22 Best Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): Full Comparison 2025
Looking for the best applicant tracking software? You’ve come to the right place.








An applicant tracking system is a powerful piece of hiring infrastructure. Even a basic ATS can take tedious manual tasks off your plate with job posting, no-code career site, candidate pipeline management, and interview scheduling. Top-tier platforms can parse thousands of applications in minutes, sync smoothly with your HR tech stack, personalize your employer brand at scale, and give you clear visibility into what is actually working in your recruiting process.
We have tested dozens of ATS platforms over the years, from lightweight tools best suited for startups to robust enterprise platforms designed for global teams. We think that Greenhouse, Pinpoint, and Gem are among the strongest choices for most organizations.
If you’re looking for a free tool, on the other hand, be sure to check out our Free ATS guide as well. Depending on your team size, a free or low-priced tool can be all you need, and some of them can scale quite well with you.
To build and update our list of the best ATS, we rely on a combination of hands-on testing, continuous evaluation, and the lived experience of recruiters and HR operators who use these platforms every day. Because there are hundreds of ATS products on the market, and each one often comes with multiple tiers or configurations, we started with a screening round based on three core criteria: employer experience, candidate experience, and integration quality. From there, we performed structured testing on the platforms that showed the most promise.
- Employer Experience: Posting a job should take less than 30 seconds, syndicating this job to job boards should be a simple push of a button, and viewing applicants should be as intuitive as using platforms like Trello.
- Candidate Experience: Features like personalized communication, easy interview scheduling, and self-service portals for application status updates all enhance the candidate experience. Your talent acquisition team is also part of your public relations team, so it is critical to equip them with tech to ensure you maintain a strong reputation among all candidates, regardless of your hiring decision.
- Integration and Compatibility: We assess each platform’s ability to integrate with other tools in a typical HR ecosystem. Limited integrations can be a massive drag on ROI: manually entering data or downloading CSVs just to upload them to your ATS, for example, is suboptimal at best.
For this guide:
- We have tested 120+ of ATS platforms since 2018, including more than 40 systems we evaluated in depth in the past two years.
- We have spent hundreds of hours inside sandbox environments and trial accounts, posting jobs, building workflows, parsing resumes, testing automation rules, and running mock hiring processes to see how each platform holds up across different roles and volumes.
- We have spoken directly with product teams and account managers at established vendors like Greenhouse, Workable, Lever, and BambooHR, as well as several emerging ones, to understand how their functionality is built and what is coming next on their roadmaps.
- We have surveyed TA leaders, HR managers, agency recruiters, and operations specialists who have implemented these systems in real-world environments. Their candid feedback has helped us identify recurring strengths and weaknesses that are not always visible in demos.
- We have also reviewed thousands of user comments and customer reviews on third-party side for a more holistic view of the software’s real capabilties.
- In keeping with SSR’s editorial standards, our recommendations are made independently of our sales team. We never accept payment to be included in a guide, and we do not allow advertisers to influence our rankings or assessments.

Greenhouse

Greenhouse is a leading ATS that balances customization and collaboration. With robust workflows, structured interviews, and over 300 integrations, it remains one of the strongest options for companies that take hiring seriously.
PROS
- Onboarding module to ease the transition from candidate to new hire.
- 300+ integrations with third-party solutions for numerous people ops needs.
- Collaboration-enabling features distribute the hiring workload across multiple stakeholders.
- Customizable workflows and pre-built templates speed up job posting and collaboration.
- Plentiful customizable workflows and pre-built templates speed up job posting and collaboration.
- Recent improvements to Job Notes, scheduling links, and interview formatting streamline internal coordination.
- Greenhouse's onboarding feature is built and executed well. New hires transition smoothly from candidate to employee.
- iOS and Android apps work well for recruiters on the go. Users can review applications, schedule interviews, view candidates' profiles, and more.
- 450+ third-party integrations.
CONS
- Undisclosed prices, no free trial.
- The reporting feature can be challenging to navigate.
- Cost-prohibitive for budget-conscious teams.
- A full focus on ATS and onboarding means it lacks core HR features.
- Greenhouse’s pricing is undisclosed, and they do not offer a trial version.
- Some users note that reporting customization is quite limited and difficult to navigate.
- In-person/live support could be improved.
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.
Greenhouse has recently focused on strengthening analytics, scheduling, and onboarding while previewing new candidate-quality features.
- New features rolled out: Greenhouse Analytics (open beta in Q4) promises more self-serve reporting and customizable dashboards, addressing long-standing customer requests.
- Enhanced features: Scheduling now supports AI-driven interviewer matching, branded self-scheduling pages, real-time panel replacements, and time-zone conflict checks. Onboarding (available as add-on) adds dynamic role- and location-based task plans, real-time sync with Greenhouse Recruiting, and integrations with ADP and BambooHR.
- Features on the roadmap: Real Talent aims to combine fraud detection, CLEAR-powered identity verification, and AI-driven candidate matching.
Best For
Greenhouse is best for medium to large enterprises that emphasize collaborative hiring practices.
We use Greenhouse to recruit for internal and external software engineering and product management roles. Although our workflow is not complex, it includes multiple stages that candidates must pass through. Our hiring managers need complete visibility into the candidate pipeline, and our HR team needs full access to interview notes.
We also prioritize the candidate experience, ensuring that candidates are kept informed and have clear expectations at every stage. The workflows for scheduling and follow-up are straightforward and support the automation of our recruitment processes.

- We like the automation it provides for our processes.
- We appreciate the full visibility into the candidate pipeline and stages.
- We also like that it integrates seamlessly with our HRIS.
We have used Greenhouse for approximately four years. At the time of purchase, we were in high-growth mode and needed a scalable solution that could integrate with our other tools, offer a clean user experience, and provide robust analytics. We also aimed to automate many of the manual processes already in place.
I have personally used the tool since implementation. It has eased some of our challenges, particularly with integrations and automation, though it has not consistently delivered actionable analytics.
- The reporting and analytics features are lacking; we would like more detailed metrics on time to hire, candidate pass-through rates, and overall hiring metrics that help assess a candidate's likelihood of success in our organization.
- Although candidates find it easy to use, some hiring managers struggle with inputting value-added interview notes. We would benefit from guidance on making feedback objective, bias-free, and actionable.
- We would also appreciate additional features that help reduce bias in the hiring process.
Greenhouse is more robust than JazzHR, our previous ATS solution. It offers better automation, stronger integrations with other tools, and is relatively easy to configure. We strongly prefer using Greenhouse.
- Search and Filter: The ATS should have strong search capabilities to find candidates based on skills, experience, and qualifications.
- Workflow Automation and Interview Scheduling: Customizable recruitment workflows and automated communications reduce manual workload. Built-in calendar integration and scheduling tools help hiring managers prioritize interviews without getting bogged down in logistics.
- Job Board Integration: Seamless posting to multiple job boards, especially LinkedIn, is essential in the current market.
- Analytics Dashboard: A visual display of key recruitment data helps drive decisions about pipeline management, metrics, and areas for improvement.
- Training Resources: Training materials for hiring managers and onboarding support are crucial during setup and implementation of workflows and automations
- Data Security: Greenhouse has placed greater focus on improving data protection and privacy measures.
- User Experience: More frequent interface updates are being released based on user feedback and usage patterns.
- Integrations: Greenhouse has expanded its partnerships with HR tech providers, which has been helpful as our HR tech stack has grown.
Greenhouse is ideal for fast-growing businesses that need to automate recruitment processes. It is also suitable for companies with geographically dispersed hiring teams that need to collaborate asynchronously.
Greenhouse may not be the best solution for slow-growing businesses, mainly due to cost. These organizations may not have defined workflows, connected HR tech systems, or a strong need for detailed analytics.

Pinpoint

Pinpoint has grown into a more powerful system than it was even a year ago. Its focus on workflow efficiency, candidate experience, and cross-team usability makes it a strong option for companies that want to streamline without losing control. It may not be ideal for every budget, but if you are running 30 or more hires a year, the time saved through automation alone could justify the investment.
PROS
- Workflow Automations let teams scale repeatable tasks org-wide, not job-by-job.
- Intuitive career site builder helps attract and convert candidates quickly.
- Highly customizable workflows and referral tools.
- Unlimited jobs and users across all pricing tiers.
- Strong customer support via chat, email, or phone.
- Pinpoint is an agile ATS that is highly customizable and values collaborative hiring.
- It’s got a simple and transparent pricing structure.
- Pinpoint offers unlimited jobs and team members in all of its plans.
- Their customer service team is highly praised by users.
- The career site builder is very robust, allowing teams to attract and convert the right talent.
- There are over 100 HR software integrations to choose from, and Pinpoint’s team is adding 3-5 every month.
CONS
- Employee onboarding comes at an additional cost.
- Lacks a free version or trial, making hands-on exploration harder.
- Bespoke integrations limited to Enterprise tier.
- Pricing may be steep for startups or very small teams.
- The employee onboarding module does cost extra.
- It isn’t the best fit if you’re looking for the cheapest ATS.
- There isn’t a free trial or free version at this time.
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.
Best For
Pinpoint is best for mid-sized and scaling in-house recruiting teams, especially those hiring for 30+ roles a year and looking to streamline operations with flexible, organization-wide automations.
We use Pinpoint daily, it's an ATS, so it does the typical things an ATS does. This includes, creating career pages on our corporate website that explains some basics about Article, and allows a candidate to decide if they’d they feel they’d be aligned to working with us.
On the career site, all the open jobs are visible for potential candidates to see. They can then decide to apply, upload a resume and fill in some basic info. On our side of the ATS, we create the jobs that are posted - designing the interview flows, application questions, and scorecards, then advertising them to the selected job boards.
We use Pinpoint to evaluate the viability of applicants, referrals, and candidates we source, being a single point of truth. Once candidates are selected to proceed, we use Pinpoint to move through the interview process, giving the hiring manager visibility into the hiring process.
For candidates, we use Pinpoint to schedule and communicate with candidates, who are selected for this process, but also to reject those candidates who are not. There is a lot more of course but this is a basic walk-through, and I’d assume if you’re reading this, you have a good idea of what an ATS does.

They're an ATS that is ascending, and not coasting on reputation; they've continuing to evolve, with new useful features, and integrations quickly rolling out.
Overall, I’d argue that Pinpoint puts candidates first, with easy applications and great branded communication. Adding to this, candidate-centric design is the built-in self-scheduling for interviews, and including a candidate NPS score - this is key to letting my team and I understand the candidate experience.
The new automation feature they launched where you can create rejection emails based on application questions has saved my team a lot of time by not having to screen candidates who do not meet minimal requirements, currently, this is about 29% of applications. We have been creating custom rejection emails for each automation, this allows the candidate to know specifically why they were rejected, and if they answered the application incorrectly by mistake, allow them to reapply.
I’m also a fan of their pronoun feature, which allows candidates to share their preferred pronouns. Little touches can make a huge difference when building inclusive hiring practices.
They continue to have fantastic support and as a partner, they really care about my team and our success. Adding to this are the people they hire, who are really great and it makes interacting with them so much easier.
With less talk/hype and more substance, you can tell they focus on the product and customers, not on the hype marketing machine jumping on whatever the trendy topic is.
We have used Pinpoint for 2+ years now, with a TA team that was quickly growing (we’d have over 20 users at peak). As an organization, we had just started hyperscaling, and we end up growing over 3x in under 18 months.
As we started on this journey, I quickly found that the ATS we were using, couldn’t keep it up. It was, designed for SMBs and smaller recruitment teams. One of the biggest pain points was it lacked the ability to reject candidates through an anonymous email, instead, when candidates were rejected it came from each recruiter's email - given the volume of applicants, this solution was not feasible and would lead to a poor candidate experience.
Additionally, the previous ATS ecosystem was small and wasn’t growing quickly, and it lacked the ability to build a career site out of the box.
We also needed the ATS to be easy to use, not just for the recruiters, but also, for the number of new hiring managers who would quickly need to understand how to use the ATS. This made the case to look replace the old ATS clear, we made a scorecard and started to evaluate our ATS options, ultimately landing on Pinpoint.
- Some of the UI/UX could be improved, particularly when you're screening large volumes of candidates, minor but it would be helpful.
- Because it lacks a deep integration into LinkedIn, we need to use LinkedIn’s “job wrapping” feature.
- The newer automation feature is really powerful, however, setting them up requires too many clicks, it’s not a huge deal, but it could be made smoother.
Much easier application process than most ATSs, making it very candidate friendly. Overall, they nail the mid-market really well, with enough features, integrations, and reporting, but they’re not hard to use and overly cumbersome compared to big ‘enterprisey’ ATSs.
When selecting an ATS I’m a proponent of using the following ranking:
- Candidate experience, regardless of the market, the best talent will always have options, if the application experience and communication experience is poor, they’ll choose to work elsewhere
- Recruiter experience since they use the tool the most. If they don’t like it, or it’s overly complex they’re going to work around it, rather than through it
- Hiring manager experience, will they log in, and actually use it
- Support, if I have an issue will it get resolved?
- Ecosystem/ integrations, an ATS should not do everything, rather it’s the hub to connect point solutions with
- I'm a huge fan of how they rolled out candidate pronouns, allowing candidates to share their preferred pronouns when applying.
- Multiple new integrations have been launched.
- Much faster page loading response times from when we first rolled it out.
Mid-sized to enterprise organizations.
I'm not sure. Maybe small companies that don't have a dedicated HR team.

