Screening job candidates without a hiring assessment is like going to the doctor for a broken arm... without an X-ray. The doctor can poke and prod and ask, “Does it hurt here?” but at the end of the day, they’re guessing. You need a tool that lets you see through the candidate — underneath the polished résumé, the well-rehearsed answers, and the “I work too hard” humblebrags.
That’s what a behavioral assessment does. It gives you that inside view: what makes someone tick, how they handle stress, how they’re likely to show up on your team when things get messy (because let’s be honest, things always get messy).
Like any visit to the doctor’s office, that level of clarity comes at a cost. Here at The Metiss Group, our External Candidate Review costs $500/assessment. But other assessments can cost a lot more or less. What you’re paying for isn’t just a piece of paper with a personality type — it’s access to tools, expertise, and insights that can prevent you from making some very expensive hiring mistakes.
Let’s talk about what those costs look like and whether they’re actually worth it.
- Are There Any Free Hiring Assessments?
- What’s the Cost of a Solid Behavioral Assessment?
- Why Do Some Assessments Cost $2,000 or More?
- Is Subscription Pricing Worth It for Hiring Assessments?
- Are There Hidden Costs with Hiring Assessments?
- Is Job Matching Included in the Price?
- What’s the ROI of Hiring Assessments?
- So Are Hiring Assessments Worth It?
Are There Any Free Hiring Assessments?
Technically, yes. You can hop online right now and find plenty of “personality tests” or “leadership quizzes” that are free or close to it. You’ll get a few charts, maybe a word cloud, and a paragraph or two that sounds somewhat like a horoscope.
Useful? Ehh, maybe.
But when it comes to making hiring decisions, especially ones that impact your team’s chemistry, productivity, and long-term retention, free assessments just don’t cut it. They’re not validated, they’re not job-specific, and they’re usually not legally defensible.
So, yes, free exists. But it comes with the cost of risk.
What’s the Cost of a Solid Behavioral Assessment?
If you want something that’s grounded in science—and isn’t going to get your company into legal hot water—a well-rounded behavioral assessment usually starts around $300-600 per candidate and can go way up from there. The pricing typically depends on a few things:
- How many “sciences” or data points are being measured (behavior, motivation, cognitive ability, etc.)
- Whether a certified coach or consultant is interpreting the results
- How customized or job-specific the assessment is
- Whether the tool is licensed by an outside provider or embedded into a broader consulting model
For instance, The Metiss Group uses a four-science approach. We look at behavior, motivators, skills, and emotional intelligence. And yes, we have coaches who walk you through a candidate’s assessment results. That makes our assessments land around $500 per use, which includes a full debrief.
Why Do Some Assessments Cost $2,000 or More?
Great question. Usually, that price tag is tied to executive or C-suite assessments. These often involve not just an assessment tool, but a full-blown evaluation by an industrial/organizational psychologist. These professionals specialize in workplace behavior and legally defensible assessment models.
Take Bargreen Psychology, for instance. They offer comprehensive psychological evaluations tailored for business settings, with costs ranging from $2,000 for sales and supervisor candidates up to $3,000 for executive candidates and developmental planning profiles of senior-level managers/executives. These evaluations dive deep into a candidate's intellectual level, problem-solving style, personality, emotional functioning, managerial style, and more. The process often includes in-person proctoring, video-monitored testing, and additional clinical-style measures like 360-degree feedback, simulations, or case studies.
While these assessments can be incredibly insightful, they can also feel a bit intense — especially if your candidate didn’t see it coming. That’s not always a bad thing, but it’s definitely not a fit for every organization or every role. Also, these high-end tools are rarely one-size-fits-all. You're usually paying for the time of a highly specialized expert, which drives up the cost.
Is Subscription Pricing Worth It for Hiring Assessments?
Ah yes, the buffet-style model.
A lot of assessment providers (Predictive Index included) have moved to an annual licensing structure. You pay one fee, usually between $5,000 and $30,000 per year depending on your company size, and you can run as many assessments as you want.
However, this tends to lead to a bad hiring process. Hiring managers are encouraged to send the assessment link to anyone with a pulse — after all, they won’t have to pay any extra, and who doesn’t love extra candidate insights? But think about it: what candidate wants to be sent an assessment link before they’ve even spoken to a human? (That’s why our hiring process includes assessments after the first in-person interview.)
So before you think about how much money the all-you-can-eat model will save you, consider that you should only be assessing 2-3 final-round candidates. Depending on how much hiring you’re doing, you may be better off with a pay-as-you-go method.
Are There Hidden Costs with Hiring Assessments?
Definitely. The price on the invoice doesn’t always tell the whole story. Here’s what else to factor in:
- Training & Certification: Some tools require internal users to get certified. That’s time, money, and sometimes travel.
- Interpretation: Raw data is just numbers without someone to explain it. Paying for a coach or consultant to interpret results adds cost — but also value.
- Proctoring & Administration: Especially with more complex tools, someone might have to facilitate the process. If assessments are done on-site, you need to budget your team’s time.
- Tech & Integration: If you're using an ATS (applicant tracking system), integrating assessments might require some IT support.
- Re-certification: Yep, people leave. If your internal “assessment expert” gets poached, you may have to train someone new all over again.
Is Job Matching Included in the Price?
Sometimes. But it’s worth asking.
A good assessment should measure the person and the job. That’s what we mean by job matching — comparing a candidate’s behavioral profile to the ideal profile for the role.
The law actually requires any hiring tool to be “job-related and consistent with business necessity.” Translation: you can’t just use one generic profile for every role in the company. If you do, and someone challenges the fairness of your process, things can get legally dicey.
At The Metiss Group, The Hiring Process Coach™ helps companies build custom job profiles based on real performance requirements — not gut feel. That’s baked into the cake, not sold à la carte.
What’s the ROI of Hiring Assessments?
Let’s say you spend $500 on a behavioral assessment and avoid making a $30,000 mistake.
Good assessments reduce bias, surface blind spots, and help hiring managers make more confident decisions. They also help you build stronger teams and identify culture fits – something you’ll never read in a resume.
So yes, the ROI can be pretty significant—especially if you’re hiring for leadership roles or critical culture-fit positions.
So Are Hiring Assessments Worth It?
Like most things in business, it depends. If you're hiring once a year for a seasonal role? Maybe a simple behavioral screen is enough. But if you're building a team, scaling fast, or trying to improve retention, assessments can be a game-changer. They don’t just tell you who someone is—they help you figure out if they’ll thrive in your specific environment.
The Metiss Group specializes in helping companies make hiring assessments work for them. Not the other way around. Whether you want to try out our External Candidate Review or just get a second opinion on a tool you’re already using, we’ll help you weigh the cost and the value.
Now that you understand the cost of hiring assessments, the next step is to understand our External Candidate Review process. This is part of our hiring services and costs $500 per candidate. It includes four sciences and an expert debrief.
