Customer effort score calculator
Turn your CES survey answers into an average score, the share of customers who found it easy and the margin of error. Then check whether a change between two periods is real and find the support channel that makes customers work hardest. Free, no sign-up, nothing leaves your browser.
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The method
How to calculate customer effort score
Two common ways to report the same answers.
Ask customers right after an interaction how much they agree with the statement "The company made it easy for me to handle my issue", on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Report the average and the share of customers who agreed. The share is easier to explain to a team and to compare over time; the average shows small shifts inside the scale.
5.33
4,000 ÷ 750 = 5.33
Out of 7, from 750 answers.
76%
(180 + 240 + 150) ÷ 750 = 76%
Customers who agreed it was easy.
+62.7
76% − 13.3% = +62.7
Easy share minus the 13.3% who disagreed.
Scales
7-point, 5-point and the original CES
Check which way your scale runs before comparing numbers.
The first version of CES, published in 2010, asked "How much effort did you personally have to put forth to handle your request?" on a 1 to 5 scale where a lower score was better. The newer version, often called CES 2.0, uses the agreement statement on a 1 to 7 scale where a higher score is better. Many survey tools also offer a 1 to 5 agreement scale.
This calculator uses the 7-point agreement scale. If you use a 5-point agreement scale, enter your answers for 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 in the boxes for 7, 6, 4, 2 and 1 only to get the easy share, but don't compare that average with 7-point results. Never mix scales that run in opposite directions.
Loyalty
Why measure effort?
Customers punish hard service more than they reward great service.
Gartner research on almost 100,000 customers found that 96% of customers with a high-effort service experience became more disloyal, compared with 9% of those with a low-effort experience. The usual causes of effort are repeated contacts, being transferred, repeating information and switching channels. The By channel tab shows where customers work hardest, so you know where to start.
Comparison
Did effort really change?
Survey results move by chance from month to month.
The Compare two periods tab runs a two-proportion z-test on the easy share. Going from 520 easy answers out of 750 (69.3%) to 610 out of 780 (78.2%) is an increase of 8.9 points with a p-value below 0.001: almost certainly a real improvement. With only 100 answers per period, the margin of error is about ±8 points, so a change of a few points is usually noise.
Spreadsheets
CES formulas for Excel and Google Sheets
One rating per row in column B, from B2 to B751.
Average CES
Easy share (5 to 7)
Net easy
FAQ
Customer effort score questions
How do you calculate customer effort score?
Add up all ratings and divide by the number of answers for the average, or divide the answers rated 5 to 7 by all answers for the easy share. 750 answers adding up to 4,000 give an average of 5.33, and 570 answers of 5 or higher give an easy share of 76%.
What is a good CES score?
There is no universal benchmark, because companies use different scales, statements and moments to ask. Published averages are rarely comparable with your own survey. Track your own score over time and compare channels and teams with each other.
Is a higher or lower CES better?
On the agreement scale used here, higher is better: 7 means the customer strongly agrees it was easy. On the original 2010 version, lower was better. Check the direction before you compare numbers.
When should I send a CES survey?
Right after a specific interaction: a support conversation, an onboarding step, a return or a self-service visit. Asking weeks later measures memory, not effort.
What is the difference between CES, CSAT and NPS?
CES measures how easy one interaction was, CSAT how satisfied customers were with it, and NPS how likely they are to recommend the company overall. They answer different questions, so many teams track two or all three.
How many answers do I need?
With 100 answers and a 76% easy share, the 95% range is roughly 67% to 84%. With 750 answers it narrows to 73% to 79%. Fewer than 100 answers per period can show only large changes.
Does the calculator store my data?
No. Everything runs in your browser. The share link keeps your numbers in the address after the # sign, which is not sent to our server.
References
Sources
- Original CES: Matthew Dixon, Karen Freeman and Nicholas Toman, "Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers", Harvard Business Review, July–August 2010
- High-effort and low-effort customers: Gartner customer service research (almost 100,000 customers), as reported in "Why Your Churn Rates Are Too High: Too Much Customer Delight", destinationCRM.com
- Confidence range: Edwin B. Wilson, "Probable Inference, the Law of Succession, and Statistical Inference", Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1927
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