Platform comparison · 2026

Firstview vs Ashby
Ashby alternatives, compared.

How do Firstview and Ashby compare on screening, interviews, assessments and hiring workflows? This comparison looks at where they overlap, where they differ, and which needs each is built to serve.

Written by Ece Badak · Fact-checked by Barkin Kutucu

Updated · 28 primary sources reviewed

Published by Firstview. Based on the sources and scope described below.

Firstview

From job post to final decision, with evidence

vs
Ashby

An all-in-one ATS with AI review and reporting

CV screeningAI interviewsAssessmentsHiring workflows
Fit

Who each platform is for

Both platforms run hiring without another ATS and evaluate candidates against criteria. The difference is the first interview: Firstview interviews each candidate itself, while Ashby takes notes on the interviews your team runs.

Firstview
Category
Hiring Intelligence platform

Choose Firstview when

You want every candidate interviewed before your team spends time on them. Firstview scores every CV against weights you set, interviews candidates live in English, Turkish, German, Spanish or French, and backs each verdict with the candidate's own words. It works with or without an ATS.

Ashby
Category
All-in-one recruiting platform with an ATS, CRM, scheduling and analytics

Ashby fits better when

Your team wants one ATS with deep reporting, scheduling automation, AI application review and an AI notetaker for Zoom, Google Meet and Teams, connected to Workday and more than 250 other tools.

Evidence

Feature scorecard

These 16 rows compare hiring tasks, not whole platforms. A Full rating means the vendor offers the feature, not that every plan includes it; the pricing section shows what each plan covers.

CapabilityFirstviewFirstviewAshbyAshby
Screen
Recruiter-facing weighted CV scoringFullPartial
AI splitting of combined-PDF CV uploadsFullNot published
Contextual CV evaluation beyond keyword matchingFullFull
JD-based criteria / rubric generationFullFull
Interview
Real-time conversational AI interviewFullNot published
Adaptive follow-up questionsFullNot published
AI interview designer / custom questionsFullNot published
Assess
Technical / coding evaluationPartialPartial
Soft-skill / competency evaluationFullPartial
Decide
Criterion-level evidence & score rationaleFullFull
Structured candidate reportFullFull
Human interview co-pilot / note-takerFullFull
Operate
Native customizable hiring pipeline without a separate ATSFullFull
Calendar integration / schedulingFullFull
Candidate communication automationFullFull
Hiring analytics dashboardFullFull

Full and Partial describe what each vendor's cited public sources show; every source carries its audit date in the source list. Not published means the reviewed sources did not establish the capability; it does not mean the capability is absent.

Detail

Capability by capability

The scorecard is the index. These five sections explain what the differences mean in a hiring workflow.

CV screening

Firstview scores every CV against the weights you set

Key Firstview featureStart with the role
Candidate CVs
What matters to your team?
Relevant experience50%
Role-specific skills30%
Collaboration20%
A shortlist shaped by your criteria
Firstview

Firstview scores every CV against weighted criteria you set, checks dealbreakers first, and shows the evidence behind each score. It suggests criteria from your job description, and a combined PDF of CVs splits into individual candidates automatically.

Ashby

Ashby's AI-Assisted Application Review checks each application against criteria it can draft from the job posting, marks each one met, not met or undecided, and shows its reasoning. Ashby says the AI never ranks candidates or gives them a number. Its public sources do not show recruiter-set weights or the splitting of a combined PDF.

What this means for your team

Both read the CV against your criteria and explain the result. Firstview adds weights you set and a score, and carries the same criteria into the AI interview.

AI interviews

Firstview interviews each candidate live, in their own language, with follow-up questions

Key Firstview featureA conversation with context
AI interviewer

Tell me about a project that changed direction.

Candidate

Customer feedback challenged our initial plan, so we reworked the approach.

AI interviewer

How did you decide which feedback to act on?

