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Why a 5-point eNPS and not an 11-point or 4-point eNPS?

Find out why Matter uses a 5-point scale for eNPS rather than an 11-point or 4-point scale.

Sam Lepak avatar
Written by Sam Lepak
Updated yesterday

Fred Reicheld, ideator of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) score, acknowledged that different scoring scales could be used and even provided a case study using a 5-point scale. Additionally, our expert research suggests that whether we use a 5-point or 11-point question scale, we measure the same underlying feeling/intention.

Why the 0-10 NPS scale isn't necessarily the best scale

Traditionally, the NPS customer-focused response scale ranges from 0 to 10 (11-point scale). These types of score 'out of 10' methods were once common for telephone interviews. Researchers start the scale at 0 because sometimes people would mistakenly use 1 as a good score. Which means that when a scale ranges from 0 to 10, it requires more respondent effort and time to understand and complete. Furthermore, scales from 0-11 are much less user-friendly for digital surveys, even more so on mobile devices. The majority of evidence suggests that fully labeled response scales are the most reliable response method. Without fully-labeled response scales, this can cause confusion and a decrease in respondent participation due to not understanding the scale (e.g., what's the difference between a 6 and a 7), and more time to complete.

The 0-10 eNPS scale or any other single question is never as reliable an outcome measure as a multi-question index

It's common statistical knowledge and recommendation that when it comes to self-report scale metrics for a critical outcome, we are far better off using a multi-question approach (e.g., we combine 3-4 questions into a single index for Employee Engagement). Customer and market research studies have shown that using multiple questions is more reliable and accurate than using a singular NPS-type question or metric.

Why the 0-4 NPS scale isn't necessarily the best scale

While the 4-point scale forces respondents to make a choice — removing a neutral option — it potentially has several drawbacks:

  • Lack of a midpoint skews responses: Without a neutral option, respondents may feel pressured to choose a side, even if they don’t have a strong opinion. This can lead to exaggerated or inaccurate results.

  • Reduces response validity: Research suggests that when respondents are forced into a polarized choice, their answers may reflect momentary feelings rather than true sentiment, decreasing the reliability of the data.

  • Limits differentiation: A 4-point scale offers less granularity, making it harder to distinguish between moderately positive and highly positive respondents. This limits the ability to accurately segment and analyze feedback.

For these reasons, a 4-point scale can introduce more noise into survey results rather than improving clarity.

How we calculate our eNPS score

Most customer-oriented NPS research uses an 11-point (0-10) scale (more on this below). However, we use 5-point Likert response formats in our surveys for better usability. Our own research (also others, e.g. here) has demonstrated the validity of a 5-point-based eNPS calculated as follows:

eNPS = Promoters - Detractors

  • Promoters = percentage of strongly agrees (5's)

  • Passives = percentage of agrees (4's)

  • Detractors = percentage of strongly disagrees, disagrees, and neutrals (1-3's)

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