The Best Online Paid Survey Sites that Actually Reward You
Are you looking to make a little money on the side? Online surveys are a great way to do that. It takes a lot of work to navigate the web and find the right survey site, so I researched for you.
I had four survey sites recommended to me, and ranked them as follows:
Life Points - Quickest payout
Inbox Dollars - Most enjoyable to use
Swagbucks - Most variety of rewards
Survey Junkie - Not worth the time
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
1. Life Points
Life Points operates on a point system called Life Points (surprising, I know). 550 Life Points equals a $5 Amazon gift card, and 1100 Life Points equals $10.
This opinion is a hot take, but I enjoyed my experience with Life Points. I was wary of using it after seeing so many Reddit users complain about bad experiences with the website, but the problems I had were few and far between.
So, let’s break down my experience:
Pros of using Life Points:
There were never any surveys below 50 points
Low redeem requirement
Cons of using Life Points:
Low sign-up bonus
Some surveys glitched
Easy to run out of surveys
Survey Site Verdict: Life Points
I earned $15 in Amazon gift cards in under a week by completing an hour's worth of surveys daily.
Unlike other survey sites I’ve tried, Life Points requires fewer points to redeem. I only needed to reach a $5 reward to redeem it, which was nice. This fact makes it the quickest survey site to earn on.
The surveys also paid out well compared to other online paid survey sites, averaging 100 to 75 points per survey.
Signing up with Life Points only earns you 10 points, the lowest sign-up bonus. However, you can earn points by answering more questions about yourself- a survey you are guaranteed to qualify for.
One of my biggest complaints about LIfe Points is that I took a few surveys that never rewarded me. It glitched and showed me a screen saying there was an error and that I would receive compensation later. I never got compensation. That was frustrating and happened about 4 to 5 times.
My second complaint is that there are limited surveys available. Unlike other sites, Life Points seems to have fewer surveys. I often ran out of available surveys before I finished my hour, limiting the amount I could earn daily.
Overall, I enjoyed using Life Points and will continue to use it.
You must attach Life Points to your PayPal account to redeem rewards. If that’s something you’re not comfortable with, Life Points is not the right choice for you.
2. InboxDollars
InboxDollars does not operate on a point system but utilizes actual dollar and cents amounts per survey. I made roughly $2.50 an hour with Inbox dollars. It was a hit or a miss- and I still haven’t cashed out any rewards. So let’s break down the pros and cons of InboxDollars and why I find it the most enjoyable:
Pros of using InboxDollars:
Big list of surveys to choose from
Scratch & Win bar
No points system
$5 sign up bonus
Wide variety of rewards
Cons of using InboxDollars:
High redeem requirement
A wide variety of survey reward amounts
Survey Site Verdict: InboxDollars
InboxDollars was the most enjoyable of the four paid survey sites I tested. I like that they don’t use points because that makes it simple to understand.
There was always a big list of surveys, which was good and bad. It ensured I always had options. However, some options only paid $0.20 or less. If I could take a 10-minute survey and earn $1, I’m not going to complete one that takes the same amount of time and only gets $0.20. One of my favorite types of surveys I’ve had the most luck finding on InboxDollars- video surveys, where they pay you to watch and react to an unreleased movie or episode of a TV show.
I also love their Scratch & Win bar. It makes being booted out of surveys more fun because you earn a little distance on the bar sometimes for it. I’ve never gotten a sizable reward from the Scratch & Win bar, but it’s still fun.
InboxDollars has a very nice variety of redeemable rewards, including food, traditional retail, online shopping, and more. However, you have to have a minimum of $15 to redeem any rewards at any time. Some rewards, such as Amazon gift cards, are only available at $30 or more, which is why I still have not cashed out my rewards. I easily made $15 in a week, but I wanted an Amazon gift card, so I’m holding out.
3. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is one of the most popular online paid survey sites, possibly the most popular. There are various ways to earn, including snapping pictures of receipts, playing mobile games, online offers, searching, shopping, and, of course, online surveys.
It's worth noting that InboxDollars and Swagbucks are owned by the same company- so they have very similar offerings.
Let’s break down the pros and cons of Swagbucks:
Pros of using Swagbucks:
The point system makes sense
Percentage off of rewards for first redemption every month
Wide variety of rewards
100 point welcome
Cons of using Swagbucks:
The high bounce rate of surveys
High first reward redemption requirement
Right from the start, Swagbucks is making their rewards worth it by offering you a discount for your first reward every month. Usually, this is a 12% off of a $25 reward- but if you choose to get a Mastercard gift card, it’s 13% off. So basically, you’re getting anywhere from $2 to $3 dollars extra.
Swagbucks operates on a point system. Each point is worth a penny, so it translates to dollar amounts really well. Swagbucks has the widest reward variety in price range and type/stores.
To get your first reward, you have to have 1500 points. You can later redeem any reward from $1 to $500. Getting to the 1500 points mark takes time, so it’s a slow payout at the start.
The reason why it took me so long? A high bounce rate of surveys. I apparently am not in the desired demographic for most of the surveys on Swagbucks. On my first day using the website, I attempted 19 surveys- and only got to take 3 of them. Later in my week, I only completed one survey and got booted out of 11 others. Getting kicked out of surveys is disheartening and a time suck.
4. Survey Junkie
I will be honest- I did not give Survey Junkie any more than a single-day trial. After working with the other websites, I saw things I didn’t like on Survey Junkie.
Survey Junkie’s only redeemable quality that I saw was a $1 sign-up bonus.
Only five minutes into using the website, I could already see that Survey Junkie had the lowest paying surveys, making it the slowest pay out of the four online paid survey sites I tried.
Now, there is a way supposedly to get higher-paying surveys from Survey Junkie. They want you to download an app to your phone or computer to access better surveys. I was not a fan of this option. Downloading an app from a company I know little about made no sense when there was no evidence that it would have resulted in payouts worth my time. I would highly recommend sticking to any of the other three survey sites listed in this article over Survey Junkie.
If you know something else about Survey Junkie that I might have missed or suggestions to make the earning out better- drop a comment below!
Best Online Paid Survey Sites That Actually Pay: Final Thoughts
If you want to earn money strictly by taking surveys, I recommend Life Points. If you want diverse ways to earn money online, InboxDollars or Swagbucks are great options. If you want to earn money while playing games on your phone, I highly recommend checking out Mistplay- and this article for the best tips and tricks to maximize your earnings with that app!
You won't get rich from any of these sites. They work well for getting a little extra money, though, especially around times that are tight. I like to use these sites to earn "fun money" - money set aside strictly for things I want.
Good luck to you and your survey endeavors!
