Ranking question · Ranking

Ranking questions

Ask people to put a list in order, from what matters most down. They can rank the whole list or just their top 3, by dragging or with buttons, on any device. You see each item’s average rank and how often it came first.

Available onFree & up· every plan
The Ranking question as respondents see it on a laptop and a phone

Live demo

Rank them. Your answer joins the results.

This is the question your respondents get. Drag an item, or use the arrows, and the results beside it recalculate with your ranking counted.

Rank these by how much they matter when you choose a new phone. Put the most important at the top.

  1. Battery life
  2. Camera
  3. Price
  4. Screen
  5. Storage

In action

The ranking question in action

Ranking in action · One respondent drags Battery life to the top, another uses the arrow buttons, a third ranks a top 3 on a phone, and the results update.
  1. 0:00A respondent sees five items in a shuffled order, each numbered from 1. Nothing is recorded yet.
  2. 0:03They drag Battery life to the top by its grip. The list renumbers, and their answer joins the results.
  3. 0:06A second respondent starts from a different order, tabs to Price’s up button and presses it twice.
  4. 0:09On a phone, a third respondent ranks a top 3: Add, Add, Add. Their answer joins at the third.
  5. 0:12They swap two with the up button, and the results update: each item’s % ranked #1 and its average rank.

Every feature

Everything the ranking question can do

Rank a whole list or a top N, four ways to answer, a fair start order, and results that show both the average and the favourite.

Build it your waySet-up in the builder.

LiveFree

Four ways to answer

Drag and drop is the default. Or show a radio grid with a column per rank, a dropdown beside each item, or a box to type a number in.

LiveFree

Rank all, or just the top N

Leave Limit to top N empty and people rank the whole list. Set it to 3 and they fill three numbered slots, and the rest stay unranked.

LiveFree

A shuffled start order

Shuffle the items for each person, so no item starts at the top for everyone. The order holds if they go Back or resume, and it is saved with the answer.

Mark an item Fixed position to keep it in place while the rest shuffle.

LiveFree

Alphabetical start order

Or start the list from A to Z, with fixed items pinned.

LiveFree

Rank only what they picked

Carry the answers from an earlier multi-select into a ranking, so people rank only what they chose. A top N is checked against the items each person sees.

LiveFree

Pipe and carry forward a ranking

Insert the ranked items, in order, into a later question. Or carry the items in someone’s top N forward into the next question.

Conditions see which items were ranked, not where. There is no rule for “ranked first” yet.

LiveFree

Show an item to some people only

Give an item its own display rule, “Show this option only when”, and people who don’t meet it never see it.

LiveFree

Required, soft required or optional

Required by default. A soft-required ranking warns once before a skip, and an optional one can be left alone.

LiveFree

Paste the list

Paste one item per line with Bulk edit, or start from the Answer library.

LiveFree

Import from Excel or Qualtrics

A RANK or RANKING row in a sheet, or a Qualtrics Rank Order question, comes in as a ranking.

Set the display and any top N after importing.

On the respondent’s screenWhat people answering see and use.

LiveFree

No mouse needed

Every item has up and down buttons, 44px tall, so people can rank with a keyboard or a thumb. Dragging is never the only way.

Try it in the demo above: Tab to an item’s buttons and press Enter.
LiveFree

Drag works on phones

Touch an item’s handle and drag it into place, or tap the arrows instead.

LiveFree

Numbered slots for a top N

A top 3 shows three numbered slots, a counter such as 2 / 3, and the unranked items below with an Add button. When the slots are full, the rest lock until one is removed.

LiveFree

Nothing recorded until they rank

A whole-list ranking records no answer until the person moves an item or ticks Keep this order. The start order never counts as an answer by accident.

LiveFree

Rank chips on a phone

In the radio grid display, a phone shows each item as a card with a row of round rank buttons, big enough to tap.

LiveFree

Every move read out

Whether people rank the whole list or a top N, a screen reader hears where an item lands after each move, such as “Camera moved to position 1 of 5”.

LiveFree

Item labels in every language

Items translate per survey language, like any answer list.

LiveFree

Checked on the server

Every answer is checked again when it’s saved: no unknown items, no item twice, no more than the top N, and every item ranked when the whole list is required, on any display.

