There are many ways to save money, but the best ones are those that won’t require you to tighten your belt. No one wants to cancel favorite subscription services or spend less at the grocery store. Paid online surveys are a perfect budgeting method for when you are short on money but still want to keep your comforts.
Here, we will cover the basics to start earning a little bit of side income with paid online surveys. It will take time to find the best platforms for your demographics. Hopefully, this guide will make the process faster.
What are Paid Online Surveys?
Paid online surveys are surveys where participants can answer questions online and get paid for doing them. Usually, they are hosted on paid survey platforms, but the questionnaires originate from various organizations interested in public opinion.
For-profit companies, for example, are willing to pay money to get data on the newest consumer trends, opinions, and preferences. Surveys are also often used to measure the impact of marketing campaigns or the reach of brand presence.
Other organizations use paid surveys, too, but the main topics differ. They are interested in political affiliations, the quality of public services, and citizens’ opinions. Such questionnaires are rare and not that well paid.
If you want to earn more, you should look for platforms that have good partnerships with popular brands and companies. The best paid survey sites are Pawns.app, YouGov, Survey Junkey, Branded Surveys, and others. The offers on each of them differ, but there are some generalizations we can make.
A well-paying survey site will pay at least $1 per thirty-minute survey. Don’t settle for anything less. The offers you get highly depend on your demographics because respondents for market research are needed more from some places than others.
Most well-paid surveys are available for participants from North America and Western Europe. They are also well-earning and live in big cities. There are surveys for other demographics, but you are likely to struggle to get more than two surveys per day.
Finding Profitable Platforms
Most criticism of paid online surveys comes from people who are of undesirable demographics. Yes, it is unfortunate and a bit discriminatory, but paid survey sites aim to collect accurate data for companies. Including everyone will not just be expensive but will bring data that isn’t needed.
That’s why it’s crucial not to give in to the criticisms of platforms online and to try them for yourself. Because the selection of surveys differs, everyone has a different experience. Of course, there are some universal things to look into when choosing paid survey platforms.
- Demographical survey. All legitimate paid survey platforms will first try to determine some of your personal information to see what surveys you qualify for. Never provide information that can be used to identify you.
- No pay-to-participate options. No credible online survey provider will ask you to pay money to participate or get more surveys. Only scam-paid survey sites do it.
- Plenty of payment options. If a platform only has one unknown payment option, such as its own cryptocurrency, it’s likely not paying participants at all.
- Proof of payment from past users. Check online communities on TrustPilot and Reddit to see if there are any people who actually got paid on the website. Don’t rely only on words. Look for screenshots of received payments.
Choosing Payout methods
Bank Transfers
Traditional bank wires aren’t recommended with online paid surveys because of the fees and potential taxes involved. Other payout methods do not have these problems, but there is some hassle when you want to convert them to real money.
If increasing your account balance is a top priority, then choosing a bank transfer is the best option. In all other cases, I would recommend choosing other payout methods.
Gift Cards
Each online survey gift card will give you the possibility to pay at your favorite stores without spending any of your own money. The options range from known grocery stores, such as Walmart, to popular online services like Google Play Store. If you will spend money there anyway, it’s a great way of saving.
Gift cards are also a great way of budgeting. It’s easier to stick to a certain amount per month for subscriptions or mobile apps, for example, if you don’t spend your money. You acquire a wanned amount of gift cards at the start of the month and can’t spend more than they are worth. You can even lower the value of gift cards you buy gradually.
PayPal
PayPal is the best alternative for bank transfers when it comes to paid online surveys. Service fees are quite low, and it works almost everywhere in the world. The best part is that PayPal is supported by all credible paid survey providers.
In many cases, you can even avoid some taxes by spending the money from your PayPal account for online purchases. Only when you transfer the funds to your bank account will the taxman have some suspicion and ask about the source of funds.
Cryptocurrencies
At least on paper, cryptocurrencies sound like the best payout method. There are little to no taxes, you get your rewards instantly, and the maintenance fees are minimal. However, crypto is definitely not for anyone. Cashing out crypto wallets might seem to be too complicated for an average user.
If you are not well-versed in cryptocurrencies, it might be too much hassle just to cash out fifty dollars per month from paid surveys. If you already have a crypto wallet and are an active investor, then it’s a great way to get some popular cryptocurrencies almost passively.
Conclusion
Paid online surveys are a great way to save money by exchanging some of your otherwise wasted time for a profitable side hustle. It won’t make you rich, but it’s definitely better than commuting, watching ads, or standing in line without any profits. Just be careful – you might get hooked.
