Contributors: 
This is the definitive Pinecone Research review.
We’ve spent 100+ hours researching and testing the best survey sites.
Here’s how Pinecone Research stacks up…
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This review is a joint effort between Will Peach (writer and researcher for eBiz Facts) and Niall Doherty (founder of eBiz Facts).
Our process:
- The eBiz Facts team had previously spent 100+ hours researching and reviewing online survey sites.
- Niall and Will spent a combined 5+ hours researching and testing Pinecone Research.
- Niall contacted Pinecone Research support to test out their responsiveness.
- Will wrote up his findings and Niall combined those with his own to create a first draft of this review.
- We sent the draft to our Freedom Business Builder community and the folks at Pinecone Research and asked for feedback.
- We made our final edits and published the review.
Note: We may earn a commission via referral links in this review. Read our full disclosure here.
What is Pinecone Research?
Pinecone Research is a survey site that offers you cash in exchange for your opinions. Most surveys are designed to review new products or services. The site also notifies you by email when new surveys are available.
The site is available to US users only. It is also exclusive.
You can only sign up via invite (more on this later).
This way of making money online is known as GetPaidTo.
How does Pinecone Research work?
The site is intended to help companies gather marketing information. This is done by creating surveys and sending them out to “influencers” – just a flashy name for survey-takers. Your responses help these companies improve their products or services.
One unique thing about Pinecone Research is that it offers users the chance to learn about new products before they go to market. There are also reports of users receiving free samples.
Here’s an explainer from the site as to how it works…
Is Pinecone Research legit or a scam?
Pinecone Research is definitely legit.
They are owned by The Nielsen Company, a New York-based marketing agency. This company has an A+ rating according to the Better Business Bureau.
Pinecone Research has been operating for 22 years. It operates out of Cincinnati, USA.
Beware of false reviews of the platform. Research shows several sites have tried to copy their format in the past. These sites have also been operating under similarly named domains. Some of the reviews you see may be for these copycat sites and not the real Pinecone Research.
The Nielsen Company – owners of Pinecone Research – also scores a decent 3.6 rating on Trustpilot.
So is Pinecone Research safe?
Pinecone Research is safe.
Just make sure you use their official apps and login via the pineconeresearch.com domain.
There’ve been fraudulent attempts to imitate Pinecone Research on Facebook. Note that Pinecone Research does not have a Facebook presence, and they will not ask you for your login credentials:
According to their security policy, all communication with the site should happen via emails ending with @pineconeresearch.com.
How much does Pinecone Research pay?
Peter Pinecone
- Online Survey Taker at Pinecone Research
- $3 per hour
Peter Pinecone represents a typical person doing online research studies at Pinecone Research.
As you can see, his earnings are fairly low. (This is typical for survey sites.)
Each survey pays out $3 via a point system. Users report survey times lasting about 10-20 minutes.
The number of surveys available on the site is poor. According to this Reddit thread, most users claim to be able to earn from around 1-4 surveys per month.
Other users report problems with beginning surveys and then not qualifying. There are also many reports of account inactivity leading to suspensions. You might notice this by no longer receiving email notifications on new surveys.
Pinecone Research does not pay for its Household Questions. These are short product evaluations some users are asked to complete in exchange for mailed product samples.
Our goal at eBiz Facts is to give you accurate information about online business so you can gain clearer insights, make better decisions, and achieve your own success.
With that in mind, we strive to ensure the accuracy and transparency of the income claims and estimates that you see on this website.
Here’s how:
- We treat all income claims we find online with skepticism.
- We don’t report incomes that seem especially controversial or unrealistic.
- We cite our sources and/or share our calculations so you can see where the numbers come from.
- If there are uncertainties about an income claim or estimate, we tell you what those are.
If you see an income claim or estimate that seems off, please tell us so we can fix it.
How does Pinecone Research pay?
You can redeem the points you earn for eCertificates (Amazon, etc.) or cash.
Once upon a time cash payments were made via PayPal, direct bank transfer, or through postal checks.
