How to limit the number of rank order choices on Typeform?
“Typeform can’t limit how many options a participant ranks. Its rank order question has two settings, whether an answer is required and whether the option order is randomised, so there’s no way to say “rank only your top 3 of 10” or “rank at least 3”. Most survey tools can’t do it either: Google Forms has no ranking question, SurveyMonkey gates ranking behind paid plans, and Qualtrics needs custom JavaScript. OpinionX does it directly, you set a minimum and maximum number of votes on any ranking question. All five ranking formats are free, and the min/max condition is on the Analyze plan.”
How do you get people to rank only their top 3 out of a list of 10? Or force them to rank at least 3?
These min and max conditions come up a lot in ranking surveys, but how do you set one on a Typeform rank order question, or in another popular ranking survey tool?
Setting custom rank order conditions on Typeform
On a Typeform ranking question you get two toggles: make the answer required, and randomise the option order. That's it.
Analysis is just as thin. You get the overall results and a tally of ranked positions per option, with nothing to filter, segment or dig deeper into your data.
So how do you set a minimum or maximum ranking condition? You can't. These are research features, and Typeform is a form-collection tool; its free tier caps you at 10 responses a month.
It's not much better elsewhere: SurveyMonkey puts ranking behind paid plans, Google Forms has no ranking question at all, and Qualtrics needs custom JavaScript just to cap the number of ranked options. See how the common ranking tools stack up:
| Tool | Ranking questions? | Limit ranked choices (min/max)? |
|---|---|---|
| Typeform | Yes (required and randomised order only) | No |
| Google Forms | No ranking question | No |
| SurveyMonkey | Paid plans only | No |
| Qualtrics | Yes | Only via custom JavaScript |
| OpinionX | Yes, 5 ranking formats, free | Yes (on the Analyze plan) |
OpinionX can. It's a platform built for ranking research, used by thousands of teams at companies like Google, Amazon and Shopify.
↑ rank order voting and results on an OpinionX survey
OpinionX has 5 ranking formats on the free tier, with unlimited surveys, questions and ranking options. You can also set min or max conditions on any ranking or multiple-choice question.
How to set min/max ranking conditions on OpinionX
All the ranking questions are free, but setting min or max options sits on our cheapest paid plan, Analyze.
On the Analyze plan or higher, open block settings during setup and turn on "Set Min/Max Votes".
Enabled, your block setup looks like this:
To make people rank exactly their top 3 of the 5 colours, set min and max both to 3.
That "Set Min/Max Votes" option also covers Multiple-Choice Questions, and Pair Rank and Image Rank questions both take a custom vote count per participant.
Frequently asked questions
Can you limit the number of rank order choices on Typeform? No. Typeform's rank order question only lets you mark an answer as required and randomise the option order, so there's no way to cap or require a number of ranked options (like "rank only your top 3"). You'd need a survey tool with min/max vote settings.
How do you make participants rank only their top 3 of 10? You set a minimum and maximum number of votes on the ranking question, both to 3 in this case. Typeform can't do this, but a tool built for ranking research, like OpinionX, can apply the condition directly.
Which survey tools let you set min/max ranking conditions? OpinionX supports min/max vote conditions on any ranking or multiple-choice question. Qualtrics can only manage it with custom JavaScript, and Typeform, Google Forms and SurveyMonkey can't do it at all.
Are ranking questions free on OpinionX? Yes. All five of OpinionX's ranking formats are on the free tier, with unlimited surveys, questions and ranking options. The min/max vote condition specifically sits on the Analyze plan.
Try it for free
Typeform, Google Forms, SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics aren't built for ranking research. OpinionX is. The min/max feature sits on the Analyze plan, but there's a solid free tier and the interface is made for ranking surveys. Create a free ranking survey on OpinionX in under five minutes.