12 Best Pre-employment Assessment Tools in 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Hiring.
The best pre-employment assessments test candidates on the skills necessary to do the job and help streamline recruiting by ensuring you interview only the most qualified candidates. Some assessment tools can test hard job skills like programming, while others handle soft skills like dealing with customers. There are also those that offer personality testing to find the best-fit applicants for your company culture.
We’ve selected a dozen of the best and most popular that suit a small or midsize business’s budget.
- iMocha: Offers the widest number and range of tests (but expensive)
- Vervoe: Reasonably priced, with AI-powered grading and evaluation
- Skillmeter: Designed to let you create your own tests
- Xobin: Offers live and one-way video interviews, as well as skills assessment tests for employment
- TestGorilla: Free plan offers 10 job and talent assessment tests
- ThriveMap: Designs bespoke job assessment tests for your business
- eSkill: 800 skills tests and the ability to create real-world scenario tests
- HackerRank: Designed for programming and IT jobs
- Toggl Hire: Free plan makes it great for occasional hires
- The Predictive Index: A personality and behavioral assessment that matches traits to the job
- Harver: Comprehensive pre-employment assessments aimed at soft skills
- Owiwi: Gamify the talent assessment testing process
Why use pre-employment assessments? Skills-based hiring has become more popular in recent years, and is a great approach for finding high-quality and increasingly qualified candidates. The most basic starting point of this approach is to use pre-employment assessment tools—which is why more and more companies and recruiting services are beginning to use such services.
Pre-employment Assessment Tools Compared
Starting Price | Free Plan | Hard Skills | Soft Skills | Standout | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $5,000 /year | Trial | Coding, math, engineering, languages, programs & technology | Personality, etiquette, mindset, active listening | 2,500+ tests, can test during live interview |
 | $228 /year | 3-month trial, 1 assessment | Accounting, coding, technical writing, legal, finance, medical, programs & technology | Active listening, adaptability, strategic skills | AI-assessment of soft skills during test |
 | $59 - $239 /month | 14-day trial | Coding; whatever you create questions for | Whatever you create questions for | Create your own tests |
 | $166 /month (Call for quote) | 14-day trial | Based on jobs: coding, marketing, HR, Sales, design, customer service, logistics, training, accounting, finance, administration | Big Five*, emotional intelligence, personality, leadership | Incorporates two-way interviews, one-way interviews, audio recorded answers, and text answers |
 | $26 - $2,200 /month | 10 free tests, unlimited users, ability to try premium features | Coding, languages, finance, merchandise, legal research, management, programs & technology, SEO | Big Five*, cognitive, personality, culture, situational judgment | Free plan |
 | Call for quote | No | What you build into the test | What you build into the test | Bespoke assessment construction using realistic job scenarios |
 | $1,200 /year | No | Financial, programs & technology, call center, education, engineering, administration, healthcare, legal, sales | Attention to detail, following directions, logical thinking, numerical reasoning, unconscious bias, etiquette | Dedicated account specialist, video assessments, create our own including images and files |
 | $100 - $250 /month | 14-day free trial | Programming in 40+ languages | None | Exclusively for programming, access to hiring events |
 | $199 - $5,628 /year (month-to-month plans available) | 5 candidates, unlimited tests and users | Data science, sales, administrative, languages, HR, finance, marketing, product & design | Problem solving, remote work, communication, time management, teamwork, negotiation, leadership | Candidate pool, video intros, pre-built homework tasks |
 | Call for quote | Free for one team | None | Personality, behavioral, cognitive | Includes person snapshots, candidate match suggestions, personal development charts |
 | $5,000 /year (Call for quote) | No | Program & technology, finance, live agent simulations, languages | Behavioral skills based on job profiles, cognitive skills | Backed by psychologists, date from 100MM+ candidates |
 | $22 - $30 /test (Over 250 tests requires a quote) | 5 assessments, 21 days | None | adaptability, decision-making, learning agility, teamwork, project management, people support | Full gamification |
*Big Five refers to the five main personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism
Before you purchase: Many of the best recruitment software offer pre-hiring assessment tests. If you have recruitment software or an applicant tracking service, check to see if it has a plan that includes testing. Indeed, for example, offers hundreds of tests for everything, from customer service skills to engineering know-how. Learn more about it in our Indeed review.
