How weighted scoring works
A weighted scorecard turns a messy, subjective vendor decision into a repeatable one. Instead of arguing over gut feel, you agree up front on the criteria that matter and how much each one counts. Every vendor is then scored on the same scale, so the comparison is genuinely apples-to-apples.
Each criterion gets a weight — a share of the total, expressed as a percent. You then rate each vendor from 0 to 10 on that criterion. A vendor’s weighted total is the sum of every score × weight, divided by the total of the weights. Keeping your weights adding to 100% makes the result read directly as a score out of 10, but the calculator normalizes either way so a partial rubric still ranks correctly.
Tips for a fair comparison
- Agree on weights before you score, so priorities drive the math — not the other way around.
- Define what a 10 and a 0 look like for each criterion so scores stay consistent across reviewers.
- Score independently, then compare — averaging several reviewers reduces individual bias.
- Keep the criteria list short and meaningful; a handful of weighted criteria beats a long flat checklist.
Want a starting point for the criteria themselves? See our scoring methodology for the rubric these defaults are based on, or head to the side-by-side comparison to inform your vendor scores with independent research.