Kendor vs Codility
Facts last reviewed: October 13, 2026
Kendor is a Codility alternative for teams that want to hire on real project work and buy without a sales call. Candidates work in your own repository, or one of our templates, in a full VS Code-based IDE with a terminal, a running app and databases, with Claude Code or Codex in the terminal when you allow it. Pricing is a flat monthly plan with unlimited candidates; Codility’s self-serve plans are sold in invite credits, and its AI agents, ATS integrations and SSO sit on its custom plan.
Codility is a mature, enterprise-grade platform with a large task library, security certifications and a long customer list, and its live interviews now include Claude Code in the terminal. The difference is who gets what: on Kendor every plan includes the real-project sandbox and the AI agents, Pro includes the ATS integrations, and nothing waits on a contract.
| Kendor | Codility | |
|---|---|---|
| What candidates doThe format of the screen itself | Real project challenges (Node/TS, Laravel, Python, Go, Java, Rust, C++), with PostgreSQL or Valkey inside the sandbox when needed — from a template or imported from any Git host, public or private — plus single-file, SQL and free-form questions | Tasks from its library, custom tasks built with its team, and AI-focused tasks |
| EnvironmentWhere the candidate writes code | Full VS Code-based IDE in the browser: terminal, live preview, language servers, multi-service apps — candidates join from a link, no account; Docker, Compose or Kubernetes sandboxes on Enterprise | Shared VS Code with a terminal in live interviews; services next to the code on the custom plan |
| AI agentsAI assistance inside the sandbox | Claude Code or Codex in the sandbox terminal on every plan, on your own API key with a token budget per attempt; reviewers can watch the terminal live | AI Copilot chat and agent on its own models; Claude Code in the terminal in preview, listed under the custom plan (October 2026) |
| Live interviewsPairing with the candidate in real time | Live coding from one link: a shared sandbox (code, terminal, running app), whiteboard, built-in video call with screen sharing, and candidate self-booking | Shared VS Code, whiteboard and built-in call; recordings and transcripts on the custom plan |
| Judging the workWhat reviewers decide from | The code and its diff, terminal and AI-agent transcripts, and a keystroke playback, plus on Pro an optional AI summary on your own key — a person decides, not a number | Automated scores on library tasks, session replay, and interviewer scorecards |
| Integrity signalsWhat you learn about how the work happened | Timestamped facts beside the code: tab switches, fullscreen exits, paste events, full keystroke playback | Similarity checks, paste and focus signals, webcam snapshots; ID verification and video proctoring on higher plans |
| Hiring flowGetting applicants into a screen | Ashby, Greenhouse and Lever, included in Pro: moving a candidate to a stage sends their screen or a booking link, and Kendor reports back to the ATS | Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, Workday, SmartRecruiters and SAP, on the custom plan |
| Single sign-onCompany login for your team | SAML 2.0 or OIDC, with verified domains and an option to require SSO (Enterprise) | SAML 2.0, on the custom plan |
| PricingWhat drives the bill | Flat plans, never per candidate — Starter $79/mo; Pro $400/mo billed yearly ($500 monthly) with unlimited candidates, interviews and reviewers; self-serve | Invite credits: Starter $1,200/yr for 1 user and 120 credits; Scale about $6,000/yr for 3 users and 300 credits; custom plan by quote (October 2026) |
| Security and complianceWhat a security review will find | EU-hosted (Frankfurt), GDPR-first: signable DPA, export and erasure, public security overview; no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 yet | States SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certification, GDPR, and US or EU data residency |
| LanguagesWhat candidates and reviewers see | Interface and candidate emails in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Russian; challenge briefs in any language | English; no other interface language listed publicly |
Your codebase, not a task library
Codility’s strength is its library of tasks and a team that builds custom ones for you. Kendor starts from your code: paste a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket URL, or a self-hosted Git server, and every candidate gets a fresh copy of that project, with dependencies installed, the app running in a live preview, and PostgreSQL or Valkey inside the sandbox when the project needs them.
That makes the screen look like the job. Candidates read an unfamiliar codebase, change it, run its tests and see the result, and your reviewers judge the same kind of work they review every day.
AI in the interview
Both products now let candidates use AI and show interviewers how they used it. Codility offers an AI Copilot chat and agent on its own models, and, in preview, Claude Code in the terminal of its live interviews; its pricing page lists Claude Code under the custom plan.
On Kendor, Claude Code and Codex run in the sandbox terminal on every plan, on your organization’s own Anthropic or OpenAI key with a token budget per attempt; the key never enters the candidate’s sandbox. Reviewers read the agent transcript beside the code, and on Pro an optional AI summary describes how the candidate worked with the agent. Codility states that it does not grade AI activity automatically; Kendor’s summary doesn’t either, it points reviewers to the evidence.
Live coding interviews
Kendor’s live coding interview starts from one link: the candidate joins without an account, and you share a sandbox with the code, terminal and running app, a whiteboard and a built-in video call with screen sharing. You watch them work with Claude in the shared terminal as it happens, then end the session and review the result with your team.
Codility Interview also runs in a shared VS Code with a terminal, a whiteboard and a built-in call. Its pricing page lists recordings and transcripts, and services such as databases next to the code, under the custom plan.
Pricing model
Codility’s public pricing (checked October 2026) is sold in invite credits: Starter is $1,200 a year for one user and 120 credits, Scale is about $6,000 a year for three users and 300 credits, and one credit is spent per screen or interview invite. SSO, ATS integrations, interview recording and Claude Code are listed under the custom plan.
Kendor never charges per candidate or per interview: Starter is $79 a month, and Pro is $400 per month billed yearly ($500 month to month) with unlimited candidates, interviews and reviewers, Ashby, Greenhouse and Lever included. SSO is on Enterprise.
Where Codility is the better choice
Honestly: if your procurement requires a SOC 2 report or an ISO 27001 certificate today, if you screen at high volume with standardized, auto-scored tasks, or if you need ID verification, video proctoring or Workday and SAP integrations, Codility is built for that and has the track record. Kendor earns its keep when you want candidates on your own codebase with their AI tools, and a plan you can start today without a contract.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kendor a good Codility alternative?
Yes, when you want to interview on real project work. Kendor runs your own repository in a full browser IDE with a terminal and a running app, includes Claude Code and Codex on every plan, and costs a flat monthly fee with unlimited candidates instead of invite credits.
Does Codility have Claude Code too?
Yes. As of October 2026 Codility offers Claude Code in the terminal of its live interviews as a preview, and its pricing page lists it under the custom plan. On Kendor, Claude Code and Codex are on every plan, run on your own API key, and are available in take-home screens as well as live interviews.
How does pricing compare?
Codility’s self-serve plans are sold in invite credits: $1,200 a year for 120 invites and one user, or about $6,000 a year for 300 invites and three users. Kendor never charges per candidate: Starter is $79 a month, and Pro is $400 a month billed yearly with unlimited candidates, interviews and reviewers.
Is Kendor SOC 2 certified?
Not yet. Kendor is hosted in the EU, signs a DPA with every customer and publishes a security overview at kendor.io/security; we answer security questionnaires directly. If a SOC 2 report is a hard requirement today, Codility has one.
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See it on the Kendor homepage or read the engineering-hiring blog.