Give your opinion on new ideas and get paid for it. What could be better? Well, getting the products to test, hearing about new products before anyone else, seeing new blockbuster film trailers before anyone else even knows about them... but hey, you get all those benefits too.
I've been using these for a few years, so I've grasped a good idea of what are the best and worst sites out there. Because I'm from the UK, these are mostly UK-based.
GLOBAL TEST MARKETEarn: 35+ marketpoints per survey, sometimes 75 or 100 (I've noticed incentives have decreased recently, I guess they've got a lot more popular)
Redeem: 1000 marketpoints, which is a $50 cheque (sent to you in your own currency, don't worry!). At the moment, that's about £35!
Website: http://www.globaltestmarket.com
Have you actually received anything from them? Over £100
VALUED OPINIONSEarn: On average, £1-2 per survey
Redeem: £10 in vouchers, you can choose between Amazon, HMV, Boots, Tesco, charity and many more.
Website: http://www.valuedopinions.co.uk
Have you actually received anything from them? Yes, about £50 of vouchers
TOLUNAEarn: It really varies, it can be 2,500 points up to 10,000 points per survey (which equals 50p - £2). They also have quick-vote polls for 15-45 points each (seriously, they build up QUICKLY), and you get chances to test out products.
Redeem: 80,000 points gets you a £15 voucher - choose from loads, including HMV and Amazon.
Website: http://www.toluna.com
Have you actually received anything from them? A couple of vouchers.
MYSURVEY (Lightspeed Panel recently merged with them)Earn: Usually between 100 and 200 points per survey
Redeem: They used to automatically transfer points into Nectar points, but since merging with Lightspeed, they have a whole range of rewards, including payments by PayPal (£5 for 575 points) and Amazon vouchers (£5 for 550 points).
Website: http://uk.mysurvey.com
Why it's not in my top 3: They're good, I just don't get as many surveys from them as from other sites.
Have you actually received anything from them? Lots and lots of Nectar card points, I got loads of Amazon vouchers from Lightspeed but haven't redeemed since the merge.
IPSOS ACCESS PANELEarn: Usually 50 - 150 points per survey. They also have a loyalty program giving you bonus points when you complete various numbers of surveys per year.
Redeem: 1380 points can be redeemed for a £10 voucher, including Amazon.
Website: http://www.iap-interactive.com
Why it's not in my top 3: I don't know enough about them yet, however I do get a lot of surveys from them and I'm pretty impressed with them so far.
Have you actually received anything from them? Not yet, I've not been with them for very long but I'm almost there
OPINION WORLDEarn: Usually 50 points (50p) per survey.
Redeem: Vouchers for Amazon, Argos, Boots, John Lewis and others. Redemptions start at just 100 points for a £1 voucher, up to 1000 for a £10 voucher, so it's really good!
Website: http://www.opinionworld.co.uk
Why it's not in my top 3: I don't know enough about them yet, however I do get a lot of surveys from them and their rewards system is really good.
Have you actually received anything from them? Not yet, I've not been with them for very long... I could technically redeem a £1 Amazon voucher but I'll wait!
REWARDED OPINIONS (formerly Home Of Research)Earn: Usually 100 points (£1) per survey, plus you get 50 points for each of the 6 sign-up sections you complete, plus a 50 point registration bonus.
Redeem: 2,000 points gets you a £20 cheque.
Website: http://www.rewarded-opinions.com
Why it's not in my top 3: I don't know enough about them yet, however I do get a lot of surveys from them.
Have you actually received anything from them? Not yet, I've not been with them for very long
NEW VISTA LIVEEarn: Typically £1 (or 1 point) for every 5 minutes, it depends on the survey. Some can give you £4 when you complete a survey.
Redeem: Once you get 50 points, they send you a £50 cheque
Website: http://www.newvistalive.com
Why it's not in my top 3: The lowest payout is £50 which takes AGES to get... plus I'm not a huge fan of their survey layouts.
Have you actually received anything from them? Not yet, I'm nowhere near £50! It'll be worth it when I get there though, hah.
YOU GOVEarn: Usually 50 points (50p) per survey. They are quite different to other sites as their surveys tend to be about government issues rather than market research for products and companies.
Redeem: 5,000 points = a £50 cheque.
Website: http://www.yougov.co.uk
Why it's not in my top 3: Like New Vista, it takes a long time to reach the rewards, but I find their surveys interesting.
Have you actually received anything from them? Not yet, still building up!
JUST THE ANSWEREarn: 50 - 100 answerpoints per survey. (50p - £1)
Redeem: 500 answerpoints = a £5 Amazon voucher.
Website: http://www.justtheanswer.co.uk
Why it's not in my top 3: I don't get many surveys from them, but at least vouchers will be quick to achieve.
Have you actually received anything from them? Not yet, I've only just joined them.
E-REWARDSEarn: Usually 200 - 500 points per survey.
Redeem: Firstly I'll say that the rewards are limited. However... VIRGIN AIR MILES!!!! 2000 points = 500 air miles. BONUS.
Website: http://www.e-rewards.co.uk
Why it's not in my top 3: I don't get many surveys from them compared to other websites, but it's definitely worth a look if you're interested in any of the rewards they offer.
Have you actually received anything from them? Yup, a couple thousand air miles. :D
There are a whole load more out there, but these are the ones I can definitely recommend. (also currently checking out Springboard but haven't got an opinion of them yet)
I would not recommend the following (based on incentives, limited qualification of surveys, not many surveys, etc): Zoompanel, In Your Opinion, Online Opinions, Opinion People and that's-what-i-think.