I looked at how NielsenIQ Homescan works, from the registration to the app and the rewards. It is legit and easy, but it pays in products and gift cards, not cash, and the points build up slowly. Below is what I found before you sign up.
Legit and easy, but rewards take a long time
You earn points by scanning the barcodes of what you buy. Rewards are products and gift cards, and you may have to wait for a spot on the panel.
On this page
The short answer
NielsenIQ Homescan is legit. It is a consumer panel owned by the Nielsen Company that rewards you for scanning the barcodes of the products you buy. Once you get used to it, it fits into your everyday shopping.
But its earning potential is low, and rewards take a long time because most of them need a lot of points. You get products and gift cards, not PayPal cash, and you may have to wait before there is a spot for you on the panel.
- Offers a very easy earning opportunity
- Has a mobile app you can use
- Has a wide range of rewards to choose from
- Sweepstakes with prizes up to $2,500
- Fits into your regular shopping
- Low earning potential
- The registration process can take time
- Will require a bit of patience to get used to how you earn
- No PayPal or cash payouts
- Only one member per household
My experience with NielsenIQ Homescan
I looked at how NielsenIQ Homescan works and made a video about it. This is what I looked at, and what I did not test.
- First checked
- November 2019Review first published Nov 27, 2019
- Latest retest
- Checked: earning options, rewards, support
- App
- Quite user-friendlyAndroid and iOS
- The Homescan app, which I find quite user-friendly
- The registration form
- The reward catalog and the sweepstakes
- The support options
- Redeeming a reward. My review does not show a reward I received.
- The weekly diaries. What I say about them comes from member feedback.
Watch how NielsenIQ Homescan works
In the video below, I explain exactly how NielsenIQ Homescan works.
Screenshots from NielsenIQ Homescan
NielsenIQ Homescan only accepts new members when there is a spot. Choose your country to see if it is recruiting.
Check if Homescan is recruitingNielsenIQ Homescan at a glance
| What it is | Consumer panel that rewards you for scanning the barcodes of what you buy. Formerly Nielsen Homescan. |
|---|---|
| Company | The Nielsen Company, a global measurement and data analytics company. Around for 25 years. |
| US version | National Consumer Panel |
| Ways to earn | Scanning barcodes, paid surveys, sweepstakes, weekly diaries |
| How you scan | A handheld scanner, mostly in EU countries, or the mobile app |
| Rewards | Merchandise, products and gift cards, depending on your country. Weekly diaries pay a prepaid Visa card by mail, according to members. |
| Minimum cashout | No general threshold. It depends on your country and the reward. |
| Membership | Fill out the registration form and wait until there is a spot. One member per household. |
| Apps | Android and iOS. Not yet available in some countries. |
| Where you can join | Australia, Canada, European Union countries, Thailand, the UAE and other countries |
| Support | Email, for example [email protected] (the domain depends on your country), and a phone number on the contact page |
Is NielsenIQ Homescan legit and safe?
Yes, NielsenIQ Homescan is legit. But that does not necessarily make it the right opportunity for you. Here is what you should know before you sign up.
- Rewards take a long time
Based on feedback from longtime members, it takes quite some time to redeem rewards, because most require a lot of points. In Australia, for example, you can expect to earn $20 in vouchers every 2 months. It varies from country to country.
- No PayPal or cash
You redeem points for merchandise, products or gift cards. There is no way to redeem cash through PayPal. The weekly diaries pay a prepaid Visa card by mail, according to members.
- You may have to wait for a spot
After you fill out the registration form, you wait until Homescan contacts you about an available spot. It checks that nobody else in your household is already a member, because it only accepts one member per household.
- You earn by shopping
The main way to earn depends on you buying products. If you do not shop frequently, you will not earn many points. Scanning can feel like a chore at the beginning.
My takeIf you were hoping to earn a lot from NielsenIQ Homescan, you would be disappointed. You will mostly earn by doing your grocery shopping, so do not expect rewards quickly. However, it can be a good long-term option, because you do not have to do anything special beyond your regular shopping habits. That is, if you manage to become a member.
How you earn on NielsenIQ Homescan
There are 4 ways to earn. Scanning barcodes is the main one. Tap one to read more.
Scan and earnMain earner
Scan the barcodes of the products you buy and send the information to Nielsen. You earn points, which you use to redeem rewards. Rewards are usually a fixed amount per month, depending on how active you are.
In EU countries, Homescan mostly sends you a handheld scanner, and you can scan your products once you get home. Outside the EU, you use the mobile app, so you can even scan while shopping.
It can be a fun and interesting way to earn a bit extra by doing what you already do, as long as you have the right expectations.
