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8 SHL Alternatives for Smarter Talent Assessment in 2026
From psychometric specialists to all-in-one skills platforms, here are 8 SHL alternatives compared on what they measure, who runs them, and where they fit.
BySanjana Sankhyan
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Updated on August 24, 2026
In this article
SHL has been the default name in psychometric assessment for decades, and its OPQ personality and Verify cognitive tests still anchor a lot of enterprise hiring. But the setup that suits a global talent team is not for everyone.
The platform can be expensive, it often takes certification or a consultant to get real value out of the reports, and it leans heavily on psychometrics when you may also want to see what candidates can actually do.
Several providers cover the same ground. Some match SHL on scientific rigor, some are far easier to run without specialists, and some pair personality data with hands-on skills testing.
In this guide, we cover the best SHL alternatives for recruiters and hiring teams in 2026. For each tool you get what it does, its key features, and who it fits best, with details taken from each vendor's own site.
Why consider a SHL alternative?
- Enterprise cost and setup. SHL is built for large talent teams, and both the pricing and the implementation can be heavy for leaner hiring operations.
- You need specialists to read the results. Getting full value from OPQ and similar reports often means certification or consultant support, which adds cost and time.
- You may want broader hands-on skills testing. SHL is particularly well known for psychometric and cognitive assessment, while some hiring teams may prefer a talent assessment software that places more emphasis on practical skills, coding skills assessments and work-sample assessments.
- The candidate experience can drag. Long assessment batteries raise drop-off, and some teams want shorter or more engaging formats.
- You want to run it yourself. Without a dedicated assessment team, a platform you can configure and manage in-house removes a lot of overhead.
How this list was tested and selected
SHL is a psychometric incumbent, so the bar for an alternative is not simply whether it can also run tests. The key question is whether it addresses the issues that cause buyers to leave SHL.
We weighted three factors heavily:
- Scientific credibility: Anyone replacing SHL must be able to defend a hiring decision if it is challenged. We therefore favored providers with published validity evidence, norm data, and independent accreditation from organizations such as the BPS or EFPA.
- Ease of operation: SHL reports often require a certified user. We separated platforms that recruiters can operate independently from those that assume a consultant will be involved, and we specify which category each provider falls into.
- Scope: Some teams want a like-for-like psychometric replacement, while others are leaving SHL because it does not assess practical skills. The list therefore includes both pure psychometric publishers and broader assessment platforms.
The best SHL alternatives to try
1. TestTrick
TestTrick is an all-in-one skills screening platform that helps teams surface strong candidates early, without the enterprise overhead of legacy suites. It pairs a library of 500-plus ready-made tests with a custom builder across seven question types, from coding to AI-scored one-way video interviews.
It covers most of what pulls teams to SHL: cognitive ability, situational judgment, and psychometric test software based on frameworks including DISC, OCEAN/Big Five, and MBTI, plus coding challenges and video interviews scored by AI against your own criteria.
Built-in proctoring and native ATS integrations round it out, so a team can launch a full assessment in minutes rather than weeks.
Key features
- Talent assessments: Cognitive, situational judgment, and validated personality tests (DISC, OCEAN Big Five, MBTI)
- Coding and video: Coding challenges in 15+ languages with Code Playback, plus AI-scored one-way video interviews that include a summary and transcript.
- Proctoring suite: Camera and screen monitoring, copy-paste blocking, tab tracking, and multi-monitor detection with automatic violation flagging.
Best for: Recruiting teams that want to combine psychometric assessments with practical skills, coding, video interviews, and proctoring in one self-serve platform.
2. Mercer Mettl
Mercer Mettl is a broad online assessment and proctoring platform used for both hiring and exams. It combines psychometric, aptitude, technical, and communication testing with a large ready-to-use library and heavy-duty proctoring, and it is used by more than 6,000 organizations across 100 countries. Its strength is breadth and scale, covering everything from behavioral profiling to advanced coding in one place.
Key features
- Talent assessments: Psychometric, behavioral, cognitive, aptitude, and communication tests drawn from a large prebuilt library.
- Coding assessments: Coding tests and advanced coding simulators with an online coding interview tool for technical hiring.
- AI proctoring suite: SecureProctor and a secure browser with webcam and activity monitoring for large-scale, cheat-resistant testing.
Best for: Enterprises and campus recruiters that want psychometrics, technical, and coding assessments plus serious proctoring on one scalable platform.
3. Aon's Assessment Solutions
Aon's Assessment Solutions, the suite formerly known as cut-e, is an enterprise talent assessment provider used for high-volume graduate, professional, and leadership hiring worldwide. It is built around validated behavioral and cognitive assessments delivered at scale, with an AI-scored video interview layer on top.
Key features
- ADEPT-15 behavioral assessment: An adaptive personality assessment measuring 15 dimensions grouped into six work styles, used early in selection and paired with an interview guide.
- Cognitive and integrity assessments: Ability tests plus integrity assessments that help predict counterproductive work behavior.
- AI video interview: A data-driven video interview that scores responses against role-relevant competencies to support consistent decisions.
Best for: Global enterprises running high-volume graduate, professional, and leadership hiring that want validated behavioral and cognitive assessment at scale.
