21 Best Free Surveys That Pay Cash Instantly

Looking for the best surveys that pay cash instantly? Here are 21 paid survey sites with instant cash payout.

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Last Updated: March 20, 2024

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

Looking for a quick and easy way to earn some extra cash? Well, have you thought about taking surveys that pay cash instantly?

Surveys that pay cash instantly can give you a way to earn extra money by sharing your opinions.

This can be an easy side hustle because you can take surveys at any time that is convenient for you – there is no need to have a set schedule or anything like that.

Today, I will be talking about 21 paid survey sites that pay cash instantly, such as straight to your PayPal account.

What are surveys and how do they work?

Surveys that pay cash instantly are market research sites that reward you immediately after completing a survey. They are a popular choice for many people because they pay quickly and are easy.

Here’s how paid online surveys work:

  • Market research companies create surveys to gather opinions on products or services.
  • These surveys are then distributed among members of the survey site, such as you.
  • Once you finish answering a survey, you are instantly rewarded with cash, usually via PayPal or gift cards.

Taking surveys is great because you can get paid right after completing the survey, without having to wait days or weeks. They are also very easy to do – companies simply want to hear your real opinions (they aren’t asking any crazy hard questions). Plus, you can complete the surveys at any time and from anywhere.

Although you can get paid fast, the payout per survey is often low, and answering surveys will not be a primary source of income. Also, some instant payout surveys might take a long amount of time to answer relative to the compensation offered.

Best Surveys That Pay Cash Instantly To PayPal

Here are some of the top surveys that pay cash instantly to sign up for:

  1. Swagbucks
  2. Survey Junkie
  3. Branded Surveys
  4. American Consumer Opinion
  5. InboxDollars
  6. Pinecone Research
  7. Prize Rebel
  8. User Interviews
  9. MyPoints
  10. Product Review Jobs
  11. Product Report Card
  12. Rakuten Insight
  13. Opinion Outpost
  14. Forthright Surveys
  15. BizKnowledge
  16. NCP Mobile
  17. Prime Opinion
  18. Valued Opinions
  19. KashKick
  20. YouGov
  21. Toluna
Top Pick
Swagbucks
9

Swagbucks is a site where you can earn points for surveys, shopping online, watching videos, using coupons, and more. You can use your points for gift cards and cash.

Top Pick
Branded Surveys
9

Branded Surveys is one of the most popular survey sites that rewards you in cash and gift cards for sharing your opinion. You can get paid anywhere from $0.50 to $5.00 per survey.

Top Pick
American Consumer Opinion
9

American Consumer Opinion allows you to express your opinions on products and services through surveys and product testing. You can earn $1 to $5 per survey taken.

There is no fee to join or use any of the companies mentioned today. You can complete surveys from the best survey sites below and earn survey rewards at no cost to you. You do not need to purchase anything else – products that you review are provided to you for free too.

Learn more about each paid survey site company below.

1. Swagbucks

Swagbucks has been one of the top survey sites that pay cash instantly for many years now. And, it makes sense – the site is easy to use and there are many ways to earn points.

Plus, Swagbucks has paid its members $936,410,522 since 2008. They pay out over 10,000 gift cards and PayPal cash deposits every single day!

I have even used it myself for around a decade now and I have earned 112 free gift cards. Plus, they have an instant survey payout.

Below is a screenshot I took that shows I’ve earned over 112 gift cards and PayPal cash deposits.

Swagbucks isn’t just surveys either. Swagbucks has many different ways to earn points (their points are called SB that you can then exchange into cash or gift cards) so that you can make more money. Some of the things you can do to earn points on Swagbucks include:

  • Answering paid surveys and their daily polls
  • Using their coupons at the grocery store
  • Using the Swagbucks search engine (it is similar to Google or Bing)
  • Watching short videos
  • Earn cash back when shopping online
  • Playing a game on their website
  • Adding their browser extension

Payout methods: PayPal cash, Visa gift cards, as well as gift cards to places such as Apple, Target, Macy’s, Amazon, and Walmart.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $3

Sign up for Swagbucks here (and earn bonus points).

2. Survey Junkie 

Survey Junkie is a site where you can earn points for taking surveys and connecting your data.

The types of surveys that you will be answering will be on products and companies in industries such as food, entertainment, personal care (such as shampoo), clothing, travel, and more.

These are typically shorter surveys at less than 10 minutes long. If you answer 3 surveys a day, you can earn around $40 a month.

Payout methods: PayPal cash, bank transfers, and gift cards such as Amazon, Target, Sephora, Starbucks, iTunes, and more.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $5 or 500 points

Sign up for Survey Junkie here.

3. Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys is a popular survey site with over 3 million users. It is free to sign up and they have many survey opportunities.

