Hiring engineers in 2025 is not only about staying competitive and attracting the right candidates. It’s also about establishing a process that runs smoothly for your team. Without the right platform and evaluation tools, engineer hiring can feel chaotic for hiring managers looking to pinpoint true technical skills.
Between inflated resumes, skill mismatches, and a crowded ATS, it’s easy to spend weeks vetting candidates only to end up with the wrong hire. Technical assessment platforms help solve this with real-world, job-relevant assessments.
If you’re feeling boxed in by Byteboard or simply want a tool that adapts to your hiring needs (not the other way around), this post is for you. We’ll break down the best Byteboard alternatives of 2025, including CodeSignal, our top pick for scalable, expert-backed, and job-relevant technical hiring.
Why look for a Byteboard alternative?
Before jumping into the comparison, it’s important to understand why some companies are exploring options besides Byteboard (now part of Karat) to make more informed hiring decisions:
- Limited roles addressed: Byteboard focuses heavily on generalist software engineering roles, which may not align with niche or role-specific hiring needs.
- Google-centric design: Byteboard’s workflows and design align closely with larger, Google-like organizations, which may not suit other company sizes or cultures.
- Language and role support: Teams working across diverse tech stacks or looking for specialized roles may find its offerings limited.
When hiring talent, it’s critical to choose a platform that fits your team’s unique goals, whether that’s role-specific assessments, scaling candidate pipelines, or offering a polished candidate experience.
Let’s take a closer look at the best Byteboard or Karat alternatives for your technical hiring.
Top Byteboard alternatives this year (and beyond)
1. CodeSignal: Best overall alternative for evaluating candidates
Looking for a platform that does it all? CodeSignal is a top-tier alternative to Byteboard, designed to support organizations of all sizes and industries. It stands out for its robust features, scaling capabilities, and focus on both candidate experience and ease of use for hiring teams
Features you can’t afford to miss
- Certified Assessments: Validated skills assessments that benchmark technical skills and help ensure fairness and consistency across candidates throughout the interview process.
- Real-world coding projects: Simulate job-relevant scenarios with hands-on tasks in areas like full-stack development, DevOps, and data science—all in an incredibly user-friendly interface that makes the experience feel unique.
- Role-based testing: Tailor assessments for specific roles—front-end, back-end, full-stack, and more—so you’re always testing the right skills.
- Live interview environment: A collaborative coding IDE supports real-time technical interviews, making it easy to evaluate thinking and communication on the spot.
- Smart scoring and reporting: Automated scoring, detailed code playback, and advanced analytics provide fast, objective insights while reducing bias.
- Advanced cheating & fraud prevention features: CodeSignal uses market-leading technology to detect and prevent the use of unauthorized 3rd party resources during assessments. Plus, CodeSignal also has the option for full-service proctoring.
- ATS and workflow Integration: Seamlessly connects with popular applicant tracking systems and HR tools to streamline hiring from end to end.
Why choose CodeSignal? We’re glad you asked!
CodeSignal is built for teams that need to scale technical hiring efficiently, with an evaluation process that’s both innovative and candidate-friendly. It supports a wide range of programming languages and roles, from entry-level to senior specialists. Recruiters value its robust reporting and scoring tools, which make candidate evaluation more objective.
With both live technical interviews and asynchronous assessments, it offers flexibility for different hiring workflows. Candidates also appreciate the intuitive interface, which leads to a smoother experience. If you’re looking to streamline hiring while accurately assessing real-world skills, CodeSignal delivers.
Real customer insight
“CodeSignal’s user interface is second to none; it allows us to design our own assessments using adaptive programming questions that cover all bases. Also, the automatic assessment is fantastic; applicants (in this case, developers) receive instant feedback on how they are doing, and we can see a deep assessment of their skills as they develop. As a result, we have been able to find the best candidates faster and with much less effort.”
—G2 review, Full Stack Developer
2. HackerRank
HackerRank is an assessment platform for evaluating developers through coding challenges that test core programming skills and problem-solving ability. While it’s a popular choice among large enterprises, it may not be the best fit for teams that prioritize flexibility, customization, or real-world project-based assessments.
Features to note
- Built-in tools for remote proctoring and live interviews with qualified candidates
- Gamified coding challenges to attract a younger talent pool
- Comprehensive language tests for assessing communication skills in multiple languages
Downsides to consider
- Limited support for senior-level or specialized engineering roles
- Tests may feel academic or rigid for some roles
- Candidate experience can be affected by UI complexity
- May require customization to match real-world scenarios
Real customer insight
“I appreciate HackerRank’s flexible mechanism for creating interview templates. Additionally, it provides an easy way to create coding tasks, complete with a built-in testing framework that supports multiple languages.”
—G2 review, Enterprise computer security
3. Codility
Codility is a technical assessment platform that focuses on evaluating code accuracy, performance, and maintainability. It’s often used by teams that want structured coding tasks and objective scoring based on defined technical metrics.
Features to note
- Instant insights into code correctness and performance during assessments
- Connects with major ATS for streamlined hiring
- Simulates real-world tasks with timed coding problems
- Replay submissions to review a candidate’s thought process step-by-step
Downsides to consider
- Awkward interface and rigid tests can frustrate developer candidates
- Test content may not reflect team skills needs
- Pricing and limited integrations may hinder some teams
Real customer insights
“The platform is quite well designed with a smooth interface to coding, clear problem statements, and real-time feedback about performance. One of the issues with Codility is that the tests can sometimes appear a little too focused on the edge cases. I think it might be frustrating for developers more accustomed to solving practical, everyday problems.”
