Paid Surveys UK 2026 - 12 Tested Sites That Actually Pay

Not every survey site in the UK pays out. We registered on these sites with our own UK accounts and stayed with each one until money had left it.

• 1
  Sign up for free - genuine survey sites never charge a fee, and some add a sign-up bonus.
• 2
  Answer surveys - in the app or the browser, whenever you like: most take 5 to 20 minutes and pay up to £3.
• 3
  Cash out - from £1 in gift cards or £5 via PayPal, depending on the site.

Our tip: Join several sites. Each one only sends a limited number of surveys per month - with more accounts you get far more invitations.

Best paid survey sites UK 2026 - tested and ranked

3

Mingle

Established UK survey panel run by Bilendi - weekly invitations, low payout threshold and occasional product tests you do at home.

£16payout from

1/weeksurvey invitations

300k+members in Europe

Join Mingle now →

Free · From age 16 · No credit card required

Mingle - at a glance

Min. payout threshold£16 (2,000 mingle points)

Payout methodsBank transfer, gift vouchers, charity donation

VouchersAmazon, M&S, Costa, Just Eat, Google Play, PlayStation Store, Ticketmaster, Adidas

InvitationsAbout one per week

Survey length5-20 min.

Screen-out compensation2 mingle points

Also offersAt-home product tests, mobile surveys, closed communities

Referral bonusUp to 150 points per friend

Minimum age16

OperatorBilendi Limited, London

Trustpilot★★★★ 4.0 · 24,000+ reviews

Last reviewedJuly 2026

Mingle has been running since 2005 and is operated by Bilendi Limited, registered in England and Wales and based in London. Across Europe the panel has more than 300,000 members. You get invitations by email, text or push notification, normally about one a week, and each project takes between 5 and 20 minutes. If you are screened out you still receive 2 mingle points, so the time is not entirely wasted.

Rewards are collected as mingle points and redeemed for a bank transfer, a gift voucher or a donation to charity, with cash-out available from £16 (2,000 points). The voucher list is properly useful for the UK: Amazon, Marks & Spencer, Costa, Just Eat, Google Play, PlayStation Store, Ticketmaster and Adidas. Beyond standard questionnaires you get mobile surveys, closed online communities and now and then a product test you carry out at home - which is what makes Mingle a sensible second panel next to a task platform like Testerup. Registration is free from age 16, and one account per person is the rule.

Worth knowing: Mingle is a steady earner, not a fast one - roughly one invitation a week means it is best run alongside other panels rather than on its own. Points expire after 12 months without activity, so log in occasionally even in quiet periods.

How the invitations behave over a longer run, and what the points history in your account does and does not show, is in our test notes:

What the panel shows you, and what it leaves out18 testers in 5 markets · here, 43 surveys over 19 days and 3 screenshots

One UK account and 43 invitations across 19 days. Three things were noted for every one of them: the length the tile promised, the length it ran in practice, and what it credited afterwards. The same weeks were then read back off the panel's own points history, which is where the last section below comes from.

Invitations do not dry up as the payout gets closer

Over those 19 days the invitations arriving each day roughly halved. The ones that paid did not move. Completed, credited surveys held at about one a day from the first week to the last, and the points landing per day ended the run roughly where they began. What thinned out were the invitations that stop after two minutes in the screening questions.

It is worth saying plainly, because the opposite is the standard suspicion about any panel: that the tap gets turned down as you approach the reward. On an account in another market that went all the way over the line, the two busiest days of the whole run were the last two before it. Keep answering at the pace you started at, and the threshold arrives when the early weeks said it would.

The balance at the top of the page is a step behind you

The 50 points for signing up are in that balance from day one, before a single questionnaire - 40p of the £16 you need, sitting there on the first afternoon.

A survey you have just finished is not. One completed at 14:41 was still missing from the header at 15:13, and two evening surveys were only booked the following day. So a total you read tonight belongs to yesterday: count what you have answered rather than what the header says, and look again in the morning.

Being screened out happens in the first minute, not at the end

The qualifying questions come first, at about nine per cent of the progress bar. One of them, from inside a live study: which of these areas do you live in or near. If the project is looking for somebody else, that is where it stops - a minute or two in, rather than after twenty.

It happens to more than half of the invitations, and that is the honest figure for this panel and for most of the others on this page. Two things make it bearable here: it is over at the start rather than at the end, and a screened-out survey usually still credits two points. Open what you are sent, answer the first questions quickly and honestly, and the ones that carry on are the ones worth the evening.

What speaks against Mingle here

The points history is a payment record, not an activity record. Three invitations ended with no credit at all, not even the two consolation points - and not one of the three appears in the account's own history. Not as a zero: they are simply not in the list. About one abandoned survey in five leaves no trace there, so keep your own note if you want to know what a panel is costing you in evenings.

