In the world of making money online, answering surveys for money is one of the oldest side hustles around.
Survey websites, which are a category of get-paid-to websites, are so popular because making money with them is incredibly simple.
In a nutshell, all you have to do is answer market research type questions to earn free gift cards and PayPal cash…it’s that simple.
So today, I’m examining another popular player in the paid survey space: Zap Surveys.
Zap Surveys states you can earn a whopping $6.25 for completing your first survey, so it certainly seems promising on the surface.
But in my Zap Surveys review, I’m testing if this survey site is actually legit and worth your time. I’m also sharing my personal experiences with the app so you can make the right choice.
Looking for other money-making ideas? Checkout:
- Branded Surveys – Share your opinion and earn cash and gift cards in your spare time!
- Ipsos iSay – Another way to earn gift cards and PayPal cash by answering short surveys.
Table of Contents
What is Zap Surveys?
Zap Surveys is a free survey app that’s available on Android and IOS where you can answer surveys in your spare time to make money. The app is owned by parent company Apps That Pay LLC, a smaller mobile app developer based out of Atlanta, Georgia.
Now, Zap Surveys is very similar to other paid survey sites like Survey Junkie and Pinecone Research. In a nutshell, you download the app, take surveys that are open on your homepage, and you earn a certain amount of money for every survey you take.
Zap Surveys was created in 2017 and has since grown to over 80k ratings on the App Store with a 4.3 star rating!
Plus, according to the website’s homepage, Zap Survey users have earned over $300,000 since the app began.
Considering that other survey sites like Swagbucks have been around for over a decade, it’s nice to see a newer player in this side hustle niche.
The question is, how does Zap Surveys work and can you make real money with this app?
How Does Zap Surveys Work?
I downloaded and used Zap Surveys for an afternoon to test out the app, and the entire process is pretty straightforward.
Zap Surveys works in 4 easy steps:
- Sign Up
- Answer a Bonus Survey
- Answer Other Surveys for Money
- Cash Out
That’s all it takes to make money with Zap Surveys, but let’s dig into the details for each step.
1. Sign Up For Zap Surveys
To sign up for Zap Surveys you need an iPhone that’s IOS 11.0 or later or an Android that’s version 4.4 or higher. If you have a somewhat modern smartphone, you should be able to download the app without issues.
So, for starters, head over to the App Store or Google Play Store and download the Zap Surveys app.
When you open the app, you’re prompted to sign up for an account through email, Apple, or Facebook.
After that, Zap Surveys will ask you if you’d like to turn on location-based surveys. Apparently, location-based surveys pay slightly more than generic surveys.
For example, if you walk into an eligible restaurant, you might receive a survey invitation about your experience at the restaurant and earn rewards for completing it.
Just note: turning on location surveys can dramatically reduce battery life, but you will miss out on certain survey opportunities.
2. Answer a $6.25 Bonus Survey
As mentioned, new Zap Survey users earn a $6.25 bonus for the first survey they complete.
This is undeniably a nice sign up bonus and selling point, but is it true?
Well, once you go through the signup process, a survey is immediately available for you to answer.
This bonus survey pays $6.25 and takes about 4 minutes to complete. You’re basically required to take this survey in order to get through to the Zap Surveys home screen.
I took the survey myself and it lasted about 30 seconds.
Just make sure you actually read the questions! They will try to trick you with questions that don’t make sense or are contradictory to try and see if you’re a bot or not paying attention.
Overall, I think Zap Surveys has a very solid user interface and answering surveys is easy, so it’s quite well done considering it’s a smaller app.
3. Answer Other Surveys for Money
Your main screen on Zap Surveys has a lot to look at, so let’s break it down into sections from top to bottom:
- My Balance (how much money you’ve made so far)
- Daily Cash (earn 1 cent, then 2, then 3, and so on everyday you open the app)
- High Value Surveys
- Best Match Surveys
- Short Surveys
- Survey Partners
- Trending Cash Back Brands
It’s a lot to go through, but the main survey sections are the high value, best match, and short surveys.
You can answer these surveys in your spare time to make extra cash. It’s very simple overall, and surveys also display how much they pay, so you can cherry pick the best offers.
One perk of Zap Surveys is that it guarantees daily surveys, so you’ll never have to go days without making at least a bit of cash.
Keep in mind, these surveys don’t pay too much, so it takes a while to start seeing some real earnings.
4. Cash Out
The bottom menu layout is ordered as follows: Daily, Cash Back, Zap, Cash Out, and More (from left to right). The “Cash Out” section is where you’ll need to go in order to redeem your rewards and see all your payout options.
