Roughly, I’d estimate Ipsos to cost about 40-50% more than Prolific, but this could depend on factors like desired sample size, length of the survey, bundled pricing packages, platform-specific inflation, etc. There may also be a more dramatic difference if nationally representative options are, or are not, selected on Prolific (it’s not a default, as far as I’m aware).
I think there are other important methodological issues to consider as well. One is a time trade-off. Ipsos (and other similar quota-based sampling platforms) may require more time (estimating about 2x?) for data collection. This could be problematic, especially for fast-moving fields or topics. Another issue is the unknown presence of additional sampling biases that might be reflected in different online samples. There’s an interesting discussion from a Prolific staff researcher on our report and that issue here.
Rather than levying a judgment in favor of one or the other samples, I think it’s important to be aware of these sorts of methodological trade-offs and their implications.
Roughly, I’d estimate Ipsos to cost about 40-50% more than Prolific, but this could depend on factors like desired sample size, length of the survey, bundled pricing packages, platform-specific inflation, etc. There may also be a more dramatic difference if nationally representative options are, or are not, selected on Prolific (it’s not a default, as far as I’m aware).
I think there are other important methodological issues to consider as well. One is a time trade-off. Ipsos (and other similar quota-based sampling platforms) may require more time (estimating about 2x?) for data collection. This could be problematic, especially for fast-moving fields or topics. Another issue is the unknown presence of additional sampling biases that might be reflected in different online samples. There’s an interesting discussion from a Prolific staff researcher on our report and that issue here.
Rather than levying a judgment in favor of one or the other samples, I think it’s important to be aware of these sorts of methodological trade-offs and their implications.