The short answer
The Predictive Index (PI) and Reveal by Hiring Indicators both give employers information that goes beyond the resume and the interview. They get there in different ways.
PI measures workplace behaviors and motivations with its Behavioral Assessment and learning ability with its Cognitive Assessment. Employers set a job target for a role and compare candidates against it.
Reveal starts with your job description. We identify the competencies the role requires, combine three to six validated assessments that includes a cognitive assessment, chosen for that type of job, and deliver one report with competency scores, strengths, growth areas and interview questions written for that candidate.
PI is a well-established choice if you want one behavioral framework typically composed from high performers behaviors. Reveal is built for employers who want each role assessed against the competencies, not only behaviors, that particular job demands.
What is the Predictive Index?
The Predictive Index is a talent assessment and management platform. The company says it is used by more than 10,000 organizations and draws on 70 years of behavioral data.
Its two core assessments are:
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- The PI Behavioral Assessment, which looks at workplace behaviors and motivations
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- The PI Cognitive Assessment, which measures learning ability and problem solving
Employers can set a job target for a position and compare candidate results to it. PI’s software can also generate interview guides based on how a candidate’s behavioral pattern compares with the job target. Beyond hiring, PI offers tools for team and leadership development. Choosing PI required internal training, certification, and consulting from PI for teams/managers/leaders to interpret the results and apply it for performance or development.
What is Reveal by Hiring Indicators?
Reveal is a role-specific competency assessment for hiring, promotion and development decisions.
You send us the job description for a role you’re filling. Within 24 hours, we configure an assessment around the competencies that job requires. You invite candidates through the platform, and results come back as soon as they finish.
Each Reveal report draws on three to six separate validated assessments, selected for the job type. The results are translated into competency scores and an associated narrative for that specific role, so the report reads in terms of the job rather than in terms of the test. There is no certification or training required to interpret the results.
Reveal’s methodology comes from our sister company, Carr Assessments, which has been developing assessments since 1966. That’s more than 50 years of assessment data behind every report.
Predictive Index vs. Reveal at a glance
| The Predictive Index | Reveal by Hiring Indicators | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Behavioral and cognitive assessments, with a job target set for the role | Your job description, used to define the competencies the role requires |
| What’s measured | Workplace behaviors and motivations; learning ability and problem solving | A combination of 3 to 6 validated assessments chosen for the job type, which can include behavioral tendencies, personality, cognitive style, problem solving, reasoning, decision making and interpersonal effectiveness |
| How results are presented | Candidate results compared with the job target | One report with competency scores for the role, strengths and growth areas |
| Interview support | Interview guides based on the candidate’s behavioral pattern and the job target | Interview questions written for each candidate, based on their results against the role’s competencies |
| Uses | Hiring, plus team, leadership and management development | Hiring, promotion, leadership and management development, and succession planning |
| Pricing | Quoted by PI | Published plans from $850 to $5,500 per year |
Predictive Index details are based on PI’s public website as of October 2026. Features change over time, so check with PI for current specifics.
The core difference: how the job gets defined
Both platforms connect assessment results to a job. The difference is in how the job is defined and what the candidate is measured against.
With PI, a job target describes the behavioral and cognitive pattern suited to the role, and candidates are compared with that target.
With Reveal, the starting point is the set of competencies in your job description. A Sales Manager needs different things than a Controller. A Police Chief needs different things than a Police Recruit. A Vice President and a frontline supervisor may share a few competencies and differ on most of the rest.
So Reveal selects the assessments that fit the job type and scores the candidate on the competencies that particular role calls for. If you already have a job-specific assessment, we can work from that instead.
Neither approach is right for every organization. The better question is which one your hiring managers will actually use when it’s time to decide. Another consideration is the cost of the assessment and the cost of the training/certification where required.
One candidate, multiple measures
People are complex, and no single measure captures everything a role asks of them. Depending on the job, a Reveal assessment can draw on:
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- Workplace and behavioral tendencies
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- Personality characteristics
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- Cognitive style
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- Problem solving
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- Decision making
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- Reasoning
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- Interpersonal effectiveness
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- Leadership-related characteristics
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- Other measures relevant to the specific position
The right combination depends on the role. Reveal then brings the results together into one competency-based report, so the hiring manager reads one document built around the job.
One report built around the role
Hiring managers don’t necessarily need more assessment data. They need information they can act on.
A Reveal report can include:
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- Job-specific competency results
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- Candidate strengths
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- Development opportunities
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- Areas that deserve a closer look
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- Targeted interview questions
Reports are designed to be read before the interview, not after. BioNexus KC, a Kansas City life-sciences organization, had a five-person hiring committee that included a board member to review Reveal reports ahead of interviews for a key executive hire. They used the reports to “break open the candidate interviews.”
