SellTo.us vs Poll the People: AI-simulated audience or real survey panel?

Last verified: October 31, 2026 · SellTo.us Team

Poll the People and SellTo.us both help you choose between ideas, names and designs before you spend money. They do it in very different ways: one asks real people from a survey panel, the other simulates an audience with AI. Here’s an honest comparison, with prices checked on the official site.

The short answer

Poll the People sends quick surveys and head-to-head tests to a panel of real people, mostly in the US, and charges per response. SellTo.us simulates thousands of AI participants for the audience you describe and reports reactions by group in minutes. Use SellTo.us to screen ideas and wording cheaply; use Poll the People when you need answers from real people.

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100 AI-simulated participants · no card needed · free if eligible

What SellTo.us does

SellTo.us shows your idea to AI-simulated participants built from the audience you describe and reports how they react: who is interested, who isn’t, the reasons they give and what to check next. It works for startup ideas, apps, services, physical products, ads and prices. The participants are AI personas, not real people, and the results are simulated reactions, not survey data or sales forecasts. See the methodology for how participants are created, how answers are counted and the limits.

What Poll the People does

Poll the People describes itself as an AI-powered market research platform for custom surveys. You pick a template or build your own test, such as a brand-name test, a logo test or a head-to-head comparison of two designs or videos, and send it to its panel. Respondents explain their choices, and the platform analyzes the answers: filtering out low-quality responses, grouping themes and letting you ask questions about the results.

Its panel is real people. Poll the People says it has a panel of more than 500,000 people, mostly in the US, recruited through third-party services and paid a small stipend, and its FAQ says markets outside the US aren’t supported.

The important difference: simulated vs. real people

This is the part that matters most. Poll the People collects answers from real people. SellTo.us generates answers from AI-simulated participants. Real people can surprise you, use their own experience and tell you things no description contains; their answers are evidence about real behavior and opinions, within the limits of the method. Simulated participants are faster and cheaper to run at scale, and they’re useful for screening and comparing options, but their answers are produced by an AI model from the description you gave. They show the kinds of reactions people like your audience might have, not what anyone actually thinks.

So the two are not substitutes. A sensible flow uses a simulated test to narrow down what to ask, then real people to check it.

Pricing

Poll the People (from its official pricing page, checked October 31, 2026): Lite costs $0 per month, pay as you go at $1 per human response, with advanced targeting at $0.50 per criterion and up to 250 responses per study. Plus costs $50 per month (up to 500 responses per study), Premium $100 per month (up to 2,000 responses per study), and Enterprise starts at $10,000 per month.

SellTo.us: Free Idea Snapshot (100 AI-simulated participants, one per person, if eligible). One-time paid tests: $19 for 1,000 participants, $49 for 10,000 (up to 3 versions) and $149 for 100,000 (up to 5 versions). No subscription.

Prices change. Check the official Poll the People page before buying; this page is updated when we re-check it.

Turnaround

Poll the People: Its FAQ says results usually take less than an hour, with 100 responses typically completing in under an hour.

SellTo.us: A few minutes for the free snapshot; about 10 to 12 minutes for 1,000 participants, 14 to 16 for 10,000 and 22 to 28 for 100,000 (longer when the AI service is very busy).

Audience targeting and types of insights

Poll the People: US respondents by default; narrowing to a state or region is free, and paid filters include age, gender, job function and income.

Test types include brand-name tests, logo tests, head-to-head comparisons of designs or videos, open-ended questions, book titles and covers, and custom surveys.

SellTo.us: Country, city and up to 10 audience groups described in your own words. The AI turns them into 8, 25 or 100 groups with ages, jobs, budget levels and habits. Interest by group, the reasons behind each answer, ranked objections, labeled simulated quotes, version comparisons, a decision brief and a PDF report.

Strengths and weaknesses

SellTo.us: strengths

A first read in minutes, with no recruiting.
Thousands of participants and up to 100 audience groups in one test.
Every participant reacts to every version, so comparisons are like for like.
Works for audiences in any country you describe.

SellTo.us: weaknesses

Participants are AI personas, not real people: no real opinions, behavior or follow-up questions.
No accuracy is claimed; results haven’t been measured against real sales.
Results depend on how clearly you describe the idea and the audience.

Poll the People: strengths

Answers come from real people, with their own reasons in their own words.
Fast for human research: it says 100 responses usually complete in under an hour.
Simple per-response pricing on the free Lite plan.
Ready-made tests for names, logos and designs.

Poll the People: weaknesses

The panel is mostly US-based, and other markets aren’t supported.
Each response costs money, so large samples get expensive.
Survey answers are only as good as the questions you write.

Side by side

	Poll the People	SellTo.us
Who answers	Real people from its panel, mostly in the US	AI-simulated participants built from your audience description
Pricing model	Per response ($1 on Lite) plus optional monthly plans	Free snapshot, then one-time tests: $19, $49 or $149
Typical turnaround	Under an hour for about 100 responses (its claim)	Minutes
Sample size	Up to 250, 500 or 2,000 responses per study, by plan	100 to 100,000 participants
Targeting	US by default; age, gender, job function, income ($0.50 each)	Country, city and up to 10 groups in your own words
What you learn	Which option real people chose and why, plus survey answers	Simulated interest by group, reasons, objections and next steps
Evidence type	Real opinions from a paid panel	Simulated reactions, not real opinions

Based on each company’s own website on October 31, 2026. We don’t claim either tool is more accurate; they measure different things.

Which one to choose

SellTo.us is the better choice when…

You want to screen many ideas, prices or wordings before paying for human answers.
Your audience is outside the US.
You want results split across many audience groups.
You need a first read today, for free or a one-time price.

Poll the People is the better choice when…

You need answers from real people before a decision.
Your audience is US consumers and a few hundred responses are enough.
You’re choosing between names, logos or designs and want real preferences.
You want to quote real respondents.

Many teams will want both at different moments: a simulated test to screen ideas and wording quickly, then real people before committing real money.

Questions

Is Poll the People’s panel real people?

Yes, according to its website: a paid panel of more than 500,000 people, mostly in the US.

Is SellTo.us cheaper?

For large samples, usually yes, because simulated participants don’t cost per response. But the answers are simulated, so they aren’t a cheaper version of the same thing.

Can I use both?

Yes. Screen versions with a SellTo.us test, then put the strongest one or two in front of real people.

Sources

Poll the People facts on this page come only from its official website, checked on October 31, 2026:

SellTo.us facts come from our pricing and methodology pages.

Try a simulated test on your own idea

Start with a free Idea Snapshot from 100 AI-simulated participants, if eligible. No card needed. Paid tests are one-time: $19, $49 or $149.

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Poll the People is a trademark of its owner. SellTo.us is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Poll the People. If anything here about Poll the People is out of date, email hello@sellto.us and we’ll correct it.