Firstview

Firstview runs live, two-way voice interviews in the browser, in English, Turkish, German, Spanish or French. It asks follow-up questions based on each answer, answers the candidate's own questions about the role, and suggests role-specific questions your team can edit.

Ashby

Ashby announced a voice and text AI Interviewer in May 2026 as an early release for design partners on a waitlist. Its public sources do not show general availability, follow-up questions asked by an AI, or a designer for AI interviews.

What this means for your team

In Ashby, your team still runs the first interviews. Firstview interviews every candidate you invite, whenever they are ready, and follows up when an answer falls short.

Assessments

Firstview tests skills in the conversation; Ashby relays partner tests

Key Firstview featureDifferent ways to understand ability
The role
Technical skills
Competencies
Problem-solving
Work simulations
Firstview

Firstview evaluates competencies and role-specific knowledge inside the interview itself, using 30+ competency frameworks. Technical roles get an in-depth conversational interview and a detailed technical report instead of a coding test.

Ashby

Ashby adds partner assessments, such as HackerRank, to a stage of the interview plan and sends them automatically. Interviewers rate skills in feedback forms, which AI Notetaker can draft from the recording. Its public sources do not show technical evaluation by Ashby itself.

What this means for your team

If you need coding tests or other partner assessments in the pipeline, Ashby connects more of them. If you want to know how a candidate thinks about the job, Firstview assesses it in the same conversation as everything else.

Evidence & decisions

Firstview judges every candidate on one set of criteria, from CV to decision

Key Firstview featureFrom an answer to a reason
“I brought the two teams together to agree on the priorities.”
Example candidate answer
Collaboration

Aligned teams around shared priorities

Evidence for the team to review
Firstview

Each Firstview verdict links to the candidate's answer and the moment they gave it, and unclear cases go to a person, never to an automatic rejection. Firstview Notetaker also joins your team's own interviews on Zoom, Google Meet and Teams and files the notes on the candidate, so AI and human interviews end up on one record.

Ashby

Ashby's AI Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams interviews, transcribes and summarizes them, and drafts the feedback form with timestamps from the recording. AI feedback summaries combine every interviewer's notes for the debrief.

What this means for your team

Both link evidence to what the candidate said. In Firstview, the same criteria run from the CV through the AI interview to your team's interviews, so every verdict is judged against them.

Hiring workflow

Firstview runs screening, interviews and the pipeline in one place

Key Firstview featureOne candidate. A connected journey.
  1. Application
  2. Screening
  3. Interview
  4. Team review
Candidate recordContext travels with the candidate
Firstview

Firstview includes the pipeline board, calendar scheduling, email and WhatsApp messages, and hiring analytics, so a team can run hiring without a separate ATS.

Ashby

Ashby's ATS builds stages from interview plans, sends booking links, availability links, emails and texts automatically, and reports on time to hire and passthrough rates. The AI Auto-Scheduler needs the Advanced Scheduling add-on. Ashby lists more than 250 integrations, Workday among them.

What this means for your team

Both can run hiring without a separate ATS. If deep reporting and scheduling across many interviewers is the priority, Ashby goes further there. If the first interview should run without your team, Firstview covers it.

Terms

Compliance, governance, and data handling

Firstview builds its rules into how it evaluates: it never analyzes faces, video is never part of the evaluation, and a person makes every hiring decision. Ashby says its AI never ranks candidates and lets candidates opt out of automated processing.

Firstview

Published information
People & oversight
A person makes every hiring decision, and unclear cases go to a person, never to an automatic rejection.
Data protection
Encryption commitments, role-based access, retention and deletion practices.
Independent assurance
No SOC 2 report or ISO 27001 certificate is published.
Data locations
Processing in Türkiye, the EU and the US.

