Compare/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.

Starting price

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 4 Nov 2026

Common questions

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

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