Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. The largest vendors in pre-employment assessment software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 12 tools, reviewed
#1 Alva Labs
Psychometric tests plus an agent-run hiring system · Sweden · alvalabs.io
Psychometrics Per-hire pricing Stockholm
Alva Labs was founded in Stockholm in 2017 and says 650 organizations use it. It offers two tiers: Agentic Psychometrics, which covers the tests and an AI agent that interprets results, and the Agentic Hiring System, which adds applicant tracking, career pages and candidate communication.
- Pricing: Per hire / year. Priced per hire by annual hiring volume with no platform fee; no figures on the pricing page. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Small and mid-sized teams hiring on evidence
- Strengths: Personality test; Logic test; Role fit scoring.
Where it falls short
No list prices are shown, so a buyer needs a call to find out cost. The agent-led design means interpretation sits inside Alva's product, and the pricing page marks the coding test as an add-on rather than part of the core.
Wrong for
A retailer or call center that needs a short test for thousands of seasonal applicants should look at Criteria or eSkill.
Visit Alva Labs →
#2 Criteria
Cognitive, personality and skills tests with video interviewing · United States · criteriacorp.com
Cognitive Interviewing Los Angeles area
Criteria's site groups its products into Assess, Interview and Develop. The assessment side covers cognitive aptitude (the CCAT is named on its candidate pages), personality, emotional intelligence, risk, skills and game-based tests, while the interview side offers asynchronous and live video.
- Pricing: Quote by plan. Three plans (assessments, interviewing, or the full suite) with add-ons; pricing on request, free trial offered. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Teams wanting one library and a trial
- Strengths: Cognitive aptitude tests; Personality tests; Emotional intelligence.
Where it falls short
No price appears on the plans page, and the number of add-ons means the quote can climb once proctoring, AI scoring and premium integrations are attached.
Wrong for
A buyer who wants a published price before talking to sales, or a firm that only needs a simple coding or technical test, should look at a different product.
Visit Criteria →
#3 Vervoe
Job simulations and skills tests with explainable grading · Australia · vervoe.com
Job simulations Skills tests Melbourne
Vervoe positions itself as a skills platform that shows how candidates perform real work. Its assessments include job simulations, skills tests and cognitive assessments, and a newer screening module runs chat or voice screens before booking interviews.
- Pricing: Quote only. Pricing by request only; the pricing page offers an enterprise demo and a ROI calculator. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Volume and early-career hiring
- Strengths: Skills assessments; Job simulations; Cognitive assessments.
Where it falls short
The pricing page asks for a request and shows no figure, and its examples are drawn heavily from Australian enterprises.
Wrong for
A company that needs an established personality or leadership instrument, interpreted by a trained practitioner, should choose SHL, Hogan or Talogy.
Visit Vervoe →
#4 SHL
Established psychometric tests for large-scale selection · United Kingdom · shl.com
Psychometrics OPQ and Verify Enterprise
SHL runs one of the largest catalogs of workplace tests. The product page lists the Occupational Personality Questionnaire, the Global Skills Assessment, Job-Focused Assessments, the Motivational Questionnaire, situational judgment tests, SHL Verify and 360 tools, with solutions grouped by graduate, manager, volume, contact center and technology hiring.
- Pricing: Quote only. No public prices; products can be bought online or through a demo and sales route. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Graduate and enterprise selection programs
- Strengths: Occupational Personality Questionnaire; SHL Verify ability tests; Global Skills Assessment.
Where it falls short
The breadth is a drawback for a small buyer. Choosing among OPQ, Verify, GSA and job-focused assessments often needs a consultant or a trained user, and the site gives no price.
Wrong for
A start-up making five hires a year, or a recruiter without psychology training, will find the range hard to use.
Visit SHL →
#5 Equalture
Game-based hiring intelligence built on your top performers · Netherlands · equalture.com
Game-based Success Model Rotterdam
Equalture is a Rotterdam-based platform whose approach is to define success from a company's own best employees, then compare every applicant to that model through short games. The site says it builds one model per job type, refreshes it as retention and performance data accumulate, and shows a fit score before interview.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices shown on the pages read; a meeting or demo is the route to a quote. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Retail, logistics and blue-collar hiring
- Strengths: Game-based assessments; Success Model per job type; Fit scores.
