Top Online Survey Panels for 2018
Published on January 15, 2018, updated on January 1, 2021
We’re once again, proud to bring you the SurveyPolice Top Online Survey Panel Picks for the year!
If you’re new to online surveys and are looking for legitimate paid surveys, this is the perfect place to start. Check out and join the survey panels listed below to get started. All panels are free to join, have good reputations, and were selected as a top pick based on user experiences, rewards offered, interface, customer service, and more.
If you’d like to learn more about how online survey taking itself works and how you can get involved, be sure to take a look at our FAQ.
#1 – OneOpinion
OneOpinion is our top survey panel pick for 2018!
Why we like them: Consistent, good customer service.
What it’s like taking surveys for them: Take standard online surveys on your computer or phone, and participate in the occasional product test. Earn points for your efforts, which can be redeemed for cash or Visa prepaid cards. If you attempt to take a survey but get disqualified, you’ll still earn points. You can get disqualified up to 5 times per day, and you’ll still receive 50 points for your efforts. Rewards processing times are relatively quick, and OneOpinion offers great, personalized customer service if you do encounter a problem. Their reasonable survey compensation amounts paired with the dedication they have to their members, makes OneOpinion a great choice.
Rewards offered: PayPal payments, Visa prepaid cards.
#2 – Pinecone Research
For the fourth time in a row, we’ve selected Pinecone Research as our one of our top survey sites.
Why we like them: Fair survey site, reliable, good reputation.
What it’s like taking surveys for them: Complete online surveys on your computer or smartphone and earn a standard payment of $3.00 US / $3.00 CAD / £3. Most surveys are less than 15 minutes in duration, and you’ll rarely get disqualified. When you do get invited to complete a survey, make sure you jump on it! You don’t want it to close before you get a chance to complete it. We’ve bumped them from the top position, as some members have had their accounts terminated without cause. It seems that Pinecone is ‘refreshing’ their panel and closing old accounts, frustrating some long time members. If you can manage to join this invitation-only panel and participate in Pinecone’s surveys, your experience will likely be very positive, as the rewards catalogue offers more options, and the predictability and reliability of this panel has made it attractive for years.
Rewards offered: Cash paid via check and via PayPal, gift cards options, more
#3 – Tellwut
Over 500,000 strong, Tellwut has worked hard to maintain their stellar reputation.
Why we like them: Fun giveaways, always prioritizing member satisfaction.
What it’s like taking surveys for them: Take short, fun surveys on every topic you can think of, and take longer, external surveys with higher point values. Some members think it takes too long to reach the $10 rewards minimum, but if you’re open to doing activities outside of taking surveys (such as creating your own polls, entering very frequently held giveaways, etc.), you can earn a reward pretty quickly. If you have a question or encounter a problem, the Tellwut team will respond personally to your inquiry within 48 hours…canned responses are not their thing, and they pride themselves on their friendly (and sometimes even humorous!) customer service.
Rewards offered: Gift cards and merchandise.
#4 – PaidViewpoint
Once again, PaidViewpoint has made it to our top 5 list.
Why we like them: Superb customer service, attractive website design, open internationally.
What it’s like taking surveys for them: If you live outside the USA or Canada, it might take a while to reach the $15 minimum payment threshold, but when users do request their rewards, they rarely experience problems. With PaidViewpoint, you can take interesting and interactive surveys and daily earning opportunities are available. Make sure you log into your account regularly to find all available surveys, as not all surveys are emailed. Note that if you change your phone number, you’ll have to wait 180 days until you can claim your rewards, or you can opt to forfeit them and get paid on all subsequent earnings. Besides this one drawback, PaidViewpoint gets top marks from us, and their customer service is top-notch.
Rewards offered: Cash paid via PayPal, Amazon gift cards, Walmart gift cards.
#5 – YouGov
YouGov is high-quality survey panel that has demonstrated its fortitude.
Why we like them: Transparency about points issuance and rewards processing.
What it’s like taking surveys for them: Although the $50 minimum cashout level (which varies, depending on where you live) seems high, most members don’t experience problems collecting their rewards. YouGov is known to offer surveys that are especially of high quality, and which tend to be about political issues. Disqualifications are rare, and if you’re a news junkie, there’s plenty of interesting and current articles to read on the site. You’ve probably seen YouGov studies quoted in the media, and their online survey panel is part of how they collect these opinions – something you can be part of.
Rewards offered: PayPal payments (in some regions), pre-paid Visa cards, gift cards.
Honorable Mention:
In November of 2017, MintVine, a top pick of ours last year, re-branded itself as Branded Surveys. Unfortunately, this change caused a lot of users to experience technical problems redeeming rewards, mostly in the form of the ‘redeem’ button not displaying properly in their accounts, preventing them from being able to request their rewards. Thankfully, it now appears that most of these glitches have been resolved. Branded Surveys continues to offer an excellent selection of surveys, with opportunities to earn bonus points via their attractive interface. We believe that although their re-branding transition was rocky, the issues they had have stabilized, and we expect this survey panel to regain its former glory.
