UK Online Paid Surveys Review

In today's times many people are looking at earning extra money. At the same time more people are becoming connected to the internet and looking at ways of earning extra money from this connectivity. One such way of earning extra money is by filling in paid surveys online. These have grown in popularity in recent years, but there are many different companies offering online surveys, ranging from the very good down to scams. As such, I wish to give a review of some of the surveys which are legitimate which I have encountered, as well as advice on surveys as I go along.

There are a few basics on paid surveys which should be realised before carrying out surveys. The best survey companies run schemes which are to join - if a survey company asks for payment to start receiving surveys it is generally a scam! Online paid surveys also generally work in the same way whichever one is done. Firstly there is a need to register to be allowed to complete online paid surveys. When registering at the very minimum an email address and password is needed to set up an account. When there are paid surveys which are available to be completed, an email is sent to the address supplied when registering, along with a link to a webpage. On this webpage is where the online survey is completed.

At the registering stage in addition to submitting an email address there may also be the need to add some degree of personal details. Whilst obviously there is some need to have caution when entering personal details online, generally the information asked for isn't too specific (eg just which age band one falls into, area of the UK in which one lives, sex, type of home lived in etc). These personal details are just used to tailor the surveys, so as far as possible only relevant surveys are sent.  

Harris Poll Online

Harris Poll Online is part of a large, multinational, survey company. They are based in the United States and run paid online surveys in almost 100 hundred other countries in the world, including in the UK.  

There is the need to register, and once this is done surveys are sent to the email address used when registering relatively frequently. These surveys range in length, but in my experience they all carry the same reward of 200 points for successful completion, as well as entry into a sweepstake. Obviously some surveys cannot be completed as the taker will not fulfil the criteria. However, when this happens 30 points are given, which is a major bonus point of Harris Poll Online as I haven't encountered another company which rewards for surveys which can't be completed. Points are also earned for registering (30 when I registered) and for completing set number of surveys. Once 2500 points have been earned this can be exchanged for a £25 money transfer into a PayPal account. Alternatively points can be used to enter competitions for the chance of winning higher amounts of money or other prizes.

I would definitely recommend Harris Poll Online. I have completed many surveys and have already received my first payment from the company which was very prompt. In addition I particularly like the payment even for surveys which can't be completed.  

YouGov

YouGov is a well known UK survey company. Many people will have heard of them from the major opinion polls which they undertake ahead of elections to see how people will vote. They also have an online paid survey part of their business. Due to their reputation as a recognised brand many people feel safe signing up to the company.  

It is possible to earn money on every survey completed through YouGov. YouGov does not run a points system. They do not payout until the amount in the account is in excess of £50. I have found that YouGov surveys are relatively easy to do and the quoted level of reward is suitable for the time spent completing the survey. However, despite being a member of YouGov for a long time, I am still to reach the payout level (in fact I still haven't even reached £10) and so my advice would be to try some of the alternative online paid survey sites.  

OpinionWorld

OpinionWorld (aka Opinion World) is one of the best online paid survey companies which I have encountered. Registering is relatively easy and once registered email invitations are sent relatively frequently. However, I would definitely recommend filling in the personal information surveys, as whilst you won't get paid it will ensure the ones which are sent you are much more relevant saving time which you won't get paid for before you are screened out for surveys. 

OpinionWorld reward their online survey takers in three ways. On completion of all surveys there is the option of being entered into a sweepstake, as well as a donation being made to a charity by OpinionWorld. There is also the option of earning points on some surveys. Most surveys are worth 100 points, and when the account reaches 1000 points £10 is paid into an account of your choice.  

Previously there was payment into the PayPal account for every survey, but now there is the need to accumulate 1000 points before payment. For this reason OpinionWorld isn't as good as it once was, but it is still one of the best paid online survey sites which I have encountered and so it would be highly recommended by me.  

A more in depth OpinionWorld Review.

Home of Research

Home of Research (aka HomeOfResearch) is another online paid survey site. You may not have heard of them before, or their parent company ID Factor Limited, but both companies are in turn owned by TMN Group PLC which is listed on the stock markets, and so must be relatively big.

