CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) Test: Free Online Alternative

CliftonStrengths Top 5 vs. CliftonStrengths 34 (What’s the Difference?)

CliftonStrengths is available in two main formats: Top 5 (Signature Themes) and CliftonStrengths 34. Both are based on the same assessment developed by Gallup, but they differ in depth, detail, and intended use.

Top 5 / Signature Themes

Reveals your five strongest talent themes—the patterns you rely on most naturally. This option is designed for clarity and quick application, helping you understand where you perform best without information overload.

34 Theme Rankings

Provides a complete ranking of all 34 talent themes, showing not only your strengths but also which talents are less dominant. This deeper view helps explain blind spots, talent combinations, and long-term development opportunities.

What’s included

Top 5: Strength descriptions, basic action ideas, and development tips for your strongest themes

34: Full talent ranking, theme dynamics, domain analysis, and advanced development insights

Best for

Top 5: First-time users, students, and individuals seeking fast, practical insight

34: Leaders, managers, coaches, and anyone focused on sustained personal or professional growth

Cost

Top 5 is the more affordable option, while CliftonStrengths 34 costs more due to its expanded reporting and depth.

In simple terms, Top 5 answers “What are my strongest talents?”, while 34 answers “How do all of my talents work together?”

Who Should Take Gallup’s Strengths Test?

The CliftonStrengths Assessment is designed to help anyone who wants to understand themselves and others better. Whether you’re a student, manager, entrepreneur, professional athlete, or just looking for personal growth, the assessment provides insights that can be applied across all walks of life.

CliftonStrengths for Students

CliftonStrengths for Students (formerly StrengthsQuest) uses the same assessment, tailored to help students build confidence, self-awareness, and direction early in life.

In comparison, other strengths assessments, such as HIGH5, can be taken by both students and adults without role-specific framing.

CliftonStrengths for Leaders

CliftonStrengths for Leaders provides leadership-focused insights that explain how your talents influence vision, decision-making, and influence. The content is written specifically for leadership responsibilities rather than general self-awareness.

CliftonStrengths for Managers

CliftonStrengths for Managers focuses on people management, coaching, feedback, performance conversations, and team effectiveness, using your existing strengths profile as the foundation.

CliftonStrengths for Teams

CliftonStrengths for Teams shifts the focus from individuals to the group. It helps teams understand collective strengths, improve collaboration, and balance contributions using tools like team grids and domain analysis.

CliftonStrengths for Sales

CliftonStrengths for Sales translates talent themes into sales-specific behaviors, such as prospecting, relationship-building, closing, and customer trust, helping sales professionals sell in a way that fits their natural style.

How To Use CliftonStrengths?

CliftonStrengths is most effective when it’s applied consistently in real-life situations, not treated as a one-time personality test. Below are three of the most common and impactful ways people use it.

For Team Building

Teams use CliftonStrengths to improve communication, strengthen collaboration, and reduce unnecessary conflict. By understanding each team member’s natural strengths, teams can better appreciate different working styles and avoid misinterpreting behavior. CliftonStrengths also helps leaders assign responsibilities based on what people naturally do well, rather than relying solely on job titles or seniority. This leads to clearer expectations, stronger trust, and more balanced team performance.

For Career Planning

CliftonStrengths supports career planning by helping individuals understand what kinds of work energize rather than drain them. Instead of choosing roles based only on skills or past experience, people can use their strengths profile to identify positions, environments, and responsibilities that fit their natural talents. This makes it easier to make career decisions, prepare for interviews, and grow in a direction that feels sustainable instead of forced.

For Personal Development

For personal development, CliftonStrengths shifts the focus away from fixing weaknesses and toward refining strengths. By becoming more aware of how their top talents show up – both positively and negatively – individuals can learn to use those strengths more intentionally. Over time, this leads to greater confidence, self-awareness, and consistent performance without trying to become someone they’re not.

Comparing CliftonStrengths to Other Workplace Assessments

CliftonStrengths is often compared to other well-known workplace and personality assessments, but each tool serves a different purpose.

DiSC

DiSC focuses on observable behavior and communication styles, making it popular for team-building and interpersonal training. CliftonStrengths goes deeper by identifying underlying talent patterns and emphasizing long-term development rather than situational behavior.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

MBTI groups people into one of 16 personality types to increase self-awareness. CliftonStrengths does not use fixed types; instead, it ranks talents on a spectrum and encourages continuous growth rather than static labels.

Enneagram

The Enneagram explores motivations, fears, and stress responses across nine personality types. In contrast, CliftonStrengths maintains a strictly strengths-based approach, focusing on performance and potential rather than weaknesses or emotional drivers.

While many assessments aim to describe personality, CliftonStrengths is designed to develop performance, making it especially relevant for workplace growth, engagement, and leadership development.