Gem

Despite being relatively new to the market, Gem ATS has demonstrated impressive potential for teams seeking to unify recruiting, sourcing, and talent nurturing on a single platform. Strategic moves, such as acquiring InterviewPlanner, which now offers free, built-in interview scheduling and robust AI-led workflows, set it apart as a versatile and scalable solution.
PROS
- Offers the flexibility to use only ATS or to consolidate it with sourcing, scheduling, and CRM tools.
- Built-in database with 800+ million profiles and unlimited AI sourcing, no credit caps or candidate limits.
- Native automation for scheduling, application ranking, outreach, and talent nurturing.
- Smart calendar sync and Slack interview prep streamline recruiter workflows.
- Enterprise clients can adopt modularly, easing ATS migration concerns.
- Flexible integrations with several ATS platforms.
- Robust, yet easy-to-use analytics.
- Gem helps you discover qualified candidates across multiple channels, send personalized messages, visualize your recruitment pipeline, and stay on top of crucial hiring metrics
- Gem's integration with LinkedIn and various ATS means that all candidate data is stored in a centralized location. Users find this feature extremely useful.
- According to users, one of Gem's finest features is the ability to create automated drip campaigns to engage with both active and passive candidates
CONS
- AI-generated job descriptions and salary benchmarks are not yet available (though Metaview integration and a Pave partnership are in the works).
- Compared to long-standing platforms such as Greenhouse, Gem is a newer ATS that is not as mature in offer management, onboarding features, and integration capabilities.
- Some users have experienced slow load times and lags while using the application
- In rare cases, the contact information, such as the email address or phone number of a sourced candidate, might be wrong
- While Gem currently integrates with LinkedIn, it does not provide the option to automate messages via LinkedIn InMail
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 800 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.
Compared to our last update, Gem’s AI Sourcing Agent now draws from over 800 million candidate profiles (up from 650 million earlier this year) and has been named an official Workday Innovation Partner. For HR tech buyers, this means broader access to global talent data and tighter integration for teams already using Workday’s ATS.
Best For
Gem ATS is well-suited for both early-stage startups and scaling enterprises. Startups can use the Startup Program for affordable access to advanced ATS and AI sourcing tools, including six months of free service. Larger organizations benefit from Gem’s unified ATS, CRM, and sourcing platform, as well as unlimited AI sourcing and built-in scheduling, which are designed to efficiently handle high applicant volumes and complex recruiting needs.

Workable

If you're a fast-growing SMB with multiple roles to fill and want one platform for job distribution, candidate comms, and basic HR support, Workable brings real value. And unlike many competitors, you can test it for 15 days without a sales call.
PROS
- Offers native tools for sourcing, video interviews, assessments, and even Core HR, all under one roof.
- Excellent recruitment automation capabilities for emails, pre-assessments, disqualifications, and self-scheduling.
- AI job posting assistant supports tone adjustments, version control, and sentence-level edits.
- Multilingual candidate interface supports French, German, Greek, Spanish, and Portuguese.
- 290+ integrations and API access enable broader customization.
- You can post jobs with one click to over 200 sites. You also get access to access to Workable’s talent pool with over 400 million profiles.
- Workable has built-in cognitive and personality candidate assessment. The platform also has features for offer management, which means you can create offer letters and collect e-signatures without needing to use third-party tools
- You can reduce unconscious hiring bias with Workable’s anonymized screening feature. It helps you hide identifying candidate information from the sourced and applied stages of the hiring process.
CONS
- Employer-side dashboard is English-only, which limits backend accessibility for international teams.
- Higher starting price compared to SMB-friendly competitors like Manatal or Wellfound.
- Texting tool, video interviews, and assessments cost extra.
- No built-in candidate profile auto-merge.
- Workable doesn’t provide automated reference checking and onboarding features.
- Useful features such as candidate texting, video interviews, and assessments are not offered in any of Workable’’s plans and instead, sold separately.
- Several users complained about the reporting feature not being detailed or customizable enough, and that the candidate search function could use more filters.
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.
As of October 2025, Workable Recruiting has enhanced its platform with two major updates. Users can now streamline job postings by publishing a single job to multiple locations simultaneously. Also, the ATS platform now integrates directly with SEEK, simplifying the application process for hirers, especially those targetting the APAC region.
Best For
Workable’s ATS is best suited for teams scaling fast or hiring internationally.
I used Workable on a daily basis to manage our full-cycle recruitment process. It was my go-to tool for posting open positions across multiple job boards, screening incoming applications, and coordinating with hiring managers.
One of the main workflows I relied on was creating and managing customized hiring pipelines, which helped us track candidates by stage and ensure timely follow-up. I also used Workable to schedule interviews, send automated communications, and collect structured feedback from interviewers, which kept everyone aligned.
Additionally, I generated reports through Workable to monitor our time-to-fill, source effectiveness, and overall hiring activity, which supported more strategic decision-making in our talent acquisition efforts.
Workable has an intuitive interface that makes it easy to navigate and manage the entire hiring process efficiently.
Its customizable hiring pipelines and automation features helped streamline collaboration with hiring managers and improved overall workflow.
The reporting and analytics tools provided valuable insights into our recruitment metrics, supporting better strategic planning.
My prior organization implemented Workable to improve and centralize our recruiting process, which had previously been inconsistent and heavily reliant on manual tracking through emails and spreadsheets.
We needed a tool that could streamline job postings, manage candidate pipelines more effectively, and improve collaboration between hiring managers and HR. Workable provided a user-friendly interface, automated workflows, and seamless communication with candidates, which helped us reduce time-to-hire and improve the candidate experience.
It also offered valuable reporting features that gave us better insight into our recruiting metrics and helped us make data-driven decisions. I personally used Workable for about a year, and it’s become an essential part of the hiring process.
Workable’s pricing can be high for smaller teams or companies with fluctuating hiring needs.
Sometimes there were duplicate candidate profiles that Workable didn’t detect.
Integration options with some third-party tools were limited or required workarounds.
The higher-level plans did offer good features, including AI and ATS systems. Workable was also mobile-friendly, which isn't true for some competitors.
Customers should primarily consider how many job openings they currently have and how many they plan to post. It’s also essential to think about which features they actually need and whether they intend to use the system for the entire hiring process or just for posting jobs.
The integration of AI has been a more recent development.
Smaller to mid-sized companies that don't have ongoing hiring efforts can benefit from Workable.
Larger organizations and organizations that have high turnover or minimum wage jobs won’t find Workable the right fit.

VidCruiter

VidCruiter is known chiefly for video interviews, but the platform also offers a solid ATS solution and Quick Apply, a hit feature with both TA teams and candidates.
PROS
- VidCruiter can be fully customized to meet specific recruiting needs.
- Easy to use for both job seekers and recruiters.
- Works on all devices. No app installation is needed.
- Quick Apply feature lets candidates apply directly from Indeed and LinkedIn and auto-syncs the candidate's info to the user’s existing ATS.
- Dedicated client success manager, 24/7 applicant support, phone, email, and live chat.
- Scalable and customizable — users pay for what they need and can purchase more features as they grow.
- Robust pre-recorded and live video interviewing with advanced automation.
- Browser-based, so it works across devices without installing apps.
- Available for recruiters in eight languages and supports job seekers in dozens more.
- 24/7 live agent support, assigned account manager, and on-demand training.
CONS
- Some users reported that implementation was time-consuming.
- Advanced search and technical skills testing features within the assessment module leave room for improvement.
- There is no trial version, and no price is listed on their site.
- Because the product is feature-rich and highly customizable, the implementation phase can be time-consuming.
- Advanced search and technical skills testing features within the assessment module leave room for improvement.
- No free or trial version.
- Undisclosed pricing.
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”!
Best For
VidCruiter is a perfect ATS for large companies (U.S.-based and otherwise) hiring 100+ people annually. At the same time, the VidCruiter Quick Apply tool is an excellent pick for smaller companies that want to streamline their hiring process without going separate ways with their current ATS.
Our team uses the software for both live and pre-recorded interviews with candidates. For the most part, we use the pre-recorded function with candidates, allowing them to record themselves answering questions that we have predetermined for their interview. Following their interview, our team spends one day a week, going through all of the applicants that had recorded an interview to be able to quickly make decisions on who we would advance to the next round.
Additionally, within the system, we leveraged a custom rating scale to provide a consistent experience when reading candidates. This really helped our team when considering applicants and measuring them all against the same criteria.

1. Overall, the ability to offer both live and recorded interviews.
2. The cost of the offering was very reasonable compared to its competitors.
3. The customer service you are able to receive from them when needed on demand is wonderful. They’re very responsive usually within a matter of just a couple of minutes.
My organization was looking for a way to screen applicants for an initial interview in an effective and efficient manner. Knowing that, we started exploring options for video interviewing both pre-recorded and live.
Through our research, we identified VidCruiter as an option and ultimately was the one that we implemented. We added their software during the pandemic and have used it since. It’s been a great help, and really reduced our screening times through recorded interviews as we have been doing a large amount of hiring.
1. The company is based out of the country, which was not a preference of our organization for security and compliance reasons.
2. Overall, the functionality of the system, as a whole, was a bit more limited than some of its competitor's offerings.
3. The branding of the offering was a little outdated, and wasn’t as modern as some of the alternative options we considered.
Overall, their offering is reasonably priced software that can be used to accomplish the goal of conducting live or recorded interviews with candidates.
Many of the other offerings were much more expensive than what we were able to pay. It’s easy to use and the responsiveness of the customer service team is exactly what we needed. Some of the alternatives had much longer wait times in comparison, which we didn’t want to deal with.
It allows us to accomplish exactly what we need without paying a high price and without making our process super complicated for candidates, which we appreciate.
Overall, really determine at the start what you need a software for to help your process. If you are only needing it for basic functions, like conducting a live or recorded interview with candidates, you may find that there are some vendors that offer functionality way beyond that, which may be more than you need.
As a result, this means the price tag of those offerings could be significantly higher, more than you can justify, or are willing to pay. Once you’ve identified what you need and can pay, it really helps narrow down the list of vendors that you can move forward with.
One of the biggest improvements our organization has experienced in working with them is that they built integrations with other systems that now make our process really smooth.
For example, we utilize Workday for our HRIS and their software integrates smoothly. This wasn’t something we had at the beginning of our experience as a customer, but now have it and it’s really helped become a seamless transition from one software to the next.
Great for an organization that doesn’t need all the bells and whistles, but that needs an offering that can do basic functionality like live and recorded interviews with candidates. So ideally, the best fit would be for a small or medium size organization.
If you are a large organization, you likely want more personalized branding, a modern look and feel, and a more robust offering than what they can offer.
Very large organizations that want robust functionality, customization, and all the bells and whistles of a product offering. Their product has all the standard functionality that you may want out of an offering, but it is pretty foundational rather than an offering that goes over and above what you would normally need.

ClearCompany

Launched in 2004, ClearCompany is an established platform that has kept pace with leading-edge HR tech. During our hands-on evaluation of the ATS, we found a comprehensive set of “talent management” features assembled into a logical and seamless workflow recruiting teams need.
PROS
- Multiple pricing options and add-on features.
- Intuitive UI across multiple HR modules.
- Numerous reports of a smooth implementation and attentive customer support.
- ClearCompany offers a host of HR solutions that work well with another. You can choose the solution you need or combine them all to have a comprehensive talent management platform in your stack.
- The majority of users find ClearCompany’s interface to be quite intuitive and easy to navigate.
- Many users have highly rated ClearCompany’s support team for speed and quality of response. Several users have also reported a smooth implementation experience.
CONS
- Undisclosed pricing, no free trials.
- Some users felt underwhelmed by the customization options of the reporting feature.
- The candidate search function is reported to be somewhat unreliable.
- No mobile apps.
- ClearCompany’s pricing is not readily available on their website. You also can’t create a trial account on your own from the website and have to go through the sales team for more info.
- Some users felt that the reporting feature is limited in customizations.
- According to a few users, the candidate search function doesn’t always bring up the correct candidate(s) and could use some improvement.
- ClearCompany doesn’t currently have a mobile app, but the platform is well optimized for mobile use both for hiring managers and candidates.
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.
Best For
ClearCompany is among the top ATS platforms for mid-sized teams that only require an ATS, as well as large organizations that can afford the entire suite.
An organization can choose the cadence at which they require employees to set new goals and make progress reports. Whenever I finish a goal, I login and mark my goal complete. Only employees connected to that goal can see my progress, notes I have added regarding that goal, and if that goal has been completed. It is very quick and easy to create a new goal or make an update. I would say I login about once or more a month. But another company may only require employees to login at year end during performance review time. It is up to how the company uses the software.