In your analysisResults, crosstabs and tab books.

LiveFree

Average rank and % ranked #1

Results shows every item’s average rank, lower is better, with the share who put it first and its n, listed by % ranked #1, then average rank. An item that is often first but averages mid-pack stands out.

LiveFree

A clear base, even for a top N

On a whole list every item counts over everyone who answered. In a top N, % ranked #1 is over everyone who answered, and the average rank is over the people who ranked the item, shown with its n and a not-ranked count. No item drops off the list.

LiveSolo+

Crosstab a ranking

Put a ranking in the rows against age, region or any banner, with each item’s % ranked #1 in the “Ranked most important” rows, and its average rank in the “Average rank (1 = most important)” rows.

LiveProfessional+

Test the differences

Letters at 95% and 99% mark where one group puts an item first more often than another, or gives it a higher average rank, which means it matters less to them.

LiveResearch Team

Ranking tables in tab books

Each ranking gets a table with a “Ranked most important” block and an “Average rank (1 = most important)” block across your banner.

LiveResearch Team

Weighted when you weight

Weights carry through to the average rank and % ranked #1 in Results, crosstabs and tab books.

In your dataWhat lands in your exports.

LiveFree

One column per item

Each item gets its own column holding its rank, so a 1 in the column ending _2 means Camera came first. Rewording an item never renames its column.

LiveFree

The start order, saved

When the list is shuffled, the _order column holds the order each person was shown, such as 4|5|2|1|3.

LiveFree

A top N leaves the rest blank

In a top 3, the items left out are blank and the ranked ones hold 1 to 3.

A blank looks the same as a question that wasn’t answered.

LiveProfessional+

Ordinal in SPSS

Each rank column is a numeric, ordinal variable labelled with the question and the item.

LiveFree

Numbers in Excel

Excel cells hold numbers, ready to sort and average.

Not part of a ranking yet: dashboard tiles and report slides, pictures as items, an Other or Don’t know item, and rules on where an item was ranked. For best and worst picks over a long list, use MaxDiff (Research Team).

Other displays

Not everyone wants to drag

Pick a different display under Display in the builder. Every display records the same answer, so your results and exports don’t change.

  • Display · Dropdowns
    The ranking question in the Dropdowns display: a dropdown beside each item, holding Battery life 1, Camera 3, Price 2, Screen 4, Storage 5

    A dropdown beside each item

    Pick a rank from 1 to 5 for each item. Each rank can be used once, so picking a taken rank moves it.

  • Display · Radio grid
    The ranking question in the Radio grid display: a table with a column for each rank from 1 to 5 and a row per item, with Battery life 1, Camera 3, Price 2, Screen 4, Storage 5 picked

    A column for each rank

    Items are rows and ranks are columns, one pick per rank. On a phone each item becomes a card with round rank buttons to tap.

  • Display · Text boxes
    The ranking question in the Text boxes display: a number box beside each item, holding Battery life 1, Camera 3, Price 2, Screen 4, Storage 5

    Type a number

    A box beside each item for its rank. Handy when people are copying a ranking they already have.

On every display, a required ranking needs every item ranked before the respondent can go on, or exactly the number you set for a top N.

Build it

Add a ranking question

  1. 1

    Add the question

    In the builder, add a question and choose Ranking. Write the question so people know which end is first, such as “Rank these by how much they matter when you choose a new phone. Put the most important at the top.”

  2. 2

    Add the items

    Type each item under Items to Rank, or paste one per line with Bulk edit. Three to seven items are easy to rank on a phone.

  3. 3

    Choose the display

    Keep Drag & drop, or pick Radio grid, Dropdowns or Text boxes. Every display records the same answer.

  4. 4

    Rank all, or a top N

    Leave Limit to top N empty to rank the whole list, or type 3 for a top 3. If the items are carried forward from an earlier question, the top N is checked against the items each person sees.

  5. 5

    Shuffle the start order

    In Randomization, shuffle the items so each person starts from a different order. Mark an item Fixed position to keep it where it is.

  6. 6

    Set the rules and preview

    In Answer rules, keep it required, or make it soft required or optional. A required ranking asks people to move an item or tick Keep this order. Preview on a phone too.

