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The best applicant tracking systems help you attract top talent, streamline the hiring process, and stay organized and efficient from job posting to offer letter.

If you're overwhelmed by scattered resumes, disjointed communication, or slow hiring cycles, the right ATS can centralize your recruitment workflow and help your team move faster with fewer errors.

From automating candidate screening and interview scheduling, to tracking applicants across multiple roles and improving team collaboration, these systems take the guesswork and chaos out of hiring. And, if you're trying to scale your recruiting efforts without expanding your headcount, choosing the right platform becomes even more critical.

With 10+ years supporting HR teams and recruiters, I have firsthand experience evaluating dozens of ATS platforms. I created this guide to help you find a solution that fits your current hiring needs and grows with you.

You’ll find clear comparisons of key features, pricing, and differentiators—plus tips to help you narrow your shortlist with confidence.

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As HR professionals ourselves, we know how critical and difficult it is to make the right decision when selecting software. We invest in deep research to help our audience make better software purchasing decisions.

Learn how we stay transparent, and take a look at our software review methodology.

Best Applicant Tracking Systems: Pricing Comparison Chart

This ATS comparison chart summarizes pricing details for my top applicant tracking systems to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.

Best Applicant Tracking System Reviews

Below are my detailed reviews of each applicant tracking system that made it into my top 15 list, including notes on why I picked them. Each review offers a detailed look at the key features, pros & cons, integrations, and ideal use cases for each ATS system to help you find the best option for you.

Best for pre-built pipeline templates

  • Free demo available
  • From $8/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

If your hiring process is still split across spreadsheets, emails and disconnected systems, Rippling Recruiting brings everything into one platform, letting hiring managers, HR and finance work from the same data. It’s a strong fit for mid-sized or scaling companies that already use (or plan to use) the broader Rippling HR/IT/finance solution.

Why I Picked Rippling Recruiting

I picked Rippling Recruiting because it gives you direct control of the hiring pipeline without requiring you to build workarounds. You get pre-built pipeline templates you can customise for different roles, so you don’t need to start from scratch.

It can also link hiring-requests, approved headcount, and offer rollout, so your finance and HR teams stay aligned through the pipeline, and it can post jobs to up to 25,000 job boards in one click.

Plus, because it’s built on the Rippling platform, once a candidate accepts an offer their data flows directly into onboarding and payroll—reducing duplicate work and data gaps.

Rippling Recruiting Key Features

Here are some standout features worth highlighting:

  • Pre-Built & Customizable Pipeline Templates: Launch role-specific hiring pipelines in minutes or build your own tailored process.
  • Smart Interview Scheduling: Candidates pick from available time slots and Rippling integrates with interviewer calendars automatically.
  • Custom Feedback Forms & Scorecards: Create structured interview feedback with ratings so your hiring decisions are more consistent.
  • Candidate Tagging & Surveys: Use custom tags to segment applicants and trigger candidate-experience surveys at any interview stage.
  • Role-Based Dashboards & Permissions: Give each recruiter, hiring manager or executive their own view with tailored permissions and access.

Rippling Recruiting Integrations

Integrations include Zoom, Gem, BrightHire, HackerRank, plus native posting to 25,000+ job boards and standard calendar/email systems (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365).

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Unified platform / single source of truth
  • One-click posting to 25,000+ job boards
  • Pre-built pipeline templates save setup time

Cons:

  • Lacking customization in certain areas
  • Bit of a learning curve

New Product Updates from Rippling

Rippling Adds New Device Buyback Feature
Rippling Device Buyback lets you confirm sales and apply credits instantly.
November 16 2025
Rippling Adds New Device Buyback Feature

Rippling has unveiled Device Buyback in its Inventory Management, allowing IT teams to retire and recycle hardware securely, with proceeds credited to future invoices. For more information, visit Rippling's official site.

Best for in-house talent acquisition teams

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.7/5

Pinpoint is designed for in-house recruiting teams that want to attract and manage top talent efficiently without relying on external agencies. It combines an intuitive interface with deep configurability, giving hiring teams the control to design their own workflows, build strong employer brands, and deliver a better candidate experience.

Why I Picked Pinpoint

I picked Pinpoint because it empowers in-house talent teams to run hiring like a high-performing operation. You can create unlimited custom workflows that match your company’s hiring stages, post to multiple job boards with one click, and automate interview scheduling to save hours of coordination time.

I also like that Pinpoint isn’t priced per user, so larger organizations can give every hiring manager access without worrying about cost creep. Beyond the core ATS, its blind screening and candidate scorecards help your team make more objective, data-driven decisions—key for maintaining fairness in internal hiring processes.

Pinpoint Key Features

Here are some standout features that make Pinpoint effective for in-house teams:

  • Custom Report Builder: Track hiring metrics that matter most to your organization.
  • Employer Branding Tools: Build branded career pages and personalized candidate communications.
  • Automated Interview Scheduling: Reduce manual back-and-forth by syncing directly with hiring managers’ calendars.
  • Unlimited Users: Give full access to your entire recruiting and HR team at no extra cost.

Pinpoint Integrations

Integrations include ADP, BambooHR, DocuSign, Google Meet, Gusto, Microsoft Teams, Rippling, Sage People, SAP, Workday, UKG Pro, and Zoom.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Customizable workflows for any department or role type
  • Unlimited users—ideal for large in-house recruiting teams
  • Exceptional customer success and support

Cons:

  • Reporting setup can take time to customize
  • Some features only available in the Enterprise tier

New Product Updates from Pinpoint

Pinpoint Streamlines Reference Checks and Enhances Onboarding
Monitor reference requests from the candidate dashboard in Pinpoint.
October 26 2025
Pinpoint Streamlines Reference Checks and Enhances Onboarding

Pinpoint now offers an integrated solution for reference checks and enhanced onboarding features to help your HR team work faster and hire smarter. For more information, visit Pinpoint's official site.

