Prevue and EmployTest are both pre-employment testing vendors aimed at businesses without a large in-house assessment team. They lead with different things. Prevue tells you how well a candidate's aptitude, interests and personality match a job. EmployTest tells you whether a candidate can do specific tasks, such as building a spreadsheet or typing accurately.
This comparison uses what each company says on its own website, checked in October 2026. One disclosure: Cohesyve, which publishes it, sells job simulations for hiring. We cover that as a separate option at the end.
What is the difference between Prevue and EmployTest?
Prevue is a job-fit assessment: it scores candidates against a benchmark for the role. EmployTest is a skills-testing service: it scores candidates on tests of practical skills and aptitude. The other big difference is how you pay. Prevue sells plans with unlimited candidate invites; EmployTest sells test credits in blocks with no subscription.
Prevue and EmployTest side by side
| Prevue | EmployTest | |
|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Aptitude, motivations and personality; also culture and work ethic. Skills tests (Prevue Skills) are included on its Essentials plan, an add-on on higher plans, or sold on their own | Office and computer skills, typing and data entry, accounting, aptitude, work personality |
| Format | A three-part suite, about 35 minutes | Individual tests, including interactive Microsoft Office simulations |
| How results are judged | Against a custom benchmark for the job, with a job suitability score | Scores per test, stored in an employer dashboard |
| Reports | Job-Fit, Team-Fit, Work-Fit and, on its top plan, Culture-Fit | Score reports per candidate |
| Interview support | A structured interview guide based on each candidate’s results | Not described |
| Custom tests | Custom questionnaires and custom job benchmarks on higher plans | Custom tests matched to a job description |
| ATS integrations | ATS and HRIS integrations with API access on its Premium plan | ATS integrations, from a list it describes as smaller but growing; tests go by emailed link |
| Pricing model | Plans with unlimited candidate invites. Check their site | Pay per test, in blocks; no subscription. Check their site |
| Positioning | Talent assessments for selection and development | Small and mid-sized businesses |
Cohesyve
Comparing Prevue and EmployTest? Try a third option on a live role
Cohesyve takes a job description, finds candidates, reaches out to them and runs an AI job simulation of the real work, then returns a ranked shortlist. Ten candidates free, no card.
Which has better features?
It depends which question you need answered. If you hire repeatedly into the same roles and want to know who will fit them, Prevue offers more: three measures in one sitting, a benchmark built for each role, reports on fit with the job and the team, and an interview guide for each candidate. Its custom benchmarks come from a job description survey, a study of your top performers, or both, and it also offers a library of ready-made job benchmarks.
If you need to know whether someone can do a specific task, EmployTest is the more direct tool, because skills tests are its core product. Its library covers Microsoft Office as interactive simulations, typing and data entry, accounting, legal and medical office skills, industrial skills, attention to detail and proofreading, alongside aptitude tests for sales, customer service and supervisory roles. Prevue also sells skills tests, as Prevue Skills: knowledge and simulation tests for roles in healthcare, accounting and finance, legal, retail and customer service, industrial work and office administration. They are an add-on to its Standard and Premium plans, or can be bought on their own.
Does Prevue rank candidates for high-volume screening?
Prevue compares each candidate with a benchmark for the job and gives a job suitability score, which lets you sort a pool by fit. Its Job-Fit page describes that comparison with the benchmark; it does not describe ranking candidates against one another. Integrations with an ATS and HRIS, and API access, appear on its Premium plan, which it aims at high-volume and enterprise employers.
How do Prevue and EmployTest compare on cost?
They use different pricing models, which matters more than any headline price. Prevue sells monthly plans: an entry plan whose price varies with company size, and higher plans by quote, all with unlimited candidate invites. EmployTest sells pay-per-test credits in blocks, with "no annual license or expensive contracts required"; credits last a year from purchase.
As a rule of thumb, per-test credits are cheaper when you test occasionally, and an unlimited-invite plan is cheaper when you test many candidates every month. Check both sites for current prices and work out the cost for a year at your real volume. Our guide to assessment software pricing explains the trade-offs.
Which is more accurate?
Neither vendor publishes validity figures on the pages we checked, so we can't say one is more accurate. Prevue says its in-house industrial-organisational psychologists run validation studies, offered on its Premium plan, that relate results to performance and turnover. EmployTest says its tests follow EEOC and US Department of Labor guidelines and that its questions are written by PhD and master's-level researchers.
Before you buy either, ask for three things in writing: the technical manual or validation summary for the tests you will use, evidence of how results relate to job performance in roles like yours, and adverse impact data by group. A skills test that mirrors the job is also easier to defend than a general measure, because the link to the work is visible.
Choose Prevue if…
- You hire repeatedly into the same roles and want to measure fit with each one.
- You want aptitude, motivations and personality in one 35-minute sitting.
- You want benchmarks, team-fit reports and interview guides from the same tool.
- You test enough candidates that unlimited invites are cheaper than paying per test.
Choose EmployTest if…
- You need to check specific skills: Microsoft Office, typing, data entry, accounting or office knowledge.
- You hire occasionally and would rather pay per test than for a subscription.
- You are a small or mid-sized business and don’t need a long list of ATS integrations.
A third option: job simulations from your job description
Some teams compare these two because they want evidence of how a candidate handles the actual work of the role, beyond a fit profile or a set of individual skills tests. Cohesyve, which publishes this comparison, works from your job description: it sources and contacts candidates, puts them through an AI job simulation of the real work, and returns a ranked shortlist, so interviews go to the strongest applicants. Plans are subscriptions sized to annual hiring volume, from $199 a month. It does not offer personality or motivation profiles, so a team that wants those would still look to a vendor such as Prevue.
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Sources
Checked 21 October 2026. Vendor claims are the vendors' own.