Paid surveysEvery once in a while
Homescan sends you paid surveys every once in a while. You answer a few qualifying questions first, like on a regular survey site. For every survey you complete, you get points and entries to the sweepstakes.
SweepstakesUp to $2,500
There are weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly sweepstakes. The yearly sweepstakes can pay as much as $2,500 on a Visa prepaid card. The other prizes are smaller. It is purely luck, and the prizes and rules depend on your country.
Weekly diariesPrepaid Visa
There is not much information on the website about weekly diaries. Based on member feedback, they work like a journal of what you bought that week. There is a qualification process, but members say you almost always qualify. When you complete a diary, you receive a prepaid Visa card by mail. The amount depends on where you live.
Click to Check Out Nielsen Homescan for Yourself
How much can you make?
Rewards are usually a fixed amount per month, depending on how active you are. The exact rewards depend on your country, and you see your country’s terms before you join. Based on feedback from longtime members, it takes quite some time to redeem rewards, because most require a lot of points.
One example: in Australia, you can expect to earn $20 in vouchers every 2 months. This varies from country to country, so you need some patience.
Once you get used to scanning, it can feel like a form of passive income, because you only scan what you already buy. Overall, it does not pay that well, in my opinion.
Rewards and how you get them
| Reward | How you get it |
|---|---|
| Merchandise and products | By postal mail |
| Gift cards | Usually electronically |
| Prepaid Visa card (weekly diaries) | By mail, after each completed week-long diary |
| Sweepstakes prizes | Up to $2,500 on a Visa prepaid card |
You earn points for scanning and for surveys, usually a fixed amount per month, depending on how active you are. Homescan runs a different site for each country, so there is no general payout threshold. You see your country’s terms before you join. When you have enough points, choose a reward from the catalog. Examples are electronics, home and garden equipment, travel ware, fashion accessories, jewelry and pet accessories.
It would have been better if Homescan also let you redeem cash, through PayPal for example. If you want cash, see the top survey sites that pay via PayPal.
Is NielsenIQ Homescan worth it in your country?
Homescan runs a separate panel in each country it works in. Pick your country to see where NielsenIQ Homescan stands on my list of the best sites there.
What 34 readers told me
This review has 34 comments since 2020: 17 from readers and 17 replies from me. These are the three things readers mention most.
Readers in Canada and the UK report a fixed number of points per week, however much they shop, and months or longer before they can redeem. Only do it with the right expectations.
Some readers also have to enter prices and details about each shopping trip. Readers in the UK say they only scan. Some barcodes do not scan.
Long-time UK members say the catalog changed to gift cards, such as Amazon. If you cannot find how to redeem, check the guides for your country or contact support.
“It can take months/years to build up a decent enough pot to exchange for the gift cards as you only get a fixed amount of points each week whether you scan one lot of shopping or several shops in a week.”
Mikael: Thanks for sharing your experiences and opinion.
“Now they have changed from Catalogue offered goods to Gift Cards, which suits me fine, as Amazon is one of the options…”
Mikael: As for more options to earn Amazon gift cards, you can check out the best free sites to earn Amazon codes here.
“Do you need to scan the item itself or the reciepts or both???”
Mikael: Usually, the item itself.
NielsenIQ Homescan alternatives I have tested
| Site | Best for | Min. cashout | My rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Opinion | Surveys only, payouts usually within 30 minutes | $5 or $10, by country | 4.6 / 5 |
| ySense | Surveys plus other ways to earn, most countries | $10 PayPal | 4.0 / 5 |
| Swagbucks | Many daily ways to earn, one of the biggest GPT sites | About $5 PayPal; gift cards from 100 SB | 4.3 / 5 |
| Toluna Influencers | Surveys in more than 60 countries, in the local language | Usually around $7 to $10, by country | 4.2 / 5 |
| National Consumer Panel | The US version of Homescan: scan your groceries | Varies by reward | 2.3 / 5 |
Want to earn more regularly? See the top survey sites in your country. You will find a site you can register for quite easily.
How I scored NielsenIQ Homescan
I use the same 100-point system for every platform. Platform Information.
NielsenIQ Homescan scores 70 out of 100. It is an easy, long-term extra if it is recruiting in your country.
Check if Homescan is recruitingNielsenIQ Homescan FAQ
Is NielsenIQ Homescan a scam?
No. NielsenIQ Homescan is legit and owned by the Nielsen Company. But its earning potential is low, and rewards take time.
Is Nielsen Homescan the same as NielsenIQ Homescan?
Yes. It used to be called Nielsen Homescan, and its official name is now NielsenIQ Homescan. In the US, the panel is called National Consumer Panel.
Does NielsenIQ Homescan pay cash?
