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If you’re looking to make a little pocket change and are OK with some downsides, like overly sharing information about your life, online surveys and apps are one option.
Choose where you participate wisely. Read user reviews and data privacy policies.
In a search of the most popular surveys for money apps, we found these leading the field. All had more than 85,000 reviews and ratings of four stars or better on Google Play and the App Store at the time of this writing.
Make Money
To make money on Make Money, you can take surveys, test services and try out new apps for credits. The credits turn into cash once you accumulate enough, and payment is sent to your PayPal account. Satisfied users say this app is a fairly easy way to earn a few bucks, while others report delayed payout times and frustrating customer service.
Eureka
According to Eureka, you can start earning right away, with 80% of new members earning $5 on the first day. Payout comes in the form of PayPal or gift cards to popular retailers. Some users report problems down the line like disqualifications from surveys and glitchiness, where a session will end before completion. Others say the app is a legit way to make some spare change.
InboxDollars Surveys
InboxDollars says it has given away millions since 2000, but reviews mention piddly earnings. Users report disqualifications as an ongoing problem, meaning you may invest 10 minutes in a survey only to be deemed ineligible near the end, resulting in no dollars. You must accumulate $30 to cash out, and you can opt for cash, a gift card or a PayPal payment. InboxDollars says it processes payments every Wednesday.
Google Opinion Rewards
Completing surveys using Google Opinion Rewards pays out in the form of Google Play credits for Android users, or $1 paid to your PayPal account for iPhone users. This app sends you surveys instead of you choosing them yourself. Users report the surveys tend to be short and sweet with small earnings that add up (to support your coffee habit), but the quantity of questionnaires available is sometimes lacking.
Swagbucks
This app offers a lot of opportunities to take surveys, but disqualifications are frequent, users say. App users report getting disqualified just for clicking on a link to a survey or getting booted out of the survey more than halfway through. You can cash out through gift cards or PayPal.
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Another option: Prolific
Prolific is an online research platform known to offer quality studies. We’re including it as an option outside the list above because the company doesn’t offer an app. Surveys come from researchers involved in academia, startups and established organizations.
It may take a while to get in with Prolific. Prospective survey-takers must join a waitlist before receiving access. According to the Prolific website, researchers are required to pay participants at least $8 per hour of work.
Survey sites like it may be an alternative to the apps listed above.
Are paid surveys worth it?
It depends on how you want to use your time. Some people say yes. Look around the internet and you’ll find plenty of examples of casual users earning a couple bucks per hour with survey apps.
The rub is you trade time for little money, and may also give up personal data. Apps may ask you to share dates of birth, ZIP codes, incomes, health ailments, ethnicities, living arrangements and more. The purpose of these apps is for market researchers to collect the information you provide, after all.
“The biggest risk is the unknown of how that data is going to be used,” says Eva Velasquez, the CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
“You really are putting yourself at the mercy of those sites and saying, ‘OK, I’m going to trust you to be a good steward of the information I give you.’”
Velasquez says information could be used for questionable studies, or sold to health insurers, for example.
Or, your information could be stolen, a risk with any website that stores personal data. Most of the information you provide may seem harmless — like details about shopping habits, for example. But information like your birthdate could be used with other stolen data to take your identity.
What to know if you take online surveys for money
Some sites pay more than others, and ease of cashing out varies, too. Watch out for confusing points systems, and make sure you know how much you must earn before you can get paid and how earnings are dispersed. Read recent reviews to understand users' experiences and complaints.
Pros and cons of paid surveys, according to Reddit users
We sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users feel about apps that promise pay for surveys. We used an AI tool to analyze the feedback. Here are the pros and cons that rose to the top of our analysis. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.
Pros
Doing surveys on your phone is flexible, easy and requires no special skills.
It’s “work” that can be done alongside other work.
If you do make something, there are practical payout options (PayPal, gift cards, credits).
Prolific is a reputable site that is said to offer higher pay per survey (users report $0.80+ per survey).
Cons
Pay rates are typically very low for the amount of time invested (we’re talking pennies).
You’ll have to wait for actual cash since some apps have higher payout minimums.
Work can be inconsistent and you can be limited based on your demographics and other characteristics (users often report disqualification before finishing a survey).
It can take a while to be approved to use certain sites, such as Prolific.
The overall consensus is that survey apps are a way to earn extra cash, but it’ll require consistency and the strategic use of multiple apps. If you’re after more than micro-earnings, consider investigating other ways to make money in your spare time.
Keep these safety tips in mind with survey apps
Don’t overshare. Leave the survey if you’re asked to give your Social Security number, bank account number or driver’s license number. Velasquez recommends being intentional about sharing any private information. Answering questions about a TV commercial is probably fine, but giving medical info may not be worth the risk.
Create an email address just for survey sites. Survey sites may flood you with emails. Signing up for these sites with a separate email address prevents survey offers from cluttering your main inbox.
Install anti-malware software. We recommend this step in case one of the survey sites directs you to a spammy third-party client.
Only download from trusted app stores. Google Play and the App Store verify the apps listed, which means you are less likely to download fraudulent apps.
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