Is an NPS Score of 40 Good?
Learn what an NPS score of 40 means, why it is a strong result, and what to do next to protect and improve customer loyalty.
What an NPS score of 40 means
An NPS score of 40 is a strong result in many industries. It means promoters outnumber detractors by 40 percentage points.
At this level, the business likely has a meaningful group of customers who are willing to recommend it. The opportunity is to protect what creates promoter sentiment and remove the remaining friction.
In plain terms, an NPS of 40 means the percentage of promoters is 40 points higher than the percentage of detractors.
Is an NPS score of 40 good?
An NPS score of 40 is generally strong. The right interpretation still depends on your industry, customer segment, survey timing, and whether the score came from a relationship or transactional NPS survey.
A score of 40 usually points to a customer experience that is reliably positive, though not yet exceptional across all segments.
Example response mix for an NPS of 40
Many different response distributions can create the same NPS. This example uses 100 responses to make the math easy to see.
| Group | Example responses | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Promoters | 55 | 55% |
| Passives | 30 | 30% |
| Detractors | 15 | 15% |
How it compares to common benchmark ranges
| Range | General interpretation |
|---|---|
| Below 0 | More detractors than promoters |
| 0-30 | Positive, with room to improve |
| 31-50 | Strong in many industries |
| 51-70 | Excellent |
| 71-100 | Rare and unusually strong |
What to check before interpreting 40
The biggest risk is hidden inconsistency. One product, region, or journey may be much lower than the overall score.
- How many responses were included?
- Was the sample representative of your customer base?
- Was this relationship NPS or transactional NPS?
- Did the survey reach recent, inactive, unhappy, and high-value customers?
- Are some segments much higher or lower than the overall score?
How to improve an NPS score of 40
- Identify the strongest promoter drivers and make them standard practice
- Review detractors for preventable issues rather than one-off complaints
- Segment by customer type, tenure, and channel to find weak spots
- Use passives to identify what would make a good experience feel excellent
Related pages on Calculator for NPS
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is 40 a good NPS score?
An NPS score of 40 is generally strong, but context matters. Compare it with your own trend, industry expectations, survey method, and customer comments.
What does an NPS of 40 mean?
It means your promoter percentage is 40 points higher than your detractor percentage in the measured response set.
Can the same NPS score mean different things in different industries?
Yes. Industry expectations, customer journey complexity, switching costs, and survey timing can all change how strong the same score looks.
What should you do after seeing this score?
Review comments by promoters, passives, and detractors, segment the results, and choose a small number of customer experience improvements to act on first.