§ The result
1 point separates softgarden and eSkill.
softgarden (ATS-integrated) edges eSkill (Assessment) by 1 point under rubric v1.0, 42 to 41. softgarden leads 4 of the 7 criteria, including Data Governance Disclosure, while eSkill leads 2, including Article 11 Technical Documentation, and 1 is level. eSkill takes the heaviest weighted swing, Article 11 Technical Documentation at 20% (eSkill 48, softgarden 42), 69% of the weighted advantage it builds, while the widest raw gap is on Post-Market Monitoring, eSkill 36 to softgarden 44.
Vendor profile
eSkill
eSkill is a pre-employment testing platform with auto-scored skills, cognitive and behavioral tests and human-rated one-way video interviews, plus an optional Proctorio-powered AI proctoring add-on that gives each candidate a suspicion score and a Claude-based "Linea" layer that drafts assessments from job descriptions.
Vendor profile
softgarden
softgarden is a German cloud applicant tracking system (multiposting, career sites, applicant management and onboarding) with optional AI features: AI-Assisted Applicant Matching, which highlights applicants who closely match a job's requirements, and a newer LLM-based Screening Assistant, which scores each applicant against screening criteria.
§ The record
eSkill is filed under Assessment AI, softgarden under ATS-integrated AI. They record no secondary category in common.
Both are in scope of NYC LL 144, Illinois HB 3773, EU AI Act and Colorado AI Act. Only eSkill is in scope of Mobley v. Workday.
| Record | eSkill | softgarden |
|---|---|---|
| Price tier | Mid | Mid |
| Headquarters | US | DE |
| Founded | 2003 | 2001 |
§ What decides it
The criteria that move the gap, heaviest swing first.
20% weight · 30% of the movement so far
Article 11 Technical Documentation
eSkill 48 · softgarden 42
1.2 weighted points to eSkill
15% weight · 56% of the movement so far
Data Governance Disclosure
eSkill 47 · softgarden 54
1.1 weighted points to softgarden
12% weight · 80% of the movement so far
Post-Market Monitoring
eSkill 36 · softgarden 44
1.0 weighted points to softgarden
18% weight · 93% of the movement so far
Bias Audit Transparency
eSkill 25 · softgarden 22
0.5 weighted points to eSkill
8% weight · 97% of the movement so far
Customer Documentation
eSkill 56 · softgarden 58
0.2 weighted points to softgarden
12% weight · 100% of the movement so far
Human Oversight Design
eSkill 57 · softgarden 58
0.1 weighted points to softgarden
Weighted delta is the raw difference times the criterion weight, so the 6 figures above sum to -0.5 — the difference between the two totals before either is rounded. Shares are of 4.0 points of movement counted without direction. The table below rounds each side to a whole number first, so its Δ raw total reads -1 beside that -0.5.
§ Category-by-category
Raw score per criterion, with weighted delta.
Δ is eSkill minus softgarden.
| Category | Weight | eSkill | softgarden | Δ raw | Δ weighted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Article 11 Technical Documentation | 20% | 48 | 42 | +6 | +1.2 |
| Bias Audit Transparency | 18% | 25 | 22 | +3 | +0.5 |
| FRIA Support | 15% | 30 | 30 | - | - |
| Data Governance Disclosure | 15% | 47 | 54 | -7 | -1.1 |
| Human Oversight Design | 12% | 57 | 58 | -1 | -0.1 |
| Post-Market Monitoring | 12% | 36 | 44 | -8 | -1.0 |
| Customer Documentation | 8% | 56 | 58 | -2 | -0.2 |
| Total | 100% | 41 (F) | 42 (F) | -1 | -0.5 |
§ Evidence
Cited sources and documented absences, criterion by criterion.
An absence is a finding, not a blank: the reviewer looked for a named artefact and recorded that it is not located. Where a source sits is a fact about hosting only.
| Criterion | Weight | eSkill | softgarden | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cited | Absences | Audit / hosting | Cited | Absences | Audit / hosting | ||
| Article 11 Technical Documentation | 20% | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domainSources on a separate domain | 6 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| Bias Audit Transparency | 18% | 2 | 1 | Sources on a separate domain | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| FRIA Support | 15% | 2 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domainSources on a separate domain | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| Data Governance Disclosure | 15% | 4 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 7 | 0 | Audit reportSources on the vendor's own domain |
| Human Oversight Design | 12% | 5 | 0 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 5 | 0 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| Post-Market Monitoring | 12% | 4 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 5 | 1 | Audit reportSources on the vendor's own domain |
| Customer Documentation | 8% | 4 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 2 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| All criteria | 100% | 24 | 6 | Sources on the vendor's own domainSources on a separate domain | 31 | 5 | Audit reportSources on the vendor's own domain |
eSkill has 30 evidence rows across 7 of 7 criteria — 24 with a source URL, 6 documented absences; softgarden has 36 evidence rows across 7 of 7 criteria — 31 with a source URL, 5 documented absences; some documentation or audit rows for eSkill sit on a domain separate from the vendor's own site.
Provenance
The scores above are documented by 66 evidence rows on file for these two vendors: 30 for eSkill, across 2 distinct source domains, and 36 for softgarden, across 3 distinct source domains.
- Rubric
- v1.0
- eSkill last reviewed
- September 25, 2026 · HireAIScore editorial team
- softgarden last reviewed
- September 25, 2026 · HireAIScore editorial team
HireAIScore scores are editorial research, not legal advice, and no vendor pays for placement, scoring or removal — see the methodology, conflicts policy and terms.
§ Where next