Testing job candidates’ skills and qualities is an effective way to get the right hires for your business. It ensures that an applicant is proficient at the skills they list on their resume and evaluates whether they’ll be a good fit for your company.
Importantly, pre-employment screening helps remove human bias from your hiring process.
You need the right pre-employment testing software to make better hiring decisions. This guide compares the features of TestGorilla and 123Test.
Table of contents
- How does TestGorilla work?
- How does 123Test work?
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Test libraries
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Functionalities for hiring developers
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Video interviews
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Candidate experience and company branding
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Enterprise and startup friendliness
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Quality control
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Anti-cheating measures
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Reporting and analytics
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Customer support
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Pricing
- TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Ease of use
- Conclusion: TestGorilla vs. 123Test
- Streamline your hiring process with pre-employment testing
- âś… Get started with TestGorilla today
How does TestGorilla work?
TestGorilla is a pre-employment screening platform with more than 280 tests to help you find your next great hire.
You can evaluate candidates’ personalities, test their programming skills, assess their cognitive abilities, and much more.
We develop all our tests in consultation with subject-matter experts and put them through a rigorous quality-control process.
TestGorilla makes it easy to mix and match tests to create custom assessments that fit your company’s needs. You can also add custom questions to any assessment.
TestGorilla offers plans for small businesses, large enterprises, and every organization in between. You can easily share applicants’ test results with your entire hiring team to make the process more inclusive and collaborative.
How does 123Test work?
123Test is an online platform that offers personality, IQ, and cognitive ability tests. Anyone can take 123Test exams for free at any time. It also offers paid training courses for individuals who want to score higher on IQ and cognitive ability tests.
123Test isn’t specifically designed for businesses and doesn’t integrate with applicant tracking systems. However, hiring managers can request that job applicants take a test on the site and share the results.
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Test libraries
The more screening tests your company has access to, the more topics you can test candidates on. This is important for organizations that are hiring for multiple job roles with different requirements.
TestGorilla’s test library
TestGorilla offers more than 280 tests across categories such as:
- Personality and culture
- Cognitive ability
- Software skills
- Programming skills
- Language skills
- Situational judgment
- Job-specific skills
You can combine multiple tests from the library to create an assessment. TestGorilla will recommend tests based on the job you’re hiring for, or you can add any tests from the library.
In addition, TestGorilla enables you to add custom questions to your assessments. These include multiple-choice, text, audio, video, and file upload formats.
123Test’s test library
123Test offers 28 tests. There are 21 IQ tests that assess logical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and related cognitive skills. The other tests evaluate different facets of an individual’s personality.
123Test doesn’t have any hard skills tests, such as tests for software or programming skills, and you can’t combine multiple tests into an assessment or create your own questions.
In addition to the tests, 123Test offers 10 training courses that are designed to prepare individuals for IQ tests. The training courses are similar in content to 123Test’s IQ tests but offer a greater number of questions.
Test libraries: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | |
| Cognitive ability tests | Yes | Yes |
| Situational judgment tests | Yes | Yes |
| Job-specific tests | Yes | No |
| Software tests | Yes | No |
| Programming tests (including coding challenges) | Yes | No |
| Language tests | Yes | Yes |
| Personality tests | Yes | Yes |
| Culture-add test | Yes | No |
| Motivation test | Yes | Yes |
| Your own custom tests | Yes | No |
| Custom questions per assessment | Yes | No |
| Test recommendations for each job role | Yes | No |
| Multiple tests per assessment | Yes | No |
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Functionalities for hiring developers
Developers are critical to any organization that needs to build or maintain software.
Programming skills tests enable you to hire developers who can take your software stack to the next level.
Hiring developers with TestGorilla
TestGorilla offers 16 programming skills tests for coding languages like Node.js, C++, PHP, Python, and more. You can add custom coding problems to any test and create debugging challenges to evaluate candidates’ error-fixing skills.
TestGorilla automatically grades programming tests, making it easy to rank developers based on their skills. You can also record applicants’ screens while they take the test. This enables hiring managers to see how each candidate approaches coding problems.
Hiring developers with 123Test
123Test doesn’t offer any tests to evaluate programming or software skills.
Functionalities for hiring developers: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | |
| Coding languages | JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, C, C#, C++, SQL, Kotlin, Ruby, TypeScript, Go, R, Scala, React, and Swift | None |
| Web-development frameworks | Yes | No |
| Mobile-development frameworks | Yes | No |
| Algorithmic-thinking challenges | Yes | No |
| Debugging challenges | Yes | No |
| Language-specific concept challenges | Yes | No |
| Your own custom coding challenges | Yes | No |
| Code-playback function | Yes | No |
| Automated scoring | Yes | No |
| Live peer coding | No | No |
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Video interviews
Video interviews give hiring managers and recruiters a better look at a candidate’s personality and problem-solving process compared to text-based answers.