Big Five

The Big Five model measures personality across five broad traits, such as openness and conscientiousness, and is widely used in academic and psychological research. While it offers a high-level personality profile, CliftonStrengths is more action-oriented and designed specifically for workplace development and performance.

Predictive Index

Predictive Index is commonly used in hiring and talent optimization to predict workplace behavior and job fit. CliftonStrengths differs by focusing less on prediction and more on helping individuals and teams intentionally develop their existing strengths over time.

What is the Difference Between the CliftonStrengths Test and the StrengthsFinder Test?

The CliftonStrengths test is the updated version of the StrengthsFinder test, first released in 2001. The main difference between the two assessments is that the CliftonStrengths assessment includes more questions and offers a more comprehensive report with additional features.

The new version also focuses on developing strengths rather than just identifying them.

CliftonStrengths is also part of the new StrengthsFinder 2.0 book from Gallup, which offers a more in-depth guide to understanding and developing your unique strengths.

StrengthsFinder 2.0 – Book About Strengths

In 2007, StrengthsFinder 2.0 was released alongside an access code for the assessment. The book became a top-ten bestseller on Amazon for several years and helped popularize strengths-based development worldwide.

Written by renowned authors Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, this book was the foundation of the original StrengthsFinder assessment. It offers insightful advice and exercises to help readers uncover their strengths and use them to achieve personal and professional success.

Access Codes

If taking the CliftonStrengths Assessment, you must purchase an access code to receive your personalized strengths report.  Done online through the Gallup Store, these codes are redeemable on the Gallup website when taking the assessment.

How to Redeem a StrengthsFinder Access Code?

If you already have an access code, you don’t need to buy the assessment again.

• Visit the official CliftonStrengths website
• Sign in or create a Gallup account
• Choose Redeem Access Code
• Enter your code and follow the prompts
• Complete the assessment and view your results

Redeem vs. Buy

Redeem if you already have a code (from a book, employer, or school). Buy if you don’t have an unused access code

How Much Does the StrengthsFinder 2.0 Book Cost?

The StrengthsFinder 2.0 book can be purchased online or at major retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Target. The book typically ranges from around $20 to $30.

How To Apply CliftonStrengths?

CliftonStrengths delivers the most value when it’s used as an ongoing development tool and not just a one-time assessment.

Build self-awareness

Start by understanding how your talent themes influence the way you think, communicate, make decisions, and handle challenges. This awareness helps you work more intentionally instead of relying on trial and error.

Apply strengths to real work

Use your strengths to shape how you approach tasks, solve problems, and collaborate with others. When work aligns with natural talents, people tend to be more engaged and productive.

Improve communication and teamwork

Sharing strengths within a team helps people understand differences in working styles, reducing friction and improving collaboration.

Support leadership and management

Managers and leaders can use CliftonStrengths to coach employees more effectively, give feedback that resonates, and build balanced teams where different talents complement each other.

Focus on development, not retesting

CliftonStrengths isn’t about changing who you are—it’s about learning how to use what you already have more skillfully over time.

How Much Does the CliftonStrengths Report Cost?

For just $19.99, you will obtain your top five strengths in ranked order through our test. For just $39.99 more, you can unlock the door to your 34 most significant competencies and discover which reign supreme – ranked from most potent to least.

Therefore, the total price for a complete CliftonStrengths Assessment Report is $59.98.

How Long Does It Take To Finish CliftonStrengths Online Talent Assessment?

The assessment generally takes 25-35 minutes, depending on how quickly you answer the questions. Some people have reported it took them an hour to complete the evaluation.

How Accurate is Gallup’s Strengths Test?

The CliftonStrengths assessment has been proven to be a reliable tool for measuring and understanding personal strengths. Research shows it has a high degree of accuracy in predicting performance in various domains.

The results from the test provide valuable insights, but it’s up to each individual to use this information to make positive changes and maximize success.

How Often Should I Take the CliftonStrengths Test?

Most people only need to take the assessment once. Results are designed to be stable over time because they measure natural talent patterns, not temporary skills or moods.

Can You Take the CliftonStrengths Assessment for Free?

There is no official free version of the full CliftonStrengths assessment. However, there is a free alternative strengths tests like the HIGH5 test.

What are the Rarest Clifton’s Strengths? 

CliftonStrengths revealed that the five least frequently possessed aptitudes are command, self-assurance, significance, discipline, and context. Developing these traits will enable you to stand out from the crowd and uniquely contribute to any team.

What are the Most Common Top 5 Clifton Strengths? 

The most common top five CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Responsibility, Relator, Learner, and Strategic. However, as each individual is unique, these results can vary from person to person depending on their strengths and experiences.

Conclusion

The CliftonStrengths assessment can provide valuable and meaningful insights into your strengths. By understanding what you naturally excel at, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions to help you reach your goals. The StrengthsFinder 2.0 book also offers a comprehensive guide to developing your talents.