However, as of October/November 2020, it seems Pinecone Research now only allow cash payments via bank transfer, and that’s through a third party service called Wallet by Rewards on Demand.
We’ve read numerous complaints about this new payment method – eg. here, here and here – but the company behind Rewards on Demand (Whapps) seem reputable so hopefully the issues will be resolved soon.
The minimum payout on Pinecone Research $3.
According to Pinecone Research’s FAQ center, your points can expire after 12 months of inactivity. However, I’ve seen some complaints about accounts suspended in shorter time periods.
Research shows that payment is reliable. Pinecone claims a 3-5 day turnaround on bank transfers but instant redemptions on eCertificates.
All cash-outs are paid via the redeem option on the site from the membership area.
Pinecone Research Sign Up
Signing up for Pinecone Research can be difficult.
You have to be invited or find sign-up banners around the web. Usually, these appear on other get paid to (GPT) sites.
Another thing to be aware of is its exclusivity. Pinecone Research targets specific demographics to complete their surveys. One popular theory is that they mainly look for young college-aged adults.
There is no sign-up bonus.
If you have trouble signing up for Pinecone Research, try these other survey sites instead:
🏆 Best Survey Sites 🏆
| Best Overall | |
|---|---|
| Dollars Per Hour | |
| Survey Quantity | |
| Payment Options | |
| Quick Payout | |
| Mobile App | |
| Outside USA | |
| Referral Program | |
| Sign-Up Bonus |
Pinecone Research Hacks
Due to its exclusivity and tricky sign-up process, there are few known hacks for the site.
One tip is to bookmark their signup page and periodically check back for openings. Note that the page is usually reported as “down for maintenance.”
If you do get lucky signing up, our general survey site hacks article might have some tips.
Pinecone Research App
Users of the Pinecone Research app report that it works as an information source only.
You cannot take surveys in the app. Instead, you will be redirected to your membership area via a web browser.
The app is available on both iOS and Android. It has mixed reviews on both platforms.
Pinecone Research Banners
These appear randomly across the web and offer sign-up opportunities for the site. Pinecone Research states in their FAQ section that these happen “periodically throughout the year.”
Research suggests this is done to screen out certain demographics. It also suggests banners most often appear on other survey sites targeting a US-based audience. Usually, they last a couple of days.
If you can’t sign up for Pinecone Research right now, try signing up for the best survey sites we’ve reviewed.
Pinecone Research Referral Program
There is no referral program available.
Users can’t gain points or earn cash through inviting friends or family.
Pinecone Research Complaints
The main complaints from users are:
- Exclusivity (particular demographics screened out)
- Difficult sign up process (dependent on invite banners or links)
- Lack of surveys
- Low pay (reports surveys used to pay out $5 before dropping down to $3).
There are reports of account bans and suspensions for users failing to respond to email requests.
Free product samples are also said to be few and far between.
Is Pinecone Research worth it?
If you fit the right user profile and successfully find a sign up link, Pinecone Research might be worth it.
I’m of the opinion however, due to its low pay and lack of surveys, that there are much better options for earning money online.
One thing I don’t like about it is its exclusivity and lack of transparency. The result is that users are often left guessing about whether they qualify to take surveys or not. You don’t get this with most other survey sites.
My rating for Pinecone Research is 2 out of 5. It could score higher for US-based users who hit their mystery “ideal” profile.
Pinecone Research Alternatives
🏆 Best Survey Sites 🏆
| Best Overall | |
|---|---|
| Dollars Per Hour | |
| Survey Quantity | |
| Payment Options | |
| Quick Payout | |
| Mobile App | |
| Outside USA | |
| Referral Program | |
| Sign-Up Bonus |
We’re on a mission to review all the best survey sites.