Want to text a candidate’s Excel skills? We’ve developed an employee assessment test for Excel that you can download for free. The 30-minute test shows their ability to use formulas, VLookup, IF statements, and more.
Top Hard Skills Assessment Tools
iMocha: Over 2,500 Skills Tests
Pros
- 2,500+ assessments available
- Can test during live interviews
- Can assess hard and soft skills
- Has special plans for campus hiring
- Language skills assessment, including a special plan for business English
Cons
- Expensive
- Need Enterprise Plan for integrations with non-iMocha partners
- Pricing and plan size more suited for medium or fast-growing businesses
What we like:
With over 2,500 skill assessment tests for employment, iMocha can help you test both hard and soft skills, from engineering, accounting, and specific software to active listening and fitness for remote work. It also offers a “live interview” functionality for hiring developers, where you can use their pre-employment assessment during the interview. You can also have a custom skills assessment created for your company by an expert in the field in under two days.
iMocha has a free trial, though it does not state for how long. Its Professional Talent Acquisition Plan starts at $5,000 per year, or about $417 per month, making it one of the most expensive on our list. This plan covers three recruiters, 10 interviewers, 1,200 candidate assessments, and 300 candidate interviews. The Enterprise-level plan is custom-priced, has no limitations, and offers additional tools like the premium skills testing library, onboarding tools, advanced proctoring, and custom integrations.
iMocha includes a whiteboard and coding tools to assess candidates during live interviews. (Source: iMocha)
iMocha Features
- Library of 2,500+ assessments (70+ Soft skills, 20+ Aptitude skills, 350+ Functional skills, 300+ Domain skills)
- Hard and soft skills assessments
- Coding simulators for 35+ languages
- Anti-cheating including code plagiarism checks, image proctoring, candidate ID verification, more
- AI-LogicBox interview to integrate technical assessments in live interviews, including coding
- Benchmark candidates against company or industry
- Test insights including scores, assessment quality and question analytics, and candidate comparative reports
- Onboarding and training on software
- AI-led business English assessment
- Plans for talent acquisition, campus hiring, talent development, business English assessment
Vervoe: AI Test Evaluations & Grading
Pros
- Free trial includes one assessment, 90 days
- 300+ ready-made job assessment tests
- AI grading that goes beyond the test
- AI can grade non-objective answers according to your preferences
Cons
- Custom assessments with higher plans only
- ATS integrations with higher plans only
- Mostly hard skills
What we like:
Vervoe offers assessments geared primarily toward specific jobs, like UX/UI Designer, Chief Marketing Officer, or Customer Support Specialist. It’s heavier on the hard skills but includes a few soft skills—and you can also create your own questions. Veroe stands out with its AI assessment tool. It not only grades the test but also tracks how the candidate interacts with the assessment itself, benchmarking their response against the millions of others in its database and applying that knowledge to your preferences.
Vervoe costs only $228 per year for its Pay & Go plan, which includes a single assessment for up to 100 candidates. This plan lets you add up to 5 custom questions and includes AI grading, a company welcome video, and bulk invitations. The Skills-Based Hiring plan is meant for companies hiring over 50 people a year and includes greater customizations, ATS integrations, branding, consulting, and more.
By providing the user samples of responses to grade, Vervoe AI learns what you are looking for in a candidate. (Source: Vervoe)
Vervoe Features
- Library of 300+ tests
- Customizable questions
- Job assessment test builder creates a test by job title
- Coding tests in eight languages
- Anti-cheating tools like randomization of questions
- Candidate messaging in-app
- Branded assessments
- Integrations
- AI assessment of answers and test interactions
- Side-by-side candidate comparison
- Reporting includes integrations, score distributions, by-question reports
Skillmeter: Create Your Own Tests
Pros
- Easy to use
- Month-to-month plans
- Offers an on-demand plan for sporadic hiring
- Set public or private tests to limit access
Cons
- Custom questions only
- Very basic
- No library of tests, questions
What we like:
Skillmeter is the simplest pre-employment assessment tool on our list. It focuses on allowing you to create your own tests rather than providing a bank of premade assessments. Testing tools include video, text, typing, file uploads, essays, programming, and more, and can be timed. You can even create a bank of questions and assign a set number at random. Except for the highest plan, you can only set tests to private, meaning candidates will need a PIN code to take the test. Public tests can be distributed via job ads, such as for screening questions, and candidates can take them after entering basic information like an email.
