If you’re looking for an easy way to modestly boost your income each month, paid surveys can be a legitimate side hustle.
Answering online surveys for money isn’t a new concept. Every year, dozens of new sites pop up that offer to pay users for sharing their opinions. Some are certainly better (and less spammy) than others, so I wanted to find out for myself how Crowdtap compares to the competition.
TL;DR: If you’re ready for a new opportunity to earn additional cash, Crowdtap can make it happen, and it doesn’t require a big commitment from you.
What Is Crowdtap?
Founded in 2009, Crowdtap is an online community that rewards consumers for sharing their views and opinions. They work with well-known brands, including Verizon, Kraft, eBay, and Sony. Crowdtap also works with new brands that are wanting to test out their ideas on the open market — for example, one of the surveys I recently took was on potential taglines for a new tequila brand.
Crowdtap allows users to earn points in multiple ways, similar to other paid online survey sites. The activities include answering survey questions, participating in discussions, and sample testing. For new users, though, the primary focus is on surveys. Once you’ve received points from these tasks, you can redeem the points for gift cards to various stores.
Crowdtap also has a referral program that gives you bonus points for referring friends to sign up.
Try Crowdtap
$0.25 to $0.75
Earnings Per survey.
$0
Sign-Up Bonus No current offering.
DollarSprout Rating Glitchy at times.
Crowdtap pays users for completing online missions such as answering polls and surveys\”>Show Hide more
Pros
- Simple to earn points and redeem gift cards.
- Easy to get free products from reputable brands.
- Flexibility to choose the brands you work with.
Cons
- Can’t redeem rewards until you reach 1,000 points.
- Website can be glitchy at times.
Is Crowdtap Legit?
Crowdtap is a reputable company. Reviews of Crowdtap on Trustpilot put it at an “Average” rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars.[1]
However, it’s important to look at why people are complaining. There are a few common gripes that people have with survey companies, mainly an excessive amount of emails, being disqualified from surveys, and having difficulties with payouts. But if you look through the most recent complaints that people have had about Crowdtap, most of them are due to technical issues on the site. I can attest to that as well; I had a hard time registering on the site and was logged out multiple times as I was taking surveys (see my video review at the top of this article).
In my opinion, the hiccups felt more like authentic glitches than anything nefarious or scammy.
There are also some reviews of Crowdtap on Reddit that complain that the company suspends accounts regularly and that it’s difficult to get them reinstated without contacting customer service multiple times. I haven’t yet experienced this myself, but it’s definitely something to be aware of.
As far as rewards rates go, I found Crowdtap to be in line with what other survey sites are paying. Earning 1,000 points earns you a $5 gift card, and it took me about an hour and a half to reach that threshold.
Related: 20 Best Money-Making Apps to Earn on the Go
How Crowdtap Works
Ideally, it should only take a few minutes to create an account and start earning rewards with Crowdtap. I had issues creating my account and had to wait several minutes to confirm my phone number, but once I got in, I was good to go.
1. Create an account
You can sign up with an email address or a Facebook account. They also ask for your full name, city, state, ZIP Code, gender, and birth date.
After verifying your phone number, you’re sent to the home screen dashboard where you can start to accrue points.
2. Choose your “Mission”
The quickest way to get points is to answer the survey questions on your dashboard. During my Crowdtap test, I earned my first 91 points in less than 5 minutes on the site.
The information in your profile helps determine which opportunities are a good fit for you. Each brand has different requirements, and you may not qualify for every survey. One thing I did appreciate about Crowdtap is that being disqualified from a survey is a quick process; you don’t have to answer dozens of questions only to find out that you don’t qualify and won’t earn points. Usually within just a few questions it was obvious if I was going to qualify or not.
Most of the questions that brands ask are open-ended or multiple-choice. Some are there to make sure you’re paying attention. For example, this question asks for your favorite color but tells you to pick “yellow” as your answer. If you pick anything besides yellow, the site knows you didn’t read the instructions.
Crowdtap’s site is easy to navigate, and it displays your points in the upper-right corner of the screen. As you complete missions, the next one automatically pops up to help you earn points more quickly.
3. Collect your rewards
Once you hit 1,000 points, worth $5, you can exchange your earnings for free gift cards to retailers like Amazon. While users can earn points with the Crowdtap app on their phones, you can only redeem rewards on the website.
Before the company’s relaunch in 2018, Crowdtap automatically redeemed points for a $5 Amazon gift card every time you hit the 1,000-point threshold. Now, users can control when and how they cash out rewards, including saving points to redeem for a higher value payout.
When I hit my 1,000 points, I decided to cash out for an Amazon gift card. The time I decided to redeem my points until the time the gift card was in my inbox was around 10 minutes, which was great. I’ve heard horror stories about other survey sites withholding redemptions and always dragging their feet to pay users, so getting paid this quickly by Crowdtap was very much appreciated.
How to Earn the Most on Crowdtap
How much you earn on Crowdtap depends on several factors. The time you spend completing missions mostly determines how many points you earn. Every mission is worth a different amount of points, so the missions you choose will also impact your progress.
To make the most money on Crowdtap, make sure to:
- Apply for as many missions as possible
- Select missions with high points values
Also, be sure to check back on the site every day for new opportunities. I don’t know this for sure, but my hunch is that Crowdtap limits the number of surveys you can complete in one session to keep your attention and responses “fresh”. Whenever I came back the next day for more surveys, they always had something available.
Crowdtap Alternatives
While Crowdtap is a reasonable platform for taking paid surveys, you may find there is a better fit for you.
Whether you seek more options for earning points or rewards, you’re having account issues with Crowdtap, or have simply run out of surveys, these other sites like Crowdtap can help keep the rewards flowing.
| Platform | Payout Minimum | Several Opportunities to Earn Points | Loyalty Program | Sign Up Bonus | Payouts to Cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crowdtap | $5 | Yes | No | No | No |
| Ipsos iSay | $5 | No | No | No | Yes |
| Branded Surveys | $10 | Yes | Yes | $1 | Yes |
| Survey Junkie | $5 | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Swagbucks | $3 | Yes | No | $10 | Yes |
FAQs
Sometimes answers can be hard to find embedded in a long blog post. Here’s a summary of the questions people most commonly ask about Crowdtap.
Is Crowdtap a scam?
Crowdtap is not a scam. From my own experience, I got exactly what I expected of using Crowdtap with no surprises. Additionally, I have not been added to any spam email lists as far as I can tell, which is definitely a risk that comes with survey sites. Crowdtap only emails me once a day, which is perfect.
Who can join Crowdtap?
Users must be 13 years or older and a resident of the United States to be eligible to earn points on Crowdtap.
How much are Crowdtap points worth?
1,000 points will earn you a $5 gift card, which means that 1 point is equal to half a cent.
Can you earn a good hourly rate with Crowdtap?
No. Taking online surveys isn’t meant to replace your full-time income.
It took me about an hour and a half to earn 1,000 points, which was enough for a $5 gift card. Assuming that is the normal rate for earning points, that comes out to about $3.33 per hour. Not great, but it’s also easy, mindless work that you can do while you are watching TV or sitting on the subway.
You won’t make enough to quit your day job, but you can make enough through paid survey sites to pay for some discretionary expenses. If you have a job with internet access and a lot of downtime, you can use Crowdtap to make a few extra dollars each month.
Depending on the offers you qualify for, you can realistically expect to earn between $0 to $20 per month.
What makes Crowdtap different from other survey sites?
Although Crowdtap has some of the same features as other paid survey sites, there are a few differences. You’ll find similar multiple-choice formats that are commonly used on other survey sites, but Crowdtap will also ask open-ended questions that let you share your opinion in depth.
What also sets Crowdtap apart is the option to test sample products. You get a free sample in the mail and earn points for sharing your opinion after using the product.
What kinds of questions do you get asked on Crowdtap?
Outside of your personal demographic information, Crowdtap uses many questions about your habits to then funnel you into appropriate surveys. For instance, on one survey I was asked about my grocery shopping habits. Once Crowdtap confirmed that I do a lot of grocery shopping for my household, I was launched into a more in-depth survey about different food brands.
Some questions and survey topics I was asked about on Crowdtap:
- What slogan I preferred for a new tequila brand
- What is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Morgan Stanley?
- What brand of mayonnaise do I like?
- What are my motivations for taking good care of my lawn?
- Would I ever buy Theraflu’s new post-cold supplement?
Is it hard to earn and redeem rewards on Crowdtap?
Crowdtap has a streamlined interface that’s easy to use (minus the frustrating glitches that happen from time to time). You can set up a free account fairly easily and you’re eligible to earn points right away. The amount of points you accumulate and redeem is different for everyone.
Your points will add up quickly if you log in frequently to answer surveys, respond to questions, and apply to test products at home.
Some users complain that they were able to earn several hundred points immediately after signing up but that offers slowed down and they weren’t able to earn enough to cash out. This can happen if you don’t fit the profile for Crowdtap’s current offers. I personally did not have this problem, but maybe that just means I was one of the lucky ones.
Ultimately, your experience will depend on the time you spend, the missions you choose, and the offers you qualify for.
Can you get paid cash with Crowdtap?
Crowdtap doesn’t pay you in cash. Instead, the site lets you trade your points in for gift cards. Gift cards can be sent to your email or as a physical card to your mailing address.
Does Crowdtap have a referral program?
According to their website, they do. However, I was not able to find a referral link/code anywhere in my dashboard, so it’s possible that they have paused their referral program for now. Even if it was active, the referral program itself isn’t very incentivizing. The Crowdtap referral program offers 100 points to you and 100 points to your referred friend, but only once they hit their first 1,000 points. Since 1,000 is equivalent to $5, that means that a referral for 100 points is only worth $0.50.
Crowdtap Review In Summary: The Verdict
As long as your expectations are in line with reality, meaning, you are cool with earning $2 to $4 per hour for answering surveys in your spare time, then yes, Crowdtap is worth it.
If you have extra time in your day, Crowdtap can help you make money online in your spare time. The ease of use and variety of gift cards to choose from when redeeming points makes the company stand out from other survey sites. If you have better things to do with your time, though, you should probably do more meaningful activities.
Doing paid online surveys won’t make you rich, but using Crowdtap can help you earn extra income. It also gives you a chance to test out new products and share your opinion about them. If you like getting free stuff, Crowdtap might be worth exploring.
Related: 14 Data Collection Apps That Pay for Your Information
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What Is Crowdtap?
Is Crowdtap Legit?
How Crowdtap Works
How to Earn the Most on Crowdtap
Crowdtap Alternatives
FAQs
Crowdtap Review In Summary: The Verdict
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