22 Best Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): Full Comparison 2025

Our editorial team has always had good things to say about Greenhouse. Several of us have used it extensively as members and leaders of TA teams, and our sentiments align with most of the users who tested the product for us: it’s easy to use, and it saves time.

The dashboard is reflective of the product’s name: greenhouse. It’s visually appealing and offers a clear view of the collection of candidates that need attention. The whole hiring team can see the upcoming interviews, applications to review, and task status overviews.

In our most recent experience using an updated version, we were impressed with the developments in the “interview kit”. The standardization of the interview process is a massive help in combating bias. Clear-cut qualification criteria for each interview stage result in employee confidence in decision-making and valuable insights for process improvement.

We like the pre-built templates for creating and posting jobs. We found that even users with minimal familiarity can post a job in about one minute. For experienced users who have created their own hiring workflow, this task is reduced to seconds. Even the process of creating custom workflows is a drag-and-drop, super-streamlined affair.

Our contacted verified users report that once you’re familiar with it, it basically runs itself. That’s an exaggeration, of course, but the sentiment stands: Greenhouse is a popular ATS because the product meets the needs of actual recruiting teams.

Since our last review, Greenhouse has rolled out several noteworthy enhancements. The redesigned Job Notes feature now includes a dedicated tab within each job, allowing hiring teams to track comments, share updates, and even generate AI-powered summaries. This has made it significantly easier to synthesize feedback and stay aligned during fast-paced hiring processes. We also explored (and loved) the new MyGreenhouse Jobs portal, which centralizes listings from all Greenhouse-hosted job boards into a single candidate-facing site. We can imagine how helpful this change is to increase visibility for open roles while maintaining a consistent brand experience.

With more than 300 partners, chances are good that they can connect you with any tool or service you need, and with their well-established place among top HR tech tools, you can count on a smooth, well-supported integration. However, some businesses prefer the simplicity and security of an all-in-one platform, which Greenhouse is not. There’s no right or wrong choice here, but we encourage you to evaluate what is right for your team carefully.

HubSpot, DoorDash, Dropbox, Wayfair.

The starting price for Greenhouse is approximately $6,000 annually, based on information from our network. Standard contracts require a one-year prepayment, but discounted rates are available for those who prepay for two or three years.

We've been keeping tabs on Greenhouse for some time. Here are the most significant updates the Greenhouse team has made in the past three years:

Sourcing Automation: Personalize and automate email outreach campaigns at scale. The Greenhouse Recruiting Chrome extension finds contact details and syncs them to email campaigns. Users can merge data across platforms and communicate with team members regarding sourcing reports within Greenhouse.‍

Greenhouse Goals: Setting hiring goals and tracking progress within the platform are the two main functionalities of this add-on. Generate reports on individual and team performance over time to identify gaps and drive efficiency.‍

Greenhouse Job Ad Market: Job Ad Market suggests job boards specific to your needs and evaluates them based on historical and industry performance by region and job function.‍‍

Report Dashboards: Core metrics and trends associated with offers and hires, recruiting efficiency, sourcing, and pipeline health. The report can be generated for any role, department, hiring manager, etc.

Pinpoint has become one of the more complete applicant tracking systems we’ve tested, especially for in-house recruiting teams that manage consistent or high-volume hiring. When we last reviewed the platform, its standout feature was the career site builder. That still holds true today. However, its recent product updates, particularly around workflow automation, have pushed it into a more scalable and strategic category.

The biggest change we noticed is the introduction of organization-level Workflow Automations. During our tests, we configured one automation for rejection emails and applied it across every open role.

Unlike older automation features that operated job by job, this system worked across the board. This made it faster to handle repetitive tasks and ensured that no step in the candidate journey was missed. Recruiters can now set up automations for interview invites, stage transitions, follow-ups, and even internal reminders. The real benefit is consistency. It reduced manual work without sacrificing personalization, especially when paired with custom templates.

We also tried out a few real-world use cases shared by their customer Article, including an automation that followed up with candidates who said they were open to relocation. Setting it up in our test environment was straightforward, and the logic held up when applied across multiple roles.

Another cool feature was the interview scheduling updates. You can now configure automatic email invites that send as soon as a candidate moves to the next stage. We liked that you can restrict these emails to send during working hours, which helped keep communication aligned with our team's time zones. It is the kind of quality-of-life feature that feels small but saves hours over time.

The career site builder is still one of the most intuitive we’ve used. One of our editors with no web development background was able to publish a branded careers page in under 30 minutes. The tool walks users through page creation step by step and includes prebuilt sections for open roles, culture messaging, and custom visuals. We also saw continued strength in the referral system. Internal employees can easily refer candidates and track their progress through a built-in dashboard.

