Pros and Cons Generator
Make a difficult decision by listing all pros and cons, then weighting them to see which option wins.
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How the Pros and Cons Tool Works
Two columns sit side by side: pros on the left in green, cons on the right in red. Add an entry to either column and a 1-to-10 weight slider appears next to it. Set the weight to reflect how much that point matters - a £10,000 pay rise might be a 9, while 'free coffee in the office' is probably a 2. The tool sums up the weighted scores and shows the winner at the bottom along with the points difference. A 5-point margin means the decision is fairly clear; a 30-point margin means it's not actually a difficult call.
Weighting is the upgrade that makes a pros and cons list useful rather than just symmetrical. A traditional list with five pros and five cons looks like a tie even if four of the pros are minor and one of the cons is a dealbreaker. Forcing yourself to rate each point on the same 1-to-10 scale exposes that asymmetry. The auto-save runs in the background, so you can come back to a half-finished list later, and there's a premium PDF export if you want to share the breakdown with a partner or paste it into a journal.
When This Beats a Decision Matrix and When It Doesn't
Pros and cons works best for two-state decisions: should I do this, yes or no? Should I take this job, accept this offer, move to this city, end this thing. The output is a binary recommendation, which matches the shape of the question. For decisions between three or more options, where the question is really 'which of these is best', a [Decision Matrix Maker](/decision-matrix-maker) is the better fit - pros and cons can't compare options against each other, only weigh up a single option's good and bad sides.
The honest failure mode of pros and cons lists is motivated reasoning: secretly wanting to take the job, then unconsciously weighting every pro at 9 and every con at 3 until the maths agrees. To guard against this, write your list, walk away for an hour, then come back and ask: would I weight these the same way if my preferred answer were the opposite? If you'd nudge any weights, your gut already knows what you want and the list is just performance. Try the [Coin Flip But Smarter](/coin-flip-but-smarter) tool for catching that signal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many pros and cons should I list?
Three to seven on each side is the sweet spot. Fewer than three on either side and you probably haven't thought about the decision deeply enough. More than seven and you're padding the list with minor points that dilute the weights of the genuinely important ones.
What's the difference between this and a decision matrix?
A pros and cons list weighs up one option (yes/no). A decision matrix compares multiple options against weighted criteria. If you're choosing between staying or leaving, use pros and cons. If you're choosing between three job offers, use a decision matrix.
Why are my weights making the answer change?
That's the point - weights are how you tell the tool which factors matter. If a small change in weight flips the answer, the decision is genuinely close, and the deciding factors are whichever points are sitting near a weight of 5. Either gather more information about those points, or accept that the choice doesn't matter as much as you thought.
Can I save my list?
Yes - the tool auto-saves to your browser's local storage every couple of seconds, so closing and reopening the page restores your last list. Pro subscribers get cloud save across devices, and there's a premium PDF export if you want a clean printable version.
Related Tools
Decision Matrix Maker
Use the decision matrix method (scoring table) to evaluate multiple options against weighted criteria.
This or That Decider
Can't decide between two options? Let this tool help by asking clarifying questions.
Coin Flip But Smarter
Flip a coin for a decision, but first set up what you'll do if it lands heads or tails.