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The VIA Character Strengths Assessment is a free, scientifically validated tool that identifies your 24 character strengths— positive personality traits that reflect who you are at your best. Created by psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman and maintained by the nonprofit VIA Institute on Character, it has been taken by more than 35 million people in 46 languages. The standard version (VIA-120) takes about 15–20 minutes, and basic results are free at viacharacter.org.
You’ve probably taken StrengthsFinder— maybe for a company team-building session you didn’t ask for. The VIA Character Strengths Assessment asks a completely different question. StrengthsFinder wants to know how you perform at work. The VIA wants to know who you are. If you’re in the middle of a career transition and trying to figure out whether the work you’re doing fits you— that distinction is everything.
Most assessments tell you how you work. The VIA tells you who you are.
This article walks you through what it is, how to take it, and what to do with your results— especially if you’re using them to think about calling and meaningful work.
What Is the VIA Character Strengths Assessment?
The VIA Character Strengths Assessment (VIA stands for “Values in Action”) is a psychological survey developed by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman as part of a 3-year, 55-scientist project that produced the landmark book Character Strengths and Virtues (2004). It’s now maintained by the nonprofit VIA Institute on Character, which administers the survey and oversees ongoing research.
The VIA measures 24 positive character traits organized under six core virtues. Per Wikipedia’s research summary on the VIA-IS, this framework is backed by more than 1,000 peer-reviewed studies— one of the most research-dense psychological tools available to the general public.
Most of us aren’t used to thinking of traits like Humility or Forgiveness as strengths. But the VIA makes a compelling case that these matter as much as Bravery or Creativity. (If you’re curious where you land— take the free survey first, then come back to this list with your results in hand.)
The 24 character strengths, organized by virtue:
Wisdom & Knowledge: Creativity, Curiosity, Judgment (Open-Mindedness), Love of Learning, Perspective
Courage: Bravery, Perseverance (Persistence), Honesty (Integrity), Zest (Vitality)
Humanity: Love, Kindness, Social Intelligence
Justice: Teamwork, Fairness, Leadership
Temperance: Forgiveness, Humility, Prudence, Self-Regulation
Transcendence: Appreciation of Beauty, Gratitude, Hope, Humor, Spirituality
In a 2025 VIA-commissioned study of 3,000 participants, 83% found discovering their character strengths meaningful and 74% reported greater self-awareness. Those numbers are worth noting— though the study is self-reported and VIA-funded, the scale and consistency are hard to dismiss.
How to Take the VIA Survey
The VIA survey is free at viacharacter.org. The current standard version, VIA-120, has 120 questions rated on a five-point scale from “Very much like me” to “Very much unlike me.” Most people finish in 15–20 minutes— not a lot of time to invest in understanding yourself better.
(The original version had 240 questions. Per VIA’s researcher guidelines, VIA-120 is now the standard— the one you’ll take unless you’re doing specific research work.)
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to viacharacter.org and create a free account
- Select the VIA-120 survey
- Answer all 120 questions— rate yourself on a five-point scale for each
- Review your free results: all 24 strengths ranked from most to least central to who you are
Free. No credit card.
Basic results (your full ranking of all 24 character strengths) are free. Premium in-depth reports with additional coaching insights are available at an extra cost. Check current pricing at viacharacter.org.
The VIA works better when you’re honest than when you’re aspirational. Answer who you are right now— not who you’re trying to become. If question 47 asks about curiosity and you find yourself wondering whether you should be more curious— you’re answering the wrong question.
What Your Results Mean: Signature Strengths and How to Read Them
Your VIA results show all 24 character strengths ranked from most to least central to who you are. Your top 4–7 are called your “signature strengths”— the ones you feel most natural and energized expressing, and that feel most authentically like you.
The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley describes character strengths as “the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel, and behave.” Signature strengths go further— they meet five specific criteria from VIA research:
- They feel authentic (“this is the real me”)
- They’re energizing to use
- You learn rapidly when expressing them
- You use them eagerly in new situations
- They feel like your natural voice
Here’s what most people get wrong when they first see their results.
A strength ranked 20th is still a strength— just one that’s less central to your identity. Consider someone whose top two strengths are Fairness and Leadership. Their Creativity lands at number 20. That doesn’t mean they’re not creative. It means Fairness and Leadership are more essentially them— the traits that show up across every context, not just certain ones.
The University of Liverpool PROSPER program adds another useful lens: phasic strengths. Some strengths emerge mainly in specific situations. Bravery shows up in moments of crisis. Creativity comes forward in open-ended work. Your results are a profile of who you are overall, but context always matters.
What if your top result surprises you? That’s worth paying attention to. Ask whether you’re responding to who you are now versus who you want to be— or whether this strength shows up in private but not in public.
Your VIA results are a starting point.
For a broader look at your strengths and how to identify them beyond any single assessment, that guide goes deeper.
