# Radio or Dropdown
> Show the options when there are few and they need comparing. Collapse them when there are many and people know their answer.

## Situation

How many options, and should people compare them?

## Decision

### Use Radio when

A handful of options people should see side by side before choosing: plans, shipping speeds, priorities.

- Two to five options
- Options need comparing
- Each option needs a short description
- The choice matters

### Use Dropdown when

Many options, or a list where people already know their answer: country, year, time zone. Make it searchable past a dozen items.

- More than six or seven options
- People know their answer
- Space is tight
- Searchable when the list is long

**The numbers:** 2–5 options: radio buttons. 6–15: dropdown. More than 15: searchable combobox. Two options that mean on and off: a checkbox or toggle, not radios.

## Why

There are only three shipping speeds and the price difference matters, so they’re radio buttons people can compare. Country has nearly two hundred options and everyone knows theirs, so it’s a searchable list.

## Edge cases

Even with three options, a dropdown can win inside a dense table row where there’s no room to show them all.

Source: https://productfordesigners.com/cards/radio-dropdown
Author: Alex Dovhyi