Purpose: Quality function deployment (QFD) has been used to translate customer requirements into engineering characteristics of a product, while benchmarking was developed to search for the best industry practices, which will lead to exceptional performance through the implementation of these best practices. However, no attempt has been made to integrate QFD with benchmarking to identify the best practices of QFD model. This paper aims to classify the QFD models and thereby applying benchmarking process to propose the best practices of QFD model. Design/methodology/approach: The fundamental benchmarking model developed by Camp has been used to benchmark the existing QFD models available in the literature. Findings: Benchmarking the QFD models revealed about 36 QFD steps in the first phase of the house of quality. The tools used in solving for each practice are also reported. Research limitations/implications: The proposed model is conceptual and it requires validation by implementing the same in an organization to understand its effectiveness. Originality/value: Utilizing the benchmarking process to develop the best practices of QFD model is an original concept. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.