Compare/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.

Starting price

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 4 Nov 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 4 Nov 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 4 Nov 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?