We are simplifying the terms we use and have replaced 'service fee' and 'Prolific fee' with 'platform fee' - the only thing that is changing is the name. You will see the term 'platform fee' instead of previously used terms on our website, help center and invoices.
Participant rewards
On Prolific, we endorse the principle of 'ethical rewards'. Evidence suggests that fair pay leads to better data quality. We recommend you pay participants at least £9.00 / $12.00 per hour, while the minimum pay allowed is £6.00 / $8.00 per hour.
Our platform fee
We add a platform fee to provide all of the services that keep the Prolific platform running and improving.
Prolific’s platform fee never comes out of participant payments. This means participants will receive exactly what you choose to pay them.
Prolific charges a standard platform fee as a % of the participant costs.
- 42.8% for corporate customers
- 33.3% discounted rate for academia and non-profits
Note: As of September 2024, we use a 'mark-up' phrasing rather than a 'margin' phrasing when explaining how to calculate our platform fee. While both result in the same platform fee for Prolific, customer feedback has been consistent that a ‘mark-up’ phrasing is clearer and more easily understood than ‘margin’.
Below are examples of how we calculate our platform fee:
Corporate pricing:
Participant cost = $70.42
Prolific's fee (42.8% on top of the participant costs) = $29.58
Total cost = $100
Academic/non-profit pricing:
Participant cost = $70.42
Prolific's fee (33.3% on top of the participant costs) = $23.44
Total cost = $93.86
Where relevant, VAT will be charged on top of this platform fee (see below for more details).
To estimate the cost of your own study click our ‘handy cost calculator’ at the bottom of the article.
To qualify for the academic/non-profit exclusive rates, sign up with your institutional email address and choose either 'Academia' or 'Non-profit' as your account type. We are unable to offer our reduced fee to non-associated email addresses, such as Gmail or Outlook.
Representative samples
Representative samples do not incur any additional cost on top of our standard platform fee. You can read more about representative samples here.
VAT
You may be charged VAT depending on where you’re based. VAT is charged on platform fees only. Participant payments are not subject to VAT.
You can read more about when we charge VAT and how to add a VAT exception to your workspace here.
Different currencies
Prolific is currently available in GBP and USD for researchers. We can provide invoices in other currencies where needed - please see here for more information.
If you have created an account or workspace in the incorrect currency, or would like to convert an account's or workspace's currency between GBP / USD for any other reason, please get in touch with our Support Team using the button at the bottom of this article. Please note that account conversion between currencies is intended as a one-off change, and is not possible for individual studies.
All participants are currently paid in GBP or USD, depending on the currency that the study was published in.
How much will my study cost?
You can find out how much your study would cost by generating a quote for your study. We also have a handy cost calculator!
Need further help?
Click here to contact us