EveryAnswer and Virtual Incentives found that increasing a survey reward did not consistently improve recruitment in experiments described in October 2025.

The first wave involved 8,597 participants recruited through digital advertising. It varied survey topics and compared gift cards, donations and no reward, with incentive values between $1 and $20. A second wave examined 1,080 survey start-page visits and focused on housing.

The companies reported that $3 gift cards produced the strongest improvements in completion rates in their experiments. Offers worth $10 or more delivered smaller additional benefits and sometimes raised doubts about legitimacy.

Topic differences were substantial: politics surveys recorded higher start and completion rates than telecommunications surveys. Older participants were also more likely to begin than those aged 18–29.

The research found clearer effects on finishing surveys than on starting them. Virtual Incentives and EveryAnswer interpreted the results as support for matching rewards to the recruitment context. The findings describe these experiments; they do not establish one ideal payment amount for all surveys or participant groups.