NPS vs CSAT vs CES: Which Customer Metric to Use

NPS, CSAT and CES measure three different things. NPS (Net Promoter Score) asks how likely a customer is to recommend you and reflects the overall relationship. CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) asks how satisfied a customer was with a specific interaction, right after it happened. CES (Customer Effort Score) asks how easy it was to get something done, such as resolving an issue. Use CSAT and CES to improve individual touchpoints, and NPS to track how the relationship as a whole is developing.

This guide explains each metric in detail, with question wording, scales, formulas and worked examples, then shows how to choose and combine them.

The three metrics at a glance

	NPS	CSAT	CES
Measures	Willingness to recommend; overall relationship	Satisfaction with a specific interaction	Ease of a specific task or interaction
Typical question	"How likely are you to recommend [company] to a friend or colleague?"	"How satisfied were you with [interaction]?"	"[Company] made it easy for me to [handle my issue]."
Scale	0–10	1–5 (sometimes 1–7 or 1–10)	1–7 agreement (variants exist)
Result	% promoters − % detractors (−100 to +100)	% satisfied (4–5), or average	Average, or % agree
When to send	Periodically (e.g. quarterly or twice a year), or at milestones	Right after the interaction	Right after support, returns, setup, etc.
Best for	Tracking relationship health; finding fans and critics	Judging and improving touchpoints	Removing friction from processes
Calculator	NPS calculator	CSAT calculator	CSAT & CES calculator

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

The question

On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend [company] to a friend or colleague?

The scale is labelled "not at all likely" at 0 and "extremely likely" at 10.

Groups and formula

• Promoters: 9–10
• Passives: 7–8
• Detractors: 0–6

NPS = % promoters − % detractors

Passives count in the total number of responses but do not appear in the formula directly. The result ranges from −100 (everyone is a detractor) to +100 (everyone is a promoter). It is a number, not a percentage: you report "+30", not "30%".

Worked example

200 customers answer: 110 promoters, 50 passives, 40 detractors.

• Promoters: 110 ÷ 200 = 55%
• Detractors: 40 ÷ 200 = 20%
• NPS = 55 − 20 = +35

Strengths and limits

NPS is short, easy to explain and useful for tracking change over time. Its follow-up question ("What is the main reason for your score?") often produces the most useful insight. Its limits: it is a broad relationship measure that does not tell you which touchpoint caused a change; the grouping throws away detail (a 0 and a 6 count the same); and with small samples, the margin of error is wide. The NPS calculator shows that margin for your sample size. Our full guide on how to calculate NPS covers sampling and segmenting.

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

The question

How satisfied were you with [your delivery / your visit / the support you received today]?

Typical 5-point scale: 1 very dissatisfied, 2 dissatisfied, 3 neutral, 4 satisfied, 5 very satisfied.

Formula

The most common method is top-2-box:

CSAT = (number of 4 and 5 ratings) ÷ (total responses) × 100

Some teams report the average rating instead (for example 4.2 out of 5). Both are legitimate; just be consistent and say which one you use.

Worked example

150 responses after deliveries: 4 × "1", 6 × "2", 15 × "3", 45 × "4", 80 × "5".

• Satisfied (4 + 5): 45 + 80 = 125
• CSAT = 125 ÷ 150 = 83.3%
• Average: (4×1 + 6×2 + 15×3 + 45×4 + 80×5) ÷ 150 = (4 + 12 + 45 + 180 + 400) ÷ 150 = 641 ÷ 150 ≈ 4.27

You can check this in the CSAT calculator; these are its default values. For more on survey timing and bias, see how to calculate CSAT score.

Strengths and limits

CSAT is specific and actionable: if satisfaction with deliveries drops, you know where to look. It works well right after an interaction while the experience is fresh. Its limits: it reflects a moment, not the relationship; it can be skewed by when and how you ask; and a high CSAT on individual interactions does not guarantee customers will stay.

Customer Effort Score (CES)

The question

The most common modern version is an agreement statement:

[Company] made it easy for me to [handle my issue / return my order / set up my account].

Scale: 1 strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3 somewhat disagree, 4 neutral, 5 somewhat agree, 6 agree, 7 strongly agree.

Older variants ask "How much effort did you personally have to put forth to handle your request?" on a scale where low numbers are good. If you use that version, remember that the direction is reversed, and never mix the two in one report.

Formula

• Average CES = sum of ratings ÷ number of responses (on the 1–7 agreement scale, higher is better)
• Optionally, % agree = responses of 5, 6 or 7 ÷ total responses

Worked example

120 responses after support cases: 2 × "1", 3 × "2", 6 × "3", 14 × "4", 30 × "5", 40 × "6", 25 × "7".

• Sum: 2 + 6 + 18 + 56 + 150 + 240 + 175 = 647
• Average CES = 647 ÷ 120 ≈ 5.39
• % agree (5–7): (30 + 40 + 25) ÷ 120 = 95 ÷ 120 ≈ 79.2%

Strengths and limits

CES is excellent for finding friction: confusing return processes, support that requires multiple contacts, forms that ask for the same information twice. It points directly at process improvements. Its limits: it only makes sense for task-like interactions, and it says little about emotional attachment or overall value.

How to choose

Start from the question you want answered:

You want to know…	Use
"Is our relationship with customers getting stronger or weaker?"	NPS
"Who are our biggest fans and critics?"	NPS (with follow-up question)
"How did that delivery / visit / project go?"	CSAT
"Which touchpoint is letting us down?"	CSAT per touchpoint
"Is our support or returns process too hard?"	CES
"Where do customers struggle?"	CES plus an open question

For most small businesses, a sensible starting point is one CSAT question after your most important interaction (delivery, appointment, project completion) and one NPS survey twice a year for the relationship. Add CES once you have a support or service process you want to streamline.

Combining the metrics

The three metrics work well together because they look at different levels:

• CES and CSAT tell you about individual moments.
• NPS tells you about the sum of those moments over time.

If NPS drops while CSAT stays high, the problem may not be in the touchpoints you survey. It could be price, product range, a competitor or something you are not measuring. If CSAT for support drops and CES drops with it, look at how hard it has become to get help.

Survey fatigue rules

• Do not send more than one survey to the same customer within a few weeks, unless it is a one-question CSAT right after a specific interaction they initiated.
• Keep each survey short: the core question plus one optional open question.
• Tell customers what you did with their feedback. Response rates fall quickly when nothing visible happens.

Writing good survey questions

A few rules apply to all three:

1. One question, one topic. "How satisfied were you with our speed and friendliness?" mixes two things.
2. Neutral wording. "How satisfied were you?" not "How much did you enjoy our excellent service?"
3. Ask soon. Survey right after the interaction for CSAT and CES.
4. Always add an open follow-up. "What is the main reason for your score?" produces the insights you can act on.

Our list of customer feedback survey questions has more examples grouped by goal.

Common mistakes

• Comparing your score with numbers found online. Different industries, survey methods and customer groups make external comparisons unreliable. Compare with yourself over time.
• Changing the question or scale. Even small wording changes break comparability.
• Surveying only happy customers. Sending surveys only after successful interactions inflates scores.
• Chasing the number. Asking customers for a "10" or a "5" makes the metric meaningless.
• Ignoring the follow-up. A score without reasons tells you something changed, not why.
• Too few responses. With small samples, a few answers can swing the result. Look at the margin of error and at trends rather than individual readings.

Your next step

Choose one interaction that matters most to your customers and add a single CSAT question after it this month. At the same time, plan a short NPS survey to all active customers for next quarter. Calculate both with the free NPS calculator and CSAT and CES calculator, and record the results so you can compare next time.