Paid studies › Prolific
Paid studies guide
Prolific: what participants should know
Prolific runs short online studies for academic, AI and product research, with a minimum hourly rate that researchers must pay. Verified adults in 52 listed countries join through a waitlist, and approved earnings cash out to PayPal from £6/$6 with no Prolific fee.
Go to Prolific's participant page
The facts
| Who can join | Adults 18+ living in one of 52 listed countries. Everyone joins a waitlist, and you must be in your country of residence when you take part. |
|---|---|
| Study types | Online surveys and questionnaires, behavioural experiments, product and brand studies, and invite-only AI evaluation tasks. |
| Typical pay (Prolific's rules) | Researchers must pay at least £6 / $8 an hour, and Prolific recommends at least £9 / $12. |
| Fees | No cash-out fee from Prolific; PayPal may charge for currency conversion. |
| How you're paid | PayPal only, in your own name and registered in your country. |
| When | Earnings appear when the researcher approves your submission (automatically after 22 days if they don't). Cash-outs reach PayPal within 24 hours. |
| Verification | Email, a local mobile number, photo ID checked by Onfido, and a short onboarding study. VPNs and proxies are flagged. |
| How selection works | Your 'About You' answers decide which studies you can see; unfiltered studies are first-come, first-served. |
| Rules worth knowing | No VPNs. No AI tools in answers unless asked. One account per person, and only one person per household per study. Prolific says it isn't meant to be a full-time job. |
| Referral programme | Only occasional, targeted participant referral campaigns. |
From Prolific's own help pages and terms, checked October 2026. Platforms change their rules; check the linked pages before you rely on a figure.
Sources
A message claiming to be from Prolific asks you to pay, share a password, or move to WhatsApp or Telegram? That's a scam. Here are the warning signs.
Compare with
Respondent
$40–150 per remote interview; $5–25 per short task · Tremendous gift card or virtual Visa (USD)
User Interviews
Studies listed from about $20 to $300+; average over $45 · Tremendous gift cards or prepaid cards (or the researcher's own method)
dscout
Most payouts $25–150; quick studies $2–25 · PayPal only
UserTesting
Shown per test (example rates: $4 short test, $10 standard, $30 per 30-minute live call) · PayPal only (USD)
TestingTime
Not published per study · PayPal or bank transfer (IBAN)
FocusGroup.com (Sago)
Not published per study; points (100 = $1) · Points for debit cards or retailer gift cards