Learn how to calculate Net Promoter Score with examples, understand what makes a good NPS, and transform static surveys into continuous customer intelligence that reduces churn.
Author: Unmesh Sheth
Last Updated:
November 13, 2025
Founder & CEO of Sopact with 35 years of experience in data systems and AI
From quarterly snapshots to continuous customer intelligence
Most teams collect NPS scores they can't actually use.
You run the quarterly survey, calculate the percentage, present the number to leadership—and nothing changes. Detractors keep churning. Passives stay passive. The score moves up or down by 5 points, but no one knows why or what to fix first.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) calculation measures customer loyalty through a deceptively simple formula: subtract the percentage of detractors (scores 0-6) from promoters (scores 9-10) to get a score ranging from -100 to +100. First introduced by Bain & Company in 2003, NPS has become the dominant customer experience metric because it predicts growth better than satisfaction scores—customers who recommend you are 3-5x more valuable than those who don't.
But here's what breaks: traditional NPS programs measure quarterly, export to Excel, manually code feedback for weeks, then present findings when they're already stale. By the time you understand what drives your score, detractors have churned and shared negative reviews. Most organizations know their NPS but never connect it to actual customer journeys, segment it by touchpoints, or use it to prevent churn before it happens.
Sopact transforms NPS from static reporting into continuous customer intelligence. Clean data collection ensures every response links to a unique customer ID. Intelligent Column automatically extracts themes from open-ended feedback in minutes—no manual coding. Intelligent Grid segments scores by demographics, purchase history, and touchpoints in real-time. Instead of quarterly snapshots, you get always-on insights that enable immediate intervention with detractors.
The difference between a score you report and intelligence you act on is architecture—data collection designed for analysis, not cleanup.
Follow these four steps to calculate your Net Promoter Score accurately
Ask your customers: "How likely are you to recommend [Company/Product/Service] to a friend or colleague?" Use a 0-10 scale where 0 = Not at all likely and 10 = Extremely likely.
Divide all responses based on their score: Promoters (9-10), Passives (7-8), and Detractors (0-6). Count how many responses fall into each category.
Divide the number of promoters by total responses, multiply by 100. Do the same for detractors. Note: Passives are counted in total responses but excluded from the final calculation.
Subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters to get your final NPS score. The score ranges from -100 (all detractors) to +100 (all promoters).
This indicates significantly more promoters than detractors—a positive score with room for improvement toward excellence (50+).
From months of analysis to minutes of insight
The Bottom Line: Traditional NPS tells you the score 6 weeks too late. Sopact Sense reveals what drives loyalty in real-time, enabling immediate action before customers churn.
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See Sopact Sense in ActionEverything you need to know about Net Promoter Score, from basic definitions to calculation methods and industry benchmarks.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a customer loyalty metric that measures how likely customers are to recommend your company, product, or service to others. It's calculated by asking one simple question: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?" The score ranges from -100 to +100, where higher scores indicate stronger customer loyalty and satisfaction.
NPS was developed by Fred Reichheld in 2003 and has since become one of the most widely adopted customer experience metrics globally. Companies use NPS to track customer sentiment, predict business growth, and identify areas for improvement in their customer experience programs.
Example: If your company has 60% promoters and 20% detractors, your NPS would be +40 (60% - 20% = 40).NPS in business refers to the Net Promoter Score system used to measure customer loyalty and predict company growth. It's a key performance indicator (KPI) that helps organizations understand how customers perceive their brand and whether they would actively recommend it to others. The metric is valued because customer recommendations and word-of-mouth referrals directly drive revenue growth.
Businesses use NPS to benchmark against competitors, track improvements over time, and identify which customer segments are most loyal. The score helps organizations prioritize customer experience initiatives and align teams around improving customer satisfaction across all touchpoints.
NPS stands for **Net Promoter Score®**, a registered trademark owned by Fred Reichheld, Bain & Company, and Satmetrix. The "Net" refers to the calculation method where you subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters to arrive at a net score. "Promoter" refers to customers who actively promote or recommend your business to others.