Skillmeter is among the least expensive tools on our list. Its Standard plan is $59 per month and includes up to 50 custom assessments. The Premium plan doubles the number of employee assessment tests you can give and costs $119 per month. The Ultimate plan offers unlimited everything for $239 per month. Skillmeter also has an on-demand plan, which gives you five free credits; after which you can pay for 10 credits ($24), 30 credits ($69), or 100 credits ($204). A credit counts for an assessment (private tests only).
Skillmeter’s test creation tool is basic but easy to use. (Source: Skillmeter)
Skillmeter Features
- 12 types of test questions, including instruction, multiple choice, ranking, matching, essay, picture choice, file upload, typing, and video
- Programming tests in C++, C#, Java, Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby or VB.NET
- Question pooling lets you create a bank of questions and lets candidates take the same test or answer a group of random questions
- Create timed tests
- See results immediately
- Branded test center subdomain
Xobin: Live & One-way Interviews, Plus Code Test Playback
Pros
- Hard and soft skills tested
- Tests for leadership as well as personality, emotional intelligence
- Offers one-way and two-way video interviews
- Coding test includes live playback so you can see the applicant’s actual thought processes
Cons
- No free plan
- Quote-based pricing
- Fewer cognitive tests than others on our list
What we like:
Xobin is a full-featured pre-employment assessment software. Unlike others on our list that only provide tests, Xobin’s online assessment tools include live interviews, one-way interviews, and even the ability to create tests that incorporate text, audio, and video answers. It has webcam proctoring, off-tab activity detection to prevent cheating, and playback of coding tests that let you see where your candidate made or fixed errors or polished their work.
Xobin’s pricing starts at $166 per month, but you have to speak to a sales representative to get a personal quote. They can bill by month, quarter, or year to suit your hiring needs. You’ll get access to thousands of pre-created job skill assessments, AI-driven proctoring and anti-cheating tools, and coding for multiple computer languages.
Xobin’s coding tests include playback so you can see the candidate’s process. (Source: Xobin)
Xobin Features
- Hard skills tests listed by skill or job
- Soft skills test include the Big 5 (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism), leadership, emotional intelligence, and personality
- Cognitive test looks at quantitative and logical reasoning, verbal ability, and critical reasoning
- Coding test playback
- XoForms lets you combine video, text, and audio answers in custom tests
- Anti-cheating includes webcam proctoring and off-tab activity detection
- One-way and two-way video interviews
- Open APIs and integration
TestGorilla: Free Plan With 10 Tests, Unlimited Users
Pros
- Free plan includes 10 tests, ability to try premium features
- Premade tests are peer-reviewed and tested for internal consistency
- 315 premade tests
- Multiple steps to prevent cheating, including webcam snapshots
Cons
- Paid plans have limits on number of assessments per month
- Tests are not as job-specific as others on our list
- Video and coding tests require the second-highest plan
What we like:
Test Gorilla offers an excellent free plan for skills assessment tests for employment. The free plan includes a cognitive, situational judgment, language, and JavaScript test, as well as several personality tests. Its library of premade tests is smaller than others’, but they are more skills-based than job-specific. The premade tests go through a 28-step verification process. You can also create your own tests.
After the free plan, TestGorilla has three plans, which are billed annually. The Pay-as-You-Go Plan is $26 per month for a single assessment and 100 candidate credits per year and includes access to all tests and the ability to create your own. The Scale plan has 15 tests and 1,500 candidate credits per year and includes qualifying questions, branding, PDF reports, and ATS integration. The Business Plan jumps to $2,200 per month with 125 assessments and 12,500 candidates per year and has an onboarding program, customer support, and custom integrations. You can also pay for additional assessments and candidates as needed.
