What Is an NPS Score? Calculation and Benchmarks by Industry

NPS(R) (Net Promoter Score) is used by companies worldwide as a metric for customer loyalty. Many people know the name but haven't organized what the score concretely represents, how to calculate it, or a benchmark for judging whether their own figure is good or bad. This article explains what an NPS score is in plain terms, and covers the calculation method, how to read the score, benchmarks by industry, and points for putting it to use.

What Is an NPS Score?

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a customer-loyalty metric that quantifies "how much a customer would recommend" a company, brand, product, or service to others. Rather than mere satisfaction, by measuring recommendation intent—"wanting to recommend to others"—it tends to connect to future behavior such as repurchase and word of mouth. That is its distinctive feature.

Measurement is very simple and starts from a single question.

"How likely are you to recommend this product/service to a close friend or colleague?" (answered on an 11-point scale from 0 to 10)

The score is calculated from these answers. Unlike a satisfaction survey, the score isn't just a number where "higher is better"; a major feature is that it has a range from negative to positive.

The Three Categories: Promoters, Passives, Detractors

In NPS, the 0–10 answers are classified into three groups by score band. This classification is the foundation of the calculation.

• Promoters: People who gave 9–10. They have high satisfaction and loyalty and actively recommend to others.
• Passives: People who gave 7–8. They are satisfied but not highly enthusiastic and are prone to drifting to competitors. They are not included in the calculation.
• Detractors: People who gave 0–6. They hold dissatisfaction and may spread negative word of mouth.

The fact that a seemingly "pretty good" score of 7–8 is classified as passive is one reason NPS is said to be a strict metric.

How to Calculate an NPS Score

The NPS score is found by the difference in the proportions of promoters and detractors. The formula is as follows.

NPS = Percentage of promoters (%) − Percentage of detractors (%)

Passives are not included in the calculation; you look only at the "difference" between promoters and detractors. You simply subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters among all respondents.

Understanding It With an Example

For example, suppose 100 people respond, with 50 promoters, 30 passives, and 20 detractors. In this case the calculation is as follows.

• Percentage of promoters: 50 ÷ 100 = 50%
• Percentage of detractors: 20 ÷ 100 = 20%
• NPS = 50% − 20% = +30

In this case, the NPS score is "+30." It is conventionally expressed as an integer from −100 to +100 without a unit. If everyone is a promoter it is +100, and if everyone is a detractor it is −100.

How to Read an NPS Score: Interpreting the Numbers

Because NPS ranges from −100 to +100, reading it with the feel of a satisfaction score leads to misjudgment. Keep in mind these points for reading the numbers.

Positive vs. Negative Is the First Dividing Line

The first thing to look at is whether the score is positive or negative. If positive, promoters outnumber detractors; if negative, there are more detractors. If it is below 0, there is a high likelihood of a structural issue in the customer experience.

General Level Guidelines

There is no absolute right answer, but as widely cited interpretive guidelines, the following level ranges are known.

• Below 0: Detractors outnumber. Priority improvement is needed.
• 0 to 30: Considered a good level. Room for improvement remains.
• 30 to 50: A high rating. A loyal customer base is starting to grow.
• 50 to 70: A very excellent level.
• 70 and above: An extremely high level considered world-class.

However, this is only a general guideline; the appropriate level varies greatly by industry, country, and survey method. When evaluating your own score, the practical approach is to weight not just this absolute value but also "comparison with peers in the same industry" and "your own trend over time."

Benchmarks by Industry

The appropriate NPS level differs greatly by industry. In highly competitive industries where switching is easy, scores tend to come out low, while in industries with high specialization where fans form easily, they tend to come out high.

In general, the following tendencies are noted.

• Industries that tend to score high: Some technology services that hold highly enthusiastic brands, or brand products with high loyalty.
• Industries that tend to score low: Telecom, insurance, finance, public services, and the like—industries where switching is a hassle or dissatisfaction easily arises.

What matters is not comparing simplistically with numbers from other industries. For example, +20 in telecom may be a respectable level, while the same +20 in another industry may be below average. Always interpret benchmarks against the latest data for "the same industry and the same region."

NPS Tends to Come Out Low in Japan

Often overlooked is the difference in response tendencies by country. In Japan, there is a strong tendency to avoid extreme ratings (10 or 0) and give middling scores, and it is noted that, viewed by the same standard as the West, NPS tends to come out low. When compared simplistically with a global standard from an overseas headquarters, Japan may appear "extremely low only in Japan," but this does not necessarily mean a difference in service quality alone. It is reasonable to evaluate against domestic peers and your own trend.

Points for Putting NPS to Use

• Track the trend of the score: A one-off measurement has little meaning; monitoring at fixed points and following the change reveals the effect of your initiatives.
• Always ask for the reason: Asking the background of the score in free text (driver analysis) shows concretely what to improve to raise the score.
• Systematize responses to detractors: A structure (a closed loop) that promptly follows up with customers who gave low scores works for both preventing churn and driving improvement.
• Make it a company-wide shared metric: Making NPS a cross-departmental common language helps customer-perspective improvement take root in the organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do NPS and customer satisfaction (CSAT) differ?

Whereas CSAT (customer satisfaction) measures "whether one was satisfied with a specific experience on the spot," NPS measures an attitude closer to future behavior—"whether there is loyalty strong enough to recommend to others." It is easier to grasp as CSAT being the evaluation of an individual touchpoint and NPS the evaluation of the overall relationship.

How many points is a "passing" NPS?

There is no uniform passing line. Being positive is one guideline, but what matters most is comparison with peers and your own trend. We recommend first measuring where you stand and then tracking the extent of improvement from there.

About how many respondents are needed?

To obtain a statistically stable figure, a certain number of responses is needed. With few respondents, the score swings greatly on just a few people's ratings. When the base is small, it can be more useful to draw implications from the free-text content than from the absolute value of the score.

Summary

An NPS score is a customer-loyalty metric that quantifies the degree to which customers would recommend a product or service to others. You classify the 0–10 answers into promoters, passives, and detractors, calculate it as "percentage of promoters − percentage of detractors," and express it in a range from −100 to +100.

Whether the score is positive or negative matters first, but the guideline for the absolute value varies greatly by industry, country, and method. Because Japan in particular tends to score low, rather than comparing simplistically with other industries or a global standard, it is important to evaluate against peers and your own trend. Start by measuring your own NPS once and asking for the reasons behind the scores.

*NPS(R) (Net Promoter Score) is a registered trademark of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld, and NICE Systems, Inc. The guidelines and levels described in this article are general interpretations; actual benchmarks vary by survey provider, year, and region. Please consult the latest primary sources when evaluating.