Incomes Data Research
Incomes Data Research is a UK-based independent research firm providing pay benchmarking, pay award analysis, HR policy data, and bespoke research to HR and reward professionals across private, public, and not-for-profit sectors via subscription tools, reports, and advisory services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Incomes Data Research does
Incomes Data Research (IDR) is a UK-based independent research organisation specialising in pay, benefits, reward practice, and HR policy. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in London with a secondary office in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, IDR collects primary data directly from HR professionals and converts it into benchmarking tools, recurring information services, and bespoke research for HR and reward practitioners across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.
The company's core products are Pay Benchmarker, an online subscription tool providing searchable databases on salary levels and pay increases, and Pay Climate, a recurring information service tracking pay awards across all sectors of the economy. These are complemented by Pay & Benefit Reports (off-the-shelf publications such as the Benefits Handbook), Bespoke Research delivered by a specialist team including a Director of Commercial Research, Pay Gap Support for gender and ethnicity pay equity analysis, and an Annual Pay Planning Conference. The technology stack centres on proprietary web-based research tools fed by ongoing employer surveys that have covered over one million employees cumulatively, with regulatory acceptance evidenced by work for the Low Pay Commission and Office of Manpower Economics.
IDR generates revenue through annual subscriptions to Pay Benchmarker and Pay Climate (the recurring core), one-time report purchases, bespoke research and consultancy engagements, and conference ticket sales. Distribution is sales-led via direct website enquiries, phone and email outreach, and event-driven lead generation, supplemented by content marketing, free seminars, and earned media coverage. The business is privately held with no disclosed external funding, operates exclusively in the United Kingdom, and holds Cyber Essentials accreditation.
Incomes Data Research firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Incomes Data Research
- Legal name
- Incomes Data Research Limited
- Website
- https://incomesdataresearch.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Incomes Data Research is a UK-based independent research firm providing pay benchmarking, pay award analysis, HR policy data, and bespoke research to HR and reward professionals across private, public, and not-for-profit sectors via subscription tools, reports, and advisory services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Incomes Data Research industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pay Benchmarking & HR Data Research
- NAICS
- Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Workforce Analytics, Reporting & Labor Cost Management (BPACAIAL), Workforce Data, Labor Market Intelligence (LMI) & Program Evaluation (EDAAAOAN)
Keywords
Where Incomes Data Research is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Incomes Data Research business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Services (Pay Benchmarker & Pay Climate): Annual subscription model providing ongoing access to online tools and information services. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled with 30 days notice. Pricing varies by service tier.
- Pay & Benefits Reports: One-time purchase of published reports covering specific topics such as benefits, pay for specific roles, or sector-specific analysis. Example: Benefits Handbook priced at £449 (£404 for subscribers).
- Bespoke Research: Custom research and consultancy services tailored to specific client needs, led by Director of Commercial Research Louisa Withers.
- Conference Tickets: Revenue from IDR's Annual Pay Planning Conference events, with discounts offered to research participants.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Annual | Benefits Handbook report |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Incomes Data Research product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Incomes Data Research is an independent research organisation that provides pay benchmarking, HR policy analysis, and benefits data to HR and reward professionals. It collects primary data directly from employers and delivers it through subscription-based online tools (Pay Benchmarker, Pay Climate), published reports, bespoke consultancy, and an annual pay planning conference, helping clients make informed decisions on salary levels, pay awards, and reward strategy.
Product overview
Incomes Data Research operates a platform-plus-modules architecture offering essential benchmarking tools for pay and HR practitioners. The core offerings consist of Pay Benchmarker (an online salary benchmarking tool with searchable databases on pay awards and pay levels) and Pay Climate (a subscription information service tracking pay awards across the economy). These are complemented by Pay & Benefit Reports (off-the-shelf research publications), Bespoke Research (custom consultancy services), Pay Gap Support (pay equity analysis services), Benchmarking tools, and an Annual Pay Planning Conference. The company collects data directly from HR professionals and provides analysis on pay rises, salary levels, employee benefits, and HR policy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Pay Benchmarker: An online tool providing access to up-to-date, searchable market data on salary levels and pay increases to support pay reviews, negotiations, and reward strategy.
- Pay Climate
Products and services
- Pay Benchmarker An online subscription tool providing up-to-date, searchable market data on salary levels and pay increases, with two regularly updated databases covering pay awards and pay levels. It is designed for HR and reward professionals conducting pay reviews, negotiations, and reward strategy across sectors and regions.
- Pay Climate A subscription information service providing the latest picture on pay awards across all sectors of the economy, with insights on key trends and developments to help pay practitioners assess the current climate on pay.
