A: Simple, pretty much... (for a more detailed description, click here)

We, the consumers, all have opinions and preferences. Our opinions and preferences dictate almost much everything we purchase. What we buy, where we buy it, how we buy it, how much we buy.... all these variables are of the utmost concern to the people making the things we're buying.

In order to stay ahead of the competition, companies that make the products we buy, pay market research companies to figure out the "who, what, where, when, and how much" for them. Knowing your customers and what they like and want and are willing to spend their money on, is the edge every company wants. It's often called the "sixth sense of business".

A: Years ago, when physicians opinions were needed about doctor stuff, the only way to get most of them to give up their time, was to pay them. So, surveys for money was kind of born, no pun intended. Basically, the notion eventually transferred to consumers as well.

Consumer opinions and preferences matter so much to the people making our products, oftentimes they are more than willing to pay for what we think. Compared to the cost of a failed product line, paying the target audience for their opinion before-hand only makes sense. General products aren't so hard to target, we're all people, we all need mostly the same things. But the things we WANT, well, that's a whole 'nuther ball game. When creating specialized products targeted to certain demographics, the risk is multiplied by jillions. At least! Maybe more. Oftentimes, it's a particularly hard segment of the market to get to respond to lengthy surveys. When a sufficient sample size can't be reached by conventional methods, incentives are often given to help produce more responses. Paid surveys online!

Basically, people will respond to money. Look up the psychology of "economic exchanges+surveys" and the "norm of reciprocity+surveys." Fascinating stuff. DO IT! You won't be sorry.

A: The problem is the opportunistic mentality that abounds, everywhere. We understand, and that's exactly why we made our own paid surveys site!

Breeding fear and uncertainty is one way of coaxing someone to your side. The other way is honesty and transparency. You decide which camp you want to join. The best piece of advice is to do your own research. Do a Yellowpages search for "market research" in any major metropolitan area. Check the next fast-food receipt you have in your pocket. There's almost always contact information to take a survey and get paid or compensated with something. Call your local mall and ask if they have conference rooms available for focus-groups. There are lots of ways to back-check all of this paid surveys online junk.

The more you poke around, the more you'll see -  market research (a.k.a. paid surveys) is a legitimate industry, and there's lots of opportunities to make money for your opinion. After you're done, and satisfied these surveys are a legitimate opportunity, please bookmark our page, and come back often, as the goal here is to provide you with the most comprehensive directory of legitimate paid survey opportunities, all for free.

A: Yes, taking free online surveys is pretty easy.

Do you have access to a computer that's online? Probably, if you're reading this. Can you remember to check an e-mail inbox regularly? A few times a week regularly? Not so hard, right? Can you answer questions honestly? That's pretty much all there is to the actual taking online surveys part of it.

Even if you don't have a computer and internet connection, you still may have the basic tools you need to start doing these surveys. If you have a telephone or mailing address, there's plenty of phone and mail-based opportunities, not to mention the in-person focus groups. See How Do I Start?

A: Some will make more than others taking these online surveys, however...

"A fortune? Thousands and thousands a month? $300 an hour?" Well.... While it's certainly possible, no claims for what YOU will earn will be made here. If you're a demographic that is in demand, you may very well receive more paid survey invitations than you can manage efficiently, and consequently, make out like a bandit. The higher paying companies do not send out $300 online survey invitations every day however, and they're usually pretty selective at that - physicians, executives and other professionals top the list. There are research projects for the rest of us that reward very generously for the time involved, but they're not just handing out money, there's obviously some commitment required from you. Focus groups, phone surveys and product testing are the most common ways people are rewarded the very attractive sums of money you see advertised. The first time they call you and offer a few hundred bucks for an hour or two of your time will make you a believer though!

Theoretically, if you signed up for the "right" paid survey companies for your demographic, and enough of them, making a steady income from participating in paid surveys becomes more of a possibility. No one can tell you which online survey companies are the "right ones" for you. There are no "top" online surveys as far as who will pay you the most. Independent companies are contracted by various clients for various studies with various budgets at various times of the year, period. Add in factors like political and economic climates, world events and every other thing under the sun that affects how you spend your money, it's literally impossible to council anyone about which free online survey companies are going to pay them the most. When that crystal-ball is invented, we'll all be millionaires.

It's up to you to figure out which paid survey panels are best for you. Your success depends on your strategy. You may have to sign-up with a few hundred companies to make the kind of money you want. You may only have to sign-up with ten or twenty. There's so many factors that dictate which companies are working for who and what kind of demographics they're looking at for the various projects. But after all is said and done? The money is real, the opportunity is real, and there's more than a thousand paid surveys online to choose from.

A: Well... that depends. On quite a few things. As discussed throughout this site, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to predict which of the thousands of research firms out there will require your services and how often. The large sums of money are usually offered for time-intensive tasks that are usually part of qualitative research efforts. You certainly won't be invited to attend a focus group every single day and earn $200-300 every single time. In between focus groups and bulletin boards, you'll have to depend on the quantitative research companies for your everyday survey earnings. As you can see from this screenshot, there are plenty of well-paying survey invitations. Some of these will have you earning anywhere from $5-50 an hour if you break down the math of reward divided by minutes to take survey.

A: Just about everyone can participate in these free online surveys. Even people that live in the remotest corners of the world. An address in Antarctica may not get you tons of survey invitations, but you still qualify.