Easy to use and navigate for anyone including those technologically challenged. Easy to set up a performance review from the backend perspective. Lastly, I like how an entry level employee can see how their goals are vertically integrated into the top goals/company's strategic plan. I believe this visibility helps all employees understand the end goal better and that they are an important part of a bigger goal.
I have used ClearCompany for less than a year and am happy with the ease of the product. Our company was looking for a performance review system that was more integrated and connected to our strategic plan. Our company bought ClearCompany because of the many features, advantages, and benefits the product offered over our past performance review provider. One key benefit was the platform provides transparency on the progress of an individual's goal(s) and the team's goals. The organization as a whole can see goals the top executives set for the term and how each contributor's goals vertically connect to supporting those top goals.
I did not care for the performance review builder where they use job descriptions from a prebuilt template. I thought the template was incomplete and lacking in descriptions of job functions/responsibilities. Also, if an organization's goal is to build individual performance reviews for each position, using this software may be very time consuming. This software is better for a standard template review process for groups of employees. Building the review template is not quick because it takes time to learn how to build it first.
The visibility into a company's goals and others goals is different (and nice). Employees can congratulate others and make comments when their peer's goals are achieved, which is different and a positive employee engagement tool. There is the capability to create more customized performance reviews, if willing to put in the time. There is also the capability to "set it and forget" when creating a performance review. The system will notify an employee/manager when it is time for their review.
A company should identify their needs first. They might not need this comprehensive performance management tool. They should think about what is currently working and what is not working. I suggest making a list with 1. must haves, 2. would likes, and 3. I wish. This list will guide the buying decision.
They planned to build out the job description feature more.
An organization where it is critical to the business that everyone in the organization (from the bottom up) knows and understands the company's goals and who is responsible for each subgoal.
A business that does not like their strategic plan to be known. Or, a business that does not create a strategic plan.

AvaHR

AvaHR left a lasting impression on us with how much the ATS cares about making things easy for users and helping teams work together better. Its Pipeline Triggers take care of mundane tasks that come up during the hiring process, while the Shared Inbox keeps all the messages, questionnaires, and scorecards coming in safe and sound.
PROS
- Intuitive UXUI with Pipeline Triggers that automate repetitive actions based on a candidate's stage, such as sending thank-you emails or requesting hiring team feedback.
- Shared Inbox provides team access to incoming messages, questionnaires, and scorecards in one location.
- Data migration service is available at no additional cost.
- Transparent pricing, free trial available.
- Culture Profiles let you add videos, photos, and text to showcase your company's work environment.
- Pipeline Triggers automate repetitive actions based on a candidate's stage, such as sending thank-you emails or requesting hiring team feedback.
- Custom questionnaire builder for candidate pre-assessments.
- Data migration service is available at no additional cost.
- Transparent pricing, free trial available.
CONS
- A credit card is required to sign up for a free trial.
- Some of the classic ATS features like resume parsing, interview scheduling, and custom search are currently unavailable.
- Other features, like eSignatures and employee referrals, cost extra to use.
- No free plan, a free trial requires a credit card.
- Pricier than competitors like Loxo and Zoho Recruit.
- Additional charges for features like eSignatures and employee referrals.
- Interview scheduling feature is unavailable (still in development).
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).
AvaHR hasn’t rolled out any new features since its rebrand in April 2025.
Best For
Avatar’s ATS software is best for US-based companies with more than 100 employees.
I use AvaHR daily to manage job postings, screen candidates, and coordinate hiring efforts across multiple dental offices. One of our most important workflows involves customizing hiring pipelines for each client, tailoring the process to meet their specific needs while keeping everything organized.
I rely heavily on AvaHR’s automated email tools to keep candidates engaged and informed, eliminating the need for manual follow-ups at every stage. The ability to easily share candidate profiles and notes with hiring managers has made collaboration much smoother.
AvaHR helps us stay efficient, professional, and responsive—qualities that are critical when supporting busy dental practices that can't afford hiring delays.

- AvaHR makes it incredibly easy to customize hiring pipelines for each dental office we support, offering flexibility without added complexity.
- The automated communication tools save us considerable time and ensure every candidate receives timely, professional responses.
- The interface is clean and intuitive, enabling both our team and clients to start using it with minimal training.
- Customer support is responsive and genuinely helpful whenever we have questions or need assistance.
At Desert Dental Staffing, we were looking for a solution that could streamline our internal hiring and support the many dental practices we partner with. Before using AvaHR, we managed too many manual processes and spent hours following up with candidates and clients.
We needed a tool that was user-friendly, scalable across multiple locations, and professional enough to reflect the high standards of the dental offices we serve. AvaHR met all those requirements. It allows us to centralize hiring, automate candidate communication, and deliver a seamless, branded experience for each client.
I’ve personally used AvaHR for over three years, and it has become a key part of how we help dental businesses fill roles more quickly, efficiently, and with less hassle.
- The mobile experience could be more streamlined to make managing tasks on the go quicker and more efficient.
- The platform does not currently include features for verifying dental-specific certifications or licenses, which would be a valuable addition during candidate screening.
- Some of our dental clients would prefer built-in scheduling tools that better align with typical dental office hours and appointment flows to simplify interview coordination.
Compared to JazzHR, which I’ve used before, AvaHR feels more modern and user-friendly, with a cleaner interface that simplifies the hiring process. While JazzHR has solid features, AvaHR’s automation tools—particularly those for candidate communication and pipeline customization—are more intuitive and flexible.
We also appreciate AvaHR’s ability to scale across multiple locations without becoming overly complex. Overall, we prefer AvaHR because it strikes a better balance between functionality and ease of use, enabling us to hire efficiently without requiring extensive training.
When selecting a hiring tool like AvaHR, prioritize ease of use so your team can adapt quickly. Look for automation features that reduce repetitive tasks, especially those involving candidate communication.
Ensure the platform allows for process customization to fit your organization’s specific needs. Integration with your current software and the quality of customer support are also critical factors. Testing the platform with your team before committing can help confirm whether it's a good fit.
AvaHR has evolved significantly to meet the changing needs of its users, especially small to mid-sized businesses seeking efficient hiring solutions. Notable enhancements include:
- Enhanced Automation with Pipeline Triggers: Customizable triggers automate tasks based on a candidate's stage in the pipeline.
- Advanced Candidate Engagement Tools: Culture Profiles allow businesses to showcase their work environments through videos, photos, and text, attracting culturally aligned candidates.
- Seamless Integrations: AvaHR has integrated with tools like Gmail and Google Sheets via Zapier, improving communication and data workflows.
- User-Friendly Interface and Onboarding: The platform delivers an intuitive interface and quick onboarding experience, allowing teams to start hiring efficiently with minimal setup.
AvaHR is ideal for small to mid-sized businesses looking to streamline their hiring process. It is particularly well-suited for medical and dental practices. Any business facing organizational challenges in recruiting or looking to save time and money will benefit from using this tool.
AvaHR may not be the best fit for large enterprises that require a comprehensive, full-scale HR management system.
Recruit CRM
Recruit CRM is priced at $85 per user per month for unlimited open jobs, Chrome sourcing extension, AI resume parsing, advanced search, deal pipelines, client portal, and invoicing—just about everything one would need for their staffing firm.
PROS
- Multi-lingual, agency-oriented ATS and recruiting CRM tool.
- Transparent, scalable pricing structure. Generous free trial offerings.
- Zapier and Integrately integrations enable access to 5,000+ third-party tools.
- Live chat support, unlimited training, and dedicated account manager for all plan users.
- No extra fees required for basic data migration that includes importing Excel/CSV files with candidates & clients. During the implementation process of this software, the customer service personnel will help transfer your data for free.
- Great customer service. Their average response time is under two minutes.
- Powerful Linkedin Integration & Executive/Recruitment Report PDF Generator to save time
- Tons of resources made available to users including blogs and articles that give you all the information you need to know about how the software works, job description templates to help you get acquainted with all the possible job openings you will be looking to close, and a glossary that gives you the A-Z of recruitment practices.
CONS
- Native AI candidate matching limited to 2 matches per candidate for Pro plan users.
- Not the best fit for in-house recruiting.
- No referral management system.
- Limited native integrations. Recruit CRM only integrates natively with LinkedIn, Zapier, Logic Melon, some email apps, and Google and Outlook calendars. If you want to run background checks, for example, using Checkr or other background verification platforms, you won’t be able to do that unless you use Zapier’s API extension.
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.
Best For
Recruit CRM works best for recruiting firms and consulting agencies.
During my time at Maersk, I relied on RecruitCRM almost daily to oversee the recruitment process from start to finish efficiently. This system played a crucial role in monitoring all our interactions with candidates, from initial contact to the final hiring decision. It streamlined communication between departments and offices worldwide, ensuring everyone involved in recruiting was on the same page.
Additionally, it centralized candidate information and conversations, making coordination and follow-up tasks easier throughout our recruitment efforts. Consistently using this tool was vital to maintaining a successful recruitment approach.
Efficient Tracking: It keeps all candidate information and statuses at our fingertips.
Customizable Workflows: We can tweak processes to fit exactly how our teams work.
Integration Friendly: It works well with our other HR and operational systems.
During my time at Maersk, we implemented a platform called RecruitCRM to address the challenges we faced in managing recruitment efficiently and effectively on a global scale due to our widespread operations and the need to oversee numerous recruitment activities each year. The application enabled us to consolidate candidate information in one place, which helped organize our communications and monitor the overall progress of recruitment processes.
I used the system for more than two years, and it significantly improved our ability to coordinate efforts across different regions, leading to a more seamless and cohesive hiring process. This development greatly enhanced our approach to handling our diverse recruitment needs.
Learning Curve: It took time for everyone to get the hang of it.
Occasional Glitches: Sometimes, there are minor bugs, especially after updates.
Limited Awareness: The shipping industry uses so many products that many people aren't familiar with this one.
RecruitCRM stands out due to its flexibility in accommodating recruitment processes and its ability to integrate seamlessly with other systems or tools. This sets it apart from tools that may lack user-centered features and customization options.
I recommend ensuring it can scale with your organization and integrate with your existing systems. Ease of use is also crucial—no one wants a tool that’s difficult to learn. Additionally, check how robust their customer support is because you’ll likely need their help at some point.
When I used it, I noticed upgrades that enhanced its user-friendly interface and incorporated new features based on feedback from users. It seems they are quite dedicated to adapting to market needs.
It's perfect for large, international companies like ours that deal with a high volume of applicants across many different sectors. It's robust enough to handle complex processes and large amounts of data.
Small companies or startups might find it too much for their needs. If the recruitment process is straightforward or doesn’t involve many stakeholders, they might be better off with a more concise, less feature-rich system.

Trakstar Hire

Trakstar Hire is highly customizable. The ATS provides a single plan that includes all its features without limits, making it an excellent choice for mid-sized businesses.
PROS
- Highly customizable workflows that make navigating the hiring process easy.
- Unlimited job posts.
- Management must-haves are built-in, letting users create offer letters and collect e-signatures without integrating with other tools.
- Trakstar Hire’s recruitment workflows are highly customizable. You can edit them as needed to reflect your company’s hiring process.
- You can post as many jobs as needed with Trakstar Hire without any limitation.
- Trakstar Hire has offer management tools built-in. Users can create offer letters and collect e-signatures within Trakstar Hire without needing to integrate it with third-party tools.
CONS
- Limited integration options with third-party HRIS and payroll solutions.
- All-or-none plan: customers may pay for features they don’t use.
- No free trials. Undisclosed pricing.
- Trakstar Hire has limited integration options with third-party HRIS and payroll solutions.
- Several users have complained about being unable to sort candidates and search results in an order other than displayed.
- Trakstar Hire isn’t a scalable platform; they have a single plan, all features included, which means customers may end up paying for features that they don’t need.
- Trakstar doesn’t publically list their pricing nor allows visitors to create trial accounts directly from the website, which is unusual for a software solution aimed at mid-market companies.
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.
Unfortunately, we have not detected any product updates for the applicant tracking system since its acquisition by Mitratech in mid-2023.
Best For
Trakstar Hire is best suited for medium-sized businesses that hire regularly.
With a large staff, I use this platform around 3 times a week. I typically add users, send passwords, and review and send performance reviews. Annually, the entire review language is reviewed, and I probably spend another 10-15 hours a year updating the framework of the reviews.
It is extremely adaptable, allowing for multiple different processes and rules. It has unique features and the ability to change language, save anything, and add dates that make sense for your organization. The support staff is helpful and accessible, ready for unique requests and retraining.
My organization purchased Trakstar Performance Management before I arrived. I took on the training, design, launch, and implementation of the tool. I developed processes and policies and distributed them to the staff of 30+. I used all functionalities in the performance management tool. Our team built this tool for our organization over the course of 3 months, rolled it out over another 3 months, and have been using it for about 2 years.
The titles of the functions are rather confusing, as "policy" and "review" are not what I expect them to be. Its high adaptability can make it challenging to build and maintain. The reports are simple, but I believe they are being developed further; I never got much value from them.
Trakstar stands out for having some of the best service I've experienced and the most practical adaptability I've seen.
When seeking a tool like this, consider cost per user, functionality/adaptability, system integration, and support available. This tool is especially useful if you have multiple existing processes to change over. It is easy to set up users, and it would be much more streamlined if personnel data came from recruitment and fed into learning and development paths using the additional platforms.
I'm unsure of all changes, but the reporting was advancing when I was using it more. Metrics were available for performance but not in minute detail from what I recall.
Our organization is a nonprofit with about 100 employees. However, we had high turnover, so user build-out was a frequent function. It's great for organizations looking for adaptable performance reviews, with the resources to afford and build out the platform package (hire, recruit, learn). There is more value in time and money with the additional areas. Once built, it's a breeze.
If an organization has high turnover and is unable to take advantage of the integrated systems, this can be cumbersome, and there may be a better option as an add-on to a payroll/benefit application.

