Survey Junkie Review 2026: Earn Money Online with Surveys

Yes, Survey Junkie is legit. It’s free to join, and it pays from $5 by PayPal, bank transfer or gift card.

It won’t pay much, though.

Survey Junkie’s own example is about $40 a month for three surveys a day, which works out to pocket money and not much more.

You probably know surveys aren’t my favorite way to make extra money, but I make an exception for it when you’re just hanging out, e.g. watching T.V., riding the metro, during your break at work, or in the back of an Uber.

Might as well click a few buttons and earn some free PayPal money while you’re at it.

Is Survey Junkie legit?

Yes. A real company runs it, and it pays.

Survey Junkie is owned by DISQO, Inc., a market research company in Glendale, California, and the Better Business Bureau has accredited it since 2017.

This is one of the more reputable survey companies out there.

It’s ranked highly on our list of the best online survey sites, too.

The star ratings are messier.

Survey Junkie’s own site says it’s rated 4.5 on Trustpilot. Trustpilot shows 3.2.

Ratings as of this update. They move over time.

Why the gap?

Trustpilot gives newer reviews more weight. Across all 44,905 reviews, 64% are five stars and 19% are four stars, but only 142 of them came in the last 12 months and those are rough.

Of the 20 most recent, 18 gave one or two stars.

What are people upset about? The complaints in Trustpilot’s AI-generated summary of recent reviews are being disqualified after spending time on a survey (sometimes right before the end), trouble getting into accounts and support replies that didn’t help. On the plus side, people like the clean site and the quick redemptions.

Survey Junkie does reply to 97% of its negative reviews there.

So it’s legit. That doesn’t make it easy money.

The pay is small, you’ll get screened out of surveys, and you may have to prove who you are before you can cash out. If those trade-offs sound fine, it costs nothing to join.

Is Survey Junkie safe?

That depends on how you feel about your data.

Your answers are the product.

DISQO sells the information it collects to its clients. That’s the business.

You can ask it to stop, using the Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information form at the bottom of Survey Junkie’s site, but once you’re on that list you can’t take surveys anymore.

Then there’s Surf to Earn, the add-on Survey Junkie used to call SJ Pulse. Turn it on and it tracks what you search for, the sites you visit, the apps you use, what you shop for, the ads you see and your location. In return you get monthly points once it’s been on for 30 days. Survey Junkie says it never collects passwords, payment methods or Social Security numbers. Its privacy policy is broader, and says Surf to Earn information may be extracted from your third-party merchant or email accounts.

That’s a much bigger trade than answering surveys. If handing over your browsing history bothers you, leave it switched off.

You can still take surveys.

What is Survey Junkie and how does it work?

Survey Junkie is a paid survey panel. Brands and research firms want consumer opinions, and Survey Junkie pays you in points for yours. Every 100 points is worth $1.

Who can join? You have to be 18 or older, read and write English well, and live in the US, Canada or Australia. It’s free.

Survey Junkie still lists the UK too, but its UK site, surveyjunkie.uk, now shows a notice that it has shut down. If you’re in the UK, check that surveyjunkie.com accepts your sign up before you put time into it, or see our list of the best UK survey sites.

We also have guides to paid surveys in Canada and surveys for teens.

Getting started is pretty easy.

1. Sign up with an email you check. That’s where survey invitations arrive, and the address can’t be changed later. It’s also a good idea to open a separate Yahoo or Gmail account just for signing up with Survey Junkie or the companies they may link to.
2. Use your legal name, and stick to one account. It’s one per person, and Survey Junkie can deactivate duplicates.
3. Fill in your profile. It decides which surveys you see, and you earn points for completing it.
4. Pick surveys by points and time. Both are on the survey card before you start, and the average survey takes about 15 minutes.
5. Cash out at 500 points. That’s $5.

You won’t qualify for every survey.

Brands want answers from a certain type of person, and a survey closes once it has enough of them, which can happen while you’re part way through. When it does, your answers aren’t saved and you get a few points for the attempt.

What helps? Keep your profile accurate, take your time and answer honestly. Rushing and answers that don’t match your profile both get you disqualified.

MoreCan you really make money taking online surveys?

The Survey Junkie app

You can use Survey Junkie on its website or in its apps for iPhone and Android.

The payouts are similar to most other legit survey companies but if you want to take surveys on your smartphone, I recommend taking surveys with Survey Junkie.

How much does Survey Junkie pay, and is it worth it?

Go back to Survey Junkie’s example of about $40 a month for three surveys a day, and remember the average survey takes about 15 minutes.

So what does that work out to?

Three surveys a day is about 90 surveys a month. At 15 minutes each, that’s about 22 and a half hours for $40, or a little under $2 an hour.

That’s our math, not a rate Survey Junkie quotes, and it leaves out the time you lose on surveys you get screened out of.

You won’t get rich taking surveys.

