Get paid for your opinions
Paid Surveys & Focus Groups
Surveys won’t replace a wage — anyone who says otherwise is selling something. But done on the right sites, in dead time you’d spend scrolling anyway, they’re a genuine £30–£80 a month. Here’s the honest version.
What you’ll actually earn
A typical online survey pays somewhere between 50p and £3 and takes five to twenty minutes. Consistent users of the better sites report £50–£60 a month for odd moments here and there — commutes, queues, adverts. The step up is focus groups and paid research studies: a single session, online or in person, commonly pays £30–£100+ for an hour or two.
The trap to avoid is chasing low payers: if a site is offering 40p for a 30-minute survey, close the tab. Your time has a floor.
Where to sign up
Join several — no single site has enough work on its own.
Prolific
Academic research studies with fair-pay rules and cash payouts. The best hourly rates in the survey world — there can be a waiting list to join, but it’s worth queuing for.
YouGov
The polls behind the news headlines. Surveys are short and interesting; payout thresholds are higher, so treat it as a slow-burn earner that pays out a few times a year.
Reward sites
Sites like Swagbucks bundle surveys with other paid tasks — watching videos, polls, offers. Lower rates per task, but steady, and sign-up bonuses sweeten the start.
Focus groups & user testing
Research agencies recruit the public for paid discussions and product tests, and user-testing platforms pay you to try websites and apps while thinking aloud. Fewer gigs, much bigger payouts.
Getting the most out of it
Set up a dedicated free email address just for survey sites — it keeps your main inbox clean and makes new survey invitations easy to spot. Fill in your profile questions fully; that’s how sites match you to surveys, and a complete profile means fewer “screened out after five minutes” disappointments.
Withdraw your money as soon as you hit the payment threshold rather than letting balances build — these companies aren’t banks, and if you’re offered vouchers or cash, take cash.
Watch out for
Never pay to join a survey site — legitimate ones pay you, full stop. Be stingy with personal data: a real survey company doesn’t need your bank login, National Insurance number or copies of ID. And skip any site whose “rewards” are only entries into a prize draw; that’s a competition, not an income.
On tax: casual survey earnings fall under the £1,000 a year trading allowance for most people, so there’s usually nothing to do — but if your side earnings across everything grow beyond that, keep records and check whether you need a self-assessment return.
Want bigger payouts per hour?
Mystery shopping and task apps pay better for a little more legwork.
Try Mystery Shopping →