Pinpoint has also added new integrations that support assessments and onboarding. For example, Outmatch brings candidate testing directly into the ATS system, and Planday allows new hire data to sync for a smoother transition into operations. During our trial, these integrations worked as described, though setup required a quick consult with their support team.

The only notable drawback is that while automation and UX are best-in-class, Pinpoint doesn’t offer a free trial, and onboarding tools come at an added cost. We should also warn you that this is not the cheapest platform on the market, but we think the ROI is clear for mid-sized or scaling companies who want modern, repeatable hiring workflows.

CoinShares, Pathways Global, Grant Thornton, Icario, Pivot Energy

• Growth Plan: Starts at $345/month (billed annually). Includes unlimited jobs and users, career site builder, analytics, integrations, and standard automations.
• Enterprise Plan: Starts at $1,200/month. Adds multi-page career sites, multilingual support, bespoke integrations, onboarding features, and implementation support.
• Startup Discounts: Available for companies with fewer than 50 employees.

When we first reviewed Pinpoint, it was already known for its intuitive design and a polished career site builder. Since then, the platform has grown into a far more powerful automation engine. The new Workflow Automations are the most significant shift, as they turn Pinpoint into a scalable system for managing complexity across teams, roles, and geographies.

We also appreciate that the platform’s updates are consistently user-driven. Enhancements like automatic interview invites, deskless-friendly scorecard tools, and candidate SMS personalization reflect feedback from TA teams doing real-world hiring. Over time, Pinpoint has evolved from a sleek-looking ATS into a truly strategic, end-to-end recruitment platform.

We’ve followed Workable for years, but our latest hands-on test revealed a platform that has matured into one of the more thoughtful ATS options for fast-growing medium-sized businesses. Our demo began with the career site builder. The no-code builder felt intuitive and quick, and in under 10 minutes, we had a page that looked sharp and felt aligned with our brand, without needing design help.

Where Workable really started to stand out was in its automation engine. We tested templates for thank-you emails, interview scheduling, and rejections. Setting up the logic took less than five minutes, and the personalization tokens (such as candidate first name or role title) were easy to insert. The real win was that we didn’t need to handhold every communication; Workable just got it done.

Another standout was the AI job description assistant. We prompted it for a Customer Support Manager job, and it returned a structured draft in seconds. But what impressed us was the control: we could shift the tone from formal to casual, revert to earlier versions, or even regenerate just one clunky sentence. It felt less like using ChatGPT and more like collaborating with a content editor.

On the inclusion front, Workable’s Language Kit was better than expected. One of our editors, who’s fluent in Spanish, reviewed the full candidate flow and found the translations to be accurate and appropriately localized. The anonymization tool also worked well, instantly scrubbing names and images from profiles. If you're serious about mitigating bias, this is a rare out-of-the-box feature that requires no IT lift.

There are trade-offs, however. One is pricing. Starting at $299 per month can be hard to justify for teams that don’t need the full range of tools. We also encountered issues with duplicate applicants. There is no auto-merge, so users may have to reconcile histories manually – an oversight that could complicate high-volume hiring.

Another mixed bag is the built-in sourcing tool. Although the ATS system surfaced a decent set of passive candidates during our trial (75 views included), it lacked the depth and granularity we’ve seen in dedicated sourcing platforms like Fetcher or Gem. So while it’s fine for occasional outbound efforts, we don’t think it can replace your sourcing stack if you hire aggressively.

Workable has been used by over 30,000 organizations, including Sephora, Forbes, Bevi, Moodle, and Navarro.

Workable pricing starts at $299 per month for its recruiting module, which includes applicant tracking system software, and $349 when bundled with HRIS.

Workable used to have an issue with duplicate candidate merging. Candidates who applied for multiple positions at the same time would not merge all applications into a single profile. The system would instead assign them a new ID each time, which could lead to having multiple candidate records for the same person. Now, we've been glad to see that they at least allow mergers to happen based on the candidate's email address. So, provided that candidates apply with the same email address to multiple jobs, their profile within Workable will remain as a single one.

VidCruiter has been a significant player in the video interviewing software market for years, but the platform is less well-known for its ATS. However, our research proves the ATS system is robust enough to be listed among other top vendors in the space.

The platform balances the needs of those on both sides of the interview pipeline. TA teams are well-equipped with highly customizable features like job posting, pre-screening, interview scheduling, and real-time reports, and applicants are met with a user experience that was clearly designed with them in mind.

For a glimpse of team culture, vision, and values, users can build a custom career site that delivers a branded digital experience to candidates. The site editor is simple to use, and in our in-house testing, we managed to set everything up without help from the IT or VidCruiter support team. One feature of note: when a candidate accesses a career page supported by VidCruiter, the platform automatically generates recommendations for jobs available near them.

