This is a review of Prolific.com, a scientific study website that pays members for contributing to research being carried out mostly by scientists. I’ve been using it since September 2016 and have earned thousands of extra pounds over the years!
For this review of Prolific I’ll be looking at the positives and the negatives of using the website. If you also want to start making some extra beer money from them you can join for free at prolific.com. You can be a full-time worker, student, or retired – it doesn’t matter, anyone can join.
Once you’re a member of the website you can fill out fun and interesting studies in return for money.
Proof of earnings and payouts
In order to use the website you will need to be over 18, have a Paypal account to receive payments and will need to verify a phone number (done via an automated system). They accept people from most countries around the world including the UK, USA and most of Europe.
A vital part of any website is whether they’re trustworthy. I’ve never had any problems receiving the money owed to me. Here’s a screenshot showing how much I’ve made so far. Below is my latest PayPal screenshot showing proof of payment.
If you can’t see the photo very well you can click on it to see in full screen.
Review of the positives about Prolific
There are three of massive positives about using Prolific:
- Compared to other survey sites the pay is significantly higher
- Lots of the surveys are either fun or interesting
- Payouts are sent instantly to PayPal (once you’ve done 5 cashouts, before that they’re done twice a week)
In a way, I don’t really like using the word “surveys” for this company because lots of them are things like scientific tasks. Or they ask for your opinions about moral situations. They are very different to what other traditional survey websites ask you about. The others tend to be about buying habits and that sort of thing. That’s not what it’s like at Prolific, it’s a lot more interesting. That’s why they use the word “studies”.
The very fact that pay is higher than average and the studies are fun to do is already what makes this one of the best survey websites. On top of that the screening system they have on your profile means you won’t waste time being screened out of surveys.
Payments are done twice a week when you first join. It switches to instant withdrawal after 5 successful cashouts. The minimum payout is only £5 via PayPal. It’s always good to know you’re going to receive what you’re owed.
Joining and using the website is easy to do. Their website is very reliable and very rarely has any problems. You also have the option to contact the researcher directly for any of the studies you take part in should there be a problem.
Review of negatives
One of the downsides is that sometimes the allocations for surveys get taken up very quickly. Especially if the researcher only needs a small amount of participants.
Don’t be worried if you keep going to the “Available Studies” page and there is never anything available. It will go like that sometimes. Sometimes you will login a few times per day for days on end and seen nothing! Other times you get super lucky and there are 3 available! That’s very rare though. It will vary over time. Just keep trying and you’ll see for yourself.
Please also remember that how much you can earn will depend on demographics. Different members will have surveys available to them.
How to maximise your earnings at Prolific
Logging in periodically throughout the day will yield by far the best results. I appreciate you may have to work or be doing other things in life but if you can make it part of your money-making schedule to check the Prolific website then it will pay off. If needs be, bookmark it on your smartphone and use that! There’s also a free Chrome browser extension you can use.
Speed is the other thing you need. When a survey is available be quick to accept it. If you come back to it an hour later it will probably be gone.
There are no other real tips for you to maximise earnings. You want to try every single study that you see available. Consistency will also be your biggest weapon. If you give up after a week then it’s pretty obvious you won’t make much.
One of the best websites to earn extra money from
Overall I think Prolific is one of the best survey websites and well worth being a member of. I am happy to use the word “best” for the reasons that I enjoy the types of studies and think the pay is very fair.
This is just one of many decent survey websites that you can make money from. If you are looking for more to join see my survey companies with low payouts table.
If you prefer to watch videos to get a feel for what a website is like I’ve also published a Prolific Academic review on Youtube.
Hopefully, this review has been helpful and you can get on and increase your earnings!
Last update: September 27, 2023