How to Pick Surveys Worth Your Time

You have a list of paid surveys in front of you, and you want to start with the ones worth your time. Every survey on Earnit shows what it pays and how long it takes before you start, so a quick piece of arithmetic tells you which ones to try. An honest survey profile then helps you finish more of the ones you start.

At a glance
What it is	Short surveys for research companies, run by our survey partners
What it asks of you	A survey profile once, then honest answers to each survey's questions
Devices	Your phone or your computer
Realistic time	Shown on each survey before you start

Judge a survey by what it pays per minute

The reward on a survey card is only half of what you need, because a survey that pays twice as much but takes four times as long pays you less for your time. Divide what a survey pays by the minutes it takes, compare the top few surveys on your list, and start the one that pays the most per minute.

The surveys page sorts your list by Highest reward or by Shortest, and neither order on its own finds the best rate, so check the top few of each. Each survey card also shows the partner's rating for that survey, or New when it has none yet, and a low rating is a good reason to choose another survey.

Fill in your survey profile once, honestly

Your survey profile is a few short questions, such as your date of birth and your postal code, and our survey partners, the companies that run the surveys, use your answers to show you the surveys you are likely to fit. Answering takes about a minute, and your list of surveys appears as soon as you save the profile.

Answer every question truthfully, check each answer before you press Save profile, and answer the same way in every survey after it. A survey that finds answers that do not match your profile can end early, so an honest profile is what lets you finish the surveys you start.

Honest answers, given the same way every time, are what let you finish the surveys you start.

Why a survey can end early

Most surveys look for a particular group of people, such as parents or drivers, so a survey starts with a few questions to find out whether you are in that group. If you are not, or if the survey already has enough answers from people like you, the survey ends early, which is called a screenout.

A screenout is usually nothing you did wrong, and some survey partners pay a smaller reward for one. The rest is in your hands: read each question before you answer, take one survey at a time, and use a steady connection with no VPN, because answers that do not fit together, or a connection that drops, can end a survey before you finish it.

What a normal survey session looks like

Some surveys end early in every session, for everyone, and that time is part of what the paid ones cost. Surveys usually pay less than game offers, and new surveys are added every day, so you can come back to them whenever you like.

If one partner's surveys keep ending early for you, try another partner's survey wall. Each survey partner works with its own research companies, so you might rarely qualify with one partner and often with another. Most survey rewards are credited within minutes of finishing the survey. The payout method you pick decides how small a balance you can withdraw.

Open the surveys page, complete your survey profile, then compare what the top few surveys pay per minute before you start one.