Branded Surveys has paid out $42,106,936.57 to its members.

With the Branded Surveys platform, you can make around $0.50 to $5 for each survey you answer. The longer the survey, the more money you will make.

Payout methods: PayPal cash and over 100 gift card options.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $5 or 500 points

Sign up for Branded Surveys here and receive a free 100 point sign-up bonus.

4. American Consumer Opinion

American Consumer Opinion was created in 1986. At first, they sent out surveys through the mail and by telephone, and then they started running paid online surveys in 1996.

American Consumer Opinion is a paid online survey company that pays you $1 to $50 per survey completed (the longer the survey, the more money you can make).

They also sometimes send out free products for you to test and review as well.

They have paid out over $35,000,000 to survey takers and have had over 20 million surveys taken.

Payout methods: PayPal cash, charity donation, and gift cards.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $10 or 1,000 points

Sign up for American Consumer Opinion here.

5. Inbox Dollars

Inbox Dollars is a site that gives you cash for taking surveys, shopping online, playing games, and reading certain emails. They have partnered with many well-known companies such as Netflix, Target, H&R Block, and Walmart.

The surveys on Inbox Dollars pay anywhere from $0.50 to $5.00 and take 3 minutes to 25 minutes to answer. They do sometimes send out surveys that pay $10-$20 too if you match what they are looking for.

Inbox Dollars has been around since 2000 and they have paid over $80 million in cash and gift cards.

Payout methods: PayPal cash, as well as gift cards to places such as Amazon, Apple, Target, Dunkin Donuts, Lowes, Barnes & Noble, and Gap.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $15 or 1,500 points

Sign up for InboxDollars here and get a free $5 bonus.

6. Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is one of the very first survey companies I ever used, and probably the one I have used the most over the years. They are a very popular survey company and easy to use.

For each survey that you answer for Pinecone Research Panel, you receive $3. Plus, they often send out free products to review, such as toilet paper and shampoo. Surveys on here usually take around 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

Pinecone doesn’t always accept new members, though, because once you become a member, members typically stick with them. So, if you have the chance to sign up, definitely do not miss the opening!

Payout methods: Cash or prizes.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $3

You can register for Pinecone Research by clicking on this link here.

7. Prize Rebel

Prize Rebel is a company that pays you for answering survey questions. They were started in 2007 and they have paid out over $29,000,000 in rewards to their members.

Prize Rebel pays very quickly. Once you redeem your points, 99% of their rewards are delivered digitally within just 5 minutes. This is definitely one of the fastest companies for surveys that pay cash instantly!

Prize Rebel also gives out prizes for answering surveys, such as PlayStations, computers, and more.

Payout methods: PayPal cash, Bitcoin, as well as gift cards to places such as Amazon, eBay, Starbucks, Visa, and more.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $5

Sign up for Prize Rebel by clicking here.

8. User Interviews

User Interviews stands out from other market research companies. This site specializes in focus groups, as opposed to the usual online surveys.

This means that User Interviews pays a lot more than your traditional survey.

They still want your opinions on products and companies, but they dig deeper. Their studies can be done over the phone or through a video interview, and on average, they pay more than $65 per study. Plus, most payments are made within a day or two of a focus group session.

Some examples of market research they collect include:

  • Testing an online banking experience and giving feedback on how they can improve
  • Feedback on what you’re looking for in an outdoor grill (this pays $175 for 90 minutes!)
  • Playing a video game and giving your opinion (this pays $200 for 2.5 hours!)

Spotify, Pinterest, GoPro, Adobe, Amazon, and other companies use User Interviews to collect market research.

This website conducts over 2,000 studies every month and last year alone, they paid over 87,000 participants.

I once did a focus group interview and earned $400 for just one hour of online video questions. It was simple and convenient.

Payout methods: PayPal cash, direct deposit, as well as gift cards to Amazon, Visa, Whole Foods, Uber, Southwest Airlines, DoorDash, and more.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: There is no cash-out minimum.

Sign up for free with User Interviews.

9. MyPoints

MyPoints rewards you with cash and gift cards for doing online surveys, shopping online, and participating in polls. They’ve given out over $236 million in gift cards and PayPal cash since they began in 1996.

Some ways to earn points:

  • Watch videos and earn up to 500 points per day
  • Get up to 25 points for every dollar spent at popular retailers.
  • Have fun playing games and earn 10 points for every dollar
  • Read emails, visit partners, and earn 5 points

Payout methods: PayPal cash, as well as gift cards to places such as Amazon, Walmart, and Starbucks.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $5

Sign up for MyPoints by clicking here.

10. Product Review Jobs

ProductReviewJobs is a new market research listing site where you can register to test products. They currently have about 4,000 testers.

