Zap Surveys

Zap Surveys Review 

Zap Surveys is a popular survey app downloaded more than a million times. By answering surveys, you’ll eventually be able to cash out in the form of PayPal, Amazon gift cards or prepaid Visa cards. However, there’s a big catch – the redemption threshold is really high. Read our review to find out if Zap Surveys is worth signing up for.

What is Zap Surveys?

The app is owned by InBrain, a subsidiary of Dynata, one of the largest market research companies in the world. InBrain connects survey creators with potential respondents and pays users a small amount for each completed survey. The surveys are usually short and easy to answer, but they also have very specific criteria for who can participate. For example, some surveys may only be available for people who live in a certain country, have a certain income level, work in a certain industry, or have a certain gender or age.

This means that not every user will qualify for every survey. Based on our experience, we only qualified for about 20% of the surveys we tried. This can be frustrating and time-consuming, as you may have to go through several screening questions before finding out that you are not eligible. You also have to wait for new surveys to appear, as they are not always available.

So how much can you earn with Zap Surveys? Well, not much. The app claims that you can earn up to $6 per survey, but that is very rare. Most surveys pay between $0.10 and $0.50, and some even less. You also need to reach a minimum of $25 before you can cash out, which can take a long time. The app offers some other ways to earn money, such as watching videos, playing games, or referring friends, but they are also very low-paying and not worth the effort.

Is Zap Surveys legit?

Yes, Zap Surveys is run by inBrain.ai which is a legit US business operated by Texas-based market research provider Dynata. You can come across inBrain in two different ways as a survey-taker:

1. By signing up for their panel app Zap Surveys (available on web, iOS and Android)
2. By taking surveys through a 3rd party publisher using the inBrain offer wall

inBrain specialises in connecting mobile apps with market research companies. An example of a mobile app integrated with inBrain is instaGC. Zap’s technology enables mobile app owners to integrate an offerwall displaying surveys offering their native reward currency. In this way, publishers can monetize their traffic by offering surveys, while users can earn rewards. This is very similar to what other companies such as Pollfish and TapResearch offer. The US market research company Dynata acquired inBrain in 2021.

What can I earn?

Zap Surveys usually offer a sign-up bonus, however, the amount can vary. At the time of writing this review, they offer a $3 bonus for registering AND taking your first survey. Once you’ve completed the first survey, the payment is reduced to a much lower level – usually in the range of $0.10 – $0.50.

Some examples of survey opportunities:

• 17 minutes survey – 49 cents
• 12 minutes survey – 35 cents
• 18 minutes survey – 47 cents
• 4 minutes survey – 10 cents

The reward level for surveys is surprisingly low compared to many similar sites.

In addition to taking surveys, you can also earn extra bonuses by logging into the app on a daily basis, and making sure to stay active. By referring friends, you’ll earn 10% of their earnings (not counting the join bonus).

Excellent user experience

We really like the fresh look & feel of this mobile app. The interface is easy and intuitive to navigate. Small bonuses here are there make the app entertaining. You’re kept well-informed of your status and earnings. In terms of user experience, this is probably one of the best survey sites we have tested.

Are my data safe?

Zap Surveys is owned by a serious market research provider, which we can only assume will do its best to follow local laws and regulations. As such, you’ll be asked to give your explicit consent to share your data both when it comes to your profile information, survey answers and passively tracked data such as your location/GeoIP.

Here is a list of data points automatically shared through the mobile app:

• Location
• Personal info: Email address, User IDs, Race and ethnicity, Political or religious beliefs, Sexual orientation and Other info
• Financial info
• App activity
• App info and performance
• Device or other IDs

Not very transparent

Unfortunately, Zap Surveys is not very transparent. There is very little information about reward levels, and at the time of testing the links to their Blog and FAQ pages were not working. They make a big number out of the $3 join bonus, but they don’t say anything about the $25 cashout limit until you’ve registered. This is bordering on misleading marketing.

Too high cash-out limit

While we’re really happy with the join bonus of $3 and the intuitive interface, we’re equally disappointed with the record-high redemption level of $25. Especially when compared with the low survey rewards which usually amount to less than $0.50. Based on our earnings during a period of 8 weeks, we had to take as many as 48 surveys to reach the redemption threshold of $25. An average of 10 minutes spent per survey, equals 8 hours of survey time in total. And we’re not even counting all the time wasted on unsuccessful survey attempts when screened out. At this level, you’ll be lucky if your hourly pay will be more than $3.

Reviews from other sites

Play Store: 4.4 stars
Zap Surveys has a high rating on the Play Store, with over 82,000 reviews and more than 1 million downloads. Most users are satisfied with the app and praise its easy surveys, fast payouts and generous rewards. Some users also appreciate the Zapper Rewards program that gives them access to extra surveys and rewards. However, some users complain about technical issues, such as surveys not loading, crashing or not crediting. Others also report that they have not received their payments or gift cards after redeeming their rewards.

Trustpilot: 1.8 stars
Zap Surveys has a low rating on Trustpilot, with only 83 reviews and a poor trust score. Most users are unhappy with the app and accuse it of being a scam or a waste of time. They claim that they have not received their payments or gift cards after weeks or months of waiting. They also say that they have contacted customer service multiple times but have not received any response or solution. Some users also complain about the surveys being too long, too hard or too few.

What can prevent me from cashing out?

A common complaint about Dynata (the parent company of Zap Surveys), is that they’re too quick to kick people out before being able to cash out. Since Dynata is a legitimate market research company, it’s understandable that they need to exercise caution and crack down on dishonest and fraudulent survey takers. At the same time, the decisions to freeze and suspend accounts are automatically done by algorithms, which are not always correct. Our recommendation is to fill out surveys using your real identity and submit honest answers from the beginning. In this way, you avoid getting caught by so-called “trap questions”. Also, make sure that your PayPal account lines up perfectly with your Zap Surveys account to avoid any payment issues.

Summary of pros and cons

First, let’s look at the positive aspects of Zap Surveys. The site has an intuitive user interface that makes it easy to navigate and find surveys that match your profile. The app is also well-functioning and compatible with both Android and iOS devices. You can take surveys on the go and earn some extra cash while waiting in line or commuting.

Another plus point of Zap Surveys is that it is backed by a legit parent company, Apps that Pay LLC, which has been in business since 2013 and has several other apps under its umbrella. This gives some assurance that Zap Surveys is not a scam and that it pays its users as promised.

Zap Surveys also offers a generous join bonus of $6.25, which is higher than most survey sites. You can get this bonus by completing your first survey, which usually takes less than 10 minutes. This is a nice incentive to sign up and start earning right away.

However, Zap Surveys is not without its flaws. One of the major drawbacks of the site is that the survey rewards are too low for the time and effort required. Most surveys pay between $0.25 and $1, which means you need to complete a lot of surveys to make a decent amount of money. The average hourly rate is around $2, which is below the minimum wage in most countries.

Another downside of Zap Surveys is that the cashout limit is too high at $25. This means you need to accumulate at least $18.75 after the join bonus before you can withdraw your earnings. This can take a long time, especially if you don’t qualify for many surveys or if there are not enough surveys available. Some users have reported that they never reached the cashout threshold even after months of using the app.

Finally, Zap Surveys is not transparent enough about how it works and how it uses your data. The site does not provide clear information about how it selects surveys, how it calculates rewards, how it protects your privacy, or how it handles complaints and disputes. The terms and conditions are vague and hard to understand, and the customer support is slow and unresponsive.