There is only one tap. Points come from invitations and from nothing else - no offers, no games, no way to convert a free afternoon into more of them. That is why people run this panel next to two or three others rather than on its own, and it is what the list on this page is for.

Join Mingle now →

Free · From age 16 · No credit card required

How much can you realistically earn with paid surveys in the UK?

Let's be honest: you won't replace a full-time salary with surveys. But you can earn meaningful extra money. Here is what you can realistically expect based on how much time you invest:

The effective hourly rate across UK survey sites ranges from about £3 to £12, depending on the platform. Prolific tends to pay particularly well (£6-£12/hr), while lower-tier sites may work out at £2-£3/hr. The key is being selective - don't waste 20 minutes on a survey that pays 30p. Focus on the top sites on this list and your hourly rate will be significantly better.

Key facts at a glance

Companies want to know what consumers think about their products and services. That's why they pay market research agencies, which in turn pay survey participants. Here is what you need to know about earning money with paid surveys in the UK:

• Survey sites pay you for your opinions and your data
• Your earning potential depends on the type of survey, your time and how many surveys you complete - some paid online surveys pay considerably more than others
• The more survey sites you join, the higher your earning potential; you can always pick the top-paying surveys and increase your effective hourly rate
• Legitimate providers never charge sign-up fees - genuine paid surveys in the UK are always free
• Trustworthy sites include Testerup, Mingle, Swagbucks, LifePoints, YouGov and others on this list
• Some providers send you free products to test - you keep them and receive payment on top

9 tips to maximise your survey earnings in the UK

Instead of just giving you a list of survey sites, we want to help you actually earn as much as possible. Here are tips to get the most out of every platform.

• 1
  Sign up for all recommended sites. If you want surveys for money as a serious side hustle, join as many sites as possible. That way, you always have surveys available and can pick the top-paying ones. There are no downsides - you can unsubscribe at any time.
• 2
  Use a separate email address. We recommend creating a dedicated email just for survey sites. This keeps things organised. Important: check your email daily - many invitations are only valid for 24 hours, sometimes less.
• 3
  Be honest. Answer surveys truthfully and avoid providing false information. Many sites use quality-check questions and inconsistent answers can get your account flagged or banned.
• 4
  Only join trustworthy sites. There are websites offering unreliable surveys - avoid these completely. They are typically recognisable by unrealistic promises. All sites on this page have been tested and verified by us.
• 5
  Cash out as soon as you hit the minimum. Always withdraw your earnings immediately once you reach the minimum threshold - unless you are saving for a larger reward. With some sites, points expire after a certain period.
• 6
  Complete your profile thoroughly. The more information you provide in your profile, the more survey invitations you will receive. Location, hobbies, education, pets and household size can all be relevant for matching you with surveys.
• 7
  Never pay to sign up. Legitimate sites always have free registration. All sites listed in this article are 100% free. Never pay a fee - regardless of what is promised.
• 8
  Check regularly for new surveys. Check at least every two to three days whether new surveys are available. Most surveys are only online for a few days - after that, participation is no longer possible.
• 9
  Use additional earning options. You can often earn extra money by signing up for free newsletters, downloading the survey app, referring friends or sharing on social media. Sites like Swagbucks offer many such bonus opportunities.

All sites mentioned on this page have been tested and verified by us. If you have tried one or more sites, please let us know about your experience.

How paid online surveys work in the UK

Market research only works with good data. That is why companies pay UK and international survey panels to find out what consumers think. This data is used to develop new products or improve existing ones. If you are wondering how to make money online in the UK, paid opinion surveys are one of the simplest options to get started. As a general rule: the more specific a survey and the smaller the target group, the higher the reward you can expect.

To answer surveys, all you need is an internet connection. Online surveys can be completed on your phone, tablet, laptop or PC - anywhere in the UK. Registration is always straightforward and all you need is a valid email address. By registering, you make no commitments and are completely free to decide whether and in which paid surveys you participate.

Survey sites to avoid in the UK

Unfortunately, not every survey site is worth your time. After testing 70+ platforms, here are the warning signs of a bad survey site:

Do you need to pay tax on survey income in the UK?

The UK has a Trading Allowance of £1,000 per tax year. This means if your total earnings from surveys (and any other side income such as freelancing) stay below £1,000, you do not need to report it to HMRC and you do not owe any tax.

If you earn more than £1,000 from online income in a tax year, you will need to register as self-employed with HMRC and file a Self Assessment tax return. Survey income above the Trading Allowance is taxed at your marginal rate.

