Compare/Head to head

Brainner vs SquarePeg

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Starting price

Brainner

$249/mo

AI resume screening and candidate fraud detection with ATS sync. Paid Professional is listed at $249/mo; 25-candidate free start.

Where Brainner fits

TA teams drowning in inbound resumes
Companies on Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Ashby, or iCIMS
Hiring that needs fraud signals, not only a score
Desks that will try 25 candidates before paying

SquarePeg is an AI screening layer that sits on top of your ATS and ranks every applicant with the resume evidence behind each score. It suits lean teams with high applicant volume or a fake-candidate problem, and you can test it on a live role with 2,000 free credits.

Where SquarePeg fits

High-volume applicant pipelines
Lean recruiting teams on Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby or Workable
Teams seeing fake or misrepresented candidates
Companies hiring tech, finance and healthcare knowledge workers

At a glance

Detail	Brainner	SquarePeg
Starting price	$249/mo	Pay as you go
Free tier	–No	✓Yes
MCP server	–No	–No
Public API	✓Yes	–No
Listed under	Assessments, Candidate fraud & AI detection	AI screening, Candidate fraud & AI detection, Sourcing

Where they pull apart

Brainner

Stands out: Ranking plus fraud (300-plus signals) with two-way ATS sync, not a generic ChatGPT-on-CVs wrapper.

Watch out: Analyses are metered: the paid tier covers a fixed quota and extra analyses are charged per analysis, with unlimited sold as an add-on. A busy month is the thing to model, not the headline.

Not the right fit for

Teams that will not use AI on applications
Companies that need a flat, unmetered price
Agencies that need a full ATS

SquarePeg

Stands out: Scores are glass box: every criterion shows a subscore, a written reason and the exact resume lines, and rescoring is free. Eligibility rules run before scoring so ineligible applicants are never charged, and an authenticity check combines LinkedIn, phone, email and resume signals.

Watch out: The per-credit price is only shown in an estimator, not as a list price, so budget from a quote. It is built for resume-based knowledge-worker hiring, and it does not write scores into ATS fields; you see them in SquarePeg or its Chrome extension.

Not the right fit for

Hourly or no-resume hiring
Teams that want an all-in-one ATS
Buyers needing a published price list

Pros and cons

Brainner

Resume ranking plus fraud in one product
Named two-way ATS connectors
Usage-capped free start to try the scoring

Quota plus per-analysis overage
Unlimited analyses are an add-on
Not an ATS

SquarePeg

Every score shows its resume evidence
No seat or platform fees, free rescoring
Built-in fake candidate checks

No published per-credit price
Resume-based roles only
Scores do not write into ATS fields

What each one costs

Brainner

$249/mo

From $249/mo (Professional). Standard listed at $99/mo. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 7 Sep 2026

SquarePeg

Pay as you go

SquarePeg charges by credit, with no platform fee and no seat fees. One credit scores one applicant, and rediscovering a past candidate also costs one credit after a one-time indexing fee. New accounts get 2,000 free credits to use within two months, with no credit card. More credits are bought one-time, monthly or yearly, with volume discounts; the per-credit price is shown in an estimator on the pricing page rather than published as a list price. Rescoring and the agent are free, and applicants who fail eligibility rules are never charged. A 90-day paid pilot is also offered. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 20 Oct 2026

Common questions

Can you try Brainner or SquarePeg for free?

SquarePeg carries a free tier on our listing.

Not the pair you wanted?

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 7 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?