Guide
How to Measure NPS (Net Promoter Score)
The NPS formula, a worked example, what a good score looks like, and how to collect responses without hurting your response rate.
To measure NPS, ask customers "How likely are you to recommend us on a 0–10 scale?", group them into Promoters (9–10), Passives (7–8), and Detractors (0–6), then subtract the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. The result is your Net Promoter Score, ranging from −100 to +100.
This guide shows the exact formula with a worked example, how to read your score, and how to collect NPS responses without hurting your response rate.
How is NPS calculated?
NPS uses a single rating question and one follow-up:
- The rating: "How likely are you to recommend [product] to a friend or colleague?" (0–10)
- The reason: "What's the main reason for your score?" (open text)
Classify every response:
- Promoters — scored 9 or 10
- Passives — scored 7 or 8
- Detractors — scored 0 through 6
Then apply the formula:
NPS = % Promoters − % Detractors
Passives are counted in the total but don't add to the score directly — they drag it down by diluting your percentage of Promoters.
A worked NPS example
Say 200 people respond:
- 120 Promoters → 60%
- 50 Passives → 25%
- 30 Detractors → 15%
NPS = 60 − 15 = +45.
A score of +45 is strong. Note that the same average rating can produce very different NPS values, which is exactly why NPS focuses on the distribution of enthusiasm rather than a simple mean.
What is a good NPS score?
NPS is relative, so context matters more than the absolute number:
- Above 0 — more Promoters than Detractors (a reasonable baseline).
- 30–50 — good; customers are clearly satisfied.
- 50–70 — excellent loyalty.
- 70+ — world-class, rare territory.
Always compare against your own trend line and your industry benchmark rather than a universal target. A B2B SaaS tool and a budget airline live in very different ranges.
Transactional vs relationship NPS
There are two ways to run NPS, and they answer different questions:
- Relationship NPS is sent periodically (for example, quarterly) to gauge overall loyalty to your brand.
- Transactional NPS is triggered right after a specific event — onboarding, a support ticket, or a renewal — to measure sentiment about that moment.
Run relationship NPS for trends and benchmarking; run transactional NPS to find which specific experiences move the needle.
How often should you survey for NPS?
Don't ask the same person more than once a quarter. Over-surveying tanks response rates and biases your sample toward your most vocal users. To keep data clean:
- Sample a rotating subset of users rather than everyone at once.
- Suppress the prompt for anyone who answered in the last 90 days.
- Keep it to the single rating question, with the comment optional.
How do you collect NPS with Pollenate?
Pollenate includes a native NPS widget you can embed with a single script tag, plus standalone Feedback Pages for emailed NPS campaigns. Every response is automatically classified as Promoter, Passive, or Detractor, your score is calculated in real time, and AI semantic search clusters the open-ended "why" so you can see the themes driving your number.
Set the widget type to nps, add it to a high-intent page or send it by link, and watch your score update live as responses arrive.