What is a good NPS score? Benchmarks by industry and the honest answer

A good NPS score is anything above 0, because it means promoters outnumber detractors. Above 20 is favourable, above 50 is excellent and above 80 is world class, by Bain & Company's original interpretation. Across industries, recent benchmark studies put the median around 40.

Key takeaways

• Bain's thresholds: above 0 good, above 20 favourable, above 50 excellent, above 80 world class.
• The cross-industry median in 2025 benchmark data is around 40; B2C averages run higher than B2B.
• Survey channel, timing and market skew scores by double digits, which makes external comparison rough.
• The benchmark that drives decisions is your own trend, measured the same way every time.

What is a good NPS score?

"What is a good NPS score?" is probably the number one question we get from anyone who knows we are in the business of Net Promoter Score. People like to benchmark. Compared to them, how well or badly are we doing? That is partly our competitive side, but it mostly gives a company a sense of direction. The short answer comes from Bain & Company, who created the metric: any positive score means your promoters outnumber your detractors, and each threshold up (20, 50, 80) marks a step change in loyalty economics. The long answer is that a score without context is a poster, so the rest of this article supplies the context.

NPS benchmarks by industry in 2026

Sources: Survicate's 2025 NPS benchmark study (cross-industry median around 40, B2C averaging 49 against 38 for B2B) and CustomerGauge's B2C benchmarks. Treat ranges as orientation; methodology differences between studies are large, and the same company measured by two different vendors routinely lands 10+ points apart.

Does a higher NPS actually predict growth?

A higher NPS predicts growth under conditions, and honesty about the conditions beats cheerleading. Bain's original research found the metric correlating with organic growth because recommendation intent tracks repurchase and referral behaviour, and that relationship holds best in competitive, referral-driven categories: retail, hospitality, consumer services, software with real switching freedom. It weakens where customers stay for other reasons, which is why telecoms and utilities post low scores yet keep their customers, and why a monopolist's NPS is a mood ring rather than a forecast. The practical conclusion is to validate the link in your own data: connect score movements to retention and revenue per segment through impact tracking, and treat NPS as a leading indicator to be confirmed, never as revenue's substitute. When your own numbers show detractor share predicting churn, the metric has earned its seat in board reporting.

How do response rates change what counts as good?

Response rate is the silent variable behind every NPS number, and it changes what "good" means. At a 30% response rate, a score of 45 describes your customer base reasonably well. At 6%, the same 45 mostly describes the kind of customer who answers surveys: typically the delighted, the furious and the contractually attentive, with the quiet middle missing. Typical survey response sits around 20 to 30% per Clootrack's 2025 benchmark review, and anything far below that deserves treatment before the score is trusted: shorter surveys, better timing, a visible record that feedback leads to action. Two practical rules follow. Report response rate next to the score every single time, because a rising NPS on a collapsing response rate is usually sampling drift dressed as progress. And when comparing scores across segments, countries or stores, compare their response rates first; a gap there explains many a mysterious score gap before any real experience difference does.

Why the distribution behind your NPS matters

The distribution behind an NPS tells you more than the score. An NPS of 40 built from 50% promoters, 40% passives and 10% detractors is a stable business with an untapped middle; the same 40 built from 60% promoters and 20% detractors is a polarised one with an active churn problem. Same headline, different priorities. Passives deserve particular attention because they are the nearest-term upside: they score 7 or 8, their verbatims usually name one fixable thing, and converting a passive to a promoter lifts the score exactly as much as neutralising a detractor. Detractor share meanwhile works as a standalone risk metric worth tracking beside the net number, with its own playbook covered in our detractor guide. Report all three shares every time the score is reported; a net number without its distribution invites exactly the wrong decisions.

Why comparing NPS across companies is risky

NPS comparison across companies is unreliable because the score is sensitive to how it is measured. Survey channel moves it: in-app surveys skew higher than email. Timing moves it: post-purchase euphoria scores differently than a random Tuesday. Market and culture move it: some markets simply never hand out 9s and 10s, and a Belgian 8 can be an American 10. Response rates move it most of all, a distortion we unpack in our piece on survey response rates. Two companies with identical customer sentiment can sit 20 points apart on method alone, which is why buying a benchmark report rarely settles the argument it was bought to settle.

So what should you benchmark against?

Benchmark against yourself. A good NPS is a better score than yesterday's, achieved without changing how you measure. That was our answer when this article was first written and it has only become more true as survey channels multiplied. Fix your methodology, measure continuously, and read the trend: a stable 35 that starts climbing after a delivery overhaul is success; a 60 that drifts down five quarters in a row is a warning no industry table will soften. Track the score alongside the themes driving it through key driver analysis so every movement has an explanation attached. The wider market makes self-benchmarking more attractive, not less: with Forrester's 2025 CX Index at an all-time low after four straight years of decline and the ACSI flat since 2017, an improving trend line puts you in rare company regardless of your absolute number.

How do you set a realistic NPS target?

A realistic NPS target is an increment on your own baseline, tied to named driver fixes. On an unchanged methodology, 5 to 10 points of improvement in a year is ambitious for a mature programme; targets beyond that usually get met by changing the measurement rather than the experience. Three target-setting rules keep the number honest. Anchor each target to specific work: "plus six points, driven by the delivery-time fix and the new onboarding flow" is a plan, "plus fifteen points" is a wish. Never compensate individuals on raw NPS, because score-linked bonuses reliably produce survey gaming (prompted 9s at the counter, unhappy customers quietly never surveyed) that corrupts the data everyone else depends on. And set segment targets rather than one company target, since a network average moves last; the store or journey that drags the number is where the target belongs.

How do you improve your NPS score?

Improving NPS is detractor work and driver work. Detractor work: identify and follow up fast, per our six-step detractor playbook, because converting the bottom of the distribution moves the score twice (one fewer detractor, one more potential promoter), and closed-loop programmes report roughly three times more promoters in follow-up surveys per CustomerGauge's research. Driver work: find which themes statistically move your score and fix the biggest one first; this is what AI analysis of open feedback with ISAAC and close-the-loop workflows are for. And keep the survey itself lean, per how many questions an NPS survey needs, so your data stays representative enough to trust.

FAQ about good NPS scores

Is an NPS of 30 good?

Yes. An NPS of 30 sits above Bain's "favourable" threshold of 20 and near the cross-industry median. Whether it is good for you depends on your sector and, more importantly, on your own trend.

What is a bad NPS score?

Any negative score signals that detractors outnumber promoters, which makes churn structural. In high-benchmark sectors like luxury retail, even a positive 20 can indicate competitive weakness.

What is the average NPS score?

Recent cross-industry benchmark studies put the median around 40, with B2C averaging higher than B2B. Averages vary meaningfully between studies due to methodology.

Can you compare your NPS to competitors?

Only roughly. Unless scores were collected with the same channel, timing and question wording, differences of 10 to 20 points can be pure methodology. Double-blind benchmark studies are the exception.

How often should you review your NPS?

Continuously for measurement, quarterly for review. A rolling measurement smooths seasonality, and the quarterly review should always pair the score with its top drivers, never the number alone.

Is a high NPS with a high detractor share still good?

No. A polarised distribution signals an active churn problem the net number hides. Track promoter, passive and detractor shares separately; two businesses with identical NPS can need opposite strategies.

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