Where it falls short
A Success Model needs enough existing employees in a role to be meaningful, so a company with three people in a job has little to build from.
Wrong for
A firm hiring a handful of senior specialists, or one that wants a standard published personality instrument with outside norm data, should look at Hogan or SHL.
Visit Equalture →
#6 eSkill
Skills test library with plans capped by candidate volume · United States · eskill.com
Skills tests Call centers San Antonio
eSkill sells subscriptions that start with the number of candidates you expect to screen. Growth covers up to 500 candidates a year, Scale up to 1,000 with one-way interviews and custom questions, and Custom adds implementation help, assessment consulting and paid pilot options.
- Pricing: Per candidate tier / year. Three plans (Growth up to 500 candidates a year, Scale up to 1,000, Custom for higher volume); no figures published. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Staffing, call-center and back-office hiring
- Strengths: 70,000+ question test library; Hard skills tests; Behavioral tests.
Where it falls short
The plan sizes are small for retail or seasonal volume, and the pricing page lists no figures. Its personality and behavioral content is a lighter offering than that of the psychometric publishers.
Wrong for
A multinational selecting graduates in several languages, or a buyer who needs deep personality norms and a certified interpreter, should choose SHL or Talogy over eSkill.
Visit eSkill →
#7 Harver
Predictive assessments and automation for volume hiring · Netherlands · harver.com
Volume hiring pymetrics Amsterdam
Harver's site says Outmatch is now part of Harver, and the combined product line includes Harver for volume hiring, Harver Assessments, video interviewing, pymetrics for game-based assessments and Checkster for reference checking. It describes automation that moves qualified candidates forward on rules the employer sets, plus analytics across the recruiting funnel.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices shown; the site routes to a demo request. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large high-volume employers
- Strengths: Harver assessments; pymetrics game-based assessments; Virtual job tryouts.
Where it falls short
The merger of several brands makes the product map hard to read, and the demo-only route hides cost. Configuration of job profiles and automation rules takes real project time.
Wrong for
A twenty-person company with one open role a quarter will not need this much machinery.
Visit Harver →
#8 Maki People
AI agents for screening, interviews and assessment · France · makipeople.com
AI agents Skills screening Paris
Maki is a Paris company that describes its product as a set of named agents sitting on top of an existing ATS. Shiro screens on more than 300 skills, Mochi runs voice screening in 45 or more languages, Ken delivers role-calibrated assessments across 400 or more skills, and Kumi handles scheduling.
- Pricing: Usage-based credits. Platform plus usage-based credits for each AI agent; personalized quote only. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Enterprise teams wanting AI-led screening
- Strengths: Skills screener (300+ skills); Voice interviewer (45+ languages); Deep assessment (400+ skills).
Where it falls short
Maki sells to enterprises and gives no price, so a smaller firm cannot judge cost before a call. Credit-based billing makes spend hard to forecast for a company with swings in applications.
Wrong for
A company that wants long-established psychometric instruments should choose SHL, Hogan or Talogy.
Visit Maki People →
#9 Talogy
Assessment consultancy and platform for enterprise selection · United States · talogy.com
Consulting Leadership Pittsburgh
Talogy's global offices page lists a Pittsburgh headquarters and a network of more than 600 talent management colleagues across over 20 countries.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices on the site; assessments can be purchased online, other work through a sales conversation. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large employers needing advisory support
- Strengths: Assessment finder; True Talent platform; Industry-specific solutions.
Where it falls short
The site is organized around advisory services, so a buyer who just wants to send a test link must navigate a lot. No price is published, and implementation depends on talking to a consultant.
Wrong for
A recruiter alone in a growing firm should avoid a consulting-led engagement and look at Criteria or Alva Labs.
Visit Talogy →
#10 Wonderlic
Cognitive, personality and motivation pre-hire tests · United States · wonderlic.com
Cognitive Established Vernon Hills
Wonderlic's pre-employment product, Wonderlic Select, measures cognitive ability, personality and motivation, and the company's legal page frames job-specific scoring around US equal-employment rules such as Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Its history page says it has innovated since 1937, and its careers page names Vernon Hills, Illinois as its headquarters.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices found on the pages read; the site directs to sales. Free plan: none.
- Best for: US employers wanting a familiar name
- Strengths: Wonderlic Select; Cognitive ability; Personality.