Here’s our progress so far…
| Survey Site | Rating | Review |
|---|---|---|
| 1. PrizeRebel | 3.9/5 | PrizeRebel review |
| 2. Survey Junkie | 3.6/5 | Survey Junkie review |
| 3. QuickThoughts | 3.1/5 | QuickThoughts review |
| 4. Vindale Research | 3/5 | Vindale Research review |
| 5. OneOpinion | 2.9/5 | OneOpinion review |
| 6. Swagbucks | 2.5/5 | Swagbucks review |
| 7. MyPoints | 2.3/5 | MyPoints review |
| 8. PaidViewpoint | 2/5 | PaidViewpoint review |
| 9. Qmee | 2/5 | Qmee review |
| 10. Tellwut | 1.9/5 | Tellwut review |
| 11. Opinion Outpost | 1.8/5 | Opinion Outpost review |
| 12. Pinecone Research | 1.8/5 | Pinecone Research review |
| 13. InboxDollars | 1.5/5 | InboxDollars review |
| 14. NeoBux | 0.5/5 | NeoBux review |
| Full list of best survey sites » | ||
Your Pinecone Research Review
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Other ways to make money online
There are many other ways to make money online, to work from home or anywhere in the world.
I have taken the Pinecone surveys for at least four or five years. My husband was seriously ill last year., was hospitalized five times. I did take surveys when I could, but I didn’t always know when he was going to be hospitalized. He passed away the end of October which I informed them why I wasn’t taking as many surveys now when I try to take surveys every time all I get is I don’t qualify over and over and over again and now I don’t get any surveys, so I guess there’s a little bit of age, discrimination, and being a widow I’m the only person in general living in my home, I have 10 grandchildren and I’m a very active person, but I guess that doesn’t matter
I had been trying to cash out my earnings for sometime and the website kept messing up. I had not received any surveys for sometime and when I was receiving them, I’d start to take them and halfway through it would state that I didn’t qualify. This became the norm. Anyway, when I tried to cash out my earnings again, my earnings where no longer there. I emailed them and Karen Scott replied back that I hadn’t taken a survey in a year and I had to forfeit the points. This isn’t right and she won’t do anything about it when I asked to have my points reinstated so I can cash out and be done with her sorry site. They are thieves!
I used to be an advocate of Pinecone Research. Not anymore! They took my rewards away because they “expired”. I didn’t have enough to cash out yet, hence the reason I left them in my account. They said my account was inactive for more than 4 months. This was untrue. I open EVERY survey email and answer the pre-survey question. Unfortunately, I haven’t met the demographic criteria the last few months of surveys has required. This should not make me “inactive” .
This company basically just stole from me and enjoyed the work I did without compensation.
I’ve been doing Pinecone surveys for literally years. More than 10 but I can’t tell you exactly when I started. As far back as I can remember, surveys have always paid $3. That used to be fair. In this day and age, $3 has very low purchasing power. I’ve noticed too that lately, their surveys take much longer to complete because they’ve added something to their software that delays the advancing of each page. Therefore it’s very frustrating when I have other things to do. I wanted to write them with my complaints, but I can’t find any way to reach them. They have a contact page, but any communication requires the input of a survey number. I will probably cash out once my last survey posts. Then I’ll just close my account.
I have been with Pinecone for over decade. Problems started when company changed payment methods. The Rewards on Demand (Wallet) transferred my funds two times, then on third time, reported but did not do transfer. Waited two more weeks, then sent three emails from different addresses. After that, found couple phone numbers with no success to reach any one in person, just answering services with multiple prompts. Finally, gentlemen from tech support of sales department responded, and transferred me to Stephany. She found my account with lost transfer and my emails. She admitted it as a technical error, but insisted that all my emails were answered. Moreover, she guessed that there are something wrong with the way my emails boxes were setup, not accepting her emails. Finally, funds reached my account.
In mean time, I emailed to Pinecone twice, and got templated responds quoting company policies, terms and conditions, procedure of redeeming the points. However, there was no answer on my particular question on lost transfer. Like I was talking to the robot.
I do not get as many surveys like I use to from Pinecone Research. I never seem to qualify for very many. They do pay cash, which I like. Payments are sent in a timely manner. Pinecone needs to update technical issues on the website.
I’ve been with PC for 4 years.They are legit and always pay out quickly, but the surveys are about 2 a month @3.00 per survey so its just something that has to add up. They will pay out with just 3.00 in your account though.