TestGorilla’s video interviews
TestGorilla enables you to add one-way video questions to any assessment. To respond to this question format, candidates must record a video. You can set the maximum video length as well as limit the number of recording attempts a candidate can make.Â
You can watch video responses on any device. TestGorilla also enables you to leave ratings and comments. This makes it easy to share your thoughts with the rest of your hiring team.
123Test’s video interviews
123Test doesn’t offer any video questions or offer a way for candidates to record video responses.
Video interviews: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | |
| One-way video interview | Yes | No |
| Custom video questions | Yes | No |
| Record the number of candidates’ attempts | Yes | No |
| Restrict maximum answer length | Yes | No |
| Record and playback on any device | Yes | No |
| Rate and comment video answers | Yes | No |
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Candidate experience and company branding
Providing a good hiring experience is important to ensure that qualified candidates don’t drop out of your hiring process. It also makes your brand more memorable, which can encourage more highly skilled individuals to apply the next time you have an open role.
The candidate experience with TestGorilla
TestGorilla provides an effective pre-employment screening experience. You can invite candidates to take an assessment with a public or private link, and applicants can launch the assessment on any device at any time without creating an account.
Each TestGorilla test takes 10-15 minutes, and an assessment typically takes 30-60 minutes in total. If candidates have questions at any point during the process, they can contact TestGorilla’s customer support team via live chat or email.
You can personalize assessments with your company’s logo and brand colors and redirect applicants to your organization’s website or another landing page at the end of each assessment.
TestGorilla even has tools to help you keep applicants updated about their progress. You can create custom rejection emails to send to those who won’t proceed further in the hiring process and personalized invitations to candidates who will move to the next stage.
The candidate experience with 123Test
123Test is not specifically designed for organizations and doesn’t integrate with your hiring process. You must manually email candidates with a link to the test you would like them to take and then ask them to share their results with you.
Each test takes around 10-20 minutes to complete. Applicants can take tests on any device, and they can see their results without creating a 123Test account. However, they must create an account in order to save and share their results.
There’s also no option to brand tests. Applicants have access to 123Test’s support team for questions, but assistance is available by email only.
Candidate experience and company branding: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | |
| Your company’s intro and/or outro video | Yes | No |
| Assessments branded with your company logo and colors | Yes | No |
| Customizable invitation and rejection emails | Yes | No |
| No login required for candidates | Yes | Required to save results |
| Mobile friendly | Yes | Yes |
| Help and support for your candidates | Yes | Yes |
| Typical assessment length | 30-60 minutes | 10-20 minutes |
| Qualifying questions prior to assessment | Yes | No |
| Redirect candidates to a URL of your choice after finishing an assessment | Yes | No |
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Enterprise and startup friendliness
Organizations from startups to large enterprises can benefit from pre-employment screening. You need a platform that can grow with your company as your hiring needs change over time.
TestGorilla’s enterprise and startup friendliness
TestGorilla offers multiple pricing options to cater to businesses of every size.
Our Free plan provides a way for small businesses and new ventures to get started with pre-employment screening software at no cost. Tiered plans offer more features, including custom questions, for larger businesses.
TestGorilla also has a custom plan for enterprise-scale companies.
TestGorilla integrates with ATS platforms like Greenhouse, SmartRecruiters, and JazzHR, making it easy to keep track of candidates’ assessment results alongside their resumes and other application data. Enterprises can use TestGorilla’s API to import assessment data to a custom hiring platform.
TestGorilla has localized websites in 11 languages, enabling your team to recruit talent from around the world or hire local employees for your international offices.
TestGorilla also helps you hire for multiple positions at the same time. You can send bulk invitations for candidates to take assessments.
You can also create a unique public assessment link for each site where you post jobs. This enables you to track how applicants are finding out about your open roles.
123Test’s enterprise and startup friendliness
Most of the tests on 123Test are available for free, but training courses and some extended reports cost money.
Businesses can pre-purchase credits for these paid products and email the credit code to candidates. However, it’s not possible to send out credit codes in bulk, and you must send each one manually.
123Test doesn’t integrate with ATS platforms, and the reports are in PDF format. So, it’s not straightforward to import applicants’ test result data into an ATS platform or to directly compare candidates against one another. The platform also doesn’t offer an API.
123Test has localized websites in five languages.
