There are two things that can be surmised about you from the fact that you’re reading this article: 1: You’re searching for a no-nonsense way to earn some money online and 2: You’re interested in making money from online surveys for money but you’re not sure if this method works. If neither of these statements were true, you wouldn’t be reading this article right now.

A good resource to check the reputation of online survey for money sites as well as to get more information about them is SurveySpencer.com. This site compiles and keeps ratings for all of the survey sites in their comprehensive and regularly maintained database.

The reason you’re wondering if paid online surveys actually work has to do with all of the bad press survey sites have had recently. It’s true that there are scammers on the Internet who would like nothing better than to part you from your money or steal your personal information. However, there are just as many, if not more, honest survey sites that pay people every day for completing surveys. You don’t often hear about them because there is little reason to report anything about them: they conduct their business, people get paid, and life goes on.

Because no one wants to get scammed, it may be helpful to go over some of the red flags for unscrupulous and scam survey sites:

Brand new sites

Be wary of recently created survey sites (you can see a regularly updates list here). That’s not to say that every new site is a scam, but very often, it is the newer ones that end up closing down very quickly, with the only people having made a dime being the site owners. A good way to tell if a survey site is brand new is to search out reviews for that site on Google. If no reviews, good or bad, come up, then you know that the site is too new to have generated any information.

So, especially when you’re just starting out in the paid surveys business yourself, choose survey companies that have been around for two years or more. If they’ve lasted this long, then it’s very likely that they’re reputable and pay their users.

High ratio of paid offers to free surveys

Most survey sites will have offers that cost money, and for which you can receive some compensation. However, since it’s a survey site, most of what they offer should be surveys that are free to take. If a site calls itself a survey site and has maybe one or two surveys and 10 offers that you need a credit card for, then it’s not really a survey site and, at the very least, they’re drawing people in under false pretenses.

Outlandish income claims

Doing surveys for money will never make you rich or even remotely well-off. It’s a nice way to earn a little extra income or to replace a small income stream. Any site that boasts that amazing riches will be yours for just answering a few survey questions is at the very least being dishonest with you about how much you can make. Ask yourself: If the site owners are willing to lie about this, what else are they willing to lie about?

Membership fees/Paid offer completion

Reputable survey sites will never ask you to pay for joining, nor will they require you to purchase anything. Any survey site that demands payment, whether in the form of a membership fee, a one-off joining fee, or makes you buy something to allow you in is a scam, it’s that simple.

The following market research companies have been around for at least two years and are proven to pay out:

Opinion World

• Open since: 1977
• Free to join? Yes
• Cash-out threshold: $10
• Payment type: PayPal and cash voucher
• Uses points? Yes. 1,000 points=$10

SurveySpot

• Open since: 2000
• Free to join? Yes
• Cash-out threshold: None
• Payment type: PayPal or cash voucher
• Uses points? No

SurveySavvy

• Open since: 1999
• Free to join? Yes
• Cash-out threshold: None
• Payment type: Check
• Uses points? No

Brand Institute

• Open since: 1993
• Free to join? Yes
• Cash-out threshold: None
• Payment type: PayPal or check
• Uses points? No

My View

• Open since: 1996
• Free to join? Yes
• Cash-out threshold: $15
• Payment type: Pre-paid Visa cards and retailer gift cards
• Uses points? Yes. 21,000=$15

HotSpex

• Open since: 2000
• Free to join? Yes
• Cash-out threshold: $10
• Payment type: Amazon gift cards
• Uses points? Yes. Points are called “bux.” 1100 bux=$10

Surveyhead

• Open since: 2008
• Free to join? Yes
• Cash-out threshold: $25
• Payment type: PayPal or retailer gift card
• Uses points? No

This list is in no way exhaustive of all of the honest market research companies available online.

You may be wondering why some of the survey companies require you to accumulate rewards points before cashing out. It’s likely a means of organizing payments, especially where the per-survey compensation is fairly small. Regardless of why it’s used, the points system is very common and doesn’t mean a survey site isn’t legitimate.

Making money from online surveys for money is a legitimate opportunity and many people are earning online with it right now. While the danger of being scammed certainly exists, it in no way comprises a majority of the market research sites on the Internet. With a little due diligence you can avoid the bad apples of the industry and discover for yourself that taking surveys for money really does work.