The Top Free Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) - October 2020

While many free ATS require an upgrade for unlimited job postings, the free version of Recruiteze offers an unlimited number of jobs per month.

One of the main benefits of this product is that there is no contract and so you can upgrade or downgrade at any time. There is also no fee for setup. Recruiteze’s ATS is specifically targeted toward small businesses. Even its most elaborate package is limited in terms of the number of users who can access it and the free version only permits one user. The free version also does not include a custom careers page, candidate workflow, or bulk resume upload features. It also is limited to 500 total applications.

Recooty features a completely free basic program for a single user. The basic plan of Recooty's ATS features 3 active job posts, job widget integration, a branded careers page and social network sharing capabilities. They also offer a 15 day trial for their paid plans.

Recruitee offers a robust ATS specifically designed for companies with <1,000 employees who want to build their employer brands, monitor the health of their recruiting function through data, and of course hire through the feature set you'd expect from a best in class applicant tracking system.  Their product has an 18 day free trial so it's very easy to get started with their offering.

The last thing that really caught our eye is that a disproportionate amount of their engineering team is strictly focused on design which results in an intuitive and powerful product built to enable collaboration across recruiters and hiring managers alike.  Some of their marquee customers include Vice, Breitling, and Hotjar.

They offer an 18 day free trial so that you can get a feel for the system and get started recruiting today. This trial comes with all of the features in their Scale plan.

Created by Aueio, CandidATS is another free open source ATS. Its features include a centralized candidate management tool, an easy to search database for resumes, email templates, and interview scheduling capabilities.

For small businesses looking for an affordable ATS with basic features, JobScore’s free version is great option. It offers Job SEO Optimization and analytics reports that can be easily exported to Excel.  

Featuring interview scheduling with calendar integration, this ATS helps businesses stay organized through the recruiting process. The free version also allows employers to design unique job application forms where candidates can create profiles and submit a resume. If your business is on the medium side or is growing rapidly, the free version may not provide the services you need. Designed for small businesses hiring less than 5 people at a time, JobScore’s free system only allows for one active job posting.

OpenCATS is a completely free open source ATS. Designed for recruiters, OpenCATS provides basic ATS services such as candidate tracking, resume parsing, and job requisition and posting.

A list of OpenCATS key features can be found here.

Whereas some free ATS are limited in terms of number of job postings, iKrut’s free version offers an unlimited number of users and applications.

The free version of iKrut also boasts mobile compatibility, online interview scheduling, and mass emailing capability. The free version also includes some bulk functions such as a mass email rejection tool. The free system provides an iKrut powered careers site with all your businesses job postings as well. Onboarding and adjustable workflow features are only included in paid versions of iKrut’s ATS. Overall, there is a significant difference in the number of features offered by iKrut’s free system its cheapest paid system.

Zoho Recruit is easily integrated with Google applications. It also supports 26 languages, allowing you to reach a larger pool of applicants.

Zoho’s free plan provides services for candidate management, email management, and interview scheduling. It allows for simple resume search and provides 5 email templates. Zoho’s free plan allows for only one active job opening. Overall, it’s free plan is much more limited in terms of available features than it’s paid plans. To see how the free plan compares with Zoho’s paid plans, click here.

If your business takes a team approach to hiring, then Happo’s ATS may be right for you. With a focus on collaboration, this ATS has a variety of tools that make it easy for you to communicate with other members of your team about a potential candidate.

Offering unlimited usage in its free version, Happo allows you access to unlimited job postings and candidate evaluation. Happo’s free version lacks access to many valuable features offered by the paid version including bulk actions and customized pipeline and interview templates.

Designed specifically for smaller businesses, SmartStart is the free version of SmartRecruiters talent acquisition service. It allows for an unlimited number of users as well as a variety of services including multi-board job posting, one-click apply, scheduling management tools, and candidate database management.

While the number of users is often restricted for free ATS, SmartStart’s unlimited user accessibility enables many people throughout a company to take part in the hiring process. SmartStart also has a high focus on collaboration and offers one-click job postings on any of over 200 available job boards. Cons: SmartStart is limited to 10 active job postings at one time, but SmartRecruiters also offers paid upgrades for higher functionality.

Designed for startups in their early stages, Jobsoid’s free Beginner package offers helpful services for organizing the recruitment and hiring process. For businesses interested in reaching potential applicants through social media, the free plan allows for integration with Facebook.

This ATS includes custom email templates and simple one-click posting to job boards. It also supports website career page integration and offers a branded careers portal. Jobsoid’s free Beginner package allows for one user and one job posting which may pose an issue for businesses looking to fill many positions. While the free version does offer online help, it’s overall support is limited and does not include phone, email, or setup support. To access more features, Jobsoid does offer paid plans.

Whereas many free products have a limit on what features they offer, MightyRecruiter is a completely free end-to-end ATS. It allows for unlimited job postings on a variety of job boards and social networks.

MightyRecruiter’s candidate ranking feature helps you find the most relevant candidates with ease. With unlimited job postings on a variety of job boards, MightyRecruiter enables you to reach a wider array of potential candidates. It also allows you to choose your own screening questions if a position has certain predetermined requirements. MightyRecruiter includes a searchable database of over 21 million resumes. While this access to many candidates, it may make it more difficult to narrow down your search for the best talent.