Making Money with Paid Surveys - Is it Worth the Time?

Paid Surveys - A good way to make money?

One of the most basic ways you can earn money online is with paid surveys. It doesn't require any skills other than being able to read and fill in an online form. How much you earn is totally dependent on how much time you devote to qualifying for, and filling in surveys.

Most paid survey sites use a point system where, once you earn a certain number of points, you can cash them out for actual money or other rewards. If you're prepared to fill in surveys all day every day, you could conceivably rack up a lot of points very quickly, drawing out cash in a very short period of time. But is it really the best use of your time?

Check out the bold claim at
the bottom of the Survey
Compare Sign Up page.
(Click to enlarge).

I've done these paid surveys before and, to be honest, the frustration wasn't worth the money I made. However that was over ten years ago.

I recently saw an ad on Facebook for paid surveys by Survey Compare that made this incredible claim in it's disclaimer:

*The amount of money you can earn depends on how many companies you choose to sign up for and how long you want to spend completing surveys. For instance, the average survey pays $30; taking 5 surveys a day, 5 days a week gives $3,000/month

Notice the last sentence example. The average survey pays $30.00. Five surveys a day, five days a week, could net you $3000/month.

I'm not disputing $30.00 surveys don't exist, but I've yet to see one. Not when I used to do surveys, and so far (I'm three days in), not since signing up again. I suspect $30.00 survey's are more like unicorns rather than the norm.

Survey Compare's FAQ on how much
you can earn is more like the reality.
(Click to enlarge).

The highest value single survey I've ever come across (in all the time I've done surveys) is $5.00 - and even that was a rarity.

In the last three days I've seen nothing over $1.50.

If you dig into Survey Compare's main UK site and read their FAQs for how much you can earn, you get a more realistic assessment of your earning potential:

We always tell people that doing paid surveys will make you “pocket money”, not a full-time salary. We would strongly advise you to stay clear of any websites that claim you can get rich by taking paid surveys.

I signed up (again) based on their landing page. Not because I actually thought $30.00 per survey would be even close to the average but to see if, at least, the earning potential has improved from years ago. So far, not really.

The one thing they don't tell you is you have to qualify for a lot of these surveys, often by answering the same questions over and over again. Quite frankly these sites would be better served screening people based on their profile info, because often the qualifying question answers are right there in your profile... like your age and gender for example.

The point being, you'll get screened out quite a bit because it's unlikely you're going to be the target group for many of the surveys you sign up to. Particularly if you're not buying a car or planning to travel in the next 12 months. Honestly, if you can afford that kind of swag what are you doing with paid surveys?

Getting screened out five surveys in a row puts a bit of a crimp in that five surveys a day at $30.00 per survey (if you can find 'em). You'll earn a few meagre points for trying (3-5) maybe, which is nothing when at least one site I know of, you need 14,000 points just to cash out $20.00. That's a far cry from one survey paying $30.00 and hours of work!

Pocket money is really what paid surveys will earn you unless you're prepared to really knuckle down and treat it like a five day a week job. It's not hard. You don't even have to spend time seeking out surveys. I've had a steady stream of invitations to surveys daily since I signed up. I'm sure there's probably a strategy to optimise your time too.

Personally I thought it might be something to do in the evenings while I'm watching TV. Instead of browsing social media on my tablet, why not do something that can be earning me a little extra income. I mean it's almost equally as mindless, right?

If you're serious about making money online, paid surveys is not the best use of your time. There are definitely ways to earn far more money in less time for far less effort, that are more mentally challenging and enjoyable.

But, if you've got some mindless time to fill in your day, and you don't mind filling in online forms, paid surveys might be something that can help monetize your down  time.

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If you're looking for an alternative to paid surveys try putting the same amount of energy into writing a blog, like this one, about a niche subject that interests you. Treat it like a daily job with set hours and you could grow it into an asset that will earn you far more in a year than the same amount of time spent on paid surveys.

A blog monetised with Google adsense leaves a longtail of recurring passive income, whilst the authority you gain on writing about a subject you know, can lead to opportunities for paid reviews, guest speaking engagements and more. If that sounds appealing check out ProBlogger or Raelyn Tan's Blog for all the info you need to start a blog business.