> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://studies-guides.jaspari.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pricing

> Each study's per-lead price is set from a formula and locked in when you launch.

Each study gets its own pricing configuration.

## What you're actually billed for

There are two billable events:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="A verified volunteer accepts your study" icon="user-check">
    You're charged the study's unit pricing the moment a volunteer accepts an offer to join your study. This is the core charge.
  </Card>

  <Card title="A visit gets booked (optional)" icon="calendar-check">
    If automatic scheduling is turned on for a site and a visit is automatically booked, a separate flat scheduling fee is charged per booked appointment.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

A volunteer who accepts but never books a visit is still billed as a volunteer, with no scheduling fee attached.

## Formulaic pricing vs. custom pricing

Every study is priced one of two ways:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Formulaic pricing" icon="calculator">
    This is the default for every study. Its unit pricing is computed when you set up a study. Whenever something price-relevant about the study changes (for example, an edit to criteria or recruitment area, or a change to one of its sites), you will see a new price before saving this new version.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Custom pricing" icon="handshake">
    You can request custom pricing by reaching out to your platform representative to discuss your research, goals, budget, and timeline. Custom pricing can be applied across several studies in your organization.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  If your study has a custom price, the pricing screen tells you so explicitly. Your number may not match what the standard formula would otherwise produce.
</Note>

## How the formulaic price is calculated

* **Eligibility-criteria surcharge**: based on how rare, in the general population, the combination of conditions, medications, and other inclusion or exclusion criteria you've selected is.
* **Geography surcharge**: based on the population inside your chosen recruitment area. A smaller population, such as a tight ZIP radius, carries a larger surcharge than a large one such as statewide or nationwide coverage, since a smaller pool is harder to recruit from.

## Locked-in pricing

While a study is in draft, the price estimate you see updates live as you change eligibility criteria or recruitment area. The moment you launch a study, that number locks in for that active study. From then on, the price stays fixed unless you make a change that affects it: an edit to its criteria or recruitment area, or a change to one of its sites (including a site's address or a site becoming inactive). Only changes you make trigger a recalculation; any platform-wide pricing update will not affect an active study's already-locked price.

## Pausing and resuming

You can pause and resume a study at any time. When you pause a study, its price is no longer locked, though it stays at its last active value unless something changes. In most cases, a study that is unchanged and resumed will keep its previous pricing configuration. However, if a long time has passed since it was last active, its pricing configuration may be recalculated and change. You will see any updates to pricing before you decide to resume a study. There is no surprise or hidden billing at any point.


## Related topics

- [Studies Overview](/studies/overview.md)
- [Geographic Scope](/studies/geographic-scope.md)
- [Setup and Launch](/studies/setup-and-launch.md)