Is CSAT or NPS more important?

Neither is more important - they measure different things. CSAT tells you how a specific interaction went. NPS tells you how customers feel about the relationship overall. Most teams need both.

Can you use CSAT and NPS together?

Yes, and many teams do. Use CSAT after individual support interactions or transactions, and NPS on a quarterly cadence to track overall relationship health and loyalty trends.

Why did my NPS drop but CSAT stay high?

This usually means individual support interactions are going fine, but something structural - pricing, product gaps, a competitor - is eroding overall loyalty. CSAT alone would miss this.

CSAT vs NPS

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) measures how a customer felt about one specific interaction. NPS (Net Promoter Score) measures how a customer feels about the company overall. They answer different questions, and using the wrong one gives you the wrong data.

The Core Difference

	CSAT	NPS
Question	"How satisfied were you with this interaction?"	"How likely are you to recommend us?"
Scale	1-5 (usually)	0-10
Measures	A single transaction	The overall relationship
Best timing	Immediately after a support ticket, purchase, or feature use	Quarterly, not per-transaction
Volatility	Reacts fast to one bad interaction	Moves slowly, reflects trends

When to Use CSAT

Use CSAT right after something specific happens: a support conversation ends, a purchase completes, a feature gets used for the first time. It's a snapshot, not a trend line - which is exactly what makes it useful for spotting problems with a specific agent, workflow, or feature.

When to Use NPS

Use NPS on a recurring cadence (quarterly is typical) to track loyalty over time. It's a poor fit for transaction feedback - asking "would you recommend us?" right after a single support ticket produces noisy, unreliable data. NPS earns its value as a trend line across quarters, not as a one-off score.

Why the Two Can Disagree

A team can have excellent CSAT (support interactions go smoothly) while NPS quietly declines (customers are unhappy about pricing, missing features, or a better competitor offer). CSAT alone would miss this entirely - it only sees the interactions it's asked about. This is the main reason mature support teams track both rather than picking one.

For the full picture, including CES (Customer Effort Score) and how to set these up correctly, see our customer satisfaction measurement methods guide.

Customer Satisfaction - the full definition and how it's measured
Customer Service Metrics - the complete set of support KPIs
Customer Satisfaction Measurement Methods - CSAT, NPS, and CES in depth

CSAT vs NPS

The Core Difference

When to Use CSAT

When to Use NPS

Why the Two Can Disagree

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