Platform comparison · 2026

Firstview vs Sapia
A practical comparison.

How do Firstview and Sapia 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 · 38 primary sources reviewed

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

Firstview

From job post to final decision, with evidence

vs
Sapia

A written interview in place of the CV

CV screeningAI interviewsAssessmentsHiring workflows
Fit

Who each platform is for

Both platforms interview every applicant and explain each score. The difference is the format: Firstview scores the CV and then holds a live spoken interview, while Sapia skips the CV and asks a few written questions that candidates answer in their own time.

Firstview
Category
Hiring Intelligence platform

Choose Firstview when

You want to hear candidates talk through their answers, with follow-up questions, not read a written reply. 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.

Sapia
Category
Text-based AI chat interviews and talent intelligence

Sapia fits better when

Your team hires at high volume, wants every applicant to answer the same written interview without a CV, and runs an ATS such as Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, SmartRecruiters or Greenhouse.

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.

CapabilityFirstviewFirstviewSapiaSapia
Screen
Recruiter-facing weighted CV scoringFullNot offered
AI splitting of combined-PDF CV uploadsFullNot offered
Contextual CV evaluation beyond keyword matchingFullNot offered
JD-based criteria / rubric generationFullFull
Interview
Real-time conversational AI interviewFullPartial
Adaptive follow-up questionsFullNot published
AI interview designer / custom questionsFullFull
Assess
Technical / coding evaluationPartialNot published
Soft-skill / competency evaluationFullFull
Decide
Criterion-level evidence & score rationaleFullFull
Structured candidate reportFullFull
Human interview co-pilot / note-takerFullPartial
Operate
Native customizable hiring pipeline without a separate ATSFullPartial
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.

Sapia

Sapia does not score CVs: it says its score uses only the candidate's interview answers and that it is not a resume-parsing tool. Its Job Analysis Studio, Jas, turns a job description into weighted competencies and interview questions instead.

What this means for your team

If you want to drop the CV entirely, Sapia is built for that. If the CV still matters, Firstview scores it against your weights and carries the same criteria into the 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.

Sapia

Sapia's Chat Interview is typed: candidates answer about five structured questions in their own time, on any device, and Jas lets your team edit the questions and dialogue. Sapia says its interviews follow predefined flows, and its public sources do not show follow-up questions based on an answer.

What this means for your team

A fixed set of written questions cannot ask what the candidate meant. If you want candidates to answer in writing, in their own time, Sapia is built for that.

Assessments

Firstview gives technical roles an in-depth interview and a technical report

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.

Sapia

Sapia scores written answers on personality traits, behavioural competencies and communication, with 25 competencies in Chat Pro, and adds an experience score for professional roles. Sapia says Chat Interview is not built for deep technical assessment.

What this means for your team

Both assess competencies from the candidate's own answers. For technical roles, Firstview adds an in-depth technical interview and report; if written answers scored at very high volume matter most, Sapia is built for that.

Evidence & decisions

Firstview keeps AI and team interviews on one candidate record

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.

Sapia

Sapia's Talent Insights scores each competency from 1 to 5, explains the score in plain language and opens the exact excerpt behind it. Each report ends with suggested questions for the next interview, and Tia drafts interview guides. Its public sources do not show notes or transcripts from your team's own interviews.

What this means for your team

Both let your team check a score against what the candidate said. In Firstview, your team's own interviews also land on the same candidate record as the AI interview.

Hiring workflow

Firstview runs hiring without a separate ATS; Sapia plugs into yours

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.

Sapia

Sapia's Talent Hub lets recruiters update statuses and progress candidates, but Sapia says it is not an ATS and connects to Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, SmartRecruiters, Greenhouse and others. It sends interview invitations and reminders automatically, Live Interview books interviews in bulk on its Enterprise tier, and Discover Insights tracks the funnel.

What this means for your team

Firstview runs the whole flow on its own. If a large ATS is staying, Sapia's integrations are built for that.

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. Sapia holds more formal certifications, including ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and a SOC 2 Type 2 report.

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.

Sapia

Published information
People & oversight
Scoring thresholds can shortlist and progress candidates automatically, and Sapia says people make the decision; confirm how low scores are handled in your ATS.
Data protection
AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS in transit and no candidate data used to train AI models; anonymised interview data is kept indefinitely.
Independent assurance
ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and SOC 2 Type 2 are published, with reports available through its trust centre.
Data locations
AWS regions in Ireland, Australia or the US, matched to your account; confirm the region for your contract.
Commercials

Pricing and access

Neither vendor publishes a price list. Firstview sells subscription plans and starts with a pilot on one of your own open roles. Sapia charges per hire, with unlimited interviews, and says it is built for companies hiring more than 500 people a year.

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.
Sapia
Commercial model

Per-hire pricing in Starter, Pro and Enterprise tiers

Plans & prices
A tailored cost per hire based on your annual hiring volume, with unlimited interviews; custom integrations may add fixed costs. Confirm the rate and tier features.
Employer trial
No free trial is advertised; Sapia offers a demo and an ROI consultation.
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
Sapia

Sapia fits better if you need

  • A written, untimed interview for every applicant, without a CV
  • Competency scores explained with the excerpt behind each one
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is Firstview a Sapia alternative?

Yes. Firstview covers hiring in one product, from the job post to the final decision: it scores CVs against weights you set, interviews candidates live by voice and runs the pipeline without a separate ATS. Sapia replaces the CV with a written chat interview for high-volume hiring inside your existing ATS.

Does Sapia run conversational AI interviews?

Yes, in writing. Sapia's Chat Interview asks about five structured questions that candidates answer in text, in their own time, and Sapia says it follows a predefined flow. Firstview interviews candidates live by voice in English, Turkish, German, Spanish or French and asks follow-up questions based on each answer.

How do Firstview and Sapia differ on CV screening?

Sapia says its score uses only the candidate's interview answers, not the CV, and that it is not a resume-parsing tool. Firstview scores every CV against weights you set, shows the evidence behind each score and carries the same criteria into the interview.

Do I need a separate ATS with either platform?

Not with Firstview, which includes its own pipeline, scheduling and candidate messages. Sapia says it is not an ATS and connects to systems such as Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, SmartRecruiters and Greenhouse.

Where is candidate data processed?

Firstview processes data in Türkiye, the EU and the US. Sapia says candidate data resides in Ireland, Australia or the US, matched to the employer's region, while its privacy policy allows wider AWS processing; confirm the region for your contract.

How much do Firstview and Sapia cost?

Neither vendor publishes a price list. Firstview sells subscription plans and starts with a pilot on one of your own open roles. Sapia charges per hire, with unlimited interviews, and says it is built for companies hiring more than 500 people a year.

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.