Zap Survey requires $25 to cash out and pays you with free PayPal money or various free gift cards.
This is the same cash out requirement as sites like InboxDollars, but honestly, it’s very high in the world of paid survey apps.
For example, Swagbucks has rewards starting at $1, and other survey platforms like Survey Junkie let you cash out at just $5.
Similarly, various apps that pay you for playing games like Mistplay have free Amazon gift card rewards that start at $0.50; a much more feasible target than Zap Survey’s $25 requirement.
In any case, an earnings meter at the top of the app tells you how much left you have to go until you reach your $25 threshold.
Note: PayPal is always a cash out option, but gift card rewards vary by region and aren’t always available.
If you’re looking for free gift cards or other rewards, apps like Fetch Rewards are a better choice!
Other Ways To Make Money With Zap Surveys
Answering high value and best match surveys are the two main ways to make money with Zap Surveys.
However, there are a few other ways for you to maximize your earning potential.
1. Complete Cash Back Offers
A recent update to Zap Surveys now lets you make money by shopping through the app.
This is honestly a really awesome update since after you earn your $6.25 bonus, completing shopping offers can help you reach $25 faster.
This idea is similar to cash back reward platforms like Rakuten or shopping browser extensions like Capital One Shopping that let you earn rewards for shopping.
All you have to do is tap on a Zap Survey partner, activate the cash back offer, shop, and earn.
Some examples of Zap Survey cash back offers in my account include:
- Uber Eats: Earn 30% cash back (this is insane!)
- Disney+: Earn $17.50 for signing up for Disney+
- Best Buy: Earn 0.35% cash back
- Sam’s Club: Earn 10.5% cash back
- Walgreens: Earn 5.6% cash back
- CVS: Earn 1% cash back
- Kohl’s: Earn 2% cash back
- Macy’s: Earn 2% cash back
- Instacart: Earn 3% cash back
This is just scratching the surface, and there are dozens of other companies where you can earn rewards.
You should still compare cash back offers on Zap Surveys to other platforms like Rakuten and Honey.
But it’s nice to see that the recent Zap Surveys update is bringing additional ways to earn to the app.
Extra Reading – The Best Reward Apps To Earn Cash Back.
2. Location Rewards
Zap Surveys has brand partnerships with tons of large retailers, restaurants, and shops.
If you walk into one of these places with your location services on, you sometimes receive a notification to take a quick survey and earn a quick bonus.
This is all just for walking into a store like Walmart!
You’ll also earn $0.25 as a bonus payment to use at that specific store when you shop.
This is similar to apps like Shopkick and Premise, so it’s nice that Zap Surveys has some versatility for how you earn cash.
Make sure your location services are turned on along with your notifications in the app. Without it, you can’t receive these perks.
3. Daily Login Streak
If you login to Zap Surveys everyday for 45 days, you earn a $0.75 reward.
You’ll earn $0.01 the first day, then $0.02 the next day, and so on until you hit 45 days. That $0.45 will be turned into $0.75 if you’ve successfully completed the challenge.
The best way to stay on track with your login streak is to turn on app notifications since Zap Surveys will notify you to login and avoid missing your streak.
Granted, this isn’t a massive payout, but it’s something.
4. Use The Zap Surveys Referral Program
If you head over to the “More” tab, you’ll see a big green button that says “refer your friends”. You get $0.45 for every person you refer.
There’s no limit to how many people you can refer which is a nice feature since many survey sites cap you at 5 or 10 referrals.
Every account has a unique referral code, so you can share your code on social media, email, and SMS to invite your friends.
This is a decent referral program in the world of beermoney apps, but it’s not super high-paying.
5. Share Zap Surveys On Social Media
In the “More” tab, you also have the option to share your surveys and experiences on social media.
They used to offer rewards for sharing, but now it serves no purpose unless you truly want to share the love for the survey app.
Hopefully the share-to-earn feature comes back in the future.
6. Challenge Daily Pick’n Win
The Daily Pick’n Win lets you claim a ticket everyday to be entered into a raffle.
The raffle pays out $7.50 (each) to 20 different people who claimed a ticket. This can be a quick way to earn a little extra if you win the prize!
However, I wouldn’t bank on winning consistently or at all since it’s pure luck, so keep this in mind.
How Does Zap Surveys Pay You? – Cash Out Minimum & Rewards Options
In the “Cash Out” tab, you can see all the cash out options available to you.
Here are a few Zap Surveys gift card options:
- Amazon
- Paypal
- Visa
- Starbucks
- Under Armour
- Delta
- Nike
- Best Buy
- Princess Cruises
- Bass Pro Shops
- Audible
The cash out minimum is $25 for all cash out options except for Audible, Bass Pro Shops, Delta, Nike, and Princess Cruises.
