YouGov Review – Your Actual Income Potential In YouGov Surveys

Paid survey sites are go-to options for many people to make money online by simply sharing their thoughts and opinions.

YouGov is one of the most trusted paid survey sites today. 

In fact, YouGov surveys and polls are used as a reference by some news networks. 

But solid reputation aside, can you make good money by becoming one of YouGov Panelist? 

That’s what this YouGov review is all about.

Here, we will discuss in detail (1) my firsthand experience on how much can you actually earn with YouGov surveys and (2) what are the common complaints (issues) people have against this platform.

Without any further ado, here’s a brief review summary for you.

YouGov Survey Opportunity Summary

Legitimacy

YouGov has been around since year 2000 and one of its founders is a current Member of the Parliament in the UK. YouGov surveys and polls are considered a legitimate source of information by many people. In fact, some networks site use them as reference for news.

Profitability

It is very hard to earn money as a YouGov panelist. First, you will need to qualify to as many surveys as possible. Each survey usually awards 50-100 points and you need to earn at least 5,000 points to become eligible for rewards. In my experience, the frequency of surveys greatly depends on your demographic and in my case, it was hard to get even a single survey per day.

Cost to Join

It is free to join YouGov but this is not a new thing. Most paid survey sites are free to join so this is nothing out of ordinary.

Nevertheless, this could be a good chance to make a little money on the side with no cost and using only a valid email or a Facebook account.

Overall rating :  2.5 / 5

An important thing to consider before joining YouGov is which country you currently live.

Because other than the fact that YouGov is not available worldwide, the number of surveys you can participate to earn points highly depends on your demographics.

Furthermore, each survey typically rewards 50-100 points only, and you need to accumulate at least 5,000 to redeem any rewards.

I am from Singapore and after the initial surveys, I didn’t get one for more than 24 hours. This means that the 5,000 (equivalent to S$25) points is a far target for me and it could probably take me months to ever make money with this site. If you have no problem with that, then all is well. 

But if you’re really serious on finding another source of income other than simply waiting for surveys and polls, may I suggest that you learn how to make money online using your passion and interest?

Pros

• A legitimate paid survey site with a good reputation. (Learn more)
• You can join for free. (Learn how)
• Earn extra cash while voicing out your opinions. (View income potential)

Cons

• You might not get many surveys. (Find out why)
• Too many negative reviews from users. (See complaints)
• You might not make money ever. (Learn why)

What is YouGov?

YouGov is a British Internet-based market research and opinion poll company founded by Stephan Shakespeare and MP Nadhim Zahawi in May 2000.

The company has a platform (website) where you can become a member (Panelist) for free, participate in surveys and polls, and get paid.

According to YouGov, their surveys cover a wide range of topics such as social attitudes, current events, politics, and many more.

But the one thing that YouGov was proud of is that regardless of your qualification, “you will always get a survey that earns you points.”

Now, this is a big deal because of one of the many complaints other people have against paid survey sites are getting disqualified in surveys and wasting their time for nothing.

YouGov claims that they are meticulous not to send you a survey that you don’t qualify. But “if ever they do,” they promise that you get another survey in its place.

Personally, I love this idea; however, my concern is this:

Sending you a new YouGov survey for disqualifying from another one doesn’t change the fact that you’ve already wasted your time for nothing.

Furthermore, what if you still get disqualified from the new survey that is sent to you?

Nevertheless, kudos to YouGov for trying to address this issue, and I would not want to take away anything from them. 

But isn’t it better to just reward you points whenever you get disqualified from a survey rather than sending you a new one?

Food for thought.

Becoming a YouGov Panelist

It is free to join YouGov and become a Panelist.

The company offers its services in more than 20 countries and territories outside the United Kingdom and the United States.

Including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, and many more.

For you to join YouGov, you’ll have to go to the company website, select a site that corresponds to your current location, and complete a signup form.

In most countries, the age requirement to join is at least 18 years old, but it is 14+ for people living in the USA and 16+ for the people in the UK.

The basic requirement to register is a valid email address or a Facebook account. 

You will be asked to verify your email account, and the link will take you to your very first YouGov survey.

It is basically a series of questions about where you currently live, your age, your monthly income, and other personal stuff.

Once you complete this step, you will be rewarded with 100 points and you can start completing other surveys available for you. 

You will need 5,000 (equivalent to about S$25) points to redeem rewards.

Getting head start of 100 points is not a bad, I’d say.

Another thing I like about YouGov is its strict Privacy Policy. The company promises to protect your anonymity in any surveys or polls you participate in.

And who doesn’t hate spam emails? Well, YouGov assures that the email you provided the company won’t be sold or rented to third parties.

How does YouGov Survey Work? – My Personal Experience

After the initial profile survey that rewarded 100 points, I immediately got another one that’s worth 50 points.

The survey is about health and wellness, and the questions are pretty straightforward. I completed the survey within the next 5 minutes and poof, 50 more points for me.

But after my second survey, it dawned to me that despite its “awesome” reputation, YouGov still hadn’t found a way to address the most prominent issue paid survey sites have – Survey consistency.

Twenty-four hours passed after my last survey and I still didn’t get another one. I’m stuck at 150 points.

Now here’s the thing.

If you become a YouGov Panelist, your income potential will significantly depend on how many surveys you can complete.

Unfortunately, the frequency of surveys you get will depend on your demographics more than anything else.

I’ve seen many YouGov reviews by Panelist coming from the UK and US that claims they have no problem with survey frequency.

So it appears that I have to sit and wait longer before I can hope to redeem any rewards compared to them.

