| Intensity of importance | Description |
| 1 | Equal importance |
| 3 | Moderate importance |
| 5 | Strong importance |
| 7 | Very strong or demonstrated importance |
| 9 | Extreme importance |
| 2, 4, 6, 8 | Intermediate values |
| 1/3, 1/5, 1/7, 1/9 | Values for inverse comparison |