SHL is widely regarded as the benchmark for psychometric quality, with decades of normative data and strong validity evidence behind its cognitive and personality assessments. For enterprise teams where rigour and brand credibility are non-negotiable, that reputation is well-earned.
The two things that most commonly push organisations to look elsewhere are cost, as SHL's pricing model is built for enterprise budgets and can be inaccessible for mid-market teams, and a platform experience that can feel dated compared to more modern assessment tools. If either of those is the issue, here are the alternatives worth considering.
Test Partnership
Test Partnership offers comparable psychometric rigour to SHL at a considerably more accessible price point. The cognitive assessments cover numerical, verbal, and inductive reasoning with strong validity evidence, and the personality questionnaire is grounded in the Big Five model with clear, interpretable reporting.
The platform is also meaningfully more modern than SHL's, with a candidate experience that reflects current expectations rather than legacy design. For teams that want SHL-level psychometric quality without the enterprise pricing or the dated interface, Test Partnership is the most direct comparison. MindmetriQ, the gamified cognitive suite, also offers something SHL doesn't: a format that is genuinely resistant to AI-assisted cheating through real-time interactive tasks.
Criteria
Criteria is a well-established assessment platform covering cognitive ability, personality, and skills tests, with a track record of validity and a self-service platform that most in-house teams can set up and run without specialist support. For mid-market organisations that need reliable cognitive screening without SHL's enterprise pricing, Criteria is one of the most practical options.
The trade-off is depth: Criteria's normative datasets are smaller than SHL's, and for senior or highly specialised roles where precise benchmarking matters, that can be a limitation. But for the majority of mid-volume hiring, it provides dependable assessment at a reasonable cost.
Clevry
Clevry offers a modern, accessible alternative that covers cognitive and personality assessment in a platform built with usability in mind. It is particularly well-suited to teams that want a more contemporary look and feel for their candidates, and find SHL's interface difficult to justify from a hiring brand perspective.
Clevry sits at a lower price point than SHL and is easier to self-serve. It won't match SHL's depth of normative data or the volume of published validity studies, but for organisations where candidate experience and ease of use are weighted heavily alongside assessment quality, it is a reasonable alternative.
Talogy
Talogy (formerly PSI Talent Management) offers a broad suite of assessments alongside consulting and development services. If the need is for something that goes beyond hiring screening, including leadership development, succession planning, and talent strategy. Talogy combines assessment with the advisory layer that SHL offers in its more comprehensive packages.
For teams that want assessments alongside strategic talent management support rather than a self-serve platform, Talogy is worth evaluating. It sits at a similar price tier to SHL and is best suited to organisations that want an ongoing relationship with an assessment partner rather than a transactional tool.
Conclusion and next steps
If cost and modern candidate experience are the main drivers, Test Partnership offers the closest comparison to SHL on psychometric quality while addressing both of those issues directly. For straightforward mid-market cognitive and personality screening, Criteria is the most practical and accessible option. For a more modern platform with a lower price point, Clevry is worth a look. And for teams that want assessment combined with talent development consulting, Talogy covers that ground.
You can explore Test Partnership's aptitude tests and gamified assessments, or find out more about why organisations choose Test Partnership.
Sources: SHL, SHL on G2, Criteria, Criteria on G2, Clevry, Clevry on G2, Talogy, Talogy on G2.
Joshua Hancock
Digital Marketing Manager at Test Partnership. Over 7 years experience as a writer, content strategist, SEO and digital marketer.