The term emphasizes that the metric focuses on customers who will promote your brand (promoters) versus those who might detract from it (detractors), creating a net measure of customer advocacy and loyalty that correlates with business growth.
To compute NPS, first categorize respondents into three groups: **Promoters** (score 9-10), **Passives** (score 7-8), and **Detractors** (score 0-6). Calculate the percentage of respondents in each category, then subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. The formula is: NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors.
Passives are excluded from the calculation but included in the total respondent count. For example, if you survey 100 customers and get 50 promoters, 30 passives, and 20 detractors, your NPS would be 50% - 20% = +30.
Example Calculation: 100 responses → 60 promoters (60%), 25 passives (25%), 15 detractors (15%) → NPS = 60% - 15% = +45To find your Net Promoter Score, send a survey asking customers: "On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?" Collect responses and group them into promoters (9-10), passives (7-8), and detractors (0-6). Then apply the formula: (Number of Promoters - Number of Detractors) / Total Responses × 100.
Most companies use NPS survey tools or customer feedback platforms to automate this process. You can deploy NPS surveys via email, on your website, in-app, or after specific customer interactions to capture feedback at key touchpoints in the customer journey.
A "good" NPS score typically falls between +30 and +50, though this varies significantly by industry. Any score above 0 is considered positive, as it means you have more promoters than detractors. Scores above +50 are generally excellent, while scores above +70 are world-class and achieved by only the most customer-centric companies.
However, context matters more than absolute numbers. A score of +30 might be excellent in industries like cable/internet service providers (average NPS around -10) but below average in industries like online shopping (average NPS around +50). The most important benchmark is tracking your own score over time and comparing against direct competitors.
Example: Apple consistently maintains an NPS of +70+, while the average tech company scores around +40.A Net Promoter Score is considered good when it's positive (above 0), indicating more promoters than detractors. Scores between +30 and +50 represent a healthy customer base with strong loyalty. Scores between +50 and +70 indicate excellent customer satisfaction, while anything above +70 is exceptional and places companies among industry leaders.
The most important consideration is improvement over time. A company growing from +20 to +35 demonstrates meaningful progress in customer satisfaction, while a company declining from +60 to +50 should investigate what's causing the decrease despite still having a strong absolute score.
NPS benchmarks vary dramatically by industry. **Software/SaaS** companies average +30 to +40, **E-commerce/Retail** averages +45 to +60, **Healthcare** ranges from +30 to +40, **Financial Services** typically scores +20 to +35, while **Internet/Cable Service Providers** often have negative scores averaging -10 to +10. These variations reflect inherent differences in customer satisfaction across industries.
When evaluating your NPS, compare against competitors in your specific industry rather than companies in different sectors. A +20 score in cable services might be industry-leading, while the same score in e-commerce would indicate room for significant improvement. Industry context is essential for meaningful benchmarking.
The average NPS score across all industries is approximately +32, according to research analyzing thousands of companies. However, this average masks significant industry variation—some sectors average -10 while others average +50. Within B2B companies, the average NPS is typically +25 to +35, while B2C companies often achieve higher scores averaging +35 to +45.
Rather than fixating on the global average, focus on your industry-specific benchmark and your own historical trends. A company consistently improving from +10 to +25 demonstrates better customer experience momentum than a company stagnating at +35, even though the latter has a higher absolute score.
An NPS detractor is a customer who scores 0-6 on the NPS question, indicating they are unhappy with your product or service and unlikely to recommend it. Detractors represent customers at high risk of churn who may actively discourage others from doing business with you through negative word-of-mouth, online reviews, or social media criticism.
Identifying and following up with detractors is critical for preventing churn and understanding what's failing in your customer experience. Many successful companies implement "detractor rescue protocols" where any score of 0-4 triggers immediate executive-level outreach within 24 hours to resolve issues and potentially convert detractors into passives or promoters.
