When I was paying off my student loans, I was hyper frugal.
I used coupons, bought my groceries at Aldi and scratch-and-dent stores, and shopped at thrift stores.
Once I was done trimming my budget as much as possible, I looked for other ways to make money on the side.
I was a full-time journalist and spent most weekends driving three hours to visit my boyfriend in another city. I didn’t have the time to get a second job, and this was before driving for Uber or Postmates was an option.
Instead of confining myself to a regular part-time job, I spent hours each week taking surveys. I loved that I could do the surveys whenever I wanted. If I didn’t feel like taking any, I didn’t have to. If I had extra time, I could make a few dollars.
The best part was that I could take surveys without leaving my apartment. I didn’t have to get in my car and drive around a sketchy part of town delivering packages or food. When I got home feeling energized, I could knock out a few surveys. But if I was burnt out and just wanted to watch a movie, I could take the night off.
Taking online surveys through InboxDollars could help you make some extra money in the free minutes of your day.
What Is InboxDollars?
$5
Sign-Up Bonus Terms and conditions apply.
DollarSprout Rating Mobile app makes it easy to earn rewards on the go.
InboxDollars is a rewards site with a mobile app that pays users for taking surveys, watching videos, playing games, redeeming coupons, and completing various online tasks. Redeem your points for gift cards, prepaid debit cards, check, or donate your earnings to your favorite charity.
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InboxDollars is a site where consumers can take surveys, redeem cash-back offers, print coupons, read their promotional emails, and watch ads to make extra money on the side. You can use InboxDollars on your laptop or as an app, so it’s a good way to make money while you’re standing in line or walking your dog. InboxDollars also offers a free $5 sign-up bonus for new users.
One frustrating aspect to InboxDollars is how long it can take to find a survey you qualify for. InboxDollars doesn’t automatically send you surveys you’re eligible for. Instead, you have to fill out questions beforehand to determine your eligibility.
Depending on the survey and your particular demographics, this may happen frequently. This problem isn’t unique to InboxDollars. Users of other survey sites report the same problem.
Is InboxDollars Legit and Safe?
InboxDollars is a legit survey and offer site. Reviews of InboxDollars on Trustpilot show a 4.1 out of 5-star rating of 10,000 reviews. The company also has an A rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Reviews of InboxDollars are largely positive. One user said she earned $40 in the first two weeks. InboxDollars also doesn’t sell or share your information for marketing purposes.
However, it can be annoying to have your email flooded with offers from InboxDollars. Be prepared for this avalanche when you sign up.
Related: 17 of the Best Places to Take Paid Online Surveys
How Does InboxDollars Work? 5 Ways to Make Money
InboxDollars is a site that offers a few different ways for users to make money. You can pick and choose or do all of them, depending on your time and interest.
When you first create your InboxDollars account, you’ll earn a $5 bonus just for signing up and confirming your email address.
Then, you’ll fill out a 30-question survey that asks for demographic information like your age or identified gender. This can take between 5 to 10 minutes to fill out and includes a $0.50 bonus.
1. Take paid surveys.
Before you can start taking surveys, you have to fill out your profile. You’ll earn $0.50 for completing this task.
Surveys typically pay between $0.50 and $5 and take 5 to 60 minutes to complete.
2. Watch videos.
To make money watching videos, click on the “Videos” tab, which will have a featured video at the top. If you scroll down, you’ll see other videos in several categories: News, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Financial, and Sports.
Some of the videos are entertaining and informative, so this can be a good substitution for your regular TV time.
Related: 13 Legit Ways to Make Money Watching Videos
3. Play InboxDollars games.
InboxDollars offers over 30 arcade games like pool, word chess, and solitaire. They also offer Game Show Network (GSN) games, including Wheel of Fortune, Poker, and Casino, to name a few. For the GSN games, you can play for fun or enter tournaments for the chance to win a cash payout. You’ll also earn cashback for every dollar you spend in a GSN game.
According to customer reviews, it’s hard to earn real money playing games through InboxDollars. But if you prefer playing games instead of taking surveys, you can make a few extra bucks.
4. Shop online and redeem coupons.
One way to make money with InboxDollars is to use their coupons, which are powered by coupons.com. Go to the “coupons” tab where you can find coupons on food, home goods, and more.
Some current coupons include $1 off Listerine or $2.50 off Glad trash bags. This is one of the best ways to use InboxDollars because you’ll be saving money with these coupons and earning money with InboxDollars at the same time. Remember not to print off any coupons for something you wouldn’t buy; otherwise you’re not saving anything.
Related: 7 Experts Share Their Best Hacks for Saving Money
5. Read offer emails.
One way to make money on InboxDollars is to participate in PaidEmails. These are emails from InboxDollars’ partner companies where you can earn rewards after reading them or completing a related task. Some emails might offer a discount on a product or service. Others might ask for your feedback on a promotional campaign.
It’s not clear exactly how much people can earn by reading these emails, but it can be an easy way to get a few extra points. You’ll only receive a maximum of four emails a day, so it won’t clog up your inbox.
Redeem your InboxDollars rewards.
You can cash in your earnings for a check, PayPal cash, or gift cards to places like Amazon, Target, and Starbucks. You must have at least $30 in your account before you can cash out.
InboxDollars processes payments on Wednesday of every week, and it can take 3 to 9 business days for your payment to go through.
