Many researchers find Open Lab through a colleague, a co-author or a supervisor rather than through a search. The referral program makes that recommendation worth something to both sides. A researcher who signs up through a referral link gets a longer Pro trial, and the researcher who shared the link receives account credit once the new account starts a paid plan.
What the person you invite receives
A new researcher who creates an account through a referral link gets the monthly Pro plan as a 30-day free trial instead of the standard 14 days. The trial uses the same rules as the standard one: it applies to the first paid subscription on the account, a card is added at the start, and nothing is charged if the trial is cancelled before it ends. Thirty days is usually enough to build a study, run a pilot with a few participants and check the exported data before deciding on a plan.
The referral applies whether the new researcher signs up with an email address, a Google account or an ORCID iD.
What you receive
When the researcher you referred starts their first paid subscription, your account receives 10 credits, worth €10. The reward is paid once per referred researcher, and there is no limit on the number of researchers you can refer. A free trial does not count until it converts to a paid plan.
Credits can be redeemed on the referral page at any time. If your account already has a billing history, the redeemed amount is added to your account balance and deducted automatically from your next invoice, including the next renewal of a running subscription. Otherwise you receive a one-time discount code to enter at checkout.
Where to find your link
Referral links are on the Referral program page in the dashboard sidebar: research.open-lab.online/dashboard/referral. You can create more than one link, for example one for a lab mailing list and one for a methods course, and the page shows how many researchers signed up with each and which rewards have been paid.
A referral link can be shared anywhere: in an email to a colleague, a course page, a lab wiki, or the methods section of a preprint that used Open Lab. People who open the link see a short confirmation and are then taken to the sign-up page.
Questions
The referral page has a short FAQ. For anything not covered there, write to info@open-lab.online.
