Onbord vs TestGorilla
In-depth review
Choosing a candidate assessment tool? We compare both approaches head to head, with every claim about TestGorilla checked against its own website.
Last reviewed: October 2026
Almost every team that wants to look beyond the CV ends up on TestGorilla's website. Based in Amsterdam, it made skills testing self-serve: a library of 350+ tests, free resume scoring and qualifying questions, and a free plan you can start in minutes. According to TestGorilla, more than 60,000 organisations have used it since 2020, and it assesses around 7 million candidates a year.
The TestGorilla of 2026 is more than a test library. It now sells two products, Gorilla Sourcing and Gorilla Assessments, each with its own plans. AI interviews, ATS integrations and a new library of job simulations sit on the Plus plan.
That is the honest difference between TestGorilla and Onbord. It is not tests against no tests. It is a library of standardised tests you pick from, against a simulation of your own role that AI builds for you.
The short answer. TestGorilla is the reference for fast, high-volume screening with standardised tests. Onbord generates a simulation of the role you're hiring for and scores every answer with the candidate's own words as evidence. Choose TestGorilla to filter many applicants on general skills. Choose Onbord to see who can actually do the job before you spend time in interviews.
Built from a test library vs built from your job description
TestGorilla's approach: a catalogue of tests written by subject-matter experts, assembled into an assessment by you or by its AI job builder, which picks tests and questions to match your job description. Its job simulations follow the same model: a library of ready-made scenarios for customer service, sales, engineering and cross-functional roles, each with a rubric built by TestGorilla's science team. TestGorilla says custom simulations are on its roadmap.
Onbord's approach: you start from your job description, and AI generates a simulation of that role: the email a client is waiting for, the conversation to handle on video, the situations the person will meet in their first weeks. You decide which skills are must-haves, and each one is scored on explicit checkpoints.
The gap shows up in three places a hiring manager feels every week: how close the assessment is to the real job, what you can read behind a score, and what the candidate hears back.
At-a-glance comparison
| Category | Onbord | TestGorilla |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Your job description | A library of 350+ tests |
| What the candidate does | Tasks from the role: client emails, video role-plays, open questions about real situations | Timed skills tests and video questions; job simulations and AI interviews on Plus |
| Job simulations | Generated for your role, in every plan | Chosen from a ready-made library, on Plus only; custom simulations announced as on the roadmap |
| Building the assessment | Generated by AI from your job description | Picked from the library, or assembled by the AI job builder |
| Scoring | Checkpoints scored 0, 1 or 2, each with the candidate's own words as evidence | Score per test, candidate ranking and a PDF report per candidate |
| AI during the assessment | Available; how the candidate uses it is part of the assessment | Monitored: webcam snapshots, copy-paste disabled, full-screen mode |
| Candidate feedback | Written feedback generated for you, edited by you, sent in two clicks | A PDF report you can download and share with the candidate |
| ATS | Works alongside your ATS; no native integration yet | Native ATS integrations and API on Plus |
| Support | A direct line to the people building the product | Help center, 24/7 chat and email; personalised onboarding and Customer Success on Plus |
| Pricing | Core €100/month, Pro €300/month, billed annually; Custom on quote | Free plan; Core from $215/month and Plus from $520/month, billed annually |
How much does TestGorilla cost in 2026?
TestGorilla publishes three self-serve plans for Gorilla Assessments. The prices shown are for annual billing; paying monthly is possible but costs more, as the page shows a 25% saving for paying annually.
- Free: 10 credits a month, 5 essential tests with unlimited use, limited access to 180+ other tests, resume scoring and qualifying questions.
- Core: from $215 a month. The full library of 350+ tests, video questions from TestGorilla's library and 2 premium user roles. A skills test costs 1 credit per candidate.
- Plus: from $520 a month. Adds AI interviews, job simulations at 2 credits per candidate, custom tests and coding challenges, ID verification, ATS and API integrations, and unlimited premium user roles.
Gorilla Sourcing, the candidate search product, is a separate subscription priced per seat, from $74 a month.
Read the Plus line closely. Job simulations, the closest thing TestGorilla offers to Onbord, start at $520 a month, billed annually, and come from a fixed library.
Onbord publishes its prices on one page: Core at €100 a month and Pro at €300 a month, billed annually. The simulation generated for your role is the product itself, not an upgrade, and it is included in every plan. A Custom plan on quote covers larger volumes.
Bottom line: TestGorilla's entry price buys a test library, and its simulations sit on the top self-serve plan. With Onbord, the simulation is what you pay for from the first plan.
Skills tests vs job simulation: what the candidate actually does
TestGorilla measures skills one at a time: cognitive ability, personality, language, software or role knowledge, through timed tests drawn from large question pools. It is efficient, standardised and comparable across thousands of candidates.
Onbord puts the candidate in the job. They write the email the client is waiting for, handle the conversation on video, and explain how they would deal with situations taken from the role. Soft and hard skills show up in the same task, the way they do on a real working day.
Bottom line: a test tells you what someone knows about the job. A simulation shows you how they do it.
Scoring: a number vs evidence you can read
TestGorilla scores each test automatically and ranks candidates. Results land in a PDF report per candidate and in the assessment summary, and simulation rubrics are built by its science team.
