Survey Junkie is an old and established survey platform with both web-based and mobile apps.
It’s one of the more popular apps, which should calm your nerves if you’re paranoid about scams and crappy survey sites.
But even the giants can be plagued with problems.
Let’s dive in and see if Survey Junkie is worth your time.
Details
- Type: Mobile app, website
- Platforms: iOS, Android, web
- Price: Free
- Registration required: Yes (phone, address, and more)
- Earning potential: $0-$100 per month
- Realistic earning average: $2-$30 per month
- Time commitment: 30 minutes per day
- Estimated earnings per hour: $3 per hour
- Download the app: Android, iOS
- See the official page
Pros
- Always has surveys available
- Direct deposit and PayPal withdrawals
- Accessible on phones and desktop
Cons
- Disqualifications are common
- Most surveys pay slave wages
- $10 minimum threshold for cashing out
Overall score: 6/10 (Average)
Survey Junkie is a survey platform available for desktops and phones. Screening out/disqualifications are frequent, but a plentiful amount of surveys maintains your earnings per hour. Cash out threshold is high at $10, but offers direct bank transfer, PayPal cash, and gift cards. The key is to find surveys that pay well with low completion times. Overall, worth to keep in your survey stack, but not worth priority attention.
What’s Survey Junkie?
Survey Junkie is a survey rewards app that pays you points which you can use to cash out for rewards.
There’s an option for direct PayPal cash, gift cards, and even direct deposit to your bank.
Direct bank transfer is a rarity in these types of apps, so it’s well appreciated and one of the few survey apps that allow it.
Similar to most survey sites, you get a queue of surveys to take. Completing one earns your virtual points. And the points redeem prizes.
The surveys come from both large and startup brands looking for your valuable opinion and feedback.
But who cares about that? You’re just in it for the money.
So let’s talk about it.
How does Survey Junkie work?
You log in to the app and see a queue of surveys.
You can scroll down to find one that suits the available time you have to dedicate, so it’s nice that the ETA to completion is listed.
Similar to apps like Swagbucks and Qmee, the time estimates are usually a lot higher than what it’ll actually take- in my experience. Working quickly and accurately is key.
Each survey also lists the number of points you’ll earn for finishing the survey. You need to find one that has a low time requirement but pays well. This is one way to maximize and optimize your earnings on Survey Junkie.
The minimum to cash out is 1,000 points, which can take some time to earn depending on how fast you work and the survey opportunities you get.
Survey Junkie requires that you complete the surveys or other “rewardable actions” to earn points. This means being disqualified during a survey will earn you nothing.
Something unique to Survey Junkie is a button that shows up and tells you when something you do will earn you points. It’s a green button that has a reward amount. Completing whatever the action is will earn you those points.
How to make money with Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie works just like any other survey app- Swagbucks, Qmee, QuickThoughts, etc.
You just choose a survey, take it, and get points for your efforts. Then you redeem it for PayPal cash, bank transfer, or e-gift cards. The choice is yours.
Survey Junkie makes money from advertisers paying for surveys on their site. The advertisers are looking for people to take their surveys and get feedback for their products and service.
Survey Junkie then pays us, the survey takers, a portion of that money that the advertisers paid. So advertisers get their feedback. Survey Junkie gets their cut. And we get paid.
Everyone’s happy, right?
Not always. There are some glaring issues with the app.
What’s wrong with Survey Junkie?
This app suffers from the same problem that plagues Qmee and many other survey apps- disqualifications.
If you’re new to this and don’t know the terminology, basically you get DQ’d from the survey you’re taking. Without pay.
So let’s say you find a 30m survey and start it.
You proceed through grueling and boring “fill in the response” prompts, radio buttons, multiple-choice, and true/false questions. You get to the final few pages. You’ve invested 25m of your time so far and can’t wait for that sweet, sweet point addition to your piggy bank.
Then you see the screen of doom. You get disqualified from the survey.
The survey ends and abruptly closes. And you’re greeted with a generic “Sorry, you don’t qualify for this survey” error message.
And now you’re back to the dashboard, didn’t get paid, AND wasted 25m of your time.
Congrats. That’s a disqualification for you. It’s also known as “survey denial” or “screened out.”
(Okay, you get paid like 2 points for being DQ’d. But that’s 2 cents.)