Best for automated offers and analytics

  • 7-day free trial
  • From $10/user/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.4/5

BambooHR is ideal for small and mid-sized businesses that want to move quickly from candidate selection to signed offer. Its applicant tracking system (ATS) pairs automation with insights—helping you send digital offers, track responses, and analyze where your best applicants come from—all within one connected HR suite.

Why I Picked BambooHR

I picked BambooHR because it automates key parts of the hiring process, saving your team time while keeping candidates engaged.

For example, you can send branded digital offer letters that automatically fill in candidate details and include e-signature fields, removing the need for manual edits or external tools, and built-in reminders help recruiters follow up with applicants promptly, ensuring no one slips through the cracks.

I also like that BambooHR’s analytics reports—like the Applicant Sources and Funnel Reports—reveal exactly where your recruiting bottlenecks are and which job boards deliver the best results. Together, these tools help you hire faster and smarter.

BambooHR Key Features

Here are some standout features worth noting:

  • Automated Offer Letters: Generate personalized offers with e-signatures in just a few clicks.
  • Applicant Funnel Report: Identify which hiring stages take longest and improve process efficiency.
  • Applicant Sources Report: Track which job boards or campaigns bring in top candidates.
  • Mobile Recruiting App: Manage applications, message candidates, and approve offers on the go.

BambooHR Integrations

Integrations include Indeed, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Checkr, Okta, Slack, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Clear analytics on candidate sources and hiring funnel
  • Automated offer letters with built-in e-signature tools
  • ATS is connected to onboarding tools for hired candidates

Cons:

  • Some analytics features require higher pricing tier
  • Reporting dashboards could use more export options

New Product Updates from BambooHR®

BambooHR Embeds EOR Offboarding Into the Platform
BambooHR embeds EOR offboarding steps directly into the employee profile.
January 11 2026
BambooHR Embeds EOR Offboarding Into the Platform

BambooHR introduces an embedded EOR offboarding experience powered by Remote, accessible directly from the employee profile. This update helps teams complete EOR offboarding without leaving BambooHR while ensuring compliance and process clarity. For more information, visit BambooHR's official site.

Best for streamlined hiring automation

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.6/5

For hiring teams looking to hire fast, ClearCompany offers an applicant tracking system built for recruiters managing volume and complexity. If your team needs to source, screen, engage, and hire candidates from a unified system while keeping reports and compliance in view, this is a strong fit.

Why I Picked ClearCompany

I picked ClearCompany because it helps you automate the hiring process to make it as fast and efficient as possible.

For example, its automated sourcing engine draws from 800 million+ global profiles to bring pre-qualified candidates into your pipeline. You can send job postings across major boards in a few clicks, then use its Text-to-Apply and bulk-text features to reach candidates where they are.

Also, the interview toolkit includes AI-notetaker transcripts and structured scorecards, which helps your team evaluate candidates consistently and fairly. On the analytics side, you get real-time dashboards (Liveboards) powered by natural-language queries so you can see where bottlenecks lie and act quickly.

ClearCompany Key Features

Here are some standout features worth highlighting:

  • Branded Career Site & Virtual Recruiter Chatbot: A career-site chatbot engages visitors 24/7, asks screening questions, and schedules interviews.
  • Text Recruiting Suite: Includes Text-to-Apply, ClearText one-to-one texting, and bulk texting templates to accelerate candidate communication.
  • Structured Interview Workflows: Lets you create interview guides, scorecards, and custom workflows to ensure each recruit is assessed against the same criteria.
  • ClearInsights Analytics: Real-time dashboards plus natural-language querying let you pull reports like “time to hire by source” or “pipeline conversion by department” without an analyst.

ClearCompany Integrations

Integrations include ADP Workforce Now, LinkedIn Recruiter, Indeed, JobTarget, major job boards, Zoom (for video interviews), Microsoft Outlook/Calendar, and Single Sign-On (SSO) systems.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Provides real-time dashboards you can query using natural language
  • Reaches candidates by mobile texting and QR-enabled applications
  • Automates candidate sourcing from a large global pool

Cons:

  • Some users report slower support responses and account setup complexity
  • Advanced report customisation is somewhat limited

Best for sourcing many qualified candidates

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.3/5

If you’re looking for a hiring tool that helps you build a strong candidate pipeline and promotes fair decision-making across your process, then Greenhouse is a smart choice.

Why I Picked Greenhouse

I picked Greenhouse because it helps your team reach a wide pool of candidates and evaluate them consistently. You can post jobs on over 1,000 job-boards and niche sites, which means you’re casting a wide net from the start.

It also supports structured hiring by letting you define scorecards and workflows ahead of time, so you’re comparing apples with apples rather than relying on gut instinct.

The platform tracks all candidate data and automates outreach, which means your team spends less time on administrative tasks and more time talking to people. Finally, with integrations across calendars, assessment tools, and background check platforms, Greenhouse supports the whole pipeline from sourcing to offer.

Greenhouse Key Features

Here are some standout features worth highlighting:

  • Multi-job-board posting: Post to 1,000+ boards at once to boost candidate reach.
  • Scorecards & structured interviews: Use templated scorecards to ensure every candidate is evaluated against the same criteria.
  • Candidate pipeline tracking: Visual dashboards and reports help you see where candidates are and what’s slowing things down.
  • Automated outreach & reminders: Automate candidate communications and interviewer reminders so fewer things fall through the cracks.

Greenhouse Integrations

Integrations include Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook/Teams, DocuSign, Checkr, HackerRank, LinkedIn Recruiter, Namely, Calendly.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Structured hiring tools help reduce interviewer bias
  • Great for sourcing many candidates from diverse channels
  • "Essential" (basic) plan offers good value for small businesses

Cons:

  • Phone support isn’t always available for every tier
  • BI tools only included in top-tier paid plan

New Product Updates from Greenhouse

Greenhouse's New Analytics, Real Talent™, AI scheduling, and Onboarding
Greenhouse's updated analytics lets you explore metrics from various angles.
September 28 2025
Greenhouse's New Analytics, Real Talent™, AI scheduling, and Onboarding

Greenhouse rolled out four major improvements to help you hire smarter and faster: a revamped analytics platform, Real Talent™ fraud detection and AI matching, AI-powered interview scheduling, and dynamic onboarding enhancements. Each update boosts insights, candidate quality, coordination, and new-hire setup. Visit Greenhouse's website for more.

