Top 5 Online Strengths Assessments and Tests

Do you want to embrace your natural talents and learned abilities for more success and fulfillment in your personal and professional life?

But do you struggle to identify your strengths?

You’re in the right place!

Strength assessment tests are helpful tools to find your superpowers. 

In today’s article, we’ll cover what the top 4 personal strength tests have to offer. And we’ll explore both free and premium options.

Just like the best personality tests, I’m quite a junkie when it comes to this sort of stuff. So rest assured that I’ve tried all of the free tests and bought each of their respective premium reports to provide the best review.

So, let’s dive in!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, so if you buy something through my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Note that I only endorse products that I’ve personally bought and enjoyed.

Verdict: The best strengths tests

Before you double click into your strengths and get a very specific test, I do recommend you first check out the best personality tests. Not only do they reveal your traits, they also provide insights into your strengths and weaknesses. And they offer actionable tips to apply them in your career, relationships, and for your personal development.

That said, if you’ve already taken some personality test and are curious for more, here are the best strength tests:

• Best free strengths test: HIGH5 Test (in addition, its premium report provides the best value for money compared to the other tests).
• Most researched test: Clifton Strengths Test (book + coupon)
• Best character-focused test: VIA Character
• Best to activate unrealized strengths: Strengths Profile
• Best self-driven strengths test: Personal SWOT analysis

What to look for in the best strengths assessments?

The top strength tests should of course be relevant and actionable. While that’s one aspect, here are all the other factors I’ve looked at:

• Scientific validity: Are the tests reliable and accurate?
• Comprehensiveness: The best strengths tests cover a wide range of traits and skills to give a holistic view of your talents.
• Practical application: While all tests will reveal your advantages, the top strength assessments should also offer practical advice on how you can apply them in various aspects of your life, such as your career, personal growth, and relationships.
• User-friendly: The test should be easy and intuitive to take. And the results should be easily understandable without a psychology degree.
• Cost vs. value: Since you spend time taking the test, the free versions should at least provide a few meaningful insights. And the more in-depth paid reports should offer great value for money, providing insightful and actionable advice.

Selecting the right strengths test depends on your needs and goals, whether that’s in a personal or professional setting. Rest assured that I’ll provide a comprehensive breakdown of each test to help you decide.

Let’s dig into the first one.

#1: Best free strengths test: High 5 Test

In my High 5 Test review, I concluded that this test is the most intuitive and engaging strengths assessment that I’ve taken to date. And the results are very easy to interpret.

So, it’s the perfect starting point to assess your strengths.

The free results are insightful. And, compared to all other tests I’ve taken, the High 5 premium report offers the best value for money.

The strength assessment itself is all about uncovering your top 5 strengths.

For example, here are mine:

Those top 5 strengths are scored out of 20 different items over 4 strength categories. The premium report will reveal the entire order of your top 20 strengths and weaknesses.

The premium report also provides actionable ideas about how you can apply your top 5 strengths in personal and professional contexts. In addition, you get insights into pitfalls, career application, and relationship dynamics.

Here’s some additional information:

• Free version: You’ll get your top 5, which offers a snapshot and provides a helicopter view of what you’re good at.
• Premium report: Access your entire top 20 strengths, including insights into how you can leverage your top 5 strengths in different scenarios. I already mentioned it, but this $29,99 premium report offers the best value for money compared to others in this list.
• Time commitment: Approximately 15-20 minutes.
• Scientific validity: High 5 is a valid strengths test based on positive psychology principles. It also blends the theoretical with the practical, while most other tests only focus on one of the two.

The High 5 Strengths Test is especially ideal if you’re looking for an engaging and straightforward tool to discover your key strengths.

Take the HIGH5 Strengths Test

#2: Most researched: Clifton Strengths Test

The Clifton Strengths test is one of the older and therefore most researched strength assessments on the market. It was one of the first tests that focused on developing your strongest qualities.

The assessment measures 34 strength items across 4 different domains. Below you see the order of my own Clifton strengths results.

You have the option to purchase your top 5 report with several insights or access the full report. The full analysis provides your entire top 34 in order (see the image above), including growth strategies and ideas for navigating your weaknesses.

Here are the Clifton Strengths test details:

• Free version: Unavailable.
• Premium reports: You’ve got two options: get your top 5 with a few custom strength insights for $19,99. The full report is $59,99 and offers your entire top 34 strengths in order, including tips to navigate blind spots and manage weaknesses.
• Time commitment: Approximately 15-20 minutes.
• Scientific Validity: Clifton Strengthsfinder is the oldest and therefore the most researched strengths assessment in this list.

If you want the most researched test and don’t mind paying a premium, then you should access the Clifton Strengths assessment.

However, here’s a tip: Get the Strengthsfinder 2.0 book if you also want to learn about its philosophy and gain more insights into all 34 strengths. New book copies also contain a coupon to take the test. While you’ll only get the top 5 strengths report, you can upgrade to full for a discounted price. 

That’s what I did.

Alternatively, you can just take the test online.

