Branded Surveys vs Swagbucks

Branded Surveys Vs Swagbucks: Which Is The Best Survey Site?

Branded Surveys vs Swagbucks
Illustration: The Money Manual
Some of the links in this post are from our sponsors, and we might earn a commission if you click on one.

Lots of survey sites are competing for your time. So much so that It can be difficult to decide among so many. At a glance, they all seem similar. They all promise cash or gift cards in exchange for the time you take giving them feedback.

Branded Surveys and Swagbucks are two such survey sites. These two sites are similar in their mission but somewhat different in how they execute. Let’s look further into how each one works.

Table of Contents

At A Glance

Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys Real Reviews

Swagbucks

Swagbucks Real Reviews

How They Compare

Pros And Cons

Bottom Line

FAQs

At A Glance

Our #1 Choice
Rating 3.23*

Branded Surveys
Supported Platforms Web
Age Limit 18 years old, or 13 with parent’s consent.
Ads Yes. Companies who partner with Branded Surveys have their own surveys linked through the site.
Point Conversion 100 points = $1.00
Cash out threshold 500 points or $5.00
Cash out options PayPal or Branded Pay (which links directly to your checking account), gift cards, or donations to charity
Average earnings between $0.10 and $3.00 per survey
Star Rating 4.3 stars out of 5 (TrustPilot)
2.16 stars out of 5 (BBB)
# of Ratings 47,000+ (TrustPilot)
19 BBB
# of Downloads N/A (web-based app)
Supported Platforms Web
Our #1 Choice
Rating 4.2*

Swagbucks
Supported Platforms iOS, Android, PC (web-based)
Age Limit 13
Ads Yes
Point Conversion 100 Swagbucks = $1.00
Cash out threshold 300 Swagbucks or $3.00
Cash out options Gift cards or PayPal
Average earnings Varies depending on geographic location and access to surveys; seems to average several cents a day typically
Star Rating 4.2 stars out of 5 (Google Play)

4.4 stars out of 5 (Apple App Store)

4.3 stars out of 5 (TrustPilot)

3.96 stars out of 5 (BBB)

# of Ratings 82,000+ (Google Play)

60,000+ (Apple App Store)

25,000+ (TrustPilot)

983 (BBB)

# of Downloads 5,000,000+ (Google Play Store)
Supported Platforms iOS, Android, PC (web-based)

What is Branded Surveys?

Branded Surveys’ website partners with major companies and market researchers. The site offers users the opportunity to earn money for providing feedback on goods and services. Branded Surveys compensates its users for their time and effort with cash or gift cards.

How Does Branded Surveys Work?

Using Branded Surveys begins with account registration. Once your account is created, you take a simple 10 question profile survey so that the matching engine can decide what surveys you will be eligible to take.

You are required to complete one profile survey to register your account, but it’s to your benefit to complete more. Profile surveys have varied topics such as health or travel. The more surveys you complete, the easier it will be for the matching engine to find surveys that you will qualify for.

You earn 50 bonus points for creating your account and additional 50 points for finishing the profile survey. 

This equals a $1.00 bonus. A Branded Surveys point converts to one penny.

Once your account is finished being set up, surveys you qualify for become visible in the Survey Spotlight section of the screen. The survey name is listed, as well as the amount of points the survey is worth, the completion time, and how long the survey has been available.

Surveys are closed and removed once they reach the number of participants they need. But if that happens, newer surveys will become available, so don’t worry.

Sometimes you will not qualify for a survey based on the responses you provide. There are occasions where Branded Surveys will give a small amount of points even if you fail to qualify for a survey.

Surveys can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes to complete. Survey point values can range from one point to 250.

Branded Surveys’ Branded Elite program is for users who complete a predetermined number of surveys within a specified time frame. This means you can earn points beyond the normal survey rewards.

Branded Elite has three tiers: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Your tier is determined by the number of points you’ve earned. 0 to 599 places you at the Bronze level. 600-2099 puts you at Silver. 2100 and higher is the Gold level.

Once you’ve earned 500 points, or $5.00, you can convert your points to cash. Branded Surveys offers two options for receiving cash: PayPal and Branded Pay.

PayPal requires the user to have a verified, linked PayPal account. Branded Pay is Branded Surveys version of PayPal. To use this option, you need to link a checking account to the Branded Surveys site.

