Response Rate Calculator
Find your survey response rate from the number of invitations and completed responses.
How response rate works
The response rate is the percentage of people you invited who actually completed your survey. It is the classic measure of survey participation and a key health check for fieldwork.
A low response rate signals that your sample may not represent the population, and it raises the risk of non-response bias. Tracking it over time helps you judge whether invitations, incentives or channels need to change.
Response rate is not the same as completion rate: response rate is completed responses out of everyone invited, while completion rate is finished surveys out of everyone who started. This calculator measures the first; use the Survey Completion Rate Calculator for the second.
The formula
Response rate = completed responses ÷ invitations × 100
Divide the number of completed responses by the number of invitations (or contacts) sent, then multiply by 100.
Worked example
1,000 invitations, 350 completed
350 ÷ 1,000 × 100 = 35%. So 35% of invited people completed the survey.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good response rate?
It depends on the mode and audience. Online consumer surveys often see 5–30%, while professional or panel surveys can be much higher. Compare against your own baseline rather than a universal number.
How is response rate different from completion rate?
Response rate is completed responses out of everyone invited. Completion rate is finished surveys out of everyone who started. A survey can have a low response rate but a high completion rate.
Why does response rate matter?
A low response rate can make your results unrepresentative. If only a small, biased subset responds, the numbers you report may not reflect the whole population.
Related tools
Related guides
- How to Calculate NPSThe Net Promoter Score formula, how to classify promoters, passives and detractors, a worked example, and the caveats about small samples and timing.
- Survey Research Statistics: A Practical GuideThe core statistics every survey researcher should understand — response, completion and incidence rates, sample size, margin of error and significance — and how they fit together.
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