Intro
Hey everyone, it’s Tom here with thisonlineworld.com. I hope you’re all having a fantastic day today. So, when it comes to making money online, paid survey sites are one of the most popular recommendations you’re going to see out there. But while there are literally hundreds or even thousands of paid survey sites out there, the sad truth is most of them aren’t worth your time. And I know this because I’ve tested dozens of them over the years trying to make money online. So, in this video, I’m sharing five of my favorite paid survey sites that you can use to make some extra money in your spare time, completely from home and for free. One of the sites I’m covering is even one I’ve made a few hundred dollars with over the years, so you’re definitely going to want to check that one out. I’m going to be linking every survey site in the description as well if you want to sign up and give it a try. But yeah, let’s get to the survey sites. All right, so number one…
1. Prolific
One on the list of my favorite paid survey sites is Prolific, and the problem with a lot of survey sites that you’ll find is that many of them pay like a dollar or two per hour at most. There’s a lot of disqualifications, you know, spending minutes grinding out these surveys, and you don’t really make any money in the end. But Prolific is very different. This is a premium research panel that connects researchers and universities and people studying certain topics with participants who want to share their opinions to get paid. Every survey and study on Prolific has to have a minimum payout amount of eight dollars per hour. In other words, if you spend 30 minutes answering a survey or if a study on the site takes 30 minutes, you’re going to earn four dollars. Again, not better than minimum wage, not going to beat your day job, but it is better than a lot of survey sites out there. It’s also fairly global, and once you sign up, you just have to fill out your profile, which takes about 10 minutes, and then you can get matched to relevant surveys and studies. Prolific also pays through PayPal, and it pays out weekly, and you just need five dollars to cash out. So, overall, if you’re going to start somewhere with a world of paid survey sites, I definitely recommend starting with Prolific because it pays the most out of pretty much any site.
2. Grindabuck
On this list, my favorite paid survey site is Grindabuck, and this is a less popular survey site than a lot of the names out there like Swagbucks and Survey Junkie, but it’s actually the survey site I found the most success with over the years, especially when I was in college and in my phone farming days.
Ways to Make Money with Grindabuck
So, on Grindabuck, you can make money in quite a few ways, including answering surveys, downloading games, watching ads, completing paid shopping offers, and winning sweepstakes. So, back in college, I actually used the passive ad section a lot and, you know, would watch videos on like Hideout TV or different video providers, and it would pay a couple of pennies every video ad I would see, and it was a pretty easy way to make some extra passive income. The surveys also paid decently on Grindabuck, and in the video where I tested online surveys for 12 hours straight, it was actually my favorite one. And so, I think it’s a really nice backup site to have in addition to Prolific.
Cash Out Options
There are tons of ways to cash out, including PayPal, Amazon gift cards, and even cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The main downside is you have to earn ten dollars to cash out for the first time, but future cash outs can be done at one and five dollars for different rewards.
3. Branded Surveys
Of my favorite paid survey sites is Branded Surveys, and this is actually another survey site I tested out in that video where I tried survey sites all day. And I actually wasn’t a big fan of it at the time, but that was two years ago, and I was a little bit too harsh on Branded Surveys. And it’s actually improved quite a bit since then. So, Branded Surveys is another massive survey site in the space. It has millions of members and was actually called MintVine before it rebranded a few years ago.
Survey Variety
Now, it doesn’t have as much variety as something like Grindabuck, so you’re not going to find gaming offers or shopping offers or anything like that. You only make money on Branded Surveys by answering surveys, but the surveys pay out a decent amount. You’re going to typically earn between 50 cents to two dollars, maybe a bit more, per survey you complete.
Branded Elite Program
But what makes Branded Surveys very unique in the paid survey space is its Branded Elite program. So, this is basically a loyalty program that pays you with bonus points if you complete a certain number of surveys every single month. So, this program has different tiers, and it’s basically a way to reward the best and most active members in Branded Surveys with bonus cash every month. So, if you’re kind of serious about answering surveys or you’re going to be doing this consistently to make some extra money, Branded Surveys might be the best option because, at the end of the month, if you reach certain tiers, you’re going to get extra cash. So, it’s like a nice cherry on top.
Cash Out Options
You can also cash out at just five dollars, and Branded Surveys has options like PayPal and plenty of gift cards, and new gift cards are added all the time. And it’s also somewhat global. You can sign up in the UK, Canada, United States, and Australia.
