Are These Survey Sites Worth It (2) Updated 2016

OK so after a few requests over the years I've decided to update the previous thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=1003753&page=124


I've made a new poll which will remain open for a year taking into account the sites that I have been told have closed and a few newer or more frequently used sites. I have chosen to leave out more exclusive and popular sites such as Pinecone because they are so popular already and there is limited space for my options in the poll- I've had to whittle it down to 10 from nearly 40! I wanted to have as many different sites and some more dubious survey sites on the list to help people and save people wasting their time trialling sites so leaving out the more obviously good sites was behind my reasoning on that.


A good site to keep an eye on is the global site for all survey sites The Survey Police https://www.surveypolice.com/ which keeps track and has reviews of most if not all survey sites. I think it's based in the US but it does cover the UK too so bare this in mind when looking at new survey sites or looking for feedback on sites you may be a member of.


And one last disclaimer- I am by no means a member of all the different survey sites listed. I just don't have the time, energy or boredom threshold that I used to have (and sadly not the health either!) I have started this thread for everyone to use, add to and hopefully pre-warn others about, I don't have information on all or even most of the sites unfortunately and although I will be adding to the thread it's a thread for everyone to please add to and help others with because I definitely don't have all the answers or experience!


Thank you to everyone who adds their experiences in past experience has been a huge help here.

Vote for the survey-sites you'd recommend to others 71 votes

My Survey
26% 19 votes
To Luna
9% 7 votes
New Vista
19% 14 votes
Consumer Voice
1% 1 vote
Opinion World
7% 5 votes
Response Panel
0% 0 votes
Survey Bods
4% 3 votes
Crowdology
7% 5 votes
Panel Base
16% 12 votes
Viewsbank
7% 5 votes
«13

Comments

  • jenniewb
    jenniewb Posts: 12,836
    Photogenic First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Just to add; there are many other survey sites out there which have not made the list. (Sites such as YouGov, Ipsos, Valued Opinions, Yousaypays and so on).
    This is because I have limited space to include everything and sites such as these are more reputable. I wanted to try to make the thread as useful as I could and warn others on sites to avoid. It doesn't mean not to mention other sites when posting on the thread below if you have a good or bad story.


    Some others (to those already mentioned) which others have mentioned or I've found via the Survey Police site mentioned which didn't make the list are
    Maximail, Populus Live, Mint Vine, Qark, GTM, YouSayPays, Opiniom, Onepoll, SurveyGoo and there are no doubt many more. I'm sorry I wasn't able to include every site out there- it would have been great if I could have done! But that does not mean not to discuss them below.


    I hope this thread helps people.
  • torbrex
    torbrex Posts: 71,340
    Combo Breaker First Post Rampant Recycler Hung up my suit!
    Forumite
    YouGov is the site that makes me the most money, for the last 2 years I have had 2 payouts of £50 each year and I am well over halfway to my first £50 this year already. And they pay cash direct into my bank account :T :)
  • jenniewb
    jenniewb Posts: 12,836
    Photogenic First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    torbrex wrote: »
    YouGov is the site that makes me the most money, for the last 2 years I have had 2 payouts of £50 each year and I am well over halfway to my first £50 this year already. And they pay cash direct into my bank account :T :)



    I think sites like YouGov, Valued Opinions and Pinecone have proven their fairly reliable and reputable.


    It would be great of MSE could do their own survey police site and have a list of the top 10 sites which are least likely to scam you! Having said that; there are occasions when I've taken a survey and about 15 minutes later when I get the end page am then told "oh sorry you do not qualify", it's then a mess of complicated numbers dates and times to try and report the scam-survey and it doesn't always work. I think a site really shows their worth when it comes to if and how they deal with issues like this.
  • Saetana
    Saetana Posts: 1,542
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I am really surprised people are recommending Toluna - they are one of the worst payers out there and it can take two months or more sometimes to receive vouchers (even electronic ones!). They are the worst culprit for having you do half or more of a survey and then screening you out and it seems completely pointless filling out their profiles as they still send me unsuitable surveys - I get screened out of at least 90% of the surveys they send me (which used to be several per day). I'd had enough and, once I'd received my most recent voucher order, I resigned from the panel. The one upside is that they have more surveys available than any other panel but the pay is so poor you would be better off doing 2-3 of the better panels instead. And of course if they screen me out of a fully completed survey then it MUST have been my fault somehow for not doing something correctly, grr! Seriously, I wouldn't recommend them unless you have a lot of free time and don't mind getting paid peanuts for surveys (surveys don't pay well anyway but Toluna take the biscuit!). Rant over :D
    2020 Wins:
  • Saetana
    Saetana Posts: 1,542
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Just a thought - is it possible to have more than one poll so we can include the other survey panels?
    2020 Wins:
  • fraserbooks
    fraserbooks Posts: 342 Forumite
    I have started doing nectar surveys. They pay out in nectar points which you can use straight away. I find the Yougov surveys the most interesting.
  • olliebean
    olliebean Posts: 596
    First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Forumite
    I guess a lot of it must be down to whether you happen to fit the right demographic to do well at a particular site, because I found the two current front runners, My Survey and Toluna - Toluna especially - to be two of the worst when taking into account the amount of unpaid time I wasted getting screened out of surveys. This is one reason I like YouGov so much, they never screen you out so you know your time isn't being wasted (unless of course you do the Oracle surveys that only pay in prize draw entries).
  • fraserbooks
    fraserbooks Posts: 342 Forumite
    I found I could not handle the technology for my survey - they wanted me to download plug ins that would not load. I have just had a yougov survey with just one question and I received 25 points for it.
  • Biggles
    Biggles Posts: 8,209
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    Saetana wrote: »
    I am really surprised people are recommending Toluna - they are one of the worst payers out there
    That had been my impression also, which is why I gave them the elbow several years ago.

    But one or two comments on the previous survey thread gave me the impression they had improved. Does anyone have any comments?
  • olliebean
    olliebean Posts: 596
    First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Forumite
    From my POV Toluna hasn't improved - I gave it another try the other day, gave up after half an hour getting repeatedly screened out and earning nothing. Having said that I used to make a fair bit from them, just not enough to justify the huge amounts of time it ate up compared to, say, Populus or YouGov.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards