Man using phone with Google Opinion Rewards App

How much money am I making from Google Surveys?

Google Surveys, or Google Opinion Rewards as it’s more accurately known (once installed, it just shows as ‘Rewards’ on your phone), is an app that provides you with occasional short surveys and rewards you with Google Play store credit. It was originally only available on Android devices, but is now available in both the Google Play store and the Apple App Store.

As Google say:

Complete short surveys while standing in line, or waiting for a subway. Get rewarded with Google Play or PayPal credit for each one you complete. Topics include everything from opinion polls, to hotel reviews, to merchant satisfaction surveys. We’ll notify you when a survey is waiting.

I’ve been using the app since November 2019, almost five and a half years at time of writing, so thought I’d share how much I’ve made along with some tips on gaining more surveys.

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My Google Opinion Rewards earnings in 5 years

In five years and four months of use, I’ve made NZ $281.85 in Google Play store credit (US $161, UK £128, AU $256)

749 surveys, averaging 11.7 per month (possibly increasing, I had 17 last month)
Averaging $0.38 (NZ) per survey
Averaging $4.40 per month

It’s not a huge amount per survey, but the surveys generally take less than 10 seconds to complete and require no typing, just multiple choice.

What can you spend store credit on?

Mostly I’ve used the Google Play store credit for movie purchases and hiring, but the list includes:

Buying or renting movies via Google TV (I play these by Chromecast)
Buying books and audiobooks for reading in Google Play Books
Paying for apps and games in the Google Play store

And can you transfer credit earned in Google Opinion Rewards to your bank account? Sadly, the answer is no. You also can’t transfer the credit to others, but if you have a family setup within your Google account then purchases you make can be used by other family members.

Having said that, this is based on my own experience using the app on a Samsung device in New Zealand. Google’s own summary of the app mentions that rewards can be in the form of PayPal credit, which gives you a lot more options than just Play credit, but I don’t seem to have that option available to me. It’s possible that the PayPal option is only in the US or only on Google Pixel phones which Google may have more access to or control over. In fact I see PayPal say this: “You can add your PayPal account to Google Pay to pay for your mobile purchases in-store (Germany and US only) or online,” so it’s likely this is related.

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What are the surveys about?

I’ve had a few variations of surveys over the years, with the vast majority being about stores that I’ve visited within the past few days. This is usually in the form of a question showing five different locations, asking if I’ve visited any recently. The next question is how I interacted with the store (including an option for being there but not actually entering the store), when I visited (it’s always the most recent date on the list) followed by whether I made a payment during my visit. In the months following COVID-19, that also included a question as to whether I had to queue and if there were other restrictions in place.

Over the years, surveys have been in the form of the following, ranked with the most common at the top:

Which of these stores have you visited recently and how did you engage with them?
Did you watch this video recently, was it entertaining/useful/etc., and was it a worthwhile use of your time?
If we suggested this app, would it be relevant to you?
Have you seen this ad recently and was it relevant?

As mentioned, the reward for completing the survey is usually in the $0.30s, but if I haven’t visited any of the stores in the top survey above, it’s usually a token $0.13 or so.

How can I get more Google surveys?

Over 5.5 years I’ve received an average of 11.5 surveys a month, but this has increased with 17 surveys in February 2025 compared to just three in February 2020.

To ensure you’re best placed to receive as many reviews as possible, you can check within the Google Opinion Rewards app for ‘Survey Eligibility.’ This is a setting found within the app’s menu. These are:

Allow notifications
Add age to Google Account
Add payment account
Receive location-based tasks
Add gender to Google Account
Add language preferences
Enable Web & App Activity

You can tap on each to find out more about what they mean and how to gain the green tick.

Other considerations would be:

1. Have a trusted Google account

At first, it’s likely that you’ll receive a lower number of surveys and it’s my belief that Google will test you from time to time to check your honesty and accuracy. An example of this could be showing you a list of locations that Google knows you haven’t been to. You may be tempted to choose one and answer the questions just so you get a higher reward, but this would be a black flag against your profile and you may find yourself without any future surveys. Also, answering each question in just milliseconds may also show that you’re not providing considered and honest answers. After all, Google is paying you for your information.

Google may also look at your use in other Google apps to label you as someone who should receive more surveys. For example, if you’re a trusted Local Guides user – regularly providing quality reviews, photos, and business updates in Google Maps, then it’s likely they’ll see you as a more trusted and responsible user.

2. Be active in the real world

While some of the surveys are about use of YouTube and Google Play, most of the surveys are about business locations that you’ve visited. I work in a city centre and often take walks through the city. I almost always receive a survey a day later about one of the businesses I’ve visited or walked past.

Note that even if you haven’t entered the business, if you’ve been near it and see it in the list, be sure to select it. The next question has an option for ‘I visited but didn’t enter the store.’

Also be aware that some businesses, like car dealerships, don’t seem to be named correctly within the app. For example, Miles Toyota always appears by its vehicle brand, TOYOTA. This is still the correct location and you should select it if you’ve been near.

Google knows whether you’re driving or walking, so won’t count businesses that you’ve driven past as it’s obvious that you then had no interaction with the business.

Some considerations

The app can use your location even when it’s not open. It needs this to understand which businesses you may have visited so that it can ask you relevant questions, but a downside is that it can reduce battery life. If you have a modern phone and regularly charge it, this isn’t a significant issue, but it may be worth considering looking at your battery optimisation options should you be away from a charge point for a long period.

As the app’s tracking your location and activity on other Google apps, like YouTube, and of course because it’s also asking you questions about your activity, some people may have concerns about information they are giving to Google for small change – literally selling details of their activity. For me, I’m not too concerned that Google knows I visit a particular business, and I have no issue with confirming whether I made a purchase at that business or not. I’m also comfortable with telling Google whether a particular video I watched or an ad I saw was relevant, in fact I’m happy to develop Google’s services so that what I see and use is more relevant to me (seriously, stop showing me Temu ads Google).

How to get started

The Google Opinion Rewards app is available in both the Google Play store and the Apple App Store. Download it, get yourself setup correctly, with all eligibility options complete, and you’ll soon receive your first survey.

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