In this article, we will discuss whether earning money by taking surveys online is actually worth your time or not. If you have researched different ways to make money online before, you have likely come across the concept of taking paid surveys online. However, there may have been various factors that turned you off of it.
For example, you could have been told it wouldn’t be a lot of money or that it wouldn’t be worth it. But that’s what we’re here to discuss today!
In the following sections, you will learn why taking paid surveys online is so popular and how you can do it yourself. Additionally, you will learn:
- How much money you can actually make from online surveys?
- How much time do you need to spend doing taking surveys?
- Scenarios in which making money from online surveys could be especially useful.
If you want to find out whether taking online surveys for money is worth it, keep reading!
Ways To Make Money Online
There are many different free ways to make money online. These include selling digital products on sites like Etsy, reselling your items on Facebook Marketplace or Depop, getting ad revenue from a YouTube channel, or digitally testing websites and apps.
However, none of these methods are quite as simple or straightforward as taking surveys online for money. There are many different pros and cons to making money online. But you will find that taking surveys can be done at any time and is extremely simple to start doing.
Taking Surveys for Money Online
Online surveys for money come from many sources, including websites, research centers, schools, businesses, and other institutions. These companies will give survey-takers gift cards or cash in exchange for their opinions, reviews, or behaviors on specific topics.
You might be asking yourself why they would offer free cash for this effort. The answer is simple. It can be tough for companies to get real, honest opinions on their products and practices. Incentivizing surveys (so consumers will actually take time to answer the questions) is one way to make this happen.
Also, sometimes studies or research topics will come up where many subjects need to be tested in a short amount of time. This is another motivation to create surveys for money.
You can think of taking a paid survey as a win-win situation. The researcher or company gets your opinion, behavior, or review, and you get some cash or a gift card!
Paid Surveys Are a Popular Way To Make Extra Cash
Millions of people decide to start taking paid surveys to earn extra cash each month. For example, Branded Surveys has more than two million users who all get paid to take simple surveys online. So why are paid online surveys so popular? There are a few reasons:
Earn Day and Night
Taking paid surveys means you can earn money 24/7. If you can’t sleep at night or have a long train ride to work, you can use that time to make money doing surveys rather than wasting it with other time-fillers.
No Set Schedule
There are no “shifts” when it comes to earning money from paid surveys, so you can always start and stop making money at your leisure.
Passive Income
While it might take you longer to earn money from paid surveys than from other jobs, the passive income can stack up quite quickly.
How Much Can You Actually Earn From Online Surveys?
Don’t expect that taking paid online surveys is an entire job in itself. The income you receive from doing these surveys will not be enough to support you without at least a part-time job. However, it is an excellent option for people who like to make a little money on the side or who want extra cash to save toward a larger goal.
On popular sites like Branded Surveys, opportunities can range regularly from $.40 to $2 for every survey you take. Occasionally, surveys can pay a lot more if they are especially intensive or require a certain kind of expertise. Sometimes, people’s opinions or reviews can be more valuable to researchers depending on their level of education or their overall perspective/experience.
How Much Time Do You Need To Spend Online To Make Real Money?
The idea of “real” money depends on your goals for the cash you make by taking paid surveys online. People have many different goals when they start pursuing this kind of income. For many people, it is just viewed as supplemental or “fun” money. The reality is that you might only make a few dollars an hour by doing paid surveys. And for you, that may be plenty to supply you with a bit of pocket change.
However, depending on your goals when you take surveys for money, the funds could be very “real” to you. For example, they could mean the difference between your next vacation or staying at home. In the next couple of sections, we will look at two possible scenarios for how you could use the money you earn by taking paid surveys. Both of these situations have very “real” outcomes.
Scenario One:
The first scenario involves someone who isn’t saving for a long-term vacation or goal.
For example, let’s say you are looking for little things to brighten up your day or week, and you don’t want to chip away at your savings to get them. With the time you spend getting paid to take surveys online, you can earn enough to get an extra latte at Starbucks or pay for a movie date for you and your partner. And you can do these “extras” without breaking your budget for the week or month.
The fruits of your labor might be smaller, but they can make a big difference when your budget is tight, but you still want to have fun treats on the side.
Paid surveys don’t have to give you a substantial payout or go toward a specific larger goal. Instead, they can just pay for the fun parts of life, like going out for dinner or getting coffee with friends.
Scenario Two:
The second scenario is if you are someone who is saving for a much more expensive or large long-term goal, like a vacation!
For example, perhaps you want to save a significant amount of money toward a long-term goal but don’t have a lot of room in your budget. Completing paid surveys online can be a great way to achieve this. While you won’t earn thousands of dollars doing paid surveys, you will quickly notice the total stacking up.
If you consistently send the money you make directly to your savings toward this goal, it will be a painless way to make it closer to your dreams. This is especially true when you don’t need to dip into your paycheck or savings account. When you put money toward a goal like a vacation, you might not even realize how close you’ll be getting to your goal.
So if your goal is to earn a little extra cash to supplement your regular paychecks (for things like coffee, movie tickets, etc.), it won’t take a lot of time to reach these goals.
However, if you want to make $100-$300 a month, it could take more effort. To make hundreds of dollars a month doing paid online surveys, you will need to devote a good chunk of your free time taking surveys. But many people do it, and you can too if you choose to.
The Amount You Make Will Depend on Your Goals and Time
Ultimately, as we’ve mentioned before, the amount of money you will make doing paid online surveys depends on your goals and the amount of time you have.
Suppose you have a lot of free time to spend on your computer working on these online surveys. In that case, you will likely make much more than someone who only has time to complete them during their subway commute to work.
If you want to make enough money to put hundreds into your savings each time you cash out, make sure you’re committing enough time to make that happen.
However, suppose you can only complete paid surveys during short, intermittent moments. In that case, a “free” latte every once in a while is nice, too.
Is Taking Surveys for Money Online Worth It?
To determine whether or not taking legit surveys for money online is worth it, you’ll have to look at your goals. Be realistic about what you want to save, and remember that if you only have a little time, you might only be able to make under $100 a month. But this extra cash will pay for your coffee, lunch, or another reward. For many, this is enough to mean that taking paid surveys online is definitely worth it!
