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Research & Consulting

Top Market Research Companies in Ireland (Updated August 2026)

The companies in this list are ordered alphabetically by name. That is the only ordering applied, so a company's position implies no ranking, preference or assessment of quality.

Research is a method business. How the sample was recruited decides whether the findings are data or anecdote, and who writes the analysis decides whether they are usable. Quantitative work measures how many, qualitative work explains why, and choosing between them sets both the shortlist and the budget. Most firms here publish no figure at all; where one appears it starts at 4,500 euro.

Independence is the product here

  • Dedicated or diversified. Six firms here do research only. The rest attach it to strategy or advertising work. For decisions with money behind them, prefer the specialists.
  • Method before supplier. Quantitative or qualitative decides the shortlist and the budget. Settle it first.
  • Sample and recruitment. Ask how respondents are recruited and how representative the sample is. It is the difference between data and anecdote.
  • Who analyses the findings. Fieldwork can be subcontracted. Analysis is where the value sits.

Ask what the research would need to show for you to change your plan. If there is no answer, you are commissioning reassurance rather than research, and it will cost the same.

Method, sample, and who writes the analysis

Choosing well here comes down to independence, method and what happens after the data lands, not the size of the firm.

  • Independence from the decision. A dedicated research house has no reason to shape findings toward a particular strategy. An agency that also sells you branding or marketing strategy has a mild incentive to find what supports the next piece of work.
  • Method fit over method preference. Quantitative and qualitative answer different questions. Ask which the firm defaults to before assuming it matches what you actually need.
  • Sample recruitment, in detail. Ask exactly how respondents are found and screened. Panel-based online surveys and door-to-door fieldwork produce different kinds of bias, and neither is disclosed unless you ask.
  • Who writes the analysis, not just who collects the data. Fieldwork can be outsourced without losing quality. A junior analyst writing up someone else's field notes is where quality actually slips.

For decisions with real money behind them, independence should outweigh convenience or an existing relationship.

Agree upfront what form the findings arrive in, too. A deck of insights is not a targeting plan, and turning research into usable audience segments is the step most research briefs leave out.

You get a report, not a plan

Core work covers designing a study, recruiting and surveying or interviewing respondents, and analysing the results into findings a business can act on. That spans quantitative surveys for measuring scale and qualitative interviews or focus groups for understanding reasons. What sits outside it is acting on the findings: research houses hand over a report, not a strategy or a campaign, though some firms on this list pair research with branding or marketing strategy to close that gap themselves. Turning findings into a decision and a roadmap is what the innovation consulting firms do, and for questions about what people do on your own site rather than in the market, the conversion and user research firms are closer to the work. Businesses typically commission this work before a significant investment decision, when launching into a new market or audience, when customer satisfaction needs measuring on a recurring basis, or when internal assumptions about customers need testing before they shape a bigger plan.

Eight of ten publish nothing at all

Most firms in this file, including RED C, Behaviour & Attitudes and five others, publish no project minimum at all. Where a figure is published, it starts at €4,500, the minimum quoted by both MCCP and Distinctive BAT, which also publish an hourly band of €90 to €135. That gap between undisclosed and €4,500-plus reflects how research is usually priced: per project, scoped to sample size and method, rather than off a published rate card. A qualitative study with a handful of interviews sits at the low end. A nationally representative quantitative survey costs several times that, because sample size drives fieldwork cost directly. Ask for a quote against a defined sample and method rather than a general budget range, since the two published minimums here suggest most serious work starts well above €900.

We have selected and reviewed these companies based on factors such as their services, industry experience, reputation, client portfolio, pricing where publicly available, market presence, and other relevant business metrics. The information and pricing mentioned are based on details available at the time of publication and may change over time. We recommend verifying the latest information directly with each company.

  1. 1. Behaviour & Attitudes

    Best for large-scale consumer and social research

    Location
    Dublin 6, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Min project
    Undisclosed

    Behaviour & Attitudes now trades as Ipsos B&A following a merger with the Ipsos global research network, and is one of the longest-established research houses in Ireland, with a team of 10 to 49 in Dublin 6.

    What they handle

    The work spans consumer and social research for both government bodies and private clients, including national healthcare communications and policy evaluation. Joining Ipsos added access to global tooling and international comparative data on top of the local panel.

