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ICE Scoring Calculator

Prioritize features with ICE

Score Impact, Confidence, and Ease on a 1-10 scale, then sort and compare. Free, no signup required.

Score your features

Score
Score
Score

ICE Score = (Impact + Confidence + Ease) / 3  ·  Scale: 1-10 each

Background

What is ICE scoring?

ICE is a prioritization framework popularized by Sean Ellis for scoring growth experiments and feature ideas. It evaluates each idea on three dimensions: Impact, Confidence, and Ease.

Each dimension is scored from 1 to 10. The ICE score is the average of all three, giving you a single number from 1.0 to 10.0 to rank and compare ideas. The simplicity is the point — you can score a backlog of 50 items in 15 minutes.

The three dimensions

What each letter stands for

01 / 03

Impact

How much will this move your key metric? A 10 means a step-change improvement. A 1 means barely noticeable.

02 / 03

Confidence

How sure are you about the impact? A 10 means you have data or strong evidence. A 1 means you are guessing.

03 / 03

Ease

How easy is this to implement? A 10 means a few hours of work. A 1 means months of complex engineering.

Comparison

ICE vs RICE

ICE and RICE are both prioritization frameworks, but they serve different needs. ICE is faster and simpler — three scores, one average. RICE adds a Reach dimension and uses multiplication, making it more precise but requiring more data.

Use ICE for quick experiments and early-stage ideas. Use RICE when you have quantitative reach data and need higher-fidelity rankings.

ICE
RICE
Factors
Impact, Confidence, Ease
Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort
Formula
Average (I+C+E)/3
(R×I×C)/E
Scale
1-10 each
Mixed units
Speed
Very fast
Moderate
Data needed
Low
High (reach data)
Best for
Experiments, MVPs
Mature products

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the ICE scoring model?

ICE is a lightweight prioritization framework that scores ideas by three factors: Impact (how much will this move the needle), Confidence (how sure are you about the impact), and Ease (how easy is it to implement). Each factor is scored from 1 to 10. The ICE score is the average of all three: (Impact + Confidence + Ease) / 3.

How do you calculate an ICE score?

The ICE score formula is: (Impact + Confidence + Ease) / 3. Each factor is rated on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is the lowest and 10 is the highest. A higher ICE score indicates a higher-priority item. The simplicity of the framework makes it fast to apply across a large backlog.

When should I use ICE vs RICE?

Use ICE when you need a quick, rough prioritization — it works well for growth experiments, A/B tests, and early-stage ideas where you don't have detailed reach data. Use RICE when you have quantitative data about user reach and need more precision. ICE is faster to score; RICE is more rigorous.

What do the ICE scoring numbers mean?

Each factor uses a 1-10 scale. For Impact: 10 means a transformative effect on your key metric, 1 means barely noticeable. For Confidence: 10 means you have strong data or evidence, 1 means it's a guess. For Ease: 10 means trivial to implement (hours), 1 means extremely difficult (months of work).

Who invented the ICE framework?

The ICE scoring framework was popularized by Sean Ellis, the growth marketing expert who coined the term "growth hacking." It was designed for prioritizing growth experiments quickly, but is now widely used by product teams for general feature prioritization.

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