micro1 vs Prolific
Side by side from today's live listings and each platform's own documentation. Plenty of people work on both.
| micro1 | Prolific | |
|---|---|---|
| Live roles | 24 | Behind login |
| Median hourly | $90 | n/a |
| Top rate | $240 | n/a |
| How it pays | Semi-monthly. Work from the 1st to the 15th is paid around the 20th, and work from the 16th to month-end around the 5th of the next month (Pacific time). | Researchers must pay at least $8 (£6) an hour, and Prolific recommends $12 (£9). Approved earnings can be cashed out to PayPal once your balance reaches $6 or £6; payments arrive within 24 hours. New accounts wait 72 hours between cash outs until they've done four. |
| Hiring | Sign up, take the AI interview (20-40 minutes), and some roles add a short skills assessment. Certified experts are matched to projects as they open. | Sign up as a participant and verify your identity. There is often a waitlist; once in, studies that match your profile appear on your dashboard first come, first served. |
| Run by | micro1, an AI recruiting and human-data company. It certifies experts with an AI interview, then matches them to lab projects. | Prolific, a London company that runs an online research panel. Universities and AI companies pay participants to take studies and do AI evaluation tasks. |
Median hourly by field
| Field | micro1 | Prolific |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine & health | $90 (3) | n/a |
| Chemistry | $68 (2) | n/a |
| Biology & life sciences | $68 (2) | n/a |
| Engineering | $90 (3) | n/a |
| Software & coding | $92 (3) | n/a |
| Languages & translation | $82 (2) | n/a |
| Generalist | $87 (2) | n/a |
Number of hourly listings in brackets.