Where it falls short
The platform covers three trait areas and does not offer a large skills library or job simulations. Public detail on pricing, hosting or certifications was thin on the pages read, so those questions go to sales.
Wrong for
A company hiring across several countries, or one that wants hands-on skills tests for technical roles, should look at Mercer Mettl, Criteria or SHL.
Visit Wonderlic →
#11 Mercer Mettl
Assessments and AI proctoring from a Marsh McLennan business · India · mettl.com
Proctoring Campus hiring Gurugram
Mercer Mettl describes twelve pre-employment test types, among them psychometric, personality, aptitude, behavioral, domain-based, communication, situational judgment and AI-assisted coding assessments. Its solutions are grouped by campus, lateral, technical and sales hiring, and it adds AI-assisted proctoring and an exam solution.
- Pricing: Quote only. Personalized pricing plans; the pricing page asks for a demo and shows no figures. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Campus and technical hiring at scale
- Strengths: Psychometric tests; Personality tests; Aptitude tests.
Where it falls short
Pricing is personalized with no published figure, and the breadth of tools can overwhelm a small recruiter. The site mixes hiring, learning and exam products, so navigation is crowded.
Wrong for
A small business that needs a quick skills quiz and a published price will find it heavy.
Visit Mercer Mettl →
#12 Hogan Assessments
Personality assessments for selection and leadership development · United States · hoganassessments.com
Personality Leadership Tulsa
Hogan has published personality assessments since its 1987 founding and says it has assessed more than 14 million people, while staying independent. Its site describes measuring personality from three angles, the bright side, the dark side and the inside, and sells them for talent acquisition and development. It runs certification workshops and a coaching network, and lists partners in many countries.
- Pricing: Quote only. No prices on the pages read; access goes through Hogan accounts and its partner network. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Executive and leadership selection
- Strengths: Bright-side personality measurement; Dark-side personality measurement; Inside-of-personality measurement.
Where it falls short
Hogan covers personality only, with no cognitive, skills or simulation testing, so a buyer needs another vendor for those. Interpretation is intended for certified users, which adds cost and delay.
Wrong for
A recruiter looking for a one-platform screen for hourly or high-volume roles should choose Criteria, eSkill or Harver.
Visit Hogan Assessments →
Questions and answers
What is the best pre-employment assessment software in 2026?
Alva Labs ranks first of 12, best for small and mid-sized teams hiring on evidence. Criteria is second (teams wanting one library and a trial) and Vervoe third (volume and early-career hiring). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
What is the difference between a cognitive test and a personality test for hiring?
A cognitive test measures reasoning, numerical or verbal ability under time pressure and has a right answer for every item.
Are pre-employment tests legal and fair?
Tests are legal in most countries when they relate to the job and do not disproportionately screen out protected groups. In the United States the Wonderlic legal page points to Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
How much does pre-employment assessment software cost?
None of the twelve vendors shows a list price on the pages read, so cost depends on a quote.
Can small companies use enterprise assessment platforms?
Some can. Criteria publishes a small-business route and a free trial, and eSkill's Growth plan screens up to 500 candidates a year.
Do assessment tools integrate with applicant tracking systems?
Most do. Harver, Criteria, eSkill and Alva Labs all describe ATS connections, and Alva also sells its own applicant tracking module. The practical question is depth.
How do I stop candidates from cheating on online tests?
Layers help. Proctoring options include camera and screen monitoring, browser lockdown and AI detection of copied answers; Criteria, Mercer Mettl, Maki and eSkill all describe AI proctoring features. Game-based tasks, as Equalture uses, are harder to feed to a chatbot.
Are game-based assessments better than traditional tests?
They are different. Games, such as those from Equalture and Harver's pymetrics line, measure behavior like risk tolerance, attention and learning speed.
How long should an assessment take for candidates?
Most volume hiring works best at 20 to 40 minutes in total, because completion falls as length grows. Professional roles can justify 60 to 90 minutes spread over two stages.
Should I choose a psychometric publisher or a modern assessment platform?
Pick a publisher such as SHL, Hogan or Talogy when you have trained psychologists, want norm groups and decades of validation, or select leaders where an interpreter debriefs the result.
What should I do with a candidate's assessment result?
Treat it as one input among several. Use the same cut-off for everyone applying to the same role, record the rationale and combine the score with a structured interview.
