Toluna Review: Don’t Waste your Time! (Updated 2022)

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Making money online has interested internet users since the start of the internet. After all, a little extra cash on the side is always good!

One of the best ways to make money online was online surveys. You would browse the most popular survey sites and complete surveys on various survey topics, participate in product testing, or perform a number of minor tasks as a side hustle.

However, people didn’t have a choice in the type of survey they took, which posed a problem. Countless people longed for interesting surveys that would also allow them to earn some extra money.

Our Toluna review takes a look at one of the worst online survey sites out there. Toluna surveys appear to provide customer-focused topics and improve the survey experience. Unfortunately, there are a variety of complaints that indicate this website is nothing more than a waste of time.

Toluna Logo

What is Toluna?

Toluna is a market research company that develops online profile surveys for people, agencies, and advertisers.  This market research firm was founded in 2000 by Frédéric-Charles Petit, who is currently the company’s CEO.

Toluna has a huge global community of 24+ million people, in 68+ countries. As of 2019, Toluna has offices in 18 countries, across 3 continents. Moreover, they have over 4 active member panelists and survey takers in 40+ countries.

How does Toluna work?

Toluna is an online survey site that aims to help both individuals and companies. It gives people an opportunity to make extra cash on the side by taking online surveys and/or reviewing places and products. 

For companies, it acts as a market research platform where they can create online surveys for people to fill out. It’s a great way to perform accurate market research and gain valuable consumer insight. 

Being free, Toluna is a two-way profiting solution.

Getting started with Toluna

How does Toluna work? 

Toluna has two main objectives. 

  • The first is to help companies automate their research methods, and reduce feedback & insight time. This helps get accurate information from consumers.
  • The second is to provide people with a research platform where they can voice their opinions, share their experiences, review and test products and places. 

How easy is it to use Toluna?

The process to join Toluna is simple and registration is easy. Before you sign up though, you should do some research.

They make it easy to allow you to browse through all the content, rewards center programs, customer service questions, etc. You can do this before you become a Toluna member

Toluna’s ‘Help’ and ‘FAQ’s’ page has all the customer service information you’ll need. They provide answers to all the questions related to the overall survey process, the reward center, sweepstakes, gift card options, etc.

The surveys are very people-centric. No one has to fill surveys they don’t want to. If you want to give your opinion or review something, you can choose it, write your review and post it. 

In theory, you can contact Toluna’s support team for any information you don’t find on their site. However, that is one source of customer complaints from Toluna users.

Toluna Influencers

Signing up

Registering is easy and takes no more than 5 minutes:

  • Go to Toluna’s website or download their mobile app from either the Apple App store or Google Play Store
  • Click on the sign-up button
  • Enter your personal information, username, email, and password
  • Click the ‘Sign up’ button
  • When you’re done, you’ll be rewarded 500 extra points and allowed to choose your survey categories!
Sign Up screen

Way to earn

Toluna works on a points system. The more Toluna points you earn, the more money you earn. And when you have enough points, you can redeem them for a variety of things, such as an Amazon gift card, PayPal redemption, or gift cards to a variety of retailers, such as Home Depot or Best Buy.

Profile surveys

Profile surveys provide more information to Toluna about who you are, what you like, etc. They allow Toluna to evaluate your profile and show you relevant surveys.

They also check what device you use, which areas you stay in, etc. All this information helps in targeting surveys to you. Each profile survey provides only 100 points but increases the chances of earning through the longer surveys Toluna runs. 

Longer surveys

Longer surveys are made by companies looking to do some in-depth consumer and market research.  You can choose from a variety of categories that you like from the ‘survey center’ page.  You will also periodically receive survey invitations via email.

Each category has several surveys with their own topics. They show you how much time you should spend on completing the survey and how many points you can earn with it. These surveys typically take you to a third-party website.

Targeted surveys

What we like about Toluna is that you are constantly informed when new surveys show up in your preferred categories. Coupled with your profile surveys, this helps Toluna send survey invitations with more relevant and targeted experiences.

Keep an eye out for survey invitations since they reduce your chances of being disqualified from a survey. If you don’t meet the requirements set by the surveying party, you will be disqualified.  However, Toluna’s system is designed so you can know beforehand whether you qualify or not. At most, you will be disqualified when you start to answer questions so your time isn’t wasted.

You can also take part in sponsored polls where you get a small number of points for answering a simple online poll. 

Ways to redeem with Toluna

Toluna’s point system is designed to satisfy users. For example, knowing you’re getting 1,000 points rather than $0.33 is more motivating. This tends to make members work more, thus increasing satisfaction. 

However, redeeming your points might be disappointing, mostly because the conversion rate is low compared to the time you put in. 

How does Toluna pay you?

Toluna offers rewards in their reward center, which you can browse through at any time. These include various gift cards and discounts on other sites. 