Quick Apply benefits both employers and candidates. With this feature, TA teams can rev up the hiring process without implementing a new ATS, so it’s perfect for teams on a budget. It is also helpful for those counting down the hours left on an ATS contract they don’t plan to renew. The platform offers job seekers the convenience of applying directly from portals such as LinkedIn and Indeed.

The assessment module, however, does lack some of the refinements we’ve seen in competitors that specialize in pre-hire evaluations. If you’ve used tools like HackerRank or CoderPad, you’ll agree with us that VidCruiter’s technical skills testing felt somewhat basic, and the search function didn’t always return the most relevant matches when trying to filter candidates by keyword or tag.

We also want to flag implementation time. A few users we spoke with mentioned the setup process was more time-intensive than expected, particularly for organizations building out multiple workflows or complex interview steps. While VidCruiter does provide a dedicated onboarding rep, it’s not quite a plug-and-play solution if you need to launch in a matter of days.

VidCruiter is used by over 100,000 recruiters, including Lowe’s, Lionsgate, Samsung, Bears, US Foods, and the United Nations.

VidCruiter prices start at $1,000 annually, according to our sources. 

Since we last checked in, VidCruiter addressed a specific issue we had listed as a “CON” when we wrote a review three years ago. We are happy to report that the number of pre-built integration options now satisfies the criteria and has moved to the “PROs” list. Bravo for your impressive partner network, and welcome to the “pros”!

ClearCompany is a talent management suite with an ATS feature that can be purchased as a stand-alone product or as part of the comprehensive HR tech toolset. Numerous configurations and pricing options are available so companies can create a plan that meets their needs and suits their budget.

We review all types of HR tech, but our team has a lot to say about applicant tracking systems. In fact, during our in-house evaluation, we found that several of us had extensive professional experience using this platform in previous positions. The consensus: the ATS software works best within ClearCompany’s suite, but it is a super-solid ATS on its own.

Some standouts include the user interface, which is uniquely modern for a company founded in 2004. We were specifically impressed with the onboarding workflows, which transitioned candidates into new hires in just a few clicks.

That said, we definitely are not a fan of the ATS’s candidate search. When testing against multiple filters—skills, keywords, location—we occasionally had to tweak searches more than expected to surface the right profiles. This could slow things down for TA teams who rely heavily on boolean strings or need to sort through large volumes of applicants quickly.

Another consideration: ClearCompany doesn’t currently offer a mobile app for recruiters or hiring managers. In an increasingly mobile-first world, this absence could be a drawback for teams that need to approve reqs, review resumes, or message candidates while on the move. That said, the browser experience is responsive, and we didn’t encounter any major limitations using it on mobile devices. Still, dedicated apps tend to offer faster workflows, and it’s something we hope to see added down the line.

Mitsubishi Electric, Chick-fil-A, Goodwill, Axiom Bank, Bios, FlixBrewHouse, and Halco.

ClearCompany pricing starts at $60 per user per month.

As HR tech editors with years of working experience as recruiters and HR professionals, we understand the importance of finding the right talent efficiently, and Manatal has proven to be a valuable tool in this regard.

The first on our thumbs-up list is that it’s budget-friendly. We appreciate the transparency in pricing, as there is no need to contact sales just to get a ballpark figure. The platform offers a 14-day free trial.

Using Manatal was straightforward, thanks to its user-friendly interface and the convenience of drag-and-drop-enabled pipelines. The AI-based candidate recommendations feature is a time-saver. It compares job descriptions' language to skills listed by individuals in the talent pool.

Manatal is web-based, so it is compatible with multiple devices. The ability to migrate data from our existing hiring software was also a welcome feature that made for a smooth transition.

They have also begun offering free, live training webinars and introduced several product enhancements in the past year. A key feature update is the Advanced Search, which now supports a blend of Boolean and Semantic search, providing options for Required, Preferred, and Must Not criteria to enhance precision.

We encountered a few limitations during our evaluation. The AI recommendation feature does not operate well in languages other than English, and Manatal lacks a free version. Integration is limited, and ADP and Zapier integrations are restricted to top-tier plans.

Unilever, Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Ogilvy, Toyota.

Manatal pricing starts at $15 per user per month. More specifically:

• Professional: This plan costs $15 per user per month for up to 15 jobs per account and 10,000 candidates. Customers on this plan can add unlimited guests.
• Enterprise: This plan costs $35 per user per month for unlimited jobs per account and unlimited candidates and guests.‍
• Enterprise Plus: This plan costs $55 per user per month and includes all Enterprise features, user groups, open API access, SSO log-in, priority support, and access to Beta features.
• Custom: Pricing upon request.

