Is Prolific a Scam? (My Honest Review 2023)

Are you looking for a Prolific Survey review? But you may wonder if it is a scam.

Prolific Survey is a website that pays you to fill out short surveys for companies and universities. 

While paid surveys are not typically known for their high earning potential, Prolific stands out among its competitors for its excellent reputation and higher earning potential.

As an Internet entrepreneur, I’m in a good position to share with you everything I know about online surveys. Over the years, I’ve reviewed many survey sites.

​​As a disclaimer, I’m not affiliated with Prolific Survey. It means I’m not paid to write this review.

So you can rest assured that you will get an honest and unbiased review from me.

At the end of this review, I’ll also tell you a better way to make money online. 

What is Prolific?

Prolific is a survey-based platform that connects researchers and participants. It was founded in 2014 by two Ph.D. students who had trouble finding subjects for their research. 

Over 3,000 nonprofits, schools, and businesses have used Prolific to gather feedback on products and services. 

Currently, more than 70,000 people have signed up with the company, which is headquartered in Oxford, England. 

Participants are promised at least $6.50 per hour for their time spent in studies.

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Red Flags For Prolific

Surveys that don’t work

One of the drawbacks of Prolific is that some surveys may not work correctly and need to be returned. This can be frustrating for both researchers and participants, especially if they have already invested time in the survey. However, this issue is not unique to Prolific and can happen on any survey platform.

Limitations for multiple users in the same household

Another limitation of Prolific is that if two people in the same household are using the platform, only one of them can participate in some surveys. This can be inconvenient if both individuals are interested in participating in surveys, but it is a necessary measure to prevent survey responses from being biased.

Technical issues with Chrome extension

Sometimes, Prolific’s Chrome extension may report available studies, but when the browser loads, they are all gone. However, this is most likely a problem with the internet connection and not Prolific’s fault. It’s important to ensure that your internet connection is stable before attempting to participate in any studies.

Unexplained Bans

If you suddenly get banned without warning or explanation, it could be a sign that Prolific is not a reliable platform. Some users have reported being banned after years of participation, with no apparent reason.

Poor Customer Service

Prolific’s customer service has been criticized for being unhelpful and dismissive. If you encounter an issue, don’t expect much assistance from their support team. They may give you canned responses or cut you off altogether.

Personal Data Harvesting

There have been allegations that Prolific farms personal data from its users. Some users have reported being rejected for unclear reasons or failing to pass verification checks, which require the submission of personal information.

Sudden Account Blocks

Some users have reported sudden account blocks, which can be frustrating if you’ve put in time and effort on the platform. These blocks may be permanent and may come without warning or explanation.

Payment Issues

There have been reports of payment issues, including delays in cashouts and rejected responses. If you use Prolific, keep track of your payments and be aware of the potential for payment problems.

 

 

 

 

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Green Lights For Prolific

Variety of Studies Available

Prolific offers a wide range of studies, which means there is always something new to participate in. This variety of studies makes it easy to find something that interests you and matches your schedule.

Efficient Payment Process for Participants

One of the best things about Prolific is that the payment process is quick and efficient. After completing a study, you’ll receive payment within a few days. Plus, Prolific pays in pounds, which makes it easy to calculate your earnings.

Provides Information about Survey Length

Before starting a study, Prolific provides you with information about the survey length. This helps you decide whether or not you have enough time to complete the study, and ensures that you don’t waste your time.

Low Withdrawal Limit of £5

Prolific has a low withdrawal limit of just £5, which means you can easily cash out your earnings once you’ve completed a few studies. This is great for people who want to earn a little extra money without having to wait too long to cash out.

Pre-Selection Process to Ensure Time is not Wasted

Prolific has a pre-selection process to ensure that you’re a good fit for a study. This helps to prevent wasted time and ensures that you only participate in studies that are relevant to you.

Some Studies can be Fun

Finally, some of the studies on Prolific can be quite enjoyable. Some of them involve playing games or completing fun tasks, which can be a nice change from traditional surveys.

Is Prolific a Scam?

Prolific Survey is not a scam. It is a legitimate platform that connects researchers with people who want to share their thoughts on various goods and services. 

Notable clients include the World Bank, Stanford University, and the University of Oxford. 

Many users appreciate the opportunity to earn extra money for their participation, as evidenced by the platform’s high ratings on Trustpilot and Survey Police. 

