HackerRank vs Codility (September 2026): an independent comparison

Updated September 25, 2026 · 8 min · by Nick Schäfer

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Key takeaways

Verdict: HackerRank fits teams that want AI-led first-round interviews and a self-serve trial. Codility fits teams that want a lower entry price per candidate, EU hosting and control over AI use in each test.
Where HackerRank leads: Chakra, an AI interviewer with full session playback and a Workday integration, a community of 26M+ developers, and a free trial without a credit card.
Where Codility leads: A lower entry price ($1,200 a year for 120 invites), an EU or US cluster chosen at contract, and per-assessment control over AI access.
The number that decides: Cost per candidate at the entry tier: about $16.58 per attempt at HackerRank ($1,990 a year billed annually, 120 attempts) against $10 per invite at Codility.
Check before choosing: Where candidate data is stored (HackerRank's sub-processor list shows US hosting only) and who runs the bias audit if you hire in New York City.

HackerRank and Codility both test software engineers before and during interviews: take-home coding assessments, live pair-programming interviews and, now, tasks that check how candidates work with AI. Buyers compare them when they set up or replace technical screening, and both publish an entry price.

We compared both on September 24, 2026, using vendor pricing, product, compliance and release-note pages, TechCrunch coverage of both companies and our own directory. We run ai-toolfinder independently: neither HackerRank nor Codility pays us, and no link on this page earns a commission.

HackerRank or Codility: the verdict

HackerRank

Pick HackerRank if you want an AI interviewer for first rounds, a large question library and a free trial you can start today with a work email.

Codility

Pick Codility if you want a lower published entry price, EU data hosting and the option to turn AI tools on or off per assessment with every interaction logged.

HackerRank vs Codility: comparison table

HackerRank vs Codility
	HackerRank	Codility
Best for	High-volume developer screening with AI-led first interviews	Structured skills tests with tight control over AI use
Company	Mountain View, California; 2,500 customers	London; 1,500+ customers in 63 countries
Entry price	Starter $1,990/year billed annually ($199 monthly), 1 user	Starter $1,200/year, annual billing only, 1 user
Candidates included	120 attempts a year, then $20 per extra attempt	Up to 120 invite credits a year
Next tier	Not published	Scale $6,000/year: 300 invite credits, 3 users
Free trial	Yes, self-serve with a work email, no credit card	Yes, arranged through Codility's team
AI interviewer	Chakra, with session playback and Workday integration	Not published; AI follow-up questions on the Custom plan
AI in the test	AI Assisted IDE in Screen and Interview (AI Add-on)	AI access on or off per assessment, all activity logged
Integrity checks	Proctor Mode, ID match, AI plagiarism detection	Keystroke, paste and defocus signals in 4 risk levels
Data hosting	Amazon or Google data centers, US only per sub-processor list	Dedicated EU or US cluster on AWS, chosen at contract
Certifications	ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2	ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II

Compare all fields side by side, including certifications and hosting →

HackerRank vs Codility: what it costs per year

HackerRank$1,990 per yearStarter, flat price, independent of headcount. List price per year for the Starter plan with 1 user and 120 candidate attempts, billed annually, or $199 per month billed monthly, as of September 2026 · Source, checked September 2026

Codility$1,200 per yearStarter, flat price, independent of headcount. List price per year for the Starter plan with 1 user and up to 120 invite credits, annual billing only, as of September 2026 · Source, checked September 2026

List prices according to the vendors, excluding VAT, setup fees, add-on modules and discounts. Currencies are not converted.

Pricing: Codility's entry tier costs less per candidate

Both vendors publish an entry price (as of September 2026). HackerRank Starter costs $199 per month, or $1,990 a year billed annually, for 1 user and 120 candidate attempts a year, with $20 for each extra attempt; it includes Screen, Interview, 2,000+ questions and AI-powered plagiarism detection. Codility Starter costs $1,200 a year, billed annually only, for 1 user and up to 120 invite credits for Screen or Interview.

Per candidate, that is about $16.58 per attempt at HackerRank on annual billing against $10 per invite at Codility, before any extras. Codility's Scale plan costs $6,000 a year for up to 300 invite credits (at most 25 a month) and 3 users, and its Custom plan is quoted. Prices for larger HackerRank plans were not published in the sources we could read.

HackerRank's free trial is self-serve: sign up with a work email, no credit card required. Codility also offers free trials, but they run through its team rather than as a sign-up. Our HackerRank profile keeps the latest plan details.

AI features: HackerRank interviews with AI, Codility controls AI in the test

HackerRank's AI centers on Chakra, an AI interviewer. Its July 2026 release notes list generally available updates such as full session playback of screen, webcam and transcript, report exports, API access, a Workday ATS integration and integrity enforcement that pauses an interview when a candidate adds a monitor or leaves full screen. The AI Add-on, arranged through an account manager, adds Proctor Mode, a match of the candidate's face across test and interview, an AI assistant in the coding environment, Advanced Evaluation of code quality and AI collaboration, and Scorecard Assist summaries.