Manatal has evolved from a simple, SMB-friendly ATS to one offering more advanced functionality. A key recent update is the launch of Semantic Search (currently in private beta), allowing users to search candidate profiles by meaning, not just exact keywords. For example, a search for “talent acquisition” might return profiles labeled “recruiter” or “sourcing specialist.”

Users can also combine semantic search with filters and refine results using Required, Preferred, and Must Not criteria for greater precision.

This feature is still in testing, so pricing and availability may change. We’ll keep you posted here if and when it does.

After testing AvaHR, we were struck by its thoughtfully designed interface and how easy it made every step of the hiring process. From the moment we logged in, we could tell the team behind this ATS system had put serious effort into crafting a user experience that’s intuitive yet powerful.

A standout feature right from the start was the Pipeline Triggers. Based on where an applicant is in the process, it can automate tasks like sending thank-you emails or requesting feedback from the team— to spare recruiters from the mundane, easy-to-miss details.

The design of the Candidates section is also really nice. It offers a bird' s-eye view of all applicants' key information, including their application dates, hiring stages, and contact details. During our tests, the filter function worked great for narrowing down candidates by job title, department, and other criteria. The only minus was that we couldn’t find any advanced options like Boolean searches.

On par with other robust ATS systems, AvaHR's candidate communication features let us send emails and SMS messages directly from the platform. For these workflows, you can use templates and bulk actions to make things fasyer. Our favorite, though, was the Shared Inbox. It kept all incoming messages, questionnaires, and scorecards, which made it much easier to manage candidate interactions and keep the team aligned.

However, we noticed that the interview scheduling feature was absent at the time of this review. Thankfully, it’s already on the vendor’s roadmap. We’ll keep you posted on how this feature plays out once it’s released.

We think AvaHR should also improve its integration capabilities a bit more since seven options are a modest number compared to other platforms we’ve evaluated.

And while the team offers free data imports if you’re migrating from another ATS (which we love), we can’t say the pricing is as competitive as some competitors like Zoho Recruit, considering there’s no free plan and some features, such as eSignatures and employee referrals, will come with extra fees.

1,000+ companies, including Redirect Health, BuzzRX, and State Farm.

AvaHR offers 3 pricing plans: Starter at $89 per month, Grow at $179 per month, and Pro at $279 per month (billed annually).

If we were seeking potential candidates within our large internal talent database, we'd turn to Recruit CRM once again. This feature lets you combine text filters, Boolean, and radius search to get the best results. You can even mark unavailable talent (e.g., those currently hired by other clients) as “off limits” so your team won’t find them and communicate with them by mistake.

One common approach we see in most ATS to keep candidate data fresh and accurate is the use of Social Enrichment—the software auto-enriches candidate profiles with their available social media accounts. Recruit CRM does not offer such a feature. Yet, it allows users to bulk or individually email candidates to update their application info. Once candidates submit the form, the data is auto-pulled into the ATS system. While this process may not be entirely automatic, it does simplify the work of maintaining talent data and, just as importantly, ensures GDPR compliance.

Recruit CRM knocked it out of the park on its recruitment agency tools. It lets you send certain candidate data to clients in a few clicks. Plus, the client portal is interactive—clients can choose between Kanban and list view, move stuff around, and give feedback on each profile—then all of which are logged into the system for tracking purposes.

Automation-wise, Recruit CRM offers GPT features for crafting job postings, emails, notes, and even call and candidate profile summaries. What particularly sticks out to us, though, is how this vendor partners with Workato to enable some real convenient 3rd-party automation for users. For example, your TAs get Slack notifications for every new candidate added to Recruit CRM. Additionally, the vendor will jump in to solve arising automation issues, so you don’t have to seek Workato’s support yourself.

Our primary issue with Recruit CRM is the limited number of in-system profiles matching the user ideal candidate it provides: 2 matches per candidate for Pro and 50 for Business and Enterprise. Lastly, designed with staffing firms in mind, this vendor doesn’t do employee referrals and is not ideal for corporate recruiters.

Recruit CRM’s clients include global staffing firms like Cooper Coleman, Zeren, and Avizio.

Recruit CRM has three plans: Pro is $85 per user per month, Business is $125 per user per month, and Enterprise is $165 per user per month when billed annually. A free trial is also available, no credit card is required.

We were impressed by how far Gem has evolved from its roots in sourcing. In our demo, it became clear that Gem is no longer just a top-of-funnel tool but a fully integrated recruiting platform that now includes ATS, sourcing, interview scheduling, analytics, and CRM. What stood out was not just the breadth of features but how cohesively they worked together. Instead of feeling like disconnected add-ons, the experience felt unified and thoughtfully designed.