Enterprise and startup friendliness: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | |
| ATS integration | Yes | No |
| Multiple users and role-based rights management | Yes | No |
| GDPR compliant | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple candidate invitation options | Yes | No |
| Public links to invite candidates | Yes | Yes |
| Public links for each candidate source | Yes | No |
| Bulk invite candidates (CSV/XLSX upload) | Yes | No |
| Track candidate stages from invited to hired | Yes | No |
| API access | Yes | No |
| Bulk actions to manage candidates | Yes | No |
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Quality control
For pre-employment screening to be useful in hiring, it’s crucial to trust the tests you’re using to screen candidates. For this reason, it’s important to understand the quality-control measures that go into each test.
TestGorilla’s quality-control processes
All of TestGorilla’s tests are data-backed and reviewed by subject-matter experts, peer reviewers, and sample testers. We also use proprietary algorithms that continuously improve the quality of our tests based on feedback from companies and applicants.
The question bank for each test includes at least 100 questions. Tests use 12-20 questions each time you administer them.
TestGorilla recycles questions out of the bank after they have been used several times. This prevents them from being overexposed, which could give future applicants an unfair advantage.
123Test’s quality-control processes
123Test uses psychometric research and proven theories to develop its tests. It creates each test in conjunction with professional test developers.
However, 123Test doesn’t perform continuous updates to its existing tests. The software doesn’t replace questions after they have been used repeatedly. There’s also no mechanism for businesses or test-takers to provide feedback about the tests.
Quality control: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | |
| Proprietary algorithms that continuously improve the quality of each test | Yes | No |
| Extensive quality checks before tests go live | Yes | Yes |
| Questions replaced after reaching exposure limit | Yes | No |
| Customer feedback used to improve tests | Yes | No |
| Test-taker feedback used to improve tests | Yes | No |
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Anti-cheating measures
Anti-cheating measures ensure that candidates’ responses reflect their true skills and abilities. They also prevent individuals from getting an unfair leg up in your testing process.
TestGorilla’s anti-cheating measures
TestGorilla offers a number of features to prevent cheating.
First, TestGorilla replaces questions before they’re overused, and you can disable copy and paste to prevent applicants from leaking questions. In addition, TestGorilla cycles questions from the question bank for each assessment.
TestGorilla alerts hiring managers if a candidate opens another window while taking an assessment. This can indicate that they’re researching answers. You can also set time limits on assessments to prevent applicants from finishing if they spend time looking up answers.
With a candidate’s permission, you can also record their screen or monitor the test environment using their webcam.
123Test’s anti-cheating measures
123Test doesn’t offer any anti-cheating measures. Tests don’t have time limits, and there are no features to prevent candidates from researching answers.
Anti-cheating measures: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | |
| IP address logging (to avoid multiple attempts by the same candidate) | Yes | No |
| Logging of a candidate’s location | Yes | No |
| Webcam snapshots (with the option to turn on/off) | Yes | No |
| Full-screen mode detection (to avoid research during the test) | Yes | No |
| Randomized questions per test | Yes | No |
| Large question pool for each test | Yes (100+) | No |
| Questions and answers not visible to employers to protect test integrity | Yes | No |
| Time limit on tests | Yes (typically 10 minutes) | No |
| Copy-paste disabled | Yes | No |
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Reporting and analytics
Reporting tools are essential for making the most of your pre-employment screening results. They can help you compare candidates and decide who to invite for an in-person interview.
TestGorilla’s reporting and analytics features
TestGorilla offers a detailed report for each applicant that shows their overall assessment result as well as the results for each test component.
You can review candidate responses and add notes or ratings. You can also share reports with your hiring team in PDF, XLSX, and CSV formats.
You can compare candidates directly and rank them according to their scores. This makes it easy to find top-scoring applicants and decide who should move to the next stage of the hiring process.
123Test’s reporting and analytics features
123Test offers a basic report for each test that displays a candidate’s responses and overall score. Several personality tests offer extended reports with more detail about average responses but are not free.
123Test doesn’t send reports directly to employers. Instead, applicants must create a 123Test account, download a PDF version of their report, and send it to hiring managers. There are no tools directly comparing candidates’ performance on tests.
Reporting and analytics: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | |
| PDF reports of assessments and individual candidates | Yes | Yes |
| Excel and CSV reports of assessments and individual candidates | Yes | No |
| Comprehensive overview for all current and past candidates | Yes | No |
| Scoring benchmarks for candidates (including percentile rank scoring) | Yes | No |
| Add your ratings and personal notes for candidates | Yes | No |
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Customer support
Your pre-employment screening platform should have a responsive customer support team to answer any questions. Look for a thorough self-service help center and multiple ways to get in touch.