Best for ease of use

  • 15-day free trial + free demo
  • Starting at $299/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.6/5

Workable is designed for hiring teams that want to fill roles faster and with less manual fuss. Its one-click job distribution to 200+ boards and built-in candidate scoring make it a strong fit for SMBs and growing companies who need to act quickly and consistently.

Why I Picked Workable

I picked Workable because it helps your team post jobs broadly and then move promising candidates through each stage with fewer bottlenecks.

For example, you can post one job and get it live on over 200 job boards and the platform’s AI-screening tools analyse resumes and matches them to your job requirements.

It can also automate interview scheduling and use one-way video interviewing, which speeds things up and avoids back-and-forth scheduling headaches, and you’ll also get built-in workflows and approval flows for offers, helping ensure your team is aligned and moves fast without tracking multiple spreadsheets.

Because all this is packed in an ATS that’s friendly for busy teams, Workable is especially suitable when you don’t have large HR teams and you need something that gives you real recruiting lift.

Workable Key Features

Here are some standout features worth highlighting:

  • Multi-board job distribution: Post once and push your job live on 200+ job boards and social platforms.
  • AI-powered candidate matching: Use a database of 400 million+ profiles and let the system surface candidates based on your role’s criteria.
  • Self-scheduling & video interviewing: Candidates pick interview slots themselves; you can conduct one-way video interviews to eliminate scheduling bottlenecks.
  • Offer & pipeline automation: Send offer letters with e-signatures, set approval flows, and track each candidate’s journey through stages you configure.

Workable Integrations

Integrations include LinkedIn Recruiter, Indeed, Zoom, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, BambooHR, and DocuSign.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Offer-letter templates + e-signatures means fewer manual docs
  • Candidates can schedule interviews themselves
  • Built-in AI screening cuts time spent reviewing unqualified resumes

Cons:

  • Some users report limited customisation on deep search filters
  • Premium features (e.g., texting, advanced assessments) cost extra

Best for staffing agencies

  • 15-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $25/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.4/5

Zoho Recruit is tailored for recruiters and staffing agencies who manage high-volume hiring and need an applicant-tracking system that covers sourcing through to hire. It excels at posting jobs broadly, managing candidate workflows, and converting hires into employees in one platform.

Why I Picked Zoho Recruit

I picked Zoho Recruit because it aligns sharply with the demands of recruitment teams who must move candidates through multiple stages efficiently and without switching tools.

For example, you can post an open role across 150+ job boards in a few clicks, and you also get built-in resume parsing and a skill-matching engine (Zia) that scores applicants based on your defined criteria.

If you operate as a staffing agency, you’ll appreciate features like a client portal to let clients review candidates directly. Plus, when you fill a role, you can convert the candidate into a full employee profile within the same system, cutting down data entry.

Overall, it gives you the kind of targeted hiring workflow support that staffing firms and corporate recruiting teams value most.

Zoho Recruit Key Features

Here are some standout features worth highlighting:

  • Multi-channel job posting: Publish a job to dozens of job boards with one submission.
  • Resume parsing & skill matching: Automatically extract candidate details and score them against job requirements.
  • Blueprint workflows & approvals: Create defined hiring stages with required actions and approvals for each step.
  • Customizable dashboards & analytics: Track recruiting KPIs like time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and activity sources in visual reports.

Zoho Recruit Integrations

Integrations include Zoho CRM, Zoho People, Zoho Mail, LinkedIn, Indeed, DocuSign, Adobe Sign, Slack, Google Drive.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Offers detailed analytics to track recruiting performance
  • Supports client portals, ideal for staffing agencies
  • Parses resumes and matches candidates based on skills

Cons:

  • Some recruiters report steep configuration effort
  • Native integrations strong for Zoho ecosystem, fewer options outside it
  • Various features can be overwhelming

New Product Updates from Zoho Recruit

Zoho Recruit's Standardized Withdrawal Reasons
Zoho Recruit standardizes offer withdrawals with mandatory reason tracking.
December 15 2025
Zoho Recruit's Standardized Withdrawal Reasons

Zoho Recruit introduces Withdrawal Reason to standardize explanations for offer withdrawals, ensuring consistent records. For more information, visit Zoho Recruit's official site.

Best for AI recruitment and candidate sourcing

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $15/user/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.9/5

Manatal is ideal for companies and recruitment agencies that want to use AI to make sourcing and screening faster and more accurate. It automatically enriches candidate profiles with social and professional data, helping your team identify quality talent from thousands of applicants.

Why I Picked Manatal

I picked Manatal because it brings AI directly into your hiring workflow, turning candidate sourcing and evaluation into a data-driven process.

For example, its recommendation engine scores applicants based on job fit, helping your team focus only on the most relevant profiles. You can also pull social data from LinkedIn, GitHub, and other platforms to enrich profiles automatically—a big time-saver for recruiters handling high volumes.

I also like how the drag-and-drop Kanban pipeline makes it easy to track progress across hiring stages, while the built-in CRM helps agencies manage clients and placements in one place. Lastly, you can build branded career pages without technical support, keeping your employer branding consistent across roles.

Manatal Key Features

Here are some standout features worth highlighting:

  • AI Candidate Recommendations: Uses machine learning to score and rank candidates by relevance to open roles.
  • Social Data Enrichment: Aggregates information from LinkedIn and 20+ sources to create detailed candidate profiles.
  • Kanban-Style Pipeline: Visual drag-and-drop interface that lets your team move candidates smoothly through each hiring stage.
  • Branded Career Pages: Build custom, fully branded career sites—no coding needed—to attract candidates directly to your jobs.