Ashby

Ashby offers the entire TA tech stack: ATS, CRM/Sourcing, Scheduling, and Analytics—an excellent recruiting solution for fast-growing companies.
PROS
- Analytics dashboard with crucial statistics on all aspects of your hiring process.
- Flexibility and ability to customize across almost all aspects of the platform.
- Consolidated ATS, CRM, Scheduling, and Analytics.
- Fast data migrations, no setup fees.
- Your TA team can have one system that truly has best-in-class options for ATS, CRM, Scheduling, and Analytics.
- Flexibility and ability to customize across almost all aspects of the platform
- Their analytics dashboard is great to understand weaknesses in your hiring process, conducting capacity planning, or determining which teams are running suboptimal hiring processes.
CONS
- This is a powerful product, and understanding all the different features can take some time.
- No multi-lingual support.
- Your company must use G Suite in order to make the most of Ashby
- No multi-lingual support
- This is a powerful product, and it can take a bit of time to understand all the different features
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.
Best For
Ashby works best for companies at the hyper-growth stage.
Key Workflows:
- Hiring processes
- Automating touchpoints and actions
- AI candidate evaluation
- Dashboard building and analytics
Usage: Daily

- Ashby is responsive to customer feedback—since its founding, the team has consistently solicited feedback and implemented changes when possible.
- Ashby has built a strong community through a dedicated Slack group and hosted events, particularly for recruiting operations professionals. It also keeps users informed of product changes in real time.
- The platform is operationally reliable and rarely experiences downtime, which builds trust.
- The bulk data update features make it easy to clear outdated data, flag compliance issues, and reorganize interviews.
Ashby is an excellent product for companies aiming to prioritize hiring excellence and establish strong processes from the beginning. Since it was initially built as a data analytics platform, the theme of high-quality data is consistent throughout.
The automations and AI elements built into the system are well-designed. Having used it for multiple years, it's been great to see how the team has taken feedback from the community and incorporated it into the product.
Benefits:
- Strong data foundation
- Frequent feature updates and rollouts
- Quick response to user feedback
- Thoughtful design
- The Foundation plan removes many of Ashby's core strengths, including custom reports, dashboards, e-signature docs (except for offer letters), and custom fields for candidates or jobs.
- Ashby's pricing model is based on elevated users rather than total employee count, which adds administrative complexity when managing access.
- The data schema requires a learning curve due to Ashby-specific terminology, which can make building accurate reports more difficult.
- While the reporting capabilities are powerful, the process of creating dashboards can be unintuitive, with occasional bugs like reports not appearing instantly and work being lost without frequent saves.
- The UI/UX can feel cluttered, especially for new users, as the platform presents a significant amount of information at once.
For organizations with a recruiting operations team and a preference for innovation, Ashby is a strong choice. Building automations and configuring data within the platform is easier than with most competitors.
That said, Ashby may not be suitable for every company. Businesses lacking an operations-focused person or struggling with inconsistent hiring processes may find other ATS platforms more appropriate to help build foundational habits before transitioning to Ashby.
- During implementation, assess whether you can pause operations briefly to run user training sessions so everyone becomes familiar with Ashby's terminology.
- Consider your projected growth—if every team member needs to be an elevated user, the pricing could become comparable to other platforms.
- Identify a team member who can serve as your Ashby SME, responsible for managing updates and configuration.
- Determine whether Ashby will replace any existing tools or whether additional platforms will still be required.
- Clarify how your organization will use the data—will department heads interact with Ashby directly, or will reporting be shared in external formats like PDFs?
Ashby’s user base is passionate about the product, and the internal team matches that enthusiasm by consistently implementing community-sourced feedback. This responsiveness is one of the platform’s greatest strengths.
Users:
- Recruiting operations professionals skilled in root-cause analysis, analytics, and systems thinking
- Solo talent acquisition professionals who can design and optimize workflows
- Growing recruiting teams aiming for consistency
Organizations:
- Companies with a well-defined hiring culture and identity
- Organizations that value automation, data, and collaboration with their ATS provider
- Teams willing to invest time upfront for long-term efficiency gains
Users:
- Individuals resistant to change or slow to adopt new tools
- Users who expect Ashby to function like other ATSs without investing time to learn it
- People who struggle with system configuration or become easily frustrated by errors
- Users who need a minimalist UI to focus
- Individuals unfamiliar with systems thinking or design
Organizations:
- Businesses preferring point solutions over unified platforms
- Companies with a traditional or inflexible mindset

Manatal

Manatal made our top ATS list because it's budget-friendly, AI-equipped, and offers transparent pricing—no need to call a sales rep just for a ballpark figure.
PROS
- Among the most affordable ATS options in the market. Offers a 14-day free trial.
- Easy to use with drag-and-drop enabled pipelines.
- Native AI-based recommendations feature.
- Web-based, so it works on multiple devices.
- Free data migration from your existing hiring software.
- Boolean Search and Advanced Search can now be used together.
- Manatal is quite affordable and offers a 15-day free trial for users to test it out before making commitments.
- Manatal is fairly easy to use. It features drag-and-drop enabled pipelines for candidate organization.
- Manatal’s AI-based recommendations feature can save hiring managers quite a bit of time. It’s able to scan job descriptions then search a users talent pool and bring up candidates most suited for the job.
CONS
- The AI recommendations feature only works well in English.
- There are no free plans.
- ADP and Zapier integrations are restricted to top-tier plans.
- The AI recommendations feature works best with resumes that are in English, and doesn’t work as accurately with other languages according to several users’ feedback. Several users have also complained about Manatal’s interface only being available in English and that career pages cannot be published in languages other than English and Spanish.
- Manatal doesn’t offer a free plan. We mention this as a con as several SMB-geared ATSs do offer a free-forever verison, and that puts Manatal slightly behind competition.
- Manatal doesn’t offer prebuilt integration modules. They do have an open API that allows users to plug in third-party products and custom tools, but that required a bit more time and technical knowledge to accomplish. It’s also worth mentioning that only Custom plan customers can access Manatal’s API and Zapier integration. Customers on the Professional and Enterprise plan cannot.
- Users can search for candidates via Boolean Search or Advanced Search, but cannot combine the two search methods together. E.g users cannot use the Boolean search operators (AND, OR and NOT) within Manatal’s Advanced Search tab.
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.
Best For
Manatal is best for small businesses experiencing headcount growth due to its affordability and scalability.
I used Manatal for creating webpages to attract candidates, posting jobs to multiple job boards and social media platforms from one location, and tracking candidates through the screening process. It facilitated communication and scheduling for team members involved in hiring, ensuring everyone was informed and coordinated. The analytics and reports feature was instrumental in evaluating hiring timelines and identifying the most effective sources for candidates. This functionality allowed us to refine our recruitment strategy and make informed decisions on where to invest in promoting positions.
The coordination of the hiring process among team members was significantly improved, reducing miscommunications and the hassle of scheduling. Manatal's candidate tracking and database features prevented delays in the recruitment stages and helped us avoid losing good candidates to human error.
The ability to create company showcase web pages was invaluable in attracting sought-after candidates for challenging positions. Additionally, the access to detailed reports and data supported our decision-making with evidence, optimizing our recruitment budget and strategies.
We adopted Manatal to address challenges in managing a high volume of recruiting, especially for hard-to-fill positions with lengthy recruitment processes. We found it difficult to efficiently find the right candidates, and the coordination of the recruitment process was hard, resulting in missed tasks and delays. Additionally, we sought a better way to showcase our company as an attractive place to work, as traditional job postings were insufficient. We experienced loss of good candidates due to protracted processes or confusion over contact points and screening stages. Manatal offered a solution to better coordinate hiring efforts, track candidate progress, and enhance our attractiveness to potential applicants. I personally have used it for about a year.
Some team members found the interface unintuitive, with key features like email templates being hard to locate. The lack of a standalone mobile app initially was a limitation (not anymore), and certain functionalities, such as self-scheduling for candidates and enhancing the focus on candidate relationship management, needed further development for a better candidate experience.
Manatal holds its ground as a competitive tool in the recruitment software market, offering a comprehensive set of features. However, it required a steeper learning curve compared to other tools I have used, although it also provided superior customer service, which added value to our experience.
Prospective buyers should weigh the cost against their specific needs. If your organization does not engage in frequent hiring or if the existing team efficiently manages recruitment, this tool might exceed your requirements. However, for businesses with high recruitment volumes and a collaborative hiring process, Manatal could streamline operations, enhance your company's appeal to candidates, and potentially lead to more successful hires.
Manatal has made significant improvements, including the development of a mobile app and enhancements to its user interface to be more intuitive. The dashboard has been upgraded for easier navigation, reflecting the company's commitment to evolving in line with user feedback.
Manatal is ideally suited for small to medium-sized companies engaged in frequent hiring. It is particularly beneficial for organizations with collaborative hiring processes and those needing to attract high-demand candidates through compelling career pages.
For small businesses with minimal hiring needs, Manatal may not be cost-effective due to underutilization of its features. Conversely, very large companies requiring extensive customization and complex recruitment workflows might find Manatal's capabilities too basic for their needs.
BambooHR
We love how this ATS system operates within Bamboo’s larger HR Suite. We found seamless workflows between the applicant tracking software and other core HR features. The simplicity makes for ease of use, and helps ensure compliance.
PROS
- This is one of the few solutions that allow you to do month to month pricing, a nice option to have!
- Free 7-day trials are available (and you can definitely extend these another week or so if needed).
- The mobile app works well and offers built-in application review, communication, and collaboration features.
- They have a ridiculously fast response time on customer success queries, less than 2 minutes in our experience.
- Flexible packaging and custom pricing is the way they roll. You can pick out one or two packages and pick other modules as add-ons based on your needs.
- Very simple and straightforward tool, easy to use.
CONS
- If you go over your allotted time for customer support, you will pay extra.
- Customer support availability is restricted to U.S. business hours, potentially causing delays in addressing urgent concerns for international users.
- Certain modules like time tracking, performance management, and surveys are only accessible as add-ons, requiring additional investment if you want more HR functionality.
- Payroll is only available for US-based employees
- Customer support is only offered during US business hours.
- Some modules like time tracking, performance management, and surveys are only available as add-ons.
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.
BambooHR’s recent changes have been mostly incremental, with small improvements to hiring, onboarding, and usability rather than major product additions.
- New features rolled out: Premium job ads can now be promoted on LinkedIn through BambooHR’s ATS, and hiring functionality has been added to the Android mobile app.
- Enhanced features: The job pipeline now supports up to 15 stages, onboarding and offboarding include a task review modal before importing tasks, and the “In-Office” job location label has been updated to “On Site” for broader applicability.
- Features on the roadmap: None announced in recent updates.
Best For
BambooHR works best for SMBs seeking an all-in-one ATS and HR suite that can take care of the entire employee lifecycle.
We use BambooHR to track employee evaluations, reviews, expired credentials, birthday and anniversary messages. It supports both mass and individual email communications. We use it to log notes, promotions, and track pay increases or status changes.
The system helps us run various reports, especially during hurricane season. We also categorize departments based on reporting structures or shift assignments.

