Pinecone Research Review: 8 Things To Know Before Starting

Pinecone Research is one of the most simple paid survey platforms I have ever used. Registering and earning points for answering surveys takes minutes, which can be redeemed for cash or prizes. Unfortunately, it’s not that well known, and there are quite a few misconceptions surrounding it.

Below is a list of eight things you should know about Pinecone Research before starting. Even if you don’t decide to make money with it, it’s a good starting point for getting into paid online surveys.

What are Paid Online Surveys?

Market research is an organized effort to gather data about products, competitors, prices, consumer opinions, and other relevant points. It’s used by marketers and business executives almost daily when making decisions. It’s also crucial for policymakers to direct the markets and citizens toward a better path.

All these efforts are almost impossible without gathering the opinions of the general public. Ten or twenty years ago, polls and surveys were done by door-to-door visits, but nowadays, we have many more effective means thanks to the internet.

Platforms like Pinecone Research, Pawns.app, or YouGov provide a service for both companies and survey respondents. Businesses can easily gather the opinions of thousands of participants according to specific demographic settings – race, gender, location, salary, health conditions, political affiliation, etc.

Instead of organizing the surveys themselves, they can delegate survey platforms to find the needed participants and give them questionnaires. Companies typically pay for each answered questionnaire on the platforms, and then they share the profit with participants as an incentive.

You can expect different questions on different topics – fashion, business, politics, marketing, tech, and much more. You can also expect lots of different questionnaire forms – from multiple choice and rating scale questions to open questions or even uploading files.

As a rule, the assignments are quite simple and don’t require any skills except for basic reading and writing proficiency. That’s why it’s a popular way to earn money online, especially for people in countries where such possibilities are sparse.

It’s a great source of additional income in your free time or when commuting. However, you should manage your expectations and don’t rush to quit your day. Even the best-valued surveys will only bring you around $20 – $30 weekly. Even worse is that there are a lot of scammers online who want to trick you.

Can You Get Scammed by Using Pinecone Research?

No. Pinecone Research is a completely legitimate platform offering participants the opportunity to earn money by answering surveys. You might not get the best value out of your time compared to a traditional nine-to-five job, but it’s definitely not a scam.

Beware of scammers who pretend to represent Pinecone Research and try to trick you into giving away information. Never provide your social media passwords, payment information, or other sensitive information to unknown parties.

Payout Options and Threshold

Pinecone Research offers multiple types of payouts, starting from $3. This is one of the lowest payout thresholds in the market right now. It’s also great that Pinecone doesn’t play around with cryptocurrencies or unknown payers. There are just two payout options – bank transfer or gift cards.

How Much Can You Earn With Pinecone Research?

It’s safe to assume that an average survey is priced around $2 in Pinecone Research. If you can get two of them daily, you’d be looking at more than $10 per week, which is $40 to $50 per month.

These are generous estimates, assuming you will qualify for that many surveys. Most Reddit, Trustpilot, and other social media users report a more modest picture of around $30 per month.

Is Pinecone Research Global?

As a market research provider, Pinecone Research is a global brand. It provides consumer trend information to companies all around the globe. However, if you want to participate and make money when answering Pinecone surveys, you’ll have to be from the United States.

This is also clear from their payment methods, which are only supported in the US. It’s unfortunate that these issues dictate that most platforms support only US citizens.

Registration is Simple

There are some rumors floating around the internet that Pinecone Research is an invitation-only platform. They have been so in the past, but now they are free for everyone to register. It might be that they will limit registrations sometime in the future, so hurry if this platform looks profitable to you.

There is a Pinecone Research App

Another misconception that needs clearing is that Pinecone Research doesn’t have a mobile application. It’s true they didn’t have them for some time. However, since at least 2021, both Android and iOS apps have been widely available to everyone from the US.

However, I find the web version much more convenient to use as, in my opinion, apps still need some polishing.

What are The Best Pinecone Alternatives?

Even if the platform is great, you should always have at least one Pinecone Research alternative. Different paid survey sites offer varying terms for work, so you should look into what’s best for you. Below is a list of Pinecone alternatives rated by how good they are.

1. Pawns.app – easily earn $50 monthly in PayPal, bank transfers, or gift cards. There are plenty of surveys and passive income options when sharing bandwidth.
2. Swagbucks – $5 payout threshold in PayPal or Gift cards. Earnings average for about $40 per month with active use.
3. YouGov – one or two valuable surveys per week for a monthly $50 payout.
4. Surveys on the Go – payout limit of $10 with many surveys called more than 1$.
5. Toluna – a high cash-out limit of $30 but many additional activities to reach it faster.

Conclusion

Pinecone Research is a legitimate platform that is under the radar for most people who are looking for paid survey sites online. Pinpointing the exact reason is difficult, but it isn’t a big problem for those who want to participate. The fewer other respondents, the more surveys to make money from for you.