Some reviewers praised Prolific for its focus on academic and research-based studies. However, there were also some complaints about slow support and frequent account suspensions.

• Learn more: Make Money Online Scams: How to Avoid Them?

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How does Prolific work?

Prolific is a platform that helps researchers find the right participants for their studies or surveys. 

It offers an on-demand, self-service way for universities, businesses, and governments to collect high-quality data. 

Researchers pay based on the length of the study and the number of participants needed. 

Prolific also partners with other companies and organizations to assist with online surveys, academic research, participant research, and behavioral studies. 

Some of the databases that can be integrated with Prolific include Gorilla, SurveyMonkey, Typeform, and Qualtrics.

Why is Prolific Popular?

Prolific is considered one of the best survey sites by many users on beermoney forums. 

The site stands out for its interesting studies conducted by researchers with university degrees in areas such as psychology and social issues. 

Additionally, Prolific offers higher compensation rates compared to other survey apps, with payments ranging from half a cent to over two dollars for short surveys. 

One of the best features of Prolific is its pre-screening process, which ensures that the studies you are presented with are relevant to your interests and background, and you will get paid for every survey you complete. 

This is a great benefit compared to other platforms where you have to answer numerous qualifying questions before being eliminated if you do not qualify.

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Who is Prolific for?

Prolific is a platform that allows researchers (usually teachers and students) to easily gather high-quality answers from people around the world. 

The platform is open to anyone, including students and housewives, who are interested in participating in research that contributes to advancing human knowledge.

How much can you make from Prolific Online Surveys?

As a minimum wage for participating in surveys, you can expect to earn $6.50 per hour. The exact amount may vary depending on the length of the study and the number of participants.

The number of surveys you may participate in can vary and is determined by the specific needs of the researchers and the targeted group. It is possible that you may be contacted for up to 100 surveys.

Other Ways to Make Money on Prolific

Even though the referral programme for successful participants has ended, points can still be earned through the referral programme for researchers.

In exchange for referring a new client, you will receive a $50 credit and the new client will receive a $100 credit once they have funded their account. In addition, this credit can be applied to the cost of any Prolific subscription.

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How to sign up with Prolific?

Prolific is a website where you can sign up as either a participant or a researcher. To sign up, you’ll need to provide basic information such as your name, address, and date of birth, as well as a working email address.

To increase your chances of being selected as a participant in a study, it’s helpful to provide more information about yourself. This can include factors such as your age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education level, native language, and number of children, including any with special needs.

For researchers, in order to use Prolific to find participants and collect responses, you’ll need to provide a link to a survey.

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Who Can Join Prolific?

Prolific Survey is a survey site that is open to individuals who meet certain qualifications. 

To join, you must be at least 18 years old and be a resident of one of the following countries: 

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom or United States. 

In addition, different studies may have different device requirements. The most popular devices for taking surveys are PC and smartphones. 

To withdraw your earnings, you will need to verify your PayPal account.

How much are Prolific Points worth?

Unlike other survey sites, Prolific doesn’t use points to compensate respondents; it pays a flat rate between £5.50 and £6.50 per hour.

How to Redeem Points with Prolific?

When you earn more than £5 ($6.50), you can request a PayPal payout in GBP (British pounds). After the work is completed, Prolific will pay you within 22 days.

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Tips For Using Prolific Surveys

• Make sure you open a tab in your browser with the Prolific study page so you can get started right away.
• Keep your “About Me” page up-to-date. There may be questions added occasionally that, if not answered, will disqualify you from further study.
• Compare hourly rates of well-paying surveys.
• Don’t expect a steady income, and adjust your expectations accordingly.

Will Prolific keep your information safe? 

They will contact you by email only if:

• Prolific has new information for you.
• You are qualified for certain studies.
• Researchers have approved your study answers.
• There is a PayPal payment in progress for you.

Your other data is protected by Prolific. Third parties will not be able to access your data for advertising purposes. The phone number you provide is required for authentication.

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How is Prolific’s customer support?

Prolific is a company that has mixed reviews when it comes to customer service. Some customers say they respond quickly and are helpful, while others have had negative experiences. 

However, Prolific has set up resource centers that can be helpful for both researchers and participants. These centers cover many frequently asked questions. 

