# Net Promoter Score (NPS)

> Score how likely your users are to recommend you, on a scale from -100 to 100.

- Type: Calculator: Would users recommend you, zero to ten
- Tags: Metrics, Retention
- Growth levers: Referral (primary), also Retention
- ~897 words

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**NPS Calculator.** Net Promoter Score from your promoter, passive and detractor counts. Inputs: Promoters (9 to 10), Passives (7 to 8), Detractors (0 to 6). Outputs: Net Promoter Score.

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is the percentage of your customers who are promoters minus the percentage who are detractors, on a single 0 to 10 "how likely are you to recommend us" question. The result lands between -100 and 100. You ask one question, sort the answers into three buckets, and subtract.

The buckets are fixed by the original Bain and Company definition. Score 9 or 10 and you are a promoter. Score 7 or 8 and you are a passive. Score 0 through 6 and you are a detractor. Passives count toward the total but never toward the score, which is why two companies with the same average rating can post very different NPS.

- **Promoters (9 to 10):** loyal users who keep paying and refer others. They are where your referral loop comes from.
- **Passives (7 to 8):** happy enough to stay, easy to poach. A competitor with a slightly better deal pulls them off.
- **Detractors (0 to 6):** unhappy users who churn and warn their network off you. One loud detractor can cost you ten quiet signups.

## How NPS is calculated

> **Formula:** NPS = (% promoters) - (% detractors), or equivalently (promoters - detractors) / total responses x 100. Passives sit in the total but cancel out of the numerator.

Take the inputs the calculator loads with: 420 promoters, 300 passives, and 180 detractors, so 900 people answered. That is 46.7% promoters and 20% detractors. Subtract: 46.7 minus 20 rounds to an NPS of 27. The same math runs inside the widget above, so changing any count updates the score live.

Two things trip people up. First, NPS is not a percentage of 100; it is a number on a -100 to 100 scale, so "27" is not "27%". Second, your response rate matters: a score built on the 5% of users who bothered to answer is usually rosier than the silent majority, so read NPS next to who actually replied.

## Net Promoter Score (NPS) benchmarks by industry

| Industry | Median | Good | Great |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SaaS | 36 | 50 | 65 |
| Fintech | 38 | 52 | 66 |
| Dev Tools | 38 | 52 | 66 |
| AI/ML | 34 | 48 | 62 |
| E-commerce | 40 | 53 | 64 |
| Healthtech | 30 | 45 | 60 |
| Martech | 30 | 44 | 58 |
*NPS (-100 to 100) · Retently 2026 NPS benchmarks (B2B Software & SaaS 41, Financial Services 68, Technology & Services 63, Ecommerce & Retail 61, Healthcare 37); Delighted/Temkin Group industry tables (Software/SaaS avg 41, range 28 to 55; Banks 32, Investments 40, Credit Cards 30; Retailers 35, Supermarkets 39; Health Plans 24); Userpilot 2024 B2B SaaS study (229 companies: median 39, average 35.7; above 40 = top quartile). SaaS median is set to the cross-source consensus (~36) rather than Retently's higher 41. Dev Tools, AI/ML and Martech have no dedicated NPS-by-industry report, so those rows are conservative estimates held near the SaaS consensus, not sourced cells.*

The median column is the typical industry average, good is roughly the top third, and great is the top decile. For B2B software, Retently's 2026 NPS benchmarks put SaaS at 41, while Userpilot's 2024 study of 229 B2B SaaS companies found a median of 39 and an average of 35.7, with anything above 40 landing in the top quartile. We set the SaaS median to that cross-source consensus near 36 rather than the higher single-source figure, so the bar you clear here is honest.[ See Retently's full table](https://www.retently.com/blog/good-net-promoter-score/?utm_source=productgrowth.blog) and [Delighted's industry benchmarks](https://delighted.com/nps-benchmarks?utm_source=productgrowth.blog) for the raw numbers behind these bands.

B2C-flavoured categories run higher. Delighted's data, built on Temkin Group tables, shows e-commerce retailers around 35 and financial-services lines from 30 (credit cards) to 40 (investments), and Retently reads financial services and e-commerce well into the 60s because those samples lean consumer. Dev Tools, AI/ML, and Martech have no dedicated NPS-by-industry report, so those rows are conservative estimates held near the SaaS consensus, not sourced cells. Treat them as a sanity check, not a verdict.

## What a good NPS actually buys you

NPS is a retention and referral signal, not a vanity badge. A positive score means more people would vouch for you than warn against you, which is the raw fuel for word-of-mouth growth. A negative score means the opposite, and no amount of paid acquisition outruns a leaky reputation.

To move it, work the follow-up question, not the number. Every NPS survey should ask "why?" right after the score. Read the detractor comments in batches, ship the two fixes that show up most, and tell those users you shipped them. Then watch your [churn rate](https://www.productgrowth.blog/calculators/churn-rate) and [retention rate](https://www.productgrowth.blog/calculators/retention-rate), because a real NPS gain shows up there within a quarter or two. If it does not, you measured noise.

## Related calculators

- [Churn rate calculator](https://www.productgrowth.blog/calculators/churn-rate): the leak NPS is supposed to predict.
- [Retention rate calculator](https://www.productgrowth.blog/calculators/retention-rate): the flip side, how many users stick.
- [Customer lifetime value (LTV) calculator](https://www.productgrowth.blog/calculators/customer-lifetime-value-ltv): what a promoter is worth over their full stay.

#### What is a good Net Promoter Score (NPS)?

Any NPS above 0 means you have more promoters than detractors, and above 30 is solid across most industries. For B2B SaaS the consensus median sits near 36, so anything past 40 puts you in the top quartile, and 50 plus is genuinely great. Always compare against your own industry, since e-commerce and financial-services samples run higher than software.

#### How is NPS calculated?

Subtract the percentage of detractors (scored 0 to 6) from the percentage of promoters (scored 9 to 10). Passives (7 to 8) count in the total but not in the subtraction. With 420 promoters, 300 passives, and 180 detractors out of 900 responses, that is 46.7% minus 20%, an NPS of 27.

#### Is NPS a percentage?

No. NPS is a number on a -100 to 100 scale, not a percentage of 100. A score of 27 means promoters outnumber detractors by 27 percentage points of your respondents, not that 27% of people are happy.

#### What is the difference between NPS and churn rate?

NPS is a stated-intent survey score asking how likely users are to recommend you. Churn rate is the actual share of customers or revenue you lose in a period. NPS predicts; churn confirms. A high NPS that does not lower your churn over the next quarter or two is a survey artifact, not a result.

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