You can also exchange points for gift cards. Branded Surveys partners with companies like Amazon, Apple, Buffalo Wild Wings, and many other brands. A third option is to convert your points to a charitable donation.

Partner Surveys

Partner surveys are an option that lets you take advantage of offers from companies partnering with Branded Surveys. Partner surveys often give larger point rewards than the standard surveys offered on the Branded Surveys site.

However, Partner surveys often require going from Branded Surveys’ site to a third-party site. Your points will still count even if you take the survey on another site.

Partners offer points for completing third-party surveys, downloading apps, making purchases, or participating in free trials.

Other Earning Options

There are other ways to earn money besides completing surveys. Branded Surveys has a referral program that uses a referral link to refer friends to the site. You get a 50 point bonus for each friend who registers using your link. If those friends reach Silver or Gold status in Branded Elite, you receive more bonuses.

Branded Surveys’ leaderboard shows the top users who complete the most surveys. If you reach the top of it, you can claim a bonus of 1,000 points.

Besides the overall leaders, bonuses are also given to the top users on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Users who complete survey streaks also win point bonuses. 

Users who answer the Daily Poll also earn a 5 point bonus. Daily polls are very short and 5 points doesn’t sound like much, but completing them is easy and they add up over time.

Is Branded Surveys Legit? 

Branded Surveys fulfills its promise to pay users for their time. Registering is easy and point conversion to cash does not require complex calculation. Branded Surveys’ transparency with its point values is a quality that sets it apart. 

The secret to maximizing your points with Branded Surveys is answering questions honestly. Being honest about the answers you give should minimize any disqualifications from surveys.

What Real People Think Of Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys has been reviewed more than 47,000 times on TrustPilot. It currently has a 4.3 out of 5 stars. 65 percent of those reviews are considered Excellent.

Users giving favorable reviews seem satisfied with the number of surveys that are made available. They also praise the quality of the surveys, and the ease with which they can convert their points to cash.

Users who rate the site slightly less favorably say that while they’re happy earning some cash, they feel it isn’t sufficient for the time they commit.

Others express dissatisfaction at finding out they are disqualified for a survey after they have completed more than half of it.

Users who rate the site negatively are unhappy with the amount of time it takes to earn significant amounts of money. Users who feel they are unjustly disqualified also give the site low marks.

What Is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks lets you earn points (called Swag Bucks or “SB”) that can be redeemed for gift cards or cash. SB are earned for completing various activities such as taking surveys, watching videos, playing games, and browsing the web.

Swagbucks was developed by Prodege, LLC. 

How Does Swagbucks Work?

You can sign up for Swagbucks by either filling out a form at Swagbucks.com or by downloading the Swagbucks app. You receive a 5 Swagbuck sign-up bonus for successfully creating an account.

You can use Swagbucks either from your PC on Swagbucks.com or from your Android or Apple mobile device.

Once you have logged on for the first time, the next step is to complete a quick profile quiz.  This is so Swagbucks can tailor your surveys to your habits and preferences.

After a quick verification process using email or text, you are ready to get started. You receive an additional 5 SB bonus for completing this task. The value of a SB can vary, but on average, a single SB is worth about a penny.

There are several different ways to earn Swagbucks:

  1. Surveys. Surveys are recommended based on the answers from your profile quiz.
  2. Videos. This requires watching short video clips.
  3. Shopping online. Swagbucks partners with lots of brands from clothing retailers to home improvement to groceries. You can shop with the app, website, or the Swagbucks browser extension. Participating brands tell you how many Swagbucks you earn for every dollar spent.
  4. Games. Games (usually downloaded to your mobile device) must be played through the Swagbucks app to earn points.
  5. Web browsing. Swagbucks has a built-in search engine that lets you do web searches for Swagbucks-participating shopping.

The total number of Swag Bucks you have earned is found by looking under the “SB” in the upper right corner of the website. On the mobile app, it can be found in your profile under your username.

To cash out, go to the Settings section and select Redeem SB. You can select the reward you want to redeem from the list given, or you can just redeem your points for cash.

