Mercer Mettl Pricing 2026 and Cost per Candidate
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Short answer: Mercer Mettl does not publish prices. Every plan is a custom quote built around your volume, the products you pick and how much proctoring you need. The only public numbers come from third-party listings: Capterra shows a starting price of $25,000 a year for Mettl Coding Assessments, ITQlick estimates $3,000 to $15,000 or more in year one for a 10-user team, and one pricing site cites $15 per extra attempt on a starter plan. Mettl offers a free trial before you buy.
We checked Mettl's own pricing page in October 2026. It says "Customised plan as per your organisation", asks you to choose products, and sends you to a "Get quote now" form or a sales phone line. There is no price list, no per-candidate rate and no plan table. So the useful question for a US HR team or recruiter is not "what is the price" but "what budget should I walk into the sales call with, and is Mettl the right size of tool for my hiring". That is what this page answers.
Mercer Mettl pricing in 2026, every public figure
| Figure | What it covers | Source | How much to trust it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom quote, no list price | All products: assessments, coding, proctoring, exams, interviews | mettl.com pricing page | Authoritative |
| Starting at $25,000 a year | Mettl Coding Assessments | Capterra listing | Listing data, likely an enterprise floor |
| $3,000 to $15,000+ in year one | Estimated total for 10 users, depending on customization | ITQlick | Unsourced estimate |
| $15 per additional attempt | A "Starter" plan with screening and interview features for one user | PricingNow | Not confirmed by Mercer |
| Usage-based, no setup fee at entry level | Pricing model | G2, TrustRadius, Gartner | Consistent across listings |
| Contact vendor | Mettl Talent Assessments | Capterra, Software Advice | Authoritative |
Read that table as a range, not a price. The listings agree on the model (usage-based, priced per requirement, a mix of pay-per-use and subscription plans by assessment volume) and disagree wildly on the number. A five-figure starting price for a coding product and a four-figure estimate for a small team can both be true, because Mettl sells very different bundles to a university running 20,000 proctored semester exams and to a company hiring 40 people a year.
How much does Mercer Mettl cost per candidate?
Mercer Mettl's cost per candidate is not published, but you can estimate it from the listed figures. At Capterra's $25,000 a year, testing 1,000 candidates works out to $25 each, and 5,000 candidates brings it to $5. On ITQlick's $3,000 to $15,000 range, 300 candidates a year costs $10 to $50 each. Extra attempts beyond a bundle are cited at $15.
| Candidates a year | At $25,000 a year | At $15,000 a year | At $3,000 a year | Assessing AI Starter ($588 a year monthly, $288 yearly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | $83 each | $50 each | $10 each | $1.96 or $0.96 each |
| 1,000 | $25 each | $15 each | $3 each | $0.59 or $0.29 each |
| 5,000 | $5 each | $3 each | Outside that range | Starter caps at 500 a month; Plus covers 2,000 a month for $149 |
The point of that math is not that Mettl is overpriced. At 5,000 proctored candidates a year with a secure browser and coding simulators, a $25,000 contract is reasonable. The point is that per-candidate cost collapses only at volume. A small employer with 300 applicants a year pays the same platform overhead spread across far fewer people.
What you get for the money
Mettl is a broad suite, which is why it is priced per requirement. Its site lists online examinations and an examination management system, an AI-based remote proctoring suite with SecureProctor, the Mettl Secure Browser and proctoring as a service, online certification programs, coding assessments and coding interviews, psychometric, aptitude, technical, communication, sales, behavioral and leadership tests, 360-degree feedback, campus and lateral hiring, virtual assessment centers and hackathons. The pricing page lists ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 for data security.
That breadth is the main reason to buy Mettl. If you need validated psychometric tests, a lockdown browser and AI proctoring for a high-stakes exam, a quote-only enterprise suite is the right kind of product. If you need to screen 150 applicants for an inside sales role next month, most of the suite will sit unused.
Does Mercer Mettl have a free trial?