Some of these gift cards have a minimum payout of at least $50, with some gift cards reaching the $100 minimum range!
If you ask me, stick with the $25 Paypal option. That way, you can use the cash towards anything you want. And, as mentioned, gift card availability varies and is subject to change.
Extra Reading – Drop App Review – Is This The Best Cash Back App?
Is Zap Surveys Legit?
Yes, Zap Surveys is legit, and there’s payment proof online. It also follows through with its $6.25 sign-up bonus. However, the $25 cash out requirement is very high versus other survey apps. This means it can take a long time to actually cash out with Zap Surveys, and we don’t think the app is worth using for this reason.
Other popular survey platforms like Branded Surveys and Survey Junkie let you cash out at just $5. And you can also explore online jobs that pay you daily, like various freelancing gigs, that are far more lucrative.
So yes, Zap Surveys is a legitimate company. But I think the $6.25 sign up bonus isn’t as good as people think because it takes ages to actually cash out.
How Much Can You Make with Zap Surveys?
This wouldn’t be a real Zap Surveys review without sharing my personal thoughts on this platform. And after I tested out the app for an afternoon, I have to say, the earning potential is really low for this survey app.
The average survey takes around 5-20 minutes to complete and pays around $0.50.
The lower end is around $0.25 while the higher end sits around $1.
If you translate this to an hourly rate, you’re probably looking at $2 to $3 per hour on Zap Surveys.
Plus, even though you might get daily surveys, there’s no guarantee that you’ll actually qualify for them.
The thing is, your demographic plays a big role in deciding whether or not you get more surveys on Zap Surveys.
When you start out, do your best to be honest and take your time with each survey you take. As you progress, surveys will come more often and you’ll qualify for them more easily.
Sure, you can take advantage of the cash back options or the other bonus earnings. However, it’s never going to break the bank.
How Can You Earn More With Zap Surveys?
One trick a lot of people might not realize is that you can slowly earn more with Zap Surveys if you “level up” with different survey partners.
Currently, some of Zap Surveys’ partners include:
- inBrain.ai
- Peanut Labs
- Theorem Reach
When I tried taking several surveys, Zap Surveys redirected me to its partner inBrain.ai.
And, after answering a short inBrain.ai survey for $0.10, I learned that I could level up my inBrain.ai profile by attempting five surveys and starting a survey for two consecutive days.
For leveling up, you earn a $0.40 bonus and access to higher-paying surveys that pay up to $6 according to inBrain.ai.
Now, Zap Surveys is still a low-paying survey site, but if you really like grinding out surveys, you can slowly earn more by leveling up with different partners.
Even so, don’t expect to quit your day job with this app or make a significant amount of money.
If you spend some time on surveys each month, I’d expect anywhere from an extra $5 to $50 per month depending on how much you grind.
Extra Reading – How To Make $5,000 Fast.
Zap Surveys Pros and Cons
If you’re considering giving Zap Surveys a try, hopefully these pros and cons will help you understand the platform a bit better!
Pros:
- Available on Android and iOS devices
- Bonus $6.25 survey for signing up
- Modern user interface
- Provides earnings and time before taking survey
- Tons of cash out options
- Decent cash back rewards section
Cons:
- Cash out minimum of $25
- Takes a long time to earn
- Low earning potential
- Reduces battery life (for location surveys)
- Difficulty contacting customer support
This is a fairly standard list of pros and cons for any survey app…you have lots of ways to earn and the rewards are nice, but the trade-off is a low earning potential.
Other Zap Surveys Reviews
Another way to tell if a survey site is worth your time is to read reviews from other users.
Now, Zap Surveys’ reviews are quite mixed…people either enjoy or hate the app essentially. On TrustPilot, Zap Surveys has a 2.5 out of 5 star rating, and some users claim they were randomly banned and couldn’t cash out:
That’s not the best sign, but to be fair, you can find plenty of positive reviews on different Reddit communities.
For example, this Reddit user enjoys the location-based rewards on Zap Surveys since it’s a fairly passive way to earn:
If we look at other Zap Surveys reviews, it’s a common theme: the app is easy to use and has lots of earning options, but reaching $25 takes a while:
I think it’s clear that Zap Surveys is a legit company that pays users, provided you don’t do something fishy and get your account banned.
But, it’s a very slow earner, so I’d also experiment with other survey platforms like Grindabuck or Prolific that have higher-paying surveys if you like this side hustle.
Extra Reading – The Best Android Apps That Pay You Cash.