The AI application review was one of the most immediately practical features we tested. Recruiters are presented with a ranked list of candidates based on job fit, with scoring derived from auto-generated criteria within the job description. Gem shared that Zillow saw a 75% reduction in review time, which matches our impression of how this tool could streamline workflows. The real-time flagging of top candidates worked equally smoothly during our evaluation, giving the impression of an extra recruiter triaging applicants for us.

The interview scheduling feature, born out of Gem’s acquisition of InterviewPlanner, gave us more control than we expected. If you’ve ever used standalone tools like GoodTime or ModernLoop, the experience will feel familiar, but here, it comes built into the ATS at no extra cost. We liked how easily we could trigger scheduling directly from the pipeline, and how intuitive the self-scheduling links, calendar syncing, and interviewer load balancing felt during testing. For complex interview panels, the availability-request workflow also proved to give recruiters the flexibility they need.

Without a doubt, sourcing is where this platform shows its original DNA. Gem’s AI sourcing agents scan past applicants, CRM data, and a proprietary database of 650 million profiles. Fascinatingly, there are no credit or search caps. In a market where many sourcing platforms restrict usage, this freedom could make a meaningful difference for high-volume recruiting teams.

To be fair, though, Gem is still in the early stages of its journey as a full ATS, so it hasn't yet reached the same level of maturity, configurability, or track record as long-standing platforms like Greenhouse or Pinpoint. While its AI sourcing and ranking features are competitive and even ahead of many, it currently falls short in terms of built-in tools such as job description generation, salary benchmarking, and interview captions, which vendors like Workable already include. Instead, Gem is focusing on developing integrations with Metaview and Pave to bridge that gap. For now, teams that heavily rely on compensation intelligence may find this to be a noticeable shortfall.

Used by over 1,200 companies, including Groq, Tropic, and The Boring Company.

Gem ATS offers a $135/month startup program (with the first six months free for new customers with fewer than 100 employees, on a month-to-month basis). For 100+ employees, custom pricing applies, dependent on size, licenses, and products. Multi-product bundle discounts are available, anywhere from 15 to 50% depending on the number of products you purchase.

Trakstar Hire (formally RecruiterBox) is a web-based ATS system for midsize companies. Our experience navigating the platform was quite positive. The platform supports unlimited job posting on multiple job boards and social media sites. Users can sponsor those listings for maximum visibility and receive resumes through customizable application forms.

We especially liked that customizing the workflow takes just a few clicks. They’ve done a great job balancing ease of navigation with numerous features and configurations available.

Trakstar Hire’s automation stood out as we tested the tool. Once resumes are in, the platform parser automatically extracts candidates’ details and creates profiles in seconds.

The offer management feature is well-made. We especially liked the offer letter templates that were ready to send after just a few tweaks for personalization: end-to-end, we created a mock template in less than 5 minutes. It also manages e-signatures without third-party integration.

However, when the need arises to connect to a third party, Trakstar Hire’s integration abilities are a relative letdown.

They have covered some of the critical basics with the following apps: Namely, BambooHR, Slack, Checkr, QuickBooks, PandaDoc, G Suite, and Outlook/Office 365 Calendar, but we hope more integrations are in the works!

Makita, Couchsurfing, Lonely Planet, Untappd, Quality Ironworks.

Our sources indicate that Trakstar Hire has a starting price of $199 per month.

Ashby is an all-in-one TA solution that combines your recruiting CRM, ATS, sourcing, scheduling, and analytics into one platform.

We recently met with Ashby’s to look at recent product developments, and what stood out is how easy they have made it to re-engage with former applicants. If our experience working in recruitment positions has taught us anything, it is that efficiency is essential.

We see it like this: you’re wasting time and effort if you don’t maintain a connection with former candidates because these folks are primed, familiar, and pre-vetted members of your talent pool.

Some are “silver medalists” or applicants who made it to the offer stage, and others may possess a unique skill or trait that your current team is lacking. Ashby can create custom attributes to filter your talent pool, so you’ll never lose touch with “good fit, bad timing” candidates.

We would recommend this ATS system to TA teams seeking powerful reporting capabilities. Ashby’s reports are highly customizable, track all data points throughout your hiring process in real-time, and are easy on the eye.

We also noticed that Ashby has consistently worked hard to improve its product based on user feedback. Check out their blog page, and you’ll see that the ATS literally rolls out new features every month.

Regarding implementation, it takes SMBs a few days and larger organizations 6-8 weeks to get Ashby up and running. The ATS doesn’t charge for data migrations and system setup, and according to our research, Ashby’s customer support and success teams have been immensely helpful in making the switch a seamless experience.

1,000+ customers, including Quora, Deel, and Ramp.

Ashby costs between $300 and $900 per month for teams with no more than 100 employees.

Tellent Recruitee knows SMBs and has designed a tool that speaks to their needs. The most apparent SMB-focused elements are transparent pricing. There is no mystery there: budget-conscious companies get a clear picture of what they’re paying for without surprises.

