Right before our very eyes, the world changes every single day. We hear about inflation rates, pandemic updates, and other things on the news that urge us to do more.
We naturally want to contribute in our own little ways, and thankfully, technology’s powerful enough now to let us participate in research done through our mobile phones. We can participate in relevant, current, and debatable topics YouGov provides.
While undoubtedly a noble act, did you know that you can get paid for participating in YouGov surveys? You’ll essentially be valued for your opinions and ideas, allowing you to express your thoughts.
It sounds too good to be true, so naturally, we’ll have doubts. For instance, how do the paid surveys work, and is YouGov the right platform for what we want to achieve?
The same questions burn in our minds, so we’ve looked into the details of the popular YouGov and how its paid surveys work. We combed through reviews from actual users from Reddit and Trustpilot, comprehensive information, and other sources for tips and insights.
There’s more to YouGov than meets the eye, so let’s dive deeper and learn if you can make extra cash and voice your opinions.
What is YouGov?
YouGov is a platform that conducts various polls and works with different clients to determine public views. The topics range from products and brands to politics and public affairs.
The platform can pay you to share your views about numerous topics. You can sign up, use the website, and download the app for free. It’s available on both PC and mobile devices.
YouGov has more than 17 million online panelists, and it operates in the U.S., the U.K., Europe, the Middle East, the Nordics, and the Asia Pacific. They have 2 million panelists in the US alone, so you can be confident that many users live within the country.
YouGov has its headquarters in London. Co-founders Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim Zahawi kicked off the organization in May 2000—so they’ve been around for more than two decades now.
So, who is the CEO of YouGov? As of writing, Stephan Shakespeare is the sole CEO of YouGov, and this has been the case since 2010.
Shakespeare has ties with the Conservative Party in the U.K., but the organization itself is non-partisan.
Is YouGov safe to use and download?
Before signing up, many of us may ask: Is YouGov reliable? With such a huge and diverse pool of panelists internationally, we can say that YouGov is a reputable platform.
The platform also has a comprehensive Privacy Policy. Upon registration, it needs to get our account login details, contact details, and demographic data.
It only uses our data and responses for statistical purposes and determining trends. Although it releases poll results for public consumption, it promises that it doesn’t give away our personal info to the public.
Many users on sites like Reddit and other online forums claim that YouGov is safe. It also has a Reddit community, but posts there are rather scarce.
How do opinion polls work?
YouGov’s organizational model mostly revolves around public opinion polls—they’ll pay us to do these, anyway. But what exactly are they, and why do they matter?
Opinion polls measure public opinions on various topics. Qualified interviewers and researchers craft standardized questions, and they typically choose random individuals within a set population to answer them.
Once we give our responses, researchers then analyze and interpret the data. The results point out how people feel about a certain topic, and this information is useful for predicting trends and voicing various concerns.
How does YouGov work?
The platform works pretty straightforwardly. YouGov regularly provides users like us with surveys and polls, which we’ll have to answer online. Then, it rewards us with points.
When YouGov conducts public opinion surveys, it typically uses an active sampling method. This means you can only participate if it determines that you’re qualified to take the surveys.
You’ll have to wait for YouGov to email you if a survey is available.
Once you participate in surveys, you can gather points that you can later exchange for rewards, such as cash or gift cards from various brands.
How many points we can get by responding can vary, and it will depend on the length of the questionnaire. The longer the survey we have to complete, the more points we can garner.
A 10–15-minute survey will usually provide us with 400 points, and we can redeem some rewards for as little as 5,000 points. We think that’s a neat deal!
Signing up to participate
Unlike other paid survey sites that require invitations to be a member, we’ve found that YouGov is a much more welcoming platform. Anyone can join for free at any time.
The sign-up process is quick and easy, and we can earn 500 points by signing up on the website.
We only have to provide our demographic data, contact details, and login details when we sign up—and it’ll only take a minute.
Once you join, the site will provide you with a short introductory survey that can take around three minutes to finish. You’ll get a reward for this as well, so you already have a head start in earning points.
After signing up, you’ll just have to wait for emails or mobile notifications that YouGov will send to let you know if there are available surveys you can answer.
Ways to earn money on YouGov
You may be wondering, “Can I do surveys online for money?” Fortunately, the answer is yes. YouGov allows us to earn money by collecting points, and we can do so in several ways.
1. Sign up for YouGov
As mentioned above, signing up for YouGov entitles us to bonus points. The points we can get vary per country, but we can get 500 points for joining the platform in the US.
2. Participate in YouGov paid opinion surveys
Participating in online surveys is the primary way to earn points on YouGov.
Many users like the platform because it provides them with a regular stream of surveys, but this can vary depending on your location and other factors.
Every time we qualify for a paid survey, we’ll receive an email (or mobile notification if we’ve downloaded the app on our phones). Then, we can answer the questionnaires when we open the link.
