FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions

To the complete FAQ

The 10 most important questions

1. What is SurveyCircle?
SurveyCircle is the leading survey participant tool that allows you to easily find free participants for your survey.

With SurveyCircle, you can recruit survey participants by helping others. The more helpful you are and the more you participate in other surveys, the more people will, in turn, take part in your survey.

2. How does SurveyCircle work?
SurveyCircle is based on mutual support: the more often you take part in other surveys via SurveyCircle, the more people take part in your survey in return.

This is how SurveyCircle works in detail: With every survey you take part in, you collect SurveyCircle points. These points improve the position of your survey in the Survey Ranking - and the better the position, the more people take part in your survey. Automatically.

Why does this work? It's simple: the higher a survey is placed in the Survey Ranking, the more points you receive as a participant for taking part. This creates a natural incentive for all SurveyCircle members to participate, especially in well-placed surveys. The result is fairness for everyone. The more helpful you are, the faster you will find participants.

3. Who is SurveyCircle made for?
We developed SurveyCircle specifically for the needs of students, researchers, founders, and startups who conduct online surveys and experiments. Whether it's an academic study or a market research survey, we're excited about your project! With the help of our community and your own willingness to help others, you can use SurveyCircle to find study participants in a collaborative way.

SurveyCircle can also give you valuable inspiration when searching for a topic for your empirical project (bachelor's thesis, master's thesis, etc.). By participating in other people's studies, you gain a good overview of current research topics and ideas from a wide range of disciplines. This makes it easier to find an exciting and relevant topic for your thesis. In the “Discover Research” section, you even have access to tens of thousands of already completed studies from your field or your university.

4. Is SurveyCircle free?
Yes, SurveyCircle is ideal for getting survey participants for free. You can recruit up to 75 participants free of charge via SurveyCircle. Whether it's a survey, online experiment, bachelor's thesis, master's thesis, doctorate, or market research: If you're looking for a way to reliably recruit participants for your study, SurveyCircle is the right place for you.

5. How many surveys should I complete?
With SurveyCircle you can decide for yourself when and how many surveys you answer and how quickly you get answers in return. In general, it makes sense to start earning points early so that your survey can rise high in the Survey Ranking. The earlier you start collecting points, the faster you can integrate your results into the schedule for your project (Bachelor's thesis, Master's thesis, etc.).

6. I need my participants today - is that possible?
Recruiting a large number of survey participants doesn't usually work overnight. At SurveyCircle, everything is based on mutual contribution: only when you collect enough points by participating in other surveys and your survey rises in the Survey Ranking will others participate in your survey. This requires time and, of course, a willingness to help.

7. Can I purchase participants?
No, unlike other survey platforms, it is not possible to buy participants on SurveyCircle. However, there is a way to increase the number of your participant slots. With our upgrade feature, you can use SurveyCircle indefinetly and recruit an unlimited number of study participants for your survey.

8. I need more than 75 participants - how does that work?
As a SurveyCircle member, you will receive a free starter pack with 75 participation slots. If you need more participants for your survey, you can upgrade your account and unlock additional slots. This freemium concept means that SurveyCircle remains completely free for the majority of our community. If you need a larger number of participants, you can then access our upgrades at favourable prices, thereby supporting the operation of the platform.

9. Can I create a survey using SurveyCircle?
No, SurveyCircle does not offer a tool for creating surveys. We deliberately focus on supporting you in your search for survey participants and providing you with the best tool and the largest ecosystem with SurveyCircle.

There are numerous great tools for creating online surveys for free. You should carefully check which offer makes the most sense for you and get advice from other students or researchers.

10. Where can I access my results?
The data collection, i.e. the answering of the questions in your survey, does not take place directly through SurveyCircle, but instead where you created your survey. Because your data is stored elsewhere, you cannot download it from SurveyCircle. To view and analyze your survey data, please use the tool you used to create your questionnaire.