What’s less obvious, but arguably more impactful, is how much a lean talent acquisition team can accomplish with unlimited seats, a clean user experience, and collaboration-friendly workflows. Tellent Recruitee’s design makes it easy to share the hiring workload across recruiters, hiring managers, and interviewers. That accessibility translates to real efficiency gains. We’ve seen it firsthand (several of our writers have SMB recruiting backgrounds), and user feedback continues to back this up.

Feature breadth has also expanded in meaningful ways. The addition of Automated Actions lets recruiters trigger role-based tasks, send personalized candidate emails, and streamline interview logistics with minimal effort. Journeys now support pre-onboarding, giving new hires access to their setup tasks before day one. Meanwhile, the new AgencyHub centralizes collaboration with third-party recruiters, and WhatsApp Hiring provides instant, AI-assisted candidate communication right inside the platform.

When we first test-drove the platform, however, we flagged the absence of built-in video interviews, skills assessments, and onboarding as a drawback compared to other ATS systems. That critique is still valid, unfortunately, as many of those functions remain dependent on integrations. To be fair, though, the gap has narrowed thanks to features like Journeys (which now extend into pre-boarding) and tighter marketplace connections to tools that fill those needs. For teams that don’t mind an add-on approach, Tellent Recruitee’s curated marketplace makes integrations straightforward and reliable.

Vice, Greenpeace, Autodesk, Tide, Mollie

Tellent Recruitee pricing starts at €270/month (used to be $199 in our last review update). A free trial is available.

We’ve been keeping up on Tellent Recruitee for a while, and here are the most significant updates of the past three years:

• The CareersHub feature has improved a lot. It now allows users to create compelling careers sites with a simple drag-and-drop editor.
• Careers site analytics are more sophisticated, meaning users can produce better reports.
• ‍Fair Evaluations and the ReferralsHub now do more to reduce evaluation bias. However, by the nature of referrals, the latter will never be free of preferential assessments.

iCIMS ATS is feature-rich and well-suited for large, multilingual organizations and high-volume agencies. Users can create custom-branded career sites, employee-generated testimonial videos, and personalized email or text campaigns through the platform.

In addition to externally-focused features, iCIMS facilitates users in promoting existing employees through internal mobility programs. This is especially relevant in the context of enterprise scale, as is their global support and industry versatility. This platform is used by businesses operating in healthcare, manufacturing, technology, retail, and more.

The takeaway from our demo and hands-on testing is that although this ATS system offers an astonishing number of features, it’s somewhat difficult to operate. This is reflected in user reviews, too. Remember that our writers scrutinize HR tech all day, so we tend to be sticklers for good design and intuitive UI. However, for some, no sacrifice is represented using a tool that looks and feels a little clunky.

We also wouldn’t recommend iCIMS to those tight on HR tech budget, given that the annual pricing usually starts at $14,000, not to mention the implementation cost is quite high compared to other recruiting solutions.

iCIMS has over 4,000 customers, including Ulta, Target, Microsoft, PwC, Uber, and UPS.

iCMS pricing typically starts at around $14,000 per year.

The Avature platform allows users to customize dashboards set up automated workflows, and leverage the power of an all-in-one ATS + CRM.

We got some hands-on experience with the tool, so we asked our colleagues with the most recruiting experience to test the limits of its purported customizability.

The results? This tool is easy to tailor to your company’s processes and goals. During our test run, we quickly built unique recruiting workflows for individual roles or entire departments.

The platform operates through a no-code interface that allows non-technical users to modify the system (with lots of permissions in place). While this level of detail may be overkill for smaller organizations with simple needs, this is a plus for large teams. Those that operate at a global enterprise scale will get the most out of Avature.

More than 6,500 companies use Avature. This includes Shell, Cisco, L'Oréal, Mondelez, Siemens, and KPMG.

Avature's pricing structure is tiered based on the number of employees and maximum recruitment users, starting at £60,500 per year for 1-2,500 employees and 20 recruitment users, and increasing up to £260,000+ per year for 20,000+ employees and 100+ recruitment users. These prices do not include implementation fees and are based on a minimum two-year contract. Educational institutions receive a 25% discount.

From our collective in-house experience, we know that the right approach to recruiting is full-cycle. Lever leans into the CRM mentality with functions that attend to potential candidates, current candidates, and (ideally) current employees who used to be candidates.

This may seem like an obvious strategy, but it’s genuinely (and surprisingly!) unique among ATS platforms.

Users can source candidates from multiple channels, including numerous career sites, social media, and internal referrals. Connecting with potential hires is streamlined with automated workflows that include the sophisticated nurture campaigns mentioned above. Regardless of where they end up in the hiring pipeline, these campaigns keep talent engaged with your company.