How to Use Your VIA Results for Meaningful Work and Calling
Research cited by the Greater Good Science Center and the VIA Institute shows that workers who regularly use four or more of their signature strengths at work are significantly more likely to experience their work as a calling. The VIA gives you language for what to look for.
This is a correlation, not a formula. Calling is multidimensional, and using your strengths at work is one factor among many. But it’s a powerful one to pay attention to.
In conversations with people navigating career transitions, I consistently find that the VIA results confirm what someone already half-knows. The surprise isn’t usually the top result— it’s the realization of how rarely they’ve had permission to act on it.
Start with these three questions:
- Which of my top 7 strengths does my current work actively use?
- Where in my week do I feel most like myself— what strengths are active in those moments?
- What would a role that used my top 5 strengths daily actually look like?
The negative space is just as useful. If Creativity is one of your signature strengths and you spend most of your days executing predefined processes, you probably already know something is off. Real research backs this up.
In the 2025 VIA Impact Study, 54% of participants reported feeling more optimistic about life after discovering their strengths. That optimism comes from clarity— a more specific sense of what you’re looking for and where to look.
If there’s one thing worth doing with your VIA results, it’s asking: is my current work using what’s most essentially me?
VIA vs. CliftonStrengths — An Honest Comparison
VIA and CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) are the two most widely used strengths assessments— but they measure different things. VIA measures character. CliftonStrengths measures talent themes— how you naturally perform.
According to Gallup (which makes CliftonStrengths), the tool is “better suited for performance improvement” in specific domains. VIA answers a broader question: who are you at your best as a person?
| VIA Character Strengths | CliftonStrengths | |
|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Character traits (who you are) | Talent themes (how you perform) |
| Cost | Free (basic results) | ~$20–$30 per assessment |
| Results shown | All 24 strengths ranked | Top 5 (or all 34 with paid report) |
| Best for | Calling, meaning, well-being | Workplace performance, role fit |
| Developed by | Peterson & Seligman / VIA Institute | Gallup Organization |
(Gallup, which makes CliftonStrengths, actually acknowledges both assessments as complementary— worth knowing.)
If your employer asks you to take CliftonStrengths for a team exercise, do it. Then take the VIA on your own time. They’ll tell you different things about yourself.
For the kind of work TMM covers (finding calling and meaningful work) VIA is the right starting point. But CliftonStrengths has real value too.
For a full comparison, see our guides to strengths assessment tests and career assessment tools. And if you’ve ever wondered what career assessments actually tell you (and where they fall short) that’s worth reading alongside your results.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you still have questions before you take it (or after) the most common ones are answered below.
Is the VIA assessment free?
Yes— the basic VIA survey and full results (all 24 strengths ranked) are free at viacharacter.org. Premium in-depth reports with additional coaching insights are available at an extra cost. Check current pricing at viacharacter.org.
How many questions is the VIA?
The current standard version, VIA-120, has 120 questions rated on a five-point scale. The original version (VIA-IS-240) had 240 questions. Per VIA’s researcher guidelines, VIA-120 is now the version used by most practitioners and researchers.
What are signature strengths?
Signature strengths are your top 4–7 ranked character strengths— those you feel most natural and energized expressing, that feel most like “the real me.” They meet five criteria from VIA research: they feel authentic, energizing, and engaging. You use them eagerly in new situations. And they produce rapid growth. Both Wikipedia’s overview of the VIA-IS and the Greater Good Science Center document the signature strengths framework in detail.
How accurate is the VIA?
The VIA is psychometrically reliable and valid, backed by more than 1,000 peer-reviewed studies, per the VIA research page. As a self-report tool, it has known limitations: results depend on self-awareness and can be shaped by cultural context. In the 2025 VIA Impact Study of 3,000 participants, 74% reported gaining greater self-awareness after completing it— though that study was VIA-commissioned.
What are the 6 virtues in the VIA?
Wisdom and Knowledge, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence. The 24 character strengths are organized under these six virtue categories, drawn from philosophical traditions across cultures and history.
How is VIA different from MBTI?
VIA measures character strengths— positive traits that reflect who you are at your best. MBTI measures personality type preferences— how you tend to perceive and judge. VIA has strong peer-reviewed research support. MBTI’s scientific validity is more contested. They measure different things and serve different purposes.
Your Next Step
If you haven’t taken the VIA yet— start at viacharacter.org. The basic results are free, and fifteen minutes is a reasonable investment in getting clearer about who you are.
If you already have your results, go back to the three questions in the section above. Which of your top 7 strengths does your current work use? That one question has a way of pointing somewhere worth going.
Character strengths don’t tell you what to do with your life. But they give you a clearer sense of who you are while you figure it out.
And if you’re still sorting through which tool fits where you are right now, our guide to the best career assessment covers the options.