Not through PayPal. You redeem points for merchandise, products or gift cards. Members say the weekly diaries pay a prepaid Visa card by mail.
What is the minimum payout?
There is no general threshold. Homescan has a different site for each country, and the points you need depend on the reward.
Do I scan the item or the receipt?
Usually, the item itself.
Do I need the handheld scanner?
In EU countries, Homescan mostly sends you a handheld scanner. Outside the EU, you can use the app for Android and iOS. In some countries, the app is not yet available.
Can everyone in my household join?
No. Homescan only accepts one member per household, to keep its data accurate.
Which countries can join?
Australia, Canada, European Union countries, Thailand, the UAE and other countries. In the US, join National Consumer Panel instead.
How do I contact NielsenIQ Homescan?
Email the support address for your country, for example [email protected], and put the type of inquiry in the subject line. You can also call the number on the contact page within the listed hours.
How to join NielsenIQ Homescan
- Click the button below and choose your country. That takes you to the registration page.
- Fill out the registration form.
- Wait until Homescan contacts you about an available spot. It accepts one member per household.
- Once you are a member, use the app or the scanner Homescan sends you to start earning points.
If you have any comments, questions, or experiences with NielsenIQ Homescan, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.
I’ve been a member for over 30 years and still waiting for my name to appear as one of the prize draw winners! I did prefer it when you could trade in your points for goods not just a gift card as it is now but I suppose times change and it’s probably cheaper for them just to offer the gift cards than a variety of goods. It can take months/years to build up a decent enough pot to exchange for the gift cards as you only get a fixed amount of points each week whether you scan one lot of shopping or several shops in a week. I honestly think I still just keep scanning every week becauseI live in hope that one day, just one day, my name will eventually be a winner!
Thanks for sharing your experiences and opinion.
Love Nielsen in uk done it for 25 years and accumulated one thousand and 50 pounds for Amazon and b s as nd m which have cashed in been a great help thank you
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I joined a couple of months ago, and am hugely unimpressed by the entire experience.
They put forward the idea that you just have to scan each product you buy, when in actuality they expect you to scan the product then entire information about it. It’s very time consuming.
On top of that you get dammed with email and texts daily containing eye-roll inducing motivational quotes with a “friendly reminder” to make sure you scan your shopping.
It’s taken me 2 months to have my membership cancelled because they don’t answer calls to the help desk, they don’t return messages, they don’t respond to emails.
Definitely not worth the amount of time and effort they expect.
It’s not a scam, it’s just a shockingly bad experience.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
They seem to have changed their rewards. After almost a year of scanning weekly, I’m finally eligible for a gift. When I first joined, I had checked the gift catalogue and there were a ton of gifts, including gift cards. Now there’s only ONE gift available….a corkscrew….for a full year of scanning and doing every single survey and including the bonus signup points.
After the corkscrew, if I scan for 2.5 more years, every single week, I’m eligible for ONE other gift – an ipod charger. I don’t have ipods!! What a rip.
That definitely sounds frustrating. The exact rewards vary from country to country, but that they currently only have one option in your country is definitely not great. Which country do you live in? And did you try contacting their support to ask if they will soon have more rewards again?
I just joined Nielsen (in the UK) last month. So far I’m not impressed. I’ve been a member of ‘Shop and Scan’ for years and have earned hundreds of pounds in vouchers from them – even more since I joined their ‘Screenwise’ programme, which tracks internet/tv usage. I believe Google is their parent company.
I figured since I’m scanning all my shopping anyway, Nielsen was a no-brainer. But their iPhone app is badly designed and has now entirely stopped working. I tried reinstalling it, but now I can’t get back in! And the points seem to be worth SO much less than Shop and Scan.
Since Shop and Scan still use the handheld scanner and an ancient website (which only works on my old PC, it’s not Mac-compatible, sigh), I figured Nielsen’s app would be much easier. Nope. When it did work it took twice as long!
Also wasn’t thrilled that Nielsen insisted on phoning me to literally read out exactly what they’d already emailed me. What a waste of their time and mine!
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Scam. Scanner they send doesn’t work and the max 150 point per week is a joke. 8000 points for an Apple $10 gift card is an insult. All that time every week scanning purchases for nothing. Absolute joke. Don’t waste your time
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I’m a member of NielsenIQ in Canada since June, 2022. I get points for the weekly shopping trip submission (not for individual products) and for filling out the occasional survey. In the year since I joined, I still have not earned enough points to get a $25 Amazon gift card, which will take another 8 weeks to earn. I find the payout ridiculously low, but I’m not giving up now when I only have 2 more months. I don’t think I’ll bother continuing because it’s a big time commitment with almost nothing to show for my time.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Do you need to scan the item itself or the reciepts or both???
