VotablyScore it
Rate each option from 0 to 5 stars. STAR mode runs an automatic runoff between the top two finalists so honest ratings decide the winner.
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How it works
Add your options and share one link with the group.
Everyone rates each option from 0 to 5 stars, as many or as few points as they like.
Star scores are added up, and STAR mode runs an automatic runoff between the top two before the winner is revealed.
What is STAR voting?
STAR stands for Score Then Automatic Runoff. Voters rate every option on a 0 to 5 star scale instead of ranking or checking boxes, which lets them express how much they like each option, not just whether they like it. The stars for each option are added up to find the two highest-scoring finalists.
Then comes the automatic runoff: between just those two finalists, every ballot counts as a vote for whichever of the two it scored higher. That runoff step is what separates STAR voting from plain score voting, and it's designed to reward the option with genuinely broad support rather than one that was rated a five by a small, enthusiastic minority.
People searching for star voting vs ranked choice are usually comparing two different ways of expressing preference. Ranked choice asks for an order, while STAR asks for a rating and lets the scale do the work. Score mode in Votably can run as plain scoring or with the STAR runoff switched on, depending on how the creator sets it up.
Related ways to decide
Best for
Comparing a shortlist with nuance
Rate a handful of finalists on a scale instead of forcing a strict order between options that are genuinely close.
Job candidates or vendor picks
Let each person score every candidate independently, then let the automatic runoff settle it between the top two.
Product or feature reviews
Capture how much people like each option, not just which one edges out the rest.
When to use something else
Score works best when options deserve a rating rather than a strict yes-or-no or a full ranking. For a simple accept-or-reject checkbox on every option, approval voting is faster to fill out. When voters have a genuine order of preference across many options, ranked choice captures that order directly. For comparing exactly two options at a time across a whole shortlist, head to head (pairwise) voting is the more deliberate alternative.
Questions people ask
- What is the STAR voting system?
- STAR stands for Score Then Automatic Runoff. Voters rate every option from 0 to 5 stars, the scores are added up, and the two highest-scoring options move into an automatic runoff where every ballot counts toward whichever of the two it rated higher, deciding the final winner.
- Star voting vs ranked choice: what's the difference?
- Star voting vs ranked choice comes down to how preference is expressed. Ranked choice asks voters to put options in order, while STAR voting asks them to rate each option 0 to 5 stars and then runs an automatic runoff between the top two scorers. Votably supports both methods.
- How many people can vote?
- Score voting on Votably works well for groups of three to twenty people, which suits comparing a shortlist of finalists, candidates, or vendors where nuance matters more than a strict ranking.
Decisions are kept for 30 days, then deleted. One vote per phone. The creator decides when results are revealed.