TestGorilla’s customer support
TestGorilla offers customer and candidate support by email and live chat. All new users receive an onboarding tour to help them get started.
There’s also an online help center with detailed tutorials that show how to create assessments and build reports.
123Test’s customer support
123Test offers support by email only. There’s a brief FAQs page on the 123Test website, but no onboarding tour for new users.
Customer support: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | |
| Live chat | Yes | No |
| Help center | Yes | No |
| Email support | Yes | Yes |
| Training and onboarding tour | Yes | No |
| Phone assistance | No | No |
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Pricing
Your pre-employment testing software should offer the perfect plan to meet your organization’s hiring needs.
TestGorilla’s pricing
TestGorilla offers four pricing options:
Free plan:
- Free forever
- Unlimited assessments for free tests
- 10 tests including communication, enneagram, and JavaScript
Pay as you go plan:
- $312 per year
- One assessment and up to 100 candidates per year
- $150 for each additional assessment and $1.20 for each additional candidate
- All tests in TestGorilla’s library
- Create custom questions using essay, multiple-choice, and file upload formats
Scale plan:
- $3,900 per year
- 15 assessments and up to 1,500 candidates per year
- $120 for each additional assessment and $0.90 for each additional candidate
- Add your company’s brand to your assessments
- Integrate with 15+ ATS platforms
Business plan:
- $26,400 per year
- Includes 125 assessments and up to 12,500 candidates per year
- $95 for each additional assessment and $0.70 for each additional candidate
- API available for custom integrations
All TestGorilla plans require an annual subscription. TestGorilla also offers custom pricing for enterprise-scale companies.
123Test’s pricing
All tests on 123Test are free and include free reports.
Extended reports for personality tests cost $8.99-$17.99 each.
Assessment training courses cost $19.99 each for three months of access. You can also purchase all 10 available training courses for $47.99.
Pricing: Comparison chart at a glance
| TestGorilla | 123Test | ||
| Plan | Price (billed annually) | Plan | Price |
| Free | $0 | Free tests | $0 |
| Pay as you go | $26 per month | Extended reports | $8.99-$17.99 each |
| Scale | $325 per month | Training courses | $19.99 each or $47.99 for all |
| Business | $2,200 per month | ||
TestGorilla vs. 123Test: Ease of use
It’s crucial that your pre-employment screening platform is easy to use. The more user-friendly it is, the more likely your hiring team is to use it.
TestGorilla’s user interface and ease of use
TestGorilla offers a seamless user interface and an excellent user experience.
TestGorilla automatically suggests tests to include in your assessment based on the job role you’re hiring for. You can add custom questions to any assessment in minutes, and you can also review candidates’ responses on any device.
You can send invitations in bulk to all applicants and create unique links for each job site your company uses, enabling you to track how candidates found your job post.
TestGorilla integrates with more than 15 ATS platforms to help you manage applicant data. User permissions and shareable notes make it easy to collaborate with other members of your hiring team.
123Test’s user interface and ease of use
123Test enables businesses to send applicants a link to a free test or prepaid credits for a training course or extended report. However, it’s not possible to send bulk invitations or to create unique links for each job site your company uses.
Candidates must manually share their results with hiring managers. This requires them to create an account, download their report, and then email the report.
123Test doesn’t provide CSV reports, which makes it difficult to import data into an ATS platform.
Conclusion: TestGorilla vs. 123Test
TestGorilla and 123Test both offer pre-employment screening tests, but they have very different capabilities.
TestGorilla offers more than 280 tests for personality, cognitive ability, programming skills, job-specific skills, and more. You can combine multiple tests into an assessment and add custom questions. TestGorilla makes it easy to rank candidates based on their assessment scores and integrates with ATS platforms to streamline your hiring process.
123Test has only 28 tests for personality and cognitive ability. The platform doesn’t support custom questions and doesn’t integrate with ATS platforms. 123Test also doesn’t offer anti-cheating measures and doesn’t update its questions over time.
TestGorilla is the best choice for pre-employment screening. You can quickly evaluate candidates based on the skills that matter most for your open position. It’s also easy to keep track of your pre-employment screening data and collaborate with your hiring team throughout the screening process.
Streamline your hiring process with pre-employment testing
Pre-employment testing helps you find the best candidate quickly. You can see what skills and qualities an applicant will bring to your company before you invite them to an in-person interview.
TestGorilla is a leading pre-employment screening service catering to businesses of all sizes. Check out our plans to find the best person for your next hire.
