NPS vs CSAT comes down to scope. NPS (Net Promoter Score) measures long-term loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend you, scored on 0 to 10. CSAT (customer satisfaction score) measures how satisfied someone was with one interaction, usually on a 1 to 5 scale.
At a glance
- NPS asks how likely a customer is to recommend you on a 0 to 10 scale: promoters score 9 to 10, passives 7 to 8 and detractors 0 to 6 (Bain & Company).
- NPS is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors, giving a score from -100 to +100 (SurveyMonkey UK).
- CSAT is usually asked on a 1 to 5 scale straight after an interaction and reported as a percentage of satisfied responses.
- CSAT reflects short-term satisfaction with a specific transaction, while NPS reflects long-term loyalty to the whole company (SurveyMonkey).
- Businesses typically measure NPS periodically, such as quarterly, while CSAT is measured after each interaction (Sogolytics).
What is the difference between NPS and CSAT?
NPS measures loyalty to your business as a whole, while CSAT measures satisfaction with one moment. A short-term reading taken straight after something happens is CSAT, and a long-term reading taken every few months is NPS.
Put in one line each: NPS measures how likely people are to recommend you. CSAT measures how happy people were with a single visit, call, chat or purchase.
A plumber example
Say a plumber fixes a leaking boiler on Tuesday. An hour later the customer gets a text asking, “How satisfied were you with today’s visit?” That is CSAT. It tells the plumber how the visit went: was he on time, tidy and clear about the cost?
Three months later the same customer gets a different question: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” That is NPS. Now the customer is thinking about the whole firm, including the quote, the invoice, the reminder for the annual service and how the office handled a rescheduled call. Someone can be delighted with one visit and still not recommend you. The reverse is also true.
Short term against long term
CSAT is a snapshot. It moves quickly, so it helps you spot a problem this week. Think of NPS as a health check on the relationship. It moves slowly, so it shows whether things are improving over a season or a year.
NPS vs CSAT: side-by-side comparison
This table shows the two metrics at a glance, with a row for how much effort each needs from a small team.
| Attribute | NPS | CSAT |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Net Promoter Score | Customer satisfaction score |
| What it measures | Loyalty to the business overall | Satisfaction with one interaction |
| Question asked | “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” | “How satisfied were you with your experience today?” |
| Scale | 0 to 10 | Usually 1 to 5 |
| Score range | -100 to +100 | 0% to 100% |
| When asked | Periodically, such as quarterly | After each interaction |
| Main purpose | Track loyalty and how likely people are to spread the word | Spot problems and praise at specific touchpoints |
| Effort for small teams | Low: one survey a few times a year, but needs a sensible list of customers | Low per survey, but responses arrive constantly, so someone needs to read the low scores |
How do you calculate CSAT?
To work out CSAT, divide the number of satisfied responses (4 or 5) by total responses, then multiply by 100. The result is a percentage.
Typical question wording
Keep it short and tie it to the moment. A few examples:
- “Were you satisfied with your appointment today?”
- “How would you rate the help you received in this chat?”
- “Were you satisfied with your stay?”
Answers run from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied).
A worked example
A small letting agency asks for a rating after each viewing in one week. It gets 40 replies:
- 5 ratings of 5: 22 replies
- Ratings of 4: 10 replies
- Ratings of 3: 5 replies
- Ratings of 2: 2 replies
- Ratings of 1: 1 reply
Satisfied replies are the 4s and 5s, so 22 + 10 = 32. Then 32 divided by 40 is 0.8, and multiplied by 100 that gives a CSAT of 80%.
Choosing what counts as satisfied
Most people count 4 and 5 as satisfied, and that is the usual approach. You could count only 5s for a tougher measure. Whichever you pick, stick with it. If you change the rule halfway through the year, you can no longer compare this quarter with the last.
How do you calculate NPS?
Ask the 0 to 10 recommend question, group answers into promoters, passives and detractors, then subtract the detractor percentage from the promoter percentage. Passives are left out of the sum but still count in the total.
The three bands
- Promoters: 9 to 10
- Passives: 7 to 8
- Detractors: 0 to 6
These bands are set out by Bain & Company, and the calculation is explained in SurveyMonkey UK’s NPS guide.
A worked example with 50 responses
A dental practice sends the survey to patients and gets 50 replies:
- 29 score 9 or 10, so 29 promoters
- 14 score 7 or 8, so 14 passives
- 7 score 0 to 6, so 7 detractors
Promoters are 29 out of 50, which is 58%. Detractors are 7 out of 50, which is 14%. So NPS = 58 – 14 = +44. Note that the score is written as a number, not a percentage.
The score range
NPS runs from -100 (everyone is a detractor) to +100 (everyone is a promoter). A score above zero means you have more promoters than detractors.
Add the follow-up question
A number alone does not tell you what to fix. Add one open question straight after the score, such as “What is the main reason for your score?” Those short comments are often the most useful part of the survey.
What is a good NPS or CSAT score?
A CSAT in the 75 to 85% region is commonly seen as healthy, and an NPS above zero is a positive result. Treat those as rough guides only, and compare yourself with your own sector and your own past results.
Benchmarks vary by industry
What counts as strong in a hotel may differ from what counts as strong at a solicitor’s or a gym. Where you quote a benchmark, check its source and its date. Sogolytics and SurveyMonkey both discuss how the two scores are used, but we would not hold your business to a single universal figure. Be wary of any league table that does not say who was surveyed or when.
