In many ways, survey sites sound too good to be true (especially if you read a site’s marketing materials). They promise amazing rewards for minimal labor, and highlight the highest earners on their platform. Basically, they promote the idea of free money up for grabs. 

Fortunately, all of this is at least partly true. It’s all a matter of having realistic expectations. Will survey sites make you rich? Absolutely not. Can they help you pay a small bill or buy a couple movie tickets each month? Definitely. 

In this post, we’ll cut through the buzzwords and let you know what you can really expect. From there, you can decide if survey sites are right for you. 

Earning Potential

First thing’s first: Can you really make money taking online surveys?

The answer is yes, but not a lot. On most platforms, you can expect to earn anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars per survey. In general, the longer a survey takes, the more it’ll pay. So you can go for volume and churn out quick ones, or try and focus on longer, higher-value surveys. 

Either way, the result will be pretty similar. You’ll make money, but certainly not enough to pay your rent. Survey sites love to highlight their most dedicated users, claiming that they make thousands of dollars each month. This is far from a typical experience, and it’s almost entirely certain that you won’t come close to that amount. 

That said, the best survey sites are still worth your while. You can complete surveys while you watch TV or wait in line, and even a small amount of extra cash is a good thing. 

Reliability

Before you take a survey on any site, do some research. You don’t want to get stuck doing work for no pay, so make sure that any site you join has a reputation for paying its users. 

Most of the better-known sites have a good track record in this area. You can check out user reviews on sites like Trustpilot, which should give you a good idea of what you can expect. 

As long as you perform due diligence, you should be fine. If you want some help getting started, check out our list of the Top 10 Survey Sites to find some that’ll definitely be worth your while.