Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Pricing Comparison 2026
5 products · prices verified daily · ✓ AI-verified 39h ago
The cheapest applicant tracking systems (ats) in 2026 is Workable at $39/mo. We compared 5 applicant tracking systems (ats) products — Workable, Ashby, Greenhouse, SmartRecruiters, Lever — with prices verified on April 21, 2026.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) in 2026: What the Data Shows
Market Overview
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) in 2026 split by company size and complexity. 'SMB-to-mid-market' (Workable $299-719/month, Ashby Foundations from $400/month): subscription-based with transparent tier pricing, 1-100 employee companies. 'Enterprise custom' (Greenhouse Core/Plus/Pro, Lever custom, SmartRecruiters Essential $14,995+/year): volume + complexity-based pricing, 100-10,000+ employees. Greenhouse remains category leader by enterprise mindshare. Workable's recent pivot (2023-2025) consolidated HR + recruiting into 'Talent Acquisition + HRIS' bundle — unusual positioning competing with Gusto/Rippling (HR) while remaining ATS. Ashby emerged as the developer-friendly challenger with transparent startup pricing ($400/month for <100 employees). Lever is enterprise-focused after being acquired by Employ Inc. (parent of Jobvite, JazzHR) in 2022. SmartRecruiters targets high-volume hiring (retail, seasonal, hospitality, healthcare). 2024-2026 trend: AI-powered features (AI Hiring Agent, AI Talent Matching, AI Notetakers for interviews, Conversational AI Chat) have become table stakes. Integrations with LinkedIn Recruiter, Indeed, job board aggregators are universal.
Key Buying Criteria
First: company size? 1-20 employees: Workable Standard $299/month (bundles HRIS + ATS) or Ashby Foundations ~$400/month. 20-100 employees: Workable Premier $599/month with bundled add-ons, or Ashby Foundations (up to 100 employees). 100-1,000 employees: Ashby Plus custom, Greenhouse Core/Plus custom, SmartRecruiters Essential $14,995+/year. 1,000+ employees: Greenhouse Pro, Lever Enterprise, SmartRecruiters Complete/High Volume, Ashby Enterprise. Second: high-volume hiring? SmartRecruiters High Volume tier is purpose-built for retail/seasonal/hospitality/healthcare with increased SMS + job distribution volume + Conversational AI Chat. Workable High Volume add-ons scale. Third: developer/tech-forward company? Ashby's modern product + transparent pricing + API-first approach appeals to tech companies. Greenhouse remains standard for traditional enterprise recruiting orgs. Fourth: HRIS combined with ATS? Workable bundles HRIS + ATS in Standard plan — unusual in category. Most competitors (Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, SmartRecruiters) are ATS-only, requiring separate HRIS (Gusto, Rippling, BambooHR). Fifth: AI features? Ashby AI Notetaker add-on, SmartRecruiters AI Hiring Agent (Professional+), Lever AI Interview Companion. Workable has AI features across tiers. Greenhouse AI integrated across Core/Plus/Pro. Sixth: add-ons critical? Workable charges $89-109/month for texting + video interviews + assessments as add-ons on Standard tier. Premier includes these. Ashby add-ons: AI Notetaker, Advanced Scheduling separately priced. Greenhouse includes add-ons in higher tiers (Plus/Pro). Seventh: enterprise compliance? Greenhouse Pro, Lever Enterprise, SmartRecruiters Complete all support SSO + SOC 2 + HIPAA BAAs. Smaller ATS (Ashby Foundations, Workable Standard) have basic security.
Our Recommendation
For startups and SMBs under 20 employees: Workable Standard at $299/month annual ($3,588/year with 20% savings) — bundles ATS + HRIS + onboarding + time tracking + payroll preparation in one platform. Upgrade to Premier at $599/month annual ($7,188/year) when you need bundled texting + video interviews + assessments + performance reviews. Workable's combined ATS+HRIS is unusual and potentially cost-effective vs separate Gusto + Greenhouse. For tech-forward startups + mid-market companies 20-100 employees: Ashby Foundations at $400/month minimum — modern product with transparent pricing + 10% annual discount. Scales to Plus for 101-1,000 employees with industry-competitive custom pricing. For enterprise recruiting orgs: Greenhouse (Core/Plus/Pro custom pricing) — industry-standard for mid-to-large enterprise hiring workflows. Expect 4-8 week sales cycles. For high-volume hiring (retail, seasonal, hospitality, healthcare): SmartRecruiters High Volume tier (custom) — purpose-built with Conversational AI Chat + increased SMS + job distribution volume. For sales-heavy recruiting teams wanting tight CRM integration: Lever LeverTRM (ATS + CRM unified) custom pricing — emphasizes candidate relationship management alongside tracking. Skip Workable Enterprise ($719/month) — Premier ($599) covers 90% of features. Skip Lever unless specifically needing CRM-first approach. For most SMBs (1-100 employees), Workable's bundled HRIS+ATS at Standard tier is the cost-efficient choice.
