NPS vs CSAT vs CES: which one to use and when

Use NPS to track how people feel about you overall. Use CSAT to check one moment, such as a support chat. Use CES to find steps that take too much work.

All three are short surveys. They differ in the question and the timing. Together they are the survey part of voice of the customer work.

The short version

The scales in this table follow a guide from Giva. ¹ Some teams use other scales.

NPS: how loyal are people?

Loyalty also has a behavior side, such as renewals. Customer loyalty shows how to pair the two.

NPS asks how likely it is that you would recommend the company to a friend or colleague. People answer from 0 to 10. Answers of 9 or 10 are promoters, 7 or 8 are passives and 0 to 6 are detractors. The score is the share of promoters minus the share of detractors. It runs from -100 to +100. ²

Giva notes that NPS is meant for a regular check on the relationship, not for every transaction. ¹

Pick NPS when you want one number to follow over time and a way to see who is unhappy. See what a good NPS score looks like.

CSAT: how did this one thing go?

CSAT asks something like "How satisfied were you with your experience?" A common scale is 1 to 5. The score is the number of satisfied answers divided by all answers, times 100. Satisfied usually means a 4 or a 5. ¹

Made-up example: 40 people rate a support chat, and 34 answer 4 or 5. The CSAT is 34 divided by 40, which is 85%.

Pick CSAT when you want to know how a specific moment went. Good moments to ask: after a ticket closes, after a purchase, or after onboarding.

CES: how hard was it?

CES asks how much effort it took to get something done. A common scale runs from 1 to 7. You add up the ratings and divide by the number of answers. A lower average means less effort. Some teams instead count the share of people who report low effort. ¹

Made-up example: five customers rate how hard setup was on a 1 to 7 scale and answer 2, 3, 1, 5 and 4. The total is 15, and 15 divided by 5 is an average effort of 3. If the next month averages 2, setup got easier.

Scales differ. Some versions use 1 to 5, and some flip the direction. Write down which you use and keep it the same.

Pick CES when you want to find friction. Setup, a password reset or a return are good candidates.

Which one should you start with?

Ask what you want to decide.

1. "Are our customers happy with us overall?" Start with NPS.
2. "Did our support team do a good job today?" Start with CSAT.
3. "Where do people get stuck?" Start with CES.

Add the others later.

For which questions to ask at each moment, see customer satisfaction questions by moment.

How they work together

The three scores answer different questions. A drop in NPS tells you something changed. CSAT or CES on the steps behind it can show where. Use CSAT and CES for single interactions and NPS for the overall relationship.

None of the three says why a number moved. Add one open question to each survey, such as "What is the main reason for your score?" The comments show what to fix.

Timing and fatigue

NPS belongs on a calendar. CSAT and CES follow events. Any survey annoys people if you send too many. Our guide on asking for feedback without annoying people shows how to set sensible gaps.

Where Pulseri fits

Pulseri supports NPS, CSAT and CES. Send an NPS survey to a group of people on a schedule, and send CSAT or CES when something happens, such as a closed support ticket. Start with one survey, run it for a few weeks, and add the others once the first one is working.