What is Response Rate?
Response rate is the proportion of people who complete a survey out of the group invited or eligible to respond. It’s a basic measure of how many people you reached and who chose to take part.
Response rate measures the share of your target audience that answered your survey. It’s usually calculated as: (number of completed responses ÷ number invited or eligible) × 100. The denominator can vary (invitations sent, people reached, or eligible population), so it’s important to state which you’re using. Response rate differs from completion rate (which tracks how many who started a survey finished it) and from participation by channel or language (which breaks responses down by subgroup).
Usage example
A school sent the parent survey to 1,000 families and received 320 completed responses, so the response rate is 32%. After excluding 100 bounced emails, the effective response rate for delivered invitations becomes 320 ÷ 900 = 35.6%.
Practical application
Response rate matters because it affects how confidently you can use survey results to represent a community. Low overall response or low response from particular language groups can mean voices are missing and decisions could be biased. In Hearo, tracking response rate by language, channel or demographic helps you spot underrepresented groups, target outreach or improve translations and the participant experience to increase inclusive participation. Practical uses include assessing whether a consultation met participation goals, deciding when to run reminders or outreach, and defending the credibility of an engagement process.
FAQ
How exactly should I calculate response rate?
Choose a clear denominator up front: invitations sent, delivered invitations (exclude bounces), or the eligible population. Then divide completed responses by that number and multiply by 100. Always note which denominator you used so comparisons are meaningful.
What’s a ‘good’ response rate?
There’s no universal benchmark — acceptable rates depend on context, audience and method. Community consultations and email surveys often see lower rates (10–30%), while targeted or incentivised groups can be much higher. More important than a single target is monitoring trends and subgroup differences (for example by language) and aiming for broad, representative participation.
How can I improve response rates, especially for non-English speakers?
Make the survey easy to access (mobile-friendly, no account required), keep it short and clear, and use translations participants trust. Send reminders, use multiple channels, partner with community organisations, and monitor response rates by language in Hearo so you can correct problems — for example, fix a mistranslation or provide extra outreach in an underrepresented language.
What’s the difference between response rate and completion rate?
Response rate looks at how many invited or eligible people submitted a response. Completion rate looks at how many people who started the survey finished it (completed ÷ started). Both matter: a high response rate with a low completion rate can indicate the survey is too long or confusing.