Example: A customer scoring 4 who complains about poor support responsiveness is a detractor requiring urgent attention to prevent churn.**Promoters** (score 9-10) are loyal, enthusiastic customers who actively recommend your business. **Passives** (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers vulnerable to competitive offers. **Detractors** (score 0-6) are unhappy customers who may damage your brand through negative word-of-mouth. This three-tier categorization helps organizations segment customers by loyalty level and tailor engagement strategies.
Each category requires different follow-up approaches: Promoters should receive appreciation and referral requests, Passives need targeted improvements to convert them to Promoters, and Detractors require immediate attention to resolve issues and prevent churn. Understanding what drives customers into each category enables data-driven customer experience improvements.
An NPS survey is a short questionnaire centered on the core NPS question: "How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?" rated on a 0-10 scale. Most effective NPS surveys include a follow-up open-ended question like "What is the primary reason for your score?" to capture qualitative feedback explaining the rating. This combination of quantitative score and qualitative context provides actionable insights.
NPS surveys can be deployed as **relational surveys** (measuring overall relationship health quarterly or annually) or **transactional surveys** (measuring satisfaction after specific interactions like purchases, support tickets, or onboarding). Modern NPS surveys often include additional questions to gather demographic data, usage patterns, or specific feedback on features, but the core remains the single likelihood-to-recommend question.
NPS reporting refers to the systematic tracking, analysis, and presentation of Net Promoter Score data over time. Effective NPS reporting includes not just the headline score, but also distribution of promoters/passives/detractors, trends over time, segmentation by customer type or product line, and analysis of open-ended feedback themes. Reports typically visualize NPS through dashboards showing score evolution, category breakdowns, and comparison to benchmarks.
Modern NPS reporting goes beyond static numbers by connecting qualitative feedback analysis with quantitative scores. AI-powered platforms can automatically categorize thousands of open-ended responses into themes (product quality, support, pricing, usability), enabling teams to understand not just the score but the specific drivers behind customer sentiment and prioritize improvements accordingly.
When explaining NPS scores, start with the simple premise: "NPS measures how many customers would recommend us versus warn others away." Emphasize that scores range from -100 (everyone would discourage others) to +100 (everyone would actively recommend). Explain that any positive score means more promoters than detractors, which is good, while scores above +50 are excellent and above +70 are world-class.
Always provide context when presenting NPS: compare to your industry benchmark, show the trend over time (improving or declining), and break down the percentage distribution of promoters, passives, and detractors. Most importantly, connect the score to specific actions—don't just report the number, explain what's driving it and what you're doing to improve it.
Example: "Our NPS increased from +35 to +42 this quarter. This improvement was driven by reducing detractors from 18% to 12% after we implemented faster support response times, which was the #1 complaint in open-ended feedback."The Net Promoter System (NPS) is a comprehensive customer experience management framework, not just a score. It includes the measurement methodology (the NPS survey), the operational discipline of closing the feedback loop (responding to customers and fixing issues), and the organizational alignment around earning promoters. The system emphasizes acting on feedback, not just collecting it.
Companies implementing the full Net Promoter System create processes for immediate detractor outreach, systematic root cause analysis of feedback themes, cross-functional teams empowered to make improvements, and regular tracking of how changes impact NPS over time. This closed-loop approach transforms NPS from a passive metric into an active driver of customer-centric culture and continuous improvement.
Typical NPS scores vary widely by industry: **Technology/Software** (+30 to +45), **E-commerce** (+45 to +62), **Banking/Financial Services** (+25 to +40), **Insurance** (+20 to +35), **Healthcare** (+25 to +45), **Telecommunications** (-5 to +20), **Airlines** (+20 to +45), **Automotive** (+35 to +55), and **Hospitality** (+40 to +60). These ranges reflect both inherent customer satisfaction differences and competitive intensity within each sector.
Industry leaders often score 15-30 points above their industry average. For example, USAA consistently maintains an NPS of +75+ in insurance (where the average is +30), and Tesla scores +90+ in automotive (where the average is +40). These exceptional scores demonstrate that superior customer experience can differentiate brands even in traditionally lower-scoring industries.