Get the Book + Test Coupon

#3: Best character-focused test: VIA Character Strengths Survey

The VIA Character Strengths Survey is a unique strengths assessment that focuses on 24 positive character strengths.

The test scores you for each of these positive personality traits. It then helps you understand how your dominant character traits can lead to greater personal and professional well-being.

I enjoyed this strengths assessment because it’s different from any other type of test I’ve done. However, I would only take this one in combination with one of the other strength assessments.

Here’s what else you need to know:

• Free version: Get your ranked list of 24-character strengths. 
• Premium reports: You can either get an in-depth report for your top 5 for $19 or the complete 24 character strengths report for $49. If you’re a geek like me, get the full report. However, the top 5 report is enough for most people and offers better value for money in my opinion.
• Time commitment: Approximately 15-30 minutes.
• Scientific validity: The VIA Survey was developed by psychologists and is rooted in the research of positive psychology. It’s well-respected for its scientific approach to character strengths.

You’ll love this strengths test if you want to understand how your dominant character traits contribute to your success and well-being.

Take the VIA Character Test

#4: Best for activating unrealized strengths: Strengths Profile

This tool offers a unique approach by categorizing 60 different strengths into four categories: realized strengths, unrealized strengths, learned behaviors, and weaknesses.

While most tests provide actionable tips to lean into your top abilities, this strength assessment aims to help you activate your unrealized strengths.

While every report option will reveal some strengths in each of the other three categories, the actionable advice is limited. That said, the snapshot does provide a high-over holistic view of your strengths and weaknesses.

Here’s additional information:

• Free version: Snapshot of your top 3 realized strengths, top 3 unrealized strengths, 2 learned behaviors, and 1 weakness.
• Premium reports: There’s an introductory profile (£12 or $15), expert profile (£35 or $45), and leader profile (£70 or $90). Prices are exclusive of VAT. The introductory report reveals double the amount of strengths in each category compared to the free report, including actionable advice for your unrealized strengths. The expert profile includes all strengths, actionable tips, and a few career suggestions. The leader profile offers extra guidance and personalized tips for leading others. While I got the full report, I’m sure the introductory profile would be enough. The expert report feels like an overload of information with limited practical insights. So go for the introductory report if you seek the best value for money.
• Time commitment: Approximately 20-30 minutes.
• Scientific validity: The test is scientifically validated. It was developed by the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP) and is grounded in the research of positive psychology.

Strength profile is the top strengths assessment if you’re seeking actionable advice to activate your hidden, unrealized strengths. 

While it measures the most strength items of any test in this list, it receives the 4th spot in my list of the best strength tests due to its limited actionable advice in each strength category other than your unrealized strengths.

Take the Strengths Profile Test

#5: Best self-driven strengths test: Personal SWOT Analysis

Unlike structured tests, a Personal SWOT analysis is a self-guided exercise that helps you identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

In other words, it’s not an online strengths test like the others.

However, it still provides a structured approach that encourages self-reflection to uncover your strengths and weaknesses. 

If you decide to do this strengths test, ensure you do it before you take any other test. That way, you can explore your inner self first, before you get inspiration and ideas from the external strengths tests.

Here’s a brief overview:

• Free version: As a self-assessment tool, it’s completely free.
• Premium report: Unavailable.
• Time commitment: While you can make it as long as you want, I recommend taking at least 30 minutes for this exercise.
• Scientific validity: The effectiveness of this test depends on your honesty and the depth of your self-reflection.

The personal SWOT analysis doesn’t provide insights from an external perspective, like the other strength assessment tools. But if you’re self-driven and want to dive deep, this introspective approach is a helpful addition.

Learn more about a personal SWOT analysis

Why you should take a strengths test for self-awareness

The top 5 strengths tests provide useful insights for personal growth, regardless of whether you take a free test or upgrade your results. 

Both options can provide some insights to help you improve:

• Self-awareness: Understanding your innate abilities and preferences leads to decisions that align better with your true self.
• Personal growth: Identifying and focusing on your strengths can lead to improved skills, more success, and personal fulfillment.
• Career development: Find job roles that suit your natural abilities to increase career satisfaction and progress.
• Improved productivity: Utilizing strengths increases your efficiency and work quality, making tasks more manageable and enjoyable.
• Improved collaboration: Knowing your strengths and weaknesses leads to optimal task allocation, improving your team’s performance.
• Increased well-being: Using your strengths contributes to more joy and often leads to a deeper sense of happiness and fulfillment.
• Goal-setting and achievement: Aligning goals with strengths increases motivation and the likelihood of success.

In short: focusing on your personal strengths leads to a better performance, more joy, and a deeper sense of personal satisfaction.

What’s next?

We explored the top 5 online strengths assessment tests and highlighted their unique features, practical applications, and how they unlock growth, success, and happiness. 

Here they are in a nutshell:

• Best free strengths test: HIGH5 Test
• Most researched test: Clifton Strengths Test (book + coupon)
• Best character-focused test: VIA Character
• Best to activate unrealized strengths: Strengths Profile
• Best self-driven strengths test: Personal SWOT analysis

Looking for more relatable resources for self-discovery? Then check out the best personality tests, including free and paid options.