refnation
Comparison · refnation

refnation vs YouGov

Weighted polling, or daily referendums anyone can vote on.

YouGov is the UK's best-known polling company: it surveys a recruited, weighted panel and publishes the headline numbers. refnation is a daily political referendum platform: eight referendums a day that anyone in the UK aged 16 or over can vote on, and every vote updates your live political profile.

The two measure opinion differently. YouGov weights a sample to model the population. refnation balances every result by political leaning, read from how each member actually votes. Checked against YouGov and other national polls on 34 recent issues, refnation's result came down on the same side 31 times: refnation vs the polls.

refnation vs YouGov at a glance

refnationYouGov
Who takes partAnyone in the UK aged 16+, one verified vote each.A panel recruited and managed by YouGov.
How results are madeEach member's leaning is worked out from how they vote; every result gives all seven leanings, Hard Left to Hard Right, an equal say.A sample weighted to the population by age, region, past vote and more.
UpdatesReal time — shifts with every vote cast.Periodic published polls and surveys.
Your own profileYes — a live political profile: your place on the spectrum, a party match, and a written read of your politics.No — polls are aggregate numbers.
Demographic breakdownOn every referendum: leaning, party, region, age and gender.Cross-tabs in selected published reports.
Constituency viewA map of all 650 seats, coloured by the votes members cast there.Regional splits; MRP-modelled seat estimates in select research.
Ask your own referendumYes — any member can ask one referendum a day; asks are reviewed and selected.No — YouGov decides what gets surveyed.
CostFree forever.Free to read published results; bespoke polling is paid.

Weighting by past vote vs. balancing by leaning

A YouGov poll asks a few thousand recruited panellists and weights their answers to mirror the population by age, region, past vote and more. refnation reads leaning from a voting record instead: each referendum is scored for the direction a Yes and a No point in, so a member's leaning is built from hundreds of their own votes. Every result then gives all seven leanings, from Hard Left to Hard Right, an equal say, so no one side of politics can decide it by turning up. How results are calculated.

What refnation gives you that a poll doesn't

A poll gives you an aggregate number. refnation gives you a live political profile: your political leaning from Hard Left to Hard Right, a party match across nine parties, how often you vote with the majority of members, and a written read of your politics, all updated with every vote. You can also ask a referendum of your own.

Which to use when

For voting intention, a seat forecast or a long-running tracker, use a poll: YouGov is built for them. refnation is built for speed and range: eight referendums a day on the issues in the news, each settled by midnight with its split by leaning, party, age and region, and a live political profile for everyone who votes.

Common questions

Is refnation a free alternative to YouGov?+
It's free, and it measures opinion a different way. YouGov weights a recruited panel by past vote. refnation runs eight referendums a day and balances every result by political leaning, worked out from how each member votes. Checked against YouGov and other national polls on 34 recent issues, refnation's result came down on the same side 31 times: see refnation.uk/refnation-vs-the-polls. You also get your own live political profile from every vote.
Is refnation's data representative of the whole UK?+
Members join by choice, so refnation doesn't simply count heads. It works out each member's political leaning from how they actually vote, then gives all seven leanings, from Hard Left to Hard Right, an equal say in every result, so no one side of politics can decide it by turning up. Results are reported as refnation members' votes, and the side-by-side with YouGov and Find Out Now is at refnation.uk/refnation-vs-the-polls. The full method is at refnation.uk/method.
Can I see UK opinion by constituency, like an MRP poll?+
No. The constituency map shows all 650 seats coloured by the votes members there cast, but most seats have too few members for a seat-level result. refnation doesn't model the population; it shows members' votes.
Can refnation tell me about my own politics, not just national numbers?+
Yes. Every vote updates your live political profile, and a written read of your politics refreshes every 16 votes early on. A poll gives you aggregate figures; refnation gives you a read on yourself.

See where you really stand

Free, one vote per person. Your profile starts with your first ballot.

Start your profile →

Also compare: refnation vs The Political Compass · What is refnation?