Online Surveys for Cash

So you love a good deal and you check for coupon codes before making any online purchase. That's killer. But you can crank it up another notch when you get free cash for taking short online surveys.

Answer a few questions here and there, giving your blunt opinions to brands and companies. Get paid cash. If you've banked $20 for taking surveys, that's like a free gift card or coupon to take $20 off your purchase. Cha-ching.

If you ever find yourself just scrolling through your phone - at restaurants or while sitting on the couch and watching Netflix, then you've got time to answer some online surveys for cash. When you've got a few minutes here and there, grab yourself some extra cash with your phone.

Do Online Surveys Really Pay You?

Okay, this all seems great. But can you take surveys for money? The answer is yes! Oftentimes they offer different payment options rather than direct deposit, so it’s easy to see how some would be confused and think you aren’t getting paid.

For example, InboxDollars offers payment in various forms. Once you’ve reached a certain dollar amount in rewards, you can choose gift cards to one of your favorite retailers such as Amazon, Starbucks, or Walmart. Other paid online survey sites offer cash-out options to Venmo or PayPal accounts.

What Survey Websites Pay the Most?

Hands down the winner is Swagbucks. Swagbucks pays the most money for surveys, has the most earning opportunities, and the lowest payout threshold to cash out your earnings.

• Easiest cash out. Cash out when you reach at least $3 in earnings.
• Get paid when you disqualify. Get a an SB bonus even when you disqualify from a survey to thank you for your time and effort. (SB is the virtual currency on Swagbucks. It's 100 SB to $1 USD.)
• The most reward options. Reward options include Amazon gift cards, gift cards to other popular stores, cash (check), PayPal. Early in 2022, Cryptocurrency is being offered as a redemption reward too!
• The most ways to earn on the app. In addition to surveys, there are dozens of other ways to earn.

What Paid Survey Sites Are Legitimate?

Here's a list of some legitimate paid survey sites. Yes, sadly, there are scam or fake survey sites. These are the ones that promise you hundreds of dollars per hour or per survey, or they will ask you for social security information when you sign up. Run. 

This short list is a handful of tried and true paid survey sites. You won't get rich taking surveys, but you should be able to earn an extra $30 to $230 a month - or more - with fairly minimal effort each day. 

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is an online survey-taking website that offers rewards in the form of PayPal and other rewards. They also have a mobile app on the apple app store. Swagbucks rewards you for everything you do. Online shopping, watching videos, or taking surveys, you name it. Join Swagbucks now.

InboxDollars

As mentioned above, InboxDollars is a rewards site offering payout in the form of cash, gift cards, or PayPal. Earn rewards for taking paid surveys, trying freebies, printing and using free grocery coupons, cash back shopping rebates, watching videos, reading emails, and more.

Right now, get a free $5 sign up bonus just for signing up. Join InboxDollars now.

MyPoints

MyPoints is an online platform known for offering shopping rewards. Earn cash back rebates, in the form of points, when you shop at featured store. (There are thousands of popular, eligible merchants including Best Buy, Lowe's, Home Depot, Macy's, Walmart, and Target.) Redeem your points for free gift cards or PayPal.

Did you know that MyPoints offers paid surveys, too? Earn points for answering short online surveys about a variety of consumer topics - including your favorite brands and stores. Join MyPoints now.

Upromise

Upromise is a favorite rewards app for college students and their families, as well as families who are saving for their children's college education. And you get a free $5.29 bonus when you sign up for Upromise. 

Upromise is similar to Swagbucks, featuring the same robust list of ways to earn: taking online surveys, dining out, cash back online shopping, using coupons, and trying new apps and freebies.

But there's a twist. With Upromise you're banking rewards for a college savings account instead of free Amazon gift cards or other prizes that you cash out.

1. Earn rewards for your online activities - on the website or in the app.
2. Funds build up.
3. Rewards are automatically transferred into a college savings account (a 529 plan).

Upromise is an effortless way to save for college. You literally change zero habits whatsoever. Just shop online and use coupons and dine out and try freebies as you usually do. And earn cash back rewards that automatically get set aside for your kids' college.

College savings funds in a 529 plan. (It takes a few minutes to open a 529 plan online if you don't have one.) 529 plans are a tax advantaged way of saving for college - like a 401(K) or pension plan, but for education expenses. 

Join Upromise today. 

Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is an old standby survey site. Earn points for answering surveys and redeem the points for gift cards. They don't have a lot of variety in other ways to earn or payment redemption options, but if you're looking to max out your survey earnings it's a good idea to join lots of survey apps. In that instance Pinecone Research is a good one to add to the mix.

LifePoints

Last but not least, we have LifePoints. LifePoints is quite similar to Pinecone Research. Take online surveys, earn points. Redeem those points for eGift cards and other prizes.

Is InboxDollars Legit?

InboxDollars is very legit. This Minnesota-founded survey and rewards site has been around since 2000 and its size and popularity only continues to grow. InboxDollars has paid over $65 million in cash, gift cards, PayPal, and other rewards to members.

InboxDollars has high marks on the TrustPilot review site, and 4.5 out of 5.0 star rating in iTunes. Additionally, InboxDollars has been featured in many media outlets as a top way to earn cash online including the Salt Lake Tribune, Forbes, and Yahoo! Finance.

What Survey Apps Pay You Instantly?

While there are some survey apps, like Swagbucks and InboxDollars, that will credit your earnings instantly, there is no legit survey app that will pay you instantly.

After you reach the minimum amount to cash out (which can take a couple hours to a couple of days), you select the option to cash out your funds. As with any online money transfer, it will take a couple of business days for the funds to be available. For some payment options, like getting a check in the mail, it will take even longer.

Once your eGiftCard, PayPal deposit, or other reward option is available, you should get some sort of notification by email.

What Are Other Ways to Earn Cash Online?

Other ways to earn cash online include uploading receipts, watching movie trailers and trending video content, getting cash back for your online purchases, printing free grocery coupons, using print coupons in stores, reading emails, playing games, installing new apps, playing

If you're willing to venture outside the house, there are even more ways to earn online with different apps like Task Rabbit, Shipt, Instacart, Lyft, Uber, and UberEats. For some of these gig apps, you can even get a fat bonus for signing up like this mom who signed up make one UberEats delivery to get a free $200 bonus.

Final Thoughts on Online Surveys for Cash

Although it may be tedious, filling out online surveys is a legit and real way to earn some cold hard cash. It’s not for everyone, but if it seems right for you, it truly is a great side hustle.

During a time of working from home, this is an added bonus and an added source of income we all should take advantage of.