Testing the skills and qualities of job applicants is crucial, as it not only helps to verify that an applicant is proficient in the skills they've listed on their resume but also evaluates whether they would be a good fit for your company culture.
If you want to make better acquisition decisions and eliminate human bias from your hiring process, it's essential to use the right pre-employment testing software. To help you decide between your options, this guide compares TestGorilla and Ducknowl.
TestGorilla is a pre-employment screening platform t
hat lets you evaluate candidates based on their cognitive abilities, personality traits, technical skills, and more. All TestGorilla plans include training to help your hiring team get the most out of pre-employment testing.
One of the key advantages of TestGorilla’s platform is flexibility. You can easily mix and match more than 300 tests to create a tailored assessment for any job role. You can also add custom questions to gain additional insights into an applicant's problem-solving approach.
Whether you’re a startup with a single hiring need or an enterprise-scale company with many positions to fill, TestGorilla caters to companies of all sizes. In fact, TestGorilla even offers a Free plan that businesses can use to start screening job applicants at no cost.
Ducknowl (Duck’n’owl) is a talent screening and assessment platform. It offers resume screening, skills assessments, and video interviewing through a web interface.
Companies contact Ducknowl for a custom employee screening and assessment setup that varies in price based on its complexity and the company size.
Ducknowl is designed to reduce the amount of paperwork involved in the hiring process by offering prescreening and interviews through digital means.
Both TestGorilla and Ducknowl have a library of tests you can use to evaluate applicants. The number and quality of these tests are very important, as they define how accurately you’ll be able to assess applicants.
TestGorilla has a massive library of more than 300 tests in a wide range of categories, including:
Situational judgment
Job-specific skills
Language skills
Software skills
Programming skills
Personality and culture
Cognitive ability
The tests are available in more than 10 languages. You can create a customized assessment by combining multiple tests from the library and adding custom questions to your assessments.
You can choose from a variety of question formats, including multiple-choice, text, audio, video, and file uploads.
Ducknowl has a library of more than 200 tests listed in several general categories. These include general aptitude, computer literacy, business intelligence, management, sales and marketing, and software development.
Ducknowl doesn’t specifically mention important tests such as language and culture-add, but companies can collaborate with Ducknowl to create custom tests that suit their needs.
| TestGorilla | Ducknowl |
Cognitive ability tests | Yes | Yes |
Situational judgment tests | Yes | Yes |
Job-specific tests | Yes | Yes |
Software tests | Yes | Yes |
Programming tests (including coding challenges) | Yes | Yes |
Language tests | Yes | N/A |
Personality tests | Yes | Yes |
Culture-add test | Yes | N/A |
Motivation test | Yes | N/A |
Your own custom tests | Yes | Yes |
Custom questions per assessment | Yes | Yes |
Test recommendations for each job role | Yes | N/A |
Multiple tests per assessment | Yes | N/A |
Software development requires a particularly rigorous set of tests to ensure you get the best programmers on your teams. It’s all too easy for applicants to overstate their skills on their resumes.
Programming skills tests enable candidates to prove they really have the capabilities to perform the job.
TestGorilla's comprehensive library of tests includes more than 85 programming skills tests and 50 plus software skills tests.
With TestGorilla, you can easily assess an applicant's proficiency with popular programming languages like C++, Node.js, Python, PHP, and many others. You can also evaluate mobile app development, web development, and smart contract development skills.
You can add your own coding problems or debugging challenges to create a more tailored assessment. TestGorilla also grades programming tests, saving hiring managers valuable time and ensuring a fair and unbiased evaluation process.
Ducknowl offers software programming skills and IT skills as technical assessments, but the focus is very much on soft skills.
The types of tests listed for software development are business analysis, project management, and cloud computing, with no mention of specific programming languages or coding frameworks.
| TestGorilla | Ducknowl |
Coding languages | JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, C, C#, C++, SQL, Kotlin, Ruby, TypeScript, Go, R, Scala, React, and Swift | N/A |
Web-development frameworks | Yes | N/A |
Mobile-development frameworks | Yes | N/A |
Algorithmic-thinking challenges | Yes | N/A |
Debugging challenges | Yes | N/A |
Language-specific concept challenges | Yes | N/A |
Your own custom coding challenges | Yes | Yes |
Code-playback function | Yes | N/A |
Automated scoring | Yes | Yes |
Live peer coding | No | No |
Video interviews are conducted via video conferencing software, enabling hiring managers to assess candidates remotely. There are several ways to perform video interviews, including live interviews and one-way interviews with prerecorded questions.