—G2 review, Computer software
READ MORE: 7 Codility alternatives for developer and technical assessments
4. CoderPad
CoderPad supports live coding interviews in a collaborative setting, allowing interviewers to observe candidates as they work and use problem solving skills. It offers playback and supports multiple languages. However, because the focus is on live interviews, users may find fewer built-in assessments for pre-screening candidates.
Features to note
- Simple, developer-friendly interface
- Wide support for programming languages
- Fully customizable tasks for diverse hiring needs
- Comprehensive support resources to assist users throughout the assessment process
Downsides to consider
- Less robust pre-built assessment library compared to some competitors
- More limited functionality compared to a full-featured IDE
Real customer insights
“The platform’s UI for the coding simulator was clean, intuitive, and made the overall experience smooth and efficient. It’s well-suited for real-world coding assessments and helped me focus on problem-solving without distractions.”
–G2 review, Candidate
5. TestGorilla
TestGorilla is a pre-employment testing platform that helps companies assess candidate skills, from coding to soft skills and cognitive ability. It’s commonly used to streamline early-stage screening and reduce bias through skills-based evaluations.
Features to note
- Can be a budget-friendly option for growing teams and SMBs
- Useful for startups hiring across multiple functions
- Anti-cheating measures like webcam, screen lock, and test randomization
- Multiple scoring options, but no dedicated peer review workflow
- Built-in proctoring and test logs help verify candidate integrity
Downsides to consider
- May lack the depth required for rigorous senior engineering roles
- Limited support for technical or coding-specific assessments
- Not entirely specific to software engineering or technical roles
- Results can lack depth for highly specialized roles
Real customer insights
“The candidate experience is smooth and intuitive. We’ve had great feedback from applicants who appreciated how clear and user-friendly it was. The reporting could be more detailed, especially when reviewing large batches of candidates. Also, the pricing can feel a bit steep, especially smaller teams or startups.”
—G2 review, Commercial Lead
Valuing candidate experiences and positive company branding
Great developers aren’t just evaluating the job—they’re evaluating you. A clunky assessment process or poor communication can instantly turn top candidates away.
When your technical hiring process is smooth, intuitive, and respectful of candidates’ time, it reflects well on your brand and keeps high-quality applicants engaged. Timely feedback and clear next steps show that you value their effort. In turn, this builds trust and strengthens your employer reputation.
Incorporating your company’s branding into the hiring process—like custom email invites—helps candidates get a feel for your culture right away. When that experience reflects what they’re looking for, you’re not just making a hire but bringing in someone who already feels connected to your team.
Investing in the candidate experience pays off in faster hiring, better-fit applicants, and a stronger reputation in the tech community.
Incorporating soft skills and behavioral assessments
Hiring a great engineer isn’t just about code. You also need someone who can communicate clearly, collaborate across teams, and stay calm under pressure. That’s where soft skills and behavioral assessments come in. (And yes, they reveal the qualities that don’t show up in a GitHub repo.)
When you pair technical evaluations with tools that measure things like communication, problem-solving, and decision-making, you get a more complete picture of how a candidate will perform on the job. Behavioral profile assessments, for example, can be calibrated to the traits your team and organization prioritizes, then show you how strong of a fit the candidate is for your culture and approach.
Adding soft skills to your hiring process is how you find people who can actually work well with others, adapt to change, and handle challenges as they come. It’s the difference between hiring someone who can pass a test and someone who’s ready to thrive.
Choosing the right skills assessment platform
When evaluating tools, consider the following criteria to ensure a good fit for your organization’s needs:
- Role coverage: Make sure the platform supports a range of roles (from junior developers to senior engineers) so you’re not stuck stitching together tools and roles as your needs evolve.
- Scalability: Hiring at volume? Choose a platform built to handle high candidate loads without slowing down your recruitment team.
- Customization options: Look for tools that let you tailor questions to your tech stack and job descriptions. The closer the assessment mirrors the actual role, the better your hiring outcomes.
- Team bandwidth: If your team’s stretched thin, consider platforms with strong asynchronous options. If you have time for live interviews, prioritize tools with built-in collaboration features.
- Candidate experience: A clean, intuitive interface can make or break the candidate’s perception of your brand. Bonus points for platforms that integrate easily with your existing HR systems.
- Budget and growth potential: Choose a solution that fits your current hiring goals—and can scale as your team expands.
Ready to upgrade from Byteboard? CodeSignal has you covered.
If you need more flexibility and scalability, and crave the confidence of Certified Assessments, CodeSignal is a choice that can’t be beat. Unlike Byteboard’s generic single evaluation (called CoreEval), CodeSignal gives you the tools to assess real skills, run live coding interviews with your best candidates and team members, and get more accurate signals on best fit.
Whether you’re hiring just a few engineers or hundreds, CodeSignal streamlines the process with powerful reporting, a smooth candidate experience, and a broader range of integrations that keep your workflows moving.
See what a smarter hiring process looks like. Schedule your CodeSignal demo today.
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