CSAT vs NPS: which should you measure?
CSAT and NPS answer different questions. Here's the difference, when to use each, and how to collect them without annoying customers.
CSAT and NPS are the two most common customer-experience metrics. They’re often confused, but they measure different things.
CSAT — Customer Satisfaction
CSAT asks about a specific interaction: “How satisfied were you with this chat?” It’s usually a 1–5 scale, collected right after the moment it’s about. CSAT is great for measuring the quality of a support conversation while it’s fresh.
NPS — Net Promoter Score
NPS asks about the overall relationship: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” on a 0–10 scale. Responses group into detractors (0–6), passives (7–8), and promoters (9–10); your score is the percentage of promoters minus detractors. NPS is a periodic pulse on loyalty, not a per-ticket measure.
When to use each
| Question | Use |
|---|---|
| “Was this support interaction good?” | CSAT, right after the chat |
| “How do people feel about us overall?” | NPS, on a recurring cadence |
Collecting them without the annoyance
The trick is asking at the right moment and not too often. YakDesk includes both post-chat CSAT (asked automatically when a conversation ends) and URL-triggered NPS (shown on the pages you choose), so you measure the moment without a separate survey tool.