Connect to Intercom— Efficiency —
Median First Reply Time
— Definition —
Median First Reply Time is the middle value when all first reply times for a period are sorted from shortest to longest. If you have 101 conversations, the 51st-fastest first reply time is the median. It represents the "typical" customer experience more accurately than the mean (average) because it is not distorted by a small number of unusually long or short wait times.
— Formula —
Sort all FRT values from lowest to highest → pick the middle value
For an even number of conversations, take the mean of the two middle values. If your median FRT is 47 minutes, half of your customers waited less than 47 minutes and half waited more.
— Benchmark ranges —
B2B SaaS async support (email + in-app)
ExcellentUnder 30 minutes
Good30–120 minutes
Acceptable2–8 hours
SLA riskOver 8 hours
— Calculator —
Mean vs. Median FRT converter
Average (mean) FRT15
— Common mistakes —
- 1Using mean FRT for SLA targets — mean is pulled up by outliers, so your SLA target will be too lenient for the typical customer.
- 2Ignoring the tail — even if median FRT is great, check your 90th percentile FRT. The customers at the tail are often your highest-value accounts.
- 3Tracking mean and calling it median — most spreadsheet exports default to average (mean). Double-check what calculation you are looking at.
- 4Setting one FRT target for all channels — live chat, email, and in-app have fundamentally different customer expectations.
— Related metrics —
Five minutes to live, no IT ticket required.
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