I’ve seen enough sites like this to know what to look for. Thrifty Pig promises to pay you for sharing your opinions. The question that matters, and the only reason it’s worth reading on, is whether it actually does that.
What is Thrifty Pig and How does it work?
Thrifty Pig is a market research company. You answer surveys, share your opinions, and sometimes receive products to test at home. In return, you earn rewards that you can cash out via PayPal, Amazon gift cards, or a traditional paper check.
The payments actually come through. I can say that with confidence. Whether it’s worth your time is another matter, and the answer depends almost entirely on what the platform offers and how much time each option actually takes.
Earning With Surveys
The main source of earnings is paid surveys. Log in to your account, click on the “Surveys” tab, and see what’s available at that moment.
If it’s your first time logging in, the platform will first direct you to a profile survey, a few questions about yourself so it knows what types of surveys are right for you. You’ll also receive a few coins for that. Not much, but it’s a starting point before you get to what matters.
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From there, you access the list of available surveys. Each one shows you the reward upfront, in coins. Before you get to the actual questions, there’s a qualification phase, meaning a few questions through which the platform checks if you’re part of the target audience. If you pass, you answer. If not, you move on to the next one. The coins are automatically added to your account once you finish.
When I first logged into Thrifty Pig, the list was short. The kind of short that makes you look twice to make sure it’s not a display error. Since then, more surveys have been added, so your chances of finding something when you log in are better now, but it’s not guaranteed.
I’ll get to what you do with the coins you’ve collected later on.
Research Activities
Sometimes the platform invites you to participate in other activities: product testing, online or in-person focus groups, or phone interviews. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.
The invitation comes in the form of a survey. You answer a few questions, and the platform decides if you qualify. If so, a representative will contact you, and you’ll work together to schedule the activity.
For product tests, the product is sent to you by mail, free of charge, and you get to keep it after you’re done. You fill out a feedback survey, and that’s it.
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Focus groups and phone interviews are a different story. They usually last over an hour. Sometimes several days. It’s a serious time commitment, not something to accept on a whim if you’re not truly available.
The reward is in cash, like with surveys, but more. And that makes sense, because it’s more effort.
The problem is that these invitations are rare. If you get one and have the time, take it
How do you get paid?
The only withdrawal option when I first joined Thrifty Pig was the Amazon gift card. Since then, they’ve added PayPal and paper checks.
The threshold is 500 points, which is $5, since 100 points equal one dollar. It’s not a high threshold.
PayPal is the most convenient option of the three. If that matters when choosing a platform, Pawns and EarnStar also use PayPal.
How much money can you make?
Surveys and special offers on Thrifty Pig are rare, so almost all of your earnings come from surveys. You earn between 50 and 200 coins per survey. The difference between the minimum and maximum is quite high, so not all surveys pay the same.
There are plenty of surveys available. The earnings, not so much. Thrifty Pig isn’t among the top platforms in the field, and the difference is noticeable when you look at what the others offer.
Who can join Thrifty Pig survey?
Thrifty Pig is available only in the US and Canada. If you’re from Romania or any other European country, you can’t use the platform. People in Romania have an alternative at sondajebune.com, which focuses on paid surveys.
You sign up with your email address, fill out the form, and receive a confirmation email. Click the link, your account is active, and you receive some bonus coins just for that.
To sign up, you’ll need to fill out some basic info:
- Email address
- Zip or Postal Code
- Date of birth
- Gender
- Mailing address
- First and last name
- Password
After that, you’ll get an email from Thrifty Pig. Just click the link inside to finish signing up. They’ll give you bonus coins right away – I got 25 coins myself.
When you log in for the first time, the platform asks you to complete your profile. And there you receive coins. By the time you finish the sign-up process, you’ll have 100 coins. The threshold for the first withdrawal is 400, so you don’t start from zero.
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Can you use Thrifty Pig on your phone?
There’s no separate app to download. You access the dashboard directly from your phone’s browser, and it works great. It’s not a truncated version or a slapdash adaptation.
In fact, for surveys, your phone is more useful than it seems at first glance. Surveys close once the maximum number of respondents is reached. You don’t get a nice message explaining this. You’re simply no longer accepted, and you try to figure out why. If you have your phone handy and see the survey is available, you open it right away. If you’re on your computer and “check back later,” the spots are already filled. This is usually the real reason why people think they’re disqualified all the time. It’s not about demographic criteria. It’s about speed.
The interface is simple and works; there’s nothing complicated to figure out. To me, it seemed like one of the few platforms where I don’t waste time looking for where to click.
Need help with your account?
The dashboard has a Help section that covers the basics about using the site and managing your account.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? No problem. The support team is ready to help in two ways:
- Send an email to [email protected]
- Fill out the contact form on the website
While it’s nice that they make it easy to reach out when you need help, the Help page could use more useful info. This would save you from having to contact support for common questions.
What users say about Thrifty Pig?
There are now over 1,200 reviews on Trustpilot. Most say that payments come quickly and that the $5 threshold isn’t hard to reach. Some have withdrawn funds multiple times without any issues. I can confirm this based on what I’ve read there.
There are frustrations, and they’re pretty much the same for everyone: you start a survey, spend ten to fifteen minutes on it, answer everything, and in the end, you’re disqualified. Zero points for the time wasted. There are also surveys that suddenly cut off halfway through, again with no compensation. It’s not specific to Thrifty Pig, it happens on almost every survey platform, but it’s still annoying.
One user sent points to PayPal and received nothing. Another says that some survey questions don’t have the correct answer option, so you either choose something false or get automatically eliminated. Small details, but this kind of detail shows you whether the platform actually works or not.
Depending on the situation, support may or may not respond. Some say the response comes quickly. Another writes that the platform’s strategy is to ignore messages until you give up. I don’t know which of them got lucky or not, but this inconsistency appears in too many reviews to ignore.
Is Thrifty Pig survey legit?
Thrifty Pig pays out. That’s the first thing. PayPal is available, along with surveys and research activities, and compared to the last time I tested it, it has improved noticeably.
The rewards are still small compared to what you find on serious platforms in the field. It works, I’m not saying it doesn’t, but you won’t make much if you treat it as your main source of income.
As a side income to what you already have, it might work. As a starting point, I’d look elsewhere. I’ve written a list of 10 sites with better potential, cash rewards, and more payment options, available worldwide.
If you’ve used Thrifty Pig and it turned out differently than you expected, in any way, let me know in the comments below.