In a few cases, InboxDollars directed me to “exclusive offers” instead of straightforward surveys. One required me to give my name, address, phone number and birthdate to earn money and enter a sweepstakes for a Target gift card. Another time, I was prompted to give my email address and choose between Coke and Pepsi in exchange for $1 and a sweepstakes entry. I didn’t want to give my contact information to what appeared to be third-party sites, so I clicked out of these promotions.
Some websites, like eBay will pay you as much as $6 to sign up to their sites and place bids. Another website, Stamps.com, will pay you as much as $10 for signing up for their free trial program.  However, with the latter, if you do not cancel the free trial before expiration, then you will be billed monthly for their programs (in the case of Stamps, its $15.99 per month).

Second, there is nobody that’s making $3500 a month filling out online surveys. Sure, there are people who may earn $1000 or even $2000 a month, but they are in the minority. For most of us, it would be impossible unless you join every survey site that there is and spend every single waking hours filling out surveys. And that’s assuming if you are lucky enough to have that many surveys available, to begin with.


Rip off. I referred a couple people to Inbox Dollars that lived close to me and they closed out all of our accounts saying we were all in the same location and the same person. We provided IP addresses and even went to as far as asking if we could provide identification to show proof and of course it was negative. Lost a total of about $31. As for my neighbors probably the same or close to the same..
Inboxdollars is a scam!! All I have to say is you 1) better CAREFULLY read there lengthy terms and agreement before signing on the dotted line! My account got terminated because I unfortunately didn’t and didn’t realize my sister couldn’t have an account because we live together and have same address and used to use the same computer. We worked on surveys for hours and made $60 plus each and then got terminated and had to forfeit our money! Really sucked! 2) They will give out your information….phone number and email address. So if you don’t want tons of spam calls and spam emails….run away!! 3) They do not have a phone number to contact them. They have a support email and a live chat who doesn’t give you any useful information. Needless to say….Inbox Dollars is the worse survey site that I have ever encountered….you have been warned!! 🙂
Inboxdollars is not a scam. You won’t qualify for every survey but you will for some. I can make an average of $1.50 a day. by doing like 3 surveys a day. I have already cashed out my first $30 to see if it pays out and they do. In about 2 weeks I have already made another $20 but I’m going to save this payout for a couple months from now until I hit $100.
Not counting the profile survey, I attempted 38 surveys and qualified for seven of them. That’s an 18% success rate, which is on the low end among the 12 sites we tested. Most of the time, I’d immediately receive a disqualification notice with a link to a new survey opportunity. For a few surveys, I answered questions for a couple minutes before getting the boot.
They claim to also offer paid product testing opportunities. But it’s not really paid product testing, but more of getting cash back. Basically, besides surveys, you can purchase products and services through their portal and earn a certain amount of cash back for every dollar you spend. If you were going to buy something already, it’s a great way to get some of the cash back. But don’t just buy something because of the cashback.
Most of the surveys on Inboxdollars actually range up to $5.00 on surveys depending on the survey provider. Please note that InboxDollars works with Market Research companies (survey providers) who create, provide, manage and credit the surveys. InboxDollars does not make any requirements or qualifications for a survey. Each advertiser may be looking for a particular demographic to get the information they need for their services/products/etc so they will have qualification questions when this occurs. Our minimum requirement is $30.00 as a minimum and members can get there pretty quickly if they do a variety of activities on the site. We have some members who cash out once a month but again this is due to how often they are on and how much they do.
I signed up for this site as recommended by a friend, and yes to be perfectly honest it’s a headache to gather the $30 earnings required to cash out but I have done so on several occasions over the past 10 years or so (I’m unsure just how long I have had my account.) My overall opinion of this site and it’s resources is very favorable. The emails pay me .02 for everyone I open, the surveys are indeed more effort than they are actually worth. However the fact that it is STILL FREE MONEY EARNED IN YOUR FREE TIME (No one in forcing you) makes it an overall worthy option. If you are seeking to earn more money become a professional and choose a career pertinent to intelligence and not free living.
Horrible. It takes many hours to make 1 dollar, let alone 30 dollars, which is what you need to cash out. It takes about a year to make 30 dollars unless you’re at it every day, then it should take you only10 months. Don’t waste your time. There are too many survey sites that are much better. Inbox lets you answer a whole lot of questions which they keep, before they decide you are not the perfect fit. Makes me think they have the answers they really needed from you. They should investigated and shut down.
How it works: With Survey Club, you can take part in some of the highest-paying research, clinical trials and surveys available. There are often location-based opportunities (such as focus groups), and unlike some of the other companies on this list, Survey Club often gives you the chance to test products that researchers will physically mail to you free of charge.
Above all, thanks for that great article. I really enjoyed reading it all for the last 5 minutes with a mug of coffee! Despite this article being next to perfect, if I can, I’d like to add one of the best survey sites, in my mind, to this list. It would be, “ClixSense”. They’re a really old, and huge, presence in the research industry and have partnered with many of those listed in this very post. So, signing up on ClixSense lets you take paid survey invitations from multiple survey sites and research firms, like Opinion Outpost, Nielson Media Research, YouGov, I-Poll, MySurvey, Toluna and more. Almost half of all of those survey sites are listed here. 

