What Is a Good NPS Score? Industry Benchmarks for 2026

What is a good NPS score? Anything above 0. But if you want to be genuinely competitive, you’ll want to aim for 30 or higher.

This single number tells you so much more than just whether customers are happy. It tells you how likely they are to recommend you, come back, and help your business grow.

So far, so good, right? Well, there is one caveat.

A score of 40 could be excellent in one industry and below average in another. So knowing your number is just the first step. Knowing what it means for your specific industry is where the real value is.

In this article, you will learn:

How NPS works
The 2026 NPS industry benchmarks covering 15 industries
Benchmarks for franchise and multi-location brands
Tips to improve a low score
The right way to track your progress

Let’s get into it.

What Is a Good NPS Score?

A good NPS score is over 30. A number above 0 is good, technically speaking. But, below 30, and you’re unlikely to be competitive when compared to your industry peers.

Based on data from over 150,000 organizations, the average NPS score is 32. The median is 44.

If you’re at 50+, you’re doing better than most. And if you’re at 72 or above, you’re in the top 25% globally.

The quick benchmark

What counts as good? Here’s a quick way to benchmark your score:

Below 0: More unhappy customers than happy ones. Not good. Needs attention right away.
0 to 30: You’re in positive territory. Customers are more satisfied than dissatisfied. Heading in the right direction. Still room to improve.
30 to 50: This is a good NPS score. Your customers are loyal and satisfied. You’re competitive in most industries at this range.
50 and above: Excellent. Bain and Company, the team behind NPS, considers this a benchmark for outstanding customer loyalty.
80 and above: World-class. Very few companies ever get here. If you do, your customers aren’t just happy; they’re telling everyone about you.

Why “good” depends on your industry

A score of 44 might be average overall, but in your industry, it could be really impressive.

Or it could mean you’re falling behind.

Software companies, for example, tend to score lower than healthcare providers. That’s got nothing to do with how good the companies are. It’s just how customers experience those industries differently.

So comparing your score to the global average of 32 only tells you part of the story. You need to know what’s typical for businesses like yours.

That’s exactly what the industry benchmarks in this guide are for.

RELATED ARTICLE — What is Net Promoter Score?

How NPS Is Scored

Before we get stuck into the benchmark data, here’s a quick refresher.

NPS is measured using just one question: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?”

Customers answer on a scale of 0 to 10. When the responses are in, you calculate your score:

% of Promoters (9s and 10s) minus % of Detractors (0 to 6s) = your NPS

Passives (7s and 8s) don’t factor into the calculation at all.

So if 60% of respondents are Promoters and 20% are Detractors, your NPS is 40. Simple as that.

Bain and Company describe it as “a single, easy-to-understand metric that predicts overall company growth and customer lifetime value.”

They also say it can help you “earn the passionate loyalty of your customers” and deliver “profitable, sustainable organic growth.”

Promoters, passives & detractors

Your customers fall into three groups depending on how they answer:

Promoters (score 9 or 10): These are your biggest fans. They’d recommend you without hesitation.
Passives (score 7 or 8): They’re happy enough, but they’re not raving about you. They could go to a competitor tomorrow.
Detractors (score 0 to 6): They’re unhappy. And unhappy customers talk.

Here’s an example.

Say 200 people take your survey. 110 are Promoters. 50 are Passives. 40 are Detractors.

Passives don’t count in the calculation.

You subtract Detractors (20%) from Promoters (55%) and get an NPS of 35.

The NPS scale (-100 to +100)

Your score can range from -100 to +100.

A score of -100 means every single customer is a detractor.
A score of +100 means every customer is a promoter.

Neither extreme is common in real life.

What you’re shooting for is a positive number that trends upward as time passes.

The scale gives you a number you can track, compare, and improve on. That’s what makes it so useful.

Average NPS Score by Industry

To know if you’re doing well, you need to compare your NPS score by industry, not just against a single average.

The ranges below are based on real-world benchmark data.

2026 industry benchmark table

Here are the 2026 NPS industry benchmarks. Find your industry, then check where your score is within the range.