4. Pinecone Research
This list of the best survey sites is a site called Pinecone Research, and this is the only survey site that I haven’t been able to personally use myself because it’s a bit more of a premium survey panel, and you actually have to apply to get in. And, unfortunately, over the years, I just haven’t been able to get in, but it is still one of the best sites because it pays three dollars for every survey you complete, no matter what. And that guaranteed rate per survey is pretty tricky to find.
How to Join Pinecone Research
So, again, this is a premium research panel of sorts. So, you have to sign up and apply, submit your demographic information, and then hope you get accepted by Pinecone Research. If you don’t, you’re put on a waiting list, and they might email you in the future if they want to hear from people like you about your different consumer opinions and various shopping habits and things like that. But if you are a match, they’ll welcome you into the panel and you can start answering surveys, and you’ll get paid three dollars for every survey you complete.
Cash Out Options
One unique selling point of Pinecone Research is that you can also cash out instantly. So, yes, for every survey you get your three dollars, and then you can redeem it for things like Amazon gift cards or even through bank direct deposit. Again, it’s a bit of a downside that you can’t just apply and get in no matter what, but hopefully, if you try signing up, you’re accepted and you can start making money with this premium survey site.
5. PrizeRebel
The fifth and final paid survey site that I recommend checking out is called PrizeRebel, and it’s pretty much impossible to make a video or list of the best survey sites out there without mentioning PrizeRebel because this survey site is insanely popular, has over 10 million members, and it’s very globally friendly.
Ways to Make Money with PrizeRebel
So, answering surveys is really the main way to make money with PrizeRebel, and pretty much like other leading survey sites, you’ll earn anywhere from like 50 cents to maybe two to three dollars for every survey you complete. But I really like PrizeRebel because they’re insanely active in communities like Reddit Beer Money. So, this is actually more of a survey community. It has lots of active members, and there are people chatting all the time on the site. You’ll find them in the comment threads on Reddit Beer Money. So, the moderators and owners and operators of PrizeRebel are actually a bit more, you know, aware of what’s going on in the community. They answer people’s questions all the time. They run cash giveaways and gift card giveaways on Reddit all the time. It’s actually a very, very cool company, and they’re very friendly and actively try to make the paid survey space better.
Cash Out Options
You can also cash out at just five dollars with PrizeRebel, so they’re in line with the other competitors in this video, and they offer dozens and dozens of free gift cards if you’re grinding out surveys every month. I think Branded Surveys is probably a little bit better just because of that bonus you would get from the Branded Elite program, but PrizeRebel is still an awesome survey site to have in your toolkit.
Other Alternatives
So, that does it for my five favorite paid survey sites that you can use to make a little bit of extra cash in your spare time each month. Now, really, before I wrap up this video, I just want to kind of reiterate: paid surveys are not an excellent long-term side hustle in my opinion, and I want to make that really, really clear. You can realistically earn a few dollars per hour at most with these survey sites, and like I mentioned in the intro, most of the survey sites aren’t worth your time and really don’t pay enough to, you know, even be worth signing up for. I think the five survey sites in this video, as well as a few others like maybe Swagbucks or Survey Junkie, are the ones you should stick with if you want to actually try out this online money-making method.
But again, really think of the opportunity cost here because if you spend hours and hours each month answering online surveys for cash, that’s great, you know, you can boost your income a bit. But that’s also time you’re not spending on other things like maybe learning new skills that could make more income, trying other side hustles, working in the gig economy, starting a blog or YouTube channel, or, you know, side hustles that have a lot more income potential and could do a lot more for you. Again, if you just want some quick cash, nothing wrong with survey sites. I’ve used them for years. I use them a lot in college, especially when I was phone farming. So, hopefully, one of the survey sites in this video is the one you end up using and find success with. If there’s a survey site you’re currently using or there’s one I missed or you agree or disagree with me, I’d love to hear about your opinions in the comments as well. And again, I’m linking all of the survey sites in the description box if you want to help support the channel and, you know, check them out. I really do appreciate it.
Anyways, guys, thank you so much for watching. As always, I really, really do appreciate it. I’m going to get back to more consistent videos. I hope you all have a fantastic week, and as always, don’t forget to check out thisonlineworld.com for more unique ways to make and save money. I’ll catch you guys in the next one.
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