Is YouGov Legit: My Honest Review
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If you’re looking to make money by taking surveys with YouGov, there are some things you need to know first.
In this YouGov review, I will give you a detailed look at the company and help answer whether it’s a scam or a legitimate way to make extra cash.
I’ll give you the information you need in order to decide if it’s worth checking out.
Overall Rating
Summary
YouGov is a legit way to earn extra cash in your spare time. It’s straightforward, awarding you points for taking polls and surveys.
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Ease of use
4
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Options
4
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Payout
3.5
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Reputation
3.5
Pros
- Can earn points quickly
- Many opportunities to earn
- Redeem for cash or gift cards
Cons
- High points payout
- Takes commitment to earn
Table of Contents
What is YouGov?
YouGov is a global online community that connects millions of people with political, cultural, and commercial organizations. It allows people to express their opinions about brands, current events, social attitudes, behaviors, and more.
The site offers users the option to sign up and take polls and surveys in exchange for compensation. YouGov surveys can vary in length, but most surveys cap out at 20 minutes. This survey site takes privacy seriously and implements steps to protect users’ personal information.
At its core, YouGov is a public opinion and data company headquartered in London. It uses data and analytics to support marketing initiatives for media agencies, brands, and other media-focused clients.
YouGov uses surveys and leading-edge analytics gathered from a proprietary global panel of 8 million people across more than 40 markets.
How to Sign Up for YouGov
If you’d like to sign up for YouGov, you must be at least 16 if you live in the United States. You can only join if your birthday falls between 1922 and 2008 and you live in one of the other countries where YouGov operates.
The survey site operates in the United Kingdom, North America, Mainland Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific.
The registration process on the YouGov website includes:
- Selecting your country of origin
- Entering your birth year, gender, and ZIP code
- Confirming your email
- Creating a basic profile
Then you can:
- Get started taking surveys and earning points
- Redeem points for gift cards or cash
You need a valid email address to register for a YouGov account. Then, you’ll be required to confirm the code sent to your email address.
Once you complete the signup process, fill out your profile to start taking polls and YouGov surveys.
How YouGov Works
Once you start taking polls and surveys, you can earn points. You even get points just for signing up.
As soon as you join and complete the first survey, essentially a welcome survey, you will earn 500 bonus points and start building your points stash from there. This first survey consists of basic registration information.
Most YouGov surveys are quick and take about five to seven minutes to complete. Many have 20 to 30 brief questions, but the longest surveys should take 20 minutes to complete.
Once a specific poll is complete, it will appear on the front page of the YouGov website. Sometimes, YouGov does not publish survey results because a client has commissioned them as “Confidential.”
Your responses will be kept private and only used as part of a broader statistic, such as “45 percent of survey participants prefer pizza over tacos.”
Paid survey responses will not be linked to you or reveal any identifying information. Check out YouGov’s privacy policy for more details.
Surveys and Rewards
YouGov pre-qualifies users before sending out surveys. After you sign up, you will start receiving emails with paid surveys that match your profile.
How often you receive new survey emails and how many surveys are offered depend on your location, profile, etc.
Click on the link to a paid survey that interests you to find out how many points it pays and how long it is. Usually, longer surveys pay out more points.
Once you complete a paid survey, you should receive the points.
Your points can be redeemed for rewards, including gift cards and cash, paid via direct deposit or PayPal, depending on your country of residence.
If you redeem your points for a gift card, you can choose from major brands such as Amazon, Target, and Best Buy. Point equivalencies depend on the way you choose to redeem them.
To check how many points you have accumulated, go to the Activity page of your YouGov account.
Referrals May Earn You More Points
In some countries, YouGov allows users to invite friends to join the platform and earn a reward. If the option is available, you will see a link on the home page or your profile. This is the link you can share with others.
To earn referral rewards, your friends must first join YouGov and start using the site. Rewards are paid once the person you referred meets specific criteria, such as taking a set number of paid surveys.
To receive the referral reward, you can only invite friends who live in the same country as you.
How YouGov Pays Users
YouGov pays participants in points, which can later be redeemed for rewards.
Depending on your country of residence, you can redeem the points for gift cards, cash via a bank transfer, or even products. To redeem the points for cash, choose PayPal as the payout method.
Gift card options include prominent brands such as Target, Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, and more. YouGov says new reward options are added frequently based on user feedback.
Redemption rates for points will vary. For example, if you collect 55,000 points, you can redeem them for $50 in cash via bank transfer.
How Much Time Does It Take to Make Money on YouGov?
How much you make depends on how many surveys and polls you take. Longer surveys earn more points. It also depends on how many new survey opportunities are available per week.