Onbord breaks each skill into checkpoints. Each checkpoint is scored 0, 1 or 2 and quotes the passage of the candidate's answer that justifies it. Must-have skills are separated from nice-to-haves, so every must-have is tested and traceable.
Bottom line: with TestGorilla you compare scores. With Onbord you can check why a score is what it is, in the candidate's own words, in seconds.
AI during the assessment: block it or measure it
TestGorilla protects its tests with monitoring: webcam snapshots, disabled copy-paste, full-screen mode, location logging, hidden questions and timed tests.
Onbord starts from a different premise: once hired, people work with AI. So the AI assistant stays available during the simulation, and how the candidate uses it is part of what you see.
Bottom line: TestGorilla measures candidates without AI. Onbord measures them the way they will actually work.
Candidate experience and feedback
TestGorilla produces a PDF report per candidate that you can download and share with them.
Onbord generates written feedback for each candidate based on their answers. You review and adjust it, and Onbord sends it on your company's behalf in two clicks. Candidates who don't get the job still learn why, which matters for your employer brand.
Bottom line: both let you share results. Onbord turns them into feedback a candidate can use, without you writing it.
Customer support and vendor experience
TestGorilla offers a help center, 24/7 live chat and email on every plan, with personalised onboarding and access to Customer Success starting on Plus.
Onbord gives every customer a direct line to the people building the product. If a task you need doesn't exist yet, we build it with you.
Bottom line: at TestGorilla, the level of support follows the plan. At Onbord, you talk to the builders.
Adding Onbord: what it takes
There is nothing to migrate. Send us one of your open job descriptions, and in a 20-minute call we build the first simulation with you, free. You can keep TestGorilla for general aptitude tests and use Onbord where you need to see the work.
Where TestGorilla is still a good choice
- You screen very large applicant pools. A free plan, self-serve setup and standardised tests make it a fast first filter.
- You need breadth. 350+ tests covering cognitive ability, personality, languages, software and role knowledge.
- You hire technical profiles. Coding tests run in a built-in IDE, with custom coding challenges on Plus.
- You need native ATS integrations today. ATS and API integrations are available on Plus.
- You want to start for free. 10 credits a month, no credit card needed.
Where Onbord wins
- A simulation of your role, not a library pick. Generated from your job description, from the first plan.
- Evidence behind every score. Every checkpoint quotes the candidate's own words.
- AI measured, not banned. You see how candidates work with AI, as they will on the job.
- Feedback in two clicks. Every candidate hears back, without you writing a word.
- A published price. €100 or €300 a month, billed annually, simulation included, and a Custom plan on quote for larger volumes.
- Support from the people who build the product. A direct line, and missing tasks built with you.
What are the best TestGorilla alternatives?
It depends on what you want to fix. If your goal is to see candidates do the work of the role rather than pass generic tests, that is the case this page makes for Onbord. If you want to predict potential from personality and motivation, read our Onbord vs AssessFirst review.
Bottom line
TestGorilla is the reference for screening many candidates quickly on general skills, and for that it remains a strong choice. But the question every hiring manager asks after a test is the same: can this person actually do the job? Onbord answers it directly, with a simulation of your role and evidence behind every score.
Want to see it on one of your roles? Book 20 minutes and we'll build your first simulation together.
Frequently asked questions
Is Onbord a good alternative to TestGorilla?
If you want to see candidates do the work of your role, yes: Onbord generates a simulation from your job description and scores every answer with evidence. If you need a broad library of standardised tests for very high volumes, TestGorilla is built for that, and the two can work side by side.
How much does TestGorilla cost?
On its pricing page, checked on 15 October 2026, Gorilla Assessments Core starts at $215 a month and Plus at $520 a month, billed annually; monthly billing costs more. A free plan includes 10 credits a month. Onbord starts at €100 a month, billed annually.
Does TestGorilla offer job simulations?
Yes, on its Plus plan, at 2 credits per candidate. They come from a library of ready-made scenarios, many of them conversations with an AI avatar playing a customer or a colleague, scored with rubrics built by TestGorilla's science team. TestGorilla says custom simulations are on its roadmap. Onbord generates the simulation from your own job description.
What is the difference between a skills test and a job simulation?
A skills test measures one ability at a time, usually through timed questions. A job simulation puts the candidate in situations from the role and observes how they handle them, so several skills are assessed together, in context.
Can candidates use ChatGPT during an Onbord simulation?
Yes. An AI assistant is available inside the simulation, and how the candidate uses it is part of the assessment. TestGorilla takes the opposite approach and monitors candidates to limit outside help.
Can I use Onbord and TestGorilla together?
Yes. TestGorilla's standardised tests can measure general aptitudes, and Onbord shows how candidates handle the actual work of the role before you interview them.
Information about TestGorilla is compiled from testgorilla.com and other public sources and is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of 15 October 2026. Features and prices change: check with each vendor. Spotted something outdated? Tell us and we will correct it promptly. TestGorilla is a trademark of TestGorilla B.V. All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners, are used for identification purposes only, and do not imply affiliation or endorsement.