What to Watch Out For
Workable's 'Standard/Premier/Enterprise' tiers are all capped at '1-20 employees' as advertised — this is misleading for organizations hiring multiple roles per year even with small team. Functional 'employees' might mean active users of the platform, not total company headcount. Verify with Workable sales before committing. Workable's Standard at $299/month excludes texting ($89), video interviews ($109), assessments ($59), performance reviews ($39) — add-ons total $296/month additional. Premier at $599/month includes all of these = roughly equivalent to Standard + all add-ons. Premier is actually cost-effective for active recruiting teams. Greenhouse's 'Core/Plus/Pro' tiers are all custom-priced — industry estimates from RFP disclosures suggest Core $6,000-15,000/year for 20-50 employees, Plus $15,000-50,000/year for 50-500 employees, Pro $50,000-200,000+/year for 500+ employees. Budget based on employee count + hiring volume, expect 4-6 week sales cycle. Ashby's 'Foundations starts at $400/month' is per-company minimum (not per-user) for up to 100 employees. Plus tier pricing is custom — industry estimates suggest $1,000-5,000/month for 101-500 employees, $5,000-20,000/month for 500-1,000+. Annual commitment saves 10% (aggressive vs 20% industry norm). Lever's opacity is concerning — no published tier names, no user counts, no pricing. All quotes via sales. Industry estimates $500-2,000/month for 20-100 employees, $2,000-10,000/month for 100-500 employees, $10,000+ for enterprise. 4-6 week sales cycle. SmartRecruiters' Essential tier at '$14,995' is annual commitment not monthly — verify. Other tiers (Professional, High Volume, Complete) custom-priced. Essential at $14,995/year = $1,250/month — reasonable for mid-market 100-200 employee companies but doesn't include AI features (require Professional+). AI features are table-stakes — request detailed AI feature comparison across vendors before signing. LinkedIn Recruiter integration is typically add-on not bundled — budget separately ($80+/user/month LinkedIn Recruiter Lite or Enterprise seat).
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | |||||
| Starting Price | $39/mo | $400/mo | Custom | Custom | Custom |
| Renewal Price | Same | Same | -- | -- | -- |
| Free Plan | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Free Trial | 15 days | 14 days | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Pricing Model | tiered-monthly-or-annual-with-addon-options | tiered-by-employee-count-with-transparent-startup | custom-tier-based-enterprise | annual-commitment-starting-at-15k | custom-quote-only |
| Plans | 11 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| | | | | | |
| Features | |||||
| | | | | | |
How We Track Prices
Prices are scraped directly from vendor websites and verified against published pricing pages. We check for changes daily and update this page automatically when prices change. Last verified: 2026-04-21.
All prices shown are in USD, fetched and verified from United States-based servers. Prices in your region may differ due to local pricing, taxes, or currency conversion. We show the lowest available tier unless otherwise noted. Some products offer introductory pricing that increases on renewal — we show both where applicable.
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Head-to-Head Comparisons
See how applicant tracking systems (ats) products stack up against each other — plans, pricing, and features side by side.
Explore Alternatives
Explore Individual Product Pricing
Deep dive into each applicant tracking systems (ats) product — full plan breakdowns, renewal prices, features, and our editorial verdict.
More Ways to Explore Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
Quick Pricing Summary
| Product | From | Free Plan | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| $39/mo | No | 9.1/10 | |
| $400/mo | No | 9.2/10 | |
| Custom | No | 9/10 | |
| Custom | No | 8.7/10 | |
| Custom | No | 8.4/10 |
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) analysis on the StackScored blog
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the cheapest applicant tracking systems (ats) in 2026?
- Workable is the cheapest option starting at $39/mo. Prices are verified daily against the vendor's website.
- What's the average cost of applicant tracking systems (ats)?
- The average starting price across 5 applicant tracking systems (ats) products is $220/mo for the lowest paid tier.
- Which applicant tracking systems (ats) has the best value for money?
- Ashby scores 9.2/10 in our analysis with plans starting at $400/mo, making it the highest-rated option in this category. Scores factor in pricing, features, and reliability.
- Do applicant tracking systems (ats) prices increase on renewal?
- Most applicant tracking systems (ats) providers lock in your rate for the initial term. We verify pricing daily and flag any renewal price increases the moment they appear. Check each product's pricing table for renewal details.
- What hidden costs should I watch for with applicant tracking systems (ats)?
- Common hidden costs include onboarding or setup fees, overage charges when you exceed plan limits. Our pricing tables show all tiers and per-unit costs so you can calculate your actual spend before signing up.
- How often do applicant tracking systems (ats) prices change?
- We verify applicant tracking systems (ats) pricing every 24 hours against each vendor's live pricing page. On average, SaaS providers adjust pricing 1-2 times per year. StackScored detects changes the same day they go live.
- Can I switch applicant tracking systems (ats) providers easily?
- Switching depends on data portability and contract terms. Most applicant tracking systems (ats) platforms offer data export, but migration complexity varies. Check each product's plan details for contract length — avoid annual commitments until you've tested the product. Several applicant tracking systems (ats) providers offer free trials to help you evaluate before committing.