I used to like there pay Pal pay out option, but they stopped it.
Haven’t had any problems with Pinecone.
I have $100 worth of points in my account that I am unable to get paid for. I was going to do the bank transfer, but it only went so far as to lock up all my points. Can’t complete the transfer, but can’t get the points put back into my regular account, so I can redeem them in a different way. I have NEVER seen anything like the redemption system. I think it is just a scam to confiscate your points, and not have to pay them to the person who has worked for a whole year to earn these points. my id # is 762746. Also……. can’t get anyone to respond to my requests for help.
I have been with Pinecone Research for over 4 years. In that time my earnings have been pretty consistent at about $100 per year, about 3 surveys per month at $3 each. I agree with ‘CeeCee’ (reviewer below) that the PayPal system was a better choice for those that want cash than their current provider, which works, but requires more effort. If you want cash for your work expect to jump through some hoops to get it now!
Surveys are typically 10-15 minutes and they all pay $3 each. So the rate of pay is $13-$18 per hour, poor rate of pay, but you should only do this if you enjoy giving your opinion.
Some surveys offer product testing, that results in a followup survey for another $3. The oddest thing about Pinecone is they send the sample products via overnight Express FedEx at a cost of $100+ to them/their client, but they still only pay $3 for the survey! Hint: spend less on the courier costs and more on the person doing the survey! I’ve literally had products shipped 1,500+ miles within 10 hours for me to test, at a high cost, and then they expect me to test them within 5 days…..so why was the express delivery so necessary? This probably isn’t Pinecone’s fault, it is likely the manufacturer that wanted to get the product to me as fresh as possible…..but some commonsense should be applied!
Pinecone is a legit and very credible company, it is part of Nielsen who are one of the most credible market survey companies in the world.
If you enjoy doing surveys join Pinecone if given the opportunity. Once you have the hang of their new cash payment system a lot of the negatives will go away!
I’m in the US. I have been with Pinecone since 2008. It was a great co. until recently. The change in cash payout was Paypal or checks. This new system is terrible. I do NOT give out bank info online to a 3rd party co. So, since my balance was quite a bit with the change in 2020, I decided to do a test on the eGift cards. I purchased a $25 Walmart eGift card. Walmart will not honor it. They state they do Not accept eGift cards that were not purchased from Walmart. They also stated the card number was not legit. So, I’m out $25, & with no option to get over a year’s worth of surveys payouts back. Support contact was useless. They explained to me how to redeem, even though I sent a screenshot of the “card”. And they ignored the fact, that Walmart won’t accept it. I’m sure Walmart isn’t the only bogus one, since they have pages of cards available. My feeling is it’s a scam outfit now. They’re getting surveys done, & you don’t receive your payout.
I worked at Nielsen for 15 years and actually helped design parts of the online data collection process. Definitely a legit company and process. I can see that it might be difficult to qualify for surveys, since the demographic groups needed depend entirely on which companies are testing what products with Nielsen. They do have studies that send you test products that have not yet gone to market.
I have been a Pinecone members for about 7 years. It was a great site to earn $3 per surveys and test products that they send you. But starting in 2020 I have only qualified for less than 4 surveys as usally I could qualify about 3 a month and have not tested any products. Called Pinecone to check what happened but didn’t get a good answer.
Thanks for sharing your experience, George. Sucks that Pinecone isn’t working as well for you anymore.
As of this posting Pinecone Research has changed their point redemption policy and no longer sends checks to members, no longer uses paypal and relies on a 3rd party website to make bank transfers directly to members bank accounts. This requires that personal banking information, including account information, be submitted to the site and will be held by them. It’s not considered to be a safe method to entrust online 3rd party sites with any banking or other personal information that might be put at risk.
Thanks for the comment, Charles. I’ll look into this and update the review accordingly.
Hey Charles,
We did some research and were able to verify the issues you pointed us to. Thanks for that. We’ve updated the review and knocked a couple of decimal points off our rating for Pinecone Research.