In Codility, AI use is a setting per assessment: teams switch AI tools on or off, and every interaction is logged for review. Its library includes AI-native tasks where candidates work with language models, every plan includes its Agentic AI Copilot, and the Custom plan adds AI-generated follow-up questions and Claude Code CLI support. Integrity checks combine keystroke analysis, session recording, paste detection and defocus tracking into a four-level risk rating instead of a pass or fail flag.

Some newer pieces are not fully released. HackerRank lists gaze detection as early availability within the AI Add-on and its read-only HackerRank MCP connector as limited availability. Codility says more AI-native tasks are in development.

Where they diverge: scale, hosting and bias audit support

HackerRank is the larger platform: 2,500 customers and a community of 26M+ developers who practice and take certifications. Codility states 1,500+ customers in 63 countries and 10M+ engineers evaluated. Codility ran for 10 years without outside funding before a $22 million round in 2020, according to TechCrunch.

Codility lets customers choose a dedicated EU or US cluster on AWS at contract time. HackerRank says customer data sits in data centers run by Amazon or Google, and its sub-processor list places hosting in the United States only. Both hold ISO 27001 and a SOC 2 Type 2 report.

Codility also says its scoring is deterministic and that it runs formal bias audits and adverse impact analyses to support customers under New York City's Local Law 144, while noting that final compliance depends on each customer's setup. HackerRank's trust page makes no comparable statement. In our assessments and tests category, 7 of 25 tools offer a free trial.

Country fit: US and India for HackerRank, UK and EU for Codility

Our directory lists the United States as the strong market for HackerRank, and the UK, the United States and Germany for Codility. HackerRank also has offices in India and London, and TechCrunch reported in 2022 that half of its developer community was in India. Codility has its headquarters in London and offices in Warsaw and San Francisco.

When a test score screens candidates, AI hiring rules apply. In New York City, Local Law 144 requires a bias audit within one year, a public summary and candidate notices before an automated tool is used for hiring decisions. California's rules on automated decisionmaking technology require compliance by January 1, 2027, including for employment decisions. The EU AI Act lists AI used to analyze and filter applications and to evaluate candidates as high risk, with duties from December 2, 2027.

In the UK, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, fully in force since February 5, 2026, requires safeguards such as human intervention for significant decisions made solely by automated means. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Rules were finalized on November 13, 2025, and the remaining rules apply after 18 months, around May 2027, which matters for teams testing many Indian developers. Codility's compliance page still refers to an August 2026 EU AI Act timeline, so ask for its updated plan.

Who should pick HackerRank and who Codility

Pick HackerRank if

You want an AI interviewer to run structured first rounds and give recruiters a report with full session playback.
You want to start a free trial today without talking to sales.
You hire developers in India at volume, where much of HackerRank's community practices.
You use Workday as your applicant tracking system and want interview reports to flow into it.

Pick Codility if

You need candidate data hosted in the EU.
You want a lower entry price and a fixed annual fee.
You want to decide per assessment whether candidates may use AI tools, with every interaction logged.
You hire in New York City and want a vendor that states it runs bias audits and adverse impact analyses.
You also want to map the skills of your current engineers with Skills Intelligence on the Custom plan.

HackerRank vs Codility: frequently asked questions

Is HackerRank more expensive than Codility?

At the entry tier, yes. HackerRank Starter costs $1,990 a year billed annually for 120 attempts, while Codility Starter costs $1,200 a year for 120 invite credits (as of September 2026). HackerRank charges $20 for each extra attempt.

Do HackerRank and Codility offer free trials?

Both do. HackerRank's trial is self-serve with a work email and no credit card. Codility runs trials through its team rather than as a self-serve sign-up.

Can candidates use AI tools during the tests?

On both platforms, if you allow it. HackerRank's AI Add-on includes an AI Assisted IDE with a guarded assistant for take-home tests and an open one for live interviews. Codility lets you switch AI access on or off per assessment and logs every interaction for review.

Where is candidate data hosted?

Codility offers dedicated EU and US clusters on AWS, chosen at contract time. HackerRank uses data centers run by Amazon or Google, and its sub-processor list names only US hosting, so teams that need EU hosting should raise this before signing.

The bottom line

Choose by how you screen. If AI-led first interviews and a large practice community matter most, start with HackerRank and budget for extra attempts. If price per candidate, EU hosting and control over AI use matter most, start with Codility and confirm which AI features your plan includes. For AI interviews outside engineering, see our list of video and AI interview tools.

Sources

Independent comparison: neither vendor paid for it or reviewed it before publication. How we review