> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://formbricks.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Customer Effort Score (CES) > CES asks how much effort a task took, usually as agreement with a statement. Use it after something the customer had to get done. CES measures how hard something was, not how much someone liked it. It is the right question after a task with a clear finish line — opening an account, changing a plan, getting a refund — because effort predicts whether people come back better than satisfaction does. Phrase it as a statement to agree or disagree with, not a question. "Opening my account was easy" reads more naturally on an agreement scale than "How easy was opening your account?". ## Elements The CES question type in the survey editor ### Title Write the statement the respondent is agreeing or disagreeing with, and keep it to one task. A statement covering two steps produces an answer you cannot act on. ### Description Provide an optional description with further instructions. ### Scale Choose how the points are displayed: | Scale | When to use | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Number** | The usual choice for CES, because agreement scales are conventionally numeric. | | **Smiley** | Faster to answer, though it reads as satisfaction rather than effort. | | **Star** | Rarely the right fit — stars imply quality, not ease. | ### Range CES supports **5** or **7** points. Seven is the more common convention for agreement scales and gives respondents a finer choice; five is quicker to answer and easier to read on a phone. Pick one and keep it, since scores from different ranges are not comparable. ### Labels Add labels for the lower and upper ends, for example "Strongly disagree" and "Strongly agree". ### Add color coding Adds red, orange and green colour codes to the options. ## How to choose between CES, CSAT and NPS * **CES** — how much *effort* did this take? Ask after a task the customer had to complete. * **[CSAT](/docs/surveys/question-type/csat)** — how did *this interaction* go? Ask straight after it. * **[NPS](/docs/surveys/question-type/net-promoter-score)** — how do you feel about *the company*? Ask periodically, not after a single event.