The Ranking editor for “Rank these by how much they matter when you choose a new phone. Put the most important at the top.”: Display set to Drag & drop, Limit to top N empty with the placeholder All 5, and the five items under Items to Rank with Bulk edit and Answer library, beside the live preview of the drag list with its grips and up and down arrows, “Drag or use the arrows to reorder” and an unticked Keep this order box
EditorDisplay, top N and the items in one place.
The Randomization section: Enable option randomization ticked, Method set to Shuffle (random per respondent), and an anchor box for each option, none ticked
Start orderA different start for each person.
The builder’s phone preview of the top-3 question, “Rank your top 3: what matters most when you choose a new phone?”: the heading “Rank your top 3” and its counter, three empty numbered slots reading “Drag an item here”, then Not ranked with all five items, each with “+ Add”
Phone previewA top 3 on a narrow screen.

The data you get

One column per item, holding its rank

Each item gets its own numeric column with the place it was ranked, 1 for first. So you can sort, average and test the ranks in any tool, without splitting text apart.

respondent_idQ1_1Battery lifeQ1_2CameraQ1_3PriceQ1_4ScreenQ1_5StorageQ1_order
47762a85-0001-4000-8000-000000000001352414|5|2|1|3
47762a85-0002-4000-8000-000000000002132454|5|3|2|1
47762a85-0003-4000-8000-000000000003231543|4|2|5|1
47762a85-0004-4000-8000-000000000004425135|3|2|4|1
47762a85-0005-4000-8000-000000000005251434|5|3|2|1
47762a85-0006-4000-8000-000000000006134522|4|1|3|5
47762a85-0007-4000-8000-000000000007245314|2|5|1|3
47762a85-0008-4000-8000-000000000008354215|4|1|2|3

Trimmed to the question’s columns. The item names under each header are for reading here; the file holds the column names only. The _order column is the order each person was shown, by item code. Every export also carries the standard respondent columns (status, timing, weight and more).

Asked for a top 3

respondent_idQ1_1Q1_2Q1_3Q1_4Q1_5
47762a85-0001-4000-8000-0000000000013(empty)2(empty)1
47762a85-0002-4000-8000-000000000002132(empty)(empty)
47762a85-0003-4000-8000-000000000003231(empty)(empty)
47762a85-0004-4000-8000-000000000004(empty)2(empty)13
47762a85-0005-4000-8000-0000000000052(empty)1(empty)3
47762a85-0006-4000-8000-00000000000613(empty)(empty)2
47762a85-0007-4000-8000-0000000000072(empty)(empty)31
47762a85-0008-4000-8000-0000000000083(empty)(empty)21

In a top 3, the items someone left out are blank. A blank looks the same as a question that wasn’t answered, so check the top N setting when you analyse it.

One column per item

The column is named after the question and the item’s code, such as the one ending _2 for Camera. Rewording an item never renames its column.

The rank, as a number

Each cell holds the place the item was ranked, 1 for first. Excel gets number cells, ready to sort and average.

The start order

When you shuffle the items, the _order column records the order each person was shown, so you can check for order effects.

Ordinal in SPSS

Each rank column comes measured as ordinal, labelled with the question and the item, with nothing to set up first.

A top N

Items outside a person’s top N are blank. The ranked ones hold 1 to N. A blank looks the same as a question that wasn’t answered.

Weighting

Weighted exports carry a weight column, and the SPSS syntax sets WEIGHT BY weight. Weighting is on Research Team.

Charts & analysis

Which item wins, and for whom

Every ranking is charted for you: each item’s average rank and its share ranked first, side by side. Crosstab it against any banner and test the differences.

The Surveti Results ranking card for the phone question: “Average rank (1 = most important) · bar shows how close to #1”, then every item listed by % ranked #1, then average rank, each with its average rank, its n and its % ranked #1 (Price 2.83 (39% ranked #1), Battery life 2.47 (19% ranked #1), Camera 3.05 (17% ranked #1), Screen 3.29 (14% ranked #1), Storage 3.37 (10% ranked #1)) above a bar, and n = 150 completed responses
ResultsEach bar shows how close the item’s average comes to first place. Price is ranked first most often (39%), but Battery life has the better average. Read both: one shows the favourite, the other the consensus.

