Doing online surveys is a nifty way to make money. I don’t recommend giving up your day job, but earning a bit extra on the side is always a bonus. The key is to find and complete only the best paid surveys so you don't waste your valuable time.
Not all online survey websites are equal though. Some offer cash, others vouchers. Many offer friend referrals, which can be just as lucrative as doing the surveys. And their size and reputation will dictate the amount and the quality of surveys they have for you.
When you join an online survey website, you will need to provide information so they can match you with the right surveys. This includes age, postcode, marital status, how many kids, type of work etc. Based on the details you provide, they will send you appropriate surveys. This way, if you are a low-earner, they will not send you a survey about diamonds or 5-star hotels, and vice versa. All up, it’s a great way to do paid market research online Australia.
If you do your research you’ll have your favourite survey sites (mine is PrizeRebel) with a few runners-up (iSay and Survey Junkie) but it’s worth signing up to lots so you’re always in the running when surveys become available. To help you get started, here is my list of best paid surveys in Australia to earn money or rewards.
If paid surveys are not your thing, or you want more work from home ideas, take a look at this article: 21 Ways to make extra money from home.
Online surveys for money
Attapoll
AttaPoll’s app is highly rated on Google Play and Apple compared to other paid survey apps. Reviewers like that the app is easy to navigate and payouts are quick. There are a lot of surveys to choose from, and you can decide how many you want to receive each day or week. You can even choose the length of surveys you want to be invited to. They pay in cash through a number of hubs or you can opt for a gift card, with a minimum withdrawal of $4.50. They also have a great friend referral program where you earn extra credits and a percentage of the earnings of the invitee.
Earning per survey: Less than $1 on average, actual payout depends on survey length
Form of payment: PayPal
Minimum withdrawal: Revolut – 4.5 AUD, Donate – 4.5 AUD, Paypal – 5 AUD, Gift card – depends on the card
Friend referral program: AU referrer gets 10% of the earnings of the invitee and 1 AUD for each invitee. Invitee gets 1 AUD for signing up with a link/code.
Pawns.app
Pawns.app offers rewards for completed surveys for users all around the world. It also has an optional sharing internet option on its app. All you need to do is to download our application and start earning. It pays on average 1 USD for a completed survey and 0.2 USD for a shared GB of internet connection. It offers a minimum withdrawal of 5 USD and payout options such as PayPal money, VISA virtual gift cards, and Amazon gift cards. You can read more about the app at https://pawns.app/surveys/.
Earning per survey: On average $1
Form of payment: PayPal, Bitcoin, VISA virtual gift cards, Amazon gift cards
Minimum withdrawal: 5 USD, automatically transferred to the equivalent in AUD
Friend referral program: Referrer gets 10% of the earnings of the invitee and 1 AUD for each invitee after his first payout. Invitee gets a 1 USD bonus for signing up with a link.
Prize Rebel
I’ve used Prize Rebel for years, and can say that they are 100% legit and not a scam company. They have been around since 2007 and have millions of users around the world. I love that there are multiple ways of earning money on Prize Rebel, not just surveys. I’ve mostly done the paid surveys, but I’ve also tried playing games, watching videos, completing tasks (like signing up for a paid trial at a website), and joining raffles, lucky number lotteries daily challenges, and contests. I was also able to earn extra cash by inviting friends through their referral program.
Earnings per survey: Up to $12/hour
How you get paid by Prize Rebel: PayPal, gift cards
Minimum withdrawal: $5 (PayPal), $2 for certain gift cards
What I like most about Prize Rebel: High payout/survey, many ways to earn money, low payout threshold
What to watch out for with Prize Rebel: Available worldwide, but few surveys in some countries
Friend referral program: Excellent, depending on tier, up to 30%
Swagbucks
Finally, there’s Swagbucks. You might have heard of this app from your favourite influencers. (I’m sure I heard about it from one.) Here, you earn cashback through PayPal, gift cards, and SB points, with each point being worth a penny. The average earnings for each survey is $0.05 to $2.5 and sometimes up to $35. It’s understandable to question whether Swagbucks is too good to be true, but the website has a highly rated 4.3 out of 5 score. Many of the reviewers have described it as “Great” or “Excellent.” Swagbucks partner online shopping, personal finance, favorite foods, vacation preferences and other marketers in order for companies to improve their products and services.
Earnings per survey: $0.05 to $2.5 (sometimes as much $25 to $35)
How you get paid by Swagbucks: SB points, gift cards, cash back on PayPal
Minimum withdrawal: $1 or 100 SB points
What I like most about Swagbucks: There are other ways to earn other than paid surveys
What to watch out for with Swagbucks: Some cashback opportunities require you to spend money
Friend referral program: You earn 10% of the earnings of each person you refer
Surveys for money Australia
Survey Junkie
I’ve tried Survey Junkie before but didn’t take it seriously the first time, so I figured I would give it another go to see how much I could earn. Sign up was pretty quick. After completing my profile and answering the questionnaires, I was ready to take my first survey! I had to provide a lot of personal information but do understand why as they need this to match me. There is a good range of surveys including stuff on retail, financial and entertainment. Depending on the information you provided when you registered, you’ll either be qualified for it or not. I answered around 19 surveys during my first week but was only qualified for around 8. The refer a friend program is one of the best, paying out $30 for a referral and $30 buck for your friend when they sign up and jump through a few hoops.
