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GLOSSARY

Net promoter score (NPS)

What is net promoter score?

What is net promoter score?

Net promoter score comes from 1 question: how likely are you to recommend this product from 0 to 10?

Subtract the share who answer 0 to 6 from the share who answer 9 or 10. Answers of 7 and 8 don't count. The final score runs from -100 to 100 and can move sharply with a small number of changed responses.

NPS isn't a satisfaction score and shouldn't be compared casually across industries. Its useful role is showing how your own number changes over time.

Why it matters for product builders

The comments under the score are often more useful than the number. That's where the reason sits.

**Source note**

Fred Reichheld introduced NPS in Harvard Business Review in 2003. Later academic work has contested the claim that it predicts growth.

Sources
  • Introduced by Fred Reichheld in Harvard Business Review, 2003. The claim that it predicts growth has been contested in later academic work.

Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · All 72 terms

annsa

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