Build a research incentive budget that gets approved
Support your request with global benchmarks from millions of study data metrics in Ethnio
If you’re in Research Ops, Design, Product, or UX Research, you might need to do some planning and communication with your leadership to secure a budget for incentives. Use our giant mountain of global data to support your planning. We’ve got you covered. 😉
How is all this calculated?This should help you summarize the total incentives you’ll need approval to issue. Here are some common considerations about incentive budgets:
| Incentive Budget Consideration | Details |
|---|---|
| I just have one study | Select “Study” above |
| We have multiple studies coming up | Multiply the study total by total studies |
| Annual budget is needed | Estimate your total participants per year |
| Monthly budget is needed | Select “Month” above |
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Plan your incentive budget like a pro
Wondering how to plan out your annual or quarterly incentive budget? That’s where research incentives get real for your organization. You don’t want to get stuck requesting more budget from leadership, so this plan can help you avoid under-recruited sessions, disinterested participants, or worse — no-shows. Use this planner to:
- Estimate total incentive spend based on country and volume
- See the true cost of global studies (currency fees, taxes, participant rates)
- Get a clear breakdown of participant payouts per year, quarter, study, or month
Note: Already figured out your incentive budget? Awesome! You can pay your global participants from anywhere, in any currency, via hundreds of easy payment methods with Ethnio.
Give us a try for free 🙌🏻
How exactly does this budget planner work?
International Country and Currency Options
Enter the country where you are based, and your currency will automatically change to reflect that country. For example, if you are based in Germany and try to pay participants in the UK, you will see "your incentive" in Euros and the "recommended incentive" in GBP.
Then, input the country where your participants are based, or where you will be issuing the incentives. Again, this will be tied to the currency of that country. For example, if your participants are based in the UK you will see the "recommended incentive" in GBP.
Cost of living offset by country
This function calculates the percentage difference in cost of living between the country you’re based in, and where your participants are.
It’s based on rent, groceries, taxes, and healthcare from the World Population Review index.
This is how the cost of living progression might change a $75 incentive for a participant in the UK.
| United States USD | United Kingdom GBP | |
|---|---|---|
| Original incentive | $ 75 | £ 57 |
| Cost of living offset of 4% | $ 77 | £ 59 |
| Round it | $ 79 | £ 60 |
How many UX research participants do you need?
In this section, you can select the number of participants taking part in the study. This will generate a "study total" at the top, which is helpful to give an idea of the overall cost and budget.
How this incentive budget planner compares against others
Yes, we read Wirecutter too much.
Questions and answers
For moderated studies, the base rate is $3 (USD) per minute. However, this can vary based on factors like whether the study is remote, in-person, or a site visit. In-person studies typically increase the rate by about 25%, while site visits increase it by about 35%.
For unmoderated studies, the base rate is $0.20 per minute. Studies can range in complexity from a simple survey to more complex screen recordings. Therefore, the incentive rate is not always linear.
When calculating an incentive for a diary study, keep in mind that "time to complete" is the total time your participant spends on the study. For example, one hour per week for three weeks = three hours total time to complete.
Yes. The recommended incentive reflects whether your participants are working professionals, their income levels, and how hard it is to schedule them.
If you need to complete the study fast, you might need to offer a higher incentive to get participants onboard quickly.
Different organizations will typically offer different amounts depending on how the organization is set up and the industry. A non-profit organization won’t be expected to pay as much and can offer a 15% reduction.
Cost of living is based on rent, groceries, taxes, and healthcare from the World Population Review index. The cost of living function calculates the percentage difference in cost of living between the country you’re based in, and where your participants are.
Make it worth it for the participants. Solid incentives can actually save you money by reducing no-shows and disengaged participants.
Don’t over-emphasize the incentive to participants. Playing it low key will minimize the risk of participants exaggerating their qualifications.
The Ethnio incentive calculator provides you with the recommended incentive based on your input values. However, you may find that for your particular study you want to tailor the incentive differently. Go for it!
Recruit research participants without the chaos
See how Ethnio helps UX teams find, screen, schedule, and pay participants — all in one place, without the spreadsheet juggling.
We’d love to show you
- How to recruit screened participants in under 10 minutes
- Automated scheduling, consent, and incentive payouts
- Managing a participant pool your whole team can use
- How Ethnio fits your existing research workflow
