Head to head

JobArchitect vs Pave

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

JobArchitect

$7000/yr

Salary.com JobArchitect is a governed job-description library that starts at $7,000 per year for 1 to 10 employees. The Max SKU adds AI agents for drafting, FLSA checks, and market signals on top of 5,000-plus pre-written descriptions.

Where JobArchitect fits

  • Compensation teams that need one official job architecture tied to Salary.com market data
  • HR ops replacing scattered Word JDs with approvals, versioning, and FLSA checks
  • US employers that already buy CompAnalyst and want descriptions in the same suite
  • Talent leaders who want AI drafting trained on Salary.com's job taxonomy, not a generic LLM

Pave

Free plan, paid quote Free tier

Pave is compensation intelligence with a permanent free Market Data Lite tier and quoted Market Data Pro. Lite is give-to-get: connect a supported HRIS or payroll system, then use US cash and equity benchmarks plus one extra market. This is not Pave Finance.

Where Pave fits

  • Startups and smaller teams that will connect an HRIS to unlock Lite at $0
  • Comp teams replacing annual surveys with live cash and equity benchmarks
  • US-first companies that only need one extra market on Lite
  • Growth-stage employers ready to quote Pro for global and peer-group data

At a glance

DetailJobArchitectPave
Starting price$7000/yrFree plan, paid quote
Free tier–No✓Yes
MCP server–No–No
Public API–No–No
Listed underCompensation, Job descriptionsCompensation

Where they pull apart

JobArchitect

Stands out: Approved descriptions publish into CompAnalyst Market Data so compensation can price the same official job the recruiter is posting, instead of a side copy in Word.

Watch out: The $7,000 tier is only for 1 to 10 employees. Headcount above that steps up, and AWS Marketplace lists JobArchitect Max from $20,000 per year for under 250 FTE.

Not the right fit for

  • A recruiter who only needs a cheap bias checker for a few job ads
  • Companies that want job architecture without a Salary.com data relationship

Pave

Stands out: Lite is free, not a timed trial. Support copy lists 7,500-plus companies in the dataset. Pro adds 56-plus countries, advanced equity insights, and peer-group reporting under one quoted price instead of per-data-point survey fees.

Watch out: Lite needs an HRIS or payroll integration before you see data. Pro has no public dollar. Do not confuse this Pave with Pave Finance.

Not the right fit for

  • Companies that will not connect an HRIS or payroll feed
  • Finance teams looking for Pave Finance, a different product

Pros and cons

JobArchitect

  • Native CompAnalyst Market Data link so the priced job is the approved description
  • 5,000-plus pre-written descriptions and skills mapped to 16,000-plus titles
  • Max agents for FLSA, duplicates, and recruiter guidance inside the job record
  • Entry $7,000/yr is a tiny-headcount SKU. Real mid-market seats cost more
  • You are buying into the Salary.com stack, not a standalone JD editor
  • The 14-day trial on the site is for CompAnalyst Market Data Max, not clearly for JobArchitect itself

Pave

  • Permanent free Market Data Lite after an HRIS connect
  • One quoted Pro price instead of per-module survey add-ons
  • Cash and equity benchmarks in the same product
  • Lite is blocked until a supported HRIS or payroll system is connected
  • Pro is quote-only with no public dollar
  • Lite coverage is US plus one market, not a global survey replacement

What each one costs

JobArchitect

$7000/yr

Salary.com's store lists JobArchitect Max annual licenses from $7,000 per year for 1 to 10 employees, with unlimited HR and hiring-manager users on that package. AWS Marketplace sells JobArchitect Max in FTE bands from $20,000 per year under 250 FTE up to $50,000 above 1,000 FTE. CompAnalyst Market Data Max advertises a separate 14-day trial. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Pave

Free plan, paid quote

Market Data Lite is free on a give-to-get model: connect a supported HRIS or payroll system to see US cash and equity benchmarks plus one additional market. Market Data Pro is quoted and adds global markets, advanced equity insights, and peer-group reporting at one price. There is no public Pro dollar. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Common questions

Can you try JobArchitect or Pave for free?
Pave carries a free tier on our listing.

Not the pair you wanted?

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