Online surveys promise easy money, but are they really worth your time?
If you’ve ever tried answering a mind-numbing interrogation about shampoo brands for pennies, you might be skeptical.
I get it.
I worked in marketing for Swagbucks and InboxDollars for nearly a decade. I’ve seen the data, the complaints, and the success stories.
The truth? Surveys can work, but only if you take the right approach. Some people cash out a few bucks here and there, while top earners bring in thousands per year by stacking earnings and referrals like pros.
But it takes patience, strategy, and—above all—honesty to make surveys pay off.
Spilling the tea: How much money can you really make taking surveys?
Let’s be clear: online surveys won’t replace a full-time job. They aren’t a “quit your job and live on the beach” kind of gig. But they can fund vacations, help cover bills, or pad your discretionary income if you’re smart about it.
The one-and-done crew: Take the money, and run
Some people sign up, take a handful of surveys, and quit in frustration after being disqualified a few times. They give it one go and then they’re gone.
Others cash out once, maybe a $5 or $10 redemption, just to see if it’s legit, then never come back. These users often don’t realize that survey-taking gets easier and more profitable the longer you stick with it.
It’s the classic ‘I got disqualified too much’ anthem.
It’s true that many users start out getting screened out frequently, but that’s just how market research works. If they stuck with it, giving consistent survey answers, they’d build a better survey profile, get access to higher-paying surveys, and qualify more often. But patience is key.
Casual earners: The coffee-money crew
These users hop on when they have spare time, filling out surveys while watching TV or waiting in line somewhere.
If you treat surveys as an occasional side hustle, expect to make $10–$30 a month, enough to cover your coffee runs or a streaming subscription.
They might not be grinding, but they cash out just enough to make it feel worth it.
Committed earners: Playing the long game
For those who consistently log in and use the survey app, taking in different earning activities, earnings can hit $500–$1,000 a year. They can even surpass the $2K mark.
These users diversify their efforts. They’re not just taking surveys, but they’re taking advantage of all the different ways to earn.
Few survey apps offer only surveys. Most also offer cashback shopping, games, product trials, and sign-up bonuses. Swagbucks, for example, has those extra activities along with daily polls, daily checklists, and bonuses for streaks, or using the app for a certain number of days in a row.
Small wins add up and keep people coming back. More familiarity with the survey app means they are more likely to try new earning activities or notice when an activity has an exceptionally high earning amount, so it’s worth jumping in right away.
I’m in the “committed earners” group myself. I try to log in a couple times a week, but I often go in spurts. Sometime several weeks (or even months) will pass where I barely use the site, and then there will be periods of hyperactivity where I am on the site every day, several times a day, for weeks in a row.
Power earners: Funding Disney and big-ticket goals
Then there are the power users. Whales. Disney dreamers. An elite corps of online ‘surveyists.’ I am in total awe.
These are the survey takers who will fund entire Disney vacations using their survey earnings. I’ve talked to some of these dedicated members who have funded one, two, or even three or more trips to Disney World using their Swagbucks or InboxDollars earnings.
There’s even a dedicated Facebook group, Swagging Your Way to Disney, where 24,000 share tips on maxing out their Swagbucks earnings and Disney fun.
“Swagging your way” figures in everything: air travel, hotels, meals, souvenirs, and even a magical transformation at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
Daily log-ins and referrals (earning 10% of their referred friends’ lifetime earnings) are usually two key elements to their success. They know when to capitalize on promotions and how to stack up bonus multipliers.
It’s not just Disney
More “visionary” surveyists have other lofty goals.
Survey apps = Rainy day funds with forced fiscal willpower
I’ve heard from InboxDollars users who use their earnings as a nest egg. They build, build, build the earnings and then when an emergency arises, they know the funds are there. While a savings account can accomplish the same thing, they know that their survey rainy-day fund is a little further out of reach with a couple more hoops to jump through to cash out the money.
The new Christmas club
Many online survey takers use their earnings for Christmas gifts and birthday presents. Some prefer to use funds for experiences like vacations or family photos.
When I got married nine years ago, I used my InboxDollars earnings to buy my husband’s wedding ring!
