FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions

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 100 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 100 participants - how does that work?
As a SurveyCircle member, you will receive a free starter pack with 100 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 567 Google Reviews

With some effort from your side you can get responses! I really find surveycircle a very useful tool based on mutual support!

Survey circle was extremely helpful during data collection for my thesis. I'm glad I found it!

A very useful tool for researchers seeking survey participants. To get the most out of it, be prepared early and ready to engage in others' surveys, as the platform thrives on community... read more

Recommend it to anyone looking for that extra boost in their participant numbers!

Don’t think I could have successfully completed my data collection in such a short time without survey circle. Highly recommended! Thank you so much

With some effort from your side you can get responses! I really find surveycircle a very useful tool based on mutual support!

SurveyCircle has been a great help to me in recruiting participants to take part in my surveys. SurveyCircle make it very easy and quick to upload surveys to their platform which saves a great amount... read more

SurveyCircle has been very useful for me for my master thesis. I was able to get a few hundred participants in a few short weeks, which would have otherwise cost me a lot of effort. Thanks for making... read more

Great service -fair and transparent algorithm to ensure equivalence of contribution and receipt of participations

Such a great platform where you can get quality responses for your surveys based on mutual support. Plus the customer service is excellent, their responses are always fast and helpful.

Really enjoy the service they provide.

SurveyCircle is probably the best platform to find participants for your study. It runs on a very fair concept of give and take; the more you put in, the more you'll get out of it. I wasn't able to... read more

I conducted a survey on Survey Circle for my thesis. Feel grateful that we have such a nice and professional platform for survey sharing in academia. It helped my data collection easier than ever. I... read more

A good place for students to find participants for free

SurveyCircle helped me getting more answers for my study! Great platform.

Fair system. Great results.

A really useful and convenient site for students and researchers. Friendly and professional customer service. Highly recommended!

It was a fantastic help to get respondents for my master's thesis! I would 100% recommend it!

Survey Circle has helped me reach my participant goal! I would not have been able to reach as many individuals as I did without it. Would highly recommend to students!

View 600+ reviews on Google 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 directly after completing a study.
#5: Rate the quality of studies objectively and in a differentiated way.
#6: Do not share Survey Codes with others.
#7: Do not use multiple user accounts.
#8: Do not let anyone use your user account to participate in studies.
#9: Do not use rule violations by others to your advantage.

March 01, 2025

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

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

Support research
by participating in studies.
Send points to support
projects of your choice.

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