Where it charts

  • ResultsAverage rank, % ranked #1, n
  • CrosstabsIn the rows, against any banner
  • Tab booksBoth blocks, with letters
  • ExportsA rank column per item
  • DashboardNot yet
  • Report deckNot yet
A Surveti tab-book table of the phone ranking by age: Total, 18–34, 35–54 and 55+ lettered A to C with their bases, a “Ranked most important” block with each item’s count above its percentage, an “Average rank (1 = most important)” block with each item’s average rank to two decimals, significance letters under the cells that differ, and footnotes for the letter levels and the average-rank rule
Tab bookThe same table in a tab book, on Research Team: each item’s count above its share in the “Ranked most important” rows, then each average rank to two decimals, with the letters and the two footnotes under the table. Price is ranked first by 57% of 55+ against 28% of 18–34, and averages 2.22 against 3.25, so 18–34’s higher average carries the letter C: Price matters less to them.

Rank these by how much they matter when you choose a new phone, by age% ranked #1 and average rank, letters at 95% and 99%

Crosstabs · Solo+Letters · Professional+
The Surveti Crosstabs view of the phone ranking by age: Total, 18–34, 35–54 and 55+ lettered A to C, with the base for each column, a “Ranked most important” block with each item’s share ranked first, an “Average rank (1 = most important)” block with each item’s average rank, significance letters beside the cells that differ, small-base caution notes, and the note that letters on average-rank rows mark a significantly higher average rank, which means less important
Both blocks are over everyone in the column who answered. In the “Ranked most important” rows, a letter marks a share significantly higher than the column with that letter. In the “Average rank (1 = most important)” rows, a letter marks a significantly higher average, which means the item matters less to that group: Camera averages 3.5 for 55+ against 2.4 for 18–34. Letters need Professional+. On Solo the table still runs, without letters.

Analysis that applies

  • Crosstabs

    Solo+

    Put the ranking in the rows against age, region or any other banner. Each item gets its % ranked #1 in the “Ranked most important” rows and its average rank in the “Average rank (1 = most important)” rows, in every column.

    Crosstabs

  • Significance letters

    Professional+

    A test of proportions on % ranked #1 and Welch’s t-test on average rank, in the same table, on effective bases.

    Significance testing

  • Tab books

    Research Team

    Every ranking gets a table with a “Ranked most important” block and an “Average rank (1 = most important)” block across your banner, letters and footnotes included.

  • Weighting

    Research Team

    Weights carry through to the average rank and % ranked #1 in Results, crosstabs and tab books, and weighted exports carry the weight column.

Reading a ranking score

Ranking scores aren’t comparable across tools

Survey tools sum up a ranking in different ways, so the same answers give different numbers. Before you compare a result with one from another tool, check how each was worked out.

  • Average rank, lower is better. Surveti, Typeform and Qualtrics average the place each item got, so 1.00 would mean everyone put it first.25, 26, 18
  • Weighted average, higher is better. SurveyMonkey turns places into weights, first = 5 down to last = 1, and averages them.1
  • Summed score. Alchemer adds the same weights up instead of averaging, so the score grows with the number of people. In a top N, an unranked item scores 0.38, 40
  • Fractional score. SurveySparrow gives first place 1, and each place after it 1/n less, where n is the number of items, then sums.53
  • What Surveti shows. Average rank and the share who put the item first, each with its n. No points score, so nothing depends on weights you didn’t choose.

The same 150 rankings, four waysEach tool’s documented formula, applied to the demo’s answers

ItemAverage rankSurveti, Typeform, Qualtrics · lower winsWeighted averageSurveyMonkey · higher winsSummed scoreAlchemer · higher winsFractional scoreSurveySparrow · higher wins
Battery life2.473.53529105.8
Camera3.052.9544388.6
Price2.833.1747695.2
Screen3.292.7140781.4
Storage3.372.6339579.0

Arithmetic on the demo’s answers with each tool’s documented formula, not a capture of any tool. The order is the same here, because everyone ranked every item. In a top N the summed scores also depend on how unranked items are counted, so the order can change too.

