Head to head

Criteria vs eSkill

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

Criteria

Sales-quoted 14 day free trial

Pre-employment testing and video interviewing sold as three packages: Assess, Interview, and Hire. Quote-based, with a 14-day free trial.

Where Criteria fits

HR teams adding validated pre-hire tests
Companies that want cognitive plus personality tests
Teams that want tests and video interviews together
Buyers who want a free trial before a demo

eSkill is a pre-hire skills testing platform covering hourly through professional roles. Growth, Scale, and Custom packages all say Talk to sales. There is no public dollar table on eskill.com/subscription-options.

Where eSkill fits

HR teams testing office, industrial, call-center, healthcare, and IT skills in one library
Staffing firms that need customizable subject mixes rather than a single cognitive test
Hiring managers who want a scored skills snapshot before the interview
US employers that want a US-based assessment vendor on a quoted subscription

At a glance

Detail	Criteria	eSkill
Starting price	Sales-quoted	Sales-quoted
Free tier	–No	–No
Free trial	14 day free trial	Not on record
MCP server	–No	–No
Public API	✓Yes	–No
Listed under	Assessments	Assessments
Capterra	Not enough reviews	4.5 from 171 reviews

Where they pull apart

Criteria

Stands out: Cognitive, personality, emotional intelligence, risk, and skills tests on one platform, with video interviews in the same suite.

Watch out: All three packages are sales-quoted. AI proctoring, the AI interview agent, and AI scoring are paid upgrades, and Develop is a separate add-on.

Not the right fit for

Engineering teams that only need a live coding pad
Buyers who need a published price

eSkill

Stands out: A large subject library (the vendor cites 600-plus subjects and heavy customization) plus a dedicated assessment expert on paid packages. Video-response questions exist as an add-on on some older plan pages.

Watch out: Ignore Capterra's $400/mo starting price. It is not the vendor rate card. An older account_purchase page that mentioned a 100-assessment Small Business pack is not the current subscription-options page.

Not the right fit for

Teams that want a published per-test or $99/mo self-serve plan
Buyers who only need a three-in-one cognitive/personality/motivation screen

Pros and cons

Criteria

Broad test catalog in one platform
Video interviewing in the same suite
14-day free trial

No published price
AI features cost extra
Develop is a separate add-on

eSkill

Broad skills library from hourly through professional roles
Capterra 4.5 from 171 reviews on the matching eSkill product
Dedicated assessment-expert support called out on paid packages

The vendor does not publish current package prices
Capterra $400/mo should not be treated as the live rate
Not a full ATS or video-interview platform

What each one costs

Criteria

Sales-quoted

Sales-quoted. No public rate card on the vendor site. Three packages (Assess, Interview, Hire) are priced by headcount, with AI upgrades and the Develop add-on on top, and a 14-day free trial is available. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

eSkill

Sales-quoted

eSkill's current subscription page lists Growth, Scale, and Custom. Every package is Talk to sales. There is no public monthly or per-test table. Plans differ by features, support, and hiring volume. Ask sales for a quote. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Common questions

Can you try Criteria or eSkill for free?

Neither carries a free tier on our listing. Criteria offers a 14 day free trial.

Not the pair you wanted?

All Criteria alternatives All eSkill alternatives Every Assessments tool

Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 19 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?