TestGorilla vs. Crystal

Pre-employment testing is one of the best ways to improve your hiring process. It offers an understanding of candidates beyond their resumes so you can find the right person for the job and avoid expensive mis-hires. 

Pre-employment testing also streamlines your recruitment practices. Rather than reviewing piles of resumes, testing offers immediate, bias-free insights into candidates so you can start interviewing sooner. 

When it comes to pre-employment testing platforms, there are lots of options to choose from. To help you with your search, this article compares two leading providers, TestGorilla and Crystal.

How does TestGorilla work? 

TestGorilla is a customizable pre-employment testing platform that gives you insights into your candidates and leads to better hiring decisions. 

You can tailor TestGorilla assessments to the specific role you’re looking to fill. You can build assessments by choosing from a range of tests in TestGorilla’s extensive test library, such as cognitive ability tests, personality tests, and job-specific skills tests, including those for developer roles. 

These assessments are quick and easy to create and customize with your own questions. You can then send them directly to your candidates or post a public link in a job advertisement, for example. 

Candidate results are available immediately on TestGorilla’s platform. They’re presented in easy-to-read reports alongside bias-free insights into your talent pool. 

TestGorilla replaces the time-consuming resume evaluation process. It makes hiring more efficient and helps you gain a valuable understanding of your candidates beyond the information in their resumes. 

TestGorilla helps you hire with confidence while saving you time and money by offering top-quality customer and candidate support.

How does Crystal work? 

Crystal describes itself as a personality data platform for B2B sales organizations. It offers various tools, including pre-employment tests, that deliver personality insights into buyers, co-workers, and job candidates. 

While Crystal’s main products are designed to help the sales industry better understand and communicate with buyers, its Jobs feature can be used during the hiring process to:

• Help you with candidate research and identify the best fit

• Improve your communication with candidates

• Enhance the onboarding experience for new hires based on what motivates or inspires them

Crystal also provides a hiring tool that collects internal feedback to identify the personality traits of your ideal candidate. You can then use this as a guide for finding candidates who are the best fit for the role.

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Test libraries 

A test library should offer a broad range of tests so you can find the ones most relevant to the role you’re filling. These may include personality, cognitive ability, motivation, and job-specific skills tests. The more tests there are, the more you can tailor an assessment to a specific role. 

TestGorilla’s test library 

TestGorilla offers one of the most extensive test libraries of any pre-employment testing platform, with more than 280 tests available and further tests in development. 

These include tests to assess:

• Cognitive intelligence

• Situational judgment

• Personality and culture fit

• Language skills, including English, Japanese, Russian, and Arabic

• Programming skills

• Job-specific skills

TestGorilla’s tests are customizable. You can add your own questions to tailor them to your company and hiring process, and with localized websites in 11 languages, TestGorilla’s assessments are perfect for conducting international recruitment processes. 

Crystal’s test library

Crystal offers two personality insight tools you can use during the hiring process. 

Firstly, it has a Chrome extension that uses machine learning and AI to predict an individual’s personality based on information publicly available online. 

Crystal also offers free personality tests via its website, including:

• A personality profile test

• DISC personality test measuring dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness

• 16-Personality test looking at five personality factors to categorize personality archetypes

• Enneagram test measuring basic motivations, stressors, and areas for growth

• Big 5 Personality Traits test assessing openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

Crystal only offers personality tests. It doesn’t support cognitive ability, language, or job-specific skills tests. 

Test libraries: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Functionalities for hiring developers 

Developers need a unique skill set to excel professionally. To ensure you’re hiring the most talented person, a pre-employment testing platform should include tests that specifically assess developer-related skills. 

These include working with different coding languages and mobile-development frameworks. 

Hiring developers with TestGorilla 

TestGorilla offers various tests to assess developer-related skills like:

• Coding languages including PHP, Javascript, C, C#, C++, and Scala

• Coding challenges

• Debugging challenges

• Web-development frameworks including Flutter and Django

These tests enable you to explore all aptitude levels, from basic programming skills to high-level software development. Best of all, you can add custom coding questions to simulate challenges a candidate would face in the role. 

Coding tests are also recorded to replay at your convenience to see how a candidate approached the task and how long it took them.

Hiring developers with Crystal

As Crystal is a personality data platform, it doesn’t offer any tests directly related to hiring developers. 

Functionalities for hiring developers: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Video interviews

For candidates, video interviews add variety to the pre-employment testing process, and for employers, they offer deeper insights into candidates’ presentation and communication skills. 

Look out for features like one-way video interviews or custom video questions. 

TestGorilla’s video interviews 

TestGorilla offers advanced video features which provide added insights into candidates while improving their testing experience. 

Features like one-way and custom video questions are ideal pre-screening tools, letting you review candidates’ responses at your convenience to decide whether to conduct a face-to-face interview. 

Like many TestGorilla features, video questions are fully customizable. You can set the candidates’ answer length and add notes and scores to each answer to review later with your hiring team. 