It’s a common problem with survey apps and many suffer from it. Survey Junkie is no exception.
SOME sites like SurveyMonkey Rewards or Google Opinion both will pay you even if you disqualify. But most don’t.
The problem is that the ones that guarantee a payment lack of available surveys. And the ones that have a lot of survey denials don’t offer guaranteed payments.
Why isn’t there a survey app that guarantees payment AND has a lot of surveys to take?
Getting disqualified is my biggest problem with Survey Junkie.
And if you read the recent reviews, you’ll see that it’s not only my problem:



Another common issue with the app is that it locks up or crashes when you’re halfway through a survey. This happens in maybe 1/30 surveys.
And it’s another waste of time. Your phone will suddenly freeze up and you’ll have to force close the app, which erases your progress since you can’t continue surveys once you start them. Longer surveys that pay more often trigger this bug.
Do you really get paid?
Yes, Survey Junkie is a legitimate app that actually pays. If you choose the right surveys and work quickly and accurately, you can pull in decent beer money weekly.
The available surveys fluctuate daily and 80% of the time they’re paying slave wages. But the trick is to only take the ones that pay highly, yet don’t take a lot of time. This is called maximizing your time.
You can get paid by PayPal, direct deposit, or gift card to your favorite stores.
You shouldn’t be surprised that you can “actually” get paid.
There are a lot of apps that work just like Survey Junkie (and some that pay more). It’s nothing new and has been around for decades. Making money online is the new side gig, my friend.
How much does Survey Junkie pay per hour?
This varies depending on a few different factors that all affect your hourly earnings:
- Number of “worth it” surveys available
- How much time you have to dedicate to taking surveys
- How fast you work while not making mistakes
- How many surveys disqualify you
On a good run, you can anywhere from 200-300 points an hour.
So the monetary equivalent would be $2-$3 per hour of work.
Of course, this number can fluctuate based on the variables listed above.
How much can you make in a month?

Survey Junkie has the potential to bring you anywhere from $20-$60 a month, on average. It all depends on the av of profitable surveys that are worth your time.
Obviously, if you spend all day on it, you’ll maximize your earnings because you can take new surveys as soon as they’re out.
But for the rest of us, I’d leave Survey Junkie as a filler app when other apps or opportunities are depleted.
You should only use it when your best money makers are exhausted for the day.
Use it when you can’t use those other apps or gigs. Or when you’re stuck doing something and burdened with idle time to kill.
Don’t rely on this app as your main beer money income. There are more efficient opportunities.
How do you get paid?
You get paid with points. You use the points to redeem rewards like PayPal cash, online virtual gift cards, and transfer to your bank account.
You can redeem every 1K points, so that means you need a minimum of $10 to cash out.
This can take you anywhere from a few hours to an entire month to earn. It all depends on the surveys you get, how many you get denied from, and how quickly you work and optimize your efficiency.
How long does it take to pay you?
The payment process is automated and you get a confirmation message as soon as you cash out with your payment method. PayPal requires verification of your account.
And bank account transfers take a few days to show up. I’d suggest sticking with PayPal because it’s faster and you don’t have to reveal your bank details.
You can also redeem your rewards on gift cards, which you can use to buy your favorite products.
What gift cards can you get from Survey Junkie?
Survey Junkie offers a dozen or so gift cards that you can use at a popular retailer.
Here’s the complete list:
- Groupon
- iTunes
- Amazon
- Sephora
- Target
- Walmart
- Starbucks
If none of these do it for you, then use the PayPal cash redemption.
How legit is Survey Junkie?

Survey Junkie is as legit as any other survey app.
You can do the work and read their privacy policy and terms of use in detail if you want to know.
But any information you give them will likely be shared with advertisers to match their target demographic.
For example, it wouldn’t make sense for an advertiser that sells meat products to spend money targeting someone who’s a vegetarian.
Or for a survey requestor to sell an educational program for someone who’s not in school. This is why you have basic profile details so you can match with the right advertisers.
This helps that you have a lower chance of screenings out and advertisers don’t waste their ad budget on the wrong audience.
Survey Junkie is legitimate in the sense that you’ll get paid when you reach the minimum threshold (unless your account gets banned for some reason).
But there’s a lot of BS you need to put up with like survey disqualifications, freezing/crashing, or low-paying surveys.