Earnings per survey: Up to $2
How you get paid by Survey Junkie: PayPal, bank transfer, gift cards
Minimum withdrawal: $5
What I like most about Survey Junkie: Low minimum withdrawal limit
What to watch out for with Survey Junkie: Taking a survey then finding out you are not qualified for it
Friend referral program: $30 bucks for you and the mate you refer … really good
iSay
Another website that I recommend for paid surveys is iSay (backed by market research giant Ipsos). It’s my first time using this site and I’ve had a reasonable experience overall. Sign up was quick and easy. You also take surveys on the site itself, unlike others where you get redirected to another platform. I was able to earn up to 200 points (around $2) for a qualified survey and 5 points when I got disqualified. Not a bad deal because you’re still rewarded for your time. However, I didn’t like that I was disqualified for multiple surveys, and my first payout took over two weeks to hit my bank account, although the second payout was faster.
Earnings per survey: Around $2
How you get paid by Ipsos iSay: PayPal, gift card
Minimum withdrawal: $5+
What I like most about Ipsos iSay: Earn points when you get screened out of surveys, Charity option if you want to donate instead of withdrawing your money
What to watch out for with Ipsos iSay: You may get disqualified for multiple surveys
Friend referral program: You get $1 for referring a friend once they have signed up and then another $1 every time they complete a survey (up to 19 surveys) so it could be $20 in total.
Australian surveys that pay
Triaba
I used Triaba when I was struggling to pay bills a few years ago. Their payout per survey is not the highest, but I was able to earn enough to cover my Netflix subscription. It’s a decent website for paid surveys with average payouts in general (from 50 cents) and over $5 for certain surveys. I answered one survey that took me 40 minutes to complete (the highest paying survey), but most of the time I was qualified for the surveys with average payout. I was lucky that Triaba sent me a qualified survey instantly after signing up because I’ve heard it could take up to 3 weeks for some users. I went back to use it more recently but my account was inactive, since I couldn’t be bothered to reactivate and spend more time providing details, I have moved to other survey sites.
Earnings per survey: Up to $5+
How you get paid by Triaba: PayPal, Amazon gift card, Gcodes
Minimum withdrawal: $12.50
What I like most about Triaba: User friendly website
What to watch out for with Triaba: No other ways to earn money apart from surveys, points become inactive if you leave your account idle for one year
Friend referral program: No referral program at this time but hopefully that will change
Toluna
I haven’t spent a lot of time on Toluna but it’s an okay website for paid surveys if you’re like me who signs up on multiple sites to maximise your earning potential. I like that some surveys pay up to $15 or more (these ones take around an hour or more to complete and are very rare), but I personally have only answered those that paid on average around $3. I also like their referral program that lets you earn 500 points for each friend you refer. A big downside for me is the super long wait times for the PayPal payout, which is up to 3 weeks or even more. Also, the survey questions are really repetitive for some reason.
Earnings per survey: Up to $15+
How you get paid by Toluna: PayPal, gift cards, gifties
Minimum withdrawal: $10
What I like most about Toluna: 500 points signup bonus, keep the product you test
What to watch out for with Toluna: Points expire in 16 months, long wait times for payment
Friend referral program: 500 point for referring a friend when then have completed sign-up (you can do 10 referrals a month)
Paid market research online Australia
Survey Rewards
Survey Rewardz has two main options for earning money: Surveys and referrals. It’s free and easy to sign up and they are available worldwide. I particularly like the fact that you get surveys daily and that their referral program gives you $3 + 15% of your referral’s lifetime earnings. I earned extra cash just by sharing the referral link on my social media. This is not the highest paying site when it comes to the surveys themselves, as you earn from 50 cents to $5 on most surveys. If you’re not a power user, you’ll probably end up earning more by getting your friends to sign up.
Earnings per survey: Up to $5
How you get paid by Survey Rewardz: PayPal, gift cards, cheque
Minimum withdrawal: $1 for PayPal, $5 for gift card
What I like most about Survey Rewardz: Multiple cash out options, good referral program, daily surveys
What to watch out for with Survey Rewardz: Reports of blocked accounts, few options to earn
Friend referral program: Just $1 dollar when your friend has registered, completed a survey and been paid themselves
My Opinions
Another paid survey option for Aussies is My Opinions. While it’s not the highest paying survey site (I earned around $2 to $2.5 for each survey, although it can go up to $4) and the payout threshold is high ($20), it’s a decent site to add to your list if you need more earning opportunities or you have more time to kill. Another way to earn money at My Opinions is through sweepstakes and loyalty bonuses. There are five tiers, and you get bigger bonuses the more surveys you complete. My friend who’s a power user earns around 7% in weekly bonuses but I am yet to work out how she does it!
Earnings per survey: Up to $4
How you get paid by My Opinions: PayPal, gift cards, coupons, sweepstakes
Minimum withdrawal: $20 (PayPal)
What I like most about My Opinions: You earn points even if you get screened out of surveys
What to watch out for with My Opinions: High payout threshold
Friend referral program: For each referral you’ll be entered 10 times into a draw to win $10,000
