> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.zigpoll.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.zigpoll.com/response-rate-benchmarks.md).

# Response Rate Benchmarks

See how your survey's response, engagement, completion and clickthrough rates compare to thousands of real Zigpoll surveys of the same type

Every survey dashboard shows a **Typical: x–y%** line under each rate so you can tell at a glance whether a survey is performing well. The ranges come from real Zigpoll customer data, not made-up industry numbers, and they are included on every plan, including Lite.

### Which rates are benchmarked?

| Rate                        | How it is calculated                                                            |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Response Rate**           | Responses (one per person who took the survey) ÷ times the survey was presented |
| **Engagement Rate**         | Survey engagements (a click or interaction) ÷ times the survey was presented    |
| **Completion Rate**         | Survey completions ÷ times the survey was engaged with                          |
| **Email Clickthrough Rate** | Recipients who opened the survey ÷ emails delivered                             |

You will find these on the survey's dashboard, next to the gauges for each rate.

### Surveys are compared to surveys like them

A pop-up on a busy product page and an email sent to recent customers behave completely differently, so a single "industry average" would be meaningless. Instead, each survey is benchmarked against surveys delivered the same way:

* **On-site widgets** — pop-ups, launchers and slide-ins on your website
* **Inline embeds** — surveys embedded in the page content
* **Shopify checkout surveys** — post-purchase surveys on the thank-you and order status pages
* **Survey links** — surveys opened from a shareable link or QR code
* **Email surveys** — surveys sent from Zigpoll via email

For example, an on-site widget typically sees a response rate of a couple of percent, a post-purchase survey on the thank-you page tens of percent, and a survey link or email survey higher still. All can be perfectly healthy; the "Typical" line tells you what healthy looks like for *your* type of survey.

If we don't yet have enough data for a survey type (for example synthetic research), the rate is shown without a range rather than against a misleading comparison. The same applies when surveys of a type are too different from each other to share one range. Inline embeds are the current example: an embed on a product page answers at around 1%, while an embed on a dedicated survey page answers at 60–90%, so their response and engagement rates carry no range.

### How the ranges are calculated

* Benchmarks are computed from the trailing 90 days of activity across the Zigpoll customer base, with one data point per survey.
* Surveys with fewer than 200 presentations are excluded so that low-traffic surveys don't skew the numbers.
* Surveys whose tracking counters are inconsistent (for example more engagements than presentations, which a page re-render can cause) are excluded rather than counted as 100%.
* A survey type needs at least 50 qualifying surveys before it gets its own range.
* The **Typical** line shows the 10th to the 25th percentile. In other words, roughly three quarters of all surveys of that type land at or above the top of the range: it is a floor to clear, not a target to chase, and a survey below it is genuinely in the bottom quarter.
* A range is only shown when surveys of that type cluster together. If the median survey is more than three times the top of the range, the surveys are too different from each other to share one, and the rate is shown without a range.
* The ranges are refreshed regularly from live data, so they drift as customer behaviour changes.

### Reading the numbers

* **Above the range** — your survey clears the typical band, like most surveys of its type do. Nothing to fix here.
* **Inside the range** — you are in line with typical surveys. Small tweaks can still move the needle.
* **Below the range** — worth a look. Common fixes are shortening the survey, adjusting when and where it appears, or adding an incentive.

### Improving a low rate

* **Low response or engagement rate (on-site)** — review your [Display Rules](/polls/display-rules.md) and [Targeting Settings](/polls/targeting-settings.md) so the survey appears at the right moment, and try a [Reward question](/tutorials/reward-question.md) with a discount code.
* **Low completion rate** — trim questions, move the most important question first, and check [Question Logic](/questions/question-logic.md) so people only see questions that apply to them.
* **Low email clickthrough rate** — review the subject line and design in [Email Survey Design](/tutorials/email-survey-design.md), and send a follow-up with [Nudge Non-Responders](/polls/nudge-non-responders.md).

{% hint style="info" %}
Benchmarks are only shown for real surveys with enough traffic. Synthetic research responses are never included in the benchmark data.
{% endhint %}


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