Tool
Reward chart generator
A printable reward chart or sticker chart with spaces sized to the stickers you have — ½ in, ¾ in, 1 in, 20 mm or any size — from 5 to 100 steps as a grid, a path, a ladder or a thermometer, or a weekly chart of behaviours by day. Add a name, the goal and the reward. Circles, squares, stars or hearts, in colour or ink-saving black, on A4 or US Letter.
20 spaces, each 21.05 mm across inside the line for a 19.05 mm sticker, 19.8 mm apart. Print at Actual size or 100%.
How to use it
- Choose steps to a reward, or a chart of behaviours by the days of the week.
- Pick the size of the stickers you have (measure one across), and the shape of the spaces.
- Set the number of steps and the layout: a grid, a winding path, a ladder or a thermometer to fill from the bottom.
- Type the name, the goal and the reward if you like, then download the PDF and print at 100%.
How the spaces are sized
Every space is drawn so that a circle the size of your sticker, plus the room you set, fits inside the line — for a circle that is simply its inside diameter; for a star or a heart it is the largest circle that fits inside the outline, found from the shape itself. The chart then tries every number of columns and keeps the one that leaves the widest even gap between spaces. Nothing is scaled down to fit: if the steps do not fit at that sticker size, it tells you how many do. Check the print with a printable ruler or the print scale test.
Keeps these settings in the link. Useful for moving from a phone to the computer with the printer on it.
Frequently asked questions
What size stickers fit the chart?
The size you choose. Round stickers are sold by diameter — ½ in (12.7 mm), ¾ in (19 mm), 1 in (25.4 mm) and 1½ in in the US, 15, 20 or 25 mm elsewhere. Measure one across the middle, pick that size or type it under Custom, and every space is drawn that wide plus the room you set (2 mm by default), so the sticker goes inside the line rather than over it.
How many steps can fit on one page?
It depends on the sticker. The chart works out how many spaces of that size fit the page with even gaps: for example 63 spaces of ¾ in stickers fit a grid on A4, and many more ½ in ones. If you ask for more than fit, the page says how many do instead of shrinking the spaces below your sticker size. Smaller stickers, landscape, or the grid layout make room for more.
How many steps should a reward chart have?
There is no fixed number. A chart works when the reward comes while the child still remembers what it is for, so count how often the behaviour can happen: a chart for something done once a day, with 7 spaces, ends in a week; 20 spaces of a twice-a-day habit end in about ten days. Younger children usually do better with short charts and a small reward, then a new chart.
Why are the star and heart spaces bigger than the circles?
Because the sticker has to fit inside the outline. A round sticker inside a five-pointed star only has the star’s middle to sit in — the circle there is about 0.38 of the distance from the centre to a point — so a star big enough for a ¾ in sticker is about 54 mm across. Hearts need less room than stars. Circles and squares are as wide as the sticker plus the room you set.
What is the days-of-the-week chart?
A sticker chart with the behaviours you type down the side (up to 10) and the days across, one space for each day: one week, two weeks, or four weeks as a month. Choose whether the week starts on Monday or Sunday. With no behaviours typed it prints blank rows to write in.
Will the spaces really be the size I chose?
Yes, when the PDF is printed at Actual size or 100%. “Fit to page” shrinks everything by a few percent, and then a sticker that should just fit will overlap the line. The page foot states the sticker size each space was drawn for.
Is the name or the reward saved anywhere?
No. The name, goal, reward and behaviours are only in your browser: they are drawn into the preview and the PDF on your device and are never put in a link or sent anywhere. “Continue on another device” carries the layout and sticker size only.
Colour or ink-saving?
Colour draws the spaces in a row of bright outlines and the title in blue. Ink-saving draws the spaces in black outline only, with no colour and only light grey shading (the week headings, the thermometer’s bulb), which prints well on any printer and can be coloured in.