Figures vs Payscale (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Figures and Payscale share a 1.6 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick Figures if
- Fits if you want market pay data for a salary review
- Works for teams that run in English or French, which the page says it supports
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price: the page says it depends on headcount and modules
- Pricey if you want HRIS integration, SSO or extra seats, marked as paid add-ons
- Watch out: no free plan or trial, only a demo
- Too light for payroll or time off, which aren't described
Pick Payscale if
- Fits if you set pay bands from market data
- Works for HR teams running a yearly compensation cycle
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price: every plan says Contact Sales
- Pricey if you want peer datasets or custom reporting, which are add-ons
- Watch out: some Elite features, including Smart Reporting and Compass Lite, are marked Coming Winter 2026
- Not for you if you want to try it free, as no trial is listed
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAFiguresWeak | 1.6GPAPayscaleWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published, so there's nothing to set against the $2 to $9 a seat a month this category charges. That leaves it at C. | CNo price is published, so there's nothing to set against the $2 to $9 a seat a month this category charges. That leaves it at C. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is listed. You start with a demo request. | FNo free plan and no trial is listed. You start with a demo request. |
| Features | CBenchmarks, salary bands, compensation reviews and pay transparency, but HRIS integration, SSO and extra seats are marked optional paid add-ons in the comparison table. | CBenchmarking and comp planning, but the pricing page marks Peer Industry data and Custom Reporting as add-ons and some Elite features as coming Winter 2026. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you'd set it up with your own people data first, so it's an ordinary C. | CNo store rating on record, and you'd set it up with your own people data first, so it's an ordinary C. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on record, with no integrations listed. | CWeb only on record, with no integrations listed. |
| Best for | salary benchmarking for HR teams | pay benchmarking and compensation planning |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Figures and Payscale. How we grade
Where they differ
In commonWebWorkflow automationReports
At a glance
| Figures | Payscale | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Figures | Payscale, Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Figures
- Pricing is not shown on the page; the FAQ says it depends on employee count and the modules chosen, and asks buyers to book a demo.
- On the comparison table, features such as HRIS integration, SSO and extra seats are marked as optional paid add-ons.
- The page says teams answer questions in English and French.
Payscale
- No prices are published: every plan, Core, Premier and Elite, says Contact Sales.
- Several datasets, such as Peer Industry and Peer Markets, and Custom Reporting are add-ons.
- Some Elite features, including Smart Reporting and Compass Lite, are marked Coming Winter 2026.
Key features
Figures
- Benchmark
- Compares salaries against market data; the pricing page cites total reward data on 550K datapoints in 110+ countries.
- Salary bands
- Creates or imports bands by role, level and location and shows where employees sit within them.
- Compensation reviews
- The Companion plan runs annual and off-cycle reviews with manager access, budget tracking and decision history.
- Pay transparency and equity
- Produces legal reports, adjusted pay gap analysis and remediation scenarios, as a standalone module or an add-on.
- HRIS connections
- The site says Figures connects with 30+ HRIS and review systems.
Payscale
- Benchmarking
- Explore and Smart Price look up market pay for a role, with Price at Scale on Premier for pricing many jobs at once.
- Job and pay structures
- All plans include tools to build and maintain job and pay structures, with bulk structure modeling listed for the Elite plan.
- Reporting
- Standard reports come on every plan, and Smart Reporting with AI-assisted insights is on Core and Premier.
- Survey management
- Premier includes 20 survey loads and Elite unlimited, along with self-service participation management.
- HRIS connection
- Core and Premier offer a one-way sFTP or API feed from an HRIS, and Elite adds a two-way sFTP sync. SSO is on every plan.
Plans
Figures
Pricing could not be confirmed. See figures.hr.
Payscale
Pricing could not be confirmed. See payscale.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Figures or Payscale?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Figures has no price we could confirm, and Payscale has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Figures or Payscale?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Figures nor Payscale has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.