What the ICE Scoring Calculator does
This calculator ranks ideas with ICE - impact, confidence and ease - on the scale you choose, combining the three scores either as an average or as a product, and shows how sensitive the ranking is: for each idea, the best and worst rank it could take if any one of its scores moved by a single point.
ICE is associated with Sean Ellis and growth teams. It is a fast convention for ordering experiments, not a measurement, and the two combination methods are both in use and rank differently - so the method is a visible choice here, never a hidden default. Ideas stay in your browser.
How to use it
- List each idea with an impact, confidence and ease score. Score them together as a team if you can; that is where most of the value comes from.
- Choose the scale (1-10, 1-5 or 1-3). Every score must sit on it.
- Choose mean or product. The mean lets a strong score offset a weak one; the product punishes any low score.
- Read the ranking and the rank range. Ideas marked stable keep their place under any one-point change; the others are close calls.
- Export the list as CSV, or drop in a CSV from your experiment tracker.
Reading the results
A wide rank range means the order depends on a judgement someone could reasonably make differently. Discuss those scores before committing.
If mean and product put different ideas first, the choice is about risk appetite: the product favours balanced ideas, the mean tolerates one weak dimension.
Confidence should reflect evidence (data, past tests, research), not enthusiasm. Ideas that everyone loves but nobody has evidence for belong lower until tested.
Worked example: average versus product
An idea scored impact 8, confidence 6 and ease 9 has a mean of (8 + 6 + 9) / 3 = 7.67 and a product of 8 x 6 x 9 = 432. A balanced idea at 7, 7, 7 has a mean of 7 and a product of 343, so both methods agree.
Now compare a spiky idea at 10, 10, 1 with an even one at 6, 6, 6. The mean ranks the spiky idea first (7 against 6); the product reverses it (100 against 216). The calculator tells you whenever the two methods disagree on the top idea.
Formulas and scoring rules
- ICE (mean)
score = (impact + confidence + ease) / 3- ICE (product)
score = impact x confidence x ease- Rank
1 + number of ideas with a strictly higher score (ties share a rank)- Rank range
best and worst rank after moving any one of the idea's three scores by +/-1, clamped to the scaleScores shown to 2 decimals (mean) or whole numbers (product).
Limitations: what the result does not prove
- All three scores are subjective, and the same person scoring on different days can give different numbers. ICE is for ordering a shortlist quickly, not for justifying large investments.
- It has no reach term, so an idea affecting a small page can outrank one affecting the whole product if its scores are higher.
- The sensitivity check moves one score at a time. Several small disagreements together can still change the order more.
- Scores from different teams or scales are not comparable; re-score together rather than merging lists.
Privacy: where your data goes
Everything you paste, type or drop is processed in this browser tab. It is not uploaded, logged, stored or sent to analytics. Session recording and tag-manager scripts are switched off on this page.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate an ICE score?
Score impact, confidence and ease on the same scale, usually 1 to 10, then average them or multiply them. The average of 8, 6 and 9 is 7.67; the product is 432. Use one method for the whole list.
Should ICE scores be averaged or multiplied?
Both are common. Averaging lets a strong score compensate for a weak one; multiplying heavily penalises any low score. If the two methods disagree on your top idea, the calculator points it out so you can decide deliberately.
What does confidence mean in ICE scoring?
How sure you are that the idea will have the impact you scored, based on evidence such as analytics, research or a previous test. It is the score most often inflated, so ask what evidence supports it.
What is the ICE sensitivity check?
For each idea, it moves one score up or down by a point and records the best and worst rank the idea could then take. Ideas with a wide range are close calls that deserve discussion.
When should I use ICE instead of RICE?
ICE suits quick experiment backlogs where reach is hard to estimate and effort is small. RICE is better for product roadmaps where reach varies widely and effort is measured in weeks or months.
Can I use a 1 to 5 scale for ICE?
Yes. Choose 1-5 or 1-3 from the scale menu. A shorter scale is quicker to agree on but produces more ties, which the ranking shows by giving tied ideas the same rank.
Last reviewed by the A2Z.Tools team against the sources listed above.
