Incidence rate calculator

Find out what share of people pass the screener and match your target audience. You need the IR to estimate cost, timeline and the traffic required.

Incidence rate (IR) — the percentage of people who meet the screening criteria and can take part in the study.

Calculation FAQ

Screener results

Screened

Everyone who answered the screening questions

Qualified

Matched the criteria and can continue

Qualified responses needed

Used to estimate the number of screenings

Incidence rate

—

Result

qualified

Interpretation

Change the inputs to recalculate.

In SurveyNinja, NPS, CSAT and more are calculated automatically. Create a survey in 5 minutes and get real-time analytics.

Start free

Data is not stored — calculation runs in your browser.

How the incidence rate is calculated

Formula

Incidence rate = qualified / screened × 100%.

High IR

The audience is easy to find; fieldwork is usually cheaper and faster.

Low IR

A rare audience or a strict screener. You need more traffic, time and budget.

Screener

The quality of screening questions affects both the IR and how clean the final sample is.

Calculation examples

1 Category buyers

1,800 screened

486 qualified

An IR of 27%: the audience is accessible, but budget for the screen-outs.

2 A specific B2B role

1,200 screened

72 qualified

An IR of 6%: a rare audience, so the timeline and the CPI will be higher.

What to avoid

Estimating IR from a tiny sample Over the first few dozen screenings the number jumps around. Run a proper pilot.
Making the screener too strict Extra criteria lower the IR and raise the cost without always improving data quality.
Ignoring the channel IR from a panel, your own base and ads can differ several times over.

Frequently asked questions

What incidence rate is good?

For general audiences, 30%+ is usually comfortable. For B2B and rare segments, 5–15% can be normal.

How is IR different from the response rate?

The IR shows who matches the criteria. The response rate shows who answered the invitation.

How can I raise the IR?

Choose a better-matched audience source, remove unnecessary criteria, reword the screener and separate must-have from nice-to-have traits.

How many screenings do I need to estimate the IR?

A pilot of 100–300 screenings gives a rough estimate; rare audiences need more.

Why does the IR matter for the budget?

A low IR means more screen-outs, harder recruiting and usually a higher price per completed survey.

All calculators

Automate your metrics