The video interview integration with Zoom stands out. In addition to synchronizing seamlessly with scheduling features, it allows for customization of interview type between live, structured, and asynchronous, or some mix of the two.

Another highlight is the range of industries and company sizes that Lever can serve. This ATS platform works for any user with consistent hiring needs, whether a tiny but rapidly growing tech start-up or an established business in a field with high turnover rates (think retail or hospitality).

However, our testers found some shortcomings in line with other reviews you might read: resume parsing, and report generation features could be improved.

Lever is used by over 5,000 companies, including Netflix, Shopify, Eventbrite, Cirque du Soliel, and Reddit.

Lever pricing can start anywhere at $6,000, depending on specific business cases.

Teamtailor continues to impress us with its ability to make small teams feel like big brands. We’ve always loved its elegant approach to employer branding, especially the customizable career sites and nurturing tools, but the latest updates make it even more competitive as a full-funnel recruiting platform.

We demoed the new onboarding module and found it refreshingly straightforward. You can create pre-set templates with custom tasks, messages, forms, and documents, then apply those by department or role when a new hire accepts their offer. The onboarding dashboard widget gives your HR or hiring team a real-time view of progress, and it’s all centralized.

For hiring managers juggling multiple candidates, Teamtailor now has an improved comparison window. You can view interview notes, co-pilot screening criteria, application dates, and current stages side-by-side. It’s a small UX tweak, but one that really speeds up decision-making in high-volume pipelines.

Another useful feature we explored is Restricted Access, which allows admins to limit specific stages to specific users. For example, an IT lead could be looped in only during the hardware setup stage of onboarding. It’s a nice control layer if you involve multiple departments in hiring.

Despite these wins, Teamtailor still lacks broader HRIS tie-ins and the advanced analytics power that some talent teams might want. Plus, the new onboarding tools and offer approval features come as paid add-ons, which may push pricing above what very early-stage startups can afford.

Still, for companies who want an ATS that scales with them and makes them look good while doing it, Teamtailor remains a top pick.

Kry, Goodbye Kansas, Vitamin Well, Ponsse, Daniel Wellington

Teamtailor’s pricing starts at $1,200 annually, according to our sources.

We like how simple it is to post and syndicate jobs across portals, and we love the upfront pricing on the website. Many customers start with JazzHR’s lowest-cost plan, and as their needs expand beyond basic features, they often upgrade incrementally. Being able to select features as needed keeps spending under control.

Because they do not offer mobile apps, our product testing included a considerable amount of time with our phones in hand, navigating the mobile web environment. We were impressed with how well the ATS system could manage the tasks a recruiter does on the go, like sending out a quick reply in the 15 seconds you have before your next meeting.

However, at least among our in-house recruiter veterans, the consensus was that complex tasks should be saved for the desktop version.

One of our writers shared this real-world story from a former job with a tiny company: they signed up for a free payroll software trial before they were actually ready to buy. They used the software for a couple of weeks just to get a sense of the basics of how to run payroll; then, they ended their relationship with the company.

Of course, we don't recommend this - but we know how hard it is to run an SMB. So, along with JazzHR, which we DO recommend, we suggest getting creative with your professional development!

JazzHR is used by over 6,500 businesses, including the Seattle Seahawks, L'Occitane En Provence, TED Conferences LLC, and Chick-fil-A.

JazzHR has three plans. When paid annually:

• Hero costs $75 per month.
• Plus costs $269 per month.
• Pro costs $420 per month.

SmartRecruiters ATS is built to serve mid-size and large businesses. The platform allows you to cast a wide net with customizable career pages, targeted ad campaigns, and job post distribution to multiple job boards. It also provides features for candidate assessment and offer management.

One unique fact our evaluation uncovered is that SmartRecruiters encourages customer feedback and rapidly integrates suggestions into the product. That’s an excellent reputation to have, and it’s in keeping with a key element of their business model: SmartRecruiters aims to enable their customers to attract talent. It follows that they would want direct feedback from their users on how to do that best.

The downside of this ATS system applies mostly to smaller businesses. It’s not cheap, and the scope of its feature set means that it’s complex to set up and use. These factors are less relevant to larger businesses, which are more likely to use all the features and have time and money to spare for integration and implementation.

More than 5,000 companies, including Ikea, Visa, LinkedIn, Equinox, and Skechers

The annual cost for SmartRecruiters ATS begins at $10,000 and can exceed $50,000.

We’ve led TA teams, so we know the pressures growing orgs face. The fast pace can result in hasty decisions, which lead to problems down the road in terms of efficiency and compliance. 

This ATS, built into the Bamboo suite, gets around the problem of siloed employee data. On top of this, we were also impressed with some specific features. 

