interviewing.io vs Karat (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, interviewing.io grades higher than Karat: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
interviewing.io grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
interviewing.io
Hire engineers who passed anonymous mock technical interviews
Paid
Which one is for you
Pick interviewing.io if
- Fits if you're hiring software engineers and want candidates already screened on a live interview
- Works for teams that would rather pay on results than for seats
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a test library or an ATS, because it's neither
- Not for you if you want a price: no plan or fee is listed
- Watch out: candidate mock interviews are a separate paid product, premium from $179
- Too light for non-engineering roles, as the pool is engineers
Pick Karat if
- Fits if you hire many engineers and don't want your own staff doing every first interview
- Works for firms that vet contractors or IT vendors as well
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a self-serve test library, because this is a delivered service
- Not for you if you want a price: the site asks you to request a consult
- Watch out: the pricing path on the site returns an error
- Tight if you want a trial, as no free plan or trial is mentioned
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAinterviewing.ioWeak | 1.6GPAKaratWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published, so we can't set it against the $74 to $149 a month this category charges. That leaves it at C. | CNo price is published, so we can't set it against the $74 to $149 a month this category charges. That leaves it at C. |
| Free plan and trial | DThe employers page says to get started for free, but the fee and terms aren't stated beyond paying when candidates pass your bar. We can't call that a clear trial. | FNo free plan and no trial is listed; the site routes you to a demo. A demo request isn't a trial. |
| Features | CPerformance-based candidate pipeline and anonymous interviews. It supplies candidates from its own pool and isn't an ATS or test library. | CInterviews by Karat's engineers, plus contractor vetting and AI-skill evaluation. It's a service rather than a test library, so it covers a smaller job than a full platform. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the listing shows interviews to schedule with candidates you've never met. That puts it at C. | CNo store rating on record, and the listing shows a service you arrange through a consult. That puts it at C. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no separate app on record. One kind of device, so C. | CWeb only, with no separate app on record. One kind of device, so C. |
| Best for | hiring engineers who passed mock interviews | technical interviews run by outside engineers |
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: interviewing.io and Karat. How we grade
Where they differ
- interviewing.io also covers video calls and job board posting.
- Karat also covers reports.
In commonWebSkills tests
At a glance
| interviewing.io | Karat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Interviewing.io Inc. | Karat |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
interviewing.io
- The employer fee is not stated beyond paying when candidates pass your technical bar; no plan or price is listed.
- Candidate mock interviews are a separate paid product, with premium interviews starting at $179.
- It supplies candidates from its own pool and is not a test library or an ATS.
Karat
- No prices are published: the site directs buyers to request a consult, and its pricing path returns an error.
- It is a service delivered by Karat's interviewers, not a self-serve test library.
- Product pages are built for enterprise buyers; no free plan or trial is mentioned.
Key features
interviewing.io
- Performance-based pipeline
- Candidates are chosen by how they did in past rigorous live technical interviews, not by resume.
- Anonymous interviews
- Employers run their usual technical phone screen on the platform anonymously, which the site says avoids bias.
- Mock interviews for engineers
- The candidate side offers practice interviews with replays, covering system design, algorithms and behavioral topics.
- Fast hiring cycle
- The vendor says employers can go from first conversation to offer in as little as a week.
Karat
- Interview Engineers
- Trained interviewers assess every candidate the same way, so hiring data is comparable across teams and locations.
- Direct Hiring
- Technical interviews for a company's own engineering hires, applying a consistent technical bar everywhere.
- Partner Talent
- The same evaluation applied to contractors and IT service providers before they join projects.
- AI Readiness
- Live AI-native scenarios used to assess whether incoming or current engineers work well with AI tools.
- Hiring Insights
- Benchmarks drawn from the vendor's pool of more than 600,000 technical interviews it says it has run.
Plans
interviewing.io
Pricing could not be confirmed. See interviewing.io.
Karat
Pricing could not be confirmed. See karat.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, interviewing.io or Karat?
As of Nov 13, 2026, interviewing.io has no price we could confirm, and Karat has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, interviewing.io or Karat?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither interviewing.io nor Karat 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.