What CSAT measures
CSAT asks how satisfied the customer was, usually on a 1-5 scale right after an interaction, scored as the percentage of satisfied responses. It's a direct read on sentiment: did this go well? It's intuitive and easy to collect, but a customer can report being "satisfied" while still having jumped through hoops to get there.
What CES measures
CES asks the customer to rate how much effort they had to put in — for example, "The company made it easy to handle my issue," agree-to-disagree. It surfaces friction CSAT can miss: repeated contacts, channel switching, repeating yourself. Research has found that reducing effort predicts repeat business and loyalty more reliably than maximizing satisfaction.
When to use which
Use CSAT for a quick, broad read on whether interactions land well — it's the easiest to start with and to benchmark. Use CES when you're specifically hunting for friction to remove from a support or onboarding flow. They pair well: CSAT tells you something's off, CES helps you find where the effort is hiding.
Which should you use?
Start with CSAT for a simple, benchmarkable read on interaction quality. Add CES when you're optimizing a specific flow and need to find the friction — it's the better loyalty predictor. Together: CSAT flags the problem, CES locates the effort to cut.