I had to submit the tax info as well, but this is true for any legitimate business. They sent me a 1099 at the end of the year and I gave it to my accountant along with my other tax documents. The fact they pay on the books is good, it shows that they obey tax regulations. If you make money you need to be prepared to pay the taxes, of course expenses towards making that money are deductible. I am disqualified a lot, often for days, thus I mainly do surveys while watching TV etc…They should pay more and let u know sooner if u do not qualify, I wholeheartedly agree. In 3 years one a $25 sweepstakes once (Target Card) and am aware that their wheel is a virtual wheel which means some combinations much more likely than others)Have hit the $5 twice and the $1 about 4-5 times. There help desk has some good people and some who do not care. The only reason I stay with it is that little money is better than no money..


My InboxDollars experience started on a high note. After receiving the signup bonus, I earned another 50 cents for completing a short profile survey. I also appreciated that I could see a list of surveys available to me, along with the exact dollar (or cent) amount they’re worth. Most sites we tested use points, and determining a survey’s monetary value can be a hassle. This list also included the estimated time required for each of the surveys and, for some, the topic.
Did ok first two payouts, then on third payout, got an email saying account was terminated. This is after I cashed out. Had to request check before Sunday for them to cut check on Wed. I did this on Friday, two days early, on Monday I get email saying account terminated, Did NOT get paid, so they waited until I did three months worth of surveys, requested funds then terminated, so angry.
Under no circumstances should any information from this blog be used as replacement for professional financial advice. DollarSprout.com is owned by VTX Capital, LLC and neither are licensed by or affiliated with any third-party marks on this website and third parties do not endorse, authorize, or sponsor our content except where clearly disclosed. DollarSprout.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. 

Hi, I live in South Africa and have made quite a few US dollars from various sites over the past few months. For me, Toluna is definitely the best, and they offer nearly daily surveys. You don’t always qualify, but when you do the survey reward is quite substantial. I have never had problems from them and at regular intervals receive money in my PayPal account. However, I cannot say the same of Panel Station. Even though I have sent various requests asking why I have not been paid they do not even have the courtesy, so far, to answer any of my mail – whether they were submitted on the site or sent via e-mail to their “South African” address. I must say that I am very disappointed with them, as they are recommended by quite a few other sites, as well as your own.
No it’s not a scam, although lately it seems their partners may be scamming members. I have been an inboxdollars member since I believe 04. Last year they introduced the tv channel, just another way to earn first it was earn up to $2.00 a day viewing this channel then they capped it at .50 which is fine. It takes awhile, you see the same videos over and over again. The player eats up memory, retaining more than half of my 12gigs sometimes.

