Making Money Using Toluna?

Hey guys, gals, and nonbinary pals!

Have you ever looked up different blog posts about "How to Make Money This Week" or "37 Ways to Make Money Online"? Well, I have. Mostly because of what's going on with PJ and I financially. And because of that, I've been trying out different websites and apps, like my post on Gigwalk last week.

So today, I'm going to post my review on Toluna.

What is Toluna?

Toluna is basically a website that pays you to take surveys and test products (if you're chosen). You sign up and they ask you basic questions about yourself and there ya go!

How do you get paid?

Well, that's the iffy thing. Toluna is one of those points-based survey websites. This means that for every survey you take, you get a certain amount of points. Points range from 30pts per survey to 3,000pts for survey. Once you've accummulated enough points, you can trade them out for a gift card (unless you feel like gambling). Here, I'll show you the rewards part of the site:

You can take a couple of surveys just to maybe win a chocolate bunny this month!

If you notice, the REWARDS CENTER is broken up into REWARDS (gift cards), SWEEPSTAKES (gambling), and GIFTIES (more gambling). The REWARDS CENTER isn't too bad; at least you know you're going to get what you clicked on if you have enough points. But you see that tiny blue text next to the gift cards? It says you need 30,000-150,000 points to redeem. Which means that you need to complete 10-1,000+ surveys (granted you qualify for them) just to get a gift card. And the 30,000 point gift cards only redeem to $10 gift cards to places like The Cheesecake Factory, Google Play, Starbucks, and Panera Bread. 

The GIFTIES part of the rewards is a little more unique. Basically, you can choose a "giftie" to give to yourself or someone else, using your points to buy the fake gift. If you somehow win the Wheel of Chance, you can get a real version of that "giftie". Possible "gifties" include Holiday themed ones (like chocolate bunnies and candy during Easter), Children (board games, a couple of electronics), and other categories. Each "giftie" costs their own amounts of points, so you can spend 500 points on a camcorder that you most likely won't get (just like gambling!). 

What are the Surveys like?

The Survey Center on Toluna

There are a few profile surveys that basically make up the bulk of your first few points. You can also select other surveys (as pictured) or take the surveys that Toluna sends you in your email. Each survey varies in time, but the profile surveys take about 10min to complete each and most other surveys take around 20min per survey. Not too bad, but also not too good considering you'd need to get 30,000 points just to get a crappy $10 gift card. Okay, maybe not entirely crappy. It depends on what you like and want and how your finances are. But for my case, those $10 gift cards were a little depressing, especially considering how much time it takes to get those 30,000 points.

Didn't you mention you can test products?

Yes, observant reader. I did. 

No, dear reader, I'm not going to give out my address. That'd be irresponsible.

Toluna allows you to test certain products (mostly makeup related) provided you qualify and they still have enough samples to send out. Unfortunately, I was not able to test their products, but if anyone has, feel free to let us know in the comments section as to how that process works and how much they paid you for it. 

So are they legit?

That, dear reader, is unknown to me. I'd like to say, "yeah, totally legit. Go for it if you want". But honestly, I'm not sure. I spent about a week trying out this site, taking surveys, and then blasting through all my acquired points to try to get something out of it. Some people apparently win the "gifties", but I had no such luck and I'm sure most people would agree. I made it up to 4,600 points before I realized that I should spend my time better and work at actually making enough money that it counts. I did the math, and according to my calculations they pay you ~$3 per hour (I think?) to take surveys. And even then, you can't really cash out. You just have to trade points for gift cards or "prizes". TBH, the only redeemable thing about the "gifties" section is that you may be lucky enough to win a big ticket prize (like a camcorder or iPad Mini) that you can then sell on Ebay or Amazon. But that's about the only thing I think would be worth it. And to get those things? You'd have to take lots of surveys and spin the Wheel of Chance several times over just to get it. 

So that's my review of Toluna. If there are any questions or if you've tried out Toluna, message me in the comments. I'm sure other readers would like to read about your experiences too. 

'Til then, I hope you have a great rest of your Savings Sunday.

The author of this article is in no way affiliated with Toluna or any of its associates. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and not influenced by anything other than their experiences with Toluna.