Free Financial Advice

Paid Online Surveys - YES, You CAN make money.

We're sure you've heard of, seen ads for, or gotten emails about filling out online surveys for cash.  Well, here's a list of paid online survey websites that will pay you for your opinion and your time. Don't expect to get rich overnight, but if you stick with it and sign up for lots of sites, you can make dozens to hundreds of dollars per month.

We've visited and registered at hundreds of survey sites and then written brief reviews for you.  We've excluded most of the sites that promise big bucks but don't deliver.  We recommend you start at the top of the list, as these sites are the best of the group.  Also, if you are looking for survey sites from other countries than the U.S., check the bottom of the list.  And because many sites offer only a few surveys per week or month, you'll want to sign up for as many of the recommended sites as you can. Be patient and wait for the survey sites to send you invitations. Many surveys close quickly so there may not be a lot available when you sign up. 

Update: It's been several months since we've signed up and the surveys are pouring in. Don't get too impatient and the same will happen to you.

Be sure and this page so you can come back and sign up for all the survey sites you want to.

NFO MySurvey.com (US Only, see below for other countries) - We have tested this site and it is our most recommended paid survey site.  Don't expect to make a lot of money overnight, but you can make hundreds of dollars per year.  And the rewards are redeemable in cash.  This site is one of the most legitimate because it only offers paid surveys.  Many "survey" sites offer disguised surveys that are really ads that they get paid for when you click on them.  This site makes money because it charges businesses for the survey results.  In fact, the surveys are designed for and by businesses, and they are willing to pay you for your opinions. We recommend this site.

NPD Online Research (US Only) - This is another reputable online survey site that pays in the form of sweepstakes entries and sometimes cash.  Sign up is easy and you will be notified when a survey that meets your profile is available.  The surveys are short and easy, and you get a chance to win each time you complete one.  Since there are over 500 winners a month, your odds are better than most and every now and then you can earn cash for your survey. We recommend this site.

Nielsen/NetRatings (US Only, see below for UK, Italy and Spain) - Similar to the Nielson TV ratings, this website has an internet panel that you join simply by signing up and downloading software that runs in the background of your computer.  All you have to do is fill out a profile and download the software.  As long as you run the software, you will be entered into their sweepstakes entry each month.  We've tested the software and found no negative effects on computer performance, so we would recommend using this panel as another way of increasing your odds of winning a sweepstakes prize.

Greenfield Online (US Only, see below for Canada) - This is one of the well-respected survey sites out there.  You begin by filling out a profile and creating an account.  After that, you can login to your account and view all of the surveys available to you.  You can also fill out several more specific profiles about yourself to increase the number of paid surveys available to you. A lot of the surveys you'll have access to will be for sweepstakes entries, but they are legitimate and award tens of thousands of dollars every month, plus other cool electronics.  This company makes money by the businesses conducting the survey, and shares the money earned with you. We recommend this site.

Opinion Outpost (US & Canada Only) - We recommend signing up for this paid survey site.  There are no advertisements and they keep your confidentiality.  You start by creating an account and profile, then after confirming your account you fill out five other profiles (short surveys).  These profiles are used to match future surveys against your profile.  When they match, you will get an email with an invitation to fill out the survey.  All surveys are paid for by businesses and therefore cost you nothing. We recommend this site.

Ispos (US & Canada Only) - We found that this website is easy to sign up for and offers chances to win a sweepstakes for each survey filled out.  Also, there are sometimes surveys that will pay you cash for your participation. We recommend this site.

MyPoints  - This site has surveys that pay but you can also build points by reading emails, shopping and referring your friends.  We've been a member of this site for over 8 years and have earned gift cards worth at least $1,000.  We recommend this site.

Inbox Dollars (US Only) - For its survey content, all surveys are links to other survey sites, like the sites reviewed on this page.  However, it also pays you to read emails, where each email is really just an advertisement that you need to click on.  The other ways to earn money on this site are by signing up for "free trials" that require credit cards and charge you if you don't cancel right away, and by registering at other sites (e.g. loan, insurance, and auto quotes) that require your email and phone number. This is not the best site but they send you emails almost every day to earn money.

Opinion Surveys (US Only) - This site is easy to sign up for and it offers legitimate online surveys.  They don't give you an account to log into, but they email you with surveys that match your profile.  When we signed up, the survey they sent us to was from Greenfield Online (see above).  This isn't the best survey site but we still recommend you sign up for it to increase your odds of winning cash and sweepstakes.

Survey Savvy (Worldwide) - This is one of the most popular free survey sites out there.  They have a patented referral system that allows you to earn money from surveys, but more importantly, you get to earn money from the friends and family that you refer too.  The site has original survey content and is easy to register for.  They won't send you spam emails, but you'll want to add additional profiles so you can get more surveys to earn money.  Also, after you sign up and start getting invitations, be quick to respond or the offers close.  Of all the sites, we've received more highly paid offers from this site than any other.  However, we've also missed more of them because they close fairly quickly.  We recommend this site.

American Consumer Opinion (Worldwide) - ACOP is also a well respected consumer opinion survey company. Complete surveys for points that can be redeemed for cash and for sweepstakes entries.  Their sign up form is free, easy to fill out, and they won't send you spam or sell your private information.  Once you sign up, you'll also have the option to join the Technology Advisory Board, which pays between $5 and $200 per survey.  Once you sign up, you'll need confirm your email and then wait for surveys to become available. When a survey matches your profile, you'll receive an email with a link to the survey. We recommend this site.

Global Test Market (Worldwide) - Another very legitimate paid survey site that is available worldwide.  Sign up is easy and you can fill out several profiles to increase the number of surveys you qualify for.  Surveys pay you in MarketPoints, which are redeemable for cash.  When we signed up, there were 5 surveys ready for us to take, which is better than average.  We recommend this site.