Manatal Integrations

Integrations include LinkedIn, Indeed, Gmail, Outlook, Mailchimp, Microsoft 365, Google Suite, Zapier, BambooHR®, and Codility.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • AI-based recommendation of candidates and social media recruitment
  • Custom career page builder enhances employer branding
  • Drag-and-drop pipelines simplify tracking candidate progress

Cons:

  • No mobile app for hiring managers
  • Reporting customization options are somewhat limited

New Product Updates from Manatal

Manatal Launches Advanced Career Page in Public Beta
A preview of Manatal’s Advanced Career Page with branded design and job posts.
November 23 2025
Manatal Launches Advanced Career Page in Public Beta

Manatal introduces the Advanced Career Page, featuring custom subdomains, modern templates, and improved data mapping to enhance branding and streamline applicant workflows. The update helps teams boost conversion, maintain clean data, and centralize job management with ease. For more information, visit Manatal's official site.

Best for automated job postings & sourcing

  • Free demo available
  • Modular pricing, from $3 (module-dependent)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.7/5

Folks ATS is built for small and medium-sized businesses that want to save time through automated job postings and smarter candidate sourcing. It centralizes your entire hiring process—from publishing openings to tracking applicants and analyzing performance—so your team can fill roles faster without juggling multiple tools or job boards.

Why I Picked Folks ATS

I picked Folks ATS because it automates one of the most time-consuming recruiting tasks: posting jobs and sourcing candidates across multiple platforms.

With a single click, you can publish openings to LinkedIn, Indeed, and Jobillico, and manage all responses in one dashboard. Then, its resume parser automatically extracts key information and ranks candidates based on relevance, so you can focus on the best talent instead of sifting through every CV.

You also get automated communication tools—like customizable email templates and scheduling—to keep candidates engaged without extra admin work. Lastly, because it integrates with Folks HR, any successful applicant can be converted directly into an employee record, eliminating duplicate data entry.

Folks ATS Key Features

Here are some key features worth highlighting:

  • Centralized Applicant Database: Stores all applications from job boards, referrals, and your career page in one searchable system.
  • AI-Powered Candidate Matching: Uses keyword analysis and filters to surface your most qualified applicants instantly.
  • Custom Career Page Builder: Create a branded careers page where candidates can apply directly to your open roles.
  • Recruitment Analytics & Reporting: Track job-board performance, time-to-hire, and source quality to refine your posting and sourcing strategy.

Folks ATS Integrations

Integrations include LinkedIn, Indeed, Jobillico, Microsoft 365, Google Calendar, DocuSign, Dropbox Sign, and payroll/time-management tools within Folks HR.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Built for SMBs seeking time-saving automation over manual tracking
  • Converts hires to Folks HR profiles without duplicate data
  • AI resume parsing highlights top matches for faster sourcing.

Cons:

  • Career page customization options can feel limited
  • Some integrations require separate accounts (e.g., LinkedIn Recruiter)

New Product Updates from Folks HR

September 28 2025
Folks HR Partners with Komplice for Enhanced Payroll Solutions

Folks HR has formed a strategic partnership with Komplice to simplify payroll management for SMBs, providing an efficient all-in-one solution. For more information, visit Folks HR's official site.

Best for recruiting firms and enterprises

  • Free trial available
  • From $84/user/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

Recruit CRM is an applicant tracking system and customer relationship management (CRM) tool designed to automate and manage all the touchpoints in your recruiting process.

Why I picked Recruit CRM: Recruit CRM is particularly beneficial for staffing agencies and talent recruitment services due to its built-in tools for stakeholder feedback on applicants and its effort-to-revenue ratio report dashboards for each of your clients. Their software's ability to generate customized client invoices for placed candidates also helps recruiting agencies stay organized, track unpaid bills, and monitor revenue generation easily. Within their ATS, there's also a helpful assignee tag so your team knows who is working on what.

Recruit CRM Standout Features & Integrations:

One standout feature worth highlighting is the CRM side of their platform, which is geared towards the clients you're recruiting for, not the candidates themselves. Their CRM gives you a place to save notes regarding your clients, set up automatic email campaigns, generate and track invoices, and create customizable sales pipelines to help you bring in more clients.

Other key features within their ATS module include the ability to source candidates directly from LinkedIn, excellent hiring pipeline visualization and organization tools, and the capability for candidates to update their own user profiles. It also offers email and calendar integration to make interview scheduling easier, and a Kanban board to manage the steps associated with sourcing and hiring, like interviewing and background checks.

Integrations are available with over 5,000 apps like Asana, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Slack, and Typeform by connecting a paid Zapier account to their system. This vast range of integrations allows you to do everything in one place, saving you a ton of time. They also have a REST API to support additional integrations as well.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Includes powerful AI features like resume parsing, email sequencing and candidate matching
  • Huge list of third-party app integrations (over 5,000 via Zapier)
  • Includes Boolean and radius searches to capture more candidates
  • Includes a powerful Chrome sourcing extension

Cons:

  • Custom branding locked to highest paid plan
  • No freemium plan

New Product Updates from Recruit CRM

August 18 2025
Recruit CRM's Enhanced CV Formatting Feature

Recruit CRM introduces CV formatting to personalize resumes, redact sensitive info, and streamline submissions. For more information, visit Recruit CRM's official site.

Best for community-driven recruiting

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.7/5

Boon’s AI-powered referral hiring platform helps you attract top talent by turning job postings into shareable opportunities across your internal and external networks. The system supports multilingual recruiting, custom branding, and gamification to keep employees engaged in the referral process.

Why I picked Boon: I chose Boon for its unique blend of referral hiring and ATS capabilities. It doesn’t just track applicants—it actively generates them by turning your community into a candidate source. AI-driven recommendations help reduce bias by matching candidates to roles based on skills and experience rather than personal connections. The analytics dashboard also helps you monitor referral performance, making it easier to identify what’s working and where to improve.

