HackerRank review (2026): is it worth $79 a month, billed yearly?
Coding assessments, pair-programming interviews and an AI interviewer
Black Friday: is there a HackerRank sale?
HackerRank report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for coding tests and live coding interviews
HackerRank has take-home coding tests, live pair-coding interviews and an AI interviewer, with unlimited users. It caps how many candidates you can test a year, and integrations and certified tests sit well up the price ladder.
Who HackerRank is for
- Fits if you hire engineers and want tests plus live coding in one place
- Works for teams where many people interview, since every self-serve plan has unlimited users
Who HackerRank is not for
- Tight if you test many candidates: 60 attempts a year on Starter, and extra ones are $20 each
- Pricey if you need integrations, because they start at Pro, $419 a month
- Watch out: certified assessments, leaked-question protection and API access are Enterprise only
- Watch out: the pricing page wouldn't show its prices to us, so the figures are from the listing and not rechecked
Why HackerRank gets a 2.0
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyStarter is $79 a month on yearly billing for 60 candidate attempts a year, just above the category's cheaper quarter at $74. Pro is $419 for 360.
- DFree plan and trialA free trial is offered on Starter and Pro, but its length isn't stated. A trial with no terms is a D.
- CFeaturesCoding assessments, pair-programming, an AI interviewer and proctoring. ATS integrations start at Pro, and certified assessments and API access are Enterprise only.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record, and the listing shows tests and question libraries to set up. That puts it at C.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb product with ATS and calendar integrations from Pro and API access on Enterprise. No desktop or phone app, so B.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from HackerRank's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. The pricing page did not show its prices when we read it, so those come from the listing. How we review and grade.
Make HackerRank? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/hackerrank#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/hackerrank.svg" alt="HackerRank: 2.0 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where HackerRank stands among hiring and applicant tracking tools
HackerRank's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 54 of the 101 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 21.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 39 of 101) and worst on free plan and trial (D, above 64).
Its paid plans start at $79 a month, against a middle price of $99 for the category: 12 of the 42 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 102 hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. HackerRank’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 12 of 101, level with 78
- DFree plan and trialAbove 64 of 101, level with 8
- CFeaturesAbove 3 of 101, level with 71
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 101, level with 99
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 39 of 101, level with 62
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 43 hiring and applicant tracking tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep HackerRank, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace HackerRank you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $948 a year.
What you could make
- Reports: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- A library of tested questions with scores to compare candidates by.
- An API that other software can build on.
- Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations.
What this rests on. HackerRank’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is HackerRank?
HackerRank is a technical hiring platform with take-home coding assessments, live pair-programming interviews and an AI interviewer called Chakra that runs conversational screens. Plans are priced by the number of candidate attempts a year, with unlimited users on every self-serve plan.
Worth knowing
- Plans cap candidate attempts per year (60 on Starter, 360 on Pro); extra attempts are $20 each.
- ATS and calendar integrations start at Pro, and the larger ATS set at Enterprise.
- Leaked question protection, certified assessments and API access are Enterprise only.
- The monthly-billing price was not shown on the page; the figures here are the annual rates.
Key features
- Chakra AI interviewer
- Runs conversational screens with real-time follow-up questions, then produces a report with transcript, session replay and scores.
- Coding assessments
- Take-home tests built from a question library of 2,000+ to 7,500+ questions, with multi-file projects and custom questions.
- Pair-programming interviews
- Live collaborative coding with recording and playback, a full IDE, and scorecard assistance for interviewers.
- AI-aware editor
- Candidates can work with AI agents in the IDE, with a choice of Claude, Gemini or GPT; employers set guarded or unguarded AI.
- Integrity features
- Advanced proctoring on every plan, with leaked-question protection reserved for Enterprise.
HackerRank pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, HackerRank is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $79 per month, billed annually ($948).
- Starts at
- $79 per month, billed annually ($948)
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- Free trial offered on Starter and Pro; length not stated
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $79per month, billed annually ($948 a year) | Unlimited users, 60 candidate attempts a year, 2,000+ library questions, AI interviewer and proctoring. |
| Pro | $419per month, billed annually ($5,028 a year) | 360 candidate attempts a year, 4,000+ library questions, ATS and calendar integrations. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Sold through sales: custom users and attempts, certified assessments, API and MCP access, 7,500+ questions. |
Read from hackerrank.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with HackerRank before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountSave 20% with annual billing
The pricing page toggle is labeled Save 20% annually; Pro attempts can also be pre-bought at $15 on annual plans.
Stated on hackerrank.com
HackerRank alternatives
- HackerRank vs CoderPad
Free trial · from $80/mo
- HackerRank vs CodeSignal
From $79/mo
- HackerRank vs Codility
Free trial · from $800/mo
- HackerRank vs TestDome
Free trial · from $7
Common questions
Does HackerRank have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. HackerRank is listed for Web.
Does HackerRank have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. HackerRank is listed for Web.
Is HackerRank open source?
HackerRank is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does HackerRank have an API?
Yes. HackerRank offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.