CSAT vs NPS: Which Customer Metric Should You Use?
When it comes to measuring customer satisfaction, two metrics dominate the conversation: Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS). Both are valuable, but they measure different things and serve different purposes. Here's how to decide which one — or both — you should be using.
What is CSAT?
CSAT measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, product, or experience. The typical question is:
"How satisfied were you with [experience]?"
Customers respond on a scale (usually 1-5 or 1-7), and your CSAT score is the percentage of customers who selected the top ratings (4-5 on a 5-point scale).
What is NPS?
NPS measures overall customer loyalty by asking:
"How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?"
Responses are scored 0-10, and the NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors (0-6) from Promoters (9-10).
Key Differences
| Aspect | CSAT | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Measures | Satisfaction with specific touchpoint | Overall loyalty and advocacy |
| Timeframe | Immediate, transactional | Long-term relationship |
| Scale | Usually 1-5 | 0-10 |
| Best for | Identifying specific pain points | Predicting growth and churn |
| Response rate | Higher (very quick) | High (single question) |
When to Use CSAT
CSAT excels at measuring specific moments in the customer journey:
- After a support interaction: "How satisfied were you with the help you received?"
- Post-purchase: "How satisfied are you with your recent order?"
- After onboarding: "How satisfied were you with the setup process?"
- Feature feedback: "How satisfied are you with [specific feature]?"
Because CSAT is tied to specific events, it gives you highly actionable feedback about what's working and what isn't.
When to Use NPS
NPS is better suited for understanding the bigger picture:
- Quarterly relationship surveys: Track overall sentiment over time
- Strategic planning: Identify whether your customer base is growing healthier or not
- Competitive benchmarking: Compare your loyalty score against industry peers
- Investor reporting: NPS is widely recognized as a growth predictor
The Best Approach: Use Both
The most effective companies use CSAT and NPS together:
- NPS quarterly to track overall loyalty trends
- CSAT at key touchpoints to identify specific areas for improvement
- Correlate the two to understand which touchpoint improvements have the biggest impact on loyalty
Customer Effort Score (CES): The Third Metric
There's a third metric worth mentioning: Customer Effort Score. CES asks:
"How easy was it to [complete task]?"
CES is particularly powerful for support and self-service experiences, where reducing effort is more important than delighting customers.
Getting Started
You don't need to implement all three metrics at once. Start with one:
- Choose NPS if you want a high-level view of customer loyalty
- Choose CSAT if you want to optimize specific touchpoints
- Choose CES if you want to reduce friction in your product
With TinyAsk, you can create all three types of surveys and embed them directly on your website. Start with a template, customize it to your brand, and begin collecting feedback in minutes.