With TestGorilla, you can include custom one-way video questions in your assessments, requiring candidates to record video responses with limits on length and attempts.
Video interviews can be played back on any device and offer the ability to leave ratings and comments to share with your team.
There’s even the option for custom video questions, where hiring managers can add personalized questions to the interview process.
Ducknowl offers both live video and prerecorded video interviewing. The live video feature is quite straightforward, letting recruiters conduct a one-to-one interview with candidates like they could with any video conferencing software.
Employers can create basic video interviews by prerecording questions and assigning a time limit to answer them. Completed video interviews can be shared with other members of the hiring team to garner feedback on applicants’ responses.
However, some features, like recording the number of candidates’ attempts, don’t appear to be supported.
| TestGorilla | Ducknowl |
One-way video interview | Yes | Yes |
Custom video questions | Yes | Yes |
Record the number of candidates’ attempts | Yes | N/A |
Restrict maximum answer length | Yes | N/A |
Record and playback on any device | Yes | N/A |
Rate and comment video answers | Yes | N/A |
An excellent hiring experience gives applicants a good impression of your company from the beginning.
Taking advantage of features such as company-branded assessments, mobile-friendly tests, and intro videos that create a professional experience can attract the best candidates and ensure they agree to join your company when you choose to offer them the job.
TestGorilla offers qualifying questions before the assessment to prevent unqualified candidates from wasting their time.
Our software lets you customize assessments with your company's logo and brand colors, as well as start with a personalized welcome video and end with a link to your website.
Applicants can access assessments on any device without having to create a TestGorilla account. If they ever have any questions about the testing process, they can contact our customer support for assistance.
Ducknowl doesn’t specify whether it offers platform branding.
However, it’s possible to integrate Ducknowl with a company website using its API, but this is a difficult and expensive process, particularly when compared to more robust prescreening services that offer built-in branding with your company logo and colors.
| TestGorilla | Ducknowl |
Your company’s intro and/or outro video | Yes | N/A |
Assessments branded with your company logo and colors | Yes | N/A |
Customizable invitation and rejection emails | Yes | N/A |
No login required for candidates | Yes | N/A |
Mobile friendly | Yes | N/A |
Help and support for candidates | Yes | N/A |
Typical assessment length | 10-30 minutes | 20-30 minutes |
Qualifying questions prior to assessment | Yes | N/A |
Redirect candidates to a URL of your choice after finishing an assessment | Yes | N/A |
Regardless of your organization’s size, it’s important to choose a pre-employment testing platform that will accommodate your company’s hiring needs in the future.
Larger businesses must look for pre-employment testing with features that make evaluating a large number of candidates easy.
TestGorilla offers flexible plans to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.
For organizations with a global presence, TestGorilla is an excellent product. Our website and tests are available in more than 10 languages.
Hiring for multiple positions at once is a breeze with TestGorilla's bulk candidate invitations. You can track how candidates discover your company’s open roles by creating unique public links for each job board you use.
Integrating TestGorilla with popular ATS platforms such as JazzHR and SmartRecruiters is a seamless process. For enterprise-scale companies that use an internal ATS, we offer an API for easy integration.
Ducknowl doesn’t offer set plans from which to choose. Instead, it offers a bespoke service for each business. For more complex setups, there’s an API that companies can use to interact with Ducknowl’s system.
Ducknowl does offer the option to integrate with a few other systems, including JazzHR, Greenhouse, Zoho, SmartRecruiters, LinkedIn, and Indeed.