Boon Standout Features & Integrations:

Standout features include quick onboarding, flexible pricing to match company growth, and gamification elements to increase employee participation in referrals. Boon also offers customizable branding, enabling you to align the platform’s look and feel with your employer brand, and supports multiple languages to fit global hiring needs.

Integrations include Greenhouse, Workday, Lever, SmartRecruiters, JazzHR, Workable, BambooHR, Freshteam, Slack, Microsoft Teams, LinkedIn, Google Workspace, Okta, Deel, Gusto, NetSuite, and more.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Works even without direct integrations
  • Gamifies referral programs to boost participation
  • Helps uncover passive candidates through referrals

Cons:

  • No free trial available
  • Focuses mainly on referrals, not traditional resume parsing

Best for unified recruitment pipeline views

  • Free plan available (under 15 employees)
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

Gem is an AI-powered recruiting platform designed to assist talent acquisition teams in managing their hiring processes more efficiently. It consolidates various recruiting tools into a single solution, providing a comprehensive view of candidate interactions from a wide range of platforms.

Why I picked Gem: Gem stands out with its powerful integration capabilities and user-centric design. It integrates with existing systems, allowing for a unified view of the entire recruitment pipeline. This integration extends to platforms like LinkedIn and email, making it easier to track candidate interactions and communications.

Additionally, Gem offers automated outreach and follow-ups, reducing the time and effort required to engage with potential candidates. Its full-funnel analytics provide deep insights into the recruitment process, helping teams identify bottlenecks and improve their hiring strategies. 

Pinpoint Standout Features & Integrations:

Standout features include branded email campaigns, which allow companies to create personalized and professional communications with candidates. It also offers diversity recruiting tools that help companies build more inclusive pipelines by tracking and promoting diversity metrics. Additionally, Gem provides comprehensive candidate sourcing analytics.

Integrations include LinkedIn, Greenhouse, Lever, SmartRecruiters, Jobvite, Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Taleo, Ashby, BambooHR, and iCIMS. 

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • User-friendly interface
  • Automated follow-up sequences
  • Detailed tracking of the recruitment pipeline

Cons:

  • Limited flexibility with insights
  • Emails sent from Gem can sometimes end up in spam folders

Best for growing businesses

  • 21-day free trial
  • From $1.20/user/month + $71/month base fee
Visit Website
Rating: 4.6/5

Freshteam is an applicant tracking system for growing businesses. With Freshteam, you can attract, hire and onboard new staff, offboard exiting employees, manage employee information, and track time-off, all in one place.

Why I picked Freshteam: In addition to recruiting, Freshteam enables HR to onboard new hires even before day one. Whether it’s getting forms filled out and signed, or handing out handbooks, you can do it through Freshteam in a few clicks. It also allows you to create an onboarding task list and assign it to respective people. You can gather all the necessary information, create employee profiles (which flesh out into a directory), and manage access permissions to employee information and documents.

Freshteam Standout Features & Integrations:

Freshteam helps attract top talent through various channels including a customizable career site, integration with multiple free and premium job boards, and social media channels. The software also has the ability to listen to emails, making it easy for you to recognize emails from job boards or vendors to add them to your candidate base. Once the candidates are in, the recruiting team can collaborate with hiring managers to screen and interview them, share feedback and leave notes for each other, hire, and roll out offers to the best candidates.

Freshteam integrates with all sorts of tools such as assessment portals, video interviewing platforms, job boards, and productivity software.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Able to integrate with pre-assessment testing and video interview software
  • Candidate sourcing pool incorporates employee referrals
  • Helpful automations for recurring tasks

Cons:

  • Many advanced features only available in Pro plan
  • Freemium plan is limited to 3 job postings

Best for those with little technical expertise

  • Free demo available
  • From $8/employee/month + $49 base fee/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

Eddy offers a base HR package with onboarding, document storage and electronic signatures, employee directory and employee profiles, training tracking, PTO tracking, and time tracking. Their ATS package is offered as an add-on, as is payroll and HR advising. This makes them flexible and scalable, as you only pay for the services you need.

Why I picked Eddy: Eddy is great for small businesses because they offer a jack-of-all-trades tool at an affordable price. They also prioritize an ease-of-use UI so that anyone can get up to speed on the platform with minimal training. A lot of their major processes have been distilled into drag-and-drop or point-and-click, so no technical expertise is required.

Eddy Standout Features & Integrations:

Eddy's applicant tracking system empowers you to post jobs to popular job boards in a single click as well as to your own customizable company careers page. Eddy offers visibility into every stage of the hiring process with an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop pipeline to manage and automate communication with applicants. Click into candidate profiles to view important details and collaborate with team members by rating, commenting, tagging, and even adding emoji reactions to each applicant.

Eddy integrates directly with popular job boards such as Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn, Monster, Talent.com and ZipRecruiter, allowing you to post vacation positions rapidly across multiple job sites.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Training tracking tools are great for onboarding new hires
  • Friendly, helpful customer support team
  • Excellent document management system
  • Super easy to use & intuitive

Cons:

  • ATS module costs extra
  • No free trial or freemium plan

Best for automated candidate reminders

  • 18-day free trial
  • From $269/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.4/5

Recruitee is a robust, affordable, and scalable applicant tracking system (ATS) and recruiting software that facilitates the recruitment process using a collaborative approach to help decrease time-to-hire.

Why I picked Recruitee: Their ATS platform includes robust features, along with career page branding, as well as advanced tools for candidate sourcing and job promotion. Recruitee's cloud-based platform is available as a web and mobile application and is best suited for small and midsize businesses, hiring firms, and fast-growing global companies.

Recruitee Standout Features & Integrations:

Features include a wide set of tools that are vital for the recruitment process, from job posting to employee hiring and onboarding. Users have the option to create pipelines with custom views, filters, and stages, allowing for a more precise view of the overall state of their hiring efforts. Workflow templates are available to help set up pipelines, emails, and other important recruiting tasks.

