MBTI and 16Personalities place you in one of 16 types. The Big Five measures five traits on sliding scales and was developed and tested in personality research. Type tests can be good conversation starters, but research does not support the idea that people fall into separate types. If you want to know more precisely where you stand, the Big Five gives more nuance. BeBalanced.ai uses a 120-question Big Five test. No personality test is a diagnosis.
Most popular personality tests are type tests. They ask you questions and sort you into a category: a letter code, a colour or a number. That is easy to remember and easy to talk about. The downside is that two people with the same type can be very different, and someone close to a boundary may get a different type next time.
The Big Five is a trait model. It measures where you sit on five scales – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism – without splitting people into groups. Instead of a label you get a profile, showing for example that you are slightly more extraverted than average and highly conscientious.
The point is not that one test is "right" and the other "wrong". Types are a simplification that can be useful in conversation. Traits are more precise when you want to understand yourself or compare over time.
| Test | What it measures | Types or scales | What the research says | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MBTI | Preferences based on Jung's type theory: extraversion–introversion, sensing–intuition, thinking–feeling, judging–perceiving | 16 four-letter types | Scores are fairly reliable, but research does not support separate types. The four scales overlap with four of the Big Five traits. | Talking about differences, a shared language in teams |
| 16Personalities | Five scales that the site itself describes as reworked from the Big Five | 16 types with a letter code, plus -A or -T | A separate test, not the MBTI. The scales resemble the Big Five, but the result is presented as a type. | A quick, accessible way into thinking about personality |
| Colour tests (DISC-style) | Behaviour and communication style, often in four colours or styles | Four main types, often with blends | Varies a lot. Many versions are commercial tools, and documentation differs from provider to provider. | Communication and collaboration at work |
| Enneagram | Nine types, each with a core motivation or fear | 9 types | Rarely used in personality research. The model was not developed by analysing data on how people describe themselves. | Reflecting on motives and personal growth |
| Big Five | Five traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism | Five scales, often with facets | The five factors have been found again and again in analyses of the words language uses to describe people, in both self-ratings and ratings by others. | Self-insight, seeing where you sit on each trait, and research |
The table shows the main features. Every test exists in many versions, and quality varies within each of them.
Many people assume the test on 16personalities.com is the MBTI. It is not. The site itself describes its model as different from Myers-Briggs and says it does not use Jungian cognitive functions.
According to the site, the test rests on five independent scales – Energy, Mind, Nature, Tactics and Identity – reworked from the Big Five traits. The result is still presented as a type, with a letter code in the Myers-Briggs format plus a fifth letter: A (Assertive) or T (Turbulent).
So it sits in between: the scales resemble the Big Five, but the answer you get is a type. If you use it, look at where you sit on each scale, not just the letters. If you are close to the middle of a scale, the letter says little.
An "introvert test" that tells you whether you are an introvert or an extravert makes two boxes out of what is really a scale. Research does not find two separate groups. Scores spread along a line, and many people land somewhere between the ends.
In the Big Five this trait is called extraversion. It is about how much you seek company, activity and stimulation, and how quickly that energises or drains you. Low extraversion is not the same as shyness or social anxiety. Read more at /en/big-five-extraversion.
A type test such as the MBTI or a colour test can make it easier to talk about different ways of working and communicating. Use the type to start the conversation, not as the final word on who your colleagues are.
The Enneagram is about motives and can offer good questions for reflection. Treat it as a tool for reflection rather than a measurement.
Choose a Big Five test. It shows where you sit on each of the five traits and can be compared over time. Read more about the model at /en/what-is-the-big-five.
Ask what the test has actually been studied for, and how the result is used. A personality test should never decide on its own whether you get a job.
No personality test can tell you who you are, and none of them is a diagnosis. If you are struggling over time, talk to your doctor.
You take the IPIP-NEO-120 Big Five test once. It has 120 questions and takes 15–20 minutes. The questions are available in English and Norwegian. More at /en/personality-test.
The AI coach uses your profile to adapt its questions and tone when you talk or write with it.
After a conversation the app suggests exercises, meditations or podcast episodes based on what you talked about – not on your personality profile.
The studies are about the tests and models, not about BeBalanced.ai, and say nothing about the effect of the app.
Core costs 149 NOK a month and includes the AI coach in chat, the journal, the Big Five test and the full exercise library. Core + Voice costs 249 NOK a month and adds voice, Together mode and My body. Both start with 7 days free, with no commitment.
The MBTI places you in one of 16 types. The Big Five measures where you sit on five scales: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Research has shown that the MBTI scales overlap with four of the five Big Five traits.
The MBTI gives fairly reliable scores, but research does not support the idea that people fall into separate types. Its scales work better as sliding measures than as boxes. Personality research uses trait models such as the Big Five.
No. 16personalities.com is a separate test. According to the site, it rests on five scales reworked from the Big Five, but the result is presented as one of 16 types with a letter code in the Myers-Briggs format.
It depends on what you want it for. For conversations in a team, a type test can work well. If you want to understand yourself more precisely and compare over time, a Big Five test is a better choice.
Introversion and extraversion are a scale, not two groups. Think about whether lots of socialising recharges or drains you, and place yourself on a scale instead of picking a side. A Big Five test measures this as the trait extraversion.
Colour tests often sort people into four colours or styles, inspired by the DISC model, and are mostly about behaviour and communication. They are widely used at work. Quality and documentation vary between providers.
The Enneagram describes nine personality types, each with a core motivation. It can offer good questions for reflection, but it is rarely used in personality research.
BeBalanced.ai is a tool for mental training, not healthcare or treatment. If you need someone to talk to now, contact your local emergency services or a crisis line. In Norway: 116 117 (out-of-hours), 116 123 (Mental Helse helpline) or 113 in an emergency.