4. Korn Ferry
Korn Ferry is a global management consultancy whose assessment suite, including the Talent Q range, measures ability, personality, motivation, and leadership potential. Its assessments are often blended into a single flow and delivered through Korn Ferry Assessment Systems, which supports branding and ATS integration, making it a fit for teams hiring and developing managers and leaders.
Key features
- Talent Q adaptive ability tests: Adaptive cognitive tests (Elements and Aspects) covering verbal, numerical, and logical reasoning that adjust difficulty to each candidate.
- Personality and motivation questionnaires: Dimensions and motivation questionnaires that map traits, drivers, and preferences against role requirements.
- Leadership assessment: Leadership and potential assessments built by I-O psychologists for selecting and developing leaders.
Best for: Enterprises hiring and developing managers and leaders that want blended ability, personality, and leadership assessment from a consultancy-backed provider.
5. Hogan Assessments
Hogan is an independent publisher that specializes in workplace personality and is used heavily in leadership hiring, coaching, and succession. Its reputation rests on three inventories that read personality from different angles, backed by decades of validation research. Reports are detailed and typically debriefed by a certified interpreter.
Key features
- HPI, HDS, and MVPI: Three personality inventories covering everyday work style, the derailers that emerge under pressure, and the underlying values and motives that drive people.
- Cognitive reasoning: The Hogan Business Reasoning Inventory measures problem-solving and reasoning to complement the personality data.
- Role and development reporting: Tailored reports for selection, leadership development, coaching, and succession, benchmarked to the role.
Best for: Organizations focused on leadership and senior hiring, coaching, and succession that want deep, science-backed personality insight and usually a certified interpreter.
6. Talogy
Talogy, which brought together Cubiks, PSI Talent Management, and Caliper, is a talent assessment provider that combines psychometrics with consulting. Its Talogy Hire solution is configured by in-house consultants and returns an overall best-match score, with branding, ATS integration, and an analytics dashboard.
Key features
- Ability and personality tests: Logiks reasoning tests plus PAPI, Factors, and Caliper personality questionnaires to assess aptitude and fit.
- Talogy Hire best-match scoring: A configurable selection solution that produces an overall best-match score to rank candidates objectively.
- Consulting plus platform: Consultants configure the setup for your roles, with branding, ATS integration, and an analytics dashboard.
Best for: Enterprises that want psychometric assessment paired with consultant support for selection, leadership, and early-career hiring.
7. Thomas International
Thomas International offers a talent assessment platform, Thomas Assess, built so any team can run psychometrics without hiring a psychologist. It combines behavioral, personality, aptitude, and emotional intelligence assessments with role profiling and side-by-side comparison, and it is registered with the British Psychological Society.
Key features
- Behavior, personality, aptitude, and EI: DISC-based behavioral profiling, Big Five personality (HPTI), aptitude (GIA), and emotional intelligence (TEIQue) in one platform.
- Role profiling and comparison: Build ideal-candidate profiles, then use star ratings to compare candidates side by side and reduce bias.
- Accessible setup: Designed to run without certifications, with ATS integration and tailored onboarding guidance.
Best for: Small and midsize teams that want validated behavioral, personality, and aptitude testing they can run themselves without a psychologist on staff.
8. Saville Assessment
Saville Assessment, a Willis Towers Watson company founded by SHL co-founder Peter Saville, is a psychometric publisher known for its Wave personality range and Swift aptitude tests. Its Wave Connect platform adds AI-driven role profiling and dashboards, and assessments integrate with major ATS platforms on ISO 27001 certified infrastructure.
Key features
- Wave personality questionnaires: Professional and Focus Styles questionnaires that link workplace motives and talents to predict performance.
- Swift aptitude tests: Fast cognitive tests covering verbal, numerical, and abstract reasoning across a range of role levels.
- Wave Connect platform: AI-driven role profiling and dynamic dashboards that match candidates to role requirements, with ATS integration.
Best for: Enterprises that want validated aptitude and personality assessment on a modern, dashboard-driven platform with strong data security.
Questions to ask when choosing a SHL alternative
- Is the science validated and documented? Look for peer-reviewed validity, norm groups, and independent audits such as BPS or EFPA, not just marketing claims.
- Can your team run it without certification? Confirm whether you need consultants or accreditation to build assessments and read reports, or whether it is genuinely self-serve.
- Does it test practical skills, not just traits? If you need to see what candidates can do, look for skills or coding tests alongside personality and cognitive assessments.
- How long is the candidate's experience? Ask how long the battery takes and whether shorter or adaptive formats are available to protect completion rates.
- Will it fit your ATS and volume? Confirm two-way ATS sync and that the platform scales to your hiring numbers without manual work.
FAQ
Choosing the right SHL alternative for your team
There is no single best SHL alternative, only the one that fixes your reason for leaving. If cost and setup are the issue, favor the self-serve platforms. If you need specialist-grade personality science, the psychometric publishers earn their keep. If you want to test real skills and not just traits, prioritize the tools that combine both.
TestTrick is built for that last case, and it removes the specialist overhead at the same time. It runs psychometric assessments (personality, cognitive, and situational judgment) next to practical skills tests, coding challenges across 15+ languages, and one-way video interviews, all self-serve, with AI proctoring and two-way ATS sync.
Moving off SHL? Start a free TestTrick trial and put a real assessment through it. No credit card required, so you can see the whole platform before you decide.
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