The good thing about this is that we can just sit back and wait for paid surveys because the platform actively notifies us. We don’t have to visit its website often—unless we want to read about different survey results.
On average, US panelists can receive five to seven surveys a week. However, we may receive fewer questionnaires depending on how our demographics match their needs.
Although we may have to wait a while to qualify for some surveys, we can almost always guarantee that they won’t send us surveys that we’re not eligible to answer.
We think other survey platforms should follow suit, as it requires us to answer qualification questions constantly—which can be a huge waste of time.
3. Join the referral program
We can also earn a few bonus points by inviting friends and family to join the YouGov panel through its referral program. Users we invite must sign up using the referral link that YouGov provides us with.
In many countries, we’ll get 200 points for every user we invite, provided that they use the unique link and finish answering six surveys. The terms state that we can view the reward details on the Account section of the app and website.
While this may not give you many points, we think that bonus points are always welcome!
How much time do you have to spend to make money on YouGov?
Thankfully, not much! Most YouGov surveys are short, so expect to give anywhere from five to seven minutes of your time for each. Regular surveys only ask around 30 short questions.
Sometimes, however, YouGov provides longer and more complex surveys, but they should only take around 20 minutes to complete.
How much can you earn from YouGov?
The good thing about YouGov is that it actually pays out, and there are many proofs of payment from YouGov online from its wide range of users.
Paid survey sites offer a lot of promises but compared to others, YouGov offers the most decent rewards in terms of time spent. It provides users ease and convenience, especially since you can access surveys with just one click.
Upon signing up:
- You earn 500 points by taking a brief welcome survey, which should take around 3 minutes.
- After that, the number of points we earn will depend on how frequently we get and answer surveys.
One good thing about YouGov is that it offers various rewards for points, such as gift cards, mobile credits, charity donations, and even cash. This is an excellent opportunity to earn some extra income while providing your opinions on different relevant topics.
The minimum threshold for redeeming rewards is 5,000 points, so it may take a while for us to accumulate enough to get rewards. However, we can exchange these points for $50 in cash.
From everything gathered, YouGov is a legit survey site, but although it’s a nice source of some extra money, it’s always best to keep in mind that YouGov cannot provide a steady source of income.
How does YouGov pay?
Every survey we complete on YouGov allows us to earn points, and we can exchange these points for various rewards like gift cards, donations, mobile credits, and cash.
Rewards depend on your country of residence, and you may only receive gift cards or products. You may get paid cash through PayPal or prepaid Visa cards in some areas. There’s also a YouGov lottery, where users can exchange points for a chance to win better and bigger prizes.
What are the pros and cons of YouGov?
To make sure we’re the right fit for the job, it’s important to take a look at YouGov’s pros and cons:
Pros
- Easy and convenient to use
- Offers decent rewards that don’t take up much of our time
- Only sends surveys a user is qualified for
- Offers a user-friendly app interface
Cons
- Doesn’t provide a steady stream of surveys
- Users report poor customer service
What do other YouGov users say in reviews?
YouGov has garnered quite a nice score on the Apple App Store, with a user rating of 4.7 over 5. It also has an above-average rating of 4.3 over 5 on Google Play, which means users like this app a lot.
Although YouGov is a legit platform that pays out and has garnered many positive reviews, it’s not without its downfalls. We’ve found that numerous users complain about the following issues:
- Redeeming the rewards but not receiving them even after a month
- A long wait between surveys
- Poor customer service
Many users would also prefer to backtrack and review their answers, which the app does not allow as of writing.
Survey websites similar to YouGov
Because YouGov may not provide a lot of surveys depending on our demographics and other factors, many of us can also benefit from using other survey platforms similar to YouGov. Here are the best alternatives we could find:
- Swagbucks: On this popular website, we can earn coupons, gift cards, and PayPal cash for answering surveys. The platform also has apps available on iOS and Android.
- UniqueRewards: Like YouGov, UniqueRewards also pays you to accomplish surveys online. The platform is available internationally.
- SurveySavvy: This is a highly reputable survey website that also sends surveys to your email, so you only have to wait until they provide you with paid surveys in which you can participate. They work in all countries, but they have a check-only payment method.
Conclusion
Are survey sites worth it? The answer is yes when it comes to YouGov. It’s a site worth discovering and being part of, especially because of what it offers beyond the rewards.
We recommend this platform because, apart from earning points and exchanging them for cash or gift cards, you’ll have access to interesting surveys that value your opinion on current trends and insights on recent developments.
Although the number of surveys they send may not be enough to provide a steady income stream, earning extra cash by answering surveys is always a plus.
We can earn daily by answering their quick and easy surveys, and again, it doesn’t take much time! Well-paid and timed right, earning an extra income has never been more fulfilling.
Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.