If you review one product a week, you can earn an average of about $100 per month. The average payment per product review is around $25.

Product Review Jobs doesn’t pay you directly. They act as a job board, and it’s the hiring company that pays you. They partner with market research companies and help connect testers to them. After signing up, Product Review Jobs emails you when a product testing job aligns with your profile.

They send you items to test, and you’ll receive compensation for participating in surveys or focus groups afterward.

Payout methods: Cash.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $10

Sign up for Product Review Jobs by clicking here.

11. Product Report Card

Product Report Card is a survey company that offers free products for testing and reviewing. Their surveys pay out between $0.50 and $500.

They’ve conducted market research for companies like Papa John’s, Delta Airlines, Burt’s Bees, and UPS.

At Product Review Jobs, you might find surveys like a 14-minute beverage opinion survey that pays $1.25, or an online focus group that pays $100 for 45 minutes of your time.

Payout methods: Direct deposit, check, PayPal cash, Amazon gift cards, and giveaways (like a car).

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $25

Sign up for Product Report Card by clicking here. If you sign up today, you can get an easy $5 welcome bonus by simply signing up and taking a quick 5 minute welcome survey.

12. Rakuten Insight

Rakuten Insight pays you to answer online surveys. Their surveys can be as short as a couple of minutes or as long as about 30 minutes.

Payout methods: PayPal payments and Amazon gift cards.

Minimum threshold: $5 or 500 points

Sign up for Rakuten Insight by clicking here.

13. Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost is a survey site that pays out around $390,000 each month to its survey takers.

Some of the ways to earn points include through product testing questionnaires, reviewing advertisements, diary studies, focus groups, and more.

Payout methods: Cash to your PayPal account and gift cards to places such as CVS, Apple, Macy’s, Domino’s, The Home Depot, and more.

Minimum payout threshold: $5

Sign up here for Opinion Outpost.

14. Forthright Surveys

Forthright Surveys is a survey company that has instant payouts. Brands and academic researchers use Forthright Surveys to get market research input from people like you and me.

You can earn around $5 a day by taking surveys on this site. They have a lot of surveys available too.

Payout methods: PayPal, Amazon, Tango Card, or Bitcoin.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: No minimum.

Sign up here for Forthright Surveys.

15. BizKnowledge

BizKnowledge is a survey site that pays you with rewards for sharing your views.

Survey takers must be either full-time or part-time employed, and they need to complete their profile with their real name and address.

Payout methods: Amazon gift card or Visa gift card.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $10

Sign up here for BizKnowledge.

16. NCPMobile

National Consumer Panel is an app where you can earn rewards for scanning barcodes on the items that you purchase.

You simply scan the UPC barcodes of the items you buy (or tell NCP a little bit about the non-barcoded items). This then shares your shopping data with the research panel so that they can learn more about your shopping behaviors.

Payout methods: Gift cards and free items such as cameras.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $10

Sign up here for NCP Mobile.

17. Prime Opinion

Prime Opinion is a survey site where you can earn up to $5 per survey, and the average user earns around $11 in one day.

They currently have 1,083 surveys available, so there are a lot of surveys that you may be able to take!

Payout methods: PayPal cash, Venmo, bank direct deposit, as well as gift cards to places such as Amazon, Uber, Google Play, and more.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $5

Sign up for Prime Opinion here.

18. Valued Opinions

Valued Opinions is a site where you can take paid online surveys and earn rewards. You can also earn rewards by completing diary studies and testing products.

Some of the industries that you may be answering questions for include movies, fashion trends, food, and more.

Payout methods: PayPal cash or Amazon, Macy’s, and Target gift cards.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $10

Sign up for Valued Opinions here.

19. KashKick

Kashkick is a rewards and loyalty program that helps people earn extra money. You can earn rewards by answering surveys, watching videos, playing mobile games, and more.

Payout methods: PayPal cash.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $10

Sign up for KashKick here.

20. YouGov

YouGov is a survey platform where you can share your opinion on sports, entertainment, and the news. Unlike other survey companies, YouGov says that they do not boot you from surveys once you’ve started.

Payout methods: Bank transfer or gift card to places such as Nike, Target, Amazon, and more.

Minimum balance needed for withdrawal: $50

Sign up for YouGov here.

21. Toluna

Toluna is a social voting site that is available in 50 countries. They need your opinion on products and services, and you can earn points and rewards.

Payout methods: PayPal cash, Amazon gift card, or Tango voucher.

