What Is a Good eNPS Score? 2026 Benchmarks by Industry
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) compresses how your people feel about working for you into a single number between -100 and +100. It comes from one question: "How likely are you to recommend this organisation as a place to work?" on a 0–10 scale. The hard part isn't running the survey — it's knowing whether the number you get back is any good.
What counts as a good eNPS score?
A good eNPS score sits above 20, an excellent score above 50, and a world-class score above 80. Anything negative means you have more Detractors than Promoters — a signal that needs immediate attention. Most organisations land somewhere between 0 and 30, which is described as "acceptable, with significant room for improvement."
Here's the standard interpretation framework used across the industry:
- Below 0 — Concerning. The majority of your people are Detractors.
- 0 to 20 — Acceptable, but with significant room to improve.
- 20 to 30 — Good.
- 30 to 50 — Very good.
- 50 to 80 — Excellent.
- Above 80 — World class.
These bands are drawn from published benchmarking by Zonka Feedback and Culture Monkey.
How eNPS is calculated
eNPS is the percentage of Promoters minus the percentage of Detractors. Responses of 9–10 are Promoters, 7–8 are Passives (ignored in the maths), and 0–6 are Detractors. If 60% of your team are Promoters and 20% are Detractors, your eNPS is +40. Because Passives are excluded, the score can swing sharply on small teams.
For the full question set — including the follow-up questions that tell you *why* people scored you the way they did — see our guide to eNPS survey questions.
eNPS benchmarks by industry (2024–2025)
eNPS varies enormously by sector, from around 66 in Information Technology down to below 14 in government and retail. Knowledge-work industries with strong autonomy and recognition cultures consistently outscore frontline, high-turnover sectors. Comparing yourself to your own industry is far more useful than to a global average.
Approximate industry benchmarks from Hive HR's Q1 2025 data and Zonka Feedback:
- Information Technology — 66
- Financial services / banking — 39 to 46
- Hospitality — 37
- Professional services — 33 to 35
- Technology (general) — 25 to 28
- Healthcare — 15 to 25
- Manufacturing — 18
- Construction — 14
- Government / retail — below 14
eNPS by company size
Smaller organisations consistently outscore larger ones on eNPS. Teams under 250 people average 24–30, while organisations of 5,000+ average just 9. Proximity, visibility, and the speed at which recognition reaches people all decay as headcount grows — which is why large enterprises have to engineer the belonging that small teams get for free.
Average eNPS by company size, per Hive HR:
- 0–250 employees — 24 to 30
- 251–1,000 employees — around 20
- 1,001–5,000 employees — around 15
- 5,001+ employees — 9
The good news: large organisations that build recognition and belonging into their culture deliberately can close most of this size gap.
Why global "average" eNPS numbers disagree
Reported global averages range from 12 to 37, and the gap is almost entirely about methodology. Perceptyx, drawing on 20 million-plus employees, reports a conservative 12–14. Self-selected panels like QuestionPro report 32. The larger and less self-selected the sample, the lower — and more honest — the number.
So when a vendor tells you "the average eNPS is 37," ask whose average. The Perceptyx figure is the most methodologically defensible because of its sample size, and it suggests the typical organisation is closer to "acceptable" than "good."
What a good score actually depends on
The most useful benchmark isn't an industry table — it's your own previous score. Most teams that actively intervene see a 15–25 point lift within two quarters, regardless of where they started. A score of +15 that's climbing is a far healthier signal than a +40 that's been sliding for a year.
This matters because eNPS is a lagging indicator. It tells you how people already feel; it doesn't tell you what to do. A flat or falling trend is the real warning sign — and the global backdrop is not encouraging. Gallup's 2025 State of the Global Workplace found global engagement fell to 21%, its lowest level since 2020, costing the world economy an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity.
How to move from a "bad" eNPS to a good one
Improving eNPS comes down to three research-backed drivers: belonging and recognition, psychological safety, and holistic wellbeing — none of which a survey can build on its own. The fastest-moving lever is recognition, because it can change within weeks rather than quarters. Gallup and Workhuman's 2024 longitudinal study (n=3,447) found well-recognised employees are 45% less likely to leave within two years.
If your score is sitting below benchmark, start here:
- Read our full playbook: How to Improve eNPS: 9 Evidence-Based Strategies.
- See the 12-week plan in action on our Improve eNPS page.
- Understand why the highest-ROI lever is peer-to-peer recognition.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good eNPS score in 2026?
A good eNPS score in 2026 is above 20, with above 50 considered excellent and above 80 world-class. Industry medians sit around 12–37 depending on methodology. Above all, a score that's trending upward beats a higher score that's declining — your own trend is the benchmark that matters most.
Is a negative eNPS score bad?
Yes. A negative eNPS means more of your people are Detractors (scoring 0–6) than Promoters (scoring 9–10), so on balance your team would not recommend you as an employer. It's a clear signal to act quickly — usually starting with recognition frequency, manager support, and closing the loop on past survey feedback.
What is the average eNPS score?
Reported averages range from 12 to 37. The most methodologically sound figure comes from Perceptyx (12–14, based on 20 million-plus employees), while self-selected panels report higher. Treat any single "average" with caution and compare to your industry and company size instead.
How is eNPS different from regular employee engagement scores?
eNPS is a single advocacy question — would you recommend us as a place to work — while engagement surveys measure many underlying drivers. eNPS is fast and trackable over time; full engagement surveys are richer but slower. Most teams use eNPS as the headline metric and a short driver survey to explain the movement.
Want the question wording and cadence? See eNPS survey questions. For the bigger picture on engagement, read The Employee Engagement Crisis: 2025 Data.
Related reading: How to Improve eNPS · Peer-to-Peer Recognition · Improve Your eNPS in 90 Days