E-mail Pays U (US Only) - The site is kind of unique.  They don't offer their own content, but they pay you to read emails (a few cents for each email), and you can earn more money by clicking on some of their ads.  More importantly, you can refer your friends and earn money whenever they read emails.  You will also earn money when their referrals read emails.  When we signed up we received several emails each day to get paid by, so we recommend you try this site. They also give you a $10 bonus when you sign up.  After signing up and clicking on an email link to get paid, make sure you wait for the top of the page to tell you that you have been credited (takes 15-30 seconds).

E-Poll (US Only) - Another recommended free paid survey site.  After signing up we were requested to fill out a 15 minute profile.  After that, they use your profile to match future surveys to you.  Surveys take 5-10 minutes on average, and are worth 500 - 1000 points each, which translate to about $0.75 to $1.50 each.  Reward points can  be redeemed  for gift cards to major retailers like Target, iTunes, Starbucks, etc.  We recommend this site.

Ispos (Mom's Only) - This i-Say network paid survey site is for Mom's only.  It is a well respected site and will not sell your information to anyone, or try to market to you.  Each month you are on their panel (meaning you haven't canceled your account) you are entered in the drawing for cash and prizes.  Also, each survey that you complete will give you another entry, and sometimes surveys will pay you in cash. We recommend this site.

Spider Metrix (Worldwide) - This site is a very unique way to get paid for your opinion.  They pay in cash and you make dollars, not cents for your participation.  Instead of filling out surveys, you are asked to review websites and give them ratings.  In return, you get points for your ratings, which are convertible into cash.  Furthermore, you can refer your friends and earn cash from their ratings too!  If you sign up, please enter "freefa" as your referrer, and you will be our referral. We recommend this site.

Opinion Square (Worldwide) - We recommend signing up for this site if you don't mind installing their software.  Their software monitors your internet usage (confidentially), and provides the information back to Opinion Square so that they can compile market research data.  In return, they sell this market research data and with the money are able to pay you back in the form of cash and prize rewards.  If you are uncomfortable with installing the software, you can still sign up for an account and fill out surveys for money.  About a week after we installed the software, a window popped up on our machine and invited us to fill out a survey that paid us 200 points. With the points you earn, you can redeem for gift cards or merchandise.

MemoLink (US Only) - This website is a rewards program more than it is a survey site.  When you sign up you are credited with 100 points, you then accumulate points through several ways, including online shopping, signing up for advertisements, playing games, or by simply clicking on links to view ads.  It's not a bad idea if you do a lot of online shopping, but the surveys offered are really just used to target ads toward you.  The nice thing about this site is that you can login to your account to view reward points and to find offers to increase your rewards.

Survey Networks (US Only)- This site doesn't offer any surveys of it's own, but if you enter it, you can win a Lexus RX330 or $50,000 in cash by filling out the information.  Be careful which boxes you check "yes" to or you may end up with a lot of unwanted emails.

Panda Research (US Only) - This site is another portal site that does not offer any surveys of its own.  It disguises a lot of ads and links to other survey sites as its own surveys.  The only good thing about the site is that it does pay you to accept the offers it provides.  And sign up isn't very tough.

Send Earnings (US Only) - This site is identical to Inbox Dollars (see above). When you sign up you can fill out your profile to get a $3.00 bonus.  Then, you can get paid a few cents for each email you read.  You can sign up for this in addition to Inbox Dollars in order to maximize your earnings.

Global Survey Group (US Only) - This website is not very straightforward.  To sign up, you must go through several pages of ads.  The site makes money by referring you to other "survey" sites, getting you to accept ads, and by selling your email address to anyone that you check "yes" to on their form.

ECN Research (US & Canada Only) - This is the least recommended site of all the free sites we've reviewed.  To register, you need to go through pages and pages of ads, and in the end, there is no account to login to, and no surveys to take.  The only surveys they offer are from the other sites listed on this page, as well as from other pseudo survey sites that are really just spam sites.  We'd avoid this site unless you have already exhausted all of the other survey sites.

Survey4Profit.com (US Only) - This site is also a portal site.  After signing up, you are asked to choose yes or no to a bunch of ads and survey links.  They have no unique survey content of their own.

Viva Research (US Only) - This might be the most ridiculous site yet.  To sign up, you need to fill out a page of personal information, and then THREE pages of ads!  On top of that, we had trouble filling out the first page because it kept giving us errors.  This site should be avoided at all costs.

Survey Explosion (US Only) - This site has no unique surveys to fill out.  They make money by referring you to other paid survey sites.  We don't recommend this site.

Signature Surveys (US Only) - Another site that makes you click through a full page of ads just to sign up.  They don't offer unique surveys so we don't recommend them.

Free Survey Sites Outside the US:

Opinionistic (UK Only) - A site offering paid online surveys for residents of the United Kingdom.  We couldn't register since we are located in the US, but it appears to be a site that will send you to many other survey sites that accept UK panelists. We recommend this site.

Ispos (Canada Only) - Same as Ispos US (see above) but for Canadian residents.

Surveys.com (UK Only) - A reputable site in the US.  We recommend this site if you are in the UK.

Greenfield Online (Canada Only) - One of the most respected online paid survey sites, this site is for Canadian residents only.  Sign up is easy and you can earn cash and sweepstakes entries for lots of cash. We recommend this site.

E-Mail Pays U (Outside US) - Like the US version (see above), but for anyone outside the US.

UK Survey Panel (UK Only) - We're not sure what this site is all about since we can't visit it from the US.

Online Survey Sites That Require a Payment: