How Often to Send NPS Surveys? Your Guide to Survey Frequency

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is one of the simplest ways to measure customer loyalty—but only if you get the timing right. One of the most common questions teams ask is how often to send NPS surveys. Send them too frequently, and users get annoyed or ignore them. Send them too rarely, and the feedback you collect no longer reflects how customers actually feel.

In this guide, we’ll break down NPS survey frequency best practices, share what industry data recommends, and explain how often to send NPS surveys based on your business model. You’ll also learn how in-app NPS surveys fit into the mix and how to collect feedback without overwhelming your users.

How often should businesses send NPS surveys?

For most businesses, the ideal NPS survey frequency depends on the type of feedback you’re collecting.

• Relationship NPS (rNPS): Send every 90 days. This cadence gives customers enough time to experience real value while keeping feedback fresh and actionable.

• Transactional NPS (tNPS): Send after key interactions, not on a fixed schedule. These interactions may include onboarding completion, feature adoption, support resolution, or a recent purchase.

As a general rule, avoid sending NPS surveys more than once every 30 days to the same user. More frequent surveys increase fatigue, reduce response rates, and skew results.

If you’re using in-app NPS, apply the same frequency rules. Showing surveys at meaningful moments, rather than on every login, leads to higher-quality responses and a better user experience.

What is NPS survey frequency and why does it matter?

NPS survey frequency refers to how often you ask customers to rate their likelihood of recommending your product or service. It includes both scheduled relationship surveys and event-based transactional surveys sent after key interactions.

Getting NPS survey frequency right directly affects the quality of your results.

• Response rates: Surveys sent too often are easy to ignore. As frequency increases, open and completion rates drop because customers stop seeing the request as valuable.

• Data accuracy: Over-surveying leads to rushed or disengaged answers, while infrequent surveys can capture outdated sentiment that no longer reflects the current experience.

• Customer trust: Constant feedback requests make customers feel like data points rather than valued users, which can harm long-term relationships.

This is where survey fatigue comes in. Survey fatigue happens when users feel overwhelmed by repeated requests, causing them to skip surveys, provide low-effort responses, or disengage entirely. A thoughtful NPS survey frequency avoids this by focusing on relevance and timing instead of volume.

Relationship NPS vs. transactional NPS frequency

Not all NPS surveys are created equal. Understanding the difference between relationship and transactional NPS is essential for setting the right cadence and capturing meaningful feedback without overwhelming customers.

Relationship NPS (rNPS)

Relationship NPS measures long-term loyalty and overall sentiment toward your brand or product.

Best cadence:

• Every 90–180 days for ongoing engagement

• Alternatively, every 6–12 months for less active audiences

• After major milestones like onboarding or a significant product update 

Who should use it:

• SaaS and subscription companies

• B2B and enterprise teams

• Businesses tracking overall customer satisfaction over time

Pros:

• Provides a consistent view of customer loyalty

• Helps benchmark and track trends

• Less intrusive than frequent surveys

Limitations:

• Doesn’t capture feedback on specific interactions

• Too frequent relational surveys can lead to fatigue and skewed responses

Transactional NPS (tNPS)

Transactional NPS captures immediate feedback after a specific interaction or event. It is typically triggered right after meaningful actions such as a purchase, onboarding completion, support resolution, or feature adoption.

Examples of triggers

• Completing a product trial: Sending an NPS survey after a trial ends captures users’ first impressions and overall satisfaction, helping you understand whether they are likely to convert to paying customers.

• Resolving a support ticket: Feedback collected immediately after a support interaction reveals how effectively your team addressed the issue and highlights areas for improving customer service.

• Using a newly released feature: Asking for feedback right after a user engages with a new feature shows whether it meets their expectations and identifies any usability or performance issues early.

• Receiving a delivery or service: Collecting feedback after a product is delivered or a service is completed ensures the experience is fresh in the customer’s mind, capturing satisfaction with timeliness, quality, and overall experience.

Just make sure you don’t send more than one transactional survey to the same person every 30–60 days. Otherwise, you risk annoying them and causing survey fatigue.

NPS survey frequency benchmarks (What the data says)

Both relationship and transactional NPS work best when timed around meaningful customer interactions rather than arbitrary calendar dates, ensuring feedback is relevant, actionable, and collected while experiences are fresh. 

The ideal NPS survey frequency depends on the type, industry, and customer behavior. Transactional NPS, triggered after a support ticket, purchase, or product delivery, works best immediately—0–24 hours for quick events and 1–2 weeks for deliveries—typically yielding 15–30% response rates via email and up to 50% via SMS. 

Meanwhile, relational NPS, which measures overall loyalty, performs best quarterly for B2B (like SaaS) or semi-annually for B2C, striking a balance between tracking trends and avoiding survey fatigue.

Data from Gainsight shows that sending surveys mid-week, between 9–11 AM in the recipient’s local time, produces the highest open rates, while Mondays can still work for short surveys. To maintain strong response rates—typically 20–40%—limit each contact to one survey per quarter and cap the total number of surveys at 1–2 per year. Sending too many surveys, however, can cause response rates to fall below 10%.

However, consistency is key. Different methods, wording, or sampling can produce wildly different scores, so test approaches, stick to the method that works, and monitor trends regularly. 

In-app NPS surveys and frequency best practices

In-app NPS surveys are surveys embedded directly inside your product, app, or platform, letting users give feedback without leaving the experience. Because they appear while the user is actively engaged, they often capture more immediate and honest responses than email surveys.

When to show NPS in your product is all about timing. You want to hit users at meaningful moments, not randomly. For example, after they complete onboarding, try a new feature, or finish a key workflow. These are moments when their experience is fresh and top-of-mind.

There are two common types of triggers for in-app NPS: login-based and milestone-based. Login-based triggers show the survey when a user logs in, which works best if they’ve been inactive or are returning after a major update. Milestone-based triggers appear after a specific action, like completing a trial, finishing a purchase, or resolving a support ticket.

Frequency matters. Even in-app surveys can overwhelm users if overused. A good rule of thumb is one survey per user every 30–60 days, or only after major milestones. Rotate who sees the survey and avoid showing it repeatedly to the same user in a short period. Keeping it thoughtful and well-timed ensures higher-quality feedback without causing survey fatigue.

How to Avoid Survey Fatigue While Sending NPS

Survey fatigue happens when customers feel overwhelmed by too many feedback requests, which can lead to low response rates, rushed answers, or even negative feelings toward your brand. The good news is, it’s easy to prevent if you plan your NPS strategy carefully.

First, limit the frequency. For relational NPS, stick to quarterly or semi-annual surveys depending on your audience. For transactional NPS, trigger surveys only after meaningful interactions, like a purchase, support resolution, or feature adoption, and avoid asking the same customer multiple times in a short period.

Next, rotate who sees surveys. If multiple teams or departments are collecting feedback, coordinate so the same contact isn’t bombarded. Segment your audience to ensure only relevant users receive each survey, keeping the experience personal and purposeful.

Keep surveys short and focused. A single Net Promoter Score question with an optional follow-up comment is usually enough. Long or repetitive surveys increase friction and reduce thoughtful responses.

Finally, show the impact of feedback. Let customers know their input matters by sharing updates or improvements you’ve made based on past surveys. When users see their feedback leads to real change, they’re more likely to engage positively without feeling overwhelmed.

Recommended NPS Survey Frequency by Business Type

• SaaS: Most SaaS teams should run quarterly relational NPS to track loyalty trends, supported by transactional NPS after onboarding (day 7–14) and after key feature usages. Because churn risk is high, many SaaS companies also run lighter pulse checks every 30–60 days to catch early retention signals without over-surveying.

• B2B and enterprise: For B2B and enterprise, semi-annual or annual relational surveys work best due to long sales cycles and fewer stakeholders. Transactional NPS should follow high-impact moments such as renewals, onboarding, or major account milestones. Less frequent but more intentional surveys help avoid fatiguing key decision-makers.

• E-commerce: E-commerce relies heavily on event-based transactional NPS, sent 24–48 hours after purchase or delivery confirmation. Relational surveys can run quarterly to measure brand loyalty. This approach fits the high-volume, low-touch nature of online retail while keeping feedback closely tied to individual orders.

• Early-stage startups: Startups often run monthly relational NPS to track product–market fit, paired with transactional surveys after a first purchase, trial completion, or key activation. With smaller user bases, timing matters more than strict schedules, and mid-week sends usually perform best.

How Frill helps you manage NPS survey frequency

Frill makes it easy to collect NPS feedback without overwhelming your users. Instead of blasting surveys on a fixed schedule, you can show in-app NPS surveys right inside your product after moments that matter, like finishing onboarding, using a key feature, or hitting a milestone. That way, customer feedback feels natural and relevant, not random.

With Frill’s frequency controls and targeting, you decide who sees what and how often. You can limit repeat prompts, target specific segments, and avoid bugging your most active users too frequently. The result? Better timing, higher response rates, and far less survey fatigue.

Everything rolls up into one centralized feedback space, alongside CSAT surveys, quick polls, and feature ideas. From there, it’s easy to follow up with users and spot patterns. Try Frill for free today!

FAQs

What’s a good NPS score?

A good NPS depends on your industry, but generally: above 0 is acceptable, 30+ is strong, and 50+ is excellent. Always benchmark against competitors and track trends over time, not just the raw score.

Who should receive NPS surveys?

Send NPS surveys to active customers who’ve had enough experience to give meaningful feedback. Avoid brand-new users with no product exposure and disengaged users who haven’t interacted recently.

Should NPS be anonymous?

Anonymous NPS can boost honesty, but identifiable responses are more actionable. Most teams collect names or emails so they can follow up, close the loop, and understand why promoters or detractors feel the way they do.

What should you do after collecting NPS feedback?

Follow up, especially with detractors (unhappy). Thank promoters (fans), learn from passives (neutral), and resolve issues for unhappy customers. Then share insights internally and update your roadmap or processes so feedback leads to visible improvement.

How often should customer satisfaction be measured?

You should measure customer satisfaction regularly but strategically. Transactional surveys work best immediately after interactions, like purchases or support, while relational surveys track overall loyalty quarterly for B2B or semi-annually for B2C. Consistent, timely measurement captures real-time feedback without overwhelming customers, helping spot trends and address issues early.

What industries benefit most from NPS?

NPS works well across industries where customer experience drives growth. SaaS and tech track loyalty and churn, e-commerce and marketplaces monitor order and service satisfaction, and B2B or enterprise firms assess account relationships. Essentially, any business that values repeat customers and actionable feedback can benefit from NPS.

How often should you measure NPS?

You don’t need to measure NPS constantly. Relational NPS works best quarterly for B2B and semi-annually for B2C, while transactional NPS should follow key interactions like purchases or support. The goal is regular, meaningful feedback without overwhelming customers or skewing responses.

Can NPS be automated?

Yes, NPS can be automated using tools like Frill. In-app surveys can trigger after key actions, like purchases, onboarding, or feature use, capturing timely, contextual feedback. Automation saves time, ensures consistency, and helps track trends without over-surveying customers, making insights easier to act on.

What are the limitations of NPS?

NPS shows overall loyalty but lacks context. For example, it doesn’t explain why customers feel a certain way. Scores can be skewed by timing, survey fatigue, or small sample sizes. It’s best paired with qualitative feedback and other metrics for a complete view of customer satisfaction and improvement opportunities.

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