Crystal’s video interviews 

According to its website, Crystal doesn’t appear to offer any video interview features. 

Video interviews: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Candidate experience and company branding

Candidates are more likely to engage with a user-friendly assessment experience. They also perform better when they feel comfortable and supported during the process. 

For these reasons, look out for features that improve the candidate experience, like test length, mobile friendliness, and support. 

Also, look for company branding features that let you personalize tests and assessments, making them more memorable for candidates.

The candidate experience with TestGorilla 

TestGorilla prioritizes the candidate experience by ensuring users feel supported and comfortable during the testing process. 

TestGorilla’s assessments are easily accessible from anywhere, they’re mobile-friendly, and don’t require candidates to set up an account.

TestGorilla provides candidates with a comprehensive online guide with advice on how to complete their assessment and troubleshoot any problems. 

Plus, TestGorilla includes extensive company branding features that let you deliver a unique experience to candidates. These include adding your organization’s logo, colors, and intro and outro videos to assessments. 

The candidate experience with Crystal

Crystal offers a mobile app for iOS and Android, enabling candidates to complete their test from anywhere. There’s also no requirement to create an account to access the test. An online help center answers a range of customer and candidate FAQs. 

While Crystal doesn’t appear to let you add your company’s intro or outro video to assessments, you can add your company branding. This includes using your organization’s logo and colors.

Candidate experience and company branding: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Enterprise and startup friendliness

For most businesses, your pre-employment testing platform needs to be able to grow with your hiring needs. 

Look for features that support both startup and enterprise-level recruitment. These include ATS integrations, GDPR compliance, and API access. 

TestGorilla’s enterprise and startup friendliness

TestGorilla’s robust features cater to small, scaling, and enterprise-level organizations. 

Company branding options and affordable pricing are ideal for small and growing businesses. And, with features like role-based rights management and bulk candidate invitations, large enterprises can streamline international recruitment drives. 

ATS integrations and API access also help you tailor your pre-employment testing process to suit your business needs. 

Crystal’s enterprise and startup friendliness

Crystal’s free personality testing is useful for small businesses and startups with limited budgets. 

Crystal also has several features that support enterprise-level recruitment. For example, it offers multiple candidate invite options. 

While it doesn’t appear to offer ATS integrations or public API access, Crystal lets you set user permissions to the platform. This means you can give members of your hiring team the access level they need. 

Enterprise and startup friendliness: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Quality control

To rely on the results of your pre-employment testing, you need to be assured tests are accurate and reliable. 

Pre-employment testing should be science-based and include features such as extensive quality checks and question cycling or replacement. 

TestGorilla’s quality-control processes

TestGorilla offers reliable and accurate pre-employment tests. 

Each test is developed by experts and goes through a thorough 28-step process before going live. 

Robust quality-control features, such as a proprietary algorithm that continually improves each test, means you can rely on candidate results. 

Test questions are also replaced after reaching an exposure limit to ensure fresh content. 

TestGorilla is also highly responsive to both customer and candidate feedback to improve the usability of its tests. 

Crystal’s quality-control processes

According to Crystal, both its Personality AI and tests have a high degree of accuracy – 80% and 97%, respectively. Crystal notes that if a candidate disagrees with their results, they can ask to retake it. 

Crystal’s personality tests are based on some of the most popular personality models. However, Crystal doesn’t appear to provide any further information about its quality-control processes on its website. 

Quality control: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Anti-cheating measures

Effective anti-cheating measures ensure a candidate’s results accurately reflect their skills, abilities, and personality. When this is the case, you can rely on test results to help your decision-making process to choose the right person for the job. 

Limiting opportunities for cheating also provides candidates with an even playing field. It prevents dishonest candidates from gaining an unfair advantage by either preparing for the test or having someone else complete it for them. 

TestGorilla’s anti-cheating measures 

TestGorilla incorporates a range of anti-cheating measures to protect the integrity of candidates’ test results. 

TestGorilla uses IP address monitoring, timed tests, and full-screen mode detection to prevent candidates from seeking outside help or asking someone else to take the test. Plus, a webcam snapshot feature confirms that the correct candidate is present (with their permission). 

Extra features such as disabling copy and paste and question randomization further ensure that candidates complete their assessment without any outside research. 

Crystal’s anti-cheating measures

Crystal doesn’t provide any information about its anti-cheating measures on its website. 

Anti-cheating measures: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Reporting and analytics

Reports and analytics interpret results and enable HR managers to select the best candidate for the role. Ideally, reports should be easy to download and available to your entire hiring team. 

TestGorilla’s reporting and analytics features

TestGorilla translates candidate results into easy-to-understand, shareable reports. These let you quickly compare candidates and identify top talent. 

TestGorilla’s reports use a scoring benchmark to rank applicants. They summarize candidates’ results and give you insights into their performance and suitability for a role. 

