BaselinesHQ Baseline vs. CNS Vital Signs
Free is good. Multimodal and mobile is better.
CNS Vital Signs is a respected desktop cognitive battery. HQ Baseline keeps the cognitive coverage, runs on a phone, and adds balance, gait, voice-scored recall, and symptom modules a cognitive-only test can’t see.
Side by side
HQ Baseline vs. CNS Vital Signs, line by line
Cognitive coverage you expect, plus balance, gait, voice-scored memory, and symptoms — on a phone.
| Feature | HQ Baseline | CNS Vital Signs |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included with HQ | Free (cognitive only) |
| Unlimited athletes | ||
| Unlimited re-tests | ||
| Device | Browser-based, any phone or tablet | Desktop or laptop |
| Delivery | QR code, unique link, or passwordless login | Username + password |
| Languages | 195+ | 5 |
| Modules covered | All 7 | Cognitive only |
| Motion-capture balance (mBESS) | ||
| Tandem gait | ||
| Voice-scored word recall | ||
| Symptom checklist (PCSS) | ||
| Group testing in parallel | ||
| Time per athlete | 10 min | ~30 min |
| Time per 1,000 athletes | 10 min (parallel) | ~500 hrs proctored |
| Support | 24/7 — live video within 10 minutes | 1 day via email |
| COPPA compliant |
Competitor data reflects publicly available product pages, pricing, and language support as of 2026. See something out of date? Tell us.
Why teams switch
HQ Baseline vs. CNS Vital Signs, in plain English.
CNS Vital Signs is widely used because it’s free and the cognitive battery is well-validated. We agree those are real strengths.
The trade-off is what it doesn’t cover. Concussion is not a cognitive-only condition — vestibular, ocular, balance, and symptom domains are where many subtypes actually present. A cognitive-only baseline gives a clean number for one piece of the puzzle, but a blind spot for the rest.
HQ Baseline keeps cognitive coverage and adds the missing modalities, scored on the phone the athlete already has — without the desktop computer lab or proctored room CNS Vital Signs requires.
Mobile, not desktop
CNS Vital Signs is built for a desktop browser with a mouse. HQ Baseline runs on a phone or tablet — the device every athlete already owns.
Multimodal, not cognitive-only
Cognitive testing is one of seven HQ Baseline modules. We also score balance, tandem gait, immediate and delayed memory by voice, reaction time, and symptoms — the modalities a modern concussion battery is expected to cover.
Group testing in parallel
CNS Vital Signs requires a desktop per athlete and a proctor in the room. HQ Baseline shares one QR code with the whole roster — they test simultaneously, no proctored seating order.
Support that responds within 10 minutes
CNS Vital Signs support runs through email with ~1-day turnaround. HQ has 24/7 live video support that connects within 10 minutes of opening a ticket.
HQ Baseline vs. CNS Vital Signs — questions we hear
Honest answers about how HQ Baseline compares to the CNS Vital Signs desktop cognitive battery, and what switching actually looks like.
Why pay for HQ Baseline when CNS Vital Signs is free?
Does HQ Baseline cover the same cognitive domains?
Can I run CNS Vital Signs and HQ Baseline together?
What about norm-based scoring?
Compare HQ Baseline to other tools
One-vs-one breakdowns against the rest of the digital concussion baseline market.
Ready to switch from CNS Vital Signs?
Keep the cognitive baseline. Add balance, gait, voice-scored memory, and symptoms — on a phone, in 10 minutes, for your whole roster at once.