Several of TestGorilla’s tests, including personality tests, are available with the free plan. (Source: TestGorilla)
TestGorilla Features
- Free plan includes 10 tests—entry-level JavaScript coding, HR fundamentals, talent acquisition, communication, business English, attention to detail (textual), Big 5 (OCEAN), DISC (personality), 16 types, and Enneagram
- Free plan lets you try all premium features internally among five account users
- 315 tests, primarily based on skills, cognitive, and personality rather than job description
- Test verification includes peer reviews, sample testing, copywriters, review by psychometrician
- Custom question types including multiple choice, essay, file upload, video, coding
- Programming tests for JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, C, C#, C++, SQL, Kotlin, Ruby, Typescript, Go, R, Scala and Swift
- Anti-cheating measures include IP address logging, webcam snapshots, randomized questions, time limits, disabling copy and paste
- Available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese
- Custom branding in higher plans
- PDF reports of candidates
- ATS integration; API in higher plans
ThriveMap: Bespoke Assessments Based on Real-world Scenarios
Pros
- Bespoke job assessments
- Assessments use real-life scenarios rather than standardized, generic tests
- Integrates with most ATS software
Cons
- Takes 4-6 weeks to create
- Quote-based pricing only
- Lacks standardized testing; may have to create individual assessments for each job
What we like:
ThriveMap differs from any of the other assessments on our list in that they create bespoke job assessment tests based on realistic scenarios. After getting your requirements and assessment needs, they create a digital day-in-the-life of the job that evaluates a candidate’s skills against your hiring criteria. Unlike the others on our list, ThriveMap can take four to six weeks to go live with an assessment, and then you can use it with individuals or groups of candidates.
ThriveMap’s pricing depends on your hiring requirements and objectives. It charges for the setup and build of your personalized assessment and then annual or multi-year subscriptions for unlimited use. The example pricing it gives lists a setup fee of $6,500-$13,000, with an estimated $1 per test, and a $6,500 ATS integration fee. Thus, it’s the most expensive on our list.
ThriveMap offers job assessments using realistic job scenarios and candidate insights to help you make the best hiring choice.
(Source: ThriveMap)
ThriveMap Features
- Bespoke job assessments using realistic job scenarios
- Job analysis platform to understand what skills are needed
- Candidate insights reports
- Assessments can include company culture issues
- Unlimited use of assessments once built (with subscription)
- Integration included
eSkill: Tests Plus Realistic Scenarios
Pros
- Inexpensive small business plan
- 800+ assessments available
- Dedicated account specialist with higher plans
- Higher plans include video questions, customizations, behavioral assessments
Cons
- Small Business Plan does not include video or behavioral testing
- Small Business Plan does not have customizations or integrations
- Bills annually
- No free plan or trial
What we like:
eSkill is a popular service for skills assessment tests for employment. It claims to reduce hiring costs by 70% on average and time to hire by 60%. In addition to over 800 premade tests, it allows you to create your own. It also has video testing and the ability to create “real-world” scenarios, like ThriveMap does. You can test not only practical skills but also soft skills like behavior. eSkill also offers a dedicated account specialist to help you determine the best assessments for your needs.
The Small Business Plan is affordably priced at $100 per month for 10 candidates and 100 assessments, but you do pay annually. Further, the only assessments included are the ready-made ones. For more functionality and customizations, you need a higher plan, which requires a custom quote.
The eSkills library lets you find tests by subject, skill, or job, and each test tells you specifically what topics are covered. (Source: eSkill)
eSkill Features
- 800+ premade assessments
- Ability to combine premade questions to create your own tests
- Can add proprietary content, images, and files with test questions
- Audio and video interviewing available
- Ability to create realistic simulations for testing
- Dedicated assessment expert
- Screener questions
- ATS and Learning Management System integrations (Enterprise plan only)
- Behavioral assessments
- Cognitive tests
- Cultural training so you understand yourself and your employees to develop a better team
- Use for employee training to identify weaknesses and skills gaps
- Anti-cheating tools include ID verification
- Multiple language capabilities (English, Spanish, French, Romanian)
- 24/7 support
HackerRank: Coding-focused
Pros
- Test using real-world projects
- Plagiarism detection
- Create tests from a bank of questions
- 24/7 access to training videos and webinars
Cons
- Limited number of interviews and attempts per plan
- No pre-built tests
- ATS integration with highest plan only
What we like:
HackerRank’s online assessment tools focus exclusively on coding skills, with a bank of test questions covering over 40 programming languages from which you can build assessments. It also has interviewing software with live coding capability so you can watch your candidate in real time. It’s the only one on our list that includes leaked-question detection as an anti-plagiarism protection feature. It’s also the only one that has hiring events that you can participate in with its custom plan.
