Free decision-making tool
When several options all seem important, ranking them by gut feel is hard to trust, and even harder to defend to your team.
Weigh your priorities, one pair at a time
Priority Grid runs a full paired comparison analysis: compare every option head-to-head, score how much more each one matters, and get a ranked answer you can back up, plus a copy you can keep.
- List your options: anything you're trying to prioritize.
- Compare every pair: for each match-up, pick the one that matters more, or mark them about equal.
- Score the gap: say whether it's slightly, moderately, or much more important.
- Get your ranking: the totals show your real priorities, not just your gut feeling.
This analysis uses criteria mode PRO
Its criteria, weights and scores are all kept in this browser. Unlock Pro to view and keep working on it, or switch to another analysis above.
What are you weighing up?
Add 2 to 10 options. You can rename, add or remove them later without losing the comparisons you've already made.
Your criteria
Add 2 to 6 criteria and set the direction of each one. Next you compare them in pairs to decide how much each one counts.
Which matters more?
Work through each match-up, pick the winner, then rate the gap. If they feel the same, choose About equal.
Which matters more?
Score each option
Rate every option on each criterion from 1 to 5. Check the direction: on a "lower is better" criterion like Effort, 1 is the best score.
Your priority ranking
Based on your comparisons, here's how things stack up.
Score, share and rank
| Option | Score | Share | Rank |
|---|
Criteria weights
| Criterion | Points | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 100% |
Score table
Close calls
These options are 1 point apart or tied. Check their head-to-head before you commit.
Consistency check
Pro lists each loop in your answers and takes you straight to the comparison to fix.
Decision record
No logo yet. PNG, JPG or SVG. Large images are shrunk for you.
Decision record and memo PDF PRO
With Pro, add a one-line reason to each comparison so someone else can follow the order.
Prioritization like this is exactly what powers a healthy Scrum backlog. If you're weighing up product or sprint priorities next, see more free Agile & Scrum guides at What Is Scrum →
Priority Grid Pro
For rankings you have to explain and reuse
The free tool stays free, with no time limit and no sign-up. Pro adds the parts that help you defend a decision to your team and run the same kind of decision again.
- Criteria mode. Weigh criteria like Value, Effort and Risk, then score each option against them.
- A reason for each comparison. One line on why, so others can follow your thinking.
- Decision memo PDF. Owner, date, next step and every reason, ready to share.
- Your logo on the memo. Hand the PDF to a client as your own deliverable.
- Read-only share links. Send stakeholders a link to the ranking and your reasons. They don't need Pro to open it.
- Full consistency check. Lists every place your answers go in a loop and takes you to the pair to fix.
- Templates and Duplicate. 8 starting points for backlogs, hiring, vendors, risks and more.
- Your own comparison question. For example, "Which delivers more value sooner?"
- Unlimited saved analyses. The free version keeps 3.
Pro goes on sale soon.
Secure checkout through Ko-fi. Your license key is emailed to you by hand after purchase.
Pro is unlocked in this browser. Thank you for supporting Priority Grid.
How the license key works
- Buy Pro through Ko-fi.
- I email your license key to the address you used on Ko-fi. Keys are sent by hand, so it may not arrive instantly.
- Paste the key into the Pro window. Pro unlocks in that browser right away.
The key is checked inside your browser and is never sent anywhere. To use Pro on another device or browser, enter the same key there.
What Pro doesn't do
- No account and no sign-in.
- No cloud sync. Each browser keeps its own analyses, so use Export backup to move them.
- No live team collaboration. Pro is built for the person who runs the decision.
Frequently asked questions
What Priority Grid is, and how paired comparison analysis works.
What is paired comparison analysis?
Paired comparison analysis is a decision-making technique where you compare every option against every other option, one pair at a time, and pick which one matters more. It's useful when your priorities are subjective, your criteria are hard to compare directly, or you don't have hard data to rank things objectively.
▶ Watch: paired comparison analysis explained in 2 minutes
How does the Priority Grid tool work?
List your options, then work through the comparison grid it builds automatically. For each pair, pick the option that matters more and rate how much more important it is: slightly, moderately, or much more. If two options feel the same, mark them as about equal. On a computer, you can answer with the keyboard, and the next open pair appears as soon as you save. Priority Grid totals the scores and ranks your options from highest to lowest priority. Above the ranking, a short verdict says in plain words whether there is a clear top priority, or which part of the order isn't settled yet.
What do the weight scores (1, 2, 3) mean?
The weight captures how much more important the winning option is in that pair: 1 means slightly more important, 2 means moderately more important, and 3 means much more important. Those points are added to the winning option's total score, so options that win by bigger margins rank higher overall. A pair marked about equal counts as answered, and neither option gets points.
Can I save more than one analysis?
Yes. Give each analysis a name and switch between them from the bar above the steps. The free version keeps up to 3 analyses in your browser, and Priority Grid Pro has no limit. Use Export backup to save any analysis as a file you can import later, on this device or another one.
What does Priority Grid Pro add?
Pro adds criteria mode (weigh criteria like Value, Effort and Risk, then score each option against them), unlimited saved analyses, a one-line reason for each comparison, a consistency check that finds answers that go in a loop, templates and duplicate for recurring decisions, your own comparison question, a decision memo PDF with the owner, date, next step and your own logo, and read-only share links for stakeholders. Like the free tool, Pro runs entirely in your browser.
What is criteria mode?
Criteria mode is a Pro way to rank options against several criteria at once. List 2 to 6 criteria, such as Value, Urgency, Effort and Risk, and mark whether higher or lower is better. Compare the criteria in pairs to give each one a weight; every criterion keeps 1 base point, so none is dropped. Then score each option from 1 to 5 on every criterion. Priority Grid turns this into a weighted score out of 100 per option and shows which criteria drove each score. A short verdict says whether the top option is clearly ahead or too close to call.
How does the Pro license key work?
After you buy Pro you receive a license key. Paste it into the Pro window and Pro unlocks in that browser. The key is checked inside your browser and is never sent anywhere. To use Pro on another device or browser, enter the same key there.
Is my data saved anywhere, or is it private?
Everything stays in your own browser. Priority Grid saves your analyses in local storage on your device only. Nothing is uploaded to a server, and no one else can see your options or comparisons unless you send them a share link. Clearing your browser data also deletes them, and Safari can clear them if you don't open the page for 7 days, so export a backup of anything you want to keep.
Can I put my own logo on the decision memo?
Yes, with Priority Grid Pro. Upload a PNG, JPG or SVG logo once in the Decision record on the Results step. Your browser shrinks it to under about 60 KB and saves it on that device, and it prints at the top of every decision memo next to your team or organization name. The logo is never uploaded and is not included in share links. It is included in your backup files, so importing a backup on another device brings the logo with it.
Can I save or share my results?
Yes. From the Results step you can download a CSV of your comparisons and rankings, or use Print / Save as PDF for a clean report with your ranked results. With Priority Grid Pro you can also copy a read-only share link to send to your team or stakeholders.
How do share links work?
In Priority Grid Pro, the Results step has Copy share link. The analysis is compressed into the link itself, after the # sign, so nothing is uploaded to a server. Anyone who opens the link sees a read-only view of the ranking, plus the reasons and decision record if you chose to include them, and can save their own copy. They don't need Pro to open it. Anyone with the link can see its content, and a link can't be switched off once it's sent, so share it only with people who should see the analysis.