The longest survey is about 20 minutes, but most are much shorter. You get to decide if this side gig is worth your time.
The minimum payout for a cash transfer to your bank account is 55,000 points, which is equivalent to $50 in the U.S. Other locations may only require you to accumulate 5,000 points to cash out.
If you want to redeem your earnings for a gift card, the minimum payout threshold differs but appears to start at 25,000 points. Point equivalencies vary depending on where you live.
Is YouGov Legit?
Yes, YouGov is legit. YouGov is an established marketing research company.
The platform has more than 20 million registered panelists. It operates in the UK, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, India, and the Asia Pacific.
This site is a resource for companies, brands, and political organizations seeking specific industry insights. YouGov uses polls and surveys to gather data and offer it to marketing and research companies.
The millions who participate in surveys worldwide may give you peace of mind about the legitimacy of YouGov. It’s a legit way to earn some extra cash.
You may need time to build enough points to cash out, but the polls and surveys are quick and simple. It’s a side hustle you could do while watching Netflix or during breaks.
YouGov Pros and Cons
YouGov is one of many survey sites that pay you for your opinion. Compare these pros and cons with other survey sites before signing up:
Pros
- Earn points quickly, starting with the signup
- Many opportunities to get points
- Redeem rewards for cash or gift cards
Cons
- Need 5,000 points to cash in a reward
- It takes commitment to earn a lot of money
YouGov Reviews
See what others have to say about YouGov. Keep in mind that people tend to write reviews based on emotions and whether they are happy or unhappy about a product or a service.
| Website | Rating | Number of Reviews |
| Apple App Store | 4.6 out of 5 | 4,800 |
| Google Play | 4.6 out of 5 | 107,000 |
| Trustpilot | 4.6 out of 5 | 72,000 |
Here are a few user reviews (both positive and negative) to help you decide if YouGov is a good choice for you.
“It is a really good and interesting survey website. The points threshold is high, but you should get there every 6 months or so, and it is worth it for the amount you get, and some pay very quickly for it.” – Claire
“The surveys are always interesting with easy options. They always pay out on time once you have filled in the required number of surveys. The only thing I see as a problem is that there could be more of them!” – Allie C.
“This site was somewhat legit. About 2 months ago, they honored Amazon gift card redemptions, but now they have totally become a scam. I have waited a month and have contacted customer support numerous times and have not received my 15-dollar Amazon gift card, yet they still send surveys to me. No thanks, this is a scam.” – Jeffery S.
“Don’t bother with this company – it would take you over 16 hours of non-stop filling in insane questionnaires for £50 if you haven’t died of boredom by them.”- Zach B.
YouGov Alternatives
If you want to compare YouGov with alternative survey sites, below are a few options to get you started. This way, you can figure out what is worth your time and what isn’t.
Survey Junkie
Like YouGov, Survey Junkie is another well-known market research company. It’s a popular online survey site that lets you earn extra cash on the side. In addition to surveys, you can sign up for third-party panels.
You can earn points by taking surveys and participating in focus groups. You need to accumulate at least 500 points to redeem earnings.
Complete four or more surveys daily and earn as much as $130 monthly. They have over 20,000,000 members and have paid out over $76 million to date.
Trustpilot Score: 4.0 out of 5
Learn More: Survey Junkie Review
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is another popular option for making money on the side.
Members earn points called Swagbucks for completing surveys and performing various other tasks, such as watching videos, searching the internet, taking polls, and more.
The minimum payout threshold is 1,000 Swagbucks, equivalent to $10. The Swagbucks you earn can be redeemed for gift cards at popular retailers such as Target and Amazon.
You also have the option to redeem your Swagbucks for cash via PayPal.
Trustpilot: 4.0 out of 5
Learn More: Swagbucks Review
InboxDollars
InboxDollars is another side hustle option that pays you to take surveys. It’s one of the most popular survey sites on the web.
This platform also offers other ways to earn money, such as testing products, redeeming grocery coupons, shopping online, playing games, and so on.
The minimum payout threshold for InboxDollars is higher than that of other sites, at $30.
You can redeem your earnings for a gift card to a retailer such as Starbucks or get paid out via PayPal.
Trustpilot: 4.1 out of 5
Learn More: InboxDollars Review
Summary
If you’re looking for a survey site to make extra cash, try YouGov. It’s one option to make a side income in your spare time.
However, don’t expect to replace your income with YouGov since reaching the payout threshold will take a while.
You can take surveys and earn points for a few minutes of your time. You can redeem the points for cash or gift cards, which can be one strategy for paying for holiday gift shopping.
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