HackerRank is one of the few on our list with month-to-month plans rather than annual billing. The Starter Plan costs $100 per month, gives access to 1,000 test questions, and allows 10 attempts per month, an attempt being a test or an interview. The Pro Plan allows 5 users and gives access to 2,000 test questions, with 25 attempts per month. You can pay $10 per additional attempt. The Custom Plan pricing depends on the number of attempts but gives access to 4,000 assessment questions, 40+ integrations, a customer success representative, and hiring events.
HackerRank is designed specifically for assessing programmers and IT professionals. (Source: HackerRank)
HackerRank Features
- Library of 4,000 assessment questions covering topics from data science to cybersecurity
- Assessments in 40+ programming languages
- Ability to test using real-world projects
- Interview with live coding tests
- See candidate’s code review comments
- 24/7 access to training videos and webinars
- Plagiarism and leaked-question detection
- AI-powered insight reports
- 40+ integrations and API access
- Access to hiring events
Toggl Hire: Great for Occasional Hires
Pros
- Free plan includes unlimited tests and users
- Inexpensive Basic Plan
- All plans include skills tests, video intros and homework assignments
- Create a candidate database
Cons
- Free plan limited to 5 candidates a month
- Basic Plan requires an annual commitment
- Anti-cheating measures only in Premium and higher plans
What we like:
Toggl Hire offers over 180 skills tests patterned to 150+ jobs. With a test bank of over 15,000 questions and growing, it ensures no two candidates get the same test. You can add your own questions and include a video introduction. The homework tool lets you assign tasks they can complete and upload. In fact, it has 500 real-world tasks available for you to use. Higher plans include a candidate pool function so you can look at previous candidates for new positions.
Toggl Hire offers a great free plan of online assessment tools for businesses that only hire occasionally. You can have up to five candidates a month, but unlimited jobs and tests. The Basic plan is $199 per year, allows 20 candidates per month, and gives you access to reports and analytics. Monthly plans start with Premium at $299 per month and allow 2,000 candidates. You can make your own tests and include anti-cheating tools. Finally, the Business Plan is $469 per month for unlimited use and bulk actions.
Toggl Hire’s homework templates let you assign in-depth tasks for coding, finance, and more to evaluate actual work performance.
(Source: Toggl Hire)
Toggl Hire Features
- All plans include unlimited jobs and tests
- Screening questions with automated pass/fail
- 180+ skills tests for over 150 jobs—over 15,000 questions
- 500 pre-built task templates for homework assignments with evaluation tips
- Video intros
- Customizable tests with multiple choice, picture, numeric, essay, or coding answers
- Customizable candidate database
- Anti-cheating measures include question randomization
Top Soft Skills Assessment Tools
The Predictive Index: Proven Tests for Matching Behaviors to Jobs
Pros
- Based on 60 years’ research
- PI cognitive assessment tests verbal, numerical, and abstract reasoning
- Job optimizer tool for crafting better job ads
- Custom interview questions
Cons
- Behavioral assessment only
- Free plan for team building rather than hiring
- Limited number of standardized tests; no custom test creation
What we like:
The Predictive Index is a behavioral and personality assessment tool that helps you find the best candidates for specific roles based on their innate strengths. It sets up a behavioral profile for the role, assessing and evaluating candidates for fit. It provides interview questions to help you get a deeper understanding of your candidate as well. In addition, it offers a job optimizer tool to help you create better job descriptions that reflect the behaviors needed to succeed in that role.
The Predictive Index does have free plans, but they are for other uses of the test, like team building. For PI Hire, you can get a 7-day free trial that includes unlimited behavioral assessments, candidate fit ratings, the interview builder, and a job ad optimizer. If you are hiring fast, it may be enough. If not, call for a quote on the paid plan, which also includes multi-rater job assessments, candidate match suggestions, integrations with HR software, and more.
The PI Index report offers an analysis of multiple personality and behavioral traits.