To the complete FAQ

What others say about SurveyCircle

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars based on 680 reviews on Google and Trustpilot

I used SurveyCircle to recruit participants for my academic study, and the experience has been excellent. The platform is user-friendly, and the support from Jonas (the founder) was both professional... read more

Great website and great customer support! Surveycircle does everything it promises and is really easy to use. On top of that whenever I had a question or ran into an issue their customer support not... read more

SurveyCircle has been a massive help during my research. The point based system ensures fair participation and offers a large number of participants if you are willing to put in the work. Safety... read more

SurveyCircle ist wirklich das beste Umfragenportal, welches einem die Möglichkeit bietet, ganz einfach und schnell Teilnehmer für seine Studien zu generieren. Die Nutzung ist ziemlich einfach und... read more

Definitely recommend SurveyCircle to researchers collecting online data. It's easy to use, the staff is quick to respond to emails and it's a great way to collect data.

SurveyCircle has been a life saver for me. I am glad I stumbled upon it. I had been sending out emails to various different groups on LinkedIn and Facebook on my own for 2 months. Absolutely no one... read more

Fair system. Great results.

Would recommend. A very helpful platform for finding study participants. Very clear and easy to use. I've only had good experiences so far and would use it again!

Really helpful.

SurveyCircle is an outstanding platform for students seeking an efficient, cost-effective way to gather survey data. It has proven to be an invaluable resource in my master's thesis project. Thanks... read more

A really professional and helpful company who I would recommend to anyone requiring their services. Max in particular was very friendly and always went above and beyond to ensure every concern we... read more

This website was really helpful to find people for my target audience. I'll admit I had to do many surveys to get to the top (about 100 of them), but this system worked better in my opinion that the... read more

Time consuming, but absolutely worth it Okay, it takes hours and days to collect enough points to get to the top of the rankings. But I learned a lot about how other students design surveys and I... read more

Awesome Tool for anyone trying to get a larger sample!

Great tool and support!

Great solution for finding participants I think most of us who are looking for participants for their surveys know the struggle and stress of finding them. SurveyCircle really helped me out here,... read more

Great platform to gather survey participants in a fair way! The idea - mutually supporting each other's research - is great. I was able to gather a lot of good responses. SurveyCircle's support is... read more

View 50+ reviews on Google, Trustpilot and Facebook

The Basic Rules on SurveyCircle

#1: Fill out all questionnaires truthfully and conscientiously.
#2: Participate in studies only when you meet the participation criteria.
#3: Redeem Survey Codes only if you have earned them in compliance with the rules.
#4: Redeem Survey Codes right after completing a study.
#5: Rate the quality of studies thoroughly.
#6: Do not share Survey Codes with others.
#7: Do not use multiple accounts.
#8: Do not let anyone use your account to participate in studies.
#9: Do not use rule violations by others to your advantage.

July 01, 2025

Find Survey Participants
and Support Research.
In the Largest Community for Online Research.

SurveyCircle helps you find
survey participants and reach
a larger sample.
Free of charge, fair, hassle-free.

Better results

Fair and transparent

More reach

Easy to use

No risk

Support research
by participating in studies.
Earn and send points to support
projects of your choice.

Earn a few points
for a Survey Manager.
No registration required.

The Survey Ranking

The 10 most important questions

What others say about SurveyCircle

Find Survey Participantsand Support Research.In the Largest Community for Online Research.

SurveyCircle helps you findsurvey participants and reacha larger sample.Free of charge, fair, hassle-free.

Better results

Fair and transparent

More reach

Easy to use

No risk

Support researchby participating in studies. Earn and send points to supportprojects of your choice.

Earn a few pointsfor a Survey Manager.No registration required.

The Survey Ranking

The 10 most important questions

What others say about SurveyCircle

Find Survey Participants
and Support Research.
In the Largest Community for Online Research.

SurveyCircle helps you find
survey participants and reach
a larger sample.
Free of charge, fair, hassle-free.

Support research
by participating in studies.
Earn and send points to support
projects of your choice.

Earn a few points
for a Survey Manager.
No registration required.