The job scheduler function helps recruiters schedule the hiring process for a specific position; i.e., it allows them to schedule when a particular job should go online and offline, before posting. The software also enables users to automate several manual tasks, including evaluation requests and disqualification emails.

Another key feature of Recruitee is the overdue candidate reminders, which allows recruiters to create time limits for every stage of their pipelines. This means that candidates will not have to wait too long without connecting with an actual human, a recruiting agent, or HR personnel. Recruitee’s CareersHub and custom landing page features allow companies to create a robust careers site and custom landing pages for showcasing employer branding and publishing recruitment campaigns.

Integrations are available with 90+ popular software systems, including Alpha-Test Online Assessments, DocuSign, eSkill, Gusto, HackerRank, HireEZ, Hireflix, SAP SuccessFactors, Slack, TestGorilla, Testlify, Zoom, and others.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Full-feature mobile app is very user-friendly
  • Lots of helpful integrations with skill assessment tools
  • Includes a ReferralsHub to collect employee referrals

Cons:

  • Questionnaires and evaluation forms are only available in their mid-level pricing plan
  • Pricing plans may be too expensive for SMBs

Best for customizable recruiting solutions

  • Free demo available
  • From $75/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.4/5

JazzHR is a robust applicant tracking system (ATS) designed to simplify and enhance the hiring process for small and medium-sized businesses.

Why I picked JazzHR: One of the key strengths of JazzHR is its advanced applicant tracking capabilities. The ATS platform provides customizable workflows that allow users to tailor the hiring process to their specific needs. With features like automated resume parsing and candidate ranking, recruiters can quickly identify top candidates and move them through the hiring pipeline.

Additionally, JazzHR's intuitive dashboard offers real-time visibility into the status of each candidate, making it simple to track progress and ensure no applicant falls through the cracks. The platform integrates with popular calendar applications, enabling efficient scheduling and reducing back-and-forth communication. Automated email templates and reminders also ensure that both candidates and interviewers are kept in the loop.

JazzHR Standout Features & Integrations:

Standout features include eSignature capabilities, allowing for the seamless handling of offer letters and other important documents. JazzHR also provides powerful reporting and analytics tools, giving recruiters actionable insights into their hiring processes and performance. The ATS platform even supports compliance with various hiring regulations.

Integrations include LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, Google Calendar, Outlook, ADP, BambooHR, Namely, ZipRecruiter, Monster, Checkr, and DocuSign. 

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Robust candidate management features
  • Allows for a high degree of customization to fit unique business needs
  • Automated reminders and notifications

Cons:

  • Some users find the user interface outdated
  • Reporting features could be improved

Best for detailed recruitment analytics

  • Free demo available
  • From $85/user/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.4/5

PCRecruiter is an ATS software that helps recruiters and HR professionals manage the recruiting process from start to finish, including sourcing candidates, scheduling interviews, and extending job offers. PCRecruiter provides powerful tools for managing job openings, tracking progress, and measuring performance. It automates time-consuming tasks like candidate sourcing and communication, giving users more time to develop relationships with candidates.

Why I picked PCRecruiter: Their software lets users post new job openings on the company’s website and popular job boards. Candidates who apply for the job are then added to the database where they can be sorted and filtered according to different criteria, such as skills, experience levels, education levels, and location.

The software makes it easy to track every interaction with a candidate, including emails, phone calls, and interviews. This information can then be used to make better decisions about which candidates to pursue and how best to communicate with them. Users can also create Boolean search strings to narrow their candidate searches further.

PCRecruiter Standout Features & Integrations:

Features include a browser extension that helps users seamlessly import and update contacts from popular social platforms with PCR Capture for Chrome and Microsoft Edge, and tools to organize information like contacts and companies with multi-function lists.

PCRecruiter also provides users with comprehensive reporting tools that can be used to measure the success of your recruiting efforts. These reports can identify areas where improvements can be made, demonstrate the ROI of your recruiting budget, and can be exported in various formats, including PDF and Excel.

Integrations are available natively with Gmail, Microsoft Office, and Office 365. Additional integrations are available through their public API, or by connecting a paid Zapier account. They also offer a mobile app for Android and iOS devices too.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Automatic resume parsing from Outlook attachments
  • Mobile app supports recruitment on the go
  • Automated sequencing campaigns save teams time

Cons:

  • API access is priced separately based on data usage
  • No free trial available

Best for integrations

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.2/5

Bullhorn’s recruitment CRM is designed to help recruiters manage their candidate relationships by relying on automations to create high-quality touch-points throughout the recruiting process. In tandem, their software also functions as an ATS, which makes it suitable for both individual recruiters or staffing agencies dealing with large volumes of candidates.

Their system cuts down on busywork by passively tracking all candidate communications through their integration with Gmail and Outlook. This means candidate records are automatically updated in real-time as you go about your email outreach. By automating these common admin functions, recruiters are enabled to speed up their hiring process and make placements faster.

Recruiting teams will also appreciate Bullhorn’s full-feature integration with LinkedIn Recruiter, a go-to source for qualified candidates. From LinkedIn, you can check if a candidate’s profile is already in your system, and if not, add it with a click. And, vice versa, from within Bullhorn, you can click a candidate record to pull up their LinkedIn profile information too (as shown above). Bullhorn’s CRM also works for mobile recruiting through their app for Android or iOS mobile devices.

Bullhorn has 100+ software integrations available through their Marketplace, including integrations with C-Suite Corp, Checkr, Crimcheck, eSkill, Indeed, Referoo, SkillCheck, SkillSurvey, Text-Em-All, Xref, and many others.

Pricing details for Bullhorn are available upon request. They also offer a free demo through their website.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Extended ecosystem of application partners
  • Good API
  • Powerful search functions

Cons:

  • Lacks robust spread dashboard
  • CRM is limited

Best for recruiting, hiring, and onboarding

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.2/5

TalentReef's ATS and recruiting software specifically caters to companies hiring hourly workers. In addition to its staffing tools, it also has talent management features like performance, pay, and position management.