Ashby

Published information
People & oversight
Ashby says a person must always be involved in decisions, and candidates who opt out of automated processing skip the AI evaluation.
Data protection
AES-256 encryption at rest, SSO through SAML or OIDC without passwords, and retention rules for candidates and recordings are documented.
Independent assurance
An annual SOC 2 Type II audit; request the report from Ashby's Trust Center.
Data locations
Hosting on AWS, with interview recordings stored in the United States; no EU region is documented, so confirm the region for your contract.
Commercials

Pricing and access

Firstview does not publish a price list; it sells subscription plans and starts with a pilot on one of your own open roles. Ashby publishes a monthly price for companies up to 100 employees and quotes larger plans, so compare the total with the AI Notetaker and scheduling add-ons you would need.

Firstview
Commercial model

Subscription plans

Plans & prices
Prices come in a quote from the Firstview team.
Employer trial
A pilot on one of your own open roles, set up after a demo.
Ashby
Commercial model

Plans by company size, with AI add-ons

Plans & prices
Foundations has a monthly price by company size, Plus and Enterprise are quoted, and annual commitment costs less; AI Notetaker and the AI Auto-Scheduler are paid add-ons, and application review uses AI credits.
Employer trial
No free trial of the platform is advertised; AI Notetaker includes a number of free interviews, so confirm the terms.
Decision

Which should you choose?

Decide by how your team wants to run hiring.

Firstview

Choose Firstview if you want

  • Verdicts your team can check against the candidate's own words
  • Interviews in the candidate's own language, with follow-up questions and answers to theirs
  • Hiring in one place, from the job post through CV screening and live AI interviews to the final decision
Ashby

Ashby fits better if you need

  • Deep hiring reports and dashboards in the same ATS
  • Scheduling automation across many interviewers
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is Firstview an Ashby alternative?

Yes. Firstview covers hiring in one product, from the job post to the final decision: CV scoring against weights you set, live AI interviews, a notetaker for your team's interviews and its own pipeline. Ashby is an all-in-one ATS with CRM, scheduling, analytics, AI application review and an AI notetaker add-on.

Does Ashby run conversational AI interviews?

Its public sources do not show one in general use. Ashby announced a voice and text AI Interviewer in May 2026 for design partners on a waitlist. Firstview interviews each candidate live and by voice, in English, Turkish, German, Spanish or French, with follow-up questions.

How do Firstview and Ashby differ on CV screening?

Ashby marks each criterion as met, not met or undecided, with its reasoning, and does not rank candidates or give them a number. Firstview scores every CV against the weights you set, gives a reason per criterion and uses the same criteria in the AI interview.

Which platform takes notes in your team's own interviews?

Both. Ashby's AI Notetaker, a paid add-on, joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams, transcribes more than 99 languages and drafts the feedback form. Firstview Notetaker joins the same platforms, fills your notes or scorecard template and files it on the same record as the AI interview.

Where is candidate data processed?

Firstview processes data in Türkiye, the EU and the US. Ashby runs on AWS and stores interview recordings in the United States, and its public sources do not show an EU region.

How much do Firstview and Ashby cost?

Firstview does not publish a price list; it sells subscription plans and starts with a pilot on one of your own open roles. Ashby publishes a monthly price for companies up to 100 employees and quotes larger plans, so compare the total with the AI Notetaker and scheduling add-ons you would need.

Does Firstview analyze faces or video?

No. Firstview never analyzes faces, and video is never part of the evaluation. Integrity rules apply while the interview runs: the whole screen is shared, the camera stays on and virtual cameras are blocked.

An inside look at connected hiring
Firstview
Ready for your review

Product designer

Your criteria. Your priorities.

Relevant experience50%
Portfolio & craft30%
Collaboration20%
AI interview

Go beyond the CV.

Alex Morgan · Product designer

CV matchAlex Morgan
92/100

Evidence, ready to review

CV scores, interview insights and team feedback.

1Screen
2Interview
3Evaluate
4Decide

Teams we've worked with

DenebunuKaizenDeichmannobiletKonecta
firstview

Your next great hire starts with a clearer view.

See how Firstview connects screening, interviews and hiring decisions for your team.