Pros and cons list maker
List the pros and cons of a decision, weight each one by how much it matters, and see where the balance falls.
How it works
- Write your decision as a yes-or-no question, such as “Should I move to Denver?”
- Add every pro and con you can think of, one per line.
- Weight each item from 1 (minor) to 5 (major) based on how much it matters to you.
- Check the net balance: your total pro weight minus your total con weight.
- Come back to the list over a day or two, add what you missed, and see whether the balance holds.
Why weight a pros and cons list?
A plain pros and cons list has a well-known flaw: it treats every item as equal. Eight small pros can look like they beat two serious cons, even when one of those cons is a deal-breaker. Counting items rewards whoever can think of the most reasons, not the best ones.
Weighting fixes that. When you rate each item from 1 to 5, a single major concern can outweigh a pile of minor conveniences, which is closer to how the decision will actually feel to live with. The tool adds up the weights on each side and shows the net balance, so you can see at a glance whether the case for or against is stronger, and by how much.
The net number is a summary, not a verdict. Its main job is to show you which items are carrying the decision and to prompt a useful question: do I actually agree with the weights I gave them?
Benjamin Franklin’s “moral algebra”
The weighted list has a long history. In a 1772 letter to the scientist Joseph Priestley, who had asked his advice on a difficult choice, Benjamin Franklin described a method he called “moral or prudential algebra.” He divided a sheet of paper into two columns, one for reasons for and one for reasons against, and added to them over several days as new considerations came to mind.
Then he weighed them. Where a reason on one side seemed equal to a reason on the other, he struck both out. If one pro seemed equal to two cons, he struck out all three. After working through the list this way, he could see where the balance lay, and he wrote that he felt less likely to take a rash step for having considered everything together rather than one reason at a time.
Two parts of Franklin’s method are easy to skip and worth keeping. First, he spread the work over several days, because the mind does not surface every consideration at once. Second, he compared items against each other rather than simply tallying them. The 1–5 weights in this tool do the same job in a quicker form.
How to write a better list
The quality of the balance depends on the quality of the items. These habits help.
- Be specific. “Better pay” is vague; “about $600 more per month after tax” lets you judge its real weight.
- Split bundled items. “Better location” might hide three separate things, such as closer to family, worse weather and a shorter commute, that deserve different weights.
- Separate facts from fears. “The company had layoffs last year” is a fact. “I might fail” is a fear. Both are worth listing, but labeling them shows you how much of the con column is worry.
- Include the cost of not deciding. Staying where you are has its own pros and cons, and they belong on the list.
- Weight for your life, not someone else’s. A long commute might be a 1 for someone who enjoys audiobooks and a 5 for a parent with young children.
- Watch for duplicates. “Higher salary” as a pro and “lower salary if I stay” as a con are the same fact counted twice.
Reading the net balance
A large positive balance means the reasons for are clearly stronger on the terms you set. A large negative balance means the reverse. A balance near zero means the decision is genuinely close, and the list probably will not settle it on its own.
When the result is close, look at the highest-weighted items on each side. Decisions usually turn on two or three factors, not twenty. Ask whether any of them could change: a con like “longer commute” might shrink if you can negotiate remote days, which changes the whole picture.
It also helps to notice your reaction when you see the number. If the balance comes out positive and you feel a sinking sensation, something you care about is probably missing or underweighted. Add it, weight it honestly, and look again.
When to use a decision matrix instead
A pros and cons list works best for a yes-or-no question about one option: take the job or not, move or stay, buy now or wait. When you are choosing between two or more alternatives, a decision matrix is usually a better fit, because it scores every option against the same criteria instead of collecting separate arguments for each.
A simple rule of thumb: if you find yourself writing “pro of A” and “con of B” for the same point, switch to a matrix.
The evidence, honestly
Franklin advised writing reasons for and against in two columns over several days, weighing them, and striking out items of equal weight on opposite sides until the balance became clear. He called this “moral or prudential algebra.”
Franklin (1772), letter to Joseph Priestley, September 19, 1772The Decision Engine
For bigger decisions with more than one alternative, The Decision Engine ($19) guides you through 6 steps with up to 5 options, the 10-10-10 test, a coin-flip gut check, saved decisions and a printable report.
Questions people ask
How do you make a pros and cons list?
Write the decision at the top as a yes-or-no question, then list the reasons for in one column and the reasons against in the other. Be specific, split bundled items, and include the downsides of not deciding. Add to the list over a day or two before drawing conclusions.
How do you weigh pros and cons?
Give each item a weight, such as 1 for minor and 5 for major, based on how much it matters to you. Add up the weights on each side and subtract the cons from the pros to get a net balance. This stops a long list of small points from outweighing one serious concern.
What is Benjamin Franklin’s pros and cons method?
In a 1772 letter to Joseph Priestley, Franklin described listing reasons for and against in two columns over several days. He then weighed them and struck out items of equal weight on opposite sides, so he could see where the balance lay. He called it “moral or prudential algebra.”
Are pros and cons lists actually useful?
They are useful for getting every consideration out of your head and onto the page, where you can see them side by side. Their main weakness is treating every item as equal, which weighting helps fix. They work best as a thinking aid, not a formula that makes the decision for you.
What should I do if my pros and cons are equal?
A tie means both choices are reasonable on the factors you listed. Focus on the two or three highest-weighted items, check whether anything important is missing, and notice how you feel about each outcome. A coin flip can help here: your reaction to the result often reveals what you want.
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