Why Prolific?
Prolific's known for its unbeatable data quality and flexibility. Recruit niche and representative samples on demand from our diverse pool of 130,000+ participants.
Prolific vs. MTurk
How are we different?
Highly reliable data
When testing Prolific, MTurk, CloudResearch, Dynata and Qualtrics, research shows that Prolific produces significantly higher data quality on all measures. This includes attention, honesty, comprehension and reliability. Read the full paper or blog summary.
Free audience filtering
Use all of Prolific's 250+ pre-set filters at no extra cost. Only representative samples cost more. On MTurk, each additional screener adds to your bill.
*Should you need a niche sample of participants we don't have screeners for, contact us.
Representative samples
Get more accurate national conclusions on Prolific using our representative sample feature. Our algorithm will distribute your survey across sex, age and ethnicity within either the US or UK.
Built for multi-part studies
Prolific’s tools help you easily find the same participants and run follow-up studies. You have to manually trace participants on MTurk.
Ethical rewards
Part of high quality research is following universal ethical standards. Unlike MTurk and other platforms, Prolific sets a minimum hourly reward of £6.00 or $8.00 for all participants.
Scientific expertise and support
Prolific is designed by researchers for researchers. That's why set up is so quick and easy – think 15 minutes, not hours. Our support team comes with extensive training too. Ask us for anything you need or view our Help Centre.
Message participants anonymously
Prolific protects researcher and participant privacy. Our research rules and anonymous in-app messaging system help you chat freely and safely about your studies.
Large active participant pool
MTurk doesn’t list how many active participants they have, but claim to have a total pool of 500,000. Prolific has 130,000+ active participants, with 800,000+ total pool size.
Self-service on demand
Prolific is built to put researchers in control. Recruit participants when you need them and collect data at 10x the speed of traditional research methods.
Fast study completion
The average study takes 2 hours to complete on Prolific, and MTurk is speedy too. Completion time depends mainly on your audience and study length.
Affordable pricing
Both are affordable, but Prolific’s free audience filters and reliable data help remove hidden costs. Prolific’s minimum reward is $8.00 per hour + 30% service fee for industry customers, or 25% service fee for academics and non-profits. MTurk’s minimum is $0.01 per task + 20% service fee (or 40% for 10+ tasks). Whilst MTurk can be cheaper, paying to prescreen and replace unreliable data can quickly increase costs.
Researchers love Prolific because
Our data quality stands out
Get used to thoughtful, reliable answers. Research proves we're best in class.
You control the process
Create your survey with your favourite tools. Bring us the link. We'll supply the data.
It's easy to use & fast
Set up in 10 minutes and start seeing results instantly. Studies complete in hours, not weeks.
There are no hidden costs
Pricing is transparent and affordable, so you feel total confidence we'll suit your budget.
Support is always on hand
Our team of scientists and experts are ready if you need us.
You can run follow-up studies
Easily run longitudinal and multi-part studies. Or simply interview select participants.
Audience selection is free
Use all our 250+ pre-set filters if you need. It's no extra cost. Only representative samples cost more.
We take care of participants
Participants see every penny meant for them, and our minimum reward respects their time.
Testimonials
Mike Hinds
Green Market Mechanism Designs
Shaun Wallace
Brown University
Greg Simmonds
University of Oxford
"We are really enjoying using Prolific. It has been so much better for us than MTurk.”
"Prolific participants were writing in full sentences and fully describing things. It’s a gold mine of data and such valuable feedback."
“Prolific is amazing. 4,000 participants in less than 24 hours. It's the stuff of dreams.”
How it works
1 Insert your survey link
Easily integrate Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Gorilla, Typeform, or any other software using just a link.
2Find your target audience
Find the participants you need using 250+ demographic screeners.
3Collect responses
Publish your study instantly and maintain quality control throughout.
Join over 25,000 researchers from 3,000+ institutions and companies
And have instant access to over 130,000 participants from around the world.