earn money by competing surveys

Over the last few years I’ve been gotten nearly a hundred emails asking me what I thought of survey sites and why I’ve never listed any survey sites on The Penny Hoarder.
Well, the truth is…. it’s just not my favorite way to earn extra money. Personally, I get really bored filling out online forms and I often find that with survey companies, I’m working for only $7-8/hour.
But, it is easy work and if you’re interested in this type of work, I’ve finally put together a list of the best survey sites.
Also, when you first sign up for a survey site they are going to ask you a number of questions about your background/household. And that’s because they need to know your demographics before matching you up with the correct surveys.
It can be a little time consuming, but my recommendation is to signup for all 9 survey sites at once.
And that’s because each survey site is probably only going to be able to match you up with 1 or 2 surveys a month. This way you get a ton of surveys to choose from each month.
Complete all of the surveys you’re offered each month and you could probably earn $50 or more each month.
Without further ado, here are the 9 best survey sites…

1. My Survey - This is my personal favorite survey site. With this company you earn points for every single survey you take- even those which you don’t qualify for (just by answering the qualifying questions)! So you will never waste time and effort on a survey only to discover you don’t qualify.
You can redeem your points earned for cash or prizes and every 1000 points equals $10. Sign up for MySurvey here.

2. Inbox Dollars - I’ve written about Inbox Dollars before because I’ve made some easy money signing up for trial offers on their site. But, they also offer several short, daily surveys that you can take.
If you take all four each day, you could earn an extra $730/year. Not too bad. Sign up for Inbox Dollars here.

3. Springboard Panel – As part of the Springboard Panel, you get to give feedback on a new ideas and test new products for extra cash. They reward you with points that you can use towards cash or gift cards.
Plus, once you join the site, you’ll be entered to win a $1,000 and can earn additional entries for each survey you complete. Sign up for Springboard here.

4. Pinecone Research -  They have a good amount of surveys, but what’s unique about this company is that you get paid cash after every survey you take. There’s no minimum to cash-out (pays via Paypal).
The surveys pay $3 for each one completed. Also, PineCone is especially looking for those that are 18-24 years of age demographic and people with Hispanic or African American heritage for the panel right now. Also, if they don’t accept you for the panel this month, try again in a couple of weeks. Sign up for PineCone here.
This is open to USA residents to apply.

5. MintVine - Take surveys worth between 150 to 300 points and once you’ve reached 1000 points in your account, you can redeem for a $10 cash payment.
Since this one has really low threshold for payment, you should be eligible for your first cash-out within a couple of weeks. Sign up for MintVine here.

6. SurveySavvy - This is another favorite because the minimum to cash-out is only $1 (pays via check). They’re also famous for contacting survey panelists for local focus groups in their area.
One of my readers was asked to participate in a focus group for 2 hours about food and she earned an easy $80! Sign up for SurveySavvy here.

7. SwagBucks – This is a definitely a reader favorite, because of the wide variety of ways to make extra cash beyond taking surveys. They are also famous for handing out free Swagbucks at random just for being a member.
You can redeem your Swagbucks for gift cards to a number of popular retailers, including Amazon.com. Sign up for Swagbucks here.

8. Toluna - This site offers you a bonus 500 points when you sign up and when you have earned at least 60,000 points, you may redeem your points for a cash rewa rd.
A lot of the surveys here are low-paying, but I still recommend signing up so you can be on their list for the big $$ surveys. Sign up for Toluna here.

9. CashCrate - This one is a lot like Inbox Dollars. They have both offers you can complete for cash and a daily survey for around 50 cents. Plus, they usually offer 1-2 daily surveys. Sign up for CashCrate here.

I’d love to hear your experiences with these companies in the comments below. Also, these aren’t the only survey companies out there  - just my favorites. But, I’ve written some tips about how to avoid survey scam here in case you stumble upon another site…
Good luck Penny Hoarders!