<!--
{
  "documentType" : "article",
  "framework" : "Human Interface Guidelines",
  "identifier" : "/design/Human-Interface-Guidelines/rating-indicators",
  "metadataVersion" : "0.1.0",
  "role" : "article",
  "title" : "Rating indicators"
}
-->

# Rating indicators

A rating indicator uses a series of horizontally arranged graphical symbols — by default, stars — to communicate a ranking level.

## Discussion

![A stylized representation of a rating indicator denoting a ranking of three out of five stars. The image is tinted red to subtly reflect the red in the original six-color Apple logo.](images/com.apple.HIG/components-rating-indicators-intro@2x.png)

A rating indicator doesn’t display partial symbols; it rounds the value to display complete symbols only. Within a rating indicator, symbols are always the same distance apart and don’t expand or shrink to fit the component’s width.

## Best practices

**Make it easy to change rankings.** When presenting a list of ranked items, let people adjust the rank of individual items inline without navigating to a separate editing screen.

**If you replace the star with a custom symbol, make sure that its purpose is clear.** The star is a very recognizable ranking symbol, and people may not associate other symbols with a rating scale.

## Platform considerations

*No additional considerations for macOS.  Not supported in iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS.*

## Resources

#### Related

[Ratings and reviews](/design/Human-Interface-Guidelines/ratings-and-reviews)

#### Developer documentation

<doc://com.apple.documentation/documentation/AppKit/NSLevelIndicator/Style/rating> — AppKit

## Change log

|Date              |Changes  |
|------------------|---------|
|September 23, 2022|New page.|

---

Copyright &copy; 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)