LockedIn AI vs Cluely

LockedIn AI and Cluely get compared constantly, usually in listicles that score them on the same twelve features. That is the wrong shape for this pair, because roughly half of what each one sells has no equivalent on the other side.

A cleaner way to decide: work out what you want the tool to do in the eleven months of the year when you are not interviewing. Your answer picks the product.

What a purpose-built interview tool actually adds

LockedIn AI's published feature set is interview-shaped in ways a general assistant has no reason to copy. It runs two layers at once, an AI Copilot that suggests answers and an AI Coach alongside it. It formats responses in STAR order, which is what behavioral interviewers are scoring against. After the session it produces a competency-scoring report, so you get told where you were weak rather than just what was said.

It also treats coding as a first-class round. Its Coding Copilot publishes coverage of LeetCode, HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, HackerEarth, Codility and InterviewBit, with around twelve languages and a VSCode extension. And it ships two things that only make sense for interviews: online assessment support, and LockedIn Duo, which brings a remote human helper into the session.

Add the language work, which the vendor puts at 45+ languages and regional accents with bilingual auto-detection, and you have a product where almost every feature answers an interview-specific problem.

What a general assistant does better

Cluely's advantage is that it does not care what kind of call you are in. It keeps a live transcript, takes notes, writes a recap afterwards, and lets you query past meetings later. You summon answers with a keyboard shortcut, and you can give it custom instructions and upload files for context.

That has two real consequences. First, the subscription keeps earning after you sign an offer, because a searchable record of your calls is useful in any job. Second, there is less to learn: one behaviour across every meeting instead of interview-specific modes. Cluely also publishes macOS, Windows and iOS apps, and its higher paid tier adds concealment from screen sharing.

What it does not do is tell you that your answer rambled, or push you into STAR order, or know that the thing on your screen is a linked-list problem.

The comparison that matters

Both vendors adjust pricing and run offers, so treat the last two rows as shapes rather than quotes and confirm the current numbers on each vendor's site.

Two situations, two answers

If you are in an active search with a loop that includes coding screens and online assessments, the specialist wins on features you will use this week. Competency scoring is the part people underrate: it is the only feature in either product that makes your next interview better rather than your current one easier.

If you are employed, interviewing occasionally, and spending most of your week in calls, the generalist wins on economics. Paying for interview coaching you use twice a quarter is worse value than paying for meeting memory you use daily.

Where CoPilot Interview fits

Disclosure: this is our site, so read the following as a pitch. CoPilot Interview sits on the specialist side, like LockedIn AI, but answers the middle case differently. The free tier is permanent and needs no credit card, so an occasional interviewer does not have to hold a subscription between searches. It is a native Windows and macOS app, answers land on your own screen in about four seconds, and you can pick between GPT, Claude and Gemini per question. See how the free tier works.

If what you actually want is a record of every call you take, we do not build that and Cluely does. We would rather point you there than pretend otherwise.

Frequently asked questions

What is the core difference between LockedIn AI and Cluely?

Scope. LockedIn AI is built for interviews, so its features are interview-shaped: STAR-formatted answers, a parallel AI Coach, a competency-scoring report afterwards, online assessment coverage, a broad Coding Copilot and a remote-helper mode. Cluely is a general meeting assistant, so it invests in the meeting record instead: live transcript, notes, recap and the ability to query past meetings. Pick the specialist for an active search, the generalist if most of your week is ordinary calls.

Which one is better for a coding interview?

LockedIn AI, clearly, on published features. Its Coding Copilot lists LeetCode, HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, HackerEarth, Codility and InterviewBit, with around twelve languages and a VSCode extension. Cluely does not market coding rounds as a focus.

Does either one give feedback after the interview?

They give different things. LockedIn AI produces a competency-scoring report, which tells you how you performed. Cluely produces a recap of what was said and lets you query past meetings later. Only the first is designed to make your next interview better.

Is there a free way to try each one?

Both publish a free entry point. LockedIn AI advertises that it is free to start with no credit card required. Cluely has a free Starter tier with a limited number of responses plus notetaking, custom instructions and file upload. Free-tier limits change often, so confirm what you get on each vendor's own site before planning around it.

Which is better value if I only interview a few times a year?

Probably neither on a monthly subscription. Occasional interviewers tend to pay for months they do not use. Look at whether credits that do not expire fit your pattern better, or use a tool with a permanent free tier between searches and upgrade only for the weeks you are actually in a loop.

Can I use Cluely for interviews anyway?

Yes, people do. You will get a suggested answer in prose on your own screen, which is often enough for a recruiter screen or a manager conversation. What you will not get is an answer shaped for the round, coding-platform awareness, or anything afterwards that tells you where you were weak.