How Surveti compares

Ranking questions across the common survey tools

Ranking capabilities in Surveti, SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, Typeform and Alchemer, as of 30 October 2026
CapabilitySurvetiSurveyMonkeyQualtricsTypeformAlchemer
Ranking question on the free plan (or entry plan)yesEvery plan, all four displaysunclear11, 2Not named for Basicyes20Rank order on the free accountyes27Ranking on Freeno47No free plan
Radio-button grid rankingyesRadio grid display; chips on phonespartial56, 3Only a matrix “Forced Ranking” settingyes13Radio Buttons formatno25Drag or dropdown onlyyes39Ranking Grid
Rank the top N onlyyesNumbered slots, exactly N if required, against the items shownpartial1No setting; N/A per rowyes13“Must rank between”, not on drag and droppartial28, 33In the API, not the builderyes40“Limit answers to”
Randomise the item orderyesShuffle per person, Fixed position, every planpaid1, 6Paid featureunclear16Rank order not namedyes25Randomizeyes43Both ranking types
Carry selected items into a rankingyesEvery plan; top N checked against what’s carriedpaid5Ranking can receiveyes17The documented exampleno34Not availablepartial39, 48Piping, discouraged; Professional+
Use a ranking’s answer later (pipe, carry forward, logic)partialPipe and carry forward; logic sees which items, not whereno5Not a carry-forward senderunclear17Carrying the order out not coveredno25No logic or recallpartial39Grid can be a logic target only
Ranking on a phone without draggingyesArrows, + Add, rank chips; touch drag toopartial1, 2Dropdowns when N/A is onunclear13, 22No mobile section; a 2022 complaintpartial25, 30Dropdown in Preview onlyyes38, 39Tap in order on mobile
Must rank every itemyesEvery display, client and serverunclear1Not statedpartial13Not on drag and dropunclear25Not statedpartial38, 39Designed to rank all; enforcement not stated
Untouched start order not counted as an answeryesRecorded once an item moves or Keep this order is tickedunclear1Not coveredyes13, 21Recorded as unansweredunclear25Not coveredunclear38Not covered
Rank distribution (count per position)noAverage rank and % ranked #1 onlyyes1Distribution viewpartial13, 23Not explicit; stacked-bar adviceyes26Grouped chartyes38Distribution per row
Crosstab a rankingpaid% ranked #1 and average rank per item · Solo+no8Ranking not a crosstab typeunclear19, 20Not mentioned; not on freeunclear26Not documentedno38, 45Not in the compatible types
Significance testing on a rankingpaidProportions and Welch’s t · Professional+paid7Compare Rulesunclear19Not documentedunclear26Not documentedno38, 45Not in the compatible reports
Export: one column per item holding its rankyesNumeric columns on every plan; ordinal in SPSS · Professional+unclear9, 10Layout not spelled outyes13A column per itemno31One text cellyes38, 39Each item its own column
As of 30 Oct 2026, from each vendor’s public help pages and pricing.yespartialpaidunclearno

Partial means partly built in or possible only with a documented workaround; paid means built in on paid tiers or licences only; unclear means the vendor’s docs don’t settle it. Google Forms, QuestionPro and SurveySparrow were also reviewed. Google Forms has no ranking question; the usual workaround is a multiple choice grid limited to one choice per column. QuestionPro offers rank order by dropdown and a drag and drop type with images and limits on how many items are ranked. SurveySparrow reports a rank order as a summed score where first place is 1.

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What’s different here

The start order is never an answer

A whole-list ranking records nothing until someone moves an item or ticks Keep this order. So the first item in the list can’t win just because people scrolled past.

Rank on a phone, any way

Drag by touch, tap the arrows, add items to a top N, or use rank chips in the radio grid. Every display, on every plan.

A ranking in a crosstab

% ranked #1 and average rank per item against any banner, with letters. Crosstabs are on Solo+, letters on Professional+.

Rank all, or a top N

Set a top 3 and people fill three numbered slots. It’s checked against the items each person sees, even when they’re carried forward.

Four ways to answer

Drag and drop, a radio grid, dropdowns or text boxes, all saving the same answer, so switching display never changes your data.

