You have a list of options and no answer. Comparing two at a time asks a much smaller question - and a small question is one you can actually answer.
Try it now
Eight things most people want more of. What's your top pick?
Question 1 of 7 · Which do you prefer?
vs
No account, nothing is saved, and these options cannot be changed.
That was PickChill
The same thing you just did, with your own list instead of ours.
- Add 2 to 32 options of your own, not our eight
- Compare them two at a time and get one top pick
- Or keep a ranking you add to over time
Why a long list stops you
You read the list again. You read it a third time. You still cannot decide. This is normal, and it is not because you are lazy.
A long list asks you to think about every option at the same time. Your working memory holds about four things, so you keep changing which options you think about, you lose your place, and you end up feeling that you have thought hard and still have no answer.
Two options are small enough to compare properly. You do not have to be careful or systematic. You just answer.
What pairwise comparison is
Pairwise comparison means you never look at the whole list. You do this instead:
- Look at two options.
- Answer one question: which of these two do I prefer?
- Answer it again, with a different two, until one option is left.
The method is old and well tested. It is used in research and in planning, usually with a table that somebody fills in by hand. What stops people is the work of filling it in.
Why this works better than a scoring table
The usual advice is a table: your options down the side, what matters across the top, and a mark out of five in every box.
| A scoring table | Comparing two at a time |
|---|---|
| You invent a number for every box | You answer which one you prefer |
| Slow, and most people stop before the end | One small question at a time |
| The answer is only as good as your invented marks | The answer is built from real preferences |
The real problem is that the numbers are invented. You decide that price is worth 3 and comfort is worth 4, and the total is only as good as the numbers you made up. If the answer surprises you, you change the marks until the table agrees with you. Then the table decided nothing.
A comparison never asks you to invent a number. It asks which one you prefer. You already know that, even when you cannot explain it.
How many questions it takes
7
questions, if what you want is one answer. Set aside the option you did not pick, and it is never asked about again.
28
questions, if you compare every possible pair of eight options. That is why it is usually done in a spreadsheet.
If you want the whole list in order instead of one top pick, that takes more questions, because an order holds more information. PickChill does both: a decision gives one top pick and shows how far each option got; a ranking gives the full list in order and stays open, so you can add to it later.
When two options feel the same
This will happen. It does not mean the method failed. It means those two options are close.
What helps is to stop comparing them and ask about loss instead. Imagine one of them is gone - off the list, not available. Notice what you feel. Relief and disappointment are easier to notice than preference, and you feel them faster.
PickChill has a short optional helper for that moment. It asks a few questions of that shape, one option at a time. It does not decide for you. Sometimes it tells you that it really is a tie - and then both answers are good ones.
What it is good for, and what it is not
Good for: real options, between three and about thirty of them, and a decision you have to live with. Where to go. What to build first. Which name. Which offer.
Not for: anything where what you are missing is information. No method can compare two flats you have not seen yet.
It is also not a way to be told what to do. Every answer is yours. Nothing is scored, nothing is judged, and the app has no opinion about your options.
Questions
›What is pairwise comparison, in one sentence?
Comparing two options at a time, again and again, until one option is left.
›How many comparisons will I have to answer?
Seven, for one top pick out of eight options. The number grows slowly as the list grows, because an option you did not pick is never asked about again.
›What if I change my mind halfway through?
That is fine, and it happens often. Comparing options is how people find out what they want. Run it again with what you know now.
›Is this the same as a pros and cons list?
No. A pros and cons list asks you to explain your reasons before you know them. A comparison asks for the preference first. The reasons usually come later, and they are more honest.
›Can I do this with somebody else?
Yes. You can send another person a link to your list and get their answer back next to yours.