How to Add a Star Rating to a Google Form

Updated July 2026 · 6 min read

A lot of people assume Google Forms doesn't have a proper star rating because they only ever see the numbered Linear Scale question. It actually does — it's just named differently and easy to miss in the dropdown. This guide shows exactly where to find it, how to set it up, and when to reach for it instead of Linear Scale.

Google Forms does have a real star rating: the Rating question type

The question type is simply called Rating, and it's genuinely icon-based — respondents tap a star, heart, or thumbs-up to leave their score, rather than picking a number off a scale. This is different from Linear Scale, which is the numbered 1-to-5 (or similar) question most people think of when they hear "rating" in Google Forms. The confusion between the two is common enough that it's worth stating clearly: if you want actual star icons, you want Rating, not Linear Scale.

How to add a Rating question

1. Open your form and click the + icon in the floating toolbar to add a new question block.
2. Type your question text, something like "How would you rate today's event?"
3. Click the question type dropdown on the right side of the question and scroll down to Rating.
4. A row of icons appears. Click the icon picker to choose between a star, heart, or thumbs-up.
5. Choose how many icons to show — anywhere from 3 to 10. Five is the most common default for a simple satisfaction rating.
6. Toggle Required if you want to make sure respondents don't skip the rating.
7. Click the eye icon to preview the form and confirm the rating row looks and behaves the way you expect.

Rating vs. Linear Scale: which one to use

Both questions collect a number from respondents, but they fit different situations:

• Use Rating when the feedback is casual and visual — "rate this event," "rate this session," "how was your experience today." Icons feel lighter and faster to answer, especially on mobile.
• Use Linear Scale when you need labeled endpoints for a more precise or comparative question — like an NPS-style "how likely are you to recommend this to a friend, from Not likely to Very likely." Linear Scale also supports finer ranges (up to 10 points) and lets you label both the low and high end, which Rating doesn't do.

Our full guide to Linear Scale in Google Forms covers how to set up labeled endpoints, midpoint labels, and when a numbered scale beats an icon-based one.

How star rating data appears in Sheets

Once you link your form to a Google Sheet (via the green Sheets icon in the Responses tab), every Rating answer exports as a plain number equal to the icon position the respondent selected. If you set up a 5-star rating and someone taps the fourth star, that cell in the Sheet simply reads 4 — no icon, no text, just the number, which makes averaging and sorting the same as with any other numeric question.

A few practical tips

• Stick to 5 icons for most casual ratings — it's the format people already recognize from app stores and review sites.
• Add a short description under the question if the low and high ends of the rating aren't obvious (e.g., clarify that 1 star means poor and 5 means excellent).
• Pair Rating with a Paragraph question right after it if you want a quick "why did you choose that rating?" follow-up — see more layout ideas in our Google Forms survey examples.
• If you're building a quiz instead of a survey, Rating isn't gradable the way Multiple Choice is — check our Google Forms quiz guide for the right question types for graded quizzes.

FAQ

Related guides

• Linear Scale in Google Forms: complete guide
• Google Forms survey examples
• How to make a quiz in Google Forms