Industry	Lower quartile	Median	Upper quartile
Construction	40	64	81
Consulting	42	48	72
Education	38	60	75
Finance	34	59	80
Financial services	35	60	78
Government	38	62	80
Healthcare	37	62	82
Insurance	36	65	86
Media and entertainment	31	57	77
Nonprofits	41	63	79
Real estate	32	58	78
Retail	36	57	74
Software and online services	17	44	68
Technology	22	50	70
Transport and logistics	20	44	67
Average across industries	35	57	76

How to read the benchmarks

These NPS benchmarks are straightforward once you know what to do with them. Here’s how to use this table:

Step 1: Find your industry row. Go straight to the row that most accurately matches your business type.

Step 2: Check which quartile you’re in.

Below the lower quartile number? You’re in the bottom 25% for your industry.
Between the lower quartile and the median? You’re in the middle range. There’s room to improve.
Between the median and upper quartile? You’re performing well. You’re above average for your industry.
Above the upper quartile? You’re in the top 25%. That’s impressive.

Step 3: Don’t just look at the median. The gap between the lower and upper quartile tells you how competitive your industry is.

Look at insurance: the range runs from 36 to 86. That’s a 50-point spread.

That means the best insurance companies are doing something very differently from the worst.

Step 4: Revisit averages regularly. Benchmarks change over time. A score that put you in the top quartile two years ago might put you in the middle today.

Check your position at least once a year.

NPS Benchmarks for Multi-Location & Franchise Brands

Running multiple locations adds a layer of complexity that single-location businesses don’t deal with.

Your brand promise is the same everywhere. But your customer experience? That can vary a lot from one location to the next.

And that variation will likely show up in your NPS data.

You can use NPSs to find out which locations are excelling, which are struggling, and why. You can then take action to deliver a more consistent experience across the board.

Fitness, home services & retail franchises

These three franchise categories each have their own NPS story. Here’s what the data says.

Fitness franchises

According to Listen360’s Fitness NPS Benchmark Report, these are the benchmarks:

Business type	Median	Top 25% Threshold
Gyms	57	71+
Studio and boutique fitness		88+

That 88+ benchmark for boutique studios is notably high. It tells you that boutique fitness customers have very high expectations.

They’re paying a premium. They want a premium experience.

What drives NPS in fitness?

Personalized experiences, like staff who know their members by name
Equipment and facilities that are well-maintained
Classes and sessions that run exactly as advertised

Home services franchises

Here’s the benchmark range, based on the construction data above as the closest proxy for home services:

Lower quartile 40
Median 64
Upper quartile 81

The spread here is wide. Home services is deeply personal. Someone’s letting you into their home. Trust is everything.

The franchisees who score highest tend to do the same things consistently:

Call ahead to confirm the appointment.
Arrive on time.
Leave the space clean.
Follow up after the job is done.

Retail franchises

Here are the benchmarks:

Lower quartile 36
Median 57
Upper quartile 74

Product consistency is a given in retail franchises. Customers expect that.

What they don’t expect, and what earns high NPS scores, is a really good in-store experience.

Staff engagement, store presentation, and how quickly issues get resolved are big levers.

Location-to-location variation

Two locations in the same city, with the same products and training, can sit 20 to 30 points apart on NPS.

Here’s what might be causing that variation:

Management style: A manager who takes feedback seriously creates a better customer experience.
Staff turnover: New staff need time to get up to speed. Customers likely notice the difference.
Local demographics: Customer expectations can differ by area, so what works in one location might need adjusting in another.
Speed of complaint resolution: Locations that fix problems quickly will probably score higher.

If you run a franchise business, track NPS by location. When you can see each location’s individual score, you’ll know exactly where to step in and what to work on.

What Affects Your NPS Score

A ton of different factors influence your NPS score. It’s not just about the customer’s experience.

Survey timing & wording

Your NPS survey asks customers to rate you based on how likely they are to recommend you. That answer is based on how their experience felt to them at that moment.

If you send the survey right after they had a positive experience, it’s fresh in their mind. They score you high.

If you wait a week, that good experience has faded.

Maybe something else came up in between. Maybe they had to wait on hold. Maybe they just forgot how good it was. Now, they score you lower.

So the same customer, with the same overall experience, can give you a very different number depending on when you asked.

That’s why timing’s so critical. You’re measuring the experience at the moment you ask about it. Send the survey too late and you might be measuring the wrong moment entirely.

Try these best practices:

Send the survey right after a transaction or service moment. The response will be more accurate.
Don’t send surveys when customers are in the middle of a problem. Wait until the issue is resolved.
Use plain, neutral language in your question. “How likely are you to recommend us?” is all you need. “How much did you love working with us?” is leading and will skew your data.

