Head to head

Figures vs Payscale

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

Figures

Sales-quoted

Figures is a European compensation platform for mid-market and enterprise HR. Pricing is based on employee count and the modules you pick (salary bands, benchmarking, pay equity, planning). The vendor does not print a dollar or euro rate.

Where Figures fits

  • European and UK mid-market HR teams building salary bands for EU pay transparency
  • Compensation leads who want live market data plus a planning calculator in one login
  • Companies connecting 30-plus HRIS options rather than uploading CSVs forever
  • Employers that need pay-equity analysis inside the same platform as bands

Payscale

Sales-quoted

Compensation intelligence for market pricing, pay structures, and planning. Core, Premier, and Elite are sales-quoted.

Where Payscale fits

  • Compensation teams running merit and market cycles
  • HR leaders who need board-ready pay reports
  • Companies replacing spreadsheet job pricing
  • Global teams that buy extra peer country data

At a glance

DetailFiguresPayscale
Starting priceSales-quotedSales-quoted
Free tier–No–No
MCP server–No–No
Public API–No✓Yes
Listed underCompensationCompensation
CapterraNot enough reviews4.1 from 50 reviews

Where they pull apart

Figures

Stands out: Benchmark data covers total rewards (base, variable, benefits) on 550,000 datapoints across 110-plus countries, with salary-band generation tied to that market set.

Watch out: Pay Equity Expert, population filters, and several other capabilities are optional paid add-ons on the comparison table. A demo is required for a quote. SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 are stated.

Not the right fit for

  • US SMB buyers who want a printed CompAnalyst-style store price
  • Teams that only need a free market-data lookup without salary-band software

Payscale

Stands out: Smart Price uses AI to price roles in seconds, with peer survey data and HRIS sync in the same suite.

Watch out: There is no public rate card. Extra peer datasets, custom reporting, and Compass analytics are add-ons on some editions.

Not the right fit for

  • Small teams that want a public price card
  • Individuals looking up a single salary figure

Pros and cons

Figures

  • Modular platform so you can buy bands without every analytics add-on
  • 550k total-reward datapoints across 110-plus countries on the benchmark module
  • SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR called out on the pricing FAQ
  • No published seat or PEPM number
  • Pay equity and several filters are add-ons, so the demo quote can climb
  • European-first positioning. US-only shops may prefer a US data vendor

Payscale

  • AI-assisted Smart Price on all editions
  • Core to Elite edition path
  • Public Jobalyzer compensation API
  • Quote-only, no public rate card
  • Compass analytics is often an add-on
  • Buying starts with a demo

What each one costs

Figures

Sales-quoted

Figures prices by employee count and the modules you select. Pay Equity Expert and several filters are optional paid add-ons. The vendor does not publish a dollar or euro rate. A demo produces a personalized quote. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Payscale

Sales-quoted

Sales-quoted. Editions are Core, Premier, and Elite. Peer Industry and Peer Markets datasets are add-ons. Custom reporting is an add-on. Compass is an add-on on Core and Premier. HRIS sync is one-way on Core and Premier and two-way on Elite. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Common questions

Can you try Figures or Payscale for free?
Neither carries a free tier on our listing.

Not the pair you wanted?

All Figures alternatives All Payscale alternatives Every Compensation tool

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