Yes. Mercer Mettl offers a free trial through a "Try for free" signup on its pricing page, and G2, GetApp and Capterra all list a trial. The pricing page does not state the trial length or limits. Expect the trial to lead into a sales conversation, because paid use requires a custom quote and an agreement.
How to get a lower Mettl quote
Because pricing is built per requirement, the quote moves with what you ask for. Four things change it most.
- Your candidate volume. Bring a real annual number, split by role family. A quote for "about 400 hires' worth of candidates" is priced very differently from "10,000 campus applicants".
- Proctoring level. AI proctoring, a secure browser and live human proctors are separate cost drivers. Ask for the price with and without each so you can see what you pay for.
- Which products you bundle. Coding assessments, psychometrics and interview tools are sold as distinct products. Buy only the ones you will use this year.
- Overage terms. Ask what an extra attempt costs once you pass the bundle, and whether unused attempts roll over. The $15 per attempt figure cited above is a useful anchor for that conversation.
If your company routes software purchases through a formal approval flow, put the quote, the overage terms and the renewal clause into your B2B procurement software before signing, so the renewal does not auto-roll at a higher rate next year.
Cheaper alternatives to Mercer Mettl for small teams
The cheaper Mettl alternatives fall into two groups. Prebuilt-library vendors such as TestGorilla, Testlify and iMocha sell annual plans in the low four figures. Flat monthly tools such as Assessing AI cost $49 to $149 a month and write the test for your role instead of selling a library.
| Tool | Published price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Mercer Mettl | Custom quote | High-stakes proctored exams, campus hiring at volume, psychometrics |
| iMocha | Quote only, listed from $400 a month billed annually | Technical hiring with coding tests and live coding |
| TestGorilla Core | From $215 a month, billed annually | A validated library across many job families |
| Testlify Standard | $1,668 a year for 100 credits | Library-based screening with a 30-day money-back |
| Testportal PRO | $79 a month for 300 results | General online tests and training quizzes |
| Assessing AI Starter | $49 a month, or $288 a year, up to 500 responses a month | Role-specific hiring tests with recorded voice and video answers |
Assessing AI is honest about what it is not. It has no normed psychometric library, no secure browser, no video proctoring, no ID verification and no code execution, and a person on your team scores written and recorded answers. What it does is draft a test from your job description (on Plus), score multiple choice the moment an applicant submits, take webcam still photos at the start and every three minutes, block copy and paste, open only through personal invite links if you want, and bill monthly with no contract, and you can cancel anytime from your account.
If you are comparing vendors with similar quote-only pricing, our iMocha pricing breakdown works through the same per-candidate math, and the pre-employment assessment software pricing page lists published prices across the market. Teams that only need general online tests can compare on the Testportal alternative page.
Is Mercer Mettl worth it?
Mercer Mettl is worth it when you run high volumes of high-stakes, proctored tests and need psychometrics, coding simulators and a secure browser from one vendor with ISO and SOC 2 paperwork. It is hard to justify for a small or mid-size US employer testing a few hundred applicants a year for sales, support or operations roles, where the platform overhead lands on too few candidates.
A simple rule: if your annual candidate count has four zeros, get the Mettl quote. If it has two or three, try a flat plan on your next open role first. You can compare flat monthly pricing against annual contracts before you decide, or start with the generator at the top of this page.
Mercer Mettl pricing questions
Is Mercer Mettl free?
No. Mercer Mettl is a paid platform with custom pricing, though it offers a free trial through its website. Candidates taking a Mettl test do not pay; the employer or institution pays for the platform. The trial is meant to lead into a quote, not to run a hiring program for free.
Is Mettl pay per use?
Partly. Gartner describes Mettl pricing as a mix of pay-per-use and subscription plans, with tiers set by assessment volume and customization, and G2 says entry-level payment is based on usage and the features requested. One reviewer noted pricing is tied to usage rather than duration. Ask which model your quote uses before signing.
How much does Mettl proctoring cost?
Mettl does not publish a separate proctoring price. AI proctoring, the Mettl Secure Browser and human proctoring are quoted as part of your requirement, and the level you choose is one of the biggest drivers of the final number. Ask for line-item pricing with and without each proctoring option.