Additionally, the Prolific team is active on the subreddit “r/ProlificAC”, where users can ask questions and receive help from both other users and the Prolific staff.

How long does Prolific take to pay?

If you have at least £5 in your balance, you can request a withdrawal to your PayPal account. This service used to have a fee, but it is now free of charge. 

To get your payment quickly, make your request as close to a Tuesday or Friday as possible. Your withdrawal will be processed immediately after the fourth withdrawal.

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Alternative Survey Sites

Prolific  vs. Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys is a great choice if you’re looking to earn money by taking surveys. Unlike Prolific, which focuses on academic research, Branded Surveys concentrates on consumer market research. 

Not only that, but Branded Surveys also offers extra incentives like a daily survey, an affiliate survey, and an elite bonus program. 

For compensation, you’ll earn points for each completed survey or assignment, with each point being worth $0.01. Keep in mind that Prolific guarantees a minimum payment of $6.50 for each completed research study.

Prolific vs. Survey Junkie

Want to earn extra cash in your spare time? Try taking online surveys with SurveyJunkie. Unlike Prolific, which is geared towards academic research, Survey Junkie focuses on consumer products. 

This platform is open to anyone who wants to earn money by taking surveys and watching TV commercials. Keep in mind that Survey Junkie pays $2 per survey of equal length, while Prolific pays $5.50.

Prolific vs. LifePoints

LifePoints is a platform where you can participate in market research and earn financial compensation for your time and input. It mainly focuses on consumer research such as surveys and the purchase and use of their services. 

Another platform, Prolific, also helps with research but is more focused on academic studies. LifePoints pays between 20 to 100 points per task, and once you reach 550 points, you can exchange them for $5 credit on Amazon.com or PayPal. Prolific pays at least $6.50 per survey.

Prolific Survey FAQs

Q: Is Prolific free?

A: Yes, Prolific is free.

Q: How do I download the Prolific mobile app?

A: Currently, there is no mobile app for Prolific. However, you can access the content through a mobile-optimized website that you can load in your phone’s web browser.

Q: In which countries is Prolific available?

A: Prolific is available in many countries such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, The United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Q: How do I contact Prolific customer service?

A: You can contact Prolific’s customer service through their help portal. You can fill out a request form there.

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Final Verdict

Prolific is a reputable company that pays users in real currency for participating in studies. As a participant, you can earn up to $6.50 per hour. Your earnings will depend on your demographics and the studies you participate in. 

This is a great opportunity for students or anyone with free time and access to a computer or mobile device. Keep in mind that Prolific is free to use, but you will only be compensated if your answers are used in the study and there are no bonuses for completing surveys. 

It’s a good side hustle, but not the best choice if you want to build a sustainable passive income stream.

Is there a better way to make money online?

If you want to make a stable and secure stream of passive income, I would suggest you start an affiliate marketing business.

Affiliate marketing is perfect for anyone who is new to online business. 

In fact, of all the online business models I’ve tried, affiliate marketing is the easiest and most rewarding so far.  

In affiliate marketing, you can actually run your business almost with zero cost and achieve a steady and sustainable passive income to pay for your bills. You don’t need any initial capital and can even do it as a side hustle.

And if you really want to learn affiliate marketing and build a business from scratch, I’d recommend you to get started with the most reputable platform for affiliate marketing: Wealthy Affiliate.

Wealthy Affiliate is an all-in-one platform for building your affiliate marketing business from scratch. It offers you a free account (including a free website) with comprehensive training on SEO (free traffic methods), which enables you to get started with affiliate marketing right away without paying a penny.

But How Much Can You Earn with Wealthy Affiliate?

A 21-year-old student from Wealthy Affiliate was able to earn $7,395 in just 1 week, which means he made more than $1k a day…all while using free traffic methods.

Wealthy Affiliate has existed for 15 years and there are many success stories in the past decade.

You can read our full review of Wealthy Affiliate here.

Where to Join Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate has a very simple pricing scheme. It has a free and premium membership.

If you want to feel about Wealthy Affiliate, you can sign up for the free starter membership here (no credit card required). You can select to be a free member with no time limit.

And as a starter member, you can get instant access to the community, live chat, over 500 training modules, 2 classrooms, networking, commenting, 1 free website, and access to the keyword tool.

You can enjoy all these values without paying a penny. 

So I strongly recommend you register a free account and see it yourself.

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