What Is Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)?
Learn what Customer Satisfaction Score is, how CSAT works, when to use it, and how it differs from NPS and other customer experience metrics.
Short answer: CSAT measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, product, service, or experience.
What is CSAT?
Customer Satisfaction Score, or CSAT, is a customer experience metric used to measure how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, product, service, or experience.
CSAT is usually measured with a direct satisfaction question, such as "How satisfied were you with your experience today?" Customers answer using a rating scale, commonly 1 to 5, 1 to 7, or 1 to 10.
Unlike NPS, which focuses on loyalty and likelihood to recommend, CSAT focuses on satisfaction with a particular moment. That makes CSAT especially useful after support conversations, purchases, onboarding steps, deliveries, appointments, or other defined customer interactions.
The standard CSAT question
A common CSAT survey question is:
How satisfied were you with your experience?
Teams often adapt the wording to match the moment being measured, such as support, delivery, checkout, onboarding, or a product feature.
| Scale | Example labels | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Very dissatisfied to very satisfied | Simple post-interaction surveys |
| 1-7 | Very dissatisfied to very satisfied | More detailed satisfaction measurement |
| 1-10 | Not satisfied to extremely satisfied | Teams that want finer score distribution |
How CSAT is calculated
The most common CSAT calculation is the percentage of satisfied responses. On a 1-5 scale, many teams count ratings of 4 and 5 as satisfied.
For example, if 80 out of 100 customers select 4 or 5, the CSAT score is 80%.
When to use CSAT
CSAT works best when you want to understand how customers felt about a specific experience. Because it is direct and easy to answer, it is useful for short feedback loops.
- After a support ticket is resolved
- After checkout or delivery
- After onboarding or implementation
- After a product feature is used
- After an appointment, visit, or consultation
CSAT vs NPS
CSAT and NPS answer different questions. CSAT measures satisfaction with a specific experience. NPS measures loyalty and recommendation intent.
A customer can be satisfied with a single support interaction but still not recommend the company overall. The opposite can also happen: a loyal customer may recommend the brand while still being dissatisfied with one recent experience.
| Metric | Measures | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| CSAT | Satisfaction with a specific moment | Support, checkout, delivery, onboarding, service recovery |
| NPS | Loyalty and likelihood to recommend | Relationship health, advocacy, retention signals |
| CES | How easy an experience was | Support, self-service, issue resolution, task completion |
How to interpret CSAT
A high CSAT score usually means customers are satisfied with the measured interaction. A low score points to friction in that specific journey.
CSAT should be interpreted with response volume, survey timing, customer segment, and open-text comments. The score tells you how many customers were satisfied, but the comments explain what caused satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
- Track CSAT by journey stage or support queue.
- Compare results by customer segment, channel, product, or location.
- Watch trends over time instead of relying on one isolated score.
- Pair CSAT with NPS, CES, retention, churn, and support metrics.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does CSAT stand for?
CSAT stands for Customer Satisfaction Score.
What is a good CSAT score?
Many teams treat 80% or higher as strong, but the right benchmark depends on industry, journey, customer expectations, and survey method.
Is CSAT the same as NPS?
No. CSAT measures satisfaction with a specific experience, while NPS measures loyalty and likelihood to recommend.
When should you send a CSAT survey?
CSAT surveys are usually sent soon after a specific interaction, such as a support case, purchase, delivery, onboarding step, or appointment.