Respondents drag a list of items into their own order of preference — the standard way to capture priority or preference across a set of options.
What respondents see#
A list of answer options (items) that respondents drag to reorder, from most to least preferred (or by whatever instruction you give). Depending on your Answers Display setting, items render as a plain list, image cards, or a mixed image + text layout.
When to use it#
- Prioritize a list of features, brands, or attributes.
- "Rank your top 3" preference exercises.
- Any question where relative order matters more than an absolute rating per item.
Configuring it in the builder#
- Add your items as answer options, same as a choice question.
- In Settings, choose the Answers Display mode (text / image / both) — same control used by single choice, multiple choice, and matrix.
- In Validation, turn on Selection Limits to require a minimum and/or maximum number of items ranked (respondents aren't forced to rank every item unless you require the full count).
Settings reference#
| Setting | What it controls | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Answers Display | Card layout for items (text/image/both) | Text |
| Minimum Selections | Fewest items that must be ranked (0 = no minimum) | 0 |
| Maximum Selections | Most items that can be ranked | All items |
| Best Label | Text shown at the top/best end of the ranking list | "Best" |
| Worst Label | Text shown at the bottom/worst end of the ranking list | "Worst" |
| Item Order (Randomization) | Randomize, reverse, or hold fixed the order items are presented in — plus advanced order/lock/show-N-of-M/Least Fill controls | Fixed |
Best/Worst labels only appear on the native Ranking question — the Tap & Drag Rank and Group Rank plugins hide them since their layouts don't have a fixed top/bottom axis. See Randomization & Section Loops for the full randomization option set.
Related plugins: Tap & Drag Rank and Group Rank are mobile-optimized ranking interfaces built on the same base type — see Custom Interfaces.
Logic support#
Ranking has its own position-based condition operators, since the stored answer is an ordered list rather than a single value:
| Operator | Meaning | Inputs |
|---|---|---|
| Item ranked at | A specific item is at an exact position | Item + position |
| Item not ranked at | A specific item is NOT at that position | Item + position |
| Items ranked count = | The number of ranked items equals a count | Count |
| Is empty | Nothing was ranked | — |
| Is not empty | At least one item was ranked | — |
Items the respondent didn't rank are treated as not matching any position. See Display logic — Ranking for the full reference and examples (e.g. "Show follow-up if 'Quality' is in top 3").
Related guides#
- Question Types — overview and when-to-use table
- Custom Interfaces — Tap & Drag Rank, Group Rank, and other ranking plugins
- Display Logic — full ranking operator table
- Randomization & Section Loops — item randomization options and looping a ranking question per section
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