Stephanie’s Top Ten Survey Panels – October 2010

31October has been a pretty productive month for me overall. I’ve gotten a few online focus groups (Invokes), as well as many products to test this month. I’m also participating in a couple ongoing projects involving the kinds of food I eat and electronics I use. As far as regular surveys go, I’ve gotten quite a lot this month, some paying very little and others paying quite a bit. I’ve been getting a lot of surveys from Opinion Outpost, Global Test Market, and Lightspeed Panel. Opinion Outpost has been disappointing for me this month because I rarely seem to qualify or their surveys get filled up too quickly. I have been having a lot of luck with SurveySpot and Toluna, however. I’ve gotten a few Invokes from them this month and quite a few product tests. The Invokes are where I make the majority of my money taking surveys, so I am always on the lookout for them. Here are my current top earners:

1. 1. SurveySpot
      • Total Earned: $400.50
      • Last Payment: $100.00 Payal on October 2, 2010
      • Joined: August 20, 2008

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with SurveySpot. Although I do get a lot of errors on their surveys (some times more often than others), I am currently earning the most from them, so they are at the top of my list for this month. I’ve been getting a lot of good-paying surveys from them lately, as well as quite a few product tests (perfume, body wash, sunscreen, and food) and a few Invokes this month. I’ve also taken a lot of 50-point surveys with them this month and those can add up after a while. I also really like that their payment through PayPal is instant and within minutes it’s in my PayPal account. As always, most of the money I’ve earned is from Invokes, so keep a lookout for those. Many times they are offered in “sweepstakes entry-only” surveys. I currently have $51 worth of points in my account and plan to cash out soon ($25 of that being from a recent Invoke session).

1. 1. Toluna
      • Total Earned: $450.00
      • Last Payment: $80.00 Check on October 3, 2010
      • Joined: August 15, 2008

Toluna has worked out well for me this month. I got into two Invokes and did a couple product tests. I also do their sponsored surveys and polls every day. They aren’t worth much, but the points can add up pretty quickly. As usual, I focus on surveys that pay 3,000 points or more (unless they’re very short like 5 minutes). I also check through the surveys on the site each day under “My Surveys” to see if anything good is being offered. I will be cashing out again soon since I have about $40 worth of points in my account ($20 of that being from a recent Invoke session).

1. 1. Lightspeed
      • Total Earned: $250.00
      • Last Payment: $60.00 Payal on October 6, 2010
      • Joined: October 22, 2008

A know quite a few people don’t care much for Lightspeed, but I’ve had pretty good luck with them. I seem to get at least one email a day from them offering a new survey and qualify for a good portion of them. I’ve definitely been getting a lot more invites lately and just cashed out recently. I’m currently in an ongoing project on food, which is actually quite fun, and completed a project on medication not that long ago. I currently have about $20 worth of points in my account.

1. 1. GlobalTestMarket
      • Total Earned: $150.00
      • Last Payment: $50.00 check on September 26, 2010
      • Joined: September 21, 2008

I still get quite a few surveys from GTM each month and qualify for most of them. I just cashed out not that long ago. I currently have about 500 points in my account. The only thing I dislike is that it takes a while to reach the 1000 point mark to cash out. Also, they send me a lot of surveys that don’t pay (sweepstakes entry-only), which I dislike. Those seem to be increasing in frequency lately, which is a shame.

1. 1. Valued Opinions
      • Total Earned: $250.00
      • Last Payment: $100.00 in Amazon.com gift codes on June 8, 2010
      • Joined: September 5, 2008

I like Valued Opinions because I receive a lot of surveys from them each week and qualify for the majority of them. It goes in cycles, but lately I’ve gotten quite a few. I currently have $70 in my account and hope to cash out again very soon for some more Amazon.com gift codes (which are always useful to me).

1. 1. MyView
      • Total Earned: $200.00
      • Last Payment: $100.00 in Amazon.com gift codes on September 10, 2010
      • Joined: November 12, 2008

I haven’t earned quite as much as I would like from this survey panel, but they do offer a lot of surveys. You just have to look on their website often and check to see what’s available. They don’t send emails about every survey offered to you, so you can’t rely on that. Although I would prefer PayPal for payment, Amazon.com gift codes are good enough for me. I currently have 40,000 points in my account.

1. 1. SurveyHead
      • Total Earned: $500.00
      • Last Payment: $210.00 on July 16, 2010
      • Joined: August 15, 2008

SurveyHead has been a bit of a disappointment for me lately. I haven’t been getting nearly as many surveys lately and I’m honestly tired of all the sweepstakes entry-only surveys that have been constantly popping up on the site. I’ve only taken 15-20 surveys this month that I’ve actually qualified for and completed. I find myself not checking the website as much as I used to because of the drop in surveys. Hopefully there will be better surveys available for the holiday season (which was the case last year). I currently have about $80 in my account (with $40 pending) and will be cashing out soon.

1. 1. Opinion Outpost
      • Total Earned: $320.00
      • Last Payment: $45.50 check on October 28, 2010
      • Joined: August 12, 2008

I know a lot of people love Opinion Outpost, but I haven’t had much luck with them as of late. I get several surveys a week, but rarely qualify or take them too late so that the quota is already full. Even if I jump on them right away, it seems like the quota fills up extremely fast. I cashed out just recently. They are a very good, honest company, but I wish they’d send more surveys that I actually have a chance of completing.

1. 1. Synovate (Global Opinion Panel)
      • Total Earned: $25.00
      • Last Payment: $25.00 check on August 4, 2010
      • Joined: August 15, 2009

You may wonder why I have Synovate on my list because I have hardly earned anything from them so far. They may not pay much, but they offer a ton of product tests, which is why they are in my top 10. I’ve received a lot of products from them this month (mainly personal care products and some food) and have more on the way in November, so I’ve been quite happy with them in that regard. Free stuff is always good!

1. 1. Springboard America
      • Total Earned: $50.00
      • Last Payment: $50.00 check on August 26, 2010
      • Joined: January 24, 2010

I’m fairly new to Springboard, but so far I really like them. They may not pay a lot and you can only cash out when you reach $50 or more, but I genuinely enjoy taking their surveys. I find them to be more fun than a lot of other survey panels. The topics (including politics, consumer goods, and entertainment) are almost always interesting to me, which makes taking the surveys all that much easier and faster. I wish they’d send out more surveys and that they’d lower the $50 cash-out threshold, but for now, I’m satisfied with them. I’ve cashed out once with them and received the check within 2-3 weeks, so they do pay fairly quickly. I currently have $16.50 in my account. Do you have a list of favorite survey panels? Please leave a comment below and let us know some of the survey panels that work best for you.