We are often asked for a comparison between Myers Briggs (MBTI) and Extended DISC (EDISC) and because MBTI has been around for some 60 plus years, it is a well-known and well-respected system. The growth of EDISC has, however, been phenomenal and it is now used in over 60 countries with the questionnaire available in over 75 languages! 

• MBTI is a classification tool which divides people into 16 categories, with everyone falling into one of the categories.  Extended DISC does not classify people but relates the four dimensions in people to each other and in the process recognises and reports on 160 different behavioural styles.
• MBTI assumes that an individual is either a thinking or a feeling type.  Extended DISC assumes that an individual has reaction modes for all behavioural styles, of which they prefer some more than others. Therefore, Extended DISC allows for an individual to be more flexible and dynamic (adaptive) in their behaviour.

• MBTI’s analytical base is a 4×4 field that is similar to the Extended DISC Diamond, but the Diamond is significantly more flexible in the demonstration of the actual behavioural style and in showing if an individual is currently adapting their behaviour.

• Comparing the Extended DISC Diamond with MBTI’s classifications indicates that at the first level all four traits match, but at the second level only three of the traits match and there is no match for the fourth trait (ENTP). The closest match to MBTI’s ENTP on the Extended DISC Diamond is DI, but ENTJ is probably closer.

• The benefits of Extended DISC over MBTI are in the demonstration techniques (profiles, diamond and percentages).

• The interpretation of Profile I and comparison of the two Profiles is magnified when one moves from an individual level to the analysis of an organisation using Extended DISC. This is not possible in MBTI’s

• MBTI cannot match Extended DISC’s enormous flexibility through the advanced online platform The FinxS platform enables reports to be completely customised in terms of format and content, allowing the user to select from a range of over 1600 competences, those that relate directly to the focus of the project.

• The use of the well-known D, I, S and C descriptions of the four basic styles (and the combination of the styles e.g., ISC, or DCI etc) is much easier to remember than, for example ISTJ, or INTP which are used by

• Extended DISC’s text bank is many times larger than MBTI’s text bank allowing for a deeper, more specific and more accurate interpretation.

• Extended DISC was designed as a commercial tool specifically for organisational settings while MBTI is respected more for its psychological flavour with a focus on individual reporting.

• MBTI according to some sources is not difficult to manipulate. We have no evidence of this, but we do know that the Extended DISC behavioural questionnaire has some of the strictest rules for classifying un-reliable results and is very difficult to manipulate. Generally, any attempt to not answer honestly can be identified through the shape and size of the Profiles.

• MBTI was never designed to be used for career assessment, although some organisations do use it as a screening tool for job placement.  As it was fundamentally designed as an instrument for measuring type preference, its use in recruitment is not recommended by the distributors of the product. Extended DISC, on the other hand, particularly with the use of the FinxS platform and its specifically designed Job Template, is far more effective.

• EDISC offers significant value-added options at no additional (or minimal) cost;

• Additional reports at no extra cost;
• Opportunity to customise, brand or even white-label assessments;
• API Integration capability;
• Significant marketing and product support material available for trained practitioners at no cost;
• Questionnaires are validated every two years and consistently receive high scores.

Fundamentally however, there are significant differences in the commercial focus of Extended DISC and the psychological focus of MBTI.