Paid online surveys: We review eight of the top sites to try

Marc Crosby 16th Aug 2023 5 Comments

Reading Time: 7 minutes

At MoneyMagpie we’re big fans of paid online surveys.

We think they’re a good way to make a bit of extra cash without having to put in too much effort. In fact, you can read our complete guide to online surveys here.

But you still might not be sure which online survey sites are worth your time.

As Nick Green from Swagbucks explained: “Taking paid surveys online is a great way to make money in your spare time…but you have to be patient and find the survey panel that works for you.”

That’s why we’ve taken the time to review every survey site we promote, so you know which ones you can trust, and which ones you should avoid:

1. Branded Surveys
2. Swagbucks
3. InboxPounds
4. Valued Opinions
5. Opinion Surveys
6. The OpinionPanel Community
7. Ipsos i-Say
8. Panel Base

Paid online surveys reviewed…

 

Branded Surveys

Facts

• Available to people based in the United States, Canada, and the UK
• Age requirements 16+ years old
• Average earnings of $0.50 to $5 per survey
• Payment method is via either Branded Pay (direct deposit in the United States), PayPal cash, gift cards, prepaid Visa card, or charitable donations
• Need a minimum 1,000 points to cash out

 

Good

+ It has a 4.5 out of five ‘star rating’ on Trustpilot

+ When you register as a new member, you’ll earn 50 points, then another 50 points will be credited to your account after filling out your profile (a $1 sign up bonus in total)

+ Once your account is created, you can immediately start taking surveys, which can be worth up to $5 each

+ Branded Surveys’ loyalty programme, Branded Elite, offers the opportunity for anyone to earn bonus points on a weekly basis

 

Bad

– The website design isn’t as straightforward as other survey sites

Sign up with Branded Surveys here.

 

Swagbucks

Facts

• Points redeemable for gift cards or for cash through PayPal.
• Get five points for signing up
• Earn ‘swagbucks’ (SB) by answering surveys and polls, watching videos, playing games, searching the web with the SB search engine and with cashback shopping
• At 450 SB, you can get a £3 Amazon Voucher; 720 SB gets you a £5 Amazon voucher. You’ll need 800 SB for £5 in cash; top prize of £100 cash will cost you 16,000 SB. To earn a £100 Amazon Voucher = 14,400 SB, while £100 at M&S = 13,600 SB.
• Polls earn you 1 SB
• One-minute surveys earn you 4 SB
• 15-minute surveys earn you 70 SB
• 20-minute surveys earn you 80 SB
• Earn 10 SB for signing up to promotional emails

 

Good

+ Lots of surveys to take

+ Earn SB by just answering quick questions about your preferences/lifestyle

+ Prize redemption is straight forward and you have the option of getting points converted into cash and not just gift cards

+ Loads of well known brands and shopping sites to earn cashback with, such as eBay, Iceland, Dunelm and Notonthehighstreet.com

+ Didn’t receive any emails (these can be turned on for extra Swagbucks)

 

Bad

– Sections of the site encourage you to place gambling bets in exchange for high payout swagbucks but you ultimately spend more money placing the bet than you would get for your bucks

– Most of the offers in the “Offers” section cost you money or require you to subscribe to something; most free offers are only worth 1-2 SB each

Visit Swagbucks

 

Inbox Pounds

Facts

• Earn £1 for sign-up
• You’ll receive rewards for activities such as reading emails, taking surveys, playing games and signing up for offers
• You can earn rewards from using the site’s web search facility
• Joining and engaging with other sites can also earn you rewards

Good

+ You get a £1 just for signing up

+ You earn 40p for completing your profile (took less than two minutes)

+ You earn cash, not points

+ Presented with five surveys to complete on activation of account

+ Received a few emails within the first 15 minutes just telling us how much we’ve earned and encouraging us to go to the site to earn more

 

Bad

– Layout is a little messy, but not too difficult to navigate

– To earn rewards from joining a game site and taking part in competitions you are required to deposit money first

Visit InboxPounds 

 

Valued Opinions

Facts

• Allows you to work towards gift card for popular retails (like M&S, Amazon and Argos)

 

Good

+ Easy to navigate

+ Lets you earn up to £5 per survey

+ A new feature on their website allows people to find a survey for themselves from their dashboard

 

Bad

– Like all online surveys, you have to wait for a survey that is appropriate for you, which is often luck

Visit Valued Opinions

 

Opinion Surveys

Facts

• Surveys take anywhere between five and 30 minutes
• You earn an entry into a £1,000 prize draw for each completed survey

 

Good

+ Easy sign-up with simple personal questions such as age, gender, nationality and education

 

Bad

– Sometimes you don’t get entered because you weren’t what they were looking for

– Some of the surveys are quite slow to load

– We haven’t been emailed with further survey opportunities since signing up

Visit Opinion Surveys

The OpinionPanel Community

Facts

• Aimed at students and those who have graduated within the past five years
• Ages 16 – 30 only
• Simple, clean, easy to navigate website with block colours and clear navigation panel
• You are emailed any surveys you’re selected for
• Rewards are earned though completing surveys emailed to you (£1 for completion of a 10-minute survey and £2 for longer surveys). You can also also earn rewards by writing an article that is selected to be displayed on the website (£50 per article chosen)
• There are also competitions and prize draws throughout the year
• Your earnings can be redeemed in the form of either Bonusbond vouchers that cover hundreds of high street stores, or shopping vouchers to spend on Amazon
• You can find out more about this survey in our special write up here

Good

+ You earn money, not points

+ Good prizes

+ Writing articles is a unique way to make money

+ Students who have recently had a place confirmed at university get £10 towards an Amazon voucher just for signing up

 

Bad

– After two hours we still hadn’t received an invite to complete any of the surveys

Visit The OpinionPanel Community

 

Ipsos i-Say

Facts

• 280 to 980 i-Say points gets you a £2, £4 or £7 donation to “Help Nepal” charity
• 1,380 i-Say points earn you a £10 leisure voucher (redeemable at Beefeater, Bella Italia, Café Rouge, Pizza Hut, London Eye, Hastings, Marriott, Chessington Park, Legoland, Madame Tussauds, Sea life, London Pass, and many others); a £10 compliments voucher (redeemable at retail stores such as Argos, WHSmith, Topshop, Accor Hotels, Interflora, TGI Friday’s, and many more); or £10 gift vouchers for either John Lewis, Amazon, iTunes or Zalando

Good

+ Short sign-up with very few questions

+ Profile completion takes only a few minutes and includes lots of lifestyle questions

+ Colourful, easy-to-navigate website with clear information

 

Bad

– We were rejected as “not the right demographic” after completing our first survey. No other surveys were offered.

 

Visit Ipsos i-Say

 

Panel Base

Facts

• You have to wait for surveys, and will receive a notification by email when one becomes available
• Rewards range from £0.25 – £10.00 for a successfully completed survey
• Once you have reached the redemption threshold of £10 you will be able to withdraw your rewards
• Rewards can be withdrawn by having them paid directly into your bank account, as vouchers sent to your address, or as charitable donations

 

Good

+ Easy sign-up with normal personal questions (name, age, location, house details, income, employment)

+ Good rewards with a threshold which isn’t too high

 

Bad

– Fully completing the profile questions will take a few hours

– After spending several hours on the site we were only offered one survey

Visit Panel Base

Which one are you going to try? Do you agree with our reviews? Have you had a different experience? Let us know in the comments below.