There are three possible Swagbucks rewards:

  1. Cash to PayPal. This requires a verified PayPal account.
  2. Retailer gift cards.
  3. Prepaid Visa Gift cards.

Swagbucks will use a security question to verify your identity before processing your reward. It takes at least 2 business days to process a reward.

Is Swagbucks Legit?

Swagbucks does deliver on what it promises. It has paid over half a million dollars in cash and gift cards since the app was founded in 2008. It has also received overwhelmingly positive reviews on all three of the platforms on which it operates.

What Real Users Think About Swagbucks

Swagbucks has been reviewed more than 60,000 times on the Apple App Store where it maintains a 4.4 out of 5 stars. It has more than 82,000 reviews on the Google Play Store where it has a 4.2 stars rating out of 5.

On Trustpilot, Swagbucks has more than 25,000 reviews with 4.3 stars out of 5 rating.

Users who give Swagbucks favorable ratings are pleased with the money they make and the customer service group’s speed in resolving issues.

Users who were in the middle cited ID verification during the cashout process as slow.

Users who rated Swagbucks negatively were unhappy with being disqualified for surveys after investing considerable time. Authentication issues were also a cause for concern.

How Branded Surveys And Swagbucks Compare

Branded Surveys and Swagbucks are similar in their mission but are very different in how they execute.

First, Branded Surveys operates exclusively from its website with no mobile app.  Swagbucks uses all three platforms giving its users access from their mobile devices.

Swagbucks lets you maximize your earnings by offering multiple activities beyond just surveys. You can also browse the web, play games, watch videos, or shop. Branded Surveys primarily incentivize earning by offering point bonuses for streaks, the Branded Elite program, referrals, and Daily Polls.

Pros And Cons?


Pros

Low cashout threshold

Large number of surveys available

Numerous and frequent bonus opportunities

More than one payout to cash option

100 Bonus points for signing up

Cons

Web only. No app available

Points are only worth $.01

Only earned points are counted toward Branded Elite. Bonus points are not

Swagbucks Pros And Cons 


Pros

Low cash out threshold

Available on the web plus Apple and Android

Other ways to earn besides taking surveys

$10 Sign up bonus

Cons

Swagbucks are only worth $.01

Only one option for converting to cash

Bottom Line: Which Is The Better Survey App, Branded Surveys or Swagbucks?

Branded Surveys keeps its users happy by being easy to use and transparent about the amount of money users can earn. For users who love filling out surveys, they offer enough opportunities for bonuses to keep users engaged. 

Swagbucks offers users alternatives to just constantly filling out surveys. Users have the choice to watch videos, play games, browse the web, or shop. Which platform is best for you is really determined by the online activities you enjoy the most.

FAQs

How much does Branded Surveys pay?

The amounts that Branded Surveys pays for surveys varies. On average, completed surveys will earn a user between 10 and 300 points for 10-20 minutes of time spent. That converts to between $0.10 and $3.00 per survey.

How much does Swagbucks pay?

It varies based on geographic location and survey availability.

Is Branded Surveys safe?

Branded Surveys maintains an Excellent rating on TrustPilot.  

Is Swagbucks safe?

Swagbucks is rated as excellent on TrustPilot, the Google Play Store, and the Apple App Store.  

How do you redeem points on Branded Surveys?

Branded Surveys will notify you when you have enough points for a payout. Clicking the Redeem button will allow you to convert your points to either cash or gift cards.

How much is 1000 points on Branded Surveys?

1,000 points equals $10.00

How much is 1000 Swagbucks worth?

1,000 Swagbucks equals roughly $10.00

Does Branded Survey have an app?

Branded Surveys operates only on its website. However, it can message you about available surveys on your mobile device using text or email notifications.

How soon does Branded Surveys pay with Branded Pay?

Once your redemption has been verified, it usually takes between one to three business days to receive your reward.

How long does Swagbucks take to cashout to PayPal?

Allow 10 business days for a PayPal reward to reach your PayPal account once redeemed.

Branded Surveys Website

surveys.gobranded.com

Swagbucks Websites

www.swagbucks.com


Try Branded Surveys and Swagbucks out for yourself and see how they compare today.

You can read all about other apps like Swagbucks to see if there’s one that’s more up your alley.

Survey sites not your thing? Check out games you can play on your phone for cash instead or check out other apps that pay cash.

*This rating is an average of the available reviews.