TofuSurveys
Survey Planning

Sample Size Calculator

Calculate how many survey responses you need to achieve statistically reliable results.

Calculate Required Sample Size

Leave blank or enter a large number (100,000+) for unknown/infinite populations

± %

Typical values: ±3% (high precision), ±5% (standard), ±10% (rough estimate)

Quick Reference: Sample Sizes

Common sample sizes for different population sizes at 95% confidence, ±5% margin of error:

Population Sample Needed % of Pop.
100 80 80%
500 218 44%
1,000 278 28%
5,000 357 7%
10,000 370 4%
100,000 383 0.4%
1,000,000+ 385 <0.1%

What is Sample Size?

Sample size is the number of completed survey responses you need to make reliable conclusions about your entire population.

Too few responses = unreliable data. Too many = wasted resources. This calculator finds the sweet spot.

Key Concepts

Margin of Error

How much your results might differ from the true value. ±5% means if 60% say "yes", the true value is likely 55-65%.

Confidence Level

How certain you want to be. 95% means if you ran the survey 100 times, 95 would fall within the margin of error.

Population Size

The total group you're studying. Larger populations don't need proportionally larger samples.

Pro Tips

  • 💡 Plan for 2-3x your target sample to account for low response rates
  • 💡 For subgroup analysis, each subgroup needs its own adequate sample
  • 💡 ±5% at 95% confidence is the standard for most business surveys

Related Tool

Already collected responses? Calculate your actual margin of error:

Margin of Error Calculator →

More Survey Tools