However, it doesn’t appear to offer some important features, such as role-based rights management and bulk invites to candidates from CSV uploads.
| TestGorilla | Ducknowl |
ATS integration | Yes | Yes |
Multiple users and role-based rights management | Yes | N/A |
GDPR compliant | Yes | Yes |
Multiple candidate invitation options | Yes | N/A |
Public links to invite candidates | Yes | Yes |
Public links for each candidate source | Yes | N/A |
Bulk invite candidates (CSV/XLSX upload) | Yes | N/A |
Track candidate stages from invited to hired | Yes | N/A |
API access | Yes | Yes |
Bulk actions to manage candidates | Yes | N/A |
Quality control in applicant prescreening tests ensures they are accurately evaluating the skills you really want from your employees. It helps to eliminate biases and ensures you can continually improve your testing through anonymous applicant feedback.
TestGorilla places a high emphasis on quality control when developing and administering tests.
Our tests are data-driven and undergo rigorous quality-control procedures to ensure validity and reliability. TestGorilla’s proprietary algorithms continually enhance test quality and ensure they provide accurate results.
TestGorilla regularly solicits feedback from both applicants and recruiters. This feedback helps us identify areas for development and make necessary changes to improve our testing process.
Each TestGorilla test comprises a minimum of 100 questions, but candidates will only see 12-20 questions during each test. This prevents overexposure and ensures the fairness and accuracy of the assessment.
Furthermore, we retire questions from the question bank after extended usage to maintain fresh and accurate assessments.
There’s no information to suggest that Ducknowl implements quality-control measures when developing its skills assessments.
| TestGorilla | Ducknowl |
Proprietary algorithms that continuously improve the quality of each test | Yes | N/A |
Extensive quality checks before tests go live | Yes | N/A |
Questions replaced after reaching exposure limit | Yes | N/A |
Customer feedback used to improve tests | Yes | N/A |
Test-taker feedback used to improve tests | Yes | N/A |
Falsifying prescreening job applications is all too prevalent, with candidates often looking up answers online or getting assistance from others. So, for pre-employment tests to have any validity, you must have strong anti-cheating measures in place.
TestGorilla implements various measures to ensure that candidates don’t cheat while taking assessments.
Copy and paste is disabled by default, preventing candidates from leaking questions. Plus, test-takers see a different set of questions each time they attempt an assessment.
TestGorilla also takes steps to prevent candidates from researching during assessments. Our platform lets you enforce time limits so candidates can’t look up answers.
The system notifies you if a candidate opens another window during a test, and you can choose to record a candidate’s screen or take snapshots using their webcam with the candidate’s permission.
Ducknowl detects when candidates move their mouse away from the test window and issues them a warning. This stops applicants from researching the answers to test questions online.
The platform can also be set to take screenshots of test-takers so recruiters can check if they have anyone in the room helping them. However, no further anti-cheating measures are listed on the Ducknowl website.
| TestGorilla | Ducknowl |
IP address logging (to avoid multiple attempts by the same candidate) | Yes | N/A |
Logging of a candidate’s location | Yes | N/A |
Webcam snapshots (with the option to turn on/off) | Yes | Yes |
Full-screen mode detection (to avoid research during the test) | Yes | Yes |
Randomized questions per test | Yes | N/A |
Large question pool for each test | Yes (100+) | N/A |
Questions and answers not visible to employers to protect test integrity | Yes | N/A |
Time limit on tests | Yes (typically 10 minutes) | N/A |
Copy-paste disabled | Yes | N/A |
Top-rated employee prescreening platforms show you detailed analytics of your applicants so you can choose the best candidates. It’s useful to be able to export these reports into PDFs, Excel, and CSV, too, so you can better analyze your potential workforce in other applications.
TestGorilla presents candidates' assessment results in an easily digestible, user-friendly report. You can efficiently view each applicant's performance, including scores and responses for each test section, as well as compare and rank candidates based on their abilities.
Additionally, our reporting feature enables you to add notes and comments to reports, providing additional context and insights for your team. You can share these reports with ease in PDF, XLSX, or CSV format, or export them directly to your ATS, streamlining your hiring process.
Ducknowl displays applicants’ performance with level indicators showing how they ranked on basic, intermediate, and advanced level questions. It also breaks down scores by question category.