Trend matters more than one number
An NPS of +30 that was +10 a year ago is a better story than a flat +40. Record your scores at the same time each period. Ask the same questions each time. Then you can see whether changes you make, such as quicker replies or clearer quotes, are working.
Small sample sizes
With only 12 responses, one unhappy customer can swing your NPS by a large amount. Treat small samples as a conversation starter, not a verdict. Read the comments. Look at the trend across several rounds before you act on a single dip.
When should you use NPS and when should you use CSAT?
Use CSAT after a specific interaction such as a booking, appointment or support chat, and use NPS every few months to check overall loyalty. To know how something went, ask CSAT. To know how people feel about you, ask NPS.
A simple decision rule
- Did something just happen that you want to judge? Use CSAT.
- Do you want to track the relationship over time? Use NPS.
- Want the full picture? Use both, at different moments.
- Want to know how much effort a task took the customer? Consider CES.
Examples for UK small businesses
- Dental practices: CSAT after a check-up or treatment visit. NPS twice a year to all active patients.
- Solicitors: CSAT after an initial consultation or when a stage of a matter closes. NPS when a case completes.
- Trades: CSAT a few hours after a job. NPS a few months later, perhaps with a service reminder.
- Letting agents: CSAT after a viewing or a repair request. NPS to landlords and tenants once or twice a year.
- Gyms: CSAT after an induction or class. NPS quarterly to members.
Our industry guides show how a chatbot fits into each one.
Using both together
The two scores answer different questions, so they work well side by side. CSAT might be 90% after every visit, while NPS sits low because customers find your pricing confusing or your follow-up slow. That gap tells you to look beyond the individual visit.
A word on CES
Customer effort score (CES) is a third option. It asks how easy it was to get something done, such as booking an appointment or getting an answer. It suits support and booking journeys, and you can run it alongside CSAT.
What are the strengths and limits of each metric?
CSAT is quick and specific but can miss loyalty, while NPS is simple to benchmark but does not explain why people feel as they do. Each one needs the other, or at least a comment box, to be fully useful.
CSAT
- Strengths: fast, easy to understand and tied to a real moment, so it points to what needs fixing.
- Limits: a happy customer is not always a loyal one, and one good interaction can hide wider problems.
NPS
- Strengths: one simple question, an easy number to track and a clear link to word of mouth.
- Limits: the number alone does not say why, and a “recommend” question may feel odd for services people use privately, such as legal or medical work.
Response bias and timing
People who are very happy or very annoyed are the most likely to reply, which can skew results. Timing matters too. Ask CSAT straight after the interaction while it is fresh. Ask NPS when the customer has had time to form a view, not on the day of a complaint.
Cultural differences in scoring
People score differently depending on habit and culture. Some customers rarely give top marks even when pleased, while others give a 9 or 10 readily. Comparing against your own earlier results is safer than comparing with a business in another country.
Always add an open comment
Whichever metric you pick, add a single free-text question. A score tells you that something is wrong, and a sentence from the customer tells you what.
How can a website chatbot help you collect CSAT and NPS?
Chati answers customers from your own website, shows its sources and hands chats to a human team when it is unsure. You can read more on our how it works page.
Low scores as a signal
If a customer rates a chat 1 or 2 out of 5, that is a clear sign to step in. Your team can pick up the conversation or ring the customer back while the issue is still fresh. A quick personal reply often matters more than any score on a dashboard.
Natural moments to ask
Chati also handles lead capture and bookings. Both are good moments to ask for feedback. A short rating after someone books an appointment tells you whether the booking was easy, and a question after an enquiry shows whether the answer helped. Keep it light: one tap, then an optional comment.
Where NPS fits
We’d send NPS every few months to existing customers, for example by email or message to your contact list. Use the chat for CSAT after specific conversations and keep NPS for the longer view.
Our team has been developing apps since 2009, and customers choose Chati for its great value for money. To see how plans compare, our pricing page has the details. If you would like to talk through how feedback could work on your website, get in touch with Chati and we will happily walk you through it.
Frequently asked questions
What is NPS in customer support?
In customer support, NPS asks customers how likely they are to recommend your business after they have dealt with your team. It is best used periodically to track overall loyalty, with CSAT used straight after individual tickets or chats.
What does customer satisfaction mean?
Customer satisfaction is how well a product or service meets or beats what a customer expected. Salesforce UK has a fuller explanation. One way of putting a number on it is CSAT.
Is NPS better than CSAT?
Neither is better. They answer different questions. NPS shows long-term loyalty, and CSAT shows how a specific interaction went. Choose by what you want to learn.
Can you use NPS and CSAT together?
Yes, and it is a good idea. Use CSAT after individual interactions and NPS every few months. Together they show both the detail and the bigger picture.
How many survey responses do you need for a reliable score?
There is no single magic number. The more responses you have, the less one reply can swing the result. With small numbers, read the comments and watch the trend over several rounds rather than relying on one score.
How often should you send an NPS survey?
Most businesses measure NPS periodically, such as quarterly. Twice a year may be enough for a smaller business with fewer customers. Keep the timing consistent so results can be compared.
What is CES and how does it compare?
CES is customer effort score. It asks how easy it was for the customer to get something done. It sits alongside CSAT and NPS, and is useful for support and booking journeys.
Can a CSAT score be over 100%?
No. The percentage of satisfied responses out of all responses gives you CSAT, so the highest possible result is 100%, which means every respondent was satisfied.
