Prolific Overview
- Get Paid Through PayPal
- Legitimate (Not a Scammy Survey Website)
- Engaging and Interesting
- Fair Compensation
- Days can pass without new studies
- Studies Fill Up Fast
Not all survey websites are disease filled cesspools, making false promises and offering mere pennies for hours of work. Lets take a look at one of the good ones, a crowdsourcing website called Prolific, and answer these questions
How much can you make with Prolific? and Is Prolific legitimate?
Prolific is a crowdsourcing platform that was founded in 2014. Since its inception it has grown into a reputable space for researchers and academics to conduct studies and pay participants for their opinions on a variety of topics. It is supported by the University of Oxford, and has become one of my favorite websites to visit and earn a quick buck by completing some surveys, testing an app or answering some focus group type questions.
How it Works
Once you have created your account you will be given a series of questions to answer. Prolific uses these questions to determine the type of studies you will be matched with. After you have completed your profile, studies will appear from time to time in your feed. It will include the title of the study, who it is hosted by, and the compensation you will receive upon completion. The benefit here is that you have already been screened and deemed an appropriate participant for the study so there is no worry about being screened out, and wasting your time.
Payment and Compensation
Ah! Asking the important questions now. Do they actually pay you? and is this legitimate? The answer to both is yes! Prolific is a very legitimate way to make extra money online. Prolific pays out through PayPal which will be appealing for many. However, there is a minimum payment threshold you need to meet before you can cash out your earnings. Once you have met the minimum payment amount you can easily request payment through your account profile. Prolific pays out quick, and I have yet to have an issue with them. They do pay out in GBP (Great Britain Pound Sterling) which adds to the value if you are a Canadian or American citizen with that juicy exchange rate.
How Much Can You Make With Prolific?
It’s a small sample size, but I was able to earn 10.87 GBP in a week by checking their website sparingly throughout the day, and dedicating roughly 90 minutes of my time to studies. After the exchange rate that works out to around $16 CDN or $13 US. There is a lot of earning potential here, and I would estimate that a dedicated user could easily surpass $50 a week or more. Some studies pay as much as 5GBP ($6.50 US$8 CDN) with most paying around 1 GBP ($1.30 US/$2 CDN). I like to call these beer money websites. You won’t get rich, but you would be surprised at how fast the money adds up.
Cons
While prolific offers a lot of value, and doesn’t require much of a time commitment it can still be a frustrating platform to use. Studies have a limited number of spots available, and often fill up fast. This means that unless you are refreshing the page constantly, missing out on newly launched studies will be a common occurrence.
Final Thoughts
Prolific is a great way to make extra money online each month. They are reputable, and always pay on time without fail. The time commitment is minimal, and the compensation is fair. Most of the studies are actually interesting, and I particularly enjoyed the app testing ones. They are interactive, and not just a series of mind numbing questions. The potential to make $200 a month or more is there, but the casual user can expect to make $30 – $50 a month. It is a great alternative to websites like Swag Bucks.