Agency research cost per interview is total study delivery cost divided by the number of quality interviews. The calculation should include researcher time and recruitment as well as platform usage. Use the editable project budget to model those costs before quoting an engagement.
This guide is for agencies, consulting firms, and research teams using User Intuition for AI-moderated qualitative research. The figures below are planning examples, not observed agency margins or a recommended resale price. Check current User Intuition pricing and audience feasibility when preparing a client quote.
What goes into the cost of one interview?
Start with the whole project. Some costs rise with interview count, while others depend on the research question, number of markets, stakeholder process, or complexity of the deliverable. Dividing a platform invoice by interviews produces a usage rate. Dividing total delivery costs by interviews produces a broader project measure. Label the measure so readers can compare like with like.
| Cost component | What to include | Typical driver |
|---|---|---|
| Platform usage | Interviewing and included platform outputs | Quality interview count and plan |
| Recruitment | Panel or third-party recruiting fees | Eligibility, audience availability, markets |
| Incentives | Payments your team arranges separately | Sample source and incentive agreement |
| Design | Brief, guide, screening and pilot review | Learning goals and research complexity |
| Evidence review | Source checks, exceptions and coverage assessment | Evidence volume and decision requirements |
| Analysis and delivery | Interpretation, presentation, readout and revisions | Client scope and review process |
| Other project costs | Translation, materials, contractors or travel | Actual engagement requirements |
| Contingency | A reserve for specified uncertainty | Uncertain recruitment or delivery effort |
Use loaded labor cost for your team’s time. If you use billing rates instead, label that choice: it measures a different economic question. Do not count a contractor invoice in both the labor section and other direct costs. Keep tax and unallocated company overhead separate unless the model explicitly includes them.
What are User Intuition’s platform and sample costs?
User Intuition Starter voice costs $30 per quality interview when you bring your own sample. Standard panel recruitment adds $30 per interview, producing a $60 combined rate. Starter has no monthly fee. The platform supports your methodology and provides recordings, transcripts, and analysis support; your team still owns interpretation and client delivery.
| Starter voice sample path | Platform | Recruitment or incentive treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Your own sample | $30 per quality interview | Add incentives or outside recruitment you arrange |
| Standard User Intuition panel | $30 per quality interview | Add $30 standard recruitment; $60 combined |
| Specialty audience | $30 per quality interview | Add the confirmed recruitment quote |
The User Intuition panel contains 4M participants, but availability for a specific audience must be checked. A specialist job title, narrow geography, or unusual recent experience may change recruitment feasibility and commercial terms. Do not apply the standard panel rate to an audience that needs a separate quote.
The User Intuition agency workflow supports own-sample and panel-based studies. The accompanying worksheet starts with Starter voice rates. Chat, video, and Professional have different terms; confirm the applicable plan and modality before adapting the workbook. A lower unit rate under another plan does not remove its subscription or commitment costs.
How does the worked project budget calculate margin?
The workbook uses a 30-interview example, 19 delivery hours at an illustrative loaded cost of $100 per hour, a 10% contingency reserve, and a $5,000 client fee. Those assumptions make the calculation visible. They are not guidance on how much an agency should charge or how many hours a study should require.
| Example cost or output | Own sample, no extra incentive | Standard panel |
|---|---|---|
| Platform usage: 30 × $30 | $900 | $900 |
| Standard recruitment: 30 × $30 | $0 | $900 |
| Delivery labor: 19 × $100 | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Direct cost subtotal | $2,800 | $3,700 |
| Contingency reserve: 10% | $280 | $370 |
| Total budgeted cost | $3,080 | $4,070 |
| Illustrative client fee | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Contribution after reserve | $1,920 | $930 |
| Contribution margin | 38.4% | 18.6% |
Contribution is the client fee minus modeled cost, and contribution margin is that amount divided by the fee. These examples are before unallocated overhead and taxes. The reserve is budgeted protection; it may not become an actual cash expense. Keep forecast cost, incurred cost, and the remaining reserve distinct when reviewing a completed project.
The sample choice changes this example by $990 after the reserve. That does not make own-sample recruitment costless: the client list must exist, be suitable, and produce enough eligible participants. Add any incentive, external recruiting, or list-management effort that your team will incur. Otherwise the comparison transfers costs outside the worksheet and understates the engagement.
How should you budget researcher effort?
Estimate effort by the work your team will perform. The workbook separates brief and design, guide and pilot testing, fieldwork management, evidence review and analysis, and client readout and revisions. Replace its illustrative hours with a delivery plan. Different audiences, stimuli, and decisions can need different levels of researcher involvement.
