Free Personality Tests Compared: 16Personalities, Truity, IPIP, HEXACO and More
Free personality tests differ more than their landing pages suggest. Some measure research-backed traits on continuous scales, some sort you into types, and some measure interests rather than personality. They also differ in what “free” covers: a full result, or a summary with the detail sold separately.
This comparison covers seven widely used free options on what each measures, its research basis, what the free result includes and what costs extra. Depth Profile is our product, so it is flagged where it appears, and its weak spots are listed too.
Updated October 12, 2026 · 9 min read · Depth Profile
About 12 minutes, no account. Optional AI-written report.
- Most research-grade free option
- An IPIP-based Big Five test, such as the IPIP-NEO
- Most widely known
- 16Personalities
- Best free career interest test
- O*NET Interest Profiler or a RIASEC test
- Best for honesty and ethics traits
- HEXACO-PI-R
The comparison
| Test | Model | Length | Free result | Paid extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16Personalities | Own NERIS model: 16 types plus Assertive or Turbulent | About 10 minutes | Type, scale percentages, type description | Premium suites, such as a career suite |
| Truity Big Five | Big Five | 60 questions, 5 to 10 minutes | Brief report, no registration needed | Full report for a fee |
| IPIP-NEO | Big Five with 30 facets, public-domain IPIP items | 120 or 300 items | Domain and facet scores; format depends on the site | None for the questionnaire itself |
| Open-Source Psychometrics Big Five | Big Five, 50 IPIP factor-marker items | 50 items | Trait scores | None; anonymous answers may be used for research |
| HEXACO-PI-R | Six factors, including Honesty-Humility | 60- or 100-item versions | Factor scores | None |
| O*NET Interest Profiler | Holland’s RIASEC interests | 60 activities | Interest profile and matching occupations | None (US Department of Labor) |
| Depth Profile (ours) | Big Five from 48 IPIP-style items; optional attachment, RIASEC and Enneagram | About 12 minutes for the core | Five 0 to 100 scores, archetype, shareable card, partner comparison | Full Depth Report $19; Coach Pack $99 for five |
Each test in more detail
16Personalities
The best-known free test online, with warm, readable type descriptions and a 10-minute questionnaire. It uses its own model, not the official MBTI, and adds an Assertive versus Turbulent scale that behaves much like the Big Five’s Neuroticism. Best for: a shared vocabulary with friends or a team. Watch out for: letters that flip on retest when a scale sits near 50%. The 16Personalities alternatives guide covers this in detail.
Truity
Truity runs free tests across several frameworks, including an Enneagram test, a DISC test, a Holland code career test, a 60-question Big Five test, and TypeFinder, a 130-question test that reports one of the 16 types along with facet scores. The Big Five and TypeFinder tests each give a brief free report without registration, with a full report for a fee. Best for: trying several frameworks on one site. Watch out for: mixing type results and trait results without noticing which is which; the Big Five test is the one with the strongest research model behind it.
IPIP-NEO
Built from Lewis Goldberg’s public-domain International Personality Item Pool to parallel the facets of Costa and McCrae’s NEO PI-R. John A. Johnson’s 120-item version (2014) reports the five domains and all 30 facets; a 300-item version is longer still. Several free sites host it. Best for: the most detailed free trait profile. Watch out for: length, and feedback that can be plain and generic depending on the host.
Open-Source Psychometrics Project
Hosts free versions of many research scales, including a 50-item Big Five test using Goldberg’s IPIP factor markers. Answers are recorded anonymously and may be used for research or shared. Best for: a quick, no-frills Big Five score. Watch out for: minimal interpretation.
HEXACO-PI-R
Kibeom Lee and Michael Ashton’s six-factor model adds Honesty-Humility, which captures sincerity, fairness and modesty better than Agreeableness does. A free self-report version is available on the authors’ HEXACO site. Best for: people curious about ethics-related traits. Watch out for: its Emotionality factor is not the same as Big Five Neuroticism, so scores do not translate one-to-one.
O*NET Interest Profiler
A free interest inventory from the US Department of Labor, available through the My Next Move site. You rate 60 work activities and get a RIASEC profile linked to occupations in the O*NET database, with pay and training details. Best for: career direction. Watch out for: it measures interests, not personality, and its occupation data is US-specific.
Depth Profile (ours)
The free Big Five test uses 48 IPIP-style items and gives five scores from 0 to 100, an archetype name and a shareable card. Free add-ons include an attachment style test based on the ECR-R, a RIASEC career test and an Enneagram assessment. The optional Full Depth Report ($19) is written by AI from your scores and answers. Best for: several assessments read together with written interpretation. Watch out for: it takes longer than 16Personalities, its short form has not been through independent validation like the original IPIP scales, and the full report costs money.