Why I picked TalentReef: You can track applicants through the hiring process and manage the candidate experience using this software. As potential new hires apply to your open roles, you'll be able to parse through their resumes and conduct assessments for better screening. You can also craft flexible workflows to move candidates through the stages in a way that makes sense for your business, and easily schedule interviews through the platform.

The software also has compliance tools to help ensure you cover all your bases when hiring new workers. It integrates with background-checking systems so you can rest assured new hires are ready and able to work before you make an offer. Speaking of which, customized offers can also be managed through the software. It also has onboarding and performance management tools to ensure new hires start off on the right foot and succeed.

TalentReef Standout Features and Integrations

One standout feature that I really appreciate in their platform is their automated interview scheduling capability. This feature gives your in-house recruiting staff the ability to sync their calendar with those of hiring managers, giving them access to their availability to cut down on rescheduling. You can also send a self-service scheduling link to your applicants to provide a better candidate experience, allowing them to book an interview at a time that works best for them. This module also includes configurable invitation templates, as well as booking notifications for the applicant and manager once interview times are confirmed.

Other key features within their applicant tracking system include chat applications, SMS management, branded career pages, job board management, a talent community, campaign communications, onboarding tools, compliance monitoring, performance management, and reporting & analytics tools.

Integrations include various job boards and social media platforms, payroll and HRIS systems, training and LMS software, POS systems, and background check services.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Recruiting and talent management in one place
  • Specifically designed for the needs of hourly workers
  • Customizable workflows and templates

Cons:

  • Pricing is not transparent
  • May not be suited to salaried workers

Best for resume parsing

  • 15-day free trial + free demo
  • From $99/month (10 users, 10 job postings)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.5/5

Recooty is a modern cloud-based applicant tracking system and recruiting software used by companies like Uber, FedEx, and Avast. Recooty has 250+ job boards partners who distribute jobs globally, including Indeed, Facebook Job Search, ZipRecruiter, Monster, Careerjet, Adzuna, Jora, Google for Jobs, Neuvoo, Talent.com, and others. You can also create a fully branded careers page using their ATS platform.

Recooty offers tools like resume parsing to eliminate manual data entry, candidate tracking and management, and workflow process automations. Their ATS solution collects both qualified candidates that have actively applied to your posting as well as passive candidates with relevant qualifications that have been sourced online.

Recooty has a lot of quality-of-life resources for HR professionals, too. For example, they offer a library of free job descriptions that can be copy-pasted and customized when you're launching your own candidate search. Plus, you can use their welcome poster template to make personalized welcome announcements for new hires by email or social media.

Recooty has built-in Gmail and Calendar integrations to take the pain out of candidate coordination. They are currently working on API documentation so that you will eventually be able to connect and integrate more of your tech stack with their ATS and recruitment platform.

Recooty's basic plan is free forever for 1 job posting and 1 user. Paid plans costs from $99/month for 10 users/10 active job slots. They offer a 14-day free trial.

Other Applicant Tracking Systems

Here are a few more recruitment ATS tools that didn’t make the top 15 applicant tracking systems list:

  1. SAP SuccessFactors

    For data analytics and reporting

  2. GoHire

    For industry-specific customizations to help businesses scale

  3. Oracle Taleo

    For large enterprises

  4. JobAdder

    For built-in job posting

  5. Avionté

    For attracting quality candidates

  6. Journeyfront

    For data-driven hiring practices

  7. Unnanu Hire

    For its free plan

  8. Transformify

    For mission-driven organizations

  9. VidCruiter

    For high-volume recruiting

  10. monday.com

    For creating customized workflows

  11. AvaHR

    For small businesses

  12. Teamtailor

    For advanced candidate search

  13. Tracker

    For combined ATS and CRM

  14. Mitratech Perform

    For collaborative hiring tools

  15. Paycor

    With an all-in-one HCM platform

  16. Recruiterflow

    For executive search firms

  17. Mitratech Circa

    For hiring diverse talent

  18. Lever

    ATS with integrated recruitment CRM capabilities

  19. Breezy HR

    ATS for diversity & inclusion recruitment

If you still haven't found what you're looking for here, check out these other tools that are related to payroll software, that we've tested and evaluated.

Selection Criteria for Applicant Tracking Systems

My approach to choosing the best applicant tracking software is based on my personal experience managing hiring processes and extensive research into how these software systems address the needs, pain points, and goals of recruiters and hiring teams in real, day-to-day scenarios.

Core ATS Functionalities (25% of total score): For an applicant tracking system to land a place in my initial list, it needed to fulfill the following basic functionalities:

  • Job posting tools to help you advertise positions across multiple platforms
  • customizable dashboard where you can track job applications for each open position
  • Tools to streamline communication with candidates through automated emails and notifications
  • Candidate screening tools, including side-by-side comparisons, skill-based comparisons, and resume screening to speed up candidate selection
  • Interview scheduling tools to automate the booking process
  • Collaboration tools to make it easier for internal teams to discuss hiring decisions as a group

Additional Standout Features (25% of total score): To help me hone in on the best applicant tracking software on the market, I also took note of any unique features, including:

  • AI-driven analytics tools that offer deeper insights into the recruitment process
  • Innovative candidate engagement tools like video interviewing or AI-driven chatbots for pre-screening
  • Enhanced mobile applications or dedicated ATS apps that provide a full range of ATS functionalities for recruiters communicating with candidates on the go

Ease of Use (10% of total score): To evaluate the usability of each applicant tracking system, I considered the following:

  • An intuitive user interface that minimizes the learning curve
  • Clear and logical menu structures that lend quick access to essential features
  • Visual recruiting pipelines, color-coding, or visual status flags that make it easy to digest information at a glance
  • Drag-and-drop functionalities for ease of scheduling interviews and organizing candidate profiles
  • Role-based access controls that are straightforward to configure