Nevertheless, the same people have more serious complaints against YouGov, which we will discuss below.

Worse, compared to similar platforms, you can only make money with YouGov though surveys and nothing else.

Although there is one more way you can boost your points.

Refer a Friend

You can rack up your points faster by inviting your friends and other people to join the platform and participate in surveys too!

Every time someone joins YouGov using your referral link, you will get a chance to earn a one-time 200 points.

To earn this reward, the person must complete at least 6 YouGov surveys, including the initial profile survey.

There is no limit on how many people you can earn this reward from.

So say you get 10 people to join YouGov and they all complete 6 surveys each, you will receive an additional 2,000 points.

How will you get paid with YouGov?

One of the concerns I have against YouGov is that you will be required to accumulate at least 5,000 to redeem any rewards.

I frown upon compensation plans like this because you get no incentives from completing each survey whatsoever unless you hit the required points.

Should you decide to quit by the time you already acquired 4,900 points, you won’t get anything for all your troubles.

The fact is, other paid survey sites will pay you in cents to a whole dollar per survey, and some of them will require that you only need to accumulate as low as $10 to cash out.

With YouGov, the best-case scenario is if you get 2 surveys a day that gives 50 points each, you will get 5,000 points in the next 50 days. That’s nearly two months!

And if you take into consideration that I didn’t get a single survey in the last 24 hours, that 5,000 points could take a little longer than 50 days.

But if you do get 5,000 points, you will have the option to redeem your rewards as,

• Cash via PayPal
• Mobile Credit
• AirAsia BIG Points
• Gift Cards (depends on your country)

Or, you can donate your earnings to UNICEF if you’re feeling a little generous.

What I Like about YouGov?

1. Join for Free

Although this is not a new thing because most paid survey sites are free to join, I would still like to point out that it won’t cost you anything to be a YouGov Panelist.

2. Getting No Points from a Survey is Unlikely

If you get disqualified from a survey, you will be given another survey to compensate for the previous one you didn’t’ qualified.

But as I’ve mentioned above, it doesn’t change the fact that you already wasted your time on one survey without getting anything.

Nevertheless, this is still better compared to similar platforms where there is no form of compensation whenever you got disqualified for a survey.

A glass-half-full kind of thing but hey, this is my opinion and you’re welcome to share yours in the comments section below.

3. You can Earn Extra Cash

Isn’t this the whole point of joining YouGov?

Regardless of its issues, there is no doubt that you can earn a few extra bucks from this site, and many people have shown proof of their earnings in YouGov.

And if you prefer something else rather than cash, you also have the flexibility to choose another reward that you like, such as mobile credits, gift cards, or air flight points.

You just have to accumulate at least 5,000 points, that is.

4. Current Event Updates for your Demographics

YouGov gives you a survey and poll results specific to your location. To be honest, this is something I’ve only seen on YouGov. You could say this is one of their identity.

Of course, you can stay updated with current events via social media, television, or the Internet.

Still, I find it commendable that a paid survey site such as YouGov provides demographic-specific survey results to their users. 

You will see how much your answers influenced the results of the surveys and polls.

5. Strict Privacy Policy

YouGov guarantees that any information you provide them will be confidential. 

Better yet, you also don’t have to worry about getting any spam emails because YouGov will not rent or sell your email information.

What I Don’t Like about YouGov?

1. Tons of Negative YouGov Reviews

During this review, YouGov has a “Poor” rating on Trustpilot and only has an average of ⅗ star rating on SurveyPolice.

I personally know plenty of other legitimate paid survey sites with more outstanding ratings.

2. You might NOT get many surveys

Now, I would like to point out that this issue depends on your demographics. 

For people in the US and the UK, you might think that this doesn’t concern you, but I was surprised to find out that some panelist from these countries are also having the same problems!

And for other members from the other side of the world, say like Singapore, getting a survey every day is very unlikely. (Based on my experience)

Some users even claim that they don’t get surveys in weeks.

3. You Need 5000 (SGD25) points to Redeem Rewards

Should you decide to quit doing YouGov surveys before getting 5,000 points, you won’t get any rewards.

And with the issue of survey frequency highly depending on your demographics, getting that 5,000 points could be harder than you thought.

Furthermore, many users have been complaining that they started getting fewer and fewer surveys as they are nearing cash out.

I don’t know about you, but I can agree with some people thinking YouGov is making it hard for them to get paid.

4. Your Income Potential is Very Low

There’s no doubt that you can make money with YouGov. But just keep in mind that it can never replace your income from a full-time job. 

You can never expect to get a full-time income online from paid survey sites, and that is a fact.

Conclusion – Should You Join YouGov?

As long as you understand that it’s not a way for you to make a life-changing income online, and as long as you are prepared to face the same issues above that many YouGov Panelist has experienced…

Then, I see no reason to stop you into joining this company.

YouGov is a legitimate paid survey site, it is free to join, and it could definitely become a good way for you to make a little money on the side.

If Passive Income Online Interests You…

If what you’re currently looking for is a way to make a full-time income from home rather than just a few bucks, then I recommend that you check out this program instead.

It is the same program that taught me how to earn a full-time income from home even as a complete beginner, and it allowed me to enjoy an early retirement instead of waiting until I’m 60.

Thank you for taking the time to read this YouGov review.

I do hope that you’ve found the answers you’ve been looking for. If you find this review useful, kindly share it with others so they too can benefit from this information.

Until here and whichever path you take towards your financial goals, I wish you all the success in the future.

Your friend,

Jack