In the past year or so, companies like global survey giant Toluna merged with Greenfield Online and Your2Cents, as well as the recent merger of MySurvey and Lightspeed Panel. With all the mergers of market research companies that actually pay decently, one might think there aren’t that many good ones left. But there is. In fact, there are some of the top survey companies that are still holding their own.
While big pay claims aren’t that realistic, like thinking you’ll get a $150 paid survey every day, decent surveys that pay up to $7 or $8 for your time are still around. The bulk of paid surveys from good companies will still pay $1.50-$4, but there are at least 5-10 major companies that deliver them regularly.
Some help in determining which companies are paying the best can be found on survey company information forums, blogs, and websites. Good survey listings or database type websites often have a list of top picks that change regularly, based on the performance of the survey company. So you don’t have to worry, even if the survey companies merge into only five in total, the needs of the companies that hire them still need to be met.
Aside from the top five survey companies that give out cash payments, you also have the big product testing companies that give away free products to try and that regularly have focus groups to sign up for a chance to participate in. This isn’t as consistent in terms of providing monthly benefits or cash payments, but testing products you’d normally buy anyway can save you money at the grocery or department store. Product testing often provides minimal compensation outside of the product itself, but sometimes it also comes with a large payment for your time.
Participating in paid surveys is all about the right prospect and compensation for you. You never have to take a survey if you don’t want to, so if you’re frustrated with the amount a survey company offers as compensation, give yourself a break. Others likely feel the same way, which means you may not have enough survey participants in your group who want to participate. When this happens, they tend to up the ante to get more poll panelists back in the game.