Why NPS Is a Useless Metric in UX

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a manager’s favorite, but in UX it’s nearly worthless. Many believe that if NPS goes up, the product is improving—but that’s a false assumption.

NPS measures sentiment, not behavior. Someone might give a 9/10 score but never return. Another might give a 5/10 and still use the product daily. Relying solely on that number leads to bad conclusions. Instead, focus on behavioral metrics: Retention, Churn Rate, Time-to-Value. If you must use NPS, ignore the number—dig into the written comments. That’s where the insights live.

NPS tells you nothing about what’s broken. If your score drops from 55 to 42, it doesn’t explain why. Where exactly did users get frustrated? The metric doesn’t say. Far more useful: ask specific questions about actual experience. Track what users did before rating, where they dropped off, where they got stuck.

NPS often distorts reality. Loyalty doesn’t equal usability. People sometimes recommend a service just because there are no better options—not because it's easy to use.

Bottom line: Always compare NPS with real engagement and retention data. If NPS is high but retention is dropping, the problem isn’t UX—it’s the product’s core value. UX can’t be measured by abstract “how much do you like it” scores. Behavioral data tells the real story.

And if you want a better survey, use something like SUPR-Q—I rely on it regularly in my projects.