However, Ducknowl’s website doesn’t list features like PDF reports and Excel exports, so it appears these important features are not available.
| TestGorilla | Ducknowl |
PDF reports of assessments and individual candidates | Yes | N/A |
Excel and CSV reports of assessments and individual candidates | Yes | N/A |
Comprehensive overview of all current and past candidates | Yes | N/A |
Scoring benchmarks for candidates (including percentile rank scoring) | Yes | N/A |
Add your ratings and personal notes for candidates | Yes | N/A |
It’s always important for a business-critical system like applicant prescreening to have readily available customer support. Ideally, support should be accessible for both you as a company and for the applicants themselves.
Further to this, look for platforms that offer support via phone, email, and live chat, so you can get answers to your queries through the method you prefer.
TestGorilla goes beyond the call of duty with customer support, offering live chat, email support, and a huge help center full of information on how to get the best from the system.
Both your company and test candidates can be directly supported by TestGorilla, so the amount of time you need to spend assisting applicants is minimized.
Ducknowl has a limited set of pages outlining its products and services. These pages are focused on the benefits of prescreening applicants and lack detail on the specifics of the Ducknowl platform.
Although you can schedule a live demo of the system through Ducknowl’s website, it has relatively limited customer support, and the only way to get in touch is via email.
| TestGorilla | Ducknowl |
Live chat | Yes | N/A |
Help center | Yes | N/A |
Email support | Yes | Yes |
Training and onboarding tour | Yes | Yes |
Phone assistance | No | N/A |
Pre-employment testing platforms typically offer pricing on an annual subscription model. In most cases, the cost rises based on the number of applicants and tests performed.
TestGorilla has transparent pricing, with three pricing options to suit any need. Plans are billed annually or monthly.
Free forever at $0: Full access to 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.
Ducknowl doesn’t disclose its pricing. You must contact the company for a quote based on your requirements. The price paid will depend on the specific types of screening and assessments you use.
TestGorilla | Ducknowl | ||
Plan | Price (billed annually) | Plan | Price |
Free | $0 | All pricing by request only | |
Starter | From $75 USD per month ($900 per year paid upfront) The monthly plan starts from $85 USD per month | ||
Pro | From $115 USD per month ($1,380 per year paid upfront) The monthly plan starts from $130 USD per month |
Both candidates and hiring teams benefit from a user-friendly assessment experience. A platform that is easy to use supports applicants in completing their tests while also enabling your hiring team to access and interpret the results.
To ensure the effectiveness of pre-employment assessments, it’s essential that your chosen platform provides clear instructions, a clean design, and simple navigation.
TestGorilla's user-friendly platform is designed to meet the needs of both hiring teams and candidates. The process of creating an assessment is easy, thanks to auto-suggested tests based on the job title and the ability to quickly generate custom questions.
You can easily invite candidates in bulk, and tests can be completed from any device without creating an account. Additionally, you can communicate with candidates through TestGorilla’s platform to keep them informed throughout the hiring process.
Ducknowl states that it makes pre-employment testing easier because recruiters can use resume screening, skills assessment, and video interviewing through one site.
The user interface is relatively easy for applicants to use, with big green buttons guiding them to navigate from page to page.
For businesses of any size, TestGorilla stands head and shoulders above Ducknowl in terms of features and simplicity.
TestGorilla offers a free-forever plan, transparent pricing, and a larger set of tests for applicants. It’s more customizable than Ducknowl, offering better modes of support and more detailed reports on candidates.
TestGorilla has much better anti-cheating measures, more ways to contact customer support, and performs extensive quality control on its tests to continually ensure the most accurate testing.
Overall, TestGorilla is a much better applicant prescreening service than Ducknowl on just about every metric. It’s easy to recommend TestGorilla over Ducknowl for any business looking to improve its hiring process.
Skills-based hiring and pre-employment testing have numerous benefits, including being more accurate predictors of job success than traditional resumes. By using these methods, you can save time and resources during the hiring process.
Relying on quantitative and data-backed tests, pre-employment software reduces the human bias that can interfere with hiring, helping your company to hire the right person every time.
TestGorilla offers the best pre-employment screening software for companies of all sizes, from startups to enterprises. Book a free 30-minute live demo today to start taking advantage of the benefits of TestGorilla.
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