The ultimate UX Research Incentive Calculator

How exactly does this calculator work?

For both quant and qual research studies, the incentive you offer participants is generally determined by these top considerations:

• Study type
• Location
• Audience complexity
• Your organization type
• Timeline

Let’s jump in and explain how each variable can impact your estimated incentive, and how to navigate this Ethnio UXR incentive calculator.

Study Type

This tells the calculator which basic type of study you'll be paying research participants to complete.

Moderated study

This study involves people talking to other people, usually conducted as either a 1:1, in a group, a remote call, or in-person. The base rate is $3 (USD) per minute, but changes in value are non-linear; meaning some time ranges can change value depending on session length.

Here’s a breakdown of how the rates might change for moderated activity:

• Remote: No change to the base rate
• In-Person: Roughly +25% increase to the base rate, but keep in mind it's non-linear.
• Site Visit: Roughly +35% increase to the base rate

Luckily, the Ethnio UX research incentive calculator will automatically apply these changes for you.

Unmoderated study

In an unmoderated study participants complete tasks or answer questions on their own without a facilitator. Typically, they use a computer to interact with a product, website, or app while their actions are observed remotely. Studies can range from simple surveys to more complex sessions involving video and screen recordings. The base rate is $0.20 per minute, but again, it's not linear; some time ranges can change value depending on the common session length.

Unmoderated study categories are more varied. We’ve captured the most common types of unmoderated UX research, but the list is not exhaustive:

• Self-Moderated Session: A participant records their own screen and/or face, and follows a script for task completion. Tools that offer this type of testing usually calculate their own incentives, which you can cross-reference for a sanity check
• Survey: Roughly 10% less than a survey base rate. It involves collecting data via form input with tools like SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics. If there is compensation, it very rarely involves paying each respondent, but for certain study types compensation does happen
• Diary Study: When calculating a UX research incentive for a diary study, keep in mind "time to complete" the total time your participant spends on the study, and the associated cost. For example, one hour per week for three weeks = three hours total time to complete. This also means a diary study that takes two weeks to complete would be a larger study, adding up two weeks of the participant's time.

Time to Complete Session or Activity

The basic building block for compensation–how much time will it take for your participant? Calculate based on the range of per-minute compensation listed below, and the base rate building block of the mathematical formula behind this calculator.

Keep in mind, this is only your participant’s time, not the total duration of your study. If you have a study that takes two days to complete, but it only requires one hour of your participant's time per day, then you would select two hours on this scale.

• The starting point is $1 for five minutes. This could be more than $1 depending on the variables below, or if you use a point system for surveys, it could even be less than $1
• The highest value is an entire day/three weeks for $600. Yep, we know what you’re thinking… that’s high! But, the idea of a full day or three week study that involves all of your participant's time is fairly intense all of your participant's time is fairly intense.

Special note on diary study compensation: if your study only requires one-hour-per-week for three weeks, your total time should be three hours, not three weeks.

💫 Hot tip: We don’t feature this on our UX research incentive calculator, but it’s worth taking task complexity into account. For example, if your participants are testing complex engineering CAD software, compared to clicking a signup button, the incentive should be different.

How Tricky is This Audience to Find?

This is based on whether your participants are working professionals, their varying levels of income, and how hard they are to schedule. Ethnio-bot did the calculations based on the average across 140,000 global participants… but we’d still take this with a pinch of salt.

• Literally anyone: at the bottom of the scale. The Ethnio UX research incentive calculator applies a 15% cost reduction because it's such a broad audience
• Colleagues: A little trickier, but still recruiting internally will give you a 5% reduction
• Engineers: Now, things are starting to get tough… but not impossible. The calculator will apply +125% cost increase for these unicorns
• Doctors: Have you ever tried to recruit a doctor? We know it feels impossible–a +500% increase for your troubles
• Beyoncé Knowles-Carter: Don’t you ever, ever, ever get to thinking, Queen Bey is obtainable… for your study

💫 Hot tip: All Beyoncé jokes aside, think about the job category that your audience falls into. For example, if they are students, it’s likely that you’ll be able to pay them slightly less (within reason, it’s important to treat participants right).

“It’s especially important to compensate participants who would otherwise get paid for their time. For example, if you’re running a study Monday to Friday, between nine to five, there’s a good chance your participant took time off work to take part in your research. So, it’s best to compensate them accordingly.”

Kyle Robertson — Ethnio Product Design Specialist

How Fast Do You Need to Complete Your Study?

If you need to complete the study fast, you might need to offer a higher incentive to get participants onboard quickly.

• OMFG today: You needed the participant yesterday? Got it. Ethnio-bot applies an additional 15% to your incentive
• Tomorrow: A super quick turnaround. We’ve looked at the data and a 10% increase is needed here
• 1-2 weeks: This is the most common default selection. No increase or reduction applied
• Whenever: Holy shit, that’s one chilled-out UX researcher. We respect it. A 5% reduction calculation

International Country and Currency Options

Where in the world are you issuing UX Research Incentives to, and from?

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.

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.

UX Research Incentive Calculator: Pro Tips

If you want to really get into the awesome details of this calculator, which we hope you do, try using these two features:

• Currency rounding: This will round your UX research incentive up or down to the nearest multiple of five or ten. Makes your incentive easier to digest!
• Cost of living: Select a different country for your participants to see automatic cost of living adjustments compared to your country.

Choosing the Right UX Research Incentive: Hot Takes

1. Don’t over-emphasise the incentive to participants

There’s a worry in UX research that using incentives might skew the results of a study. Participants may exaggerate their qualifications in the screener questions to qualify for the incentive. Researchers can minimize the risk of this happening by not over emphasizing the incentive, and leading with it as the main hook for participant contribution.

2. Be generous to avoid no-shows

Picture this. You’re at the test location (which cost a bomb to rent), there’s a few important stakeholders eagerly waiting on site, and your study is all set up, ready to go… but your participant doesn’t show. Why? Because you paid them too little, and they didn’t feel like it was worth it. Ouch! 🥺.

“The better the incentive, the better the research. Solid incentives can actually save you money. In our research experience, we’ve seen studies become a waste of time due to disengaged participants, and no-shows. Get it right the first time; it’s a win-win for everyone”

Nate Bolt — Ethnio Founder

3. Say thanks!

Participants are human beings. People like to know when they’re appreciated. Make sure to thank your participants for their time after the study, and within the incentive email when you first approach them.