CES Calculator

Q: What is the difference between CES, NPS, and CSAT?

CES (Customer Effort Score): Measures how easy it is for customers to interact with your product or service. Focuses on reducing effort to improve loyalty. NPS (Net Promoter Score): Measures customer loyalty by asking how likely they are to recommend your brand. CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score): Measures satisfaction with a specific interaction or experience. Explore our NPS Calculator and CSAT Calculator to measure these metrics.

Measure customer effort instantly with our free CES Calculator

What’s your Customer Effort Score (CES)?

Enter the number of respondents in the fields below:

Choose Scale:

Your CES Score is

Prefer another method? – Try our NPS Calculator or CSAT Calculator

What is CES?

The Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how much effort customers feel they need to put into interacting with your product, service, or support. It’s based on a single question:

“How easy was it to resolve your issue/use our service?”

High Effort Customers

(Score 1–2)

Neutral Customers

(Score 3)

Low Effort Customers

(Score 4–5)

What Does Your CES Score Mean?

Your CES score ranges from 1 to 100 and provides insights into how easy or difficult customers find your process.

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Moderate

A CES of 50 indicates moderate effort is required by customers.

Why Measuring CES Is Important

A low CES score isn’t just a number—it’s a key driver of customer loyalty and business success. Here’s why:

Reduces Churn
Customers who find your process easy are more likely to stay loyal.
Improves Efficiency
Identifying high-effort areas helps streamline processes.
Boosts Advocacy
Low-effort experiences lead to positive word-of-mouth and referrals.

Example: A company that reduced its CES from 3.5 to 2.5 saw a 25% increase in customer retention.

Examples of CES Questions

Discover over 50 ready-to-use questions to measure customer effort across all touchpoints—from support interactions to product experiences. Customize these questions to gather actionable insights and improve your customer journey.

How easy was it to interact with our company overall?
How simple was it to achieve your goal with us?
To what extent do you agree: “We made it easy to do business with us”?
How easy was it to find the information you needed?
How straightforward was it to complete your task?
How easy was it to contact us for help?
How simple was it to resolve your issue with us?
How easy was it to recommend our product/service to others?

How easy was it to use [Product] for the first time?
How simple was it to find the feature you needed?
To what extent do you agree: “[Product] made it easy to achieve my goal”?
How easy was it to navigate [Product]?
How straightforward was it to set up [Product]?
How easy was it to troubleshoot issues with [Product]?
How simple was it to customize [Product] to your needs?
How easy was it to integrate [Product] with other tools?

Overall, how easy was it to solve your problem today?
How easy was it to interact with our support team?
To what extent do you agree: “Our team made it easy to resolve my issue”?
How easy was it to get the help you needed?
How would you rate the effort it took to resolve your issue?
How easy was it to find the information you needed?
Did our support team make it easy to handle your concern?
How simple was it to contact our support team?

How easy was it to complete the onboarding process?
How simple were the instructions during onboarding?
To what extent do you agree: “Onboarding made it easy to get started”?
How easy was it to understand the onboarding steps?
How straightforward was it to set up your account?
How easy was it to find resources during onboarding?
How simple was it to complete the training process?
How easy was it to access help during onboarding?

How easy was it to complete your purchase?
How simple was it to navigate the checkout process?
To what extent do you agree: “Checkout made it easy to buy”?
How easy was it to apply a discount or promo code?
How straightforward was it to select your payment method?
How easy was it to review your order before purchasing?
How simple was it to track your order after purchase?
How easy was it to return or exchange your purchase?

How easy was it to find what you were looking for on our website?
How simple was it to navigate our website?
To what extent do you agree: “Our website made it easy to find information”?
How easy was it to search for products or services?
How straightforward was it to complete your task on our website?
How easy was it to access your account on our website?
How simple was it to update your information on our website?
How easy was it to contact us through our website?

How easy was it to use our app for the first time?
How simple was it to find the feature you needed in our app?
To what extent do you agree: “Our app made it easy to achieve your goal”?
How easy was it to navigate our app?
How straightforward was it to log in to our app?
How easy was it to update your settings in our app?
How simple was it to complete your task in our app?
How easy was it to access help within our app?

How To Calculate CES

Step 1: Collect Responses
Ask your customers the CES question:
“How easy was it to resolve your issue/use our service?”

Step 2: Categorize Responses
Group responses into Very Easy (5), Easy (4), Neutral (3), Difficult (2), and Very Difficult (1).

Step 3: Calculate CES
Use the formula:
CES = (Sum of all scores) / (Total number of responses)

Example: If the sum of all scores is 400 from 100 responses, your CES is 4.0.

Frequently Asked Question

When Should I Collect CES Data?

Collect CES data after key customer interactions, such as support calls or onboarding processes. Regular surveys (e.g., monthly or quarterly) help track trends.

What is the difference between CES, NPS, and CSAT?

CES (Customer Effort Score): Measures how easy it is for customers to interact with your product or service. Focuses on reducing effort to improve loyalty.
NPS (Net Promoter Score): Measures customer loyalty by asking how likely they are to recommend your brand.
CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score): Measures satisfaction with a specific interaction or experience.

Explore our NPS Calculator and CSAT Calculator to measure these metrics.

Explore Our Other Market Research Tools

Instantly calculate your Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) based on satisfied, neutral, and dissatisfied responses.

Quickly calculate your Net Promoter Score (NPS) based on promoter, passive, and detractor responses.

Quickly calculate the ideal sample size for your study based on confidence level, margin of error, and population size.

Start your next consumer research

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