NOTE: I signed up with Toluna and they deactivated my account almost immediately, stating that my profile doesn’t match some database or whatever verbiage they used. Out of the 50+ survey panels I’m part of, this is the first I have heard of/seen such as thing. This is a huge red flag for me and can only cause headaches in the future. Proceed at your own risk.
Owned and operated by the powerhouse, Toluna Group, Toluna, to date, has millions of members, making it quite possibly one of the most well-known survey taking opportunities out there.
Much like the many research companies I have already reviewed, I would say that Toluna is up there as being the biggest brand known worldwide.
And seeing I haven’t done a review for them just yet, I figured it’s time to let you know what the company is about and what I personally think of the service. As with all of my reviews, I will show you step by step as to how the company works as well as what others think about so that you can make your own informed decision. While I do make an affiliate commission from some of the companies I mention, this will never influence the way I promote something, I promise.
What is Toluna?
Toluna Influencers is known as a worldwide survey community that focuses just on surveys. You won’t find silly offers or video watch like you would on a lot of those low-paying survey websites out there. As most of your money is found in surveys, this is already a promising sign.
By participating on the panel and completing surveys, Toluna will reward you with points, in which you can then cash out for a variety of rewards, including gift cards, cash and so much more. You will find something of value, and I promise you that I will get into the reward options later on in this review as well as how much your points are actually worth.
What’s known as an “influencer,” it will be your job to help transform the products and services that matter to you, simply by answering questions via a survey, most of which never last longer than 15 to 20 minutes. The company promises that your opinion will have a direct impact on the companies and how they market and distribute their new products.
To date, the company has offices in more than 24 countries, more than 20+ million members and has partnered with well-known brands, including CBS, Amazon, Coca Cola and so many more.
Is Toluna Legit?
Yes, it’s a reputable company, and yes, they will pay you once it comes time.
All in all, the company is 100% legit and is completely safe to join, but just because it’s reputable, is it worth your time?
Let’s find out…
Signing Up
To sign up with Toluna, you simply click on the “sign up” button on the company’s main page and provide them with some basic information, most of which are commonly asked by most survey companies. This includes your first name, address, etc.
When I signed up, for instance, I was asked nine questions — my name, birthdate, gender, email, the country I live in, zip code and was finally asked to create a password. While I could add my phone number, this was 100% optional. If you did, you’re just giving Toluna permission to text you any time a survey opportunity were to arise.
Once you completed this registration process, which took less than 60 seconds, you were asked to verify your email so that you could get started.
Joining is 100% free and is open residents worldwide who are older than 13+. Upon joining, you will get 500 free bonus points.
Signing up only takes a few minutes.
Your Dashboard
After you complete your registration and confirm your e-mail, you can then immediately access your dashboard, which will look something like this on your desktop:
The mobile version is slightly similar, only that the menu is a little bit more user-friendly.
All in all, the dashboard is very simple to use as the surveys you can complete are right there on the front page. On the sidebar, you can access your rewards, look at your points balance and see if there are any profile surveys to complete.
Complete the Profile Surveys at First
Upon joining, you will first be asked to complete the “profile surveys” so that Toluna can get to know you better. Almost every survey/research company will ask this and it’s so important that you complete these surveys so that you can be matched with more opportunities in the future.
The more profile surveys you can complete, the more points you can earn since you’re rewarded for each one (100 points each) and more money you can make in the future. Basically, with these surveys, you are just letting Toluna know more about you so that they can actually match you with surveys they think you will qualify for.
When I logged in, for instance, I could complete more than 12 surveys, most of which focused on my travel habits, health, finance, and my family. They may continue to add more in the future, so do keep your eyes peeled.
For each profile survey, be prepared to spend about five minutes on each. Trust me, it’s not long and is an easy 1,200 points in total.
While filling out the profile surveys are optional, again, I do recommend you fill out as many as possible to ensure that you’re receiving as many opportunities as possible.
Surveys
After you fill out your profile surveys or even decide to skip them, you can start to complete the higher paying surveys, either via your main dashboard screen or if you choose to do so, you can click on the “start survey” button in the corner of your screen to start a new survey.
When I first joined and didn’t even complete a profile screener survey yet, I was able to at least try to complete 10+ surveys. They make it easy, so just scroll down on your main screen and you should see something like this
Like most research companies, just because the survey option is there, it doesn’t mean you will qualify. For almost every survey you take, you will first be asked a few screener questions and if you match what the company wants, then you can proceed to take your survey for points.
So, if the company wants a 25-year-old female and you’re a 35-year-old male, then you’re going to get the boot. It’s nothing against you, it’s just that the company has someone in mind. Plan on getting disqualified for more than half of the surveys you click on.
Next to each survey, you should see the topic, the number of points you will earn as well as how long it will take. It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it, but ideally, it’s best to tackle surveys that pay the most for the least amount of time invested. Some are quick surveys, usually taking no more than a few minutes to complete, whereas your higher paying surveys can take up to 30 minutes to complete.
How many surveys should I expect?
At least from my personal research, you should expect multiple surveys a day, but this will greatly depend on your demographic profile, much like any other research company. Playing around, I qualified for about 25-30% of those I clicked on. This seems to be the industry average.