Dennis Ridenour, President and CEO of BioNexus KC, put it this way: “Another great feature for us is how the Reveal report has given us the opportunity to select specific competencies that are most important for our organization.”
An input to the decision, not the decision
A score can be useful. But important hiring decisions rarely come down to one number.
Reveal isn’t designed to make the hiring decision. Assessments in general should not be used as the source to make the hiring decision alone. It’s one source of information your team weighs alongside experience, education, interviews, references, background checks, job knowledge, organizational needs and professional judgment.
The goal is to help the people making the decision make a better-informed one.
Better questions in the interview
One of the most useful things assessment data can tell you is what to explore next.
Each Reveal report includes interview questions based on that candidate’s results and the requirements of the position. Hiring managers can use them to dig into potential strengths, development areas or concerns while the candidate is in the room.
Reveal doesn’t replace the interview. It gives the interview somewhere specific to go.
Hiring, promotion and development
Reveal is one assessment approach you can use across the employee lifecycle.
Hiring. See how a candidate’s results relate to the competencies the position requires.
Promotion. Evaluate an employee against the competencies required at the next level, rather than assuming strong performance in one job automatically carries into another.
Leadership development and succession. Identify strengths, development opportunities and coaching priorities, and benchmark current leaders against what the next role demands.
Onboarding. Give managers insight into how to support a new employee as they settle into the role.
Which is the better fit for your organization?
Reveal may be the better fit if you want:
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- Each role assessed against the competencies in its own job description
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- A custom assessment configured for you within 24 hours
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- Several assessment measures combined into one competency-based report
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- Strengths, growth areas and candidate-specific interview questions in the same report
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- One approach that works for hiring, promotion, development, and succession
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- A small, hands-on team that works with you on each role
The Predictive Index may be the better fit if you want:
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- One shared behavioral framework used across your whole organization
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- A broad platform with team design and leadership development tools built in
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- An assessment that connects to your applicant tracking system. PI lists integrations with platforms such as Greenhouse and SmartRecruiters.
Both can provide useful information for hiring and talent decisions. The best choice depends on what you want from an assessment and how you want your hiring managers to use it.
Frequently asked questions
What are the alternatives to Predictive Index?
Employers comparing PI often look at Culture Index, Caliper, Criteria, Wonderlic and Reveal by Hiring Indicators, among others. Each takes a different approach. Reveal is a fit for employers who want a custom assessment built from their own job description and a single competency-based report for each candidate.
Is Reveal the same type of assessment as Predictive Index?
No. Both support hiring and talent decisions, but they use different frameworks and reports. Reveal combines three to six validated assessments chosen for the job type and reports the results as competency scores for that specific role.
Does Predictive Index measure cognitive ability?
Yes. PI offers a Behavioral Assessment and a separate Cognitive Assessment. Reveal can also include cognitive and problem-solving measures when they’re relevant to the position.
Is Reveal just a personality test?
No. Personality and workplace behavior can be part of a Reveal assessment, but each report also draws on other measures, such as cognitive style, reasoning and problem solving, depending on what the job requires.
Can Reveal use our job description?
Yes. Reveal is built from your job description. We use it to identify the competencies the role requires and configure the assessment, usually within 24 hours.
Does Reveal provide interview questions?
Yes. Every Reveal report includes interview questions written for that candidate, based on their results against the role’s competencies.
How much does Reveal cost?
Reveal has three published annual plans:
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- Small Business / Startup: $850 per year for 10 assessments and 1 position review
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- Scale Up: $2,750 per year for up to 50 assessments and 10 position reviews
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- Enterprise: $5,500 per year for up to 100 assessments and unlimited position reviews
All plans can be paid in monthly installments at no extra cost. Predictive Index pricing is available from PI.
What happens if a hire doesn’t work out?
If a candidate hired using Reveal leaves within 120 days, we credit back the assessments used on that hire.
Can Reveal be used for leadership positions?
Yes. Reveal is used for roles from frontline positions to managers, directors, vice presidents and executives.
Can Reveal be used for employee development?
Yes. Results can help identify strengths, development opportunities and coaching priorities after a hiring or promotion decision, and support succession planning.
Can we try Reveal before committing?
Yes. We offer five free assessments on a real role you’re hiring for. We start with a short call to scope the position, because the assessment is built around it. No credit card or contract required.
See the difference with your own position
You don’t have to decide from a feature list.
Start with a position you’re hiring for right now. Send us the job description, and we’ll show you how Reveal would assess the competencies that matter for that role.