As a college student (or any kind of student), it can be great to earn some extra money.
But how do you find a way to do this that can fit into your schedule without investing any money?
Making money online can be a great solution because of the flexibility it offers. There are, however, many scams out there that will end up costing you money instead of making you any, so you need to make sure to find the legit options.
Paid surveys for college students (and for any kind of student) are a great, legit, and easy way to make some money on the side while studying if you do it with the right expectations.
In fact, it is the fastest way to start earning some extra money online if you make sure to join the best sites.
In this article, I will show you the best survey sites for students in 2025 and tell you what you can expect from them, what the earning opportunities are, and how you can join so you can easily find the sites that fit your needs the best.
Disclosure: Some articles on the website contain affiliate/sponsored links. Click for more info.
Why paid student surveys are a great way to make extra money!
If you want to make money online as a student for free, then paid surveys and Get-Paid-To sites is the fastest way to get started, as you can start earning immediately.
But there are several other reasons why doing paid surveys is great while studying. The main reasons are:
- No training needed:
Doing paid surveys does not require any training or any special skills. Anybody can do it. - No investment needed:
When you are a student, you might not have a lot of extra money to invest. If you have looked into making money online, you will find out that, more or less, all the suggestions you find will take some kind of investment or high risk. Doing paid student surveys will never cost you anything as long as you stay away from the scam sites. - Do it whenever you want:
Surveys can be done whenever it fits into your schedule. And you can always choose which surveys you wish to participate in and which ones you do not want to do. Some survey sites update their offers throughout the day, so you just check the sites whenever it fits you. Other sites will email you when there is an available survey, but you can just wait to take the survey until you have time. Some even have apps that make it very easy to take surveys on the go. - Guaranteed profit:
There is no risk involved in doing paid surveys. You are always sure to make a profit, and you will start making a profit from day one. This is quite unique compared to other ways of making money online. - Have your opinion heard:
Getting paid is, of course, a very good reason to do online surveys, but there are also other reasons to do them. You will be able to have your opinion heard on important topics and that way, for example, be able to influence politics, as well as products and services from companies. - Students have many opportunities:
As a student, you will, in general, have a lot of opportunities available on survey sites. Many companies and organizations would like to hear the opinions of students, and therefore, there will be quite a lot of available surveys for you on many of the platforms.
As you can see, doing paid surveys can have a lot of advantages. But let's now look deeper into how it works before we get to the best sites.
How does it work?
It is very easy to start earning money by taking paid student surveys. All you have to do is sign up for the survey sites that are available in your country and then start taking the surveys (you can see a list of the best sites below).
Many survey sites do, however, also offer other options than paid surveys, so there are often also other ways to earn.
It can, for example, be to watch videos, click ads, search the internet, download apps, play games, get cash back when shopping online, free contests, online micro-tasks, social media tasks, and more.
Sites that offer several ways to earn by doing small online micro-tasks are known as GPT sites (Get-Paid-To), so when I mention GPT sites or apps on the list below, it means there are several ways to earn.
Using several of these other options on the sites can be a great way to boost your earnings.
Also, be aware that survey sites have different offers, so it is a good idea to sign up for several sites to increase the chances of making money. In general, I suggest starting with signing up for 6-8 sites if you have not done paid surveys and these other online micro-tasks before.
It will give you a lot of opportunities, and after getting used to how it works, you can expand to more sites.
But if you join all the available sites from the beginning, it might be overwhelming and not possible to really learn to get the most out of the platforms. So bookmark this page so you can come back and see which sites are the best to join – the list is regularly updated, as I test new sites constantly.
How much money can you make?
Before signing up for survey and GPT sites, it can be good to know what you can expect to earn from it.
It is very difficult to give precise numbers for how much you can earn, as it depends on a number of things like, for example, where you live, the sites you sign up for, your interests, the time you spend, etc.
It is, however, important to know that paid surveys and GPT sites will not make you rich or a full-time income. So, if you are looking for survey jobs for students to make a living, you will likely be disappointed.
But it is definitely realistic to make, for example, $200-$1000 per month depending on your activity and the country you live in – especially if you also use some of the other earning opportunities survey sites often offer.
So it can be some really nice money on the side while studying – but you need to do it with the right expectations.
37 Awesome survey sites for students
Whether you are a college student or any other kind of student, the survey sites below are some of the best to join. So, find the ones that fit you the best and join them to start earning today.
Remember that to get the most opportunities and earn the most, you should join several sites, as they all have different opportunities, so it is great to combine them.
I have to say that I have tried a lot of survey sites and pay to websites before and the one that I have stuck to for a number of years is Clixsense. I am not too keen on doing the tasks or offers but the surveys are good. There are usually a few available to complete every day.
Online surveys are a nice way to earn a little bit of extra income and it is nice that it is free. If you have the time available then you have nothing to lose.
I don’t usually have much spare time anymore otherwise I would spend more time completing surveys.
Thanks for the in-depth information on all of these companies.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Lynne. I definitely agree that ClixSense is a great and easy site. It is also one of my favorite sites. Like you, I mainly do surveys on it, but some of the offers can be really great as well. The tasks take a bit of patience in the beginning, but in the long run, they can make good money – especially because ClixSense has great bonuses for them.
All the best,
Mikael
what happen when we do not complete the task? and one more question- how long these websites take to give payment through paypal… great blog.. very helpful
If you do not complete a task you will not get paid for it. How long it takes to get your earnings depends on the platform. Some pay within hours and for others, it can take several days.
You can click the links to the full reviews on the list above and reach more about how long it takes for each of them to pay out.
Hope this helps.
Hi Mikael,
Make money with surveys is a good option if you have a lot of free time. In order to make good cash, you have to spend a lot of time and effort. I say this because I’ve been involved with this kind of income opportunities for the past 2 months and I only have earned 50 bucks, not to mention the amount of time I needed to earn that amount of money. I’m looking for a legit opportunity to make money online in the long-term, do you have any suggestion?
Thanks a lot for sharing this information.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Frank. The quality of survey sites really vary a lot, and how much you can make also depends a lot on where in the world you live, so sounds like you have not been too lucky with the sites you have joined, or that you live a place where there are not too many opportunities.
But no matter what, surveys are not a way to make a living. There are some legit opportunities to do this online. As I regularly get this question, I have written an article about how to start an online business that you can check out, if you want to know more.
Thanks again and all the best,
Mikael
Hi Mikael,
I’m a person who feels that doing lots of surveys are a waste of my time that’s why I usually choose what I do. And these are usually free and voluntary.
But reading your post , I learned that there’s a lot of opportunities out there especially for students who need extra money. I’m sure this is really helpful for them to earn extra cash.
Nice post. Very thorough and helpful.
Marita
Thanks for your comment Marita.
If you find the right survey sites, they can be a really great way to make some nice extra cash on the side. But if you are looking for a full-time income, they are not the way to go. So whether they are worth it or not depends or lot on your motivation to take them.
All the best,
Mikael