Reports are downloadable in PDF, CSV, and Excel format, and it’s effortless to add your notes and share them with your team. 

Crystal’s reporting and analytics features

Crystal offers users a range of reports (Playbooks) to understand candidate results and how you can apply them. There’s a range of Playbook templates to choose from, including:

• Getting to Know Someone

• Communicating with Someone

• Interview a Candidate

• Evaluate Candidates

Users can also create custom Playbooks, choosing which people and results to include. Although, it’s not possible to add personal notes or ratings to these. You can also download these reports as a PDF to share with your hiring team. 

Crystal also offers a Role Report tool to help you identify which candidates are best suited to a specific role. 

Key stakeholders in the hiring process complete a role expectations survey. Based on this, Crystal creates an ideal personality type that you can then compare candidates to on a visual Personality Map.

Reporting and analytics: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Customer support

The hallmark of a quality pre-employment testing platform is good customer support. This helps you get the most out of the software’s features and address any issues you run into. 

Most testing platforms offer one or more ways to contact their customer support, including live chat, phone, and email. Some also have an online help center answering FAQs. 

TestGorilla’s customer support

TestGorilla offers unparalleled customer support to help you maximize the platform’s features to benefit your organization. Customer support is available to clients and candidates via chat and email. Business users can also contact TestGorilla by phone. 

New customers receive an onboarding tour, so they are up-to-speed on how to use the software from day one. Plus, TestGorilla regularly publishes product updates and helpful how-to articles on the blog, ensuring customers stay informed. 

Crystal’s customer support

Crystal offers a range of training videos and articles via its online help center. Additional customer support is also offered via email, but there’s no phone assistance available. 

Business-level subscribers receive a dedicated customer service manager and live training to familiarize themselves with the platform. 

Customer support: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Pricing

Most pre-employment testing platforms offer pricing according to a monthly fee. It’s important to check how many candidates, tests, or employees these allow, as some platforms charge for extra users. 

Some pre-employment testing platforms also offer a free trial or basic plans. This is a great way to explore whether it’s the right choice for your business. 

TestGorilla’s pricing 

• Free forever at $0 - 10 free tests, including all personality tests.

• Depending on the size of your company, paid plans begin with:

• Starter from $75 USD per month ($900 per year paid upfront)  - start with skills-based hiring for all roles. There is also the option to pay monthly, starting from $85 USD per month.

• Pro from $115 USD per month ($1,380 per year paid upfront) - maximize your hiring with advanced features. There is also the option to pay monthly, starting from $130 USD per month.

Crystal’s pricing 

Crystal offers three plans: 

• The Free version gives you up to 10 profiles per month and access to all personality assessments

• The Premium subscription at $49 per month gives you up to 20 profiles and access to some Playbook features 

• To access all features, users need to contact Crystal for a custom quote. 

Pricing: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Crystal: Ease of use

User-friendly features encourage both your hiring team and candidates to engage with pre-employment testing. A well-designed user interface, easy navigation, and simple test creation are all features to look out for. 

TestGorilla’s ease of use 

TestGorilla’s customers like how easy it is to set up and send out assessments to candidates. With both pre-built and customizable tests, it’s possible to create assessments in minutes and automate candidate invitations. 

TestGorilla’s user-friendly interface and dashboard make it simple to manage and analyze candidates’ results. 

Plus, clear instructions and a range of support to guide both customers and candidates are provided throughout the assessment process. 

Crystal’s ease of use 

Crystal is designed to be straightforward to use. With a side navigation panel and drop-down tools menu, users have quick access to Crystal’s key features when using the platform. 

Its online assessments are simple for candidates to use, usually taking less than 10 minutes to complete. 

Crystal’s Chrome extension also integrates with apps like Slack, Gmail, and Outlook. This provides customers with insights from Crystal while communicating with candidates via these platforms. 

Conclusion: TestGorilla vs. Crystal 

TestGorilla and Crystal both offer online personality tests designed to streamline and remove unconscious bias from your hiring process. 

They also both offer reports with insights into a candidate’s fit for a role and their strengths and weaknesses in the workplace. 

Ultimately though, TestGorilla offers an unparalleled test library, highly customizable settings, and a raft of additional features. 

In particular, TestGorilla is ideal for testing candidates’ job-specific skills and capabilities beyond their personality traits. You can tailor tests to a role by adding specific questions, including video interview questions. 

With flexible pricing plans to suit any business, TestGorilla is the best choice for your pre-employment testing needs. 

Streamline your hiring process with pre-employment testing

More and more companies are taking a skills-based approach to hiring by incorporating pre-employment testing, and it’s easy to see why. Not only does pre-employment testing offer deeper, more objective insights into your candidates, but it also streamlines the hiring process and leads to better hiring decisions. 

If you’re considering adopting a skills-based approach to recruitment in your organization, TestGorilla is a superior choice. Learn more about our fully customizable pre-employment tests and assessments during a free live demo with a member of our sales team.