Which one should you take?
| Your goal | Best free option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quick fun with friends | 16Personalities | Fast, readable, and everyone knows the letters |
| Most accurate trait scores | IPIP-NEO-120 | Five domains and 30 facets from public-domain research items |
| Quick Big Five score | Open-Source Psychometrics or Truity Big Five | Short, trait-based, free result |
| Ethics and honesty traits | HEXACO-PI-R | Adds Honesty-Humility as a sixth factor |
| Career direction | O*NET Interest Profiler or a RIASEC test | Interests predict job satisfaction and persistence |
| Relationship patterns | An attachment test based on the ECR-R | Measures anxiety and avoidance in close relationships |
| Several assessments read together | Depth Profile | Big Five, attachment, career and Enneagram in one profile |
For relationship questions, start with anxious attachment or avoidant attachment. For work, see careers for introverts.
What “free” covers
Every test above gives you something without paying. The differences are in depth and data:
- Free result versus full report. 16Personalities, Truity and Depth Profile each give a free result and sell more detail. The IPIP-NEO, HEXACO and O*NET tools are free in full.
- Account and email. Several let you see results without signing up. Check before you hand over an email address.
- Your answers. Some research sites, such as the Open-Source Psychometrics Project, may use anonymous answers for research. Read the policy if you care how your data is used.
How we compared
We checked the 16Personalities, Truity, Open-Source Psychometrics Project and O*NET materials in October 2026 for model, length, free result and paid options, and used the published research descriptions for the IPIP-NEO and HEXACO-PI-R. We have not listed competitors’ prices because they change. If anything here is out of date, the test’s own site is the authority.
For coaches and teams
If you use assessments with clients, the questionnaire matters less than the debrief. The guide for coaches covers session plans and ethics. Depth Profile’s Coach Pack ($99) covers five clients’ full reports through one invite link, and Enneagram vs Big Five helps if your clients arrive already speaking Enneagram.
Try a trait-based test with interpretation
Five Big Five scores from IPIP-style items, free, with optional attachment, career and Enneagram assessments.
Free assessments, no account needed. The full AI-written report is a one-time $19.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most accurate free personality test?
For general personality, a Big Five test built on the public-domain International Personality Item Pool. The 120-item IPIP-NEO gives facet scores as well as the five traits, and the HEXACO-PI-R adds an Honesty-Humility factor. Both are free and both have published research behind them.
Is 16Personalities or Truity better?
They suit different goals. 16Personalities is fast, polished and widely known, and reports types from its own model. Truity offers several frameworks in one place, including a 60-question Big Five test with a brief free report. If you want trait scores rather than a type, Truity’s Big Five test or an IPIP-based test is the better pick of the two sites.
Which free test is best for career planning?
An interest test, not a personality test. The O*NET Interest Profiler from the US Department of Labor and Depth Profile’s RIASEC career test both give a Holland code. Add a Big Five test if you want to choose between roles within a field.
Are free personality tests as good as paid ones?
The questionnaires often are. Lewis Goldberg and colleagues (2006) argued that public-domain IPIP scales perform comparably to commercial instruments. What paid products usually add is interpretation: longer reports, facet detail, coaching or team features.
Is Depth Profile free?
Yes. The Big Five core, the attachment, career and Enneagram assessments and their scores are free and need no account. The optional Full Depth Report is $19 one-time, and the Coach Pack is $99 for five reports.
Do I need an account to take these tests?
Usually not. Depth Profile, 16Personalities and Truity let you see a free result without paying, and Truity states you can view its brief Big Five report without registering. Open-Source Psychometrics Project tests record answers anonymously and may use them for research. Check each site’s privacy policy if that matters to you.
More tests and guides
- Free testBig Five personality testOpenness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism, scored 0 to 100 from IPIP-style items.
- Comparison16Personalities alternativesType-based tests versus trait-based tests, five credible alternatives, and which to pick for your goal.
- GuideBig Five vs MBTIOrigins, retest reliability, predictive validity and the studies behind each, side by side.
- GuideEnneagram vs Big FiveNine motivation types versus five measured traits: origins, research, and how the two line up.
- GuideHigh neuroticism: what to doWhat a high score means, the methods with evidence behind them, and when to get professional help.
- GuideHow accurate are personality tests?Retest reliability, predictive validity and self-report limits, with the studies behind each claim.
- Free testAttachment style testTwo scores, attachment anxiety and avoidance, place you in one of four adult attachment styles.
- Free testRIASEC career testYour top three of six interest types (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional).
From the blog: Depth Profile vs Deep Personality · Best personality tests 2026 · How AI is changing personality testing
Further reading: Best free personality test · Best personality tests of 2026 · 16 Personalities test explained