However, the rewards start with a 30,000 points tag. Since 3,000 points equal $1, this means that the minimum you need to earn in order to cash-out is $10. The amount of money you can earn per hour varies but people have earned anywhere from $0.5 to $2 per hour. 

Additionally, you can enter the sweepstakes contest that’s held every month. You need 500 points to enter and the cash prize is up to $4,500. If you put in 1,000 points, you may even win an LED TV. 

What are Toluna Gifties?

Toluna gifties are virtual gifts that you can buy for yourself or others. The gifts include a variety of items and costs between 50 and 500 points.

These virtual gifts are turned into real prizes such as gift cards, but you have to win the draw. The winners are chosen at random and the more gifties you have, the greater the chance of winning. 

Does Toluna pay cash?

Toluna doesn’t pay cash directly. However, you have the option to cash out using PayPal or by having a physical check mailed to you. For that option, you need to be in a country with a Toluna office. 

With that said, it’s not always a great idea to take a cash-out. This is because PayPal costs more points compared to the rewards. For example, a $10 PayPal cash-out requires you to spend 45,000 points. Since earning points is already hard, it’s best to go for the rewards. 

What is a Toluna Influencer?

Toluna Influencers are people like you and us who review things and answer surveys. The Toluna Influencers review is where consumers share their opinions and have the chance to be heard.

An influencer’s opinion is shared with the company responsible for the reviewed product. If you receive good feedback and response to your opinion, you get paid accordingly. 

​​​Pros and Cons

Pros

  • User-Friendly interface: The website and app are efficient and user-friendly. It’s easy to navigate and provides several options. For example, the ability to upload content on your posts helps you seem more authoritative. 
  • Transparency: Toluna provides every bit of information on their ‘Help’ and ‘FAQ’ page. It contains everything from best practices to navigational help. The transparency ensures you know everything there is to know about Toluna’s processes. 
  • Product Test Ownership: If you are eligible to test a product, you get to keep it once it reaches you. All you need to do is provide insightful feedback.
  • Detailed App: A lot of survey sites don’t have an app. However, Toluna’s detailed and optimized app is designed to help you with every step.

Cons

  • Low Return: Toluna has a lower return per hour spent on surveying.
  • Limited Gifties: You can’t send a giftie to someone in another country. This is because Toluna would have to send the real version of the gift. That would entail shipping costs, import duties, etc.
  • Point Expiry: If you read their FAQ section, you’ll find that your points expire after 16 months. This forces your hand if you have points below the redeemable limit. 
  • Time Consuming: The surveys tend to take longer than usual. However, the real problem is that you need to spend longer to earn a redeemable amount. On average, it would take you 15- 20 hours to reach the limit.

Toluna FAQ’s

Who is Toluna for?

Toluna is for anyone. As long as you are over the minimum required age of 18, you can join. So, rather than wasting time on social media, you can fill out surveys. Earn a little money and provide companies with insights that help them make better products.

Can you make money from Toluna?

You can definitely make money with Toluna. Payment is guaranteed if you reach the cash-out limit. But the problem is the time and effort it takes to reach that limit. Using PayPal or physical check to cash out costs more points, but you can do it if you need the money. 

Using the points to get rewards, vouchers, or gift cards is a much better option. And if you manage to win the sweepstakes, you make thousands of dollars in an instant. 

Is Toluna worth it?

Probably not. However, considering that most people average out at almost $1 per hour, it’s slow. Most people consider $1 per hour a deal-breaker. Other survey websites tend to pay as much as $0.5 dollars per 10-minute survey. That amounts to $3 per hour. 

So compared to others, Toluna isn’t worth the time. Although, you are guaranteed to be paid which is where other sites usually fall short. 

Is Toluna legit?

Yes, Toluna is legit. Toluna is one of the oldest survey sites on the internet. Over the years, it has gained a great reputation. That’s why their community has grown to around 25 million members, as of 2019. 

What do their users think?

Mostly, people have had good experiences with the site. The negative Toluna reviews usually complain about low payouts. 

Considering everything, Toluna averages around a 4/5 rating on Trustpilot.  Mostly, there are good Toluna reviews, with people liking the easy user interface, optimized platform, and guaranteed payouts

5-star rating from TrustPilot

However, there are also bad Toluna reviews with legitimate business complaints about being unable to register, being sent illegible survey offers, long wait times and late payments. 

If you observe closely, you’ll notice a pattern among all bad reviewers. It shows that they haven’t read the FAQ’s, or the ‘Help’ and Terms & Conditions page. Toluna has replied to each bad review, explaining their rules and regulations. This shows their drive to satisfy customers.

Trustpilot Review

Wrapping up our Toluna review

Earning money by completing online surveys can be tedious, even for the most experienced survey taker. However, the earning potential of the platform for a Toluna member indicates that there are better survey websites out there.

And if you’re looking for a place with good customer support, then steer clear from this survey platform. There are better survey platforms out there, like Survey Junkie and Swagbucks.

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