(Source: Predictive Index)
Predictive Index Features
- 50-question, 12-minute cognitive test
- Based on 60+ years of behavioral science
- Behavioral assessment weighs candidate against the optimum behaviors needed for the job
- Targeted interview questions
- Job ad optimizer to create job interviews that better reflect the skills and behaviors needed
- Multi-rater job assessment gets the entire team’s input on optimal job needs
- Candidate match suggestions
- Person Snapshot gives insights to how a candidate might respond to co-workers or situations
- Candidate Behavioral Report reveals drives and motivators
- Personal Development Chart maps behaviors to long-term goals
- Learning library includes certification courses for talent optimization, leadership, hiring, and more
- Integration capability
Harver: Comprehensive Cognitive & Soft-skills Testing
Pros
- Assessments developed and evaluated by psychologists
- 29 language assessments
- Assessment with interactive videos
- Gamification available
- Work-from-home assessments
Cons
- Not for hard skills
- Expensive
- Reports are not automatic; some customers complain about delays in receiving them
What we like:
Harver concentrates primarily on talent assessment tools for soft skills and personality, with psychologist-tested evaluations that help you get the best fit for your company culture. It offers over 900 tests, but you can also get their team to create one based on your needs. In addition to standard tests, it does offer some gamification (like Owiwi) as well as interactive videos where candidates get a taste of a real-world scenario.
Harver does not list its prices online, although it has said that it depends on the number of assessments and applicants you expect. We found several third-party reviews, including Capterra, which state that it starts at around $5,000 per year. This is similar to iMocha.
Harver evaluates soft skills, using its vast data set to determine the best candidates for your business. (Source: Harver)
Harver Features
- Data from over 100 million candidates used for skills prediction and insight
- Psychologists and industrial and cognitive scientists develop and validate assessments and minimize bias
- 12+ gamified assessments
- Interactive videos place candidates in “real-world” scenarios for testing
- Cognitive tests for logical reasoning, numerical reasoning, abstract reasoning, perceptual speed and accuracy, spatial ability, number patterns, verbal reasoning, reading comprehension
- Typing and language proficiency tests
- Work-from-home evaluations include internet speed tests
- Interview tools available
- Reference checker available
- Business intelligence tools
Owiwi: Gamify Assessments
Pros
- Gamification makes assessments fun
- Adjusts game for the skills you want to test
- Can use with current employees for benchmarking or training and evaluation
- Can translate into multiple languages
Cons
- Lacks traditional testing library
- People who don’t like playing video games may not respond well to the medium
- Based in the UK
What we like:
Owiwi is unique among the talent assessment tools on our list because it uses adventure games to assess any of 11 soft skills. This format not only adds a level of fun to the testing process—a bonus for the nervous candidate—but also allows them to show their skills in an active situation rather than merely answering rhetorical questions. You can create a game based on the skills you need, but Owiwi does not have traditional tests. It can store such tests for you if you have them written already.
Owiwi’s pricing page includes a sliding scale to show you your price. As a UK business, the pricing is in pounds, but in US dollars, it varies from $22 to $30 per test at the time of this writing. Prices decrease per test as you increase the number of tests. If you want 250 assessments or more, you need to call for a quote.
Owiwi uses role-playing games to assess problem-solving and other soft skills. (Source: Owiwi)
Owiwi Features
- Gamification of soft-skills assessment with cinematics, narrative, graphics and sound
- You create assessment campaigns based on the skills needed
- Measures accountability, adaptability, decision-making, willingness to change, integrity, learning agility, resilience, teamwork, project management, entrepreneurship, people support
- Dynamic reports on candidate traits and behaviors
- Global talent pool leaderboard to help you define your best profile
- AI-powered matchmaking engine
- Candidate comparison tools
- Can also be used for training, benchmarking existing employees
- Can be translated into languages other than English
- Can host traditional tests on its Dashboard
Bottom Line
A resume and application alone cannot tell you how good a candidate will be for a job. Hiring the right employee involves much more. The best pre-employment assessment tools can give you a stronger picture of the candidate’s capabilities and suitability for a job—and the right one can be an excellent tool for applicant screening.
This is not a comprehensive list of pre-employment assessment tools, as there are hundreds of hiring assessment tools available to you. Our goal is to help you narrow the field and select a tool that best meets your needs. Using any of the above options will help you hire faster and more efficiently.