Usually, the item itself.
I am from South Africa, and I see that Nielsen has now operating in my country.Is it possible for you to advise me of the pro’s and con’s of their function in my country? I would really appreciate it.I have joined your feed on YouTube, and find it very useful.I downloaded the app,Free cash,on your recommendation video, and although I am not making much yet,I am in there.Thank you for the effort you put in to help us!
The pros and cons are more or less the same in all countries, so you can learn all the details in the review above.
I have been using this Shopping Scanning platform, for many years, in the UK and have used my earned points on many occasions to “buy” a wide variety of items from the NielsenIQ (formerly called “FACTFINDERS”) catalogue, including toys for grandchildren for Christmas & Birthdays, a fabulous good quality toddler high chair used by several of my grandchildren (which I may now sell on, as no longer required), etc….
The last item I acquired, using points only, from their Catalogue range, was a Smart HD Toshiba television….., which I use daily.
Now they have changed from Catalogue offered goods to Gift Cards, which suits me fine, as Amazon is one of the options, which means you can basically spend your earned point on everything & anything available via Amazon; a very much wider range of goods and brands than their Catalogue options ever offered.
The earning of points is a fixed amount every week that you scan anything or even if you did not shop as long as you report you made no purchases; simply report at least once every week.
Then you can also earn bonus points if you scan every consecutive week for a month and I think more bonus point for every consecutive week for 3 months?
We used to have/use handheld Scanner devices, but those have been phased out and we now use an App on our mobile phones…
I used to keep a handwritten log of my scanning history, but now it is visible on my App. . .
As is the points total, showing the latest updated date. . . .
Am about to check to see how many points I need for an Amazon Voucher. . . .
Maybe the return is not fantastic, compared to other available similar schemes !??
But I don’t know of any; do let me know though…
I have always had very positive experiences with this particular company though, with good Customer Service support; I fully trust them too.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
As for more options to earn Amazon gift cards, you can check out the best free sites to earn Amazon codes here.
I’m in the UK and have the scanning app.
Used to be able access the rewards catalog in my browser but now when I go to the page that used to work, all I get is ‘loading’ forever.
How do I access the rewards catalog?
You need to contact their support about this.
You cannot scan items with barcodes that have letters in them.
Thanks for sharing your experiences about this.
using in the uk you have the option to scan only and not the prices if i had to put prices in i would not do it.it does take a while to build up points but once you get used to scanning it its easily done.
Thanks for sharing your experiences about this.
I have been a member for a good few years , i have never spent a single point , could some one PLEASE tell me how to get on to the gift website ,.
Exactly how to redeem will depend on the country you live in. But there should be guides for your country on the platform. If you cannot find it, then I would suggest you contact their support.
Let me know how it goes.
It is not a scam, but you do a lot of work for very little reward. The rewards take a really long time to earn. After grocery shopping, the scanning and putting in prices and amounts and sales takes quite a while, no matter how many times you shop and scan in a week, you only earn a set amount of points, and it takes a long time to build them up to a level where you can buy anything from their catalogue. If you shop anywhere other than a national chain grocery store, you need to put in prices for everything, just scanning the code doesn’t do it. Even shopping at costco or walmart, you have to put in every single price. The scanner doesn’t work really well on shiny and glossy products or if the barcode is wrinkled or not perfectly flat, taking extra time to try and get products to scan. If you need to return a scanner for repairs, they send you shipping labels, but start and bug you after a couple of days that they have not received it back, the support staff are often quite rude.
Thanks for sharing your experiences about this Nancy. Which country are you using Homescan in? Because there are some differences from country to country and in some countries it is, for example, possible to use an app to do the scanning. So would be great to know which country you had these experiences in?
Thanks,
Canada, and the phone app is even more time consuming and invasive as they want to know whether you use a loyalty program, which loyalty program you used, how you paid for each transaction, right down to if you used a credit card they want to know if it was mastercard , visa, amex, etc. One of the questions on the app is particularly annoying, asking what was the purpose of your shopping trip, with answers such as “to pick up a few food items” “To pick up a few non food items” “To shop for a particular item”…. I went shopping, to do my shopping, and i just scanned an entire list of what i bought, often complete with pricing, so it would be lovely if they did not ask stupid questions about my intent when i left the house.
Thanks for taking the time to share this. Great to know some experiences from different countries.
Yea I’ve been using the ApP relatively frequently and I’ve yet to get single thing from them. I’d wager the same is true for a very conservative 80% of users. That’s literally MILLIONS in free market research and they can’t be bothered to throw you a bone after a year of free market research? Maybe it’s juicy if you’re in the top 1-5% and get free products, but good luck. And if you’re not, you get nothing.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Ben.