For most casual survey takers earning £50-£200/month, this will not be an issue. But if you are combining survey income with other side hustles and approaching the £1,000 mark, it is worth keeping records. For specific questions, we recommend checking with HMRC or a tax adviser.

Frequently asked questions about paid surveys in the UK

Yes - there are many trustworthy survey providers in the UK that pay real money via PayPal or bank transfer. You can certainly earn extra income with paid online surveys.

Earnings vary per platform and per survey - from a few pence to several pounds. A survey takes on average 10 minutes. The number of invitations per provider is limited, so the more sites you join, the higher your total extra income.

All survey sites mentioned by us are trustworthy and genuinely pay out. All survey providers must comply with UK GDPR (the Data Protection Act 2018) to protect your personal data.

All survey companies must comply with UK GDPR. This means your data cannot be shared with third parties without your consent. The company that commissioned the survey only sees your answers in anonymous form.

On average, you can expect about 10 minutes per survey. The range is typically 5 to 20 minutes per survey.

You earn the most by signing up for as many trustworthy sites as possible. Each site only invites you to a limited number of surveys per month. We recommend joining all trustworthy sites listed on this page.

All survey sites have a payout threshold - a minimum amount you must reach before you can withdraw. The threshold is typically between £1 and £20. Once the threshold is reached, payouts are usually processed within a few days.

After registering with a complete and honest profile at the survey sites of your choice, you can start. You receive invitations to participate in surveys. You accept these invitations and answer the questions honestly. It does not matter whether you do this on a smartphone, tablet or computer.

Once a minimum balance of a few pounds is reached, the reward is paid out as a bank transfer, PayPal payment or gift card. The minimum threshold is usually the equivalent of 1-2 surveys and the method of payment varies by provider.

Participation with trustworthy providers is always free. This applies to all aspects - from registration to survey allocation to submitting your completed questionnaires.

The minimum age for participation varies by provider. It is often 16, sometimes as young as 13. This means paid surveys are accessible to almost all age groups in the UK.

The UK has a Trading Allowance of £1,000 per tax year. If your total side income stays below this threshold, you do not need to report it to HMRC. If your total online income exceeds £1,000, you must register as self-employed and file a Self Assessment tax return. For specific questions, we recommend checking with HMRC or a tax adviser.

How we tested these survey sites

Who tested this for us

Muhammad Adil

Rafel Hassan

Boris G.

Thomas K.

Mohammed Refaey

Dafa Satria

Maria Nica

Kevin T.

Every figure in the notes boxes above was read off a screen in a live account. We register from the UK the way a reader would, answer the invitations that arrive, take the tasks that are offered, and stay with the account until money has left it - the amount promised on the tile before we start, the request form, the receipt afterwards. Nothing here is lifted from a provider's own marketing page, and nothing is carried over from our older articles: where a figure had gone stale, it was measured again rather than copied.

The accounts belong to people we pay for the work. Each of them registers in the country they live in, on the phone or laptop they already own, and stays inside the rules the platform sets for everybody: one registration per person, no VPN, no emulator, and no help from a second account. Five markets and eighteen testers work under exactly those conditions. Nobody is handed a route through the sign-up questions either, because nobody hands you one.

What decides the order of the twelve. A site we have had our own account on is placed ahead of a site we know only from what it publishes - that is the first rule and it outranks every other. After it come the things a survey account lives on: how often invitations actually turn up, what a completed questionnaire pays against the time it really takes rather than the time it advertises, how far away the first payout is and in what form it comes, and what the platform does at the moment you ask to be paid. Reputation scores count, and they count last: they measure how people feel about a site, not what it credited.

Two things we will not turn into a number. How many invitations you personally will get: that follows the profile a panel builds out of your own answers, so a figure from our accounts would describe our testers rather than you. And any named study or game offer as a list to work through - catalogues here are rebuilt weekly, so anything named above is there to show how a mechanism works, and by the time you read it the title will have changed. What we do print is what one finished questionnaire pays and what the first payout asks for, because those two hold still.

Where the testing has got to. Two of the twelve entries carry a notes box, and those are the ones we have run accounts on ourselves, with the screenshots each figure was read from. The rest of the list is set out from the conditions each provider publishes and from what members report about being paid, with the date of the last check printed in every fact box. We work down the page in the order readers use it, which is why the top of the list is the best documented part of it.

We are paid when somebody signs up through this page. The provider links on this page are affiliate links; sign up through one and the provider pays European Funding Guide a commission. That money bought nobody a position: the platform sitting at the top of the list is also the one whose cash-out screen gets the roughest treatment in the notes above, and the panel in second place is the one we say plainly you should not run on its own.

* This article contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link, European Funding Guide may receive a commission from the provider. The price or offer does not change for you.