Prolific vs. MTurk

Prolific is the better alternative to MTurk for online survey research

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. 

Free audience filtering

Use all of Prolific's 300+ pre-set filters at no extra cost. Only representative samples cost more. On MTurk, each additional screener adds to your bill.

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 $8.00 or £6.00 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.

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 200k+ active participants, with 1,000,000+ 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% platform fee for industry customers, or 25% platform 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.
It's easy to use and fast
Set up in 10 minutes and start seeing results instantly. Studies complete in hours, not weeks.
Support is always on hand
Our team of scientists and experts are ready if you need us.
Audience selection is free
Use all our 300+ pre-set filters if you need. It's no extra cost.
You control the process
Create your survey with your favorite tools. Bring us the link. We'll supply the data.
There are no hidden costs
Pricing is transparent and affordable, so you feel total confidence we'll suit your budget.
You can run follow-up studies
Easily run longitudinal and multi-part studies. Or simply interview select participants.
We take care of participants
Participants see every cent meant for them, and our minimum reward respects their time.

Why our partners love Prolific…

We are really enjoying using Prolific. It has been so much better for us than MTurk.

Mike Hinds, Green Market Mechanism Designs

Prolific participants were writing in full sentences and fully describing things. It’s a gold mine of data and such valuable feedback.

Shaun Wallace, Brown University

Prolific is amazing. 4,000 participants in less than 24 hours. It's the stuff of dreams.

Greg Simmonds, University of Oxford

How it works

Step 1

Insert your survey link

Easily integrate Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Gorilla, Typeform, or any other software using just a link.
Step 2

Find your target audience

Find the participants you need using 300+ demographic screeners.
Step 3

Collect responses

Publish your study instantly and maintain quality control throughout.
Step 1

Insert your survey link

Easily integrate Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Gorilla, Typeform, or any other software using just a link.
Step 2

Find your target audience

Find the participants you need using 300+ demographic screeners.
Step 3

Collect responses

Publish your study instantly and maintain quality control throughout.
Trusted by leading organizations
University of Oxford
Kickstarter
Braided Communications
Google
The World Bank

It’s simple (and free) to get started.

Getting started is simple. With no contract or subscription, – just a transparent platform fee for each completed response.