What's a good Desktop Performance Score?
A good Desktop Performance Score is 90 or higher — Lighthouse's 'good' band starts at 90. Google Lighthouse desktop performance score (0-100). Excellent is 95 or higher (Karbon target), and the minimum acceptable tier is 50 or higher (Lighthouse's 'needs improvement' band starts at 50; below it is 'poor').
Last updated:
Get a free ad plan for your business
Tell us what you want more of. We reply within one business day with a budget, the channels to use and a realistic cost per lead. Free, no contract talk.
The three tiers Karbon grades against — and where each comes from
| Tier | Value | What it means | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 50 | The floor. Below this, something is broken. | Lighthouse's 'needs improvement' band starts at 50; below it is 'poor' |
| Recommended | 90 | The tier a healthy campaign should hit. | Lighthouse's 'good' band starts at 90 |
| Excellent | 95 | Top-tier performance worth defending. | Karbon target |
| Published threshold | 90 | Lighthouse 'good' band (90 to 100). Source (2019-09) | |
Higher is better for this metric.
Why Desktop Performance Score matters
Desktop users often have higher purchase intent (especially B2B). A strong desktop score ensures these high-value visitors have a fast, smooth experience.
Sources
The three tiers on this page are Karbon Agency's grading targets. These published figures are the outside reference points for Desktop Performance Score, so you can check our tiers against them.
- Chrome for Developers — Lighthouse performance scoring (September 19, 2019; read September 26, 2026)Performance scores of 0–49 are poor, 50–89 need improvement, and 90–100 are good.
Where does your Desktop Performance Score land?
Karbon Agency grades every client campaign against these exact tiers, live on a dashboard — no guessing, no quarterly PDFs.