- Pay & Benefits Reports Off-the-shelf published reports covering specific pay and benefits topics (e.g. Benefits Handbook, Graduate and Apprentice Pay, Maternity/Paternity, sector-specific pay reports), available as one-time purchases with discounts for subscribers.
- Bespoke Research Custom research and consultancy tailored to specific client needs on pay, benefits, and HR policy, delivered by IDR's specialist research team led by the Director of Commercial Research.
- Pay Gap Support Pay equity services that help organisations understand, explain, and close pay gaps, including gender pay gap and ethnicity pay gap analysis and reporting support.
- Annual Pay Planning Conference Annual conference presenting insights on pay planning and reward intentions for the year ahead, featuring IDR survey results and expert analysis, with discounted tickets for research participants.
Quantifiable outcome
- Survey responses covering over 600,000 employees provide statistically significant market benchmarks
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Incomes Data Research
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Incomes Data Research technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Incomes Data Research partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Incomes Data Research competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Salary.com: Salary.com provides compensation data, salary benchmarking tools and HR analytics software. It is an emerging player with partial overlap to IDR's benchmarking use cases, competing more on software than primary research.
- Payscale: Payscale is a compensation data and software provider focused on salary benchmarking and compensation management. It overlaps with IDR's Pay Benchmarker offering but is primarily US-anchored and product-led rather than survey-led.
Broad incumbents
- Aon (Radford): Aon's Radford McLagan practice provides global compensation benchmarking and workforce analytics. It is a broad incumbent competitor to IDR in pay and reward data, though typically embedded in larger consulting engagements.
- Mercer: Mercer is a global HR consulting leader with comprehensive compensation benchmarking, workforce analytics and reward strategy services. It competes with IDR for pay benchmarking budgets but addresses a much broader HR advisory mandate.
- Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organisational consulting firm with a substantial pay and rewards practice. It competes with IDR for HR and reward decision-maker budgets, particularly on compensation benchmarking and executive pay data.
- Willis Towers Watson (WTW): WTW operates a large compensation, talent and reward practice including the widely used salary surveys. It overlaps with IDR on pay data and reward benchmarking but sells a broader advisory and analytics portfolio.
Others
- REED: REED is a major UK recruitment group that publishes salary and hiring trend reports. It overlaps with IDR on UK pay market intelligence but is an adjacent recruitment-led player rather than a direct subscription pay-data competitor.
- CIPD: The Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development publishes widely used UK pay and HR benchmark surveys. It is an enabling / thematically related player rather than a direct competitor, since its outputs are member-funded and serve a professional-body mission.
- Hays: Hays is a global recruitment firm that publishes an annual UK & Ireland Salary Guide based on placement data. It is an adjacent competitor to IDR for pay benchmarking visibility, but its primary business is recruitment services rather than independent pay research.
Direct peers
- XpertHR: XpertHR is a UK subscription-based HR and pay information service covering employment law, pay benchmarking and HR best practice. It is the closest direct competitor to IDR, serving HR and reward professionals with comparable subscription data products.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights8 records
Customer concentration
Incomes Data Research social profiles
Digital presenceIncomes Data Research compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Incomes Data Research financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Incomes Data Research leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Incomes Data Research funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Incomes Data Research M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Incomes Data Research
What does Incomes Data Research do?
Incomes Data Research is an independent research organisation that provides pay benchmarking, HR policy analysis, and benefits data to HR and reward professionals. It collects primary data directly from employers and delivers it through subscription-based online tools (Pay Benchmarker, Pay Climate), published reports, bespoke consultancy, and an annual pay planning conference, helping clients make informed decisions on salary levels, pay awards, and reward strategy.
Is Incomes Data Research a public or private company?
Incomes Data Research is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Incomes Data Research founded?
Incomes Data Research was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Incomes Data Research based?
Incomes Data Research is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Incomes Data Research make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Subscription Services (Pay Benchmarker & Pay Climate) is the primary driver. The others are pay & Benefits Reports, bespoke Research and conference Tickets.
Who are Incomes Data Research's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Salary.com and Payscale. Broad incumbents are Aon (Radford), Mercer, Korn Ferry and Willis Towers Watson (WTW). Others are REED, CIPD and Hays. XpertHR is listed as a direct peer.
Does Incomes Data Research have an API?
No public API is recorded for Incomes Data Research.
What industry is Incomes Data Research in?
Incomes Data Research's product category is Pay Benchmarking & HR Data Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHALAE, Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom), with a secondary code of BPACAIAL, Workforce Analytics, Reporting & Labor Cost Management. Its NAICS code is 541910.