RICE Score Calculator
The RICE score of a piece of work — reach times impact times confidence, divided by effort — and the same for a second item so the two rank against each other, with what each factor contributes and what would change the order.
RICE turns a prioritisation argument into four numbers: how many people a piece of work reaches in a period, how much it affects each of them, how sure you are, and how much effort it takes.
How the rice score calculator works
RICE turns a prioritisation argument into four numbers: how many people a piece of work reaches in a period, how much it affects each of them, how sure you are, and how much effort it takes. Multiply the first three and divide by the last, and the score is impact-per-unit-effort. Two items compared this way rank by value for money; the score also says how much cheaper or surer the loser would need to be to overtake.
Formula: RICE = reach × impact × confidence / effort
Worked examples
| Inputs | Higher-priority item | Note |
|---|---|---|
| A broad medium item against a narrow big one | Item A | A wins on reach |
| B gets cheaper | Item B | B overtakes |
| Equal reach | Item B | B wins on impact per effort |
FAQFrequently asked questions
What is RICE?
A prioritisation score from Intercom: reach, impact, confidence and effort. It forces the four questions every prioritisation argument is really about and makes the trade-offs explicit.
How do I estimate reach?
People or events affected in a fixed period — customers per quarter, transactions per month. Use the same period for every item or the scores do not compare.
What are the impact values?
A scale, not a measurement: 3 for massive, 2 high, 1 medium, 0.5 low, 0.25 minimal. The scale is coarse on purpose; false precision is the enemy.
Why divide by effort?
Because the goal is value per unit of work, not raw value. A huge item that takes a year may score below a small one that takes a week.
How reliable is the ranking?
Only as good as the estimates — which is why the page shows how close the scores are and what would flip them. A gap under 25% is inside the error bars.
Where these figures come from
- ISO 8601 — Date and time — Representations for information interchange — the yyyy-mm-dd format and the week-numbering rules used here
- US Naval Observatory — Calendars — the Gregorian leap-year rule
- Australian Government — public holidays — public holidays by state (not applied here)
Last checked: September 2026. The Gregorian calendar rules do not change; working-day counts exclude Saturdays and Sundays only.