Inbox Dollars App


Did ok first two payouts, then on third payout, got an email saying account was terminated. This is after I cashed out. Had to request check before Sunday for them to cut check on Wed. I did this on Friday, two days early, on Monday I get email saying account terminated, Did NOT get paid, so they waited until I did three months worth of surveys, requested funds then terminated, so angry.
Hi! I'm Jeff. A personal finance nerd and entrepreneur at heart, I'm here to bring you all the latest cool ways to make and save extra money. I've been quoted in several online publications, including Entrepreneur, NBC News, GoBankingRates, Student Loan Hero, Business.com, Credit Karma, The Simple Dollar, US News & World Report, Lifehacker, MSN Money, Moneyish, Zumper, IdeaMensch, Discover Bank, PrimeRates, Credit.com, Yahoo! Finance, Club Thrifty, Guru Focus, Rent Track, Fit Small Business, Coupon Chief, and more.
On many forums and review websites, the typical rating awarded to InboxDollars is a meager 2 out of 5 stars. The single biggest problem relating to the website is the incredibly long time taken before the first $30 payment can be attained. Though it is in fact legitimate, the website has been labeled by quite a number of former members as a “scam,” or “spamming” website. We disagree…
I made about $280 over the 1st 4 months after joining. But I quickly learned that the higher the $ for a survey, the less likely you to qualify for it. So I would only do the 25 cent ones and only if I had an additional 25 cent spin. So a 10minute survey would pay 50cents but you are almost 100% assured of qualifying. I too got tired of getting to the end of survey, only to be disqualified for entering the demographic info. I was “watching” videos, because i found that some just looped,so if i was cleaning or cooking, I could turn them on for background noise. I made too much that way, so I was disqualified from watching additional videos. The offers are mostly scams, but not all of them. Again, the higher the payout, the more likelihood of not getting it. I eventually just ran out of ways to make money,and stopped all together. Put inboxpennies is a hilariously accurate description. I ended up making about $2-3 an hour. Another bad thing is that if you do make more than $300 in a calendar year, they want your tax info, and I wasn’t willing to give them that.
I started using inbox dollars about July 31 and made $33.86 by August 10th. I was really nervous about using the app because of all the negative reviews I saw but I figured if it was scamming everyone who used it, it wouldn't be in the App Store. I do have a complaint but its more so about the cash out timing it takes a few days more than I have experienced with other apps which I'm not over the moon about but you do get your money. **** BTW some days you wont have a lot of surveys come your way but for the most part if you check it at least once a day you'll find a hell of a lot of surveys to do. So are only 25 cents for a survey but if you have nothing to do they can def waste some time
How it works: Opinion Outpost sends survey opportunities to your email address at a fairly significant pace, but you won’t qualify for all of them — as with most other survey sites, you’ll have to answer a few pre-screening questions to make sure you fit the demographic profile the company is interested in learning about. You can also log on to the website and view available surveys without having to sift through emails.
Above all, thanks for that great article. I really enjoyed reading it all for the last 5 minutes with a mug of coffee! Despite this article being next to perfect, if I can, I’d like to add one of the best survey sites, in my mind, to this list. It would be, “ClixSense”. They’re a really old, and huge, presence in the research industry and have partnered with many of those listed in this very post. So, signing up on ClixSense lets you take paid survey invitations from multiple survey sites and research firms, like Opinion Outpost, Nielson Media Research, YouGov, I-Poll, MySurvey, Toluna and more. Almost half of all of those survey sites are listed here.
We want to hear from you and encourage a lively discussion among our users. Please help us keep our site clean and safe by following our posting guidelines, and avoid disclosing personal or sensitive information such as bank account or phone numbers. Any comments posted under NerdWallet's official account are not reviewed or endorsed by representatives of financial institutions affiliated with the reviewed products, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
How it works: LifePoints is the survey platform of a company called Lightspeed, which is owned by Kantar (one of the world’s largest market research and consumer data analytics firms). The platform was formed as a merger of two of the company’s other products, MySurvey and Global Test Market, and gives users a variety of ways to earn points that can be redeemed for cash:
Updating review. I have been with I.D. for a little over a month & have made $17. Because I qualify for more surveys here, I make more money than I do with other survey sites. I am sure I would have made more if I didn't have 5 other survey sites I have to try to visit while I am online. I don't get online everyday. There are a few pros and lots of cons to this site. We all know that taking surveys can be tedious, and this site has options to play some of their cheesy games for a few cents here and there. The games give me a break from the tedious surveys and I enjoy them. They also give money for using coupons through them. It is not a lot by any means, but what other survey site does that? Cents add up; don't you ever pick up pennies off of the ground? The cons on this site are signing up for supposedly free offers, it can lead to spam junk mail if you don't read the terms. I do not like spam junk mail. Nothing is actually "free" from any of the offers, minus some other survey sites. I cannot complete the bonus because I don't have FB. One big thing that concerns me is when I leave the tab for I.D. idling it creates a virus pop up window and that I do not like. I searched online to see if anyone else is experiencing that, but could not find anything. So if the virus thing happens again, I will block and unsubscribe from them.
×