So is it worth it?

I’ve used Survey Junkie on and off for years. It’s worth signing up for. Check what’s good when you have off time.

That’s how to use it, as pocket money for time you’d otherwise spend scrolling.

If $40 or so a month for about 45 minutes of surveys a day sounds fair, Survey Junkie fits. If you need real money this week, it won’t get you there.

MoreHigh paying surveys that pay through PayPal

How Survey Junkie pays you

Once you have 500 points, you can cash out your $5.

With PayPal, the money typically shows up within a few hours. You’ll need a verified PayPal account, and if nothing has arrived within 24 hours, contact support.

There’s no posted time for a bank transfer.

You can also take gift cards, including Amazon, Target, Walmart, Sephora, Starbucks, Visa and iTunes, and the options you see can vary with where you live and whether your account is verified.

Your first cash out

This is the step to get right.

Survey Junkie may ask you to verify your identity before you redeem, by email, phone or photo ID. Photo ID is the quick route, because it’s reviewed automatically and you can redeem within about 5 minutes. The other methods can take longer.

Use a PayPal or bank account in the same name you signed up with, because Survey Junkie can withhold a payment if the account doesn’t appear to be yours.

Points marked pending aren’t yours yet, either. The survey provider is still reviewing your answers, and that can take up to one month.

And don’t let a balance build. Redeeming 5,500 points, which is $55, means contacting member support for a manual payout, so cash out before you get there and you skip the wait.

Survey Junkie pros and cons

Use it if you want a simple survey site with a low cash out, and you’re happy earning pocket money in spare minutes. Join Survey Junkie free

Skip it if you want more than pocket money, or being screened out of surveys would drive you up the wall. If you’d rather play games than answer questions, there are three alternatives below.

Tip: If you’re looking for other ways to make some fast cash, there are a lot of companies that often give out freebies just for signing up, some even offer cash. You can see this list of the best money making apps to see some of my favorites.

Survey Junkie alternatives

Survey Junkie’s weak spot is that surveys are almost the only way to earn.

The three below are a different kind of app. They pay cash for playing games and finishing offers, and two of them, Testerup and Freecash, have surveys too.

Testerup

Testerup pays you to test mobile games and apps and to answer surveys. New members get a $10 sign-up bonus, and it lists 90+ games and surveys to choose from. Every offer shows its reward before you start, and Testerup says some goals pay over $170. Most pay far less, so pick the games you’d play anyway. Its sign-up page says payout requests are approved within hours. Its FAQ says to allow up to 3 business days.

The catch is the wait: tasks run 15 to 20 minutes each, and the $10 welcome bonus is only a head start.

You get paid by PayPal, gift card or bank transfer.

Freecash

Freecash pays you for playing games, trying apps, taking surveys and shopping through its offers. Where it runs a sign-up bonus, that bonus is a $10 account credit, added once you verify your email and start your first offer. It says most users earn from a few dollars up to around $50 in a typical month.

Your first withdrawal needs an ID check and a minimum of $5 to $20, depending on your region. After that, PayPal withdrawals start at $5, and Freecash takes 5% of each one. It says PayPal and Venmo payouts usually process the same day.

You get paid by PayPal, Venmo, gift cards or crypto.

Bigcash

Bigcash pays you to play mobile games, finish offers and try new services. Every offer you complete pays coins, and 250 coins equals $1. Bigcash lists more than 3,000 offers, says most take 5 to 10 minutes, and its biggest ones pay up to $170.

You can cash out to PayPal or gift cards from $1. Bigcash’s own guide says PayPal’s charges can shrink a $1 cash out, and its terms let it raise the minimum on an account.

It won’t replace a job. Treat it as pocket money for your downtime, and skip any offer that wants you to spend money to finish it.

Which one first? If you still want surveys in the mix, start with Testerup or Freecash. If you’d rather play games on your phone, Bigcash pays you for that.

Our reviews of Testerup, Freecash and Bigcash go deeper on each one.

And if plain surveys with a $5 cash out are all you want, stick with Survey Junkie.

Survey Junkie FAQs

Our verdict on Survey Junkie

Bottom line: Survey Junkie is legit, and the pay is small. By our math, your time comes to a little under $2 an hour, before the surveys you get screened out of.

We give Survey Junkie 4.5 out of 5. That is our own rating, not Trustpilot’s or an app store’s.

It earns that because it really pays and the cash out rules are easy. It loses half a point for the low hourly pay, for the complaints about screen outs and identity checks, and because the data you share is sold to DISQO’s clients.

Go in for pocket money. Fill in your profile, pick surveys by points and time, leave Surf to Earn off unless you’re comfortable with it, and cash out every time you reach $5. Join Survey Junkie free

Disclosures

This article is general information. Rewards, minimums and cash out terms change, so confirm the current details on Survey Junkie’s own site before you sign up.