Are you looking for something to do to earn a little income on the side?  You won’t get rich taking surveys but they are a nice way to earn a little extra spending money. This is something I enjoyed doing a lot when I was first married and I had a lot of free time on my hands.  While my time is much more limited now I still enjoy taking a few surveys a week.

If you’re looking for legitimate survey companies to sign up with, here are a few to check out:

Pinecone Research (not currently accepting new members):  If you polled my surveying friends they would say that this is their top rated survey site.  They pay $3 for every survey completed and they pay quickly.  While they’re not currently taking new applications I do try to post here every time they are accepting new sign-ups so keep an eye out for that.

Synovate: Is one of the most highly-recommended survey companies. Lori from Moms By Heart says: “Synovate sign up is FREE and you’ll get great paying survey and product testing opportunities each month. This one is famous for frequently giving free full size products! Most recently I’ve tested diapers (got a full pack for FREE), baby lotion and toothpaste (got three tubes!).”  Go here to Synovate to sign up.

Ipsos i-Say: Similar to the way most survey sites operate, you will receive preliminary surveys to see if you qualify for the full surveys.  You earn points for taking the full surveys and you can redeem those points for cash, gift cards or charity donations.  Go here to Ipsos i-Say to sign up.

Toluna: When you sign up for Toluna, you will receive 500 points to welcome you to the site. When you have earned at least 60,000 points, you may redeem your points for a cash reward. Go here to Toluna to sign up.

MindField: Is absolutely free to join and most of their surveys will only take between 5 and 15 minutes to complete and they pay anywhere from $1.00-$35.00!  One of my favorite features is that MindField pays you directly through PayPal {if you want} so you’ll get the money you earned in your hand quickly.

My Survey: You earn points for every single survey you take–even those quick qualifiers! This way you’ll never waste time on a survey you don’t qualify. You can redeem your points earned for cash or prizes and every 1000 points equals $10. Go here to My Survey to sign up.

Inbox Dollars: I used Inbox Dollars primarily for the few cents I earned for reading emails. The checks weren’t huge but it only required clicking on a few emails everyday. Go here to Inbox Dollars to sign up.

MyPoints: Here you can earn points for reading emails, taking surveys, and signing up for offers. When I was participated, I took an occasional survey but I mostly just read the emails and clicked on the links to slowly accumulate points. You won’t get rich quickly doing this, but you can earn enough points by reading emails to get free gift cards each year. We bought gas gift cards with the points I earned through MyPoints. Go here to MyPoints to sign up.

SurveySpot: You can earn up to $5 per survey and you can request payout at $5. It’s not hard at all to earn enough to get a check. Go here to SurveySpot to sign up.

MyView: In return for  your opinion, you will earn points which you can exchange for gift cards that you can spend at various online stores like Amazon, Target and more!  Go here to MyView to sign up.

CashCrate: Once you sign up, you can go to their “Daily Survey” tab and earn around $0.50 per survey you take. They usually offer 1-2 daily surveys. Go here to CashCrate to sign up.

Opinion Outpost: Pays in point rewards for every completed survey. You can cash these in for instant win opportunities, sweepstakes, or my favorite – cash. There are also opportunities to test products for free. Go here to Opinion Outpost to sign up.

Survey Head: This site rewards completed surveys with points. Once you’ve accumulated enough points, you can exchange them for cash, online gift certificates, music downloads, and hundreds of other prizes. Or, build up your points for bigger prizes in your Lightspeed Points Account. Go here to Survey Head to sign up.

Valued Opinions: Once you are a registered member, complete the 10 profile surveys in the member’s area. Completing these surveys will increase your chances to participate in additional surveys.  Based on your responses to the profile surveys, you will be emailed survey invitations to the email address you used for registration.  For each completed survey, you will usually earn a credit between $0.50 and $5. Once you’ve earned $20 in credit, you can exchange it for a gift card to spend with one of America’s best loved brands.  Go here to Valued Opinions to sign up.