CES Calculator — Customer Effort Score
Customer Effort Score (CES) is one of the strongest predictors of customer loyalty. Research by Gartner found that 96% of customers who have high-effort experiences become disloyal, compared to only 9% with low-effort experiences. Unlike satisfaction surveys that capture a moment, CES measures the friction in your processes — and friction is what drives churn.
The CES methodology is simple: after an interaction, ask customers to rate their agreement with the statement 'The company made it easy for me to handle my issue' on a 1-7 scale. The aggregate score reveals whether your support, onboarding, or purchasing processes create unnecessary effort. Companies that reduce customer effort see an average 12% increase in revenue.
This calculator computes your CES from raw survey data. Enter the distribution of scores across the 1-7 scale, compare against industry benchmarks, and identify where effort is concentrated. Use it after support interactions, purchases, onboarding flows, or any customer touchpoint.
5.5/7
Average good CES score
96%
High-effort customers become disloyal
12%
Revenue increase with low effort
Calculate Your CES
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CES (Customer Effort Score)?+
Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how much effort a customer had to exert to get an issue resolved, a request fulfilled, or a product used. It uses a 1-7 scale where 1 means 'very difficult' and 7 means 'very easy'. CES is one of the strongest predictors of future purchasing behavior and customer loyalty.
How do you calculate CES?+
CES is calculated by dividing the sum of all individual scores by the total number of survey responses. For example, if 200 customers respond and the total score is 1,100, the CES is 1,100 / 200 = 5.5. The result falls on a 1-7 scale where higher scores indicate lower customer effort.
What is a good CES score?+
A CES score of 5.5 or above (on a 7-point scale) is generally considered good. Scores above 6.0 are excellent. The average CES varies by industry: SaaS companies average 5.4, e-commerce 5.1, banking 4.8, healthcare 4.5, and telecom 4.2. Any score below 4.0 indicates significant friction that needs immediate attention.
What is the difference between CES and CSAT?+
CES measures effort (how easy it was to interact with your company), while CSAT measures satisfaction (how happy the customer is with the outcome). CES is a better predictor of loyalty — 96% of high-effort customers become disloyal vs. only 9% of low-effort customers. CSAT captures a moment in time, while CES captures the quality of the experience process.
How can I reduce customer effort and improve CES?+
Key strategies to reduce effort: deploy AI chatbots for instant self-service (reduces wait times by 90%), implement omnichannel support so customers don't repeat themselves, proactively communicate status updates, simplify processes like returns and cancellations, and use a unified knowledge base. Companies that reduce effort see a 12% increase in revenue on average.