Evidence review deserves an explicit budget. Automated analysis can provide a starting point, but the research team must assess whether the evidence supports the intended conclusion. Check complete interviews, important exceptions, and the coverage of priority segments. A persuasive summary does not establish that a finding is supported or that the study has answered the client’s decision.
Budget client service too. Stakeholder alignment, presentation development, workshops, and revision rounds consume time even when interviewing runs smoothly. Agree who consolidates feedback and how many readouts the fee includes. If a client adds a new stakeholder presentation after approval, update the scope and cost before treating it as included work.
After delivery, compare estimated and actual hours by stage. A recurring overrun in guide development suggests a different problem from an overrun in client revisions. Use those observations to improve the next quote and working process. Do not assume that completing one study establishes a stable margin for every future project.
What changes when the audience is difficult to recruit?
Recruitment difficulty can affect both cost and the ability to deliver the agreed evidence. Define eligibility, exclusions, segment coverage, and the relevant experience window before requesting a quote. A broad audience description can produce a low apparent price that does not apply to the people the study needs.
Use the workbook’s Quoted recruitment option for a confirmed recruitment-only per-interview amount. The platform cost remains a separate input. If a supplier quotes a combined total, separate its components before entering them so the platform is not counted twice. Keep minimum charges or one-time setup fees in other direct costs when they are additional.
Own-sample studies need their own recruitment assumptions. Confirm permission to contact the audience, who sends invitations, how eligibility is checked, and who handles incentives. A customer list’s size is not the same as the number of eligible people likely to participate. Add the team’s coordination effort to the delivery estimate.
Agree a contingency if a priority group cannot be reached. Options can include adjusting the fieldwork window, revising eligibility with the client, or reducing the scope of conclusions. Record the choice and its effect on the research question. Replacing a difficult audience with an easier one without revisiting the decision can undermine the value of the study.
How should you compare AI moderation with other methods?
Compare complete quotes for the same scope. A full-service agency proposal may include research design, recruitment, interpretation, and a client workshop. A platform unit price usually describes a narrower purchase. The useful comparison asks what each option supplies, which responsibilities remain with your team, and what the total engagement will cost.
Use actual supplier quotes and your own labor estimates for the alternatives. Include recruitment criteria, interview format, evidence access, analysis scope, and deliverable requirements. Do not assume a universal price or turnaround for a traditional agency or freelance moderator. Supplier capacity and audience requirements can materially change the answer.
Consider method fit alongside cost. A lower cost does not answer whether the proposed interview can handle a particular stimulus, sensitive topic, or participant need. Review the guide and output examples with the delivery lead. If a different method is required for part of the decision, include it explicitly rather than forcing the entire engagement into one approach.
For a broader comparison structure, use the agency research margin guide. The complete consumer research guide for agencies explains how to connect the study to a repeatable client delivery process. Both should support a scoped decision rather than a blanket savings claim.
How does interview volume affect the economics?
On Starter voice, doubling the quality interview count doubles platform usage at the same unit rate. Standard recruitment also rises with count at the stated rate, when that audience qualifies for standard recruitment. Some design work can be reused, while evidence review and client reporting may expand. Estimate those effects separately.
In the workbook’s own-sample example, increasing interviews from 30 to 60 changes total budgeted cost from $3,080 to $4,070 if labor and all other assumptions stay fixed. That is a calculation scenario, not an assertion that 60 interviews require the same review effort as 30. Increase the hours when the proposed work requires it.
Multi-market studies can introduce more than additional interviews. Language review, local screening, different stimuli, and separate stakeholder readouts may add work. A fixed per-interview platform rate does not make international expansion operationally free. Confirm the work required in each market before aggregating the project into a single cost per interview.
For repeated waves, separate reusable setup from recurring work. Preserve enough consistency to compare findings while checking whether the audience, guide, or client decision has changed. Reuse can improve delivery efficiency, but each wave still needs an evidence review and a clear purpose. More interviews are valuable when they inform the next decision.
What should go into the client proposal?
Present the client fee, included services, deliverables, timing assumptions, and scope-change process. The editable research proposal and five-slide pitch provide matching templates. Decide which cost detail to share based on the commercial relationship and procurement requirements.
Use the sample research to make the expected output concrete. Confirm the presentation, supporting evidence, and review rounds included in the engagement. The User Intuition platform for agencies supplies the interview workflow, while your team remains responsible for the agreed research and client recommendation.
Before sending the quote, test a difficult recruitment case, additional review hours, and an extra revision round. Check contribution dollars as well as the percentage, then confirm the payment schedule and delivery capacity. The purpose of the budget is to make those decisions visible before the team commits to the work.