# HackerRank review (2026): is it worth $79 a month, billed yearly? > Coding assessments, pair-programming interviews and an AI interviewer Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. 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. - **Category:** Hiring & Applicant Tracking - **Made by:** HackerRank - **Website:** https://www.hackerrank.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Tight if you test many candidates: 60 attempts a year on Starter, and extra ones are $20 each. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, HackerRank is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $79 per month, billed annually ($948). - **Pricing model:** Free trial - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** Free trial offered on Starter and Pro; length not stated. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Starter | $79 per month, billed annually ($948 a year) | Unlimited users, 60 candidate attempts a year, 2,000+ library questions, AI interviewer and proctoring. | | Pro | $419 per 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 https://www.hackerrank.com/work/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with HackerRank before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Save 20% with annual billing** (Annual discount): The pricing page toggle is labeled Save 20% annually; Pro attempts can also be pre-bought at $15 on annual plans. Source: https://www.hackerrank.com/work/pricing ## 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. ## Good for - Engineering teams that want one tool for screens and live interviews - Companies assessing how candidates work with AI coding tools - Large employers that need certified assessments for specific roles ## 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. 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. - **Value for money: C.** Starter 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. - **Free plan and trial: D.** A free trial is offered on Starter and Pro, but its length isn't stated. A trial with no terms is a D. - **Features: C.** Coding assessments, pair-programming, an AI interviewer and proctoring. ATS integrations start at Pro, and certified assessments and API access are Enterprise only. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and the listing shows tests and question libraries to set up. That puts it at C. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web product with ATS and calendar integrations from Pro and API access on Enterprise. No desktop or phone app, so B. These are ToolGPA's own grades. 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. ## Where it 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. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/hiring ## Keep it, 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. - You could make: Reports: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. - You could not: A library of tested questions with scores to compare candidates by. - You could not: An API that other software can build on. - You could not: Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Skills tests, AI features, AI agents, Reports, Public API ## Alternatives - [CoderPad](https://toolgpa.com/tools/coderpad): Coding assessments and live technical interviews with AI in the editor. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/coderpad-vs-hackerrank) - [CodeSignal](https://toolgpa.com/tools/codesignal): Coding and skills assessments with AI interviewers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/codesignal-vs-hackerrank) - [Codility](https://toolgpa.com/tools/codility): Technical screening and live coding interviews. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/codility-vs-hackerrank) - [TestDome](https://toolgpa.com/tools/testdome): Skills tests and live coding interviews, paid per candidate. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hackerrank-vs-testdome) - [Karat](https://toolgpa.com/tools/karat): Expert-run technical interviews for hiring and contractor vetting. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hackerrank-vs-karat) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.hackerrank.com/work/pricing Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/hackerrank Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).