Paid survey websites

Author: Kevin McHugh, Head of Publishing at Banked.

Taking surveys through one of the many online survey platforms can be a simple way to earn some extra money in exchange for a little of your time.

The amount you can earn is not huge, but there are plenty of people who are able to earn hundreds of dollars each month in exchange for giving their opinions on a range of topics.

Here we assess a range of popular and reputable survey sites among the survey-taking community and provide the info you need to decide if signing up is the right choice for you.

To learn more, see our guide to earning money by taking surveys.

Octopus Group

Octopus Group, originally from Australia, is targeting the New Zealand market hard right now and is eager to have Kiwis earn rewards by taking surveys through its platform.

Unlike some other survey platforms, Octopus group rewards users directly with cash, rather than use a points-based system that can make it difficult to tell how much your survey taking has actually earned you.

The company says it offers between 80% and 400% more in cash rewards than any other survey panel in New Zealand or Australia. Most surveys will earn you around $4 to $8.

There are two ways you can redeem rewards with Octopus Group:

• Cash: The most straightforward way to withdraw your rewards is as cash. You just need to have at least $20 earned before you can make a withdrawal.
• e-gift card: You can also redeem gift cards for a number of brands including the Apple App Store, Mighty Ape, and Farmers. It’s possible to redeem gift cards for a (slightly) lower price than the actual card value. For example, you can redeem a $20 gift card for $19.20.

Is Octopus Group legit?

Octopus Group has been a popular survey platform in Australia for years and recently entered the New Zealand market. Since then it’s recruited more than 25,000 Kiwi survey takers and is aiming to reach 30,000.

Users on Reddit have vouched for the company’s legitimacy and it has built a loyal group of users on both sides of the Tasman Sea.

Pros and cons

Register with Octopus Group

Pureprofile

Pureprofile is one of the big players in the market research sector, claiming to have more than 2.1 million users registered within them and to have paid out more than 5.2 million rewards.

The survey platform has a strong rewards offering, from gift cards, movie tickets, or just simply cash (the latter making them different from many others in the market).

You can also choose to cash out your rewards at any time, as long as you have accumulated at least $20. Pureprofile once had a limit on how much you could withdraw within a 60 day period, but thankfully that has since been removed.

We also like the mobile-friendly website that makes it easy to take surveys while on the go. A mobile app would have made things just that bit easier, but the website does a good job all the same.

Is Pureprofile legit?

Pureprofile is an award-winning global data and market research company that was founded in 2000 in Australia. It has since founded operations in several other continents, including North America, Europe, and Asia.

The company currently counts AA Insurance, Flight Centre, and KPMG among its customers.

The site has a good reputation among users online and many are happy with their earnings made from the platforms, finding them to be above the market average.

Pros and cons

How do I sign up?

You can create a Pureprofile account by visiting its website and providing a few basic details like your email address, location, and setting a password. Once you have submitted these details you will be sent an email to confirm your email address. Click the link provided in the email and you’ll be good to go.

Once you have registered with Pureprofile you will start receiving email invitations to surveys and you can choose which ones you want to take.

Register with Pureprofile

OpinionWorld

OpinionWorld is a little broader in scope than some of the other options covered in this guide. As well as surveys, users have the opportunity to test new products and share their thoughts on advertisements.

Rewards are a little more flexible with OpinionWorld too in that as well as Flexi eGift cards, you can all just choose to get paid out in cash. However, for the cash option you will need to have a PayPal account (which is free to set up).

As with all survey platforms, the amount you can earn from taking surveys with OpinionWorld varies from survey to survey with amounts aligning roughly with how long it takes to complete. You are made aware of how much each survey offers before you go ahead so you can choose to only participate in those that you think make it worth your time.

Is OpinionWorld legit?

OpinionWorld is part of Dyanata, a consumer insights company with over 40 years of experience in the field.

However, user reviews of OpinionWorld are generally mixed. At the time of writing, it has a 4.4 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot, but it also has a 2 out of 5 rating from users on Sitejabber with some complaining that their account had been suspended for violation of OpinionWorld’s terms of service.

Pros and cons

How do I sign up?

OpinionWorld has a straightforward sign-up process. First you visit its website and click on the ‘Join’ button and fill in a short form that requests necessary account set-up details such as your name, address, email address, and so on.

Once you have agreed you simply verify your email address by clicking the link sent to you via email. Once you’ve done this you will be prompted to complete your profile by answering some more questions. This is a little time consuming but the details you provide here will be used to present you with surveys that are more relevant to you.

Then you just have to wait until a survey is sent to you to complete (if you decide the value offered is worth it to you.

Register with OpinionWorld

Ipsos iSay

Provided by the world-renowned market research company, iSay gives you the opportunity to earn points by completing surveys. The amount of points you can earn depends on the survey and can vary with factors like survey length.

Points can be used for a variety of rewards like gift cards for Countdown, the Apple App Store, Farmers, Spotify, Farmers, and more.

We also like that you have the option to use points for charitable donations to either the Auckland City Mission or the Ipsos Foundation which offers educational programmes for disadvantaged children and young people.

iSay also occasionally offers promotions through which users can earn bonus points by playing games.

Is Ipsos legit?

Ipsos is one of the longest-running and respected research companies out there. Based in the UK, the company has a good reputation for paying out as expected and on time to its users.

Pros and cons

How do I sign up?

We found the iSay registration process to be simple. You just create an account on the iSay website and verify your email address by clicking the link sent to you.

Once your email address is verified, you will need to provide a few more details that will help match you with appropriate surveys. This includes your location and some information about your interests. Once this is done, you’re ready to start taking surveys.

Register with iSay

Valued Opinions

Running for almost as long as Ipsos, Valued Opinions is another global player in the consumer world with over 3 million members.

Valued Opinions works like this: you sign up through its website and provide a few details to set up your account. Once you’re up and running, you will receive invitations to participate in surveys via email. These surveys will be from companies and organisations who want to learn more about consumers so they can better tailor their products to their needs.

These surveys will have a money value reward based on how long it will take to complete the survey, but this is a bit misleading as you can’t actually withdraw this as cash. Instead, you can redeem this value as gift cards and vouchers to stores and services including JB Hi-Fi, Uber Eats, Mighty Ape, Mitre 10, Domino’s Pizza, Farmers, and so on.

Valued Opinions says you can earn as much as $7 for completing a survey, but in reality it’s unlikely you will find surveys that pay that much and around $2 is a more realistic number on average.

Is Valued Opinions legit?

Valued Opinions has been around a long time (since 2004) and has established a reputation for paying out. The company is also a member of major market research governing bodies, including the Market Research Society.

The service’s users are also generally happy to share their satisfaction with Valued Opinions and the rewards they have earned from it.

Pros and cons

How do I sign up?

The process of registering with Valued Opinions is pretty quick. Start the process on their website by providing a few details such as your name, email address, date of birth and gender. Once you have agreed to its terms of service and submitted the form you will receive an email to verify your email address.

Once you’re registered you can expect to receive regular email invitations to participate in surveys. Just select the ones you’re interested in (or have the time to complete) and you will start earning rewards.

Register with Valued Opinion