The InboxDollars App
The InboxDollars app is available on the Google Play store and on Apple devices. It has a ratings of 4.2 and 4.4 of 5 stars, respectively.
The app is convenient for making money with InboxDollars on the go. However, some users report experiencing glitches where the app closes out surveys before they’re done. Others say that they’ve tried to contact customer service with complaints about the app but received no response.
Review of InboxDollars Benefits
InboxDollars is one of the top paid survey sites for a few reasons.
Offers a $5 sign-up bonus. New users earn their first $5 just for creating an account.
Multiple ways to earn. Apart from taking surveys, InboxDollars pays users for reading emails, printing coupons, and completing various other online tasks.
Transparent payout process. Most survey sites track points, which are converted to dollars. The conversion rates for some of these sites can be confusing. InboxDollars keeps it simple by tracking dollars, not points.
User-friendly app. Some survey sites that have been around for as long as InboxDollars only offer a desktop version of their product. With the InboxDollars app, you can complete tasks and earn money during your spare time throughout the day.
Review of InboxDollars Disadvantages
Even with its benefits, InboxDollars isn’t without its downfalls to consider.
High cash-out limit. A $5 sign-up bonus is nice. But users still nee $25 more before they can request a payout. And with each survey paying between $0.50 and $5, that could take some time to reach.
Limited survey opportunities. The surveys you see in your account depend on the information in your demographic profile. This is true for any survey site. As a result, you could end up with lots of surveys to take or only the occasional questionnaire depending on what InboxDollars has available.
You have to log in at least every 10 days. According to the site’s terms and conditions, if a user doesn’t log in or confirm a PaidEmail for 10 days, their account may be marked inactive. If this happens, any payment requests won’t go through. You can easily reactivate your account by logging in and confirming your email. However, if your account remains inactive for 6 months, it’ll be deleted, along with your earnings.
How Much Can You Make with InboxDollars?
Most InboxDollars surveys pay between $0.50 and $5 each and take anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes to complete. Some of their partner offers provide a higher payout but require more time.
For example, you can earn $50 by switching to Liberty Mutual for your car insurance. Depending on your current auto insurance policy, this may be a good idea. But if you don’t analyze the cost against your current policy, you could end up paying more in the long run. So even if you do decide to switch, you have to spend time comparing policies and completing the necessary paperwork to make the change.
Given that most offers are fairly low value, don’t expect to earn a full-time income with InboxDollars. However, depending on the offers you qualify for, you could potentially make $30 or more per month.
InboxDollars Alternatives
If you’re having trouble getting approved for surveys through InboxDollars, consider signing up for one or more of its alternatives.
Branded Surveys
Unlike InboxDollars, which offers multiple ways to earn, the only way to make money with Branded Surveys is through taking surveys. However, their Survey Matching Engine will send you survey opportunities based on the answers to your onboarding questionnaire. That way, you spend less time answering qualifying questions only to discover you don’t meet the criteria.
You’ll earn your first 100 points for creating an account. At 1,000, equal to $10, you’re eligible to redeem them for gift cards to your favorite restaurants, travel sites, or online retailers. If you’d rather have the cash, you can transfer your earnings to PayPal or have them directly deposited into your bank account.
Related: DollarSprout’s Branded Surveys Review
Survey Junkie
One of the original survey sites, Survey Junkie, still remains popular among users. It’s one of the few sites where the only way to make money is by taking surveys, not completing other tasks.
The minimum payout on Survey Junkie is $10, which is significantly less than InboxDollars. This can be more appealing to occasional users who only want to take a few surveys a month.
You can redeem points for e-gift cards or cash through PayPal.
Related: DollarSprout’s Survey Junkie Review
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is one of the most popular survey and side hustle sites. Like InboxDollars, you can make money by taking surveys, watching videos, redeeming coupons, and completing other small activities. Swagbucks also offers a $10 sign-up bonus for new members.
You can cash out your earnings for as little as $1, or 160 Swagbucks (SBs). Your redemption options include PayPal cash or gift cards for popular retailers such as Amazon or iTunes. Redemption amounts vary, so while Amazon gift cards start at $1, you may need a minimum of $5 to cash out for a Target gift card.
You can also earn points easily by using the Swagbutton, which is a browser extension that you click on to find extra coupons or deals.
Related: DollarSprout’s Swagbucks Review
Vindale Research
Unlike InboxDollars, the best way to make money through Vindale Research is to take surveys. Their pay ranges from $1 for a 10-minute pet survey to $10 for a 35-minute baby food survey.
You can also earn money by reading special emails, watching videos, or referring other people to Vindale Research. The minimum payout threshold is higher than InboxDollars. You need to have at least $50 in your account to withdraw funds. This can be frustrating for people who only occasionally do surveys, since they’ll have to wait longer to access their money.
Related: DollarSprout’s Vindale Research Review
InboxDollars Review in Summary: Good for Extra Spending Money
InboxDollars is similar to a lot of survey sites. There are a few different ways to earn money, so if you want to avoid doing surveys, you can.
This is a great side hustle for people who have a lot of downtime, like those with a long subway commute. If you have a job with computer access and not a lot to do, you can take surveys without getting too distracted.
Be mindful of InboxDollars’ rules and regulations so your account doesn’t get suspended. And remember that you have to earn at least $30 before you can cash out.
