Self Esteem Test (Rosenberg Scale)
Self-esteem is the running verdict you carry about your own worth — and it quietly shapes what you attempt, tolerate, and ask for. This is the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the standard measure psychologists have used since 1965. Ten statements, one score from 0 to 30.
Read each statement and pick how you generally feel about yourself — not how you wish you felt, and not just today. There are no right or wrong answers.
Your answers never leave this browser — scoring happens on your device.
How the Rosenberg scale works
Sociologist Morris Rosenberg published this scale in 1965 in his study of adolescent self-image, and it became the most used self-esteem instrument in research — translated into dozens of languages and given to millions of respondents. Five statements are worded positively (“I feel that I have a number of good qualities”) and five negatively (“At times I think I am no good at all”); the negative ones are reverse-scored, so agreeing with a self-critical statement lowers the total. Scores run 0 to 30: below 15 is usually read as low self-esteem, 15–25 is the range most people fall into, and above 25 suggests high self-esteem.
A few honest caveats. The scale measures global self-esteem — your overall sense of worth — not your confidence in any single skill, and the two can differ wildly. It is also a snapshot: scores dip after failures, job losses, and breakups, and recover; that movement is information, not noise. And low self-esteem is not a diagnosis — it is a risk factor and a companion of low mood, which is why a very low score is a good reason to also take the PHQ-9 self-check and, if both are low, to talk with someone in person. What actually builds self-esteem, in the research, is boringly unglamorous: keeping small commitments to yourself, collecting real evidence of competence, and disputing the inner critic the way the thought record teaches.
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale is a self-assessment of global self-esteem, not a diagnosis of any condition. A low score describes a habit of self-evaluation, not your worth. If a low score comes with persistent low mood, loss of interest, or thoughts of harming yourself, please reach out to a professional — and see the crisis resources in the footer of this page.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Rosenberg self-esteem score?
Scores run 0–30. Most adults fall between 15 and 25, which is generally read as a normal, healthy range. Above 25 suggests high self-esteem; below 15 suggests low self-esteem that may be worth working on. 'Good' is less about the exact number than about steadiness — recovering after setbacks rather than being defined by them.
Why are some statements scored backwards?
Half the statements are self-critical ('I certainly feel useless at times'). Agreeing with them means lower self-esteem, so they are reverse-scored (Strongly agree counts 0 instead of 3). Mixing directions also stops the questionnaire from rewarding people who just agree with everything.
Can self-esteem actually change?
Yes. Across the lifespan, self-esteem typically rises from adolescence into middle age, and interventions — therapy, mastery experiences, keeping commitments to yourself, disputing self-critical thoughts — move it at any age. It changes like fitness does: slowly, through repeated small evidence, not through affirmations alone.
Is low self-esteem a mental illness?
No. Low self-esteem is not a diagnosis; it is a pattern of self-evaluation that raises the risk of depression and anxiety and often travels with them. That is why a very low score here plus a high score on a screening scale like the PHQ-9 is a combination worth taking to a professional.
Are my answers private?
Yes. The score is calculated on your device, history lives only in your browser's local storage, and nothing is uploaded to a server.
Keep going
Your results from every tool are saved only in this browser — see them together on My Results.