    What sets them apart

    Sectors are public sector and healthcare. The project minimum is undisclosed. It suits a national launch or a public awareness campaign that needs a representative sample at scale. Note the change of ownership when checking references, because pre-merger and post-merger engagements are not the same organisation.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Consumer Research

    Industries

    • Public Sector
    • Healthcare

  2. 2. Customer Perceptions

    Best for customer experience measurement

    Location
    Dundalk, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Min project
    Undisclosed

    Customer Perceptions has operated from Dundalk since 1995 with a team of 10 to 49, measuring what actually happens when a customer deals with a business.

    What they handle

    Mystery shopping is the specialism, alongside customer satisfaction surveys — the only firm on this page whose core method is observed behaviour rather than reported opinion. That is a different kind of evidence from a survey, and harder to argue with internally.

    What sets them apart

    Sectors are retail and hospitality. The project minimum is undisclosed. It suits a multi-site retailer or hospitality group checking whether service standards hold on the floor rather than in the training manual. It will not tell you about the wider market, only about your own operation.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Mystery Shopping

    Industries

    • Retail
    • Hospitality

  3. 3. Distinctive BAT

    Best for research paired with marketing strategy

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    2 - 9
    Hourly rate
    €90 - €135
    Min project
    €4,500+

    Distinctive BAT is a Dublin research consultancy of two to nine measuring how recognisable a brand's assets are: logos, colours, jingles and characters.

    What they handle

    That narrow focus is the whole offer. The output is which specific cues actually trigger recognition, which is a measurable question most brand research treats as a matter of taste.

    What sets them apart

    Projects start from 4,500 euro with rates of 90 to 135 euro an hour, the highest published bands on this page. Sectors are consumer goods and media. There are no verified reviews. It suits a brand deciding what to keep in a rebrand, or defending assets it already owns. For market sizing or audience research, this is the wrong specialism.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Marketing Strategy

    Industries

    • Consumer Goods
    • Media

  4. 4. GMI Research

    Best for pure market research delivery

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Min project
    Undisclosed

    GMI Research works from Sandyford in Dublin with a team of 10 to 49, producing industry reports and competitive analysis rather than consumer opinion research.

    What they handle

    The distinction is the point: most firms here gather views from the public, while GMI analyses supply chains, market sizes and global industry shifts for B2B clients in electronics, healthcare and telecommunications.

    What sets them apart

    Sectors are technology and healthcare. The project minimum is undisclosed. It suits a business that needs to understand the structure of its industry before a large investment decision. If the question is what customers think, the consumer research houses on this page are the correct brief.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Market Intelligence

    Industries

    • Technology
    • Healthcare

  5. 5. Interactions Research

    Best for specialist research programmes

    Location
    Kilcoole, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Min project
    Undisclosed

    Interactions Research has operated since 1993 from Wicklow, working nationally with a team of 10 to 49 on social behaviour change, environmental sustainability and public service auditing.

    What they handle

    Behaviour change research is a specific discipline: measuring not just what people say but whether an intervention moved them, which is why the client base is public sector and corporate responsibility rather than consumer brands.

    What sets them apart

    Sectors are transport and public sector. The project minimum is undisclosed, and there are no verified reviews. It suits a public body or a large organisation running a sustainability or behaviour change programme that has to be evaluated. For commercial product research, other firms here fit better.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Service Auditing

    Industries

    • Transport
    • Public Sector

  6. 6. MCCP - The Independent Strategy Agency

    Best for research feeding brand strategy

    Location
    Dublin 1, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Hourly rate
    €90 - €135
    Min project
    €4,500+

    MCCP concluded operations in mid-2026 and cannot take new briefs. It appears here because the listing is still carried, complete with a 4,500 euro minimum and 90 to 135 euro hourly rates.

    What they handle

    Founded in 2008 in Dublin 1, it worked on the join between research and brand strategy, on the principle that evidence should decide positioning and messaging. Clients were consumer brands, retail chains and service providers.

    What sets them apart

    Sectors listed are FMCG and retail. As with Chemistry on the creative agencies list, the entry stays as a caution about directory data: confirm a firm is still trading before you build a shortlist around its published rates.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Branding
    • Marketing Strategy

    Industries

    • FMCG
    • Retail

  7. 7. Opinions Market Research Agency

    Best for dedicated research projects

    Location
    Dublin 4, Ireland
    Team size
    2 - 9
    Min project
    Undisclosed

    Opinions is a research and business advisory firm in Dublin 4, established in 2008, with a team of two to nine.

