How To Earn Extra Income Doing Online Surveys

Earning money from online side hustles is bigger than ever - and doing online surveys is one of the easier options, as you don’t have the intricacies of having to set up a business.

Completing online surveys isn’t going to replace a full-time income, and it won’t make you rich, but it’s a great way to earn a bit of extra income, and doesn’t involve any start-up costs.

This guide will take you through how online surveys work, the better survey platforms, and typical earnings per survey.

Understanding How Online Surveys Work

Marketing is the key to the success of any business. By understanding which products to target at which people, businesses can increase their revenue and cut advertising costs.

This is where you come in. Companies will pay consumers for their opinions and use that data to tweak marketing strategies and products. In return for your help with their survey, the survey companies will pay you rewards, which can vary from cash, to points, to gift cards.

The best thing is that you don’t need any qualifications to take part in surveys. Online surveys can and will be about anything and everything, from video games to cat food. All you need is the internet and a suitable device to complete surveys on.

The Top 5 Online Survey Sites

There are hundreds of survey sites out there, and some are much better paying and user-friendly than others. We’ve narrowed your options down to 5 of the better survey platforms to use.

1 - Ipsos iSay

Ipsos iSay is reportedly one of the better paying platforms. There are plenty of surveys and you can earn around £10 per month in rewards.

Each completed survey will earn you between 5 and 230 points which are then redeemed for vouchers. The value of the points will vary between retailers, but for example, a £5 voucher would require 500 points to be redeemed.

Ipsos iSay will reward you with gift cards from the likes of Amazon and Argos. They also offer Global gift cards, which can be used in high street shops such as John Lewis and M&S.

• Typical payout per survey: 5p to £1.80

• Minimum payment amount: £5

• Average survey time: 15 minutes

2 - Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a popular platform that requires you to complete one survey per day. You can be rewarded for playing free online games, watching videos and even using its own search engine.

Rewards come in the form of points that can be redeemed for gift vouchers and cashback. For example, 375 points will get you an Amazon voucher for £3.

PLEASE NOTE - Swagbucks will only reward one survey per day so if you do anymore than one, you won’t get rewarded. Always read the terms.

• Typical payout per survey: 50p

• Minimum payment amount: Reward dependent

• Average survey time: 10-20 minutes

3 - YouGov

As you might have guessed, the surveys at YouGov tend to focus on government policies and brands. This means you get to share your thoughts on some meaty topics.

Completed YouGov surveys are rewarded with vouchers or cash. They will pay 50p per survey, which can take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete.

However, the minimum payment amount is £50 (cash or vouchers) so this means it can take an awful long time before you get your rewards.

• Typical payout per survey: 50p

• Minimum payment amount: £50 (5,000 points)

• Average survey time: 5-10 minutes

4 - Y Live

Y Live surveys tend to revolve around politics, business and culture. However, the survey invites aren’t as regular as other platforms and when the invites do go out, the quota is filled up quickly.

The reason we’ve included Y Live in the list is because the rewards are good, at approximately £1 for every 5 minutes you spend on a survey. All rewards are paid in cash via your bank or a cheque.

Each Y Live survey rewards different amounts of points depending on the survey and each point is worth £1. As with YouGov, the payment threshold is £50.

• Typical payout per survey: £1 per 5 minutes

• Minimum payment amount: £50

• Average survey time: 15-20 minutes

5 - Google Opinion Rewards

The Google Opinion Rewards platform operates purely on mobile apps.

Surveys are extremely varied and can range from hotel reviews to merchant surveys and opinion polls. One thing to point out is that their surveys tend to be very short and quick (15 to 30 seconds) so you can complete one whilst you wait for the bus. Whilst the individual rewards may be small, they soon mount up.

The idea behind Google surveys is that you earn credits for use on the Google Play store for music, movies, books, apps and games. All rewards are immediately credited to our account when you complete the survey. Credits are valid for 1 year, but you’ll need enough credits to cover the entire value of your reward, as they won’t allow you to pay partly in cash.

• Typical payout per survey: 7p to 70p

• Minimum payment amount: £2

• Average survey time: 15-30 seconds

The DOs And DON'Ts Of Survey Sites

Before you jump in with both feet, there are a few things you should be aware of.

DO

• Set up an email for surveys: it’s best not to use your usual email address if you’re signing up to a few survey platforms, as your inbox will be flooded. Create a separate email account, allowing you to keep your personal stuff separate and making it easier to check for any invites for new surveys.

• Use your vouchers: firstly, if there’s an option to take cash instead of vouchers, DO IT. If you do get rewarded with vouchers, use them relatively quickly. If they expire or the retailer goes bust, you probably won’t have a leg to stand on and they will be wasted.

• Keep track of your completed surveys: some survey platforms are better than others at tracking completed surveys. So you don’t miss out, make a note of each survey completed, write down any reference numbers and take a screenshot if possible. If anything is missing, contact the platforms and ask for it to be corrected. They are usually helpful, as they want to keep their reputation intact.

• Refer friends: a lot of survey platforms will offer incentives to refer your friends. Don’t get too excited though, they are usually very small payments. However, this can be useful if you’re just below a minimum payment threshold and waiting for the next survey to hit the threshold.

DON’T

• Ever pay to join: there are some survey sites that promise the world if you pay to join them and take their surveys. Ignore them. The rewards will be no better than the free platforms.

• Expect instant wealth: you will have no control over how many surveys you get invited to take part in. This means it can take time to reach the payment threshold on survey sites. Surveys are not a get rich quick scheme. They require patience and are a way to earn a little bit of extra money on the side.

• Leave cash in your account: always take any cash out of your account when you hit the minimum payment amount. Survey companies aren’t banks and you have no protection if they shut down. In fact, lots of people lost money on one occasion when a survey company shut down.

• Give false information: There will be times when you get invited to complete a survey that isn’t applicable to you. For example, if a survey is seeking smokers aged 30 to 40, don’t lie in order to complete the survey for a reward. There’s no way you’ll remember every answer you’ve given to every survey, and some sites will check up on your previous answers to catch any discrepancies. This will pick up any dishonest activity, and they may remove any rewards you’ve earned.

Is Online Survey Income Taxable?

A good question, and one which is dependent on how much you earn. For the majority of people, the taxman won’t be an issue, especially if you’re doing online surveys as a side hustle.

Any earnings from surveys are technically classed as self-employed income. This only becomes an issue if you already receive an income from self employment or make over £1,000 per year from surveys.

If you got really serious with online surveys and somehow managed to earn over £1,000 in a year, you’d need to declare that to HMRC irrespective of your employment status. This would require Self-Assessment registration.

Are Online Surveys Worthwhile?

Don’t be mistaken in thinking you can make full-time income from taking part in online surveys. They are more of an easy way to make a bit of money as a side hustle with little effort.

By picking the better survey platforms and remaining consistent, you can make a reasonable side income. But remember, patience is needed.

Think you’re ready? Sign up for a few online survey companies, remain active, and make sure you pay most attention to the higher paying survey companies.