Generally, if you're 13 years or older (some companies want the opinions of the younger folks, but permission by parent or guardian is required), then you can take plenty of online surveys! EVERYONE consumes products, EVERYONE'S opinion counts for something, so start signing up take some online surveys for money NOW!

A: Besides the electricity to run your computer, and your internet access bill? No.

Actually, you'll probably make enough every month to easily pay for that taking a few online surveys! Honestly, it should never "cost" you anything to register yourself as a willing volunteer or participant in a research study, or with a research company that represents legitimate market research. There's no plainer way to say it. They want your opinion, and they're using that information to create a report that they're getting compensated for. They need you, not the other way around. Don't ever forget that!

The only exception is "paid offer" online surveys, which can pay some nice cash rewards under certain circumstances. They're free to register with, but in order to get your money, you usually need to "subscribe" to something, which sometimes involves a "deposit" or "fee", then you actually use the service or product, take a survey after the prescribed period of time. You receive your compensation after you take the product or service survey, then it's up to you to "unsubscribe" or "cancel" your commitment if you want. If the proper "terms" are in effect and you play it right, you didn't actually "pay" anything when the survey is complete, but read the acquisition fees and NON-redeemable fees sections very closely. Some are refundable, and some are not. Some may go into effect after the "trial period", some may go into effect right away. If you can't figure it out, or it sounds like a supreme run-around, don't sign up! Ignorance is not defensible in a court of law. Again, check them out before you sign-up. If it sounds fishy, go with your instincts and stay away.

A: Again, this all depends on who you've signed up with, what kinds of research studies they perform, if you're demographic is in demand during a particular time of year (like election time), etc etc.

You may get one invitation every few months from a smaller qualitative research oriented firm, and you may get what seems like an invitation a day from some of the more prolific quantitative research organizations out there. And everything in between.

A: Without sounding redundant, this all depends on who you've signed up with, what kinds of research studies they perform, if you're demographic is in demand during a particular time of year (like election time), etc etc.

There are many many many different kinds of questionnaires, all aimed at finding out the statistical end. Some online surveys are straight forward multiple choice formats. Some online surveys will ask you to rank variables in an order of preference. Still other online surveys will ask you the same twenty questions about five different stores, cataloging your answers about each. There are videos to watch and respond to while you're watching. There are online surveys that show you different advertisements, and ask you which one you liked the best, why you liked them, and what you're probable resulting action would be.

Basically, the more online surveys you sign up for, and the longer you stick with it, the more formats you're going to see.

A: Besides being able to make money online and work from home? Believe it or not, you're actually changing the world. Sure, it may be limited to where the power button goes on a clock radio, but your opinions contribute to the way products, services, and politics are developed in an ever changing world.

Besides the immense satisfaction from shaping the world around you, you will be paid or compensated somehow for taking these online surveys. You must read the terms and conditions from the company you're signing up with. Sometimes the reward is cold, hard cash, sent in an envelope to your mailbox! "Cash" rewards are usually in the form of a check however, so be sure to use proper contact information. Many companies are now using PayPal as a delivery system for cash rewards.

Other rewards are based on a points system. These are usually redeemable from an online store or rewards center affiliated with that survey company. Some are connected with major retailers across the globe and are redeemable in-store. Be sure to browse the prizes BEFORE you start racking up points for stuff you'll never want.

There are also online surveys that give sweepstake rewards, where you are entered into a "lottery" and winners are randomly chosen according to the guidelines set forth in their terms and conditions.

Some companies offer prizes as rewards. Similar to a sweepstakes in that the process is a random selection of a winner per their terms and conditions, the difference is an item is being gifted, not cash. Always check for substitution allowances in the terms and conditions.

Other companies use Amazon.com or similar electronic vouchers to compensate their survey respondents.

Some companies may make a donation to a charity in your name! Talk about philanthropy! Changing the world and giving away your earnings! NOW you're making a difference!

A: Most of the time, THEY tell YOU how and when they'll deliver your rewards. Sometimes you have options, but not usually, so ALWAYS check this in their terms and conditions. Here you'll find the time frame as well. There are paid survey companies that offer low or non-existent payout thresholds, and there are others that state six to eight weeks AFTER your account has reached a certain amount.

A check is usually mailed to a valid postal address, but sometimes they'll only transfer the funds electronically between financial institutions. If any of that account number exchange stuff makes you nervous, remember to check them out first! The reasons for this method of delivery actually are accounting oriented and completely legitimate, but you can't be too careful - do your homework.

Most importantly, YOU have to keep track of your online surveys takings and earnings. You'll never remember that Survey Company ABC is a month late with your check if you don't keep track. Having a trail of some sort is vital to your surveys success, so don't leave it up to them to remember everything for you.

A: Quantitative research is statistics driven, requiring a large amount of data, filtered through many variables, in order to prove something. Researchers need to know everything they can about the people making up their data group. Factors involve age, gender, race, relationship status, education level attained, occupation, industry of employment, status of employment, income level, owning or renting, main grocery buyer, which mobile network you use, insurance, banking, hobbies, medical conditions, number of children, pets, smoking habits, drinking habits, travel habits, sexual preference, etc etc etc... Basically, that's what all this online surveys stuff is about. Statistics.

While we can't vouch for every name on our online surveys list, so we encourage you to research the company you want to join with. Check their affiliations or their reliability report on the Better Business Bureau.