And if you’re afraid of your data being sold or revealed to other parties, you should probably avoid survey apps altogether. It’s very difficult to see exactly what these companies do with your data, what they know, and who they send it to.
The last thing you need is more email spam and random letters in the mail asking you to sign up for services.
Is it safe to use?
One thing you should note is that your data is largely controlled by what you put out.
Some surveys ask you for your details like your address, name, email, etc.
Personally, I’d never put out this info even if the survey paid well. I only complete surveys that ask for the minimum and necessary demographics.
This depends on your level of comfort. Some people are cool with it and appreciate the extra pay.
Others are conscious of their privacy and will steer clear. Do your due diligence and whatever you’re comfortable with.
Is Survey Junkie worth the time?
It ain’t gonna make you rich overnight (or in the next decade).
But it can bring you some easy beer money in your spare time. The nice thing about Survey Junkie is that there are always surveys you can take.
And they have their ETA. so when you’re bored at the dentist, waiting for a ride, or on a terrible date, bust out your phone and take some surveys.
Here and there, it adds up. You’ll have an extra $20 bucks or so each month to spend on whatever you want. It ain’t much, but it’s honest work.
How do I maximize earnings Survey Junkie?
You can maximize your time on Survey Junkie and make the most of it by doing these two things:
- Finding the surveys that pay decent rates
- Working on them quickly and accurately
There’s no other way to earn faster because all the other variables you can’t control.
You can’t control survey rejections.
You can’t control the availability of surveys.
And you definitely can’t control your survey running into an error and shutting down your work.
How do I get rid of the app?
You can get rid of it by deleting it removing it from your device.
If you really never want to return at it again, send the support team an email and let them know that you’d like your account and everything associated with it deleted.
I still use this app so I’ve never deleted my data.
But that’s how I’d do it. If you try this and it works, report back and let us know.
Does Survey Junkie steal your information?
This depends on what you mean by “steal.”
I’m nearly 100% sure that somewhere in their terms of use and privacy policy there’s a clause that allows them to use your data, collect it, sell it, or somehow transfer it to third-parties.
Whether you consider this “stealing” or not is semantics.
On one hand, you did agree to this. Probably.
On the other hand, their servers may be breached, data could be leaked, or some other issue could happen where your data is exposed.
That’s a different definition of “stealing.”
Is Survey Junkie safe for bank transfer?
I’d avoid putting any sensitive details like your routing and bank account details on any apps or services that are unnecessary.
Why not just sign up for a PayPal account, or use it if you already have one, and then transfer from PayPal to your bank?
This way, your bank details are never revealed to Survey Junkie and you still collect your earnings. It’s just one extra step to transfer the dough.
But then you don’t have to worry and be paranoid by asking this question anymore.
Plus, there’s always the possibility of their servers being hacked or data leaks.
Alternatives to Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie isn’t unique in the survey space and there are plenty of other similar apps you can try out as a substitute if you’re having problems with it or as apps to add to your stack.
Here are a few similar apps that I wrote about:
- SurveyMonkey Rewards (pays you for every survey)
- Google Opinion Rewards (no rejections)
- Qmee (basically Survey Junkie’s smaller brother)
Survey Junkie vs. Swagbucks
Survey Junkie is like a brother to Swagbucks.
They both allow you to earn “points” to redeem for cash or gift cards.
The main difference is that Survey Junkie is a lot slimmer and focuses on just surveys, while SB allows you to earn points in a variety of different ways like surveys, games, videos, search, shopping, and more.
Surveys are the main moneymaker for both entities, so if that’s all you care about, then they’re not that different. Both tell you ETA to finish the survey, how much you earn per survey and have similar rewards.
Swagbucks give you 1 cent per denied survey and Survey Junkie gives you 2 cents. That’s about it. You can stack both together to maximize your earnings. Or when one runs out of profitable surveys, you can switch.
Overall review

I think Survey Junkie is a decent app to add to your stack, but I wouldn’t use it as a primary money maker and would dedicate my time elsewhere.
It’s best suited for times when you’re idle and have time to kill. You can make a few cents a day and collect a few bucks a month.
This way, you’re earning at least SOMETHING when you’re doing nothing, which earns you nothing.
Just be ready for constant survey disqualifications.