How We Rate Survey Sites
Our ratings are editorial judgements against fixed criteria — not a measurement of how much a platform pays us.
What a rating is and is not
A rating is our assessment of how a platform performs against the criteria below, based on the evidence available to us at the time of writing. It is not a prediction of what you will earn, and it is not a guarantee that the platform will behave the same way for your country, device or demographic profile.
| Criterion | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Payout reliability | 25% | Documented payment methods, minimum thresholds, processing times and the platform's public track record of paying members. |
| Earning potential in practice | 20% | Reward rates against realistic completion times and screen-out frequency — not the headline rate on the highest-paying study. |
| Transparency | 20% | Are terms, point values, expiry rules and disqualification policies findable and stated plainly before you sign up? |
| Usability and accessibility | 15% | Sign-up friction, mobile experience, dashboard clarity and how easy cashing out is. |
| Support and dispute handling | 10% | Documented support channels and how account or payment disputes are resolved. |
| Privacy and data handling | 10% | What personal data is collected, who it is shared with, and whether the privacy policy is specific rather than boilerplate. |
Evidence standards
- Tested: a team member created an account, completed surveys and attempted a withdrawal. The review records the date, country and device.
- Documented: the claim comes from the provider's own published terms or help centre, cited on the page.
- Unverified: we could not confirm it. The field stays blank and is labelled — we do not fill gaps with plausible numbers.
What does not affect a score
- Commission rates or whether an affiliate relationship exists at all.
- Advertising spend, sponsorship or PR outreach.
- Requests from a platform to change a conclusion.
Re-review and demotion
Platforms are re-checked when their terms change materially, when reader reports suggest a payout problem, or on our routine update cycle. A platform can be downgraded or removed entirely, including one we earn from.
See also our editorial policy and affiliate disclosure.