Paid surveys · 4-part guide · about 21 minutes

What does an hour of surveys really pay?

A survey says "15 minutes, $1.50." That sounds like $6 an hour. By the time you count everything else, it's often much less. Here's how to see the real number before you spend more time.

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What the survey says~~$6.00 an hour~~

What the session paid$3.00 an hour

One 15-minute, $1.50 survey, plus three screen-outs and a few minutes of browsing. An example, not typical earnings.

The short answer

For most people on typical survey sites, published estimates and survey takers' own reports land somewhere around $2 to $8 an hour once screen-outs and waiting are counted. That's spare-time money, not a wage. Where you land depends heavily on your country, your profile and which sites you use, and you can measure your own number in a week.

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What you'll take away

Why the reward on a survey is not your hourly rate
A simple way to work out your own real rate
What different monthly amounts actually take in time
When surveys are worth it, and when something else fits better

This guide comes in four parts. You start with the main article, and along the way you can step into shorter pieces on whatever matters most to you. Wherever you go, there is always a way back to where you left off.

Start reading