Reports can be customized to fit specific needs. BambooHR shows when candidates or employees have viewed emails, which is helpful when they claim otherwise. It provides tracking for performance reviews.
The company I have a contract with did not have an ATS and was using Excel, which is outdated for tracking and consolidating information. I was tasked with researching and finding a solution that would work for a small company and fit our budget and needs.
I implemented BambooHR with the representative and have been using it for over four years. The primary reason we needed it was to track all candidates and create historical data, which is also required by law. We also use it to acknowledge birthdays, track training courses (in the healthcare field), complete 90-day probation evaluations, and monitor one-year anniversaries.
Additionally, we run reports for various departments. One of the most useful features is the ability to email and respond directly to candidates without copying and pasting results into Excel. A helpful bonus is the ability to see when candidates or employees open emails.
Many extra features are expensive. Sometimes, you must schedule a call or meeting to receive clear answers. Some reports are not configured to pull exactly what you need or lack sufficient options.
The pricing works for us—BambooHR meets our needs on a small scale. We operate two different companies and were not able to nest them under the same system, even though they are similar.
Add-ons are billed separately. After implementation, someone within the company needs to become the expert on the system. The implementation period was quick and somewhat rushed.
They have added new features that are either free or included in the selected package, which is a plus. They also offer many tutorials and a self-help support page.
BambooHR is a good fit for small businesses that do not require extensive customization or frequent large-scale changes.
BambooHR may not suit very large enterprises with multiple users or businesses under one system.

Lever

We like Lever’s focus on engaging passive candidates. Candidate nurturing is a critical recruiting strategy that deserves the spotlight it’s been given with this ATS platform. In addition to solid product decisions, the execution is excellent. Put more simply, Lever put together a collection of well-thought-out features, and they’ve succeeded in making them all work together.
PROS
- The simple interface is easy to use and requires little training or experience.
- A unified recruiting platform combines elements of ATS and CRM.
- Diverse external sourcing channels and low-friction internal referral process.
- New AI Interview Companion streamlines structured interviews with automated note-taking, sentiment tracking, and bias flagging.
- Talent Fit engine provides ranked candidate lists with transparent scoring explanations.
- Intuitive UI that’s easy to learn and praised by most users.
- Combines ATS and CRM functionality, supporting both current and future hiring pipelines.
- Built-in DEI analytics (EEO surveys, dashboards) and strong integrations with third-party DEI tools.
- Role-based analytics with 20+ key TA metrics in its standard TRM package.
CONS
- Undisclosed pricing and no free plan or trial version.
- 3rd party integrations in place of features that could be built in.
- No mobile apps.
- Pricing remains undisclosed and no self-serve free trial is available.
- ROI Dashboard and AI Interview Transcripts are unavailable for EU accounts due to GDPR and data-sharing constraints (support expected later in 2025).
- AI features, while powerful, may require extra training or change management for recruiters.
- Lacks built-in background or reference checks (relies on integrations).
- Reporting, though solid, is not as customizable as some enterprise-focused ATS platforms.
- No dedicated mobile app, though the platform is mobile-optimized.
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.
Best For
Lever is best for companies with small to medium volume hiring needs.
- Job Posting: Lever enables us to take an internal job description and adapt it for external posting as a job advertisement. This can be done from a single source and distributed to multiple external platforms, such as our LinkedIn Recruiter account.
- Candidate Flow: We use all candidate profile features to collect and manage candidate information. We also leverage the structured interview process, bulk email capabilities, and resume parsing. Lever includes DEI-specific fields, which we have started using to track our commitment to fair hiring practices.

- Ease of Startup: We implemented the essential features quickly and can scale as we grow.
- Integrations: It integrates with LinkedIn Recruiter, Indeed, and Hubspot—three essential tools in our workflow.
- Structured Interview Process: With a geographically dispersed and largely remote workforce, this feature ensures consistent interview quality and helps capture cultural considerations, supporting fairness and preparedness.
The company was bringing all People functions in-house and needed a tool for talent acquisition. The basic requirements were to post jobs, build a candidate pool, and generate offers. Lever provided this functionality without high costs or a lengthy implementation timeline.
We were also attracted to its additional integrations and reporting features, which could scale as the company’s needs evolved. Many of our other software tools offer integration support with Lever.
- Customization: While customization is possible, the associated services significantly increase costs, which is not ideal for smaller, budget-constrained companies.
- API Fee Cost: Integration costs are high compared to other providers.
- Onboarding: The onboarding workflow features are limited, requiring us to supplement with manual processes. We hope this will be resolved in the future.
Lever includes the core features common to many applicant tracking systems—job postings, candidate applications, and interview management. It stands out for its resume parsing, email templates, and DEI capabilities. It falls short in onboarding features and affordability compared to some other tools.
The top three criteria to consider when evaluating Lever are:
- Candidate management—what data you need to collect and the expected volume.
- Integration—what other tools you want to connect with this platform.
- Scalability—how affordable and complex it will be to expand the tool’s features as your organization grows.
We began using Lever in 2020 and have not seen major new product enhancements since then. However, the quality and stability of existing features have improved.
Lever is suitable for organizations of any size.
Lever may not be ideal for organizations that require multiple customizations and integrations simultaneously. Our experience involved a slower and more complex implementation than originally anticipated.

JazzHR

This ATS platform is built with the small business in mind. When testing it, our writers were impressed at how easy it was to set up and use “out of the box,” which is a clear sign of its simplicity, attention to user experience, and understanding of the down-to-business mentality of most SMBs.
PROS
- Affordable pricing, no user limit, and a 21-day free trial.
- Built-in features for offer management, including templates and DIY options.
- Emphasis on automation for those in the pipeline shows dedication to candidate experience.
- JazzHR is quite affordable and doesn’t place any limits on the number of users added. It also offers free, 21-day trials that anyone can sign up for.
- JazzHR has built-in features for offer management. You can choose from existing offer letter templates or create your own and share them with successful candidates
- You can automate triggers for candidates to be automatically notified via email when their application has moved a stage further in the hiring process. Several other email responses can be automated.
CONS
- No free version for orgs with minimal needs.
- A few users thought reports could be more customizable and easier to create.
- No mobile apps.
- Some users reported a learning curve with JazzHR's UI and that it took them some time to get used to it
- For a product geared towards SMBs, it lacks a free plan. We mention this as a con since other SMB-geared recruiting products do offer free-forever versions, which puts JazzHR slightly behind the competition.
- Several users have mentioned that the reporting feature is difficult to use with very little room for report customizations.
- JazzHR currently lacks a mobile app, and the browser version isn’t well-optimized for mobile use.
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.
Best For
JazzHR is built for organizations with 5 to 500 employees and works exceptionally well for TA teams with little to no experience.
I use JazzHR daily. We utilize it as an applicant tracking system. We are able to post a job and have it posted to multiple job boards. We also communicate with candidates via the platform. In addition, we set up workflows/automation to move candidates through the pipeline.

- Simple design/easy to use.
- Multiple integrations.
- Low cost
We began to offer recruiting services at our agency and needed an Applicant Tracking system that was simple and efficient but could also be easy to use for the client once we had filled the role.
- Inability to log into multiple clients' accounts at the same time.
- No video screening integration.
- Candidate’s email replies are not easy to see/notifications
I prefer that JazzHR is easy to follow compared to other ATSs’ whose dashboard views are overwhelming and difficult to navigate.
They should consider the integrations they want to use. JazzHR has great workflows and integrations but the setup is very manual and somewhat limited compared to other competitors. They should also consider the number of users needing access as this can be limited depending on the plan chosen
JazzHR has continued to add new integrations such as Calendly.
All organizations
I don't feel this applies-would be good for all

Teamtailor

Teamtailor blends ease of use with flexible branding and candidate experience features. We were especially impressed by the ATS’ quick-to-launch career pages, anonymous hiring options, and a new onboarding module that helps streamline post-offer workflows.
PROS
- Intuitive drag-and-drop career site builder, no code needed.
- Responsive, human customer support across channels.
- New onboarding module includes templates, task assignments, and progress tracking.
- Supports DEI via anonymous recruitment, EEO surveys, and internal referrals.
- Free trial and unlimited job posts, users, and candidate records.
- Teamtailor’s ATS comes with a robust career site builder that’s also easy to use. It works with drag and drop - no coding knowledge necessary.
- Teamtailor backs several features that support diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI), including anonymous hiring, equal employment opportunity (EEO) surveys, etc..
- Teamtailor is highly rated for their ease-of-use. It’s quite simple to post and promote jobs through their platform.
- There is really in-depth and intuitive help documentation for this solution
CONS
- Analytics customization remains limited.
- Onboarding and job offer approvals come at additional cost.
- Customization can be considered limited for enterprise users.
- Teamtailor’s analytics are good, but enterprise clients need to use BI Connectors to build the reporting they need. Right now, you can’t sport data from the system. This is particularly important for companies with 500+ employees, or those who have many different locations or franchises.
- Analytics doesn’t allow recruiters to see their cost per hire, which is a really impactful metric
- While they offer integrations with HRIS, onboarding, etc - they have focused on just being a really good ATS now.
- There are predefined user access levels, but you cannot define your own user access levels which is important, especially for the largest companies.
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.
Best For
Teamtailor works best for startups and SMBs (50-400 employees) that need a straightforward ATS coupled with strong employer branding functions.
TeamTailor is our applicant tracking system (ATS) or recruiting system. It hosts all our current job openings and feeds them to public job boards like Indeed. We use TeamTailor to screen candidate resumes and communicate with candidates when scheduling phone, video, and in-person interviews. All communication is kept in the candidate's profile, making it easily accessible at all times. Offers and salary negotiations are also completed within the system, including offer letter signatures and the distribution of any benefit-related offer information.
The automatic integration and feed into public job boards of our choosing, like Indeed or ZipRecruiter. We can manage all aspects of the job posting and candidate flow within TeamTailor, eliminating the need to manage each job board site individually. TeamTailor offers a wide range of one-click analytics, including time to fill, candidate flow time, and DEI measurements. The system keeps all applicants organized within buckets for each job, making it easy for hiring managers to know exactly who they are talking to and what stage of the interview process the candidate is in.
Before TeamTailor, my organization handled all recruitment functions through our internal CRM system, Dayforce. However, that solution did not offer a seamless candidate application experience, lacked text/SMS functionality, and did not have the robust analytics that our leadership team sought. TeamTailor easily integrates with our current systems, such as Microsoft Outlook and Teams. It also offers analytic dashboards that review applicant traffic, time to fill, and the amount of time spent in each stage of the hiring process. We have been using TeamTailor since March 2024.
There have been instances where attached or uploaded files are not sent to candidates and need to be resent separately outside of the system. We currently do not have access to interview templates, which would be helpful for hiring managers who may not be actively interviewing. A minor dislike is that we cannot change the color of their logo. Our organization relies heavily on uniform branding, so including their logo on presentations and communications is visually unappealing.
TeamTailor has built-in text/SMS capabilities that other ATSs only offer as upgraded features. This makes it easy to communicate with candidates quickly. The messages are received within the TeamTailor platform, so the hiring manager or recruiter does not have to provide their personal phone numbers. TeamTailor also integrates seamlessly with our organization's current tech stack of Microsoft products, making interview coordination with calendars easy.
If organizations want a system that acts as a one-stop shop for all things recruiting, this is it. Applicant screening, centralized job posting management, interviews, offers, and reporting are all in one place.
TeamTailor regularly releases software updates that include bug fixes or enhanced capabilities for their current features. A recent example is the ability to further customize analytic dashboard views.
We are a medium-sized luxury retail organization that prioritizes candidate experience from application to offer. Organizations like ours would benefit and see an ROI with TeamTailor.
TeamTailor is not good for rganizations that are not tech-savvy.

