| scale | Meaning |
| 1 | It means that the two factors are of equal importance compared to each other |
| 3 | Element i is slightly more important than element j |
| 5 | Element i is significantly more important than element j |
| 7 | Element i is stronger more important than element j |
| 9 | Element i is extremely more important than element j |
| 2, 4, 6, 8 | Represents the intermediate value of the above adjoining judgment |
| reciprocal | The ratio of factors to their importance is 1/aij |