Best Pre-Employment Assessment Tools: 12 Compared
TL;DR
- Assessment tools fall into four groups: general skills tests, cognitive and personality tests, coding tests, and structured interviews used as the assessment.
- Choose the type that measures what the job needs. A personality test will not tell you whether someone can write SQL.
- Any test you use should be job-related and applied to every candidate in the same way.
- Keep assessments short. Long tests early in the process lose good candidates.
Pre-employment assessment tools measure a candidate's skills, abilities or traits before a hiring decision. Used well, they add evidence that a resume and an informal conversation cannot.
This guide compares 12 tools. Cloutra is our product. It assesses candidates through a structured interview, not a test, so we have placed it in its own group and explained the difference. Details on the other vendors come from their own websites as of October 2026. Confirm features and prices with each vendor before you decide.
What are pre-employment assessment tools?
They are software products that test or evaluate job candidates in a consistent way. The main types are:
- Skills tests. Tests of job skills such as writing, spreadsheets, sales or customer service, often with job simulations.
- Cognitive and personality tests. Tests of reasoning ability, work style and motivation.
- Coding tests. Programming tasks and technical interviews for software roles.
- Interview-based assessment. A structured interview, scored against set criteria, used in place of or beside a test.
General skills tests
1. TestGorilla
TestGorilla is a skills-testing platform with a large test library, AI-scored video questions, AI interviews and job simulations.
- Best for: teams that want a wide choice of ready-made tests with a free plan to start.
- Keep in mind: usage is credit-based, and some features sit on the higher plan.
2. Vervoe
Vervoe offers role-based skills tests, job simulations and cognitive assessments, with an AI assessment builder and AI grading.
- Best for: companies that want candidates to do a sample of the real work.
- Keep in mind: it is now positioned for enterprises and sold through a demo.
3. eSkill
eSkill has a library covering more than 600 subjects, with skills, behavioral and cognitive tests, job simulations and one-way interviews. Scaleworks acquired eSkill in 2024.
- Best for: employers that need tests across many kinds of role, including manufacturing, healthcare and call centers.
- Keep in mind: pricing is through sales.
4. iMocha
iMocha is a skills assessment and skills-intelligence platform with a large skills library, coding simulators and automated video interviews.
- Best for: enterprises that want to assess skills for hiring and for developing existing staff.
- Keep in mind: it is an enterprise product with pricing by quote.
Cognitive and personality tests
5. Criteria
Criteria offers cognitive aptitude, personality, emotional intelligence and skills assessments, along with video interviewing.
- Best for: companies of any size that want well-established aptitude and personality tests.
- Keep in mind: pricing is by request, and AI features are add-ons.
6. SHL
SHL provides behavioral, cognitive and personality assessments, skills tests and simulations, plus services such as managed assessment centers.
- Best for: large enterprises with formal hiring and talent programs.
- Keep in mind: it is aimed at enterprise buyers, with no public pricing.
7. Wonderlic
Wonderlic measures cognitive ability, personality and motivation, with one product for hiring and another for developing employees.
- Best for: employers that want a quick measure of general ability and work style.
- Keep in mind: its focus is cognitive, personality and motivation, not job-skills or coding tests.
8. Bryq
Bryq combines cognitive, personality and skills assessments with AI-built role profiles.
- Best for: small teams that want published pricing and a combined assessment.
- Keep in mind: the published plan is for small companies. Larger ones need a quote.
9. Harver
Harver is an assessment suite for volume hiring, covering personality, cognitive and situational judgment tests, simulations, game-based assessments and reference checking. In September 2026 it announced the acquisition of Symphony Talent.
- Best for: high-volume hiring in contact centers, outsourcing and retail.
- Keep in mind: it is built for volume and priced by quote.
Coding tests
10. HackerRank
HackerRank is a technical hiring platform with take-home coding assessments, live technical interviews and an AI interviewer.
- Best for: companies hiring software developers.
- Keep in mind: it covers technical roles only.
11. Codility
Codility offers coding, SQL, system design and AI-skill tasks, with products for screening and for live interviews.
- Best for: engineering teams that want structured technical screening.
- Keep in mind: it is engineering-focused, and trials run through sales.
Interview-based assessment
12. Cloutra
Cloutra assesses candidates in two steps. It scores each resume against the job and shows the reasons. Then its interview agent, Alex, runs a structured first-round video interview, asks follow-up questions and scores the answers against the same criteria for every candidate, quoting what each one said. A recruiter reviews the evidence and decides.
- Best for: teams that want to assess how candidates think and communicate without sending a separate test.
- Keep in mind: Cloutra is not a test library. If you need a typing test, a coding challenge or a psychometric profile, pair it with one of the tools above.
How to choose assessment tools for hiring
Start with the job. List the three or four things a person must be able to do in the role, then pick the assessment that measures them directly.
Check that it is job-related. In the United States, a test that screens out a protected group at a higher rate must be shown to relate to the job. Ask vendors for their validation evidence and adverse impact data.
Respect the candidate's time. Decide where in the process the assessment sits and how long it takes. A short, relevant assessment keeps more candidates than a long, generic one.
Use the result as one input. No test should make the decision alone. Combine it with a structured interview and references.
Confirm it works with your systems. Check whether results flow into your ATS, and whether the integration costs extra.
Frequently asked questions
What is a pre-employment assessment?
It is a test or structured evaluation given to job candidates before a hiring decision, used to measure skills, abilities, personality or job knowledge in a consistent way.
Are pre-employment assessments legal?
Yes, when they are job-related and applied consistently. Tests that have a disproportionate effect on a protected group can be challenged unless the employer can show they are necessary for the job. Rules differ by country and state, so take legal advice.
Which type of assessment predicts job performance best?
Research on hiring has consistently found that work-sample tests, structured interviews and tests of general ability are among the better predictors, and that combining methods works better than relying on one.
Can a structured interview replace a skills test?
For many roles, yes. A structured interview scored against set criteria assesses reasoning, communication and experience. For roles that depend on a measurable skill, such as coding or data entry, add a test of that skill.
Related guides
See how Cloutra scores resumes and runs structured first-round interviews for one of your open roles.