can never have too much of) are Red Robin and Cracker Barrel--yum!


Upside: Surveyhead organizes your available surveys on a "Dashboard" and uses your profile information to determine your likelihood of qualifying for each (by percentage). The Dashboard also includes the reward amount and time required for each survey, which is very helpful; I like to look at it and find one that's shorter and higher-paying when I only have a few minutes. You also earn reward points when you complete each of several profiles (screeners about your purchasing habits, lifestyle, home, family, etc.), and the Dashboard lets you know when you can be rewarded for updating or completing a new profile.
Downside: The likelihood of qualifying never seems to work out right for me. Also, the Dashboard automatically refreshes itself each time you select a survey from it; the bad part is that some of the other surveys (the ones you *didn't* click on) will disappear when it refreshes. The cashout also feels high (and is a bit confusing) for the average survey payment ($1) and the number of surveys I qualify for. Finally, rewards for some surveys will remain listed as "pending" for quite some time. Oh, and no referral program.
My earnings: I have *earned* $34; I have *received* $20 of that.
Cashout: You can cash out when you reach $25; however, you won't necessarily be able to cash out a total of $25. I wish I had kept better records
Method: Charity donation (several charities to choose from), gift codes/certificates (Amazon, Paypal, and a variety of other random things, many of which involve sports), or a virtual Visa (usable anywhere Visa is accepted online or by phone). These are available at a variety of levels, but you can't really find out what they all are until you hit the cashout level. The next time I cashout, I will take better notes!


*R*
Upside: This is a different type of panel and deals primarily with news and current events. Topics I've been invited to give input on included the State of the Union address, the Haiti earthquakes, Tiger Woods, and Superbowl commercials. The difference in subject matter (as compared to most other panels) keeps it interesting! Also, HCD awards "consolation points" if you don't qualify for a survey, so time is never wasted.
Downside: Not a lot of invitations--I get 1-3 per month.
My earnings: 580 points; no cashout yet
Cashout: 1000 points ($10)
Method: Check


Upside: Like HCD, YouGov surveys (or, as they refer to them, "polls") focus on current events, but it also includes a little bit of pop culture (e.g. getting your overall "approval rating" of popular businesses, brands, or personalities). I have also never been disqualified for a YouGov poll, and the reward points are pretty consistent; 2000 for your first survey, 500 for normal polls, and 1250 for slightly longer, more involved polls. I also get an invitation about once a week.
Downside: High cashout if you want a decent reward. Also, no referral program.
My earnings: 12,000 points
Cashout & Method: 17,500 points for a PollingPoint tote bag; on up the ladder are movie tickets, an assortment of online gift codes, a webcam, iPod Shuffle, or $100 cash (100,000 points). There are occasionally "limited time only" offers as well; a recently expired one was a Starbucks gift card.


*R*
Upside: Lowest cashout I've found anywhere! Also has a great referral program--you get cents to the dollar for surveys your referrals complete, as well as those *their* referrals complete.
Downside: I hardly ever receive invitations! I think I've gotten a couple in the past few months that I didn't qualify for. I'm updating my profiles to see if that will help.
My earnings: $2.50
Cashout: $1
Method: check


*R*
Upside: Payment is good, consistent, and delivered quickly. This is a different kind of panel that recruits people to evaluate websites. After passing the screener for an evaluation, you'll be asked to download a program (it's safe, I promise) that sort of sits on your desktop during the evaluation and monitors how you interact with the website you're evaluating--to ensure you're actually taking time to browse it and look for specific things as instructed. You answer the evaluation questions through the little application screen. The program goes away after the evaluation is complete, so it doesn't monitor anything further.
Downside: In over a year, I have only gotten three invites and qualified for two evaluations. Huge bummer, because the evaluations are fun and well-paying! Also, there seems to be a referral system, but I'm not sure how referrers are rewarded; when you complete survey profiles, you're asked to provide the name and email address of the person who referred you. (If you want to try this panel, please provide my info here so we can figure out the referral program!)
My earnings: $20
Cashout: $10 (per evaluation)
Method: Amazon gift code, delivered within two days of completing an evaluation




"Invitation Only" sites to look out for:


U Talk Back - This site is sponsored by American Eagle, Express, Gamestop, iTunes, Macy's, Starbucks, Target and Ticketmaster. If you have a chance to give your email address to any of these companies, they may pass it along to UTB and you may receive an invitation to join the panel. I'm fairly certain I got mine through my husband's frequent patronage of Gamestop, so I can thank him for this one!
Upside: I like the gift card rewards, which include all the sponsor companies listed above.
Downside: It takes what feels like forever to get any kind of reward. Most months, I get a couple of invitations but don't end up qualifying, and I'll earn about 10 "consolation prize" points. The surveys I qualify for normally pay around 30 points.
My earnings: $25 Macy's gift card (which took me a year to earn), and 100 points I'm waiting to add to so I can cash them out
Cashout and Method: 100-200 points for a magazine subscription; 250-600 points for gift cards (ranging $15-50 in value)


e-Rewards - This one is sponsored by an assortment of "frequent flyer" programs, fine jewelry stores, some in-store locations (Macy's, Borders, Blockbuster), and a few random online retailers such as Omaha Steaks, FTD, and eBags. Like UTB, e-Rewards is by invitation only from one of these companies. I actually got mine when I bought my Honda, though that is not one of the listed sponsors.
Upside: I get 1-4 invitations a week from this company, and I qualify for most of the surveys. Also, the cashout is not too high, so it's attainable. If you fly a lot and your frequent flyer club is included in the rewards, this could be a great program for you.
Downside: The rewards are not fantastic for everyone; most are "discounts" rather than gift cards (see my earnings below). And, if you find one you like, you can only get that particular reward once every quarter.
My earnings: $10 off $50 purchase at Macys.com (twice), $15 Borders Bucks (twice), $25 off $75 at eBags.com (and I've only been a member 4 months)
Cashout and Method: quite a range, and subject to variation. Lowest cashout right now is $1 (for $15 off "each item you purchase" at FTD.com--I think this is a seasonal offering). Most rewards start at the $10 level and include magazine subscriptions and $10 off online purchases of a certain amount. The highest cashout is a 1-year subscription to The Economist at $130. 

MyView - I didn't even realize this was an invitation-only panel until I went looking for a "join" link to post here! I know I signed up for points through either MyPoints or InboxDollars, but I can't recall which. If you have signed up for those two programs, keep your eyes peeled for a paid offer to join MyView. (If you haven't signed up with them, check out my post "Get Paid to Click" and join!)
Upside: Lots of invites--I get at least one a day. Also, you receive 125 consolation points for answering all the initial qualifying questions, even if you don't qualify to complete the survey.
Downside: I do not qualify for a lot of these; in fact, looking at my survey history, I have only qualified for one in the past two months. Before that, I averaged two per month. Also, the system was recently changed from dollars to points, and now the cashout feels quite high.
My earnings: Nothing in my pocket yet. I have been a member almost six months and am almost halfway to the cashout point for a gift card. (I joined on 9-9-09... perhaps this was an unlucky date?)
Cashout & Method: 28,000 points ($20) and up for charity donation; 35,000 points ($25) and up for a Visa gift card. There is also a merchandise reward option listed as "coming soon."