Key points
- Incidence is the biggest driver. Halving it raises cost per complete by roughly 40 percent.
- Interview length adds about 3 percent per minute beyond ten, before the knock on effect on drop off.
- Quotes far below these ranges usually assume an optimistic incidence, skip verification, or get revised once field starts.
- These are market ranges for sanity checking any quote, not a Valid N rate card.
What incidence should you expect by audience?
Incidence is what drives cost. For a standard seniority screen at the default company size:
| Audience | Incidence in broad supply | Field window, 300 completes |
|---|---|---|
| IT decision makers | 18% | 6 days |
| Finance and accounting leaders | 12% | 7 days |
| HR and people leaders | 15% | 7 days |
| Marketing decision makers | 21% | 6 days |
| Small business owners | 34% | 5 days |
| C-suite, 1,000+ employees | 6% | 10 days |
What does B2B sample cost at each incidence band?
Holding seniority and length constant, incidence does most of the work. Director level audience, 14 minute interview:
| Incidence band | Typical CPI range | What sits here |
|---|---|---|
| 30% and above | $24 to $32 | Broad business audiences, small business owners, any employee at a company type |
| 15% to 30% | $32 to $48 | Marketing and IT decision makers with a seniority screen |
| 8% to 15% | $48 to $75 | Finance leaders, HR at enterprise, IT with a technology in use screen |
| 3% to 8% | $75 to $150 | C-suite at 1,000+, narrow verticals, specific software users at senior levels |
| Under 3% | $150 and up, often per recruit pricing | Hard to reach B2B, custom recruitment |
What moves cost per complete the most?
- Incidence. Price scales with roughly the square root of scarcity. Halving incidence raises CPI about 40%.
- Interview length. Around 3% per minute beyond ten minutes. A 25 minute survey costs about 45% more than a 10 minute one before you count the drop off.
- Seniority. Director and above sit on a higher base than managers. C-suite at large companies is priced as its own category because verification is per record.
- Company size. Enterprise cuts lower incidence. 5,000+ employee screens can halve it.
- Quotas. Tight cells create over quota waste. A study with ten balanced industry cells costs more than the same n unquotaed.
- Market. US is the deepest and cheapest for most B2B audiences. UK and Canada run 10 to 25% higher. Germany, France and Australia higher again, with thinner supply on senior cuts.
How should you use these benchmarks?
Use them to check a quote, not to set a budget by themselves. Run your own spec through the cost per complete estimator, which uses the same model. If a quote comes in far below the model, the likely reasons are an optimistic incidence assumption or no verification. Ask which. If you want our number for your spec, the feasibility form returns it the same business day.
B2B cost per complete: frequently asked questions
Why do B2B sample prices vary so much between vendors?
Three reasons account for most of it: the incidence assumption behind the quote, whether respondents are verified or self reported, and whether the price is held or revised when field starts. Two quotes for the same spec can differ by half and describe different products.
Is cheaper B2B sample ever fine?
Yes, when the audience is broad and the consequence of a few wrong respondents is small, for example any employee at companies of a certain size answering about general workplace attitudes. When the study is about a purchase decision only a certain role makes, the cost of wrong respondents is the whole study.
Do prices differ for trackers?
Usually they come down slightly for committed waves, because the vendor can plan supply. But watch for incidence decay across waves as a single panel is exhausted. Sample drawn from several sources holds incidence better over time.
Is this what Valid N charges?
No. It is a market range so you can judge any quote. We use several supply sources and price each spec on the supply it needs, then hold that price through field. Send the spec and you get the number the same business day.
How often do you update these benchmarks?
Quarterly, and the audience feasibility table whenever supply moves enough to change the read.
Send the spec. Get real numbers back.
Audience, market, target n, expected interview length. Feasibility the same business day for standard audiences, with reachable counts, an estimated qualification rate we believe and a quoted cost per complete that stays fixed for the agreed brief.