Major companies with publicly reported NPS scores include: **Apple** (+70 to +80), **Tesla** (+90+), **Amazon** (+60 to +70), **Netflix** (+60 to +70), **Costco** (+75 to +80), **USAA** (+75 to +85), **Trader Joe's** (+80+), and **Ritz-Carlton** (+75+). These companies consistently maintain industry-leading scores by obsessively focusing on customer experience and rapidly addressing friction points.
Conversely, companies in challenging industries often struggle: many cable/internet providers score -10 to +10, traditional airlines score +20 to +40, and health insurance companies average +20 to +30. These lower scores often reflect systemic industry issues rather than just company-specific problems, though leaders in each industry still significantly outperform their peers.
Your target NPS score should be based on three factors: your current score, your industry benchmark, and your competitive positioning goals. A common approach is to target a 5-10 point improvement year-over-year while aiming to eventually exceed your industry average by 10+ points. If you're starting with a negative score, first target getting to +20, then +40, then industry leadership.
Rather than fixating on a single target number, focus on continuous improvement and understanding what drives your score. Set specific targets for reducing detractors (e.g., from 25% to 15%), converting passives to promoters (e.g., improving from 40% to 50% promoters), and addressing the top 3 themes mentioned in negative feedback. These operational targets are more actionable than an abstract score goal.
Net Advocacy Score is essentially synonymous with Net Promoter Score—both measure customer willingness to advocate for or recommend a brand. Some companies prefer the term "Net Advocacy" to avoid trademark concerns around "Net Promoter Score®" which is owned by Bain & Company, Satmetrix, and Fred Reichheld. The calculation method and interpretation remain identical.
Regardless of terminology, the metric measures the same concept: the balance between customers who will promote your brand versus those who might detract from it. Focus on the underlying methodology and continuous improvement rather than getting caught up in naming conventions. The value lies in closing the feedback loop and acting on customer insights, not in the specific label used.
MPS typically stands for **Member Promoter Score**, used by membership-based organizations, nonprofits, associations, and community groups to measure member loyalty and satisfaction. It follows the same methodology as NPS but asks members: "How likely are you to recommend joining our organization to someone like you?" The calculation and interpretation remain identical to traditional NPS.
MPS helps membership organizations understand retention risk, identify their most engaged members (promoters who can become advocates and ambassadors), and discover what drives member satisfaction versus dissatisfaction. This metric is particularly valuable for organizations dependent on membership renewals and word-of-mouth growth within specific communities or professional networks.
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The complete formula, benchmarks, and best practices for measuring customer loyalty
Net Promoter Score calculation is straightforward but must be executed correctly for accurate measurement.
Note: Passives are counted in total responses but excluded from the final calculation.
Survey customers using the standard NPS question on a 0-10 scale. Ensure you have a statistically significant sample size:
Classify each response into one of three groups:
Divide each group by total responses:
Subtract detractor percentage from promoter percentage:
NPS = % Promoters − % Detractors
The result is always a whole number between -100 and +100.
NPS scores vary significantly by industry, making benchmarking critical for understanding your performance.
Remember: Context matters more than absolute numbers. What matters most is tracking improvement over time and comparing against direct competitors in your industry.
Use these benchmarks to understand your competitive position, but remember: continuous improvement matters more than hitting a specific number.
| Industry | Average Range | Top Performers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | ~50 | 60+ |
| Financial Services | ~45 | 55+ |
| E-commerce | 35-50 | 60+ |
| Technology / SaaS | 40-55 | 70+ |
| Hospitality / Travel | 40-55 | 60+ |
| Automotive | 40-55 | 60+ |
| Telecommunications | 20-30 (improving to 40+) | 40+ |
| Healthcare / Telehealth | 30-45 | 50+ |
| B2B Services | 30-45 | 50+ |
Even negative scores can be starting points for improvement. Charles Schwab discovered in 2003 that their corporation had an NPS of -35, which became a catalyst for customer experience transformation. By addressing feedback systematically, they turned detractors into promoters and transformed their competitive position.
The lesson: Your current score matters less than your commitment to improvement and closing the feedback loop with customers.
