At-a-Glance Comparison

Get a look at the differences between Ipsos and Nielsen Pulse with this overview of their features and benefits.

IpsosNielsen Pulse
Ipsos
  • Tons of daily survey invites and earning opportunities (up to 10/day!)
  • Take surveys from your account dashboard, no waiting for invites
  • Average surveys pay $1, longer surveys can pay much more
  • Rewards based on survey length, not a set redemption value
  • Surveys on a wide variety of topics, usually take under 20 minutes to complete
  • Get points even if you’re screened out of a survey
  • You may receive invites for focus groups that pay $20/hour
  • Get sent free samples if you qualify and get points for your opinion
Nielsen Pulse
  • Run by Nielsen, a global market research company with over 100 years in the business
  • Earning is passive — once set up, points accumulate automatically every day
  • One-time setup bonuses available for connecting devices and streaming platforms
  • Available on Android and iOS; connected TV devices can also be registered
  • Rewards come in the form of brand vouchers and gift cards
  • No joining fee, and you'll never be asked for credit card information
  • Participation helps inform how media companies and brands understand consumer behavior
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse Yes
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse Yes
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
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Rating Comparison

Which is better, Ipsos or Nielsen Pulse? See how their expert and user ratings compare.

IpsosNielsen Pulse
Ipsos
[4.68/5]
Nielsen Pulse
[4/5]
Ipsos
[4.5/5]
Nielsen Pulse
[3/5]
Ipsos
[4.5/5]
Nielsen Pulse
[4/5]
Ipsos
[4.5/5]

Read 19 Reviews

Nielsen Pulse
[/5]

Read 0 Reviews

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Rewards Comparison

Compare Ipsos rewards and Nielsen Pulse rewards to see how their redemption options stack up.

IpsosNielsen Pulse
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse Yes
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse Yes
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
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Opportunities Comparison

Compare how you can earn money with Ipsos and Nielsen Pulse and find your next side hustle.

IpsosNielsen Pulse
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse Yes
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos Yes Nielsen Pulse No
Ipsos No Nielsen Pulse No
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Service & Snafus

Learn about customer service and potential issues with Ipsos and Nielsen Pulse before you sign up.

IpsosNielsen Pulse
Ipsos Nielsen Pulse

Nielsen Pulse offers email-based support for US panelists at uspulsesupport@nielsen.com. The website also includes a Contact Us page with the same email address. There's no live chat or phone support listed.

The terms also allow panel members to contact Nielsen directly to request account deletion if they choose to leave.

Given that Nielsen is a large, established company, their support infrastructure should be reasonably reliable — though response times are not published, and the absence of live chat may be frustrating for users with urgent account issues.

Ipsos

Ipsos is a massive operation so sometimes customer service can get a bit backlogged along with reward redemption.

If you are primarily a mobile user this might not be the panel for you as the app as proven to be rather clunky and the site isn’t really optimized for mobile users.

Nielsen Pulse

The biggest sticking point for many users will be the privacy trade-off. The app requires you to grant location permissions, notifications, and install a research VPN on your device. Nielsen uses this access to track your device usage, web activity, streaming behaviour, and purchases. The terms explicitly state that this can include sensitive personal information such as race and ethnicity.

You also won't know if you qualify until after you complete the eligibility survey. Those who don't qualify are put on a waitlist, with no guarantee of ever being admitted to the panel.

Membership is household-wide by agreement. When you sign up, you're agreeing on behalf of all household members whose devices the app is installed on — and you're required to inform them and get their consent before doing so.

People employed by TV networks, cable or satellite providers, digital media platforms, or other media companies are not eligible to join. You also must keep your panel membership confidential and are not permitted to publicly identify yourself as a participant — including in app store reviews.

Points expire after 12 months and have no cash value. If you leave the panel for any reason, any unredeemed points are forfeited. Nielsen can also modify or discontinue the rewards program at any time.

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Final Verdict

See our closing thoughts to help you decide if Ipsos or Nielsen Pulse is better for you.

IpsosNielsen Pulse
Ipsos

Ipsos is without doubt one of the most reliable panels in the industry. By far the best feature is the volume. You rarely have to wait for email invites to take surveys so you can pretty much earn much as much you like. Unlike many survey panels you may only receive 10 invites a month whereas with Ipsos you might get 10 in a day.

You won’t get rich taking the average surveys but that fact is more than compensated for in terms of volume. Keep in mind, if Ipsos happens to be looking for someone in your particular demographic you could be invited to take higher paying surveys up to $95 or invited to online focus groups.

With all of the advantages of being an Ipsos member and number of earning opportunities, Ipsos needs to be part of your survey taking strategy. Why not join today?

Nielsen Pulse

Nielsen Pulse is one of the more straightforward passive earnings programs out there. You install the app, go through a brief setup, and points accumulate on their own. There's no survey grind, no daily check-ins, and no tasks to complete. For the right person, it genuinely is close to set-it-and-forget-it income.

The catch, of course, is that what you're trading for those rewards is fairly deep access to your device activity. The research VPN in particular is something that gives users pause, and rightfully so. Nielsen has a long track record and a legitimate reason for collecting this data, but you should go in with clear expectations about what you're sharing.

If you're comfortable with the data sharing arrangement and you pass the eligibility survey, Nielsen Pulse is worth a spot on your phone. It's a credible program from a credible company, and passive rewards without any active effort are hard to beat.

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