Video Interviewing Platforms Compared: HireVue vs Spark Hire vs Modern Hire (And When Zoom Is Good Enough)
You're hiring remotely. Video interviews are now standard. The question: should you use Zoom, or invest in a dedicated video interviewing platform?
Dedicated platforms like HireVue, Spark Hire, and Modern Hire offer features Zoom doesn't—asynchronous interviews, structured evaluation, AI-powered analysis, and candidate experience tools.
But they also cost significantly more than free Zoom calls.
Here's how the major video interviewing platforms compare, and when they're worth the investment.
What Dedicated Video Interview Platforms Offer (That Zoom Doesn't)
Before comparing platforms, understand what you're paying for:
Asynchronous (one-way) interviews: Candidates record responses to pre-set questions on their own time. You review later. No scheduling coordination required.
Structured interview guides: Built-in question banks, evaluation rubrics, and scorecards that standardize your interview process.
AI analysis: Some platforms analyze candidate responses for keywords, sentiment, and communication patterns.
Collaboration tools: Share interview recordings with hiring teams, leave timestamped comments, and consolidate feedback.
Candidate experience features: Practice questions, mobile-friendly interfaces, and scheduling automation.
Compliance and accessibility: EEOC-compliant evaluation, closed captioning, and record retention.
If you're doing high-volume hiring, need structured evaluation, or want async screening, dedicated platforms offer value. If you're doing low-volume hiring with live interviews, Zoom is probably fine.
HireVue: The Enterprise AI-Powered Leader
HireVue is the largest and most established video interviewing platform.
Pricing: Custom enterprise pricing. Expect $10K-$50K+ annually depending on users and volume.
What it does well:
Asynchronous interviews at scale: HireVue excels at high-volume screening. Send interview invites to hundreds of candidates, let them record responses on their schedule, review later.
AI-powered insights: HireVue's AI analyzes candidate responses for keywords, communication patterns, and structured signals. Provides scoring and recommendations.
Structured evaluation: Built-in interview guides, competency frameworks, and standardized scorecards reduce bias and improve consistency.
Enterprise integrations: Seamless integration with Workday, SAP, Oracle, and other enterprise ATS platforms.
Compliance focus: Strong EEOC compliance features, accessibility tools, and audit trails.
Large customer base: Used by Fortune 500 companies globally. Candidates often recognize the platform.
What to consider:
Expensive: Enterprise pricing means small companies can't afford it. This is built for high-volume, large-scale hiring.
AI analysis has faced criticism: HireVue's AI video analysis feature (which analyzed facial expressions and tone) was discontinued in 2021 after bias concerns. Current AI focuses on speech content, not appearance.
Can feel impersonal: Candidates sometimes dislike one-way video interviews, feeling like they're "talking to a camera" with no human interaction.
Complexity: HireVue is feature-rich but has a learning curve. Requires training and setup time.
Best for: Large enterprises doing high-volume hiring (100+ hires annually) who need structured, AI-assisted screening at scale.
Skip if: You're a small company, hire infrequently, or candidates frequently object to async video interviews.
Sources: HireVue Product Overview, G2 HireVue Reviews
Spark Hire: The Mid-Market Favorite
Spark Hire targets mid-size companies with simpler, more affordable video interviewing.
Pricing: Starts around $149/month for small teams. Scales to $500-$1,000/month for larger teams.
What it does well:
Affordable and accessible: Significantly cheaper than HireVue, making it accessible for companies with 10-100 employees.
Easy to use: Simple interface, minimal learning curve. Most teams are up and running within a day.
Async and live interviews: Supports both one-way (async) and two-way (live) video interviews in one platform.
Structured interview templates: Pre-built question sets for common roles, plus custom question creation.
Candidate-friendly: Mobile-friendly interface, practice questions, and clear instructions make the process less intimidating.
Good integrations: Connects with popular ATS platforms like Greenhouse, Lever, and BambooHR.
Responsive support: Customers consistently praise support quality.
What to consider:
Less AI sophistication: Spark Hire doesn't offer the same level of AI analysis as HireVue. Evaluation is manual or semi-automated.
Fewer enterprise features: No advanced compliance tools, limited customization compared to enterprise platforms.
Async interviews still have drawbacks: Some candidates dislike one-way video interviews regardless of platform.
