Surveys
Introduction
You've put a lot of effort into creating a survey for your customers. Carefully created questions, clear instructions, and giving people a reasonable amount of time to complete. But you're left with a very low response rate after just one week. Many people are not even opening the survey, whilst some are abandoning after a few questions. Only a few are finishing.
This is a common issue faced by marketing teams, researchers, HR departments, and anyone gathering customer feedback. People are constantly bombarded with requests for their opinions and even if your survey is useful, people won't want to spend too long on it.
Understanding your survey response rate statistics can help you see where people are getting lost. However, it is always important to understand that the results will vary depending on who you are targeting, the industry, platform, question types, and research method.
Below we have listed 25 stats relating to survey participation, form completion, mobile use, and online form trends. Most importantly we will explain what these mean and how to use them to create surveys that people are more likely to complete.
Survey Response Rate Vs Completion Rate
Before looking at the benchmarks for response rates it is important to understand what these actually are.
Survey response rate refers to the proportion of eligible people who give a qualifying response to your survey. Depending on how partial responses and ineligible people are handled there are a range of calculations that can be used as outlined in official research guidelines (AAPOR standard definitions).
Form completion rate refers to the percentage of people who complete your survey. This can be calculated by comparing how many people completed the form to how many viewed it, depending on the analytics platform.
So if you invited 1,000 eligible people to take part and had 200 qualifying responses then your response rate would be 20%. If you had 300 people start the survey and 200 complete it, then your completion rate would be approximately 66.7%.
These give you different insights into how people are interacting with your survey.
25 Survey & Form Statistics You Should Know
Please note the below stats come from different research and industry reports. The stats vary depending on your audience, platform and research method.
Survey Response Rates
The platform you decide to use can impact how many people notice and participate in your survey. Sending them a message at the perfect time can result in more people noticing.
Below are stats from SurveyMonkey from their 2025 platform.
Popup surveys had an average response rate of 3.65%. Popups can be intrusive and can cause people to leave your site.
Facebook shared surveys had an average of 7.61%. Shared links will depend on how many of your followers noticed your post and felt it was relevant to them.
SMS surveys had an average of 18.54%. Short surveys of 1-3 questions can be ideal for this.
Web link surveys had an average of 29.95%. This will depend heavily on where you are placing the link.
In app surveys had an average of 34.37%. People are often more likely to have the perfect timing when prompted whilst using an app.
Email surveys had an average of 49.17%. This is because you are targeting people who have opted in and know who you are. This shouldn’t be confused with cold email campaigns.
Phone surveys had a response rate that dropped from 36% (1997) to around 6% (2018). (Pew Research Centre data from the Benchmark Guide).
Employee engagement surveys had an average response rate of 21% whereas general employee feedback had a rate of 43%. This can vary greatly depending on your audience and what the survey is for.
Overall the main thing to take away from this is that the audience, timing and reason for asking are important. Ensure you’re using a platform they use and have a clear reason for asking.
Survey Length and Engagement
If your survey is going to take people longer than they expect then they are more likely to abandon. Below are some stats to show why length and questions are important.
48% of people took less than 5 minutes to complete a feedback survey and 24% were willing to spend between 6-10 minutes. (SurveyMonkey research).
Non profit surveys had an average response rate of 15.95% whereas education surveys had 44.70%. (SurveyMonkey 2025 data).
Surveys with over 12 questions or taking over 5 minutes will result in a 17% drop in response rate. (Tremendous research summary).
Surveys with easy questions at the beginning had an 89% completion rate. Whereas surveys with a free text comment box had an 83% completion rate. Starting with easy questions can help people feel the survey isn’t too much.
An incentive resulted in an 18% increase in people returning the survey in one health registry study. (Incentives can help encourage people to complete your survey depending on your audience and research).
These stats don’t mean you should have less than 10 questions. If you have a detailed research questionnaire you may need more questions. Just ensure that all the questions are useful and explain why you’re asking.
Mobile Surveys
Mobile is now a key factor in gathering data online. If your survey isn’t mobile friendly then people can get frustrated with the tight fields, hard to press buttons and lots of scrolling.
Almost 6 out of 10 surveys are completed on mobile devices. (Tremendous citing SurveyMonkey research).
One telecom tracking study showed a 50% increase in people starting the survey on mobile. However only around 75% completed it. (Greenbook).
Mobile users can have surveys that take 25-50% longer to complete. They also have almost double the drop off rate. It is important to test how the whole survey works on a smaller device.
Creating a mobile friendly survey means ensuring that the text is easy to read, buttons and fields are the right size and sections aren’t too long. Questions should be easy to answer.
Form Completion Rates
Whilst gathering survey data is important, forms are also a key part of businesses. Using form analytics can help you see where people are dropping off. You can also explore form analytics to understand where respondents leave a form.
Below are stats from Zuko form analytics.
66% of people who start a form will complete it. 45% of people who view a form will complete it. This varies depending on how you are calculating it.
Application forms have a 75% completion rate. Contact forms had around 38% of people complete them. This can vary depending on what information you’re asking and why they’re completing.
Desktop forms had a 54.48% completion rate. Mobile had 47.53%. (Zuko 2026 data). This is something businesses should look into rather than assuming it’s unavoidable.
Password fields had a 10.5% drop off rate. Email fields had 6.4% and phone number fields had 6.3%. People may be less likely to complete if they feel like they’re being asked for unnecessary information.
Checkout forms took an average of 3minutes 21seconds. Registration forms took 1minute 35seconds. This will depend on what information you’re asking.
