HiveRef vs Xref Engage
HiveRef
hiveref.comXref Engage
xref.comSide by side
| Figure | HiveRef | Xref Engage |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | A$29/mo | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 5 | 1 |
| Spec score · Reference Checking Software | 9.1 (#1) | 7.7 (#4) |
| Spec score · Reference Check Software | 9.1 (#2) | 7.8 (#11) |
| Headquarters | HiveRef describes Australia as its headquarters and primary market; its legal documents identify New South Wales, Australia. | Xref identifies Australia as its headquarters and lists its Sydney address as L20, 135 King Street, Sydney NSW 2000. |
| Purpose | HiveRef automates structured employment reference checks for small and medium businesses. | Xref Engage provides tools to create, analyse and share employee engagement, Leadership 360, onboarding and pulse survey data. |
| What it does | HiveRef automates structured employment reference checks for hiring organisations and produces reports with AI assistance, integrity signals and audit trails. | Xref Engage provides employee engagement, Leadership 360, onboarding and pulse surveys to help organisations collect feedback and make organisational changes. |
Plans
HiveRef
- Pay as you goA$4, paid once
- CoreA$29 a month
- GrowthA$49 a month
- ScaleA$98 a month
- VelocityA$298 a month
In their own words
HiveRef
HiveRef automates structured employment reference checks for small and medium businesses. Users can turn a job description into a tailored questionnaire, edit it, or start from a template. Automated reminders follow up with referees, who complete mobile-friendly forms that typically take 2 to 3 minutes. Reports provide an AI-assisted summary, integrity signals, a timestamped audit trail, and PDF export. Signals such as IP address, submission timing, email type, and network context are offered for human review; HiveRef says it does not decide whether to hire or reject a candidate. It describes GDPR as its global design baseline and says it reflects Australian Privacy Principles where Australian law applies. Reference data is stored by default in a Sydney-region database. Zapier can trigger automations when checks are created or completed and create pre-filled check links; API access is also available. Plans range from A$4, paid once for a candidate check to monthly subscriptions. Every included check allows up to 10 referee responses, and extra checks cost $4.00 each on every plan.
Xref Engage
Xref Engage provides employee engagement, Leadership 360, onboarding and pulse surveys for collecting, analysing and sharing organisational feedback. Users can select expert-designed templates or create their own questionnaires. Employees complete surveys on desktop or mobile, and surveys are available globally. Anonymous and repeat surveys, automated reminders, industry benchmarking, eNPS tracking and demographic filtering are supported. Data Studio lets teams explore metrics and download or share reports. Xref’s workplace psychology team can advise on survey curation. Xref says the platform is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified, encrypts data with TLS 1.2 in transit and AES 256 at rest, and conducts annual independent penetration tests. Customers can choose AWS storage regions in Sydney, Frankfurt, Toronto or North Virginia. Engage requires an active Xref Enterprise subscription and costs extra. Pricing starts at $70/mo (annual), with a free trial offered.