4 best language testing software titles for testing language skills

When you’re hiring for a role that requires language skills, language testing software gives you a way to quantify applicants’ ability. 

If multiple candidates state they’re fluent in English, for example, you objectively measure their levels of proficiency using language tests.

Pre-employment screening software that tests language skills also enables you to evaluate test-takers’ fluency without knowing the language yourself. 

Here, we’ve compared the top four products that test language skills. Our review shows that TestGorilla is the clear winner for most organizations.

Top 4 talent assessment software for language skills at a glance 

Top 4 talent assessment tools for language skills: Comparisons 

Let’s dive deeper into each of the top software titles for testing language skills. We’ll look at their features, plus their pros and cons of each, so you can choose the right solution for your business. 

1. TestGorilla 

TestGorilla makes it simple to build a pre-employment assessment for almost any role in just minutes. Just choose the job title, and TestGorilla will recommend suitable tests from its library of over 300.

With over 30 language tests and more being added regularly, you can test fluency in Arabic, French, English, Japanese, Spanish, and many other languages. 

Best for: All-in-one language skills testing and pre-employment screening

Small or large, TestGorilla is the right choice for most organizations. There’s a free forever plan and a wide range of tests that help large corporations to make tens of thousands of hires a year. 

TestGorilla also allows you to test proficiency in more than language. You can measure applicants’ personalities, tech skills, and more with ready-made questions or your own. 

Features:

• Intuitive, mobile-friendly interface with plenty of customer support 

• Library of over 300 tests created by subject-matter experts

• Create assessments with custom questions and choose answer formats including multiple-choice, open-text, and video

• Robust anti-cheating measures

• Built-in ATS

• A free forever plan for small businesses

• Detailed reports about each candidate with metrics you can share with your hiring team

Pros:

• Language tests to evaluate intermediate (B1), upper intermediate (B2), and proficient (C1) levels so you can see exactly how well a candidate understands a language

• Easy to use, with automatic recommendations of tests for your role

• Onboarding tour to help you use every feature

• Localized websites in 11 different languages, so you can hire around the globe

Cons:

• Live video interviews aren’t available, so employers need to use a different platform for these 

Pricing:

• Free forever at $0 - 10 free tests, including all personality tests.

• Depending on the size of your company, paid plans begin with:

• Starter from $75 USD per month ($900 per year paid upfront)  - start with skills-based hiring for all roles. There is also the option to pay monthly, starting from 85 USD per month

• Pro from $115 USD per month ($1,380 per year paid upfront) - maximize your hiring with advanced features. There is also the option to pay monthly, starting from $130 USD per month

Verdict:

TestGorilla language tests are the best option for most businesses, with a user-friendly interface that helps you create tailored assessments fast. 

Test applicants’ language skills and other job-specific abilities, and use the localized websites to hire workers in 11 different languages. 

Features such as detailed reports about each candidate and strong anti-cheating measures give you accurate results you can use to make your next hire. 

2. iMocha

iMocha enables employers to test candidates’ proficiency in three languages. It can also test other abilities in English and Portuguese, allowing for global hiring. 

Best for: testing English skills

iMocha has a feature called AI-EnglishPro that allows employers to test written, oral, and listening skills in business English, using AI to automatically detect proficiency.

Features:

• Test for business English specifically, covering writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills

• Anti-cheating proctoring takes photos of the candidate during the assessment (with their permission) and uses AI to detect faces different from the test-taker’s

• Automatic alerts if built-in AI software detects multiple faces, unfamiliar faces, or no faces on a candidate’s screen during test taking

• Test coding, cognitive skills, and other abilities as well as languages 

Pros:

• Choose from German, Portuguese, and English tests for grammar and fluency 

• User-friendly platform with simple menu options and easy search functions 

Cons:

• Fewer language tests than TestGorilla

• You can’t easily share tests with more than one user 

• Difficult to re-invite applicants to take a test if they run into technical challenges

• No email reminders about expiring test invitations 

Pricing:

• AI-EnglishPro: starting at $5,000 annually

• Professional plan: $5,000 annually

• Enterprise plan: contact iMocha for pricing

Verdict:

With iMocha, you can test for a few languages, including German, business English, and Portuguese. You can also create tests in Portuguese that test other languages and tech skills, including Android and SAP HANA. 

However, compared to TestGorilla, there are fewer functionalities for multiple users and fewer language tests overall. 

3. Test Candidates

Test Candidates is a pre-employment test platform that enables you to test language ability in eight languages, soft skills, coding, job-specific skills, and more. 

Best for: English-language employers hiring for European language roles

Test Candidates is English-based and offers tests for Spanish, English, Italian, German, Portuguese, French, Dutch, and Mandarin. 

Other than Mandarin, the tests focus on European versions of these languages. So applicants who speak Spanish in Spain, for example, may find themselves more comfortable with the tests than applicants in Mexico. 

Features:

• 12 tests, including language tests, to evaluate software skills, soft skills, coding ability, and personality and behavioral assessments 

• Detailed reports with metrics and test results for each candidate

Pros:

• Analytics dashboard shows you which applicants have taken their tests, which have been invited, and all test results – as well as any reminders or alerts for next steps

• Get test results in real-time

Cons:

• Only 12 tests

• No localized websites or tests in other languages to accommodate applicants and recruiters who speak other languages 

• No free plan

Pricing:

• Starter plan at $99/year

• Essential plan at $999/year

• Business plan at $2,999/year

Verdict:

Test Candidates is best for English-language companies needing to hire workers with Mandarin or European-language skills. In addition to language testing, the platform offers tests for personality, tech skills, and job-specific abilities. 

Test Candidates has multiple features, such as a dashboard overview and reports, to help you evaluate candidates. It has a smaller pool of tests than TestGorilla, though.

4. Testlify

Testlify is an AI-powered pre-employment assessment and language test platform. It creates assessments and language tests for open positions, based on the title you provide. 

Best for: Testing specific fluency levels

Testlify measures specific fluency levels of mostly European languages, so you can determine whether candidates are intermediate, upper-intermediate, or fully fluent in a language. 

Features:

• Test fluency in English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, Polish, and Swedish

• Evaluate candidates’ familiarity with programming language, frameworks, and databases, as well as their finance and accounting abilities, tech skills, job-specific skills, personality, and more

• API and integrations mean employers can use Testlify with their existing tech 

Pros:

• White label option so you can brand your language tests with company colors and logo

• Candidates can record video responses to your custom questions

Cons:

• No free plan for small companies 

• Doesn’t have a range of world languages like TestGorilla, such as Japanese, Arabic, and Russian

Pricing:

• Starter plan at $228/year

• Basic plan at $468/year

• Business plan at $2,388/year

• White label plan at $7,188/year

• For Reseller plans and Enterprise plans, contact Testlify for pricing  

Verdict:

Testlify is an online language testing software title for evaluating fluency in English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, Polish, and Swedish. The platform also has tests for job-specific and soft skills.

The main drawbacks are the lack of non-European languages and no free plan.

Conclusion: Our top 3 choices

In our view, the top three language testing platforms out there are TestGorilla, iMocha, and Test Candidates. These all give you the option of testing different languages easily, and provide results in an easy-to-understand format.

Of the three, TestGorilla is the clear winner for its depth and breadth of tests. It’s one of the only platforms to evaluate non-European languages and offer a free plan for life. 

Disclaimer: The information on TestGorilla competitors has been taken from the relevant competitor website and is accurate at date of publication.