The Best Zap Survey Alternatives
If you like the idea of using paid survey sites like Zap Surveys but want some alternatives, you’re in luck.
There are plenty of websites and apps like Zap Surveys. And, many alternatives don’t have such high cash out requirements.
Some of the best apps like Zap Surveys include:
- Branded Surveys: One of my all-time favorite survey websites.
- Rewarded Play: A fun way to play Android games for gift cards.
- Pinecone Research (U.S.): Earn $3 for each survey you complete with this premium survey panel!
- Survey Junkie: Share your opinion and earn PayPal money and free gift cards and cash out at $5.
- Swagbucks: Answer surveys, watch ads, and play games for money with this leading global rewards platform.
- Opinion Outpost: Another way to answer surveys for cash and gift cards, and you cash out at $10!
- Ipsos iSay: A more globally-friendly market research panel with a $5 cash out minimum.
Tom also made a video on some of the best paid survey sites you can use if you’re looking to earn money online as a beginner.
These apps won’t make you thousands of dollars, but if you want to make quick money, they are effective.
Extra Reading – How To Get $25 Right Now.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re still wondering if Zap Surveys is legit, hopefully these FAQs will help you better understand the app…
Does Zap Surveys Actually Pay You?
Yes, Zap Surveys does pay users. There are a few cashout options that can be redeemed straight to your email when you reach the $25 minimum payout.
There’s also payment proof online and users who state they have cashed out despite the $25 minimum requirement.
Is Zap Surveys a Scam?
No, Zap Surveys isn’t a scam. There are over 80,000 ratings on the App Store with 4.3 stars. The app also has over 500,000 downloads and fairly positive app store reviews.
Again, don’t expect a lot of money from this app…a lot of the negative reviews come from users who are unhappy about the payment rate, but this doesn’t make Zap Surveys a scam.
What is Zap Surveys Customer Service Number?
The Zap Surveys customer service number isn’t publicly disclosed. But you can reach Zap Surveys customer service by emailing them at support@zapsurveys.com.
Do I Get Paid For Disqualifications?
A lot of survey websites don’t pay you for disqualifications, which is very frustrating if you’ve spent time answering questions, only to get kicked out mid-survey and get nothing for your efforts.
Zap Surveys pays you a few pennies for disqualifications. This isn’t much, but hey, it’s better than nothing.
Extra Reading – The Best Micro Task Sites To Earn Rewards.
How Long Does Zap Surveys Take To Pay?
Zap Surveys sends most rewards within one business day after you cash out. However, sometimes rewards take a few extra days to process and appear via email or PayPal. If it takes longer than a week or two, you can contact Zap Surveys customer support to ask about its progress.
What Makes Zap Surveys Unique?
The main difference between Zap Surveys and most survey websites is that you get a $6.25 sign up bonus.
Additionally, the cash back offers on this app are pretty solid. Only Swagbucks and MyPoints are comparable GPT websites with such decent offers.
However, Zap Surveys has some of the lower survey rates in the industry, and that’s the blunt truth.
So, take advantage of the $6.25 sign up bonus, but don’t exclusively rely on Zap Surveys to make extra cash by answering surveys.
Again, websites like Prolific pay more per survey on average, so you might as well spend more time there!
Extra Reading – The Best Apps That Pay Real Money Fast.
Final Thoughts
In summary, Zap Surveys is a legit app that pays you to take surveys.
There aren’t really scams associated with this platform and many users have been very satisfied with receiving payments on time.
Here’s what I will say though…
The app simply isn’t worth it for the amount of time spent on taking surveys unless you enjoy this type of side hustle. The earning potential is simply too low if you want to make significant cash.
Personally, I think survey sites like Branded Surveys and Swagbucks are better bets.
Additionally, you’re probably better off using a gig economy app such as DoorDash or apps like TaskRabbit. In about 30 minutes, you could make as much as you’d earn in an entire month with Zap Surveys.
If you really like answering surveys and want to leverage the $6.25 bonus, give Zap Surveys a try. Just don’t expect to significantly change your finances, and be willing to grind to reach that $25!
Hopefully, our Zap Surveys app review helps you decide if this side hustle idea is right for you.
Looking for other ways to make money on the side? Checkout:
Note: Capital One Shopping compensates us when you sign up with the provided links.
Zap Surveys App Review
Name: Zap Surveys
Description: Zap Surveys lets you make money on the side by answering surveys. You can also earn rewards for shopping online, referring friends, and answering location-based survey questions.
Application Category: Survey Apps
Author: Daniel Friedman
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Earning Potential
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Earning Options
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Ease Of Use
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Reward Options
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Cashing Out
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Customer Support
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