§ The result
softgarden leads HireQuotient on all 7 criteria.
Under rubric v1.0, softgarden, filed under ATS-integrated, finishes on 42 and HireQuotient, filed under Sourcing, on 34, 8 points apart. softgarden takes all 7 criteria from HireQuotient without a 20-point raw gap on any of them; the closest is Human Oversight Design, HireQuotient 57 to softgarden 58. Even Data Governance Disclosure, the widest raw gap and the heaviest weighted swing (HireQuotient 40, softgarden 54, 15% weight), is only 27% of the weighted advantage softgarden builds across the 7 criteria it leads.
Vendor profile
HireQuotient
EasySource by HireQuotient is an AI recruiting platform for North American frontline employers that sources and scores candidates from LinkedIn, the open web and partner databases, verifies licences, automates outreach including AI voice calls, and adds an ATS, interview scheduling, and skills, cognitive and AI-scored video assessments.
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
HireQuotient is filed under Candidate sourcing AI, softgarden under ATS-integrated AI. They also share 1 secondary category: Screening.
Both are in scope of EU AI Act, NYC LL 144, Colorado AI Act and Illinois HB 3773. Only HireQuotient is in scope of Mobley v. Workday.
| Record | HireQuotient | softgarden |
|---|---|---|
| Price tier | Low | Mid |
| Headquarters | SG | DE |
| Founded | 2021 | 2001 |
§ What decides it
The criteria that move the gap, heaviest swing first.
15% weight · 27% of the movement so far
Data Governance Disclosure
HireQuotient 40 · softgarden 54
2.1 weighted points to softgarden
12% weight · 48% of the movement so far
Post-Market Monitoring
HireQuotient 30 · softgarden 44
1.7 weighted points to softgarden
20% weight · 66% of the movement so far
Article 11 Technical Documentation
HireQuotient 35 · softgarden 42
1.4 weighted points to softgarden
15% weight · 81% of the movement so far
FRIA Support
HireQuotient 22 · softgarden 30
1.2 weighted points to softgarden
18% weight · 90% of the movement so far
Bias Audit Transparency
HireQuotient 18 · softgarden 22
0.7 weighted points to softgarden
8% weight · 98% of the movement so far
Customer Documentation
HireQuotient 50 · softgarden 58
0.6 weighted points to softgarden
12% weight · 100% of the movement so far
Human Oversight Design
HireQuotient 57 · softgarden 58
0.1 weighted points to softgarden
Weighted delta is the raw difference times the criterion weight, so the 7 figures above sum to -7.9 — the difference between the two totals before either is rounded. Shares are of 7.9 points of movement counted without direction. The table below rounds each side to a whole number first, so its Δ raw total reads -8 beside that -7.9.
§ Category-by-category
Raw score per criterion, with weighted delta.
Δ is HireQuotient minus softgarden.
| Category | Weight | HireQuotient | softgarden | Δ raw | Δ weighted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Article 11 Technical Documentation | 20% | 35 | 42 | -7 | -1.4 |
| Bias Audit Transparency | 18% | 18 | 22 | -4 | -0.7 |
| FRIA Support | 15% | 22 | 30 | -8 | -1.2 |
| Data Governance Disclosure | 15% | 40 | 54 | -14 | -2.1 |
| Human Oversight Design | 12% | 57 | 58 | -1 | -0.1 |
| Post-Market Monitoring | 12% | 30 | 44 | -14 | -1.7 |
| Customer Documentation | 8% | 50 | 58 | -8 | -0.6 |
| Total | 100% | 34 (F) | 42 (F) | -8 | -7.9 |
§ 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 | HireQuotient | softgarden | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cited | Absences | Audit / hosting | Cited | Absences | Audit / hosting | ||
| Article 11 Technical Documentation | 20% | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 6 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| Bias Audit Transparency | 18% | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| FRIA Support | 15% | 1 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| Data Governance Disclosure | 15% | 6 | 0 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 7 | 0 | Audit reportSources on the vendor's own domain |
| Human Oversight Design | 12% | 6 | 0 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 5 | 0 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| Post-Market Monitoring | 12% | 3 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 5 | 1 | Audit reportSources on the vendor's own domain |
| Customer Documentation | 8% | 2 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 2 | 1 | Sources on the vendor's own domain |
| All criteria | 100% | 24 | 5 | Sources on the vendor's own domain | 31 | 5 | Audit reportSources on the vendor's own domain |
HireQuotient has 29 evidence rows across 7 of 7 criteria — 24 with a source URL, 5 documented absences; softgarden has 36 evidence rows across 7 of 7 criteria — 31 with a source URL, 5 documented absences.
Provenance
The scores above are documented by 65 evidence rows on file for these two vendors: 29 for HireQuotient, across 1 distinct source domain, and 36 for softgarden, across 3 distinct source domains.
- Rubric
- v1.0
- HireQuotient 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