We used the app version on Android and iOS devices and found it easy to navigate workflows like posting jobs, viewing resumes, communicating with candidates and hiring managers, and scheduling. We know that if you’re a recruiter, your job probably has you on the run, so the well-built app is a big plus. 

The cloud-based web version was also impressive. We were guided through each step of a standard hiring process without any confusion, and we found it easy to customize workflows when we tested the simplicity of creating our own. Ease of access to other elements of the suite highlights one of the biggest advantages: not only is it easier to be productive when all employee data is in one place, but it’s also much safer if you don’t have to move information across platforms manually. It’s more secure and less prone to human error.

However, it is important to clarify that BambooHR has always been more focused on human resources management layer rather than recruiting. As a result, while the HR software is unarguably among the most sophisticated offerings on the market, the ATS can be quite basic compared to dedicated solutions such as Greenhouse and Pinpoint.

We also think international teams should proceed with caution. Given that BambooHR’s support hours are limited to standard U.S. business times, it’s not ideal for teams that require 24/7 support across multiple time zones.

And while the UI is generally intuitive, some workflows, such as customizing onboarding checklists or adjusting user permissions, did take more time to figure out than we expected.

Among the 30,000+ companies who use BambooHR are names like Quora, Universal Group, Reddit, Asana, Change.org, University of Maryland, Grammarly, Stance, Postmates, Wistia, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and ZipRecruiter.

BambooHR pricing starts at $3,000 and is based on a per-employee per-month model. We've seen companies pay as low as $8, but typically between $12 and $14 per employee per month if they use the full HRIS with a few other modules.

Ripplings ATS offers intelligent, intuitive workflows built into dozens of features and automation. Typically, when an HRIS adds an ATS system to their suite, it’s a half-hearted afterthought. Many are perfunctory, underpowered, and easily out-classed, even by mediocre standalone ATS platforms. But Rippling has built a reputation based on solid product choices, and this one is no exception.

Their ATS is fully built out and offers a feature set that would be a viable standalone product if it weren’t so nicely intertwined with the rest of the Rippling platform.

Based on what’s included, it is clear that they’ve considered the candidate's experience. Little touches, like text messages to connect with candidates, show they know that personal preferences matter.

Another nod to the candidate experience (and what you can learn from it) is the abundant, customizable, anonymous surveys. Rippling recognizes the connection between their public reputation and their candidate experience.

Even with all these candidate-focused features, Rippling hasn’t lost touch with the needs of the people who will use their product most: busy TA/HR teams hiring for SMBs and startups.

Though demand generation is still on the roadmap, elements of their recruiting feature are laudable. It automatically integrates job boards like LinkedIn, Monster, and Zip Recruiter.

Finally, mobile access is a nice touch for busy recruiters, and their open API partnerships with vendors outside their platform leave little to be desired.

For years, companies have had to choose between the superior performance of standalone ATS solutions and the efficiency and security of all-in-one platforms. With Rippling’s ATS, companies who chose the all-in-one solution no longer have to rely on an external ATS.

Bank of America, Motorola, Citigroup, Inc., Dwell, Superhuman, Expensify, Checkr

Rippling pricing starts at $8 per user per month for HR Unity, but the ATS is made available on a higher tier plan (HR Cloud) with undisclosed pricing.

Spark Hire Recruit enables truly collaborative hiring, and that's no easy task. All top-tier ATS systems are equal parts powerful and pleasant to use. Spark Hire goes beyond that by providing features that appeal to the entire hiring team, encouraging collaboration across roles, and, ultimately, better hires.

One feature that demonstrates this is the interviewing interface, which provides an impressive amount of context at a glance. Without shuffling papers or trying to manage a dozen open tabs, the candidate’s information, including their position in the pipeline, is organized thoughtfully in a single dashboard. The interviewers can directly add their thoughts and impressions to the platform in real time.

We asked our colleagues with the most recruiting experience to weigh in, and they were most impressed with the analytics dashboard. Spark Hire stands out, with notable strengths in data quantity and quality. For example, if a candidate withdraws from the process, it records the point on the pipeline at which they dropped out. This may seem obvious, but it’s a rare find.

Recruiting empowerment was also emphasized during our demo. Our writers are all familiar with the relentless dedication it takes for TA teams to keep their heads above water, so we know the value of seamless automation. This applicant tracking software knows where digital assistance can help and where a human touch is needed.

7,000+ including Fiverr, Monday.com, Sodastream, Vimeo, and KPMG.

Spark Hire Recruit’s pricing starts at $399 per month. They also provide a free trial, but it requires you to schedule a demo with their team.

Spark Hire, initially known for video interviews, acquired SMB recruitment platform Comeet in 2023. We’re excited to see how they pick, choose, and blend the best features!