When’s The Best Time to Send an NPS Survey?

Knowing the best time to send NPS surveys can make all the difference in collecting actionable feedback and improving customer loyalty. Send it too early, and users may not have enough experience to give meaningful answers. Send it too late, and you risk losing the opportunity to capture real-time sentiment.  

In this guide, we’ll explore the optimal moments to reach out, whether it’s after onboarding, post-purchase, or during key product interactions. 

What is an NPS survey?

An NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey is a simple but powerful tool used to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. It asks one key question: “How likely are you to recommend our product or service to a friend or colleague?” 

Respondents answer on a scale from 0 to 10, and their score puts them into one of three groups: promoters, passives, or detractors. Promoters are loyal advocates, passives are neutral, and detractors are most likely to dump your product. 

Many surveys also include an optional open-ended question so customers can share more detailed feedback. In short, NPS surveys give businesses a clear snapshot of how people feel about their product. They show what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus to keep customers happy and drive growth. Plus, they’re great for uncovering insights that help improve products, refine experiences, and shape smarter marketing strategies.

When is the best time to send an NPS survey?

There’s no single “perfect” moment, but there is a best time to send NPS, and it all comes down to context. In simple terms, you should send NPS surveys when customers have had enough time to form an opinion, but while their experience is still fresh.

To get this right, forget random dates on a calendar. Instead, focus on three things: the type of NPS survey you’re running, the customer segment you’re targeting, and what the user has actually done inside your product.

The first decision is whether you’re sending a relational or transactional NPS survey. Relational NPS measures long-term loyalty and overall sentiment toward your brand. 

These surveys work best after customers have spent some time with your product. Common contact times include two to four weeks after onboarding or conversion, every six to twelve months for active users, a few days after a major feature launch, or shortly after a physical product is delivered.

Transactional NPS, on the other hand, focuses on a specific interaction, such as purchasing a product or contacting customer support. Here, timing is critical. The best results come from sending surveys immediately after a support ticket is resolved, within 24 hours of a service interaction, a few days after a digital product is activated, or about a week after a physical product has been received and used. Wait too long, and the emotional context disappears.

You might also wonder if there’s a “best day” to send surveys. Some studies show that short B2B surveys, like NPS surveys, can perform reasonably well on Mondays, but mid-week (Tuesday to Thursday) usually delivers higher response rates. 

Thursdays often see higher open and response rates for longer surveys. Low-peak work hours, like late morning or mid-afternoon, can also outperform early mornings and late evenings.

That said, the day of the week is far less important than user context. A survey sent right after a meaningful interaction, like completing onboarding, resolving a support issue, or using a key feature, will almost always outperform one sent on the “perfect” day. 

When feedback is triggered by real activity, customers remember details more clearly and respond more honestly. In NPS, relevance beats timing every time.

Engage users on the spot with in-app NPS surveys

One of the most overlooked advantages of in-app NPS surveys is how powerful they are for engaging transactional customers immediately. While many teams focus on long-term relationship surveys, transactional moments are where emotions are strongest and feedback is most accurate.

In-app NPS surveys shine here because they meet users exactly where the experience happens, without forcing them to check their inbox or switch contexts. What’s an in-app survey? It’s a feedback prompt shown directly inside your product while the user is actively logged in. Because it appears in real time and in context, the question feels more relevant and easier to answer. Users don’t have to leave what they’re doing, which reduces friction, increases response rates, and leads to more honest, experience-based feedback.

Key actions that should trigger an in-app NPS survey

• Completing onboarding or reaching activation

• Resolving a customer support chat or ticket

• Making a purchase or upgrading a plan

• Using a key feature for the first time

• Finishing a high-intent action, like exporting data or publishing content

• Renewing a subscription or approaching renewal

• Hitting a usage milestone (e.g. 10th login, 100th task completed)

• After downgrading, canceling, or attempting to cancel a plan

These are some of the best times to send an NPS survey, and an in-app NPS survey is often the most effective way to do it. Because the survey appears inside your product, you can trigger it at the exact moment these actions happen

Use Frill’s in-app NPS surveys to your advantage

Frill takes the friction out of running in-app NPS surveys. Instead of wrestling with complex setups, you can get a survey live in minutes using Frill’s simple widget. It sits neatly inside your product, so you can ask users for feedback right when something happens.

Beyond NPS, Frill lets you run quick micro surveys, test feature ideas, and collect contextual feedback without overthinking it. Try Frill for free today!

FAQs

What’s an in-app NPS survey?

An in-app NPS survey is a Net Promoter Score survey shown inside your app while users are actively using it. Instead of emails, feedback appears at the right moment in the product, making it easier to respond and more closely tied to the actual user experience.

When to send an NPS survey?

The best time to send NPS surveys is right after meaningful customer interactions, while experiences are still fresh. Transactional surveys work best immediately after purchases, support interactions, or key feature use. Relational surveys, which measure long-term loyalty or customer sentiment, are best a few weeks post-onboarding or after major customer milestones.

What is the best day to launch a survey?

Surveys perform best mid-week, Tuesday or Wednesday, once the Monday rush ends and before the Friday wind-down. Avoid Mondays, Fridays, and weekends, especially in B2B. Timing around meaningful interactions matters most, so send surveys right after key events for the best responses.

What is the best time of day to send a survey?

The ideal time is during low-peak hours when users are most likely to notice and respond, such as late morning, lunchtime, or mid-afternoon. Avoid very early mornings or late evenings. Ultimately, send surveys when users are actively engaging with your product for the best results.

How to get more NPS responses?

To get more NPS responses, keep the survey short, send it at the right moment, and make it easy to answer on any device. Personalize the message, explain why feedback matters, and follow up gently. When users feel heard and not spammed, they’re more likely to respond.

How to use NPS effectively?

To use NPS effectively, treat it as a starting point, not the finish line. Collect feedback at the right moments, follow up with open-ended questions, and actually act on what users say. Close the loop with respondents so they know their feedback leads to real improvements.

What are some common NPS mistakes?

Common NPS mistakes include surveying too often, asking at the wrong time, or focusing only on the score instead of the feedback. Ignoring follow-ups is another big one. NPS works best when you listen, act on responses, and let customers know their feedback actually matters.

When not to use NPS?

NPS isn’t ideal when users haven’t experienced real value yet, like during onboarding or right after signup. It’s also not great for one-time transactions or very niche audiences. If feedback won’t lead to action, it’s better to skip NPS and use more specific surveys instead.

What is the disadvantage of NPS?

One big disadvantage of NPS is that it’s too high-level. The score tells you how customers feel, but not why. Without follow-up questions, it’s easy to misinterpret results. NPS also oversimplifies complex experiences into a single number, which can hide real issues.

When should relational NPS surveys go out?

Relational NPS surveys should go out on a regular cadence, like quarterly or biannually, after customers have had enough time to experience your product or service. The goal is to measure the overall relationship, not a single interaction, so timing should feel natural, and not intrusive.

How often can you send NPS surveys without causing customer survey fatigue?

To avoid survey fatigue, send NPS surveys no more than once per quarter for relational NPS. That gives customers time to experience real value without feeling spammed. For transactional NPS, be selective and only send it after meaningful interactions, not every single touchpoint.

Collect and prioritize feedback and manage public roadmaps and changelogs. Frill makes it easy.