You have received your Net Promoter Score (NPS®). Now what? Receiving your score can be exciting, but also confusing. Is it good, bad or typical for your industry? Without context, even strong scores can lead teams to address the wrong issues or celebrate too soon.
This article provides you with what you need to determine your position: global benchmarks and industry-specific ranges, so you will know exactly where you stand. We have gathered data from over 150,000 organisations to show you what "good" actually looks like in your sector. You will also receive a quick three-step plan to improve your score in weeks rather than months. You will be able to turn NPS into real revenue protection, rather than merely a vanity metric.
Start with our NPS calculator to determine your baseline, then use our NPS guide to interpret its meaning and turn feedback into growth.
What is considered a good NPS?
Net Promoter Score is a metric that measures customer loyalty, calculated on a scale from -100 to +100.
A "good" Net Promoter Score is relative to industry and global benchmarks. As a general guide, scores are interpreted as follows:
- Below 0: Generally indicates significant room for improvement.
- Above 20: Considered a good score.
- Above 70: Considered exceptional.
SurveyMonkey global NPS benchmarks (2025)
Based on our 2025 benchmark data from over 150,000 organisations, the global average Net Promoter Score is +32.
- Global NPS average: +32 based on our 2025 benchmark data from over 150,000 organisations. Below 0 generally indicates a problem, above 20 is good, above 70 is exceptional.
- Quartiles (global):
- Bottom quartile: 0 or lower
- Median (50th percentile): +44
- Top quartile: +72 or higher
- Rule of thumb: Use global figures as a quick check, but always compare within your own industry. Expectations and norms vary widely, so context turns scores into insight.
- Q: “Is +18 good?” A: It is below the usual "good" threshold of +20. Aim for your industry median next, then the top quartile.
You can receive your score instantly with our NPS calculator and learn more about each group in our NPS guide.
What counts as a good NPS by industry?
Benchmarks are only useful when you compare like with like. A strong score in retail may be average in software. Find your macro-category in the table below, see where your score falls, and set realistic goals. Aim for the median first, then plan for the top quartile.
| Macro category | Bottom quartile (≤) | Median | Top quartile (≥) | Snapshot |
| Professional services (consultancy as a proxy) | 42 | 48 | 72 | Project outcomes, collaboration and expertise drive variation. |
| Technology (technology and software/online services) | 22 (tech) / 17 (software) | 50 (tech) / 44 (software) | 70 (tech) / 68 (software) | High expectations for user experience and support keep medians lower than some service categories. |
| Consumer goods/services (retail as a proxy) | 36 | 57 | 74 | Product mix, price perception and store/website experience are most important. |
Technology often lags behind professional services because the customer experience is different. Markets move more quickly, switching is easier and support expectations are extremely high. This means the mid-range is narrower and there is more volatility. You can move into the top quartile swiftly with better follow-ups and clearer in-product guidance, rather than simply asking more questions.
For category-specific quartiles so you can compare yourself with your peers, visit our NPS benchmarks by industry. Ready to benchmark your own NPS? Get started free to run an NPS survey today and see where you stand.
3 ways to improve your Net Promoter Score
Focusing on specific strategies to enhance the customer experience can directly lead to a higher NPS. By implementing targeted improvements across your product, service and communication, you can encourage more promoters and reduce the number of detractors. Consider the following three strategies to improve your Net Promoter Score.
- Track and respond with a simple, recurring loop (own the follow-up)
- What to do: Review your NPS weekly. Route detractor alerts to responsible individuals within hours; acknowledge, investigate, resolve and close the loop. Publish a brief “What we heard / what we changed” summary internally each sprint.
- Why it works: Time to acknowledgement is a key indicator of loyalty repair.
- How to start: Use how to turn NPS detractors into promoters to set up response templates, escalation paths and a 48-hour callback rule for any score of 6 or below.
- Get more of the company in the room with customers
- What to do: Create customer interaction reports that pair a single verbatim with one clip or dashboard view and a one-line action. Bring product, success and support together for the same 30-minute weekly readout.
- Why it works: When teams share visibility, solutions are implemented more rapidly than when a single group works in isolation.
- How to start: Use the definitions and programme setup tips in our NPS guide to align owner roles and cadences, then track progress by segment (new versus repeat customers, region or product line).
- Invest in customer-facing training and resources; close the loop visibly
- What to do: Identify the two most common detractor themes (for example, “slow support” or “confusing onboarding”). Create one help centre module or in-product tip for each theme, and train frontline teams on the update.
- Why it works: Many detractor themes arise from knowledge or findability gaps.
- How to start: Refer to the guidance on how to turn NPS detractors into promoters and send a brief follow-up to respondents: “You told us X; here is what we changed.” Track pre- and post-NPS for that touchpoint.
Patterns that push your NPS lower
In addition to understanding how to improve your NPS, it is important to consider which habits might be undermining your NPS strategy. Consider these five NPS challenges as you develop your strategy.
- Watching the number, not the feedback. NPS without reading verbatims becomes a vanity metric.
- Surveying too infrequently. Quarterly or post key events is more effective than annual pulses for most teams.
- No follow-up owner. When the response is “everyone’s job”, no one responds.
- Over-generalising benchmarks. Segment by product line, region, lifecycle and account tier to identify where to act first.
- Copying and pasting “universal” good or excellent thresholds. Use the quartiles in your industry to set targets. Global shorthand is a starting point, not a decision rule.
Features that turn NPS feedback into measurable action
- NPS survey template — Start with a ready-made set of questions that follows best practice and keeps results comparable.
- Tips to create NPS surveys — Learn how to phrase, time and structure your questions for higher response rates and better insights.
- NPS calculator — Quickly analyse your data to see where you stand against benchmarks.
- Sample size calculator — Estimate how many responses you need for statistically reliable results before you send your survey.
Activate NPS insights for smarter growth
You now have clear benchmarks, industry context and three practical tips to increase your score. You know what a good Net Promoter Score looks like and how to continue improving it.
The SurveyMonkey feedback management platform can help you make that progress repeatable. Run your next NPS survey, track results over time and turn feedback into measurable growth.
Get started free to launch your next NPS cycle and visit the NPS guide to learn how to build a consistent, scalable feedback programme that maintains momentum.
NPS, Net Promoter and Net Promoter Score are registered trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company and Fred Reichheld.
