BaselinesHQ Baseline vs. ImPACT
Beyond the computer lab. A baseline your whole team can actually finish.
ImPACT’s cognitive battery is the long-standing default — and the long-standing bottleneck. HQ Baseline keeps cognitive testing as one of seven modules, runs in the browser on any phone, and tests an entire team in parallel.
Side by side
HQ Baseline vs. ImPACT, line by line
Cognitive coverage you expect, plus balance, gait, and voice scoring — on a phone, in 10 minutes.
| Feature | HQ Baseline | ImPACT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included with HQ | ~$22 / test |
| 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+ | 22 |
| Modules covered | All 7 | Cognitive only |
| Motion-capture balance (mBESS) | ||
| Tandem gait | ||
| Voice-scored word recall | ||
| Group testing in parallel | ||
| Time per athlete | 10 min | ~30–45 min |
| Time per 1,000 athletes | 10 min (parallel) | ~750 hrs proctored |
| Self-administered | ||
| 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 See something out of date?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. ImPACT, in plain English.
ImPACT defined neurocognitive baselines for a generation of athletic trainers. It’s also the reason “baseline week” usually means four evenings in a computer lab.
HQ Baseline gives you the cognitive coverage ImPACT is known for — memory, attention, reaction time — and adds the balance, gait, voice-scored recall, and symptom modules that a modern concussion assessment uses. All scored on the phone the athlete already owns.
On price, ImPACT charges per test. HQ Baseline is included with HQ at a flat program rate — re-test as often as your protocol calls for.
No computer lab
ImPACT requires a desktop or laptop per athlete and a quiet, monitored room. HQ Baseline runs on the phone in their pocket — 50 athletes can finish in the time it takes ImPACT to seat one cohort.
Cognitive plus balance, gait, and symptoms
ImPACT is cognitive-only. HQ Baseline covers the full multimodal battery, which the CISG and most state laws now expect a baseline to include.
Per-program pricing, not per-test
ImPACT's per-test pricing means you ration baselines. With HQ Baseline you can re-test mid-season, after any suspected injury, or annually — at no additional cost.
Self-administered with voice scoring
ImPACT requires proctored administration to keep results valid. HQ Baseline uses voice-scored word recall and instrumented motion so an athlete can self-administer — and you still get clean, comparable data.
HQ Baseline vs. ImPACT — questions we hear
Honest answers about how HQ Baseline compares to the ImPACT desktop neurocognitive test, and what switching actually looks like.
Is HQ Baseline a replacement for ImPACT?
Can I keep using ImPACT and add HQ Baseline?
Is HQ Baseline cleared the way ImPACT is?
How does HQ Baseline handle re-tests?
Compare HQ Baseline to other tools
One-vs-one breakdowns against the rest of the digital concussion baseline market.
Ready to switch from ImPACT?
Move your baseline week off the computer lab. Book a demo and we’ll show you a 50-athlete baseline finish in the time it takes ImPACT to seat the first cohort.