These stats will help you to look at individual fields in your forms. Removing an unnecessary question or making it easier to understand could improve the experience.
Online Form Trends & Design
Sometimes the best forms aren’t the shortest. They should be easy to understand what the field is asking, easy to add information and people should feel like they’ve successfully completed the form.
Below are stats from research.
Users who completed forms using autofill had at least a 75% lower drop off rate. (Chrome study 2024).
33.1% of form entries weren’t labelled correctly. (WebAIM Million 2026). Having clear labels will help people understand what they’re adding and help assistive technologies and browser autofill.
Lead capture forms with 10 questions had 28% lower completion rates than those with 3 questions. (Typeform 2025).
Forms with easy fields at the beginning (name and email) and harder questions towards the end had 18% higher completion. (Atticus Li 2026 analysing 500 A/B tests).
However local government forms had an average of 71 inputs but had an 85% view to completion rate. (Analysis). People may be happy to complete a long form if it contains necessary information and there isn’t another option.
What This Means For Your Business
There are a few things you can take from these stats.
Ensure you’re using the right platform. In app prompts may be a good option for people using your product. Whereas existing customers may be more likely to complete if you send it via email.
Don’t waste peoples time. Remove any questions that aren’t needed for your research or business. Let people know how long the survey should take.
Ensure it is mobile friendly. Ensure text, fields, buttons and navigation are easy to use on a smaller screen.
Make it easy to complete. Use clear labels, correct fields and autofill. Place easy questions at the beginning.
Let people know why you need the information.
How To Improve Survey Response Rates & Form Completion
You don’t always need to completely redesign your survey. Firstly find out where people are stopping and make some changes.
1. Clear Invitation
Ensure you have a clear invitation explaining who is asking, why the feedback is important and how the data will be used. Keep your subject line specific and don’t make the introduction too long. A short personal explanation can help people feel it is relevant.
2. Keep Questions Relevant
Ask yourself if the answer will help you make a decision. Remove any duplicate questions. Don’t ask for information you already have. If you’re asking for customer feedback then keeping your questions short and specific can be more useful. You can explore feedback and survey templates for ideas when planning your questions.
3. Mobile Friendly
Test your survey on different screen sizes. Keep it simple, with clear text, buttons and avoid large grids.
4. Easy To Complete
Use clear labels, helpful instructions and the right fields. Use browser autofill wherever possible. Don’t make any optional information mandatory. Using a great range of form templates can help you create a clear form.
5. Reminders
Reminders can help people who meant to complete but forgot. Keep your message polite and don’t remind too often. Make it easy for people to complete or decline.
6. A/B Testing
A/B testing can help you see if having a shorter introduction, changed question order or call to action improves your completion rate. Only make one major change so you can understand what is impacting your results. Using an A/B test calculator can help.
7. Provide Feedback
People are more likely to see the value in future surveys if they know their answers were taken into consideration. Highlight the main findings and what will be done with the information. Even if you can’t do everything they suggested, let them know you’ve considered their feedback.
Benefits Of Improving Survey & Form Completion Rates
Improving your completion rate can make your data gathering more useful. However there are also other benefits.
More Useful Feedback – You are more likely to hear from people who wouldn’t have answered otherwise.
Less Wasted Time – Less time will be spent chasing people and extending the data gathering period.
Improved Customer Experience – Clear forms mean people can easily complete registration, enquiry and feedback.
Improved Decision Making – With more complete information you can recognise patterns and assess customer/employee needs.
Improved Relationships With Respondents – People are more likely to engage if they feel their time is valued and their feedback is being acted upon.
However a high response or completion rate doesn’t guarantee unbiased data. You should also consider who completed and who didn’t and whether their answers are representative of the people you want to understand.
Examples Of How To Use The Stats
B2B Marketing Team – A company noticed people aren’t completing their demo enquiry form. They removed the mandatory phone number field, improved the field labels and tested a shortened version.
Research Team – Researchers noticed people were abandoning a long questionnaire on mobile. They removed any duplicate questions, changed difficult grids to an easier format and added a note on how long they should take to complete.
Customer Experience Team – A support department was sending out a long feedback survey several days after closing a ticket. They changed this to a short and timely survey. They used a CSAT calculator to analyse their customer satisfaction. They can also use an NPS calculator to measure customer loyalty.
These are just examples and aren’t case studies from clients. The main thing to do is identify where people are facing an issue and make a specific change.
Common Mistakes To Avoid When Measuring Survey Response Rates
Even if your survey is well designed you can come to incorrect conclusions.
Assuming all benchmarks are the same – Results will vary depending on the industry, audience, platform and research method.
Confusing Response Rate & Completion Rate – Be clear on what you are measuring and how you calculated it.
Ignoring Partial Responses – Some people will still give you useful information even if they don’t complete the last question.
Focussing On Quantity – Consider if the people completing are representative of your target audience.
Making Too Many Changes – If you are changing the design, platform and question order it will be difficult to know what is impacting your results.
Not Acting On Feedback – Let people know what you learnt and what you will improve.
Final Thoughts
There are many factors that can impact your survey response and form completion rates. These include timing, audience, platform, mobile friendly, fields and why you are asking.
The 25 stats above can be a great place to start. However you should use your own stats to decide what to do. Find out how many people are completing and how many are responding. Make one practical change and analyse the results.
If you’re looking to create surveys or business forms then using a platform like Ovoform can help you create and manage your forms without any coding. The aim shouldn’t be to get the most answers but to make it clear, respectful of people’s time and useful for everyone.
