Cost Per Complete Calculator
Find the average fieldwork cost per completed interview.
How cost per complete works
Cost per complete (CPC) is the average fieldwork cost of one completed interview or survey response — the number research buyers and vendors negotiate on directly.
Enter the total fieldwork cost for a project and the number of completed interviews it produced. The calculator returns the average cost per complete.
CPC varies enormously by incidence rate, survey length, audience rarity and methodology, so it is most useful for comparing quotes on the same study, or tracking your own costs over time — not as a universal benchmark.
The formula
Cost per complete = Total fieldwork cost ÷ Completed interviews
Divide the total cost of the fieldwork by the number of completed interviews it produced.
Worked example
$6,000 fieldwork cost, 400 completes
$6,000 ÷ 400 = $15.00 per complete.
Frequently asked questions
What should I include in total cost?
Whatever is comparable across the quotes or periods you're evaluating — typically incentives, panel fees and fielding costs. Define it consistently before comparing.
Why do CPC quotes vary so much between vendors?
Incidence rate, survey length, sample rarity, and quality controls all affect cost. A lower CPC on a harder-to-reach audience may reflect weaker quality screening, not better value.
Is a lower cost per complete always better?
Not necessarily — check it alongside data quality, incidence rate and screening rigor. A very low CPC on a hard-to-reach population is a reason to ask more questions, not fewer.
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