From my research online, others stated they could keep quite busy, so it’s best to make it a habit to log in daily to look at your dashboard and/or keep your eyes peeled on your email inbox.
How much are the surveys worth?
Survey values can greatly vary depending on the length, complexity, and the company offering it. From playing around, surveys could be worth anywhere from as little as a few points to more than 50,000 points. It really does vary, but high paying surveys are possible.
Earning Additional Points
Aside from your traditional survey opportunities, Toluna will also reward you in other ways, most of which I cover here. These opportunities won’t pay out much but can make for an okay way to increase your balance.
Here are the additional ways:
Mini Polls
If you were to create a “mini poll,” which simply consists of a yes/no answer, you can earn up to 100 points.
Battles
In a “battle,” you will write about why you like one particular item over the next.
Thumb it
Pick out a topic and then see if people give your idea a thumbs up or thumbs down.
Refer a Friend
Like many survey research companies, you can earn 500 points after your friend completes their registration.
Your Rewards
First, before you get excited about your earnings, let’s dive in and actually figure out how much your points are worth.
A lot of research companies use a point system and that’s fine, but the thing that’s kind of annoying with Toluna is that they don’t use the one point equals one cent approach. Instead, you really have to think about what you’re earning when taking a survey.
For example, a $10 gift card will set you back 30,000 points whereas a $50 Target gift card will cost you 150,000 points. Confusing, eh?
In the end, the more you cash out for, the more your points are essentially worth, but to budget, every 3,000 points are worth about $1 each. Not much. To put it in perspective, your hourly rate is around $1 to $3+ per hour once you factor in your time.
Reward Options
Toluna offers quite a few reward options, including some of the more popular options such as PayPal, Amazon and even Walmart.
Aside from these popular options, you could also choose from the following:
- Petco
- Starbucks
- Overstock
- Sears
- Gap
- Cheesecake Factory
- Panera Bread
- Redbox
- Xbox
- Best Buy
- CVS
- Sephora
- Papa John’s
- Fandango
- Gamestop
- Lowe’s
- Dell
- Yankee Candle
- TJ Maxx
- Lowe’s
Almost all redemptions start at 30,000 points and increase from there, but do keep in mind that PayPal, which is only available in $30 increments, start at 95,000 points. As mentioned, the longer you wait to cash out, the more your points can be worth.
As for redeeming, it can take up to eight weeks to receive your rewards, but this seems to be on the higher end as most members report it takes only a few weeks. This is quite long in comparison to other competitors but let it be known that they do pay out.
NOTE: These rewards are subject to change and can vary from country to country.
Pros and Cons From Around the Web
Of course, it’s not always about me, so in this section, as with all of my reviews, I always make sure I include the pros and cons from others around the web.
Here’s what I found out…
The Pros
- lots of survey opportunities
- fast payout (less than 2 weeks in some cases)
- great support
- free to join
- ability to set up text/email notifications
- large selection of rewards
- reputable company with strong background
- easy to use website
The Cons
- hard to qualify (this can be said about any survey site, though)
- technical error (I actually saw a few while reviewing)
- very low payout on most surveys
- time extensive to earn points
- many reports of people being blocked
- very poor reviews from multiple review sites
- you need at least $30 to cash out via PayPal (one of the highest in the industry)
Final Thoughts
After using Toluna for a while, I did like them kind of. They offered a ton of survey opportunities and it seemed as if there was always something available. Sure, while some surveys weren’t worth my time, this could be said about any research company I review.
The only setback was the points system, the earnings and the glitches I encouraged.
Shortly after creating an account, for example, I could no longer log in and had to contact support in order to get back. This was within minutes of joining.
As for the points system, I just hate how I have to do weird math in my head to actually figure out what I’m earning. Just make it as one point equals a penny.
6/10In the end, I’m going to give Toluna a 6 out of 10. They are worth your time in some cases and at least worth joining simply due to their credibility and the number of surveys you can receive. I just don’t have the time to weed out the low-paying surveys.If you do join, just make sure that you complete only the surveys that are worth your time. Just do the math to see what makes sense.
Just remember. If you do decide to sign up, be sure to fill out the many profile surveys to ensure that you get as many survey opportunities as possible. Then, check in daily to see what’s worth your time.
As long as you consider Toluna as a way to make a few dollars a month and not get rich, then I suppose it can work. For me, I’m not adding it to my go-tos as I don’t see the value, but it could be for you. I just don’t know what you’re looking for.
Now, it’s your turn to sound off.
If you have joined, let me know about it in the comments below or if you’re on the fence, leave a comment with any questions/concerns you may have.
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Toluna suddenly stopped me from gaining access to my account. I was just on the verge of collecting my £35 paypal cash out. I contacted them and they said that I could go to log in and select ‘forgot my password’ option. (I knew my password btw). They said that if I did that I would be sent a link whereby I could get a new password and regain entry into my account. I did as they suggested and have had no password reset link sent to me. It’s not in my spam/junk folder either. I have sent them numerous emails to ask if they can look into it but they haven’t replied.
I personally wouldn’t trust them with a 10 foot greasy barge pole.