Minimum balance needed to cash out: $10

Sign up for Toluna here.

cash in wallet for blog post about free  surveys that pay cash instantly

Tips for Increasing Earnings from Instant Cash Paying Surveys

If you want to make the most money by taking instant payout surveys, here are my tips:

  • Sign up for as many survey sites as you can. As you read in the list above, there are many different survey sites. And, I recommend signing up for as many as you can. This is because each survey site has different surveys. So, the more sites you are registered on, the more surveys that will be available to you.
  • Regularly log in to the survey sites you are a member of. This is so that you don’t miss out on any surveys.
  • Prioritize high-paying surveys. Focus on high-paying surveys first, if time is your limiting factor.

Reviews on paid online survey sites

If you are looking to learn more about each online survey website, I have in-depth reviews on several of them. You can find them below:

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to commonly asked questions about surveys that pay cash instantly.

Is there a survey that actually pays you?

Yes, all of the options above will pay you, such as Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, Branded Surveys, and American Consumer Opinion. There are many more that we didn’t even talk about today, such as Lifepoints, Qmee, Ipsos Isay, Google Opinion Rewards, and more.

What survey app lets you cash out at $5?

Many do such as Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, Branded Surveys, Pinecone Research, Prize Rebel, and Rakuten Insight.

Are there surveys that pay cash instantly no minimum?

There are a few surveys that pay cash instantly with no minimum, such as Forthright Surveys.

How do surveys that pay cash instantly work?

These surveys work like normal online surveys. All you need is your phone or laptop, plus an internet connection. The only difference is that once you finish them, your payment is processed quickly, usually through online platforms like PayPal or online gift cards. Most of the above sites are surveys that pay cash instantly to PayPal and are available in the United States, UK, Australia, Canada, and more.

Are these instant cash paying survey sites legitimate?

Yes, these paid survey sites are legitimate and I am signed up for all of them. However, it’s always a good idea to do your own research before signing up. Look for reviews or testimonials from other people to confirm the legitimacy of the site.

How much can I earn from surveys that pay instantly?

The amount you earn from these paid survey sites can vary. It depends on how many surveys you participate in, their length, and the rates set by the site. Some users may earn a few dollars a day, while others make hundreds each month.

What happens if I don’t get paid instantly?

If you don’t receive your payment right away, contact the site’s customer service for assistance as a delayed payment could be due to technical issues.

How can I get free Amazon gift cards?

Yes, there are many ways to get free Amazon gift cards. I recommend reading 12 Easy Ways To Earn Free Amazon Gift Cards to learn more.

I also recommend checking out 13 Ways To Get Free Apple Gift Cards.

Are there surveys that pay instantly to Cash App?

There are no surveys that pay instantly to Cash App, but most of the surveys above do pay in PayPal cash.

How can I avoid survey scams?

Here’s how to stay safe:

  • Always research survey sites before signing up.
  • Be careful if a site asks for unnecessary personal information.
  • Legitimate survey sites don’t ask for money. All of the survey sites above are free to use.

There are many free surveys that pay cash instantly, but you always want to be safe.

Can I make a living off surveys that pay instantly to PayPal?

No, you cannot make a living from free surveys that pay cash instantly. While instant cash paying surveys can give you side income, they will never be a primary source of income. They are best seen as a way to make a little extra cash in your spare time. They pay in PayPal cash, sweepstakes entries, gift cards, and more. Online focus groups, such as User Interviews, do pay a little more, but it is still not a full-time income.

Surveys That Pay Cash Instantly – Summary

I hope you enjoyed this article on free surveys that pay cash instantly. You’ve just learned everything there is to know about surveys that pay cash instantly to PayPal and with free gift cards.

Here’s a recap of the survey companies we talked about today:

  1. Swagbucks
  2. Survey Junkie
  3. Branded Surveys
  4. American Consumer Opinion
  5. InboxDollars
  6. Pinecone Research
  7. Prize Rebel
  8. User Interviews
  9. MyPoints
  10. Product Review Jobs
  11. Product Report Card
  12. Rakuten Insight
  13. Opinion Outpost
  14. Forthright Surveys
  15. BizKnowledge
  16. NCP Mobile
  17. Prime Opinion
  18. Valued Opinions
  19. KashKick
  20. YouGov
  21. Toluna

Surveys are helpful for companies so that they can improve what they sell and how they sell.

And, that’s where you come in.

You can take surveys and earn cash (as well as free stuff every now and then). While you won’t get rich from taking surveys, it can be an easy way to earn money in your spare time from home.

Give these survey sites a try today – they not only give a way to share your thoughts and improve brand decisions, but they are also an easy way to make money. Remember, your opinions are valuable, and here’s a chance to get paid for them – instantly!

What are your top surveys that pay cash instantly?

Recommended reading:


Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Author: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Hey! I’m Michelle Schroeder-Gardner and I am the founder of Making Sense of Cents. I’m passionate about all things personal finance, side hustles, making extra money, and online businesses. I have been featured in major publications such as Forbes, CNBC, Time, and Business Insider. Learn more here.

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