Other ways survey takers use their earnings
I worked in marketing for Swagbucks and InboxDollars for nearly a decade (from 2014 to 2023) and learned how users were using the app, and their earnings, directly from users themselves. I worked with product marketing teams to conduct research and heard their feedback at town hall meetings.
Other survey app use cases:
- Back-to-school: Parents use their survey earnings to help offset school supply and clothing costs when August rolls around.
- Financial independence: Some members prefer to have their own spending money completely separate from shared household funds. One user of MyPoints (a survey and cashback rewards shopping site also owned by Prodege) uses the app specifically to get “free” Home Depot gift cards. He wants the freedom to buy whatever he wants there without having to get spousal buy-in.
- Psychological “free money” trick: Some members prefer cashing out gift cards over cash, because it feels like free prize winnings instead of spending cash. Users have “won” some fantastic goods, like “free bikes” and “free grills.”
- Getting paid to watch TV: Many online survey enthusiasts view surveys as a way to get paid for watching TV — actually getting paid to Netflix and chill.
- Already doomscrolling anyway: People waste countless hours doomscrolling on their phones, admit it. And rewards apps with surveys and offers offer you a way to get paid for mindless scrolling.
What I learned working in the industry
During my time working for Swagbucks and InboxDollars, I saw real earnings data and heard plenty of great success stories (along with angry complaints in language that would make a sailor blush).
The most dedicated members made five figures a year by playing it smart: consistent usage, referral earnings (this one is huge), and strategic cashouts.
Successful earners are realistic and far-sighted
If you’re desperate to make $200 to get your impounded car out of the lot yesterday, odds are about 100% you’ll be disappointed. Beyond that, you’ll likely feel angry, indignant, and cheated, and be wont to blow up all of our social media, Reddit, and review pages.
Same goes if you’re holding an eviction notice or urgent, past due bill.
The ability to ever earn $200 in a single day, while doable (me!), is rare. Same with $100, $50, or even $20.
You need to be willing to invest small increments of time into the app on a regular basis, so those increments build into a meaningful cashout. You absolutely can use surveys to have $200 for your towed car. But it will take a couple of months to store up the money so it’s there when you need it.
How to make money from surveys: Insider strategies that work
Surveys can be wildly frustrating if you go in expecting to qualify for everything and make $100 a day. That’s not how market research works. The key is patience, honesty, and realistic expectations.
1. Stop expecting to qualify for everything
Market research is niche-specific. If you aren’t the target demographic, you won’t qualify—period. That’s not Swagbucks, InboxDollars, or any other site screwing you over; that’s the research company saying, “You’re not who we need for this study.”
Some surveys are only for pregnant women buying baby products. Others are for people shopping for a new car in the next 90 days. If that’s not you, you won’t qualify, and that’s okay.
Tip: There are days where I’ve gone three for three with surveys. I attempted, qualified for, and completed three surveys. There are days where I’ve disqualified for five or more and logged out in disgust. Keep trying.
2. Use multiple earning methods
Surveys alone can be frustrating, boring, and won’t take your earnings over the top. Leverage all the other ways to earn within the survey app:
- Referral programs: Swagbucks and InboxDollars pay 10% of your referrals’ lifetime earnings. If you refer just 10 active friends, that’s free money rolling in forever.
- Cashback stacking: Combine the app’s cashback shopping bonuses (like Swagbucks offers) with Target Circle, Ibotta, Shopkick, cashback credit cards, and other promotions.
- Daily bonuses & check-ins: Answer daily polls, complete checklists, and micro-earning opportunities that pay just a penny or two. Even a $0.10 daily bonus = $36.50/year — enough for 10 free Starbucks lattes.
- Don’t lie: Here’s the deal: The more honest, consistent, and engaged you are, the better your survey profile gets. Over time, you’ll qualify for higher-paying opportunities.
3. Be brutally honest
Lying in surveys is the fastest way to get disqualified or banned.
And it happens a lot. If you claim to be a 65-year-old grandpa in one survey and a pregnant college student in another, the system will catch you.
A lot of people spinning what they think are small, white lies to unlock more surveys are livid when they can’t cash out their earnings. “Scam survey sites!” is the general battlecry.
