Always check the minimum payout limit and Trustpilot score before using a survey site.
I have been completing paid surveys online since about 2012. There are fewer survey platforms now, and the earning rates have stagnated, which is why paid gaming has become the best way to make money online, but there are still good opportunities out there.
In general, you want to find a site that shows you an estimated payout for each survey, as well as providing an estimated completion time. You should also check the Trustpilot score of survey sites before using them, and you should avoid sites that have high disqualification rates.
Freecash is the best paid survey site currently, with a low minimum payout, a very high Trustpilot score and a wide range of withdrawal options.
It also has the most high-paying surveys, allowing the average user to earn a whopping $35 daily, while the top earners race to be the first to make $5000 each month (the winner earns a $500 bonus).
And, perhaps most importantly, Freecash provide an estimated completion time and predicted payout for every survey, so you'll never have to go in blind.
YouGov are one of the most established survey companies in the world, and with a Trustpilot score almost as high as Freecash's, you know they can be trusted.
And because they work with a wider-range of industries than most survey sites, you get the chance to answer more interesting questions (let's face it, 95% of paid surveys are about shopping and major brands).
The only major criticism I have is the minimum withdrawal. In the US, you need to make $15 for a payout, but in other regions it can be as high as about $50.
InboxDollars have been around since the beginning of the paid survey game, and they've built a solid reputation, hence the Trustpilot score.
But there is a glaring issue with InboxDollars. A $30 minimum withdrawal is simply too high, and for that reason I can only recommend InboxDollars to committed earners who know they will grind through enough surveys to ever make a withdrawal.
Swagbucks are another of the older players in the world of paid surveys, and they can boast a great reputation and a decent minimum withdrawal.
Swagbucks' issue is that they are no longer as competitive with their earning rates as other survey sites. The difference is not outrageous, but I definitely earn less per hour with Swagbucks than most of the alternatives.
Toluna is one of the smaller sites, but it offers a fairly complete package; a good Trustpilot score, an acceptable minimum withdrawal, and a pleasant UI.
Unfortunately, as this is a smaller site, there are noticeably fewer surveys to take, and so your earnings will be hard capped more quickly than with other sites.
Idle Empire is a personal favorite of mine, with a support team I can vouch for and a competitive minimum withdrawal.
But, I have to place Idle Empire lower in the ranking because they are so much more focused on paid gaming than surveys. As a result, they have a smaller range of surveys than most sites, and a lot of their rewards will only be relevant to users who game.
And, in last place, Branded Surveys. This is still an established site that deserves a place among other top survey platforms, with a decent Trustpilot score and a low minimum payout, but their reputation has been collapsing in the last few years.
Swathes of users have taken to earning communities on Reddit to share their problems with Branded Surveys, with the most common complaints involving survey disqualification and incredibly low payment rates.
I hesitate to recommend Branded Surveys over and above other options, but I have included them here because I have not personally experienced any of the same issues as other users. For me, they have a remained at least "okay" compared to the competition.
