Prolific

What is Prolific?

Prolific is a British research company that pays participants to take surveys.

How it works

You sign up, filling in details about you, what you do and where you live. You’ll then answer a series of questions that provide more information about your interests.

At that point the site will put you in its database to send surveys, when they seem appropriate for you and your interests.

Prolific review:

The surveys are largely research studies being conducted by major universities. Each study has a different rate of pay, most of which are initially expressed in British pounds. But when you register and put in your location, the pay will convert to your local currency.

Unlike other survey sites, such as Swagbucks and Survey Junkie, the surveys are not gamified to make them fun. Many of the surveys do, however, pay considerably more than the $1 to $3 per hour that we estimate you’d normally earn by answering survey questions on other survey platforms.

What we like

This site differs a bit from the others in that you’re expected to provide information about yourself — age, income level, job, etc. — and your interests in advance. You’re then invited to take part in surveys that you qualify for. This makes the sign-up process longer, but it saves you time in the end because you’re not asked to complete screening questions to determine your eligibility with every survey.

In testing the platform, we were presented with the chance to participate in dozens of surveys each week. Most of the surveys required 5 to 10 minutes and paid between 50 cents and $3. You will not get enough surveys to turn this into a full-time job, but you could easily make a few dollars a day here. It was pretty easy to earn the equivalent of $6 to $12 hourly rate that the site promises. And you could earn more if you’re discriminating about the surveys you accept.

Pay is generally approved within minutes of completing a survey. And the site allows you to cash out to a PayPal account as soon as you’ve accumulated $5.

The catch

The one thing we saw users complaining about was that the site expects you to verify your identity in advance. This includes providing a photo ID. You are then given a user number, which is how the site identifies you to the researchers and for payment.

For valid research, we see this requirement as necessary. It eliminates the risk that people would game the system by creating multiple identities to retake well-paid surveys, which would make the results inaccurate. So, we don’t see this as a shortcoming. However, if you don’t want to provide identifying documents to a website, this is not the survey site for you.

Recommendations:

This is, far and away, the best-paying survey site we’ve found. However, there are dozens of others. And, if you like the idea of earning money answering questions, and giving your opinions, you may also be able to earn money with focus groups and mock juror sites. Also consider checking out ProductTube and Ivueit.

If you like more gamified survey sites, also consider Swagbucks and SurveyJunkie. 

What their users say (from SurveyPolice)

Prolific is my all time favorite place to do studies at. They are different than all the other sites, If studies are on your page, you can probably qualify if you’re interested in the topic, and if not you can return it without penalties.They are very interesting though!Payout is fast and easy, and really adds up.I really enjoy this site.

This is a site that started off well and now after a year the surveys are getting fewer, the monetary reward is getting less and now they want a security photo; drivers license or passport ID. I think that’s a bit over the top for a 17 cents survey.

Made a small amount of pocket money (£20) but can’t cash out. Got an email saying acct suspended. They said they can’t disclose specific reasons! All my submissions had been approved, I even received a bonus from some researchers but they won’t give me my last payout.

Really interesting surveys which aren’t about marketing. Rewards mount up quickly. The only problem is that a lot of surveys can only be done on laptop or pc, not tablet.

What their users say (from Indeed)

As a remote Marketing Research company Prolific is a trustworthy company. The downside is just the amount of Studies (research) available therefore you cannot make a good money monthly.