A rank column per item, SPSS-ready

Every export has one numeric column per item, on every plan. In SPSS each is an ordinal variable labelled with its item, on Professional+.

When to use it

Use a ranking when you need a clear order of priorities

When to use it

  • You need people to choose between items, not rate them all as important.
  • You want an order of priorities: features, benefits, brands or messages.
  • The list is short, about three to seven items. For a longer list, ask for a top 3.
  • You want to rank only what people chose earlier. Carry those items forward into the ranking.

When to reach for something else

  • You need to know how far apart items are, not just their order. Use constant sum or a rating scale.
  • The list is long and every item needs a score. Use MaxDiff (Research Team).
  • Two items can truly tie, or some items don’t apply to everyone. Use a rating per item.
  • You want people to sort items into groups, not order them. Use card sort.

Sample wording

“Rank these by how much they matter when you choose a new phone. Put the most important at the top.” Battery life · Camera · Price · Screen · Storage

Best practices

  • Say which end is first in the question, such as “most important at the top”.
  • Shuffle the start order, so no item gets a head start from being listed first.
  • Keep items short and of the same kind, so they’re easy to compare.
  • Read the average rank and the % ranked #1 together. One shows the consensus, the other the favourite.
  • Preview it on a phone before you launch.

Accessibility

Rank without a mouse, or without the screen

Buttons for every move

Each item has up and down buttons, and a top N has Add and Remove. Tab to them and press Enter or Space, so dragging is never needed.

Every move read out

After each move a screen reader hears where the item landed, such as “Camera moved to position 1 of 5”. The top N slots and the unranked items are named lists.

Room to tap

Every move button is at least 44px. In the radio grid, a phone shows each item as a card with big round rank buttons.

Standard controls

The dropdown and text box displays use the browser’s own select and number fields, which every screen reader knows.

Use it in

Templates and solutions that use rankings

Template

Product Feature Prioritization

“Rank these features from most to least important.” Four features, next to a MaxDiff.

Template

Brand Awareness & Perception

“Rank the following brands from most to least preferred.” Four brands.

Solution

Product research

Find which features to build first, and for whom.

Solution

Market research

Rank brands, benefits and messages, then cut them by any audience.

Frequently asked questions

How many items can people rank?

Three to seven is comfortable, especially on a phone. For a longer list, set Limit to top N, so people pick and order just their top 3. If you need a score for every item in a long list, use MaxDiff (Research Team).

How does Surveti score a ranking?

Results shows each item’s average rank, where lower is better, and the share of people who ranked it first, each with its n. On a whole list, both are over everyone who answered. In a top N, % ranked #1 is still over everyone who answered, and each item’s average rank is over the people who ranked it, shown with that n and a count of people who left it out. Items are listed by % ranked #1, then average rank. When you weight Results (Research Team), both figures are weighted.

What if someone doesn’t move anything?

Nothing is recorded. A whole-list ranking counts once the person moves an item or ticks Keep this order, for when the order shown is already theirs. A required ranking asks for one of the two before they can go on. An optional one can be skipped.

What does ranking data look like in an export?

One numeric column per item, named by the item’s code and holding the place it was ranked, so a 1 in the column ending _2 means Camera, the item coded 2, came first. In a top N, items left out are blank. When the start order is shuffled, the _order column records what each person saw. In SPSS (Professional+) each column is an ordinal variable labelled with its item.

Can I compare rankings between groups?

Yes. Crosstabs (Solo+) put the ranking against any banner, such as age. Each column shows every item’s % ranked #1, in the “Ranked most important” rows, and its average rank. On Professional+, letters mark the differences; on an average rank the letter goes on the higher average, which means less important. Tab books (Research Team) give every ranking the same table across your whole banner.

Can people rank on a phone, or without a mouse?

Yes. On a phone they can drag by touch or tap the arrows. With a keyboard, every item has up and down buttons, and a top N has Add and Remove. The radio grid shows big rank buttons on a phone.

Is a ranking better than a rating scale?

They answer different questions. A ranking forces a choice, so you learn what comes first. A rating scale tells you how much people like each item, and two items can score the same. If everything is likely to be rated “very important”, a ranking shows what really leads.

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