Is Prolific Legit Or A Scam? (Our Honest Review!)

Prolific is a legit market research platform that's also one of the highest-paying companies in the space. It pays participants a minimum of $8 per hour to take part in research studies, which is way higher than most surveys out there.

But how much can you make with this site? And is it even worth signing up for?

We signed up to test it out. And my Prolific review is sharing my experience with this website, how it works, and if it's worth your time or not.

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Key Takeaways:

• Prolific is a global survey panel and market research company
• You get paid to take part is studies and to complete surveys
• Prolific studies and surveys must pay at least $8 per hour
• You cash out to PayPal cash and can get paid twice per week

Is Prolific Legit?

Prolific is legit and has one of the highest hourly rates out of any paid survey website. It also has a 4.4 star rating average on Trustpilot with over 1,800 reviews and pays its members on time.

In fact, it's one of the most popular paid survey sites and is commonly recommended on websites like Reddit Beermoney. I also tested Prolific at WebMonkey and found it's easy to use and pays you properly after you complete a survey.

And the fact that Prolific has a $8 hourly minimum requirement is truly what makes it one of the better survey sites out there.

Most negative Prolific reviews are from people who want to make a full-time income with this site. But this is just a fun money-making site you can use for a bit of extra pocket money, not a full-time online job.

What Is Prolific Surveys?

Prolific is a paid survey website that initially began to help a researcher find participants for a study she was completing as a part of her PhD. Since then, Prolific has become available to researchers around the world, helping them secure credible data sets for studies.

So, in a nutshell, Prolific connects researchers and relevant participants to help in scientific research and marketing studies.

As a participant, you qualify for certain surveys based on your age, gender, country, and other personal demographic questions. The more questions you fill out, the more surveys you get sent, and the more money you end up making.

The beautiful part about Prolific is that each survey has a time estimate, a pay rate, and an hourly wage. Prolific also pays more than most survey websites on average and has some minimum earning requirements researchers need to adhere to (more on this later).

Overall, this high-paying site is a great way to make money in your spare time. And if you like participating in studies and research, it's right up your alley.

How Does Prolific Surveys Work?

I signed up for Prolific to find out how the site works and what to expect. Overall, it's a pretty beginner-friendly way to make money online and is easy to use.

Here's a quick breakdown of how the entire platform works from signing up to cashing out.

1. Prolific Eligibility & Available Countries

Just about anyone that’s at least 18 can sign up for Prolific, which is standard across most survey websites.

However, only people in OECD countries will be able to participate in studies (AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, CL, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LU, LV, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, SE, SI, and US).

There’s been talk at Prolific about extending the availability to other countries, but so far it hasn’t happened. If you’re not in a qualifying country, you can check out more globally-friendly sites like Toluna and Surveoo.

2. Create An Account

If Prolific is available in your country, all you need to do is sign up using your email address and phone number, or your Facebook account.

Prolific also uses pre-screening questions to determine your eligibility for any given survey. There’s a ton of questions you can fill in, but they’re not mandatory to answer to start participating.

However, the more questions you answer the more studies you will become eligible for.

Many of the studies being conducted on the platform have very specific population criteria, meaning they may be looking for a very specific age group, gender, income group, nationality, or something else you may be qualified for.

It took me about 20 minutes to complete my Prolific profile. This is unpaid work, but it's worth it in the long run since you qualify for more studies.

3. Find & Participate In Studies

Available studies for you to participate in are available under the ‘Manage Studies’ tab. You can also view your total earnings from approved studies under this tab.

More importantly, you can also check your Prolific score. This starts at 100 and declines if one of your survey submissions gets rejected– and your bonus earnings.

As you browse through studies you can see the title, the name of the researcher conducting them, the pay rate, and the approximate time expected for completion– which is very accurate compared to other survey sites.

If you see one you like, simply just click the ‘Select this Study’ button, which will carry you over to the information page where you can click to start the study.

The studies all follow a similar format, but some may have test questions to make sure you’re actually paying attention, so watch out for those and read carefully.

Once you're done, click on the completion link to go back to the homepage or click ‘I’m finished’ and let the researcher know you’ve completed it.

Quick Tip: Every study has a limited number of spots, so you should start the one you like as soon as possible, otherwise you may miss your chance!

Getting Paid & Cashing Out

You need to have over £5 in your account in order to cash out with Prolific. Payment requests are processed on Cash Out Days, which are every Tuesday and Friday afternoon (GMT). Prolific pays participants via PayPal.

After cashing out 4 times, you will automatically qualify for Instant Cash Outs so you don't have to wait for Cash Out Days.

Your earnings from a study appear once the researcher has approved your submission. If they don’t do this, then funds are automatically sent after 22 days.

Payment is issued in GDP, but you can convert this to your currency of choice through PayPal, which is useful since Prolific is available in so many countries. A £5 minimum is actually very reasonable and is the same as Swagbucks and Prime Opinion.

Prolific also lets you donate your funds to charity, so you can do good and contribute to science!

Is Prolific Safe?

Prolific is a safe and reliable website that lets you take part in research studies to make extra money. It's not a scam, and it's one of the more trusted platforms out there.

There’s tons of positive Prolific reviews from users who say that the information posted is accurate and detailed, and payment has been received without issue.

As you can see from multiple Reddit threads throughout this post, people do get paid and Prolific is legit.

