CléA numérique or Pix: Which French Digital Skills Certification Should You Choose?

Two names come up every time digital skills certification is discussed in France: CléA numérique and Pix. Both are serious, recognised and fundable — but they do not measure the same thing, do not target the same audience, and do not rely on the same mechanics. Picking the right scheme avoids setting a candidate up to fail or, conversely, certifying below their real level.

Two schemes, two origins

CléA numérique is a joint certification: it is awarded by Certif’Pro, the national association created by France’s employer and employee organisations. Stemming from the 2018 “avenir professionnel” law and the framework of fundamental digital uses (ministerial order of 19 February 2019), it is registered in France compétences’ Répertoire spécifique (register of complementary certifications) under number RS5616. Its purpose: certifying command of fundamental digital skills in a professional setting.

Pix is an online public service run by a public-interest grouping (GIP). The Pix certification is based on the cadre de référence des compétences numériques (CRCN, France’s digital competence reference framework) created by decree no. 2019-919 of 30 August 2019 — five domains and sixteen competencies with progressive levels — itself aligned with the European DigComp framework. Pix is deployed at scale in schools and higher education, and open to workers in continuing education.

The conceptual foundations are close — both align with the same European vision of digital competence, formalised in the DigComp framework whose version 2.2 was published in 2022 by Vuorikari, Kluzer and Punie for the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre — but the use cases diverge sharply.

The point-by-point comparison

Criterion	CléA numérique	Pix
Owner	Certif’Pro (joint body, social partners)	GIP Pix (public service)
Framework	4 competencies — “fundamental digital uses” at work	CRCN: 5 domains, 16 competencies, progressive levels
Main audience	Workers with limited digital confidence (employees, jobseekers, integration)	Pupils, students and workers of all levels
Assessment logic	Initial assessment → targeted training → final assessment → joint jury	Adaptive online tests, then certification in an approved centre
Outcome	Certificate awarded or not (4 competencies to validate, 75% of sub-competencies each)	Score by levels, detailed competency profile
Funding	CPF-eligible (Répertoire spécifique) plus employer/OPCO funding	CPF-eligible; free self-assessment on the platform

What each certification actually measures

The fundamental difference lies in the target level and the way skills are assessed.

CléA numérique assesses fundamental uses in professional situations: finding your way around your digital work environment, searching for and using information, collaborating through the tools, applying security rules. Assessment relies on scenarios run by an authorised organisation, and the certificate is awarded by a joint jury. The outcome is binary — certified or not — which makes it a clear signal for an employer: the holder has the digital foundation needed to hold a job in a digitised environment. The full pathway is described in our article CléA numérique: what it is and how to get it.

Pix measures a spectrum of levels: the same adaptive test can place a beginner as well as an advanced user, and the certificate returns a scored profile per competency. It is an excellent positioning and signalling instrument for audiences who are already autonomous — students, confident employees who want to objectivise their level — but the format (online tests, autonomy in front of the platform) presupposes precisely the reflexes that the most fragile audiences do not yet have.

Research documents this well: van Deursen and van Dijk showed, in a 2011 study in New Media & Society based on real-task tests, that operational skills often mask deep gaps in information and strategic skills (see the study); their later work, published in 2014 in the same journal, shows that the digital divide has shifted from access to usage (see the study). For an audience far from digital tools, a supported workplace assessment — the CléA numérique mechanics — is more reliable and less intimidating than an autonomous online test.

How to choose in practice

Choose CléA numérique if:

• the candidate has limited digital confidence, or is digitally illiterate;
• the goal is immediate employability: securing a job that is going digital, succeeding in a career change, reassuring a recruiter;
• you are an employer looking to certify the digital foundation of field teams — the subject of our article on digital illiteracy at work and certifying employees;
• the joint jury matters to you: the certificate is awarded by representatives of the world of work itself.

Choose Pix if:

• the candidate is already autonomous and wants to objectivise or showcase a level, including advanced;
• you need a detailed per-competency profile rather than a binary certificate;
• the context is school, university or continuous upskilling.

The two are not mutually exclusive: a CléA numérique pathway can lay the foundation, with Pix providing a finer measurement a few months later. For training organisations, however, the frameworks differ: working on CléA numérique requires an authorisation issued by Certif’Pro, and in all cases Qualiopi certification remains required whenever pathways are publicly or jointly funded (Is Qualiopi mandatory?).

Take action

The right choice depends on the starting level and the goal: a professional foundation certified by the social partners on one side, an online levels profile on the other. To dig into the first, see our complete guide to the CléA numérique certificate: the 4-competency framework, the pathway, funding and frequent questions are all covered.