Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) — Head-to-Head Comparisons
10 applicant tracking systems (ats) comparisons. Each page shows side-by-side pricing, plan limits, and feature differences — verified daily against vendor pages.
How these applicant tracking systems (ats) products compare
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.
How to choose between applicant tracking systems (ats) options
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.
All 10 head-to-head comparisons
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