    What they handle

    The work is market understanding, new product evaluation and brand health tracking, with the stated emphasis on findings a business owner or marketing manager can act on rather than a technical report. The listing describes multiple awards, though none is named.

    What sets them apart

    Sectors are consumer goods and finance. The project minimum is undisclosed and there are no verified reviews. It suits a company that needs consumer data quickly from a small, experienced team. Ask which awards, and ask for two studies in your sector, because neither is published.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Strategic Consulting

    Industries

    • Consumer Goods
    • Finance

  8. 8. RED C Research and Marketing Ltd

    Best for national polling and consumer research

    Location
    Dublin 3, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Min project
    Undisclosed

    RED C was founded in 2003 and works from Dublin 3 with a team of 10 to 49. It is the best-known name on this page.

    What they handle

    The evidence is public: its monthly political polls are published nationally and their accuracy is checkable against actual election results, which is a rarer form of accountability than any directory review. Commercial research runs alongside for retail, telecoms and financial services clients.

    What sets them apart

    Sectors are telecoms and retail. The project minimum is undisclosed. It suits a business needing nationally representative consumer data, or public opinion measured to a standard that will stand up to scrutiny. It is a research house: you get a report, not a strategy.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Opinion Polling

    Industries

    • Telecoms
    • Retail

  9. 9. Spark Market Research

    Best for research alongside advertising

    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Team size
    10 - 49
    Min project
    Undisclosed

    Spark Market Research is a Dublin agency of 10 to 49 offering the full method range: focus groups, one-to-one interviews, online surveys and ethnographic studies.

    What they handle

    Ethnography is the notable inclusion — observing customers in context rather than asking them — and it is rare on this page. Advertising and branding sit alongside the research, which closes the gap between findings and action and also means the firm is not purely independent of what it recommends.

    What sets them apart

    Sectors are energy and finance. The project minimum is undisclosed and there are no verified reviews. It suits a brand or product team that wants research and the creative response from one supplier. For a decision needing independence, the research-only firms here are safer.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Advertising
    • Branding

    Industries

    • Energy
    • Finance

  10. 10. Strategic Marketing Consultants

    Best for research for smaller budgets

    Location
    Rathangan, Ireland
    Team size
    Freelancer
    Min project
    Undisclosed

    Strategic Marketing Consultants is an independent one-person practice in Rathangan, County Kildare, covering market research, marketing strategy, branding and HR consulting.

    What they handle

    The listing shows a freelancer rather than a team, which sets both the price point and the ceiling: this is a long-term advisor to a smaller business rather than a firm that can field a national study.

    What sets them apart

    Sectors are B2B and professional services. The project minimum is undisclosed and there are no verified reviews. It suits an SME in professional services or manufacturing that wants continuing advice on a budget the research houses here would not quote for. Fieldwork at any scale will need subcontracting, so ask who does it.

    Services

    • Market Research
    • Marketing Strategy
    • HR Consulting
    • Branding

    Industries

    • B2B
    • Professional Services

Good market research tells a business what customers actually think, not what internal teams assume they think, and that independence is the whole value. What it doesn't do is act on the finding once it's written up. Research and retention are two separate jobs, done by two separate teams. Brandfire designs and builds loyalty and rewards programmes for brands across Ireland, turning a research finding about customer behaviour into a programme that changes it.

Frequently asked questions

How much does market research cost in Ireland?
Most firms here publish no minimum, and those that do start at €4,500. Cost is driven by sample size and method. A nationally representative quantitative survey costs several times a set of qualitative interviews, so decide the method before asking for quotes.
What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative research?
Quantitative research measures how many and how much, using surveys with samples large enough to project onto a population. Qualitative research explains why, using interviews and focus groups with small numbers. Most decisions need both, run in that order.
Which Irish research companies do national polling?
RED C and Behaviour and Attitudes are the two best-known names in Irish national research, both listed here and both working exclusively in research. If you need nationally representative data rather than customer feedback, start with the dedicated research houses.
Should I use a research house or a marketing agency?
Use a dedicated research house when the findings will inform a significant investment, because independence matters and method quality is their whole business. A marketing agency with a research line is fine for customer feedback and positioning input.

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