Here’s the thing. If this happens, Survey Junkie isn’t just “stealing” your money in this unfortunate scenario. They are crediting back the survey partners for receiving unusable survey response data. No one is getting paid.
Survey Junkie, or the other survey app in question, takes this measure to protect their market research partners. These firms know when they are getting poor quality (inconsistent) data that can’t be used to make major business decisions.
These firms will stop working with survey apps that don’t provide good research data, which is why survey apps need to enforce high-quality, consistent, and brutally honest survey-taking practices.
Some surveys want middle-age moms with minivans, others want seniors who are pre-diabetic, and others may want those shopping for a $250,000 condo in a very specific market. The qualifying questions can imply the type of profile needed for the survey. However, “fibbing” becomes clear as such answers will not align with your general profile data.
If you answer honestly, read questions carefully, and take your time, you’ll qualify for more surveys over time and make more money.
Related: Explore the 7 best survey apps for moms.
Best survey sites (that aren’t a total waste of time)
Not all survey sites are created equal. Here are the best survey apps that can net you $50+ a month, based on my industry experience.
- Swagbucks: The OG of survey sites, with shopping rewards, video watching, playing games, trying new apps, and more. Earn SB, Swagbucks points, you cash out for gift cards, cryptocurrency, prepaid credit cards, or PayPal. 100 SB are equal to $1. Sign up for Swagbucks.
- InboxDollars: Similar to Swagbucks but cash-based instead of points. Join InboxDollars.
- Survey Junkie: Limited earning activities beyond surveys, but the app does surveys extremely well and has a loyal user base. Check out Survey Junkie.
- Branded Surveys: Earn points for taking surveys, referring members, and completing challenges and advancing to higher loyalty levels. Join now.
- Prime Opinion: A newer survey app, Prime Opinion pays cash for online surveys and occasional product review opportunities. There’s less data available on total payouts, however, the app has high ratings in Apple and Google app stores. Sign up for Prime Opinion.
I fully acknowledge my bias here. Based on my time working at Prodege (parent company of Swagbucks, InboxDollars, and other consumer rewards brands) and researching Prodege’s competitors, this is what I know.
There are likely many other great survey apps I’m forgetting, or don’t even know about.
Insider hack: Discount Amazon gift cards
One of the biggest mistakes people make is cashing out at full price when there are discounted gift cards available.
How to get free money just by redeeming smartly
Save 12% on Amazon and Target gift cards. Swagbucks offers monthly discounted gift cards toward your first $25 in redemptions. This means you can buy a $25 gift card for Amazon for just $22, or at 12% off face value. That’s $36 in free money per year, just by redeeming strategically.
You can also save 12% off a $25 gift card for Walmart, Target, Apple, Home Depot, Starbucks, Best Buy, and many other retailers.
Payouts Are Faster & Easier Now
Ten years ago, survey sites had high minimum redemptions ($20–$50). Now, you can cash out as little as $3–$5. First-time payouts take longer (ID verification is required), but after that, you can get paid within days.
The Downsides: What You Need to Know
Online surveys can be great, but they are far from perfect. Here’s what to expect:
- Disqualifications happen. Don’t take it personally.
- Grab low-hanging fruit. A $0.50 survey that takes 22 minutes looks less appealing than 7-minute surveys that pay $1 to $2 or more. But here’s the reality: Short, high-paying surveys are hard to get into and fill up quickly. Your time is often better spent taking low-paying surveys (over spinning your wheels trying to qualify for a high-paying one).
- Scam survey sites exist, but most “scam” complaints are misunderstandings. Most users who scream “scam” just didn’t read the rules and got banned.
Are surveys worth it?
Surveys work — if you stay consistent. I’ve seen the earnings data firsthand, and the top earners are avid survey takers, and also stack bonuses, refer friends, try other earning activities in the app, and cash out strategically.
It’s a slow-burn side hustle.
You can’t join today and make enough to pay rent due tomorrow. But you could join today and build a cushion over the next few months — to cover rent shortfalls, vacations, or other goals.
And really, you are glued to your phone anyway.
What not get paid for all those wasted hours you’ll never get back — frittering away on Instagram and TikTok — so you can actually get something productive out of your downtime?