Response rate & sample

A low response rate can make your NPS look better or worse than it really is.

Let’s use an example to illustrate:

You send 200 surveys. Only 20 people respond.
Of those, 15 are Promoters and 5 are Detractors.
Your NPS comes out at 50.

Looks good. But those 20 respondents might all be your happiest customers.

The other 180 people who didn’t respond? You have no idea how they’d score you.

A healthy response rate is generally 20% or higher. The more responses you collect, the more your score represents your whole customer base.

Aim to survey regularly and via all customer touchpoints so your data gives you an accurate picture.

How to Improve a Low NPS

A low NPS score can be discouraging. But here’s the thing: it’s also really useful data.

So where do you start? With the customers who are already unhappy, because fixing that is the fastest way to move your score up.

Win back detractors

Detractors are customers who scored you 6 or below. They’re unhappy, and they’ll tell people about it.

Reaching out to them personally is the single most effective thing you can do.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Respond within 24 hours. Speed signals that you take their experience seriously. A slow response tells them the opposite.
Step 2: Acknowledge what went wrong. Say something like: “I saw your feedback and I’m sorry your experience didn’t go the way it should have.”
Step 3: Ask a question. “What would have made this better for you?” This gives you something specific to work with. It also makes the customer feel heard and respected.
Step 4: Follow through. If you say you’ll fix something, fix it. Then let the customer know you did. That follow-through is what turns a detractor into a passive, or sometimes even a promoter.

Close the loop & act on feedback

Closing the loop means going back to every survey respondent and letting them know their feedback made a difference. Skip this step and that’s a missed opportunity.

Here’s a process to follow:

Tag your feedback by theme. Are detractors mentioning wait times? Staff attitude? A specific product? Group the feedback so you can see the pattern.
Address the most common complaint first. Solve it properly.
Tell your customers what changed. Send a short message: “You told us X. We listened. Here’s what we did.” This closes the loop and rebuilds trust at the same time.

RELATED ARTICLE — NPS Detractors and How to Win Them Back

How to Benchmark NPS the Right Way

Comparing your score to an industry benchmark is a great starting point. But the most valuable benchmark you have is your own historical data.

Compare against your own trend

Record your NPS score every time you send out a survey. Write down the date, the score, and your response rate. Do this consistently.

After three or four survey cycles, you’ll have enough data to see a trend. Ask yourself:

Is the score going up, down, or staying flat?
Did anything change in your business when the score changed?
Are certain months consistently lower? That could point to seasonal staffing or demand issues.

A rising trend means what you’re doing is working. A flat or falling trend means something needs attention.

Tools for tracking NPS by location

You don’t need anything fancy to get started with NPS tracking. Here are your options:

Survey tools. SurveyMonkey and Typeform are both easy to set up and great for collecting NPS responses.
Spreadsheets. A simple Google Sheet or Excel file works well for tracking scores over time. If you have more than one location, though, it can be difficult to keep your data organized.
Dedicated Net Promoter Score software. If you’re running multiple locations, a tool like Listen360 is well worth it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Got a question about NPS? Here are some answers.

What is a good NPS score?

Anything above 0 is positive. A score of 30 to 50 is good and competitive in most industries. Above 50 is excellent. Above 80 is world-class.

The best way to judge your score is against your own industry benchmark, not just the global average of 32.

What is the average NPS score by industry?

It varies a lot. Insurance has a median of 65. Construction is 64. Software and transport are around 44. Your industry benchmark is the number to measure yourself against. A score that’s average in one industry can be impressive in another.

Is a negative NPS score bad?

Yes, it means you have more unhappy customers than happy ones. But it’s also a starting point. You now know there’s a problem. The next step is to survey more, find out why, and respond to detractors.

Conclusion

Your NPS score tells you a lot about how your customers see your business.

Pair it with the right industry benchmark and you’ve got a genuinely useful tool for improving customer loyalty.

Remember, the data is only as good as what you do with it.

Want to start measuring and using NPS to improve your business? Here’s how:

Think about how and when you’ll send the question to your customers. What survey tool will you use? When’s the best time in your unique customer journey to ask the question?
If you’ve already sent NPS surveys, pull up your last batch of detractor responses. Pick the most common complaint, and brainstorm ways to fix it.
Set a calendar reminder to send an NPS survey within the next 30 days.
Decide whether a feedback analytics platform is right for your business. What could you achieve with more insight into how your customers feel?

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