If you take a narcissism quiz expecting a big number, the Dark Mirror will disappoint you. The average narcissistic score across 2,000+ takers is about 10 out of 100. Not 40. Ten.
People read that and decide the quiz is soft on narcissists. It is the opposite. It is hard on the axis, and it is worth understanding why, because it changes what a modest number means.
The curve
As of August 2026, on the narcissistic axis:
- Mean 10.4, median 10.
- 79% of takers at baseline (0 to 15).
- 20% in the traits band (20 to 35).
- 1.6% pronounced (40 to 55).
- One person in the high band (60 or above), out of 2,197.
- The top 10% starts at 25. A 25 is higher than about 91% of takers; a 35 is higher than about 98%.
That is the steepest curve of the six. Nearly everyone is packed into the bottom three rungs and the tail is almost empty. Compare the psychopathic axis, where 7% reach the high band and the top 10% does not start until 55.
Why the axis reads low
Image rarely wins twelve times. Each scenario has one answer that is about being seen as the prize, and five that pull elsewhere. To score high you need image to win twelve of twenty. Even someone whose life is organised around being admired usually has other pulls that win a few rounds, so the count stays in the twenties and thirties.
Self-report punishes the trait it is measuring. To score on this axis you have to pick the answer that, read back, says "I chose to look good". The people most driven by image are often the last to pick that answer, not because they are lying but because they experience the choice as ordinary. Coldness, by contrast, is easy to admit; the people who have it rarely feel the flinch. So the psychopathic axis finds its people and the narcissistic axis half-hides them.
Neither of those is a flaw in the quiz. They are the reason to read the axis on its own scale rather than against the others.
What your number means
The app
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Get the app0 to 15, baseline. Where four in five people sit. Some self-regard, not steering anything.
20 to 35, traits. Already the top fifth. Image is winning a few scenarios: how you handle credit, being outshone, being wrong in front of people. Worth noticing; not the person.
40 to 55, pronounced. One taker in sixty. Image is shaping choices, and on this axis that band is a loud result.
60 and above, high. Almost nobody. If you land here, the honest read is that image dominated your answers to a degree the sample has barely seen. It is still not narcissistic personality disorder, which is a pervasive, impairing pattern a clinician diagnoses. It is a very unusual count of choices.
The mistake most people make
They compare a 25 on narcissism to a 25 on psychopathy and call them the same. They are not. A 25 on the psychopathic axis is the traits band and roughly the middle of the pack, higher than about 61% of takers. A 25 on the narcissistic axis is the top 10%. Same number, different curve. That is why every result on the site now shows the band and the percentile beside the score, and why the narcissistic axis page draws the whole curve rather than a bar.
How these numbers are made: the sample, what is excluded, reliability figures and the gap between the Index and published prevalence are on the methodology page; every figure, numbered and dated for quoting, is on the statistics page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average narcissist score on the Dark Mirror?
As of August 2026 the mean is about 10 out of 100 and the median is 10. Roughly 79% of takers sit at baseline, 15 or below, and only 1.6% are pronounced. One person in the sample scores in the high band.
Is a narcissism score of 25 high?
On this axis, yes. A 25 is higher than about 91% of takers and marks the start of the top 10%. It is still the traits band, not the high one, and it is not a diagnosis; it means image drove five of your twenty answers.
Why do so few people score high on narcissism?
Two reasons. The scenarios pit image against other pulls and image seldom wins twelve times out of twenty. And a self-report needs you to pick the answer that says "I chose to look good"; the people most driven by image are often the last to do that.
Where can I see the whole narcissism curve?
On the narcissistic axis page of the Dark Mirror Index, which shows the live distribution, the four bands, and a ladder from 0 to 100 with the count of takers at each score, recomputed every morning.
Take the Dark Mirror to see your own number on the curve, or read the live Index first.