Best for: Mid-size companies (10-100 employees) doing moderate hiring volume (20-50 hires annually) who want structured video interviewing without enterprise complexity.
Skip if: You need advanced AI analysis, have complex compliance requirements, or do very low-volume hiring (Zoom might be enough).
Sources: Spark Hire Features, G2 Spark Hire Reviews
Modern Hire: The Science-Backed Assessment Platform
Modern Hire combines video interviewing with validated pre-employment assessments.
Pricing: Custom pricing. Mid-range between Spark Hire and HireVue.
What it does well:
Assessment focus: Modern Hire integrates video interviewing with cognitive, personality, and skills assessments. You get holistic candidate evaluation.
Science-backed: Strong emphasis on validation research and bias reduction. Industrial-organizational psychologists design their assessments.
Structured interviews: Question banks designed around competencies, with scoring rubrics.
Compliance and fairness: Modern Hire monitors for adverse impact and provides EEOC compliance reporting.
Conversational AI interviews: Offers AI-driven conversational interviews that feel more interactive than traditional one-way video.
What to consider:
Assessment-heavy approach: If you just want video interviews without assessments, Modern Hire might be overkill.
Pricing isn't transparent: Custom pricing requires sales conversations, which some companies find frustrating.
Smaller customer base: Less name recognition than HireVue, which can affect candidate familiarity.
Best for: Companies that want video interviewing integrated with validated assessments, especially in regulated industries or roles requiring specific competencies.
Skip if: You only need video interviews (not assessments), want transparent pricing, or do very low-volume hiring.
Sources: Modern Hire Solutions, G2 Modern Hire Reviews
When Is Zoom (Or Google Meet/Teams) Good Enough?
You don't always need a dedicated video interview platform.
Zoom/Google Meet/Teams work fine when:
- You're doing low-volume hiring (under 20 hires annually)
- You conduct live interviews only (no async screening needed)
- Your team is small and doesn't need collaboration features
- You have tight budget constraints
- Candidates prefer live conversations over recorded responses
You need a dedicated platform when:
- You're doing high-volume screening (50+ candidates for one role)
- You want async interviews to eliminate scheduling coordination
- You need structured evaluation and scorecards
- Compliance and audit trails are critical
- You're hiring globally across time zones
The hybrid approach:
Many companies use async platforms for initial screening, then switch to Zoom for final interviews. This balances efficiency and candidate experience.
Candidate Experience Considerations
Async video interviews are controversial among candidates.
What candidates dislike:
- Talking to a camera with no human interaction feels unnatural
- No opportunity to ask questions or clarify
- Time pressure (most platforms impose response time limits)
- Concern that AI is making decisions without human review
How to improve async interview experience:
- Limit questions: Keep it to 3-5 questions, 10-15 minutes total
- Allow practice: Let candidates practice recording before the real thing
- Be transparent: Explain why you use async interviews and how responses are evaluated
- Follow up quickly: Don't let candidates wait weeks for feedback
- Use async for screening only: Move to live interviews for later stages
Platforms like Spark Hire and Modern Hire emphasize candidate experience features to address these concerns.
How To Choose The Right Platform
For large enterprises (Fortune 500, 500+ employees): HireVue (enterprise features, scale, AI analysis)
For mid-size companies (50-500 employees): Spark Hire (affordable, easy to use, good support)
For assessment-focused hiring: Modern Hire (integrated assessments, validated science)
For small companies or low-volume hiring: Zoom/Google Meet (free, familiar, works fine for live interviews)
For global hiring across time zones: Any async platform (eliminates scheduling challenges)
The Bottom Line
Dedicated video interview platforms offer real value for high-volume, structured hiring.
Use them when:
- You're screening 50+ candidates per role
- You need async interviews to save time
- You want structured evaluation and collaboration
- Compliance and consistency are critical
Stick with Zoom when:
- You're hiring infrequently
- You only do live interviews
- Budget is tight
- Candidate experience concerns outweigh efficiency gains
Each platform has strengths. Choose based on your hiring volume, budget, and whether you value AI-powered analysis (HireVue), ease of use (Spark Hire), or integrated assessments (Modern Hire).
And remember: no platform fixes bad interview questions or untrained interviewers. Technology enhances process—it doesn't replace good interviewing fundamentals.
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