Avature

We’re big fans of customized workflows and attention to user experience, and Avature’s platform is a blend of ATS and CRM that strikes the right balance between both.
PROS
- A full-fledged ATS with built-in video interviewing, management features, and onboarding solutions.
- It also has a CRM, allowing TA teams to increase candidate engagement and plan for future hiring.
- Avature leverages AI with talent matching and candidate ranking.
- The recruiter mobile app supports offline use.
- Avature’s solution is quite comprehensive. They have a full-fledged ATS with built-in video interviewing, offer management and onboarding solutions. They also have a CRM, allowing TA teams to amp up candidate engagement and plan for future hiring.
- Avature leverages artificial intelligence with features of automatic talent matching and candidate ranking.
- Avature comes with a recruiter mobile app that allows key stakeholders to perform several recruiting tasks while on the go. The app also supports offline use, and syncs with the system the next time it’s connected to the Internet.
CONS
- Undisclosed pricing. No free trials.
- The UI can be confusing and takes some time to get used to.
- The assessment feature is quite elemental compared to other similar platforms.
- It lacks a built-in reference-checking feature, so users must pay for and integrate third-party solutions.
- Avature’s pricing is not readily available on their website. They also do not offer a free trial.
- Several users noted that the UI isn’t intuitive and takes some time to get used to.
- Avature’s assessment feature is quite basic and isn’t built out enough compared to point solutions in that space. So if you want to test the skills and cultural fitness of candidates, you’d need a third-party solution.
- Avature doesn’t have an automated reference checking feature built-in. The platform does integrate with third-party solutions that facilitate reference checking, but you’ll have to purchase those solutions too separately.
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.
Best For
Avature best serves enterprise-scale companies, especially those that operate across international borders.
The recruitment team uses Avature daily to manage various workflows within talent acquisition. The Applicant Tracking System supports end-to-end recruitment processes, including requisition creation, approvals, candidate screening, shortlisting, and communication.
Avature also enables building a candidate database through its talent community, where potential hires can apply independently or be referred by employees. Integration with other HR systems helps manage onboarding workflows, ensuring an excellent day-one experience for new hires.
Additionally, Avature’s reporting features are extensively used to track key recruitment metrics such as fill rate, declines, and requisition age.
- Avature improved our recruitment workflows and increased efficiency through automation.
- It significantly enhanced the hiring manager experience, simplifying requisition creation, tracking, approvals, and engagement with recruiters.
- The platform offers extensive customization options to fit the needs of any business.
My organization sought an end-to-end solution to streamline workflows, including sourcing, applicant tracking, career websites, employee referrals, internal mobility, and onboarding. The goal was to improve the candidate and hiring manager experience significantly while enhancing the efficiency of recruitment processes.
After evaluating the market, we chose Avature because of its robust platform and ability to customize features to meet our needs. Its suite of solutions allowed us to upgrade talent acquisition and engagement processes, such as building a talent community and driving internal mobility.
Avature’s seamless integration with other HR systems was another key factor in our decision. We have used it for over three years.
- The custom report builder is limited in capabilities, and the dashboard views are not user-friendly.
- The team experienced a steep learning curve, and it took a long time to establish workflows and processes.
- There is limited training material available, which hindered onboarding and adoption.
Avature stands out for its high level of customization, allowing organizations to tailor the platform to their unique needs. Its strengths in applicant tracking and talent management make it a preferred choice for companies seeking enhancements in these areas and scalability.
However, it has room for improvement, particularly in custom reporting, which lacks advanced features offered by competitors. The steep learning curve and limited training resources are also drawbacks compared to similar tools.
Assess your recruitment team’s comfort level with adopting new technology, as Avature requires significant time for implementation and process setup. Consider your reporting needs, as its custom reporting features are limited. Additionally, ensure your organization has the resources to invest in training and system adoption to maximize its potential.
Avature has introduced enhancements in talent management areas such as onboarding and internal mobility. They actively incorporate customer feedback into platform updates, showing a commitment to continuous improvement.
Avature is ideal for organizations with at least 10 recruiters that need robust recruitment workflows and extensive customization options.
Avature is not well-suited for very small organizations or extremely large enterprises, as the platform’s features may not align with their scale or complexity.

Keka

We included Keka ATS (namely HIRO) because it’s one of the few emerging ATS platforms that balances recruiter usability, candidate experience, and active product development. Even though the product is still early-stage, its pace of updates shows a strong trajectory toward catching up with more established competitors.
PROS
- Frequent updates enhanced requisition correction, diversity reporting, and custom welcome emails.
- Various job board, assessment, and video interview integration options.
- Modern recruiter dashboard with drag-and-drop pipelines.
- Candidate portal supports applications, scheduling, and offers.
- Duplicate detection with configurable cooldowns.
- Candidate self-scheduling saves recruiter time.
- Chrome sourcing extension for LinkedIn/Naukri.
- Android app for hiring on the go.
- Federal and state tax filing is included at all tiers.
- Flexible pay schedules with direct deposit support.
- Overtime and leave policy automation to match local labor laws.
- Benefits, loans, and expense tracking in one place.
- Built-in dashboards and reports to monitor payroll trends.
- Accounting integrations for streamlined finance workflows.
CONS
- ATS is still early-stage; some features feel less mature than more established brands.
- “Free Trial” requires a sales demo first; implementation/setup fees apply.
- Key features (workflow automation, custom reporting) locked to Advanced tier.
- Customer support is based primarily outside the U.S., which may affect response times for North American buyers.
- “Free Trial” access is gated behind a sales demo and disclosed only after signup.
- Implementation fees for setup, tax configuration, and data migration.
- Advanced tools (custom reports, asset tracking, engagement surveys) only available in higher tiers.
- Multi-entity payroll and API access require add-on fees.
- Slow load times in the demo raise usability concerns about payroll deadlines.
Keka has established itself as an HRIS and payroll provider, but with HIRO, it’s now entering the ATS space. In our demo, the left-hand navigation and drag-and-drop pipelines kept jobs and candidate flows easy to manage, while scorecards and tagging added structure.

For candidates, HIRO provides a welcoming, united portal where they can apply, schedule interviews, and accept offers. We also appreciated the ability for recruiters to set cooldown periods to prevent duplicate reapplications, while interview scorecards help interviewers assess applicants consistently.
Recent product updates just show how fast HIRO is advancing. Recruiters can now source candidates directly from LinkedIn and Naukri via the Chrome extension, manage requisitions with “send back for correction,” and even move candidates or leave interview feedback directly from the Android mobile app. More minor enhancements (customizable welcome emails, open positions reports by recruiter, and diversity tracking in offer reports) improve efficiency and oversight.
That said, HIRO is still a relatively new product, and while the pace of improvement is encouraging, some features don’t yet have the depth or polish you’d find in more established platforms like Greenhouse or Workable.
As for the free trial offering, note that you’ll need to sit through a sales demo before you actually get access. On a similar note, although the pricing is not expensive, we should warn you that there are implementation fees for setup and data migration applied.
We also noticed some performance issues during our demo, with pages loading more slowly than we’d like. This could have been a one-off, but for teams handling high volumes of applicants, that kind of lag could become a real sticking point. And while Keka does provide support, most of it is routed through India and Singapore. That works fine for many global SMBs, but North American buyers should keep in mind that coverage may feel different than what they’re used to with U.S.-based teams.
Used by over 10,000 companies, including eBay, Randstad, and ONEPLUS.
Keka offers Pro ($50/recruiter/month) and Advanced ($75/recruiter/month) plans, both with free trials post-demo.
Best For
SMBs that like Keka’s HRIS and want to extend into ATS, or growing companies that want a modern, evolving recruiting tool and are comfortable with offshore support and early-stage maturity.
Rippling
Rippling is known for its uniformly solid platform, so after test-driving their newly updated ATS module, we weren’t surprised to discover it’s intuitive to use, intelligently built, and succinctly integrated with their HRIS environment.
PROS
- The transition from candidate to employee is nearly seamless, with minimal manual data transfer.
- Mobile app for recruiters on the move.
- Candidate-friendly with no account creation required.
- Intuitive UI and intelligent workflows.
- Job board integration.
- All-in-one platform for employee management + PEO services offered, and even a suite of other IT products
- With 500 integrations, it’s very likely that they integrate with other key tools from your tech stack.
- Operates globally with any currency
- Workflow automation
- Analytics opportunities
- Provides a holistic view of company outflows—headcount costs included
CONS
- Not offered as a standalone product
- US-centric but globally focused-updates are in the pipeline.
- Users report occasional issues with the mobile apps.
- Some users report that customization options are limited.
- Total buy-in to Rippling is essential
- Very SMB-oriented, in case you’re a larger company.
- New features tend to be buggy in ways that tech teams are not accustomed to fixing
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.
Best For
Rippling’s ATS module is used most by companies with 25 to 150 employees.
I use Rippling primarily for payroll and benefits administration for both U.S. and global employees. It serves as our core platform for managing payments across employment types, including employees and contractors.
The tool is used regularly for processing payroll cycles and ensuring compliance with benefit offerings. I also rely on Rippling to handle employee records and tax documentation. It has become central to our HR operations.

- It is excellent for handling EOR, contractor, and employee payrolls in a single system.
- The platform is relatively easy for employees to navigate.
- Customer service is responsive and helpful when issues arise.
I originally purchased Rippling to serve as an Employer of Record (EOR) for international employees. I later migrated our HRIS to Rippling for U.S.-based employees as well. I have used Rippling for EOR functions since 2023 and for U.S. employees since early 2024.
One of the key benefits is the ability to pay both international and domestic employees through a single system. This has simplified payroll operations and improved overall administrative efficiency.
- The integration process was lengthy and difficult; our rep moved to a different country during implementation, delaying the hiring of two international employees by two months.
- There was an attempt to increase our negotiated monthly cost, though they honored the original rate once I provided documentation.
- Benefit integration is more manual than expected unless an additional service is purchased, which we do not currently find cost-effective.
Rippling offers a broad range of features and services in one platform. While its coverage is impressive, I would prefer to see more included functionality without additional fees.
If the goal is primarily payroll, Rippling is a strong option. If you need a fully comprehensive HRIS, there are other platforms that offer more robust features.
Rippling has added more countries to its EOR program and continues to expand device and IT services. The system has become more user-friendly, and its add-on services support the goal of an all-in-one solution, although these come at an additional cost.
Rippling is well-suited for small to mid-sized organizations with 10 to 150 employees.
It is not ideal for larger organizations, as its reporting tools and overall system capacity may fall short of their needs.

Tellent Recruitee

Tellent Recruitee emphasizes user experience and collaboration, and we’ve seen firsthand how much impact these two factors can have on recruitment efficiency and effectiveness. Coupled with other solid product choices and month-to-month pricing, this platform is an excellent option for SMBs.
PROS
- Transparent pricing, 18-day free trial available.
- Offers user-friendly and aesthetic interface, complemented by robust help center and on-demand product training videos.
- Frequent feature updates, many developed directly from user requests.
- Tellent Recruitee is highly rated for ease of use and quick implementation.
- It offers a customizable, kanban-style recruiting pipeline with adjustable stages.
- The software also helps reduce hiring bias by allowing permission level adjustments for interviewers, preventing them from seeing each other's candidate scores.
- Quarterly product updates based on users’ feedback.
CONS
- Still relies on third-party integrations for certain key functions such as advanced skills assessments, video interviewing, and e-signatures.
- Annual billing is the sole payment option.
- Some U.S. users noted the support team was hard to reach.
- Some features (skill assessments, onboarding, video interviewing, e-signatures) are only available via third-party integrations.
- No monthly contract option.

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.
Best For
Tellent Recruitee is best suited for teams with at least 20 employees and ideally based in Europe.
I use Tellent Recruitee every day. I know how to use most of its features, such as creating job postings, scheduling interviews, moving candidates through the hiring process, having technical and hiring meetings, rejecting or advancing candidates, making offer letters, and communicating with my team. I also use it to evaluate candidates after a phone screening and add resumes. I also connect Tellent Recruitee to other job websites.

I like Tellent Recruitee because it is very easy to use. It has a user-friendly interface that allows me to perform all workflows efficiently. I can quickly post jobs and move candidates to different stages, saving me much time. The platform is designed to make it simple and quick to use, which is a big plus. I also appreciate that it's very straightforward to use all the workflows, so I can spend little time figuring out how to do something. Overall, Recruitee has made my recruitment process much more efficient and streamlined, which is why I continue to use it.
My organization was searching for an applicant tracking system (ATS) that could connect to multiple job portals, especially in Europe. In addition, the ATS they wanted should have a user-friendly interface so that both hiring managers and other team members can easily use it and be easy to set up.
The organization needed help with its previous ATS system. Connecting to job portals, especially those targeting European markets, was a significant pain point. Hiring managers and other team members needed help connecting to their google calendar, adding to the frustrations. The user interface of the previous ATS could have been better, making the overall experience negative.
To overcome these issues, the organization decided to switch to Tellent Recruitee in August 2022. Tellent Recruitee has provided numerous benefits to the organization and effectively solved the pain points they faced with their previous ATS system. With the ability to connect to over 20+ job portals, including regional portals for specific countries, the organization can now reach a broader range of job seekers. The user-friendly interface of Tellent Recruitee has made it easier for hiring managers and team members to navigate and use the system, improving their overall experience. Additionally, connecting the google calendar to Tellent Recruitee was a breeze, making scheduling and organizing interviews much simpler.
Since August 2022, the organization has been using Tellent Recruitee and has found it to be a reliable and efficient solution to their recruitment needs. The ability to create a complete job workflow within the system has made the recruitment process smoother and more organized. The support team of Tellent Recruitee is also a plus, providing quick and helpful assistance when needed.
One thing I dislike about Tellent Recruitee is the lack of an option for directly promoting jobs on LinkedIn. Currently, Tellent Recruitee doesn't have this feature, which can be a drawback for those who rely on LinkedIn for their recruitment process. Not being able to promote jobs directly on LinkedIn adds an extra step to the process and can be time-consuming. I hope that Tellent Recruitee will add this feature to enhance the user experience and make the recruitment process more efficient.
Tellent Recruitee is different from other applicant tracking systems (ATS) because they have good after-sales service. They listen to customer feedback and make changes based on it. They also have a close relationship with their customers and understand their problems. Other ATS that I have used do not have these features.
When buying an applicant tracking system (ATS), people should consider the following criteria:
- Ability to connect to local job portals
- User-friendly interface
- Ease of creating workflows
- Capability to process offer letters
- Integration with calendars to schedule meetings.
As I have yet to study Tellent Recruitee's history in depth, I can only speak about my experience with the company over the past six months. In that time, I have found Tellent Recruitee to be highly responsive to their customers' needs. They have been able to integrate the solutions we requested and are in the process of adding new features, such as background check capabilities. They have also recently added more portals to better match the needs of their users. Overall, it is clear that Tellent Recruitee is dedicated to making their customers happy and understanding their real-time problems. They go above and beyond to ensure that their users are satisfied with their products and services.
Tellent Recruitee is a user-friendly tool suitable for organizations in various industries, including IT, healthcare, e-commerce, and startups. Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible to anyone with basic computer knowledge, while advanced features are ideal for HR professionals. This versatility makes Tellent Recruitee a good option for organizations of all sizes and types.
Tellent Recruitee is a user-friendly tool suitable for organizations in various industries, including IT, healthcare, e-commerce, and startups. Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible to anyone with basic computer knowledge, while advanced features are ideal for HR professionals. This versatility makes Tellent Recruitee a good option for organizations of all sizes and types.

