Peak-end Rule

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Peak-end Rule

People tend to overvalue both the peak of an experience, and the end.

Featured in 4 UX Bites

Similar psychology:

Hyperbolic Discounting

Fresh Start Effect

Confirmation Bias

Likely impacts:

Sharing and Referrals

Perception of Value

Happiness & Enjoyment

Last updated: 23/09/2026

How to utilise this in your designs

After a recording ends, you could show analytics like filler words used and total time saved for the team, so the end of the experience becomes a memorable peak.

Two cards UI: Left "Video spotlights" shows "Your video helped 11 people stay in sync," user icons, 3 hours saved; right "Speech breakdown" shows "You communicate like a pro," pie chart 4138 words, 3% filler. Both have light purple backgrounds and call-to-action texts at bottom.

Example from

Loom

You could tell users how much they've saved over the last 12 months, so the Peak-end Rule lets that end-of-year recap shape how they remember the subscription.

Amazon Prime benefits dashboard shows £1305 saved, 624 Prime Video titles watched, 313 orders delivered, search bar with mic and camera icons, blue-themed UI on white card.

Example from

Amazon

You could let users choose the style of their end of year review, giving them control so the end of a long period feels engaging and is remembered as a peak.

Example from

Monzo

When users log how a workout felt, you could change colours, animate a mascot and strengthen haptics as they slide the scale, creating a positive peak at the end.

Perceived Exertion UI shows mood icons for "Very Light" and "Very Hard" effort, colored exertion scale with "Above Usual Range" labels, and a "Did You Feel Differently?" Premium prompt.

Example from

Gentler Streak

When a brain-training game finishes, you could frame the score relative to other players, so the end of the session carries meaning and users leave on a clear peak.

Dark-mode UI with orange bar showing "Average solving time 5.84 seconds" beating 96% users; green performance insights show score 802 beating 3%, rank Beginner to Novice.

Example from

Peak

Possible impacts

Users may be more likely to recommend your product straight after a peak in value or an easy ending, as the Peak-end Rule lets that moment dominate their memory.

As seen in:

Loom Post-video analytics

Surfacing value at peaks and at the end of an experience could increase how valuable users perceive the whole product, even if the middle was unremarkable.

As seen in:

Loom Post-video analytics

Amazon Contextualising benefits

Ending on a positive high might increase how much users remember enjoying the experience, as the Peak-end Rule weights the final moments above the average.

As seen in:

Amazon Contextualising benefits

Monzo Go on Monzo, grill me

Written by Peter Ramsey

Consultant to 100+ companies

Published: 18/08/2023