Home of Research is another online paid survey company which I have used Home of Research quite a bit over the last few months and in doing so have managed to save up a considerable number of points. 1 point is equal to 1p, and as most surveys which I have encountered are worth 100 points an average survey (in my experience at least) pays £1 or more. The amount paid per survey seems to be fair in relation to the time spent.  

Once 2000 point have been accrued it is possible to request that this amount be exchanged for £20. I personally am yet to reach this stage, however, I have no reason to believe that Home of Research won't pay as there are many other reports on the web saying ho they are one of the best paid online surveys for UK residents.  

Global Opinion Panels

Global Opinion Panels is an online paid survey organisation run by Synnovate. Including the UK, they run online surveys in 10 countries, including the US and France. Global Opinion Panels was one of the first online survey sites which I started to use. Rewards are given in the form of points which can then be exchanged for a cheque once set number of points have been reached. The registering process is relatively simple, although there is the option to do a more in depth registering process to ensure more tailored survey invitations. In addition to achieving points for completing surveys, 100 points are given for registering and for every friend who if referred (with no limit). Surveys are generally sent relatively frequently and always have more than 100 points given.  

So far everything will appear to be very good. However, I have found one major problem with Global Opinion Panels online paid surveys. This is the fact that despite it being relatively soon to get lots of points, almost 10,000 is needed just to reach the first payout, which is for a cheque of £5 when 9000 points have been reached. As such I have found that the potential rewards in no way fit the work required and so I have never reached payout, and so am unable to say whether the cheques are sent. Some people have described Global Opinion Panels a scam for the fact that it is hard to reach payout and whilst I would not go that far with my present knowledge as I don't know whether they actually pay, it is a site I would definitely not recommend.  

Valued Opinions

Valued Opinions is a further online paid survey site. As with most companies it is very easy to register for the service. However, once again I would definitely recommend filling in the surveys on personal information when registering (or I believe they can be filled out at a later date if you don't have time when registering), since it enables more targeted surveys to be sent. It email which is sent gives an idea of the subject of the survey, along with a guide on how long the survey should take and the payment for completing the online survey (I personally have been paid a minimum of 25p and maximum of several pounds).

Valued Opinion surveys are carried out in the same way as surveys from other online paid survey sites. However, in my experience, there are more which include video or sound, which can affect the earnings potential for those with slow internet connections or an inability to hear sound.  

Payment is made once £10 has been accrued. Payment is made in the form of gift cards/vouchers/codes from retailers. Whilst for many this may not be as good as a cash payment, due to the large number of retailers involved, it is likely at least one shop which you use will be involved. I have always requested Tesco vouchers. 

An alternative Valued Opinions Review.

Global Test Market

Global Test Market is an online survey site which I have recently started to use. It is based in the US, but welcomes people in the UK to apply to receive online paid surveys, and in my experience all of the surveys which I have received are UK specific.  

Global Test Market is another company which runs a system based on points which can be exchanged for a cheque at a later stage. As it is an American site each point is worth 5 cents, although when the cheque is sent out it will be in the local currency if not US dollars, so presumably for people in the UK there reward for carrying out online paid surveys with Global Test Market will be a cheque made out in English pounds.  

The email which contains the survey invitation also has some other information. This includes the rough time the survey should take to complete, along with information about the amount of points which are available. This is always a range, with the lower number being 5 points. I assume that this means that the company pays at least 5 points for every survey attempted, even if screened out, which is something I like and have only encountered one other online paid survey company doing, namely Harris Poll Online.  

Once 1000 points have been reached it is possible to request a cheque to be sent. 1000 points is worth $50.00, but as has already been said the cheque will be in the local currency, so at the time of writing the cheque should be for about £30.00. There is a delay between the point at which the cheque is requested and when it is received - a figure of 8 weeks is quoted by the company.  

I have yet to request payout, and yet am unable to say for certain whether Global Test Market payout, and therefore whether this particular online paid survey company is a scam, but from reading of others experiences and my own experiences up until this point, I would say that Global Test Market certainly doesn't seem to be a scam.