SmartRecruiters

Encompassing solutions beyond the standard candidate sourcing, assessment, and engagement features, SmartRecruiter is an enterprise-grade talent acquisition suite that provides native collaboration and AI-driven ATS functionality.
PROS
- Candidate assessment, skill testing, and offer management are built-in, so need for add-ons or integrations.
- Enables easy posting to multiple job boards, integrating social media tools, and facilitating internal recruits.
- Friendly with mobile devices.
- SmartRecruiters has a built-in candidate assessment and skill testing module that allows you to predict cultural fit, future performance and retention, without needing to integrate third-party solutions.
- SmartRecruiters provides features for offer management. You can create offer letter templates, share them with successful applicants, and collect their e-signatures from any device using SmartRecruiters’ DocuSign integration.
- Speaking of integrations, SmartRecruiters has pre-built integrations with over 500 HR solutions and job boards. You can also ask SmartRecruiters’ team to build additional integrations for you if it doesn’t integrate with products in your tech stack.
CONS
- Undisclosed pricing.
- No free trials.
- Users have reported a steep learning curve and that the UI takes time to get used to.
- Features like candidate filtering, report customizations, and KPI tracking are limited.
- SmartRecruiters’ pricing isn’t transparent. Interested users have to go through the sales team to receive a quote. Users are also not able to create trial accounts on their own.
- Users have reported a steep learning curve and that the UI takes time to get used to. Some users have also reported that the system can be slow and glitches at times.
- The reporting feature doesn’t always retrieve data accurately. Some users have also complained that report customizations and KPI tracking capabilities are limited.
- Candidate filtering is quite limited. As it stands, only basic options such as degree, location, gender etc are provided.
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.
Best For
SmartRecruiters works best for medium and large-sized businesses.
At Etsy, I used SmartRecruiters almost daily throughout the recruitment process. I used it to post job openings, review candidate applications, and coordinate communication between candidates and hiring managers. It also helped with interview scheduling, which simplified calendar coordination.
The platform enabled me to track candidate progress efficiently and ensured nothing was overlooked. Its collaboration features made it easy to gather feedback and maintain momentum across multiple openings. It was an essential tool for staying organized and productive.
- SmartRecruiters is easy to navigate, which saves time when posting jobs and managing candidates.
- It supports effective collaboration, making it simple to collect feedback and keep hiring teams aligned.
- The reporting tools provide clear insights into recruiting performance and areas for improvement.
When I worked at Etsy, we started using SmartRecruiters because managing all the open roles across various teams had become hectic. We needed a tool that could centralize everything—job postings, candidate tracking, and collaboration with hiring managers—without the constant back-and-forth.
SmartRecruiters streamlined the entire process and helped keep everyone aligned. I found the communication features particularly useful for getting quick updates within the platform. I used it frequently during my time at Etsy, and it quickly became my primary tool for managing recruiting. I used it for 1.5 years while working at Etsy.
- The notification system can become overwhelming, making it easy to miss important updates.
- The reporting features could be more customizable to better suit specific needs.
- Onboarding new team members can take longer than expected due to the number of features available.
Compared to other recruiting tools I’ve used, SmartRecruiters strikes a strong balance between user-friendliness and robust functionality. Some platforms feel either too limited or too complex, but SmartRecruiters offers a middle ground that works for both recruiters and hiring managers.
It promotes collaboration across teams, which helps move candidates through the process efficiently. Its reporting tools provide useful insights without being overly complex. I prefer SmartRecruiters because it simplifies recruiting without compromising on essential features.
When choosing a recruiting tool, consider whether it fits your team’s workflow and is easy for all users. Look for strong collaboration capabilities, as hiring typically involves input from multiple stakeholders.
Assess the tool’s ability to provide clear reporting and analytics to track hiring progress. Also, evaluate the level of customer support, which can be crucial when implementing or troubleshooting the platform.
SmartRecruiters has evolved by making the platform more intuitive and user-friendly. It now offers greater customization to match different hiring workflows, allowing teams to work in the way that suits them best.
Communication tools have improved, making it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to stay connected. The reporting and analytics have become more detailed, providing valuable insights for decision-making.
Improved integrations with other HR systems have also enhanced the overall experience.
SmartRecruiters is well-suited for mid-sized to larger organizations managing multiple roles across departments. It’s ideal for teams that emphasize collaboration among recruiters, hiring managers, and stakeholders.
SmartRecruiters may not be the best choice for very small companies or startups with only a few hiring needs. For organizations with simple recruitment processes or minimal collaboration requirements, the platform may offer more functionality than necessary.

iCIMS

iCIMS, is a massive, global presence serving large companies with high-volume talent managemt needs, so isurprise it operates in more than 70 languages. Still, we are impressed with the attention to user needs demonstrated by the massive toolset.
PROS
- A powerful recruiting solution that can handle high-volume hiring of up to 50,000 candidates.
- The reporting feature is robust and retrieves data accurately.
- iCIMS is constantly expanding its roster of integrations with third-party products. Currently, 300+ and rising, including Workday, SAP, SuccessFactors, ADP, Oracle, and UKG.
- iCIMS is a powerful recruiting solution that can handle high volume hiring of up to 50,000 candidates.
- The platform is constantly evolving through developments and acquisitions, giving users more features.
- The reporting feature is robust and retrieves data accurately.
- iCIMS has a growing marketplace of over 300 integrations with third-party products.
CONS
- The UI is complex and dated compared to other cloud-based recruiting products.
- Customer support is sometimes slow and only available by phone or ticket—no live chat support.
- Though packing many features, it lacks automated reference checking.
- No transparent pricing and no free trial.
- The cost of implementation and integration is relatively high compared to other recruiting solutions.
- A significant number of users complained about the UI’s complexity and that it looks dated compared to other cloud-based recruiting products.
- Customer support is slow at times and only available through phone and by creating a support ticket online - no live chat support yet
- The platform packs an overwhelming amount of features yet still lacks some useful capabilities such as automated reference checking.
- No transparent pricing or free trials, and according to several users, the cost of implementation as well as integrations is high compared to other recruiting solutions.
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.
Best For
iCIMS is best for global enterprises and recruiting agencies with high-volume hiring needs.
For the ten months we used iCIMS, we used it daily. It was relatively easy to post job requisitions, but since it is not a major job board platform, it was difficult to attract applicants at first. Tracking applicant progress was straightforward because we could move them through the system for contacting, interviewing, and hiring.
The background check process was simple, and we did not have to complete much paperwork. The system would also automatically deny anyone who did not pass their background check.
I like how smooth the background check process is. It was easy to move applications through the system to reach that stage. The applications were easy to read, and everything was formatted the same way.
My organization started using iCIMS because it was part of a background and drug screening package. We used it for about 10 months before discontinuing it. It made the background screening process easy because the applicant entered all of their information.
The main issue was the additional steps required to get applicants to enter their information when we recruited from job fairs or other platforms, as they had to complete the application twice.
We stopped using it during a hiring ramp-up because applicants were unable to reapply after the system automatically denied their applications.
It is not a job board that applicants are familiar with, so it was difficult to get people to apply through iCIMS. It would automatically reject applicants, and they were unable to reapply. There were many unnecessary steps to move an applicant through the process, and skipping them was not possible.
I used a similar applicant tracking system with ADP, and both operated similarly. iCIMS was easier for the background check portion, but ADP was more efficient in all other aspects.
Consider whether your applicants have access to computers, as the tool is not mobile phone friendly. Think about how many people you need to hire and how tight your hiring deadline is.
Unknown as we didn’t finish a full year using the platform.
iCIMS is good for low-volume staffing needs.
iCIMS is not good for high-volume recruiting or larger firms.

Spark Hire

Spark Hire has packed a massive analytics framework into a program that looks very simple. The ATS product, Spark Hire Recruit, is easy to navigate and appeals to hiring managers with scarce time and attention.
PROS
- Data analysis dashboard and features are top-tier.
- Efficiency-focused elements, like one-way video interviews, are great for busy TA teams.
- Collaboration is enabled by features that offer pipeline transparency to multiple stakeholders.
- Data analysis dashboard and features are top-tier.
- Efficiency-focused elements, like one-way video interviews, are great for busy TA teams.
- Collaboration is enabled by features that offer pipeline transparency to multiple stakeholders.
CONS
- Starting in 2025, the price will increase to $399 per month.
- Some users require more customization than what is offered.
- No caption or translation features in video limits access for some candidates
- No free trial version.
- Some users require more customization than what is offered.
- No caption or translation features in video limits access for some candidates
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!
Best For
Spark Hire Recruit works best for small and medium-sized companies (5-500 employees).
We use SparkHire for one-way interviewing and sifting through first-round applicants. The scheduled interviewing function saves us time and energy. The live interviewing feature is another key aspect we use. We prefer using specialized tools like SparkHire because they fit our processes better, especially with features like recording and sharing interviews. Accessing interview questions within the system is also very helpful.