How Much Does Prolific Pay?

Most Prolific surveys pay anywhere from $0.5 to $2, depending on how long the survey takes to complete. There are longer surveys that can pay morey, which can take 45 minutes or an hour to complete, as well as some that require you to create a video or do a written task.

You can also get bonuses on Prolific, but these are also quite small (usually around $1 or $2).  However, the main thing to note is that Prolific requires a minimum hourly rate of $8.

While this isn't better than getting a second job or most app based jobs, it definitely beats most survey websites (which barely pay anything).

Overall, how much you make varies depending on how many surveys you complete. Your country and demographics also influence how many surveys you qualify for.

The best way to make the most out of prolific is to check your account every day–even multiple times a day if you can– to see if any have been added.

Quick Tip: Use Prolific's Chrome extension to get notified when surveys are available so you don't miss them.

Prolific Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Interesting topics and helps contribute to meaningful research
• Reliable payouts of free PayPal money and a $5 cash out threshold
• Higher hourly pay than most survey apps
• Pre-screening means you don’t get kicked out of surveys nearly as often
• Mobile-friendly website means you can do your surveys anywhere, anytime

Cons:

• Limited number of surveys available depending on your demographic
• Long wait for payout when researchers don’t approve your submission
• No sign up bonus
• Won't replace your day job
• No referral program
• No mobile app

Other Prolific Reviews

I tried out Prolific, and it's very similar to other paid survey sites and has a pretty good reputation for paying users on time. But one of the best ways to determine if a survey site is legit or not is to see what other users have to say about the platform as well.

Thankfully, there are plenty of Reddit threads with some positive Prolific reviews. In this recent thread, here's what some real Prolific users had to say:

• aceacebailby says: “I've been on since August and I probably average 5 (surveys) a day. It's rare that I get absolutely nothing. And then I have rare days when I've submitted upwards of 10-15 in a day. I've made over $1,000 since August 2020.”
• Koolkat30625 says: “Prolific is by far the best survey site. Best pay in comparison to other survey sites. I also actually find most of their surveys interesting. The month of March I made $123.21.”
• Gonadatron says: “Prolific is the ONLY survey website I use. I have heard horror stories about the other sites and how they also only pay in Amazon Gift cards.”
• Youcha19 says: “All what I got in my account is ‘waiting for studies. Want some more’. I’ve signed up since December but no study received so far.”
• moocow232 says: “In 1 year I earned £160 with Prolific (with a 2 month break of not doing any surveys)
• maruf_sakar100 says: “I'm at £380 so far, from the UK, I'm about 1.5 years in or so

It's honestly a very useful Reddit thread to read if you want to learn more about making money on Prolific. It seems like users either love Prolific and make a decent amount of extra cash with the platform or are stuck waiting for surveys.

However, from various user testimonials, it also sounds like using the Prolific Assistant extension (mentioned down below) helps you land survey opportunities more consistently.

Extra Reading – The 27 Highest Paying Apps.

The Best Prolific Surveys Alternatives

We think Prolific is one of the best gpt sites due to the high hourly pay and low minimum cash out requirement. Plus, its surveys can be a bit more interesting since they're usually part of some research project.

However, there are plenty of other sites like Prolific you can use to maximize your online earnings like:

• Branded Surveys: This popular survey site lets you cash out with free gift cards and PayPal cash.
• Kashkick: A fun way to answer surveys and play games for PayPal cash.
• Swagbucks: This reward website lets you play games for money, answer surveys, shop online, watch ads, and more.
• InboxDollars: Another leading survey platform that also has a $5 sign-up bonus.
• Survey Junkie: Another leading survey site with a low $5 cash out requirement.
• Amazon MTurk: A global microtask site similar to Prolific.
• User Interviews: One of our favorite ways to find high-paying research studies.

My video on the best survey sites also covers Prolific plus some of my all-time favorite alternatives.

Granted, none of these websites are going to make you thousands of dollars a month. But they're a reliable way to make some quick money on the side in your spare time and without much effort.

Who Should Sign Up?

In my opinion, the ideal Prolific user is someone who wants to start a new side hustle from home and potentially make some extra grocery money.

Prolific can pay users around $20 to $100 per month if you get a bit lucky and get enough surveys, and overall, it's one of the best paying survey sites out there. However, if you want to make thousands of dollars per month or replace your day job, Prolific isn't the right side hustle for you.

Instead, you can check out our post on jobs that pay $5,000 per month, like freelance writing or other types of freelancing, to make more considerable income.

Extra Reading – The Best Surveys That Pay Cash Instantly.

Is There Customer Support?

You can get help by using Prolific's help center for participants. There's also a FAQ to help out users with common questions.

Is There A Mobile App?

There's no Prolific app and you can only use this site on your desktop or online browser at this time. Check out our guide on the top survey apps for more mobile-friendly alternatives.

Final Thoughts

Prolific might be the best of its kind, but it’s still not going to make you rich. The payout is still somewhat low, especially considering how many surveys you have to complete to make a decent amount of money.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for a serious side hustle to supplement your income, you might want to look elsewhere. That being said, if you just want to make some beermoney in your spare time, Prolific is probably one of the best online side hustles out there.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully, our Prolific review has helped clarify what to expect!

Want more money-making ideas? Checkout:

• The Best Instant Pay Survey Apps.
• The Best Surveys For PayPal Money.