Net Promoter Score is everywhere because it’s simple: one question, one number, easy to track over time. That simplicity is also its trap — a single figure invites over-reading. Here’s what NPS is, what counts as “good,” and how to keep it honest.
How NPS is calculated
Ask one question — “how likely are you to recommend us, 0 to 10?” — and bucket the answers:
- Promoters (9–10): loyal enthusiasts.
- Passives (7–8): satisfied but unenthusiastic.
- Detractors (0–6): unhappy, and a churn and word-of-mouth risk.
NPS = % promoters − % detractorsPassives count toward the totals but not the score, so the result ranges from −100 (everyone a detractor) to +100 (everyone a promoter).
What counts as good
The commonly-cited heuristic bands:
- Above 0 — more promoters than detractors. The minimum bar.
- 30+ — generally considered good; most customers are happy.
- 50+ — excellent; a strong base of advocates.
- 70+ — world-class, the territory of the most loved brands.
These bands vary a lot by industry — sectors with naturally low goodwill score lower across the board — so the useful comparison is within your own sector and, above all, against your own trend over time.
Why to read it as a direction, not a verdict
NPS compresses a whole distribution into one figure, drops the passives entirely, and shifts with who you ask and when. A score with no context — sample size, segment, timing — is easy to misuse. Two honest habits help: segment it (new vs long-tenured customers can differ sharply) and prefer transactional NPS (asked right after a specific interaction) over a single relational number, because it ties sentiment to a concrete moment you can act on.
Where NPS fits with analytics
NPS is stated sentiment; product analytics is revealed behavior. The two are strongest together: a detractor who also shows declining usage and rising churn risk is a different, more urgent story than a detractor who’s still highly active. Putting a survey score next to a unified profile turns an abstract number into a person you can understand.
Calculate yours
Use the free NPS calculator to turn promoter and detractor counts into a score. Then don’t stop at the number — segment it, watch the trend, and read it alongside what those customers actually do. For related targets, see what a good retention rate is.