SparkHire aligns well with our brand image. It offers robust analytics and reporting modules. The limited takes and think time feature is great for streamlining one-way interviews and creating a more structured interview process.
We began using SparkHire during the pandemic to address the challenges of remote work and hiring. We needed to recruit virtually and quickly while maintaining our brand image. SparkHire solved our hiring challenges due to three main features: its dynamic and agile branding, which aligned with our image; its quick launch, as it was one of the few tools that allowed instant sign-up without a scheduled demo, which was crucial when we needed to move fast; and the one-way interviewing feature, which provided the flexibility and adaptability we needed as our organization transitioned to remote work.
We also used it more recently as we expanded internationally and increased our hiring volume. I have personally used it for about a year.
The cost can be an issue for us since we often use the app intermittently. Integrating it with our ATS was not straightforward. I think they could expand the range and originality of their interview question templates.
SparkHire has a very responsive and meticulous customer service team compared to others I’ve used. I appreciate that it offers unlimited interviews, which many other tools do not. The transparent pricing and instant sign-up process make joining faster and more enjoyable.
One-way recorded interviews are essential for creating a flexible and scalable hiring process. A good reporting and analytics function is also crucial, especially for volume interviewing.
The user experience has improved, particularly in terms of stable and reliable media connections.
SparkHire is well-suited for organizations of all sizes that operate remotely.
SparkHire may not be ideal for co-located organizations that don’t engage in volume interviewing. For organizations that do occasional low-volume remote recruiting, this tool might be overkill.
Benefits of ATS Software
The primary benefit of an applicant tracking system is that it increases the efficiency of your talent acquisition team through streamlined, automated workflows. These tools can also be quite impactful: 94% of recruiters believe using applicant tracking software has positively impacted their company's hiring processes.
Additionally, applicant tracking systems are essential for growing companies because they streamline recruitment, enhance employer branding, provide detailed analytics, and facilitate smooth engagement of managers and employees beyond HR and talent acquisition teams.
- Customized workflows: An ATS system that can customize and automate tasks like application processing, screening, and collecting feedback can dramatically improve hiring efficiency. This benefit is especially significant to organizations hiring from very different candidate pools. If, for example, your team is hiring both truck drivers and software engineers, you can bet these workflows won’t be interchangeable.
- Improved employer branding: Candidate tracking systems will help your organization create and manage a custom career site, helping your company stand out. Showcasing your best features will make it easier to attract top talent. With integrations to networks like LinkedIn, reaching a wide audience is easy.
- Better quality talent pools: The best ATS software can save time and money by maintaining already-sourced candidates. If you maintain occasional contact with a pool of qualified candidates, your recruiting process doesn’t start from zero each time you open a new role.
- Wider internal engagement: Rather than relying exclusively on your HR or TA teams for recruiting, the best ATS software will also involve your hiring managers and employees as part of the process. Employee referrals, feedback on job candidates, and social media can all be leveraged to fill open positions.
- Streamlined hiring and onboarding: An ATS can do more than streamline recruiting; it can work wonders for onboarding. A good first impression sets the stage for employee engagement and, ultimately, retention, so it’s critical to make the onboarding process employee-focused, timely, and effective.
- More effective recruitment strategies: An effective hiring process is data-driven. Any good ATS software dashboard will put recruiter productivity, cost per hire, cost of job boards, cost of paid media, time to hire, and other key data at your fingertips.
How To Choose an ATS
Any business choosing an ATS should aim to get the maximum functionality for its price point (while ensuring key functions for its specific business are best-in-class), focus on potential long-term benefits rather than short-term costs, and understand the software vendor's product roadmap.
- What do you want to achieve with the ATS?: Depending on your business, you can have one person or multiple teams across your company branches interacting with the ATS day-to-day. Each may have a different pain point they want the recruitment tool to tackle. Knowing the center goals of these stakeholders and the importance of each can help you create a list of features ranked from most to least desired.
- What can you afford?: An ATS that can schedule interviews, manage employee referrals, and parse resumes will lighten the load on your HR/TA team, leading to increased efficiency. That said, investing in a feature-rich ATS could mean more complexity, steeper learning curves, and higher costs to the system. So, besides the feature list, you’d need to note down your allowed budget and the human resources involved in onboarding and maintaining the ATS system.
- Focus on individual features during your vendor research: Evaluate precisely what you need. The feature list and resource note that you have prepared in the earlier steps will help you stay focused on options that truly matter.
- Think long-term: Trying to anticipate the future is critical given how hard these tools are to replace over time (migrating tons of candidate data, different workflows for different types of jobs, etc.). Beyond the platform's capacity to scale up as you grow, pay attention to how this growth will affect product pricing and, therefore, the ATS ROI.
- Understand the roadmap: A tool with no future plan for improvements may cause trouble for future software updates, but a vendor with an ambitious list of feature enhancements, yet a very humble track record of delivery, is not any better. Ask the sales rep specific questions relevant to your business needs, and review content published on the company's channels for more information.
How Much Does an ATS Cost?
An applicant tracking system typically costs $250-$12,000 per year for small businesses and can exceed $125,000 annually for large enterprises, depending on vendor pricing models and company size.
Most ATS vendors use one of four pricing structures:
- Flat rate: This pricing model offers a fixed monthly or annual fee for unlimited use of the ATS, making it ideal for large enterprises that prefer long-term contracts. Breezy HR, for example, is one of the applicant tracking systems that employ this model. The ATS includes unlimited users, candidates, positions, and candidate pools across its three paid plans: Startup, Growth, and Business.
- Pay-per-user: This model is best suited for small teams with limited recruiter usage. It charges a monthly fee for each active user of the ATS. You can easily come across this pricing structure at ATS systems for small businesses, such as Manatal and Recruit CRM.
- Pay-per-vacancy: Designed for small businesses with low hiring volumes, pay-per-vacancy charges a fee for each job you post using the ATS, although it’s more common now for the vendor to limit the number of job slots per plan instead Zoho Recruit, for instance, allows one active job in its free plan, while that is 100, 250, and 750 active jobs in Standard, Professional, and Enterprise, respectively.
- Pay-per-module: This model is suitable for companies with an existing HR platform that want to add an ATS to their tech stack as an add-on. It allows companies to pay for only the ATS module they need, rather than the entire platform. Workable and VidCruiter are some of the brands that use this pricing model.
Here’s what most companies can expect to pay annually for an ATS:
- Small business (<100 employees): $250 up to $12,000 USD per year.
- Medium-sized business (100-500 employees): $3,000 to $25,000 per year.
- Large business (501-5,000 employees): $15,000 to $50,000+ annually.
- Enterprise (5,000+ employees): From $125,000 per year.
- Keep in mind that these ranges are broad because features, integrations, and support levels vary widely. That being said, nonprofits, startups, and companies signing multi-year deals often get reduced rates. Also, some ATS providers, especially those with custom pricing, are often open to negotiation.
For a more detailed look, refer to our applicant tracking system pricing guide.
ATS Key Features
The best ATS features include automated resume parsing, reliable data security, and great analytics.
- Third-party integrations: Almost without exception, the top ATSs are built with robust integration capabilities and a substantial network within their partner ecosystem. You should aim for seamless ATS integrations, meaning the ATS should be ready to interface (connect to, plug in to, work well with) whatever software you use for hiring.
- Talent sourcing: The best applicant tracking systems include dynamic features, such as Google Chrome extensions, that allow you to source candidates directly from the web. You’ll also find databases of job seekers that you can query for specific skills and outreach tools that will enable you to build sequences that engage candidates through email and texting.
- AI recruiting assistant: It’s hard to find an applicant tracking system that doesn’t offer at least one form of AI-powered recruiting feature nowadays. So the more valuable question now is whether an ATS has a legally and ethically helpful AI feature. For example, many offer job description generators, but few allow for tone adjustments the way Workable does. Similarly, when a candidate deletes their data, Pinpoint is one of the few that also automatically deletes their email history to prevent compliance issues for customers.
- Candidate relationship management (CRM): A recruiting CRM nurtures your relationship with your entire job seeker ecosystem, whether active or passive. It helps your TA keep leads warm by setting reminders to ping individual candidates (“silver medalists”) or to check in periodically with larger candidate pools. Structured communications and automated workflows help maintain good relationships and free up your TA team’s time.
- Blind screening: This is an effective method for controlling hiring bias, a foundational element of all diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives. ATSs with a blind screening feature obscure the candidates' names, photos, addresses, and other demographic identifiers to prevent assessments based on non-relevant characteristics.
- Employer branding and career site: Modern applicant tracking systems are built with the candidate experience in mind. Making a good first impression is critical, so top ATSs include no-code features that recruiters and hiring managers can use to build and maintain a professional, bespoke career site without needing to involve marketers and developers.
- Data and analytics: Any ATS worth its salt has a basic analytics dashboard. The best (and often the most expensive) ATS also incorporates a powerful analytics engine to make light work of your heaviest statistical loads.
- Interview scheduling: ATS software that is focused on recruitment process automation will include scheduling for everything from phone screens to final-round interviews. Some enterprise options, such as SparkHire and VidCruiter, even have a video interview tool built in so you don’t have to rely on a third-party app for such use.
- Offer letters: Automated distribution of offer letters is a standard ATS feature. Most platforms offer templates that can be easily customized for each offer presented to a new hire.
- Onboarding: A smooth onboarding process helps ensure that the transition from candidate to colleague is as smooth as possible. It’s not surprising to see that most applicant tracking platforms now offer some form of this capability, either natively or via integrations with third-party employee onboarding tools.
The above features are highly specific and designed to help buyers and decision-makers make quick, informed decisions. However, some critical aspects of ATS performance and functionality can’t be summed up so easily.
Our guest expert, Zach Larson, suggests buyers consider the following three basic elements:
- First, consider how well the product will respond to market challenges.
- Second, estimate the quality of candidates based on the ATS's sourcing methods.
- Last but not least, involve your TA team in the process. Your internal stakeholders must be on board with your choice.
Other Factors Worth Considering
Beyond key features and pricing, user experience (UX) and user interface (UI), scalability, and customization are also critical factors to look for in an ATS.
- User Experience and Interface: When looking at well-known platforms like Greenhouse, BambooHR, and Pinpoint, it’s easy to see that a well-designed interface partly contributes to higher adoption rates and, consequently, the growing popularity of these platforms. A great UX/UI enhances user satisfaction, reduces training time, and improves recruitment processes. It also benefits job applicants, as a smooth and intuitive application process helps improve the candidate experience and increase the likelihood of successful hires.
- Customization and Scalability: An applicant tracking system that seems ideal for your 20-person team today may become inadequate if it cannot support your international hiring needs as your team scales globally. Be sure to assess how customizable the system is (e.g., branding options, workflow customization, automation tools) to meet both your current and long-term needs. Oftentimes, seeking advice from HR tech experts results in faster and more accurate ATS shortlists, as they provide candid insights that a vendor’s sales team might not disclose.
Questions to Ask on Demos
The questions should all be about your specific requirements for an ATS, but the following can offer some ideas and inspiration on what to ask during your ATS vendor demo.
- Is there a bi-directional API to share information between this system and my HRIS?
- How does this ATS help my recruiting efforts beyond capturing candidate information? For example, will it allow me to pipeline candidates, source new ones, boost referrals, etc.?
- How does this system improve the candidate experience?
- What is your partner strategy, and do I have to pay to integrate my other recruiting tools?
- What metrics do you focus on to prove the effectiveness of this solution, and where can I see these in my analytics dashboard?
- Can I speak to my future customer service rep about implementation and how exactly your organization will be involved?
- Walk me through the candidate experience.
- Can I store candidate profiles in this system in a way that is searchable for future candidate sourcing?
- Walk me through how recruiters post jobs, vet applicants, and leave feedback.
- How do employees outside of HR interact with this ATS?
- Do you have social recruiting capabilities?
- We use {{XYZ indispensable recruiting tool}}, do you integrate with it? If yes, how?
- What is the onboarding process after we buy this solution? Ask for specific steps and who in your org needs to be involved.
For those wondering what the right number of questions to bring to a demo, here is a piece of advice: ask as many as you can. If a vendor doesn’t have time to help you understand their product from the ground up, they are probably the wrong vendor.
FAQs
What is ATS?
ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System, a type of recruitment software designed to make it easier for companies to find, organize, and track job applicants.
Read more: What Is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
How do applicant tracking systems work?
Applicant tracking systems work as a bridge between employers and job applicants. When a candidate submits their application, the ATS extracts and stores key information such as work experience, education, and contact details in a central database. HR teams then use this database to review applications, communicate with candidates, schedule interviews, and occasionally conduct skills tests.
What are the benefits of using an ATS?
The benefits of using an applicant tracking system include increased efficiency in talent acquisition through streamlined workflows, a positive impact on hiring processes, support for growing companies by improving recruitment practices, enhanced employer branding, provision of detailed analytics for better decision-making, and improved collaboration among managers and employees throughout the hiring process.
Who uses an ATS?
Both small businesses and enterprises use ATS platforms. While these systems were initially designed for large corporations dealing with a high volume of applications, they have since evolved to meet the needs of small and medium businesses as well.
What is the most popular applicant tracking system?
The most popular applicant tracking systems are Greenhouse and Pinpoint (among mid-to-large enterprises, JazzHR and Manatal (among SMBs), and Bullhorn and Recruit CRM (among staffing agencies).
How do I choose the best ATS for my company?
To find the best ATS for your recruitment needs, you should:
- Evaluate the functionalities that are critical for your business.
- Compare costs to ensure you get the best value for the features you need.
- Focus on long-term benefits rather than only immediate expenses.
- Assess the vendor’s product roadmap to understand future enhancements.
What is the difference between an ATS and an HRIS?
An ATS is the core operating software for your recruiting team, handling hiring records. In contrast, your HRIS (Human Resource Information System) is the core operating system for your human resources team, handling employee records.
What is the difference between ATS and CRM?
ATS focuses on streamlining application logistics, while CRM (candidate relationship management system) builds relationships with potential candidates early on through engagement activities. ATS is used in the later hiring stages, and CRM is used in the early stages of candidate attraction and engagement.
Is there a free applicant tracking system?
Yes, there are. Some of the best applicant tracking systems we've tested that offer free editions are Manatal, which offers a free trial; Dover, which has a free plan that lasts forever; and Recooty, which is free for one user. Check out our free ATS buyer guide for more options.
What is the best ATS for startups and SMBs?
Startups and small businesses often have a tight budget for recruitment technology, so the above free ATS could be a good starting point for these companies. Additionally, Workable, Zoho Recruit, and Recruit CRM are among the other top SMB-focused ATS systems we tested, which offer a good range of features at an affordable price.
What is the best ATS for recruitment and staffing agencies?
Recruit CRM, Manatal, and Zoho Recruit provide comprehensive features tailored to the needs of smaller agencies. On the other hand, larger firms with increased volume and complex recruitment processes may find Bullhorn and Avionté to be more suitable.
Final Advice on Buying an ATS
- Know your needs: Get clear on the specific needs your ATS must satisfy. Meet with vendors and watch demos only after you are absolutely sure of your current ATS requirements and confident of your future forecast. Don’t agree to anything less (or more) than exactly what you need.
- Two-for-one ROI analysis: Being CFO-ready with an ATS ROI calculation will refine your thoughts on why and how an ATS is a necessary purchase for your team, leading to greater clarity on which features to prioritize.
- Consider the context: As ATS platforms have become more sophisticated, their cost has decreased. This means capabilities like sourcing, recruitment CRM, talent re-discovery, and even top-rate analytics are readily available to most.
Watch this video for insights from our experts on selecting the right applicant tracking software for your needs.
About the Author
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