Customer Onboarding and Customer Support (10% of total score): To get a sense of each software provider's customer onboarding process and the level of customer support each vendor offered, I considered the following factors:

  • Quick setup processes with clear guidelines for new users
  • Comprehensive ATS training materials such as videos, templates, and interactive product tours
  • Data migration support for transferring existing candidate information into the new system
  • Availability of customer support during the onboarding phase to address any issues
  • The availability of multiple support channels, including email, phone, and chat
  • The existence of a self-service knowledge base or other self-help resources to speed up troubleshooting
  • The overall quality, responsiveness, and helpfulness of the support team during customer onboarding and post-purchase, as inferred from customer reviews
  • Regular updates regarding new features of system-wide changes

Value for Price (10% of total score): To gauge the value of each software, I considered the following factors:

  • The availability of free trials or demos to test the software before purchasing
  • Transparent pricing models that clearly explain which features are included at each level, without hidden fees
  • Tiered pricing plans that cater to different business sizes, from small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) up to enterprise-level organizations
  • Comparable pricing to other applicant tracking system examples

Integration capability (10% of total score): Evaluating the integration capabilities of applicant tracking systems (ATS) is crucial for understanding their usability and functionality. Here are the factors I considered:

  • Advanced integration capabilities with social media for a broader reach in sourcing candidates
  • Seamless integration with internal HR tools such as HR Information Systems (HRIS), payroll systems, and onboarding platforms that are essential for efficient HR operations
  • The system's ability to connect with external resources like recruiting platforms and job boards to enhance the recruiting reach and efficiency
  • Assessing integration with advanced tools such as assessment platforms and video interviewing capabilities, which are critical for a comprehensive evaluation of applicants
  • Whether the ATS system offers direct, first-party integrations or relies on third-party APIs, with a preference for systems that provide more reliable, easy, and smooth direct integration options
  • A high score is given to systems that offer a wide range of robust integration options that improve overall system usability and performance

Customer Reviews (10% of total score): Evaluating customer reviews is the final element of my selection process, which helps me understand how well a product performs in the hands of real users. Here are the factors I considered:

  • Whether a product has consistently high ratings across multiple review platforms, indicating a broad level of user satisfaction
  • Specific praises, criticisms, or trends in customer feedback that indicate the software's strengths or areas for improvement
  • Whether customer feedback specifically mentions issues with ease of use, customer support responsiveness, or lacking features
  • Testimonials that highlight specific features that users found beneficial for their recruitment needs

By using this assessment framework, I was able to identify applicant tracking systems that go beyond basic requirements to offer additional value through unique features, intuitive usability, smooth onboarding, effective support, and overall value for price.

Use your ATS and sourcing tools strategically. Leverage AI to help with baseline screening, but always make room for the human touch to evaluate culture fit and adaptability.

Karen Weeks

Vice President of People at Ordergroove

How to Choose an Applicant Tracking System

Applicant tracking systems can help you find better candidates faster, move them through your process more efficiently, and create a better hiring experience for everyone involved.

But as you can see, there are lot of vendors to choose from. To help you figure out which applicant tracking system software is the best fit for your needs, keep the following points in mind:

FactorWhat to Consider
Hiring Challenges- Identify current recruiting pain points
- If interview scheduling is a bottleneck, prioritize ATSs with calendar integrations and scheduling tools
User Access & Roles- How many users will access the system?
- Is pricing based on per-user, per-job, or flat rate?
- Look for role- and/or location-based permissions for recruiters, hiring managers, and collaborators
- Ensure proper access controls and data security compliance
Integration Needs- Does it integrate with your HRIS, onboarding tools, or background check platforms?
- Can it replace multiple tools with one consolidated system?
Scalability- Will the ATS support long-term hiring growth?
- Does it offer flexible pricing plans?
- If hiring globally, does it support multi-country compliance, language localization, and international job postings?
Workflow Compatibility- Does the ATS align with your current recruiting workflows and delivery models?
- Consider what’s working, what isn’t, and tailor your selection accordingly
- Don’t rely solely on popularity—focus on what matches your specific needs and processes
Author Tip

Author Tip

Get input from your stakeholders (IT and finance are always useful) and use their feedback to write use cases and build a matrix comparing what’s important to each stakeholder group.

The race for top talent is fast-paced, and recruitment software is evolving just as quickly. Here are several key trends shaping applicant tracking systems to meet the needs of modern recruiters.

Most Important Evolving Features

AI-driven screening and skill matching

Managing large volumes of applications efficiently is a major challenge for many recruiters.

AI integration into ATS software is streamlining this process by using machine learning to quickly scan resumes and identify candidates with the best skill matches for your job requirements.

This significantly speeds up screening and adopts a skills-first approach, reducing potential hiring biases. AI also helps automate tasks like writing job descriptions and creating email templates, cutting down time-to-hire.

If this resonates with you, check out our best AI recruiting software for some cherry-picked options.

Hiring Bias Reduction Tools

As diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) continue to grow in importance, many ATS tools are adding features to reduce unconscious bias.

These tools can anonymize applications by removing personal details like names, gender, age, and ethnicity, allowing recruiters to focus solely on skills and qualifications, fostering a more equitable hiring process.

Mobile accessibility and optimization

With mobile usage continuing to rise, ATS systems are increasingly optimized for mobile recruiting.

According to Appcast's 2022 Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report, 67% of job applications are now completed on mobile devices. Key mobile-friendly features include:

  • Mobile-friendly job applications
  • Career pages with SMS alerts or notifications for new postings
  • Applications via text
  • Texting candidates directly from your ATS
  • Dedicated mobile ATS apps to speed up recruiting from anywhere.

Unique and Unusual Functionality

  • Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) Integrations: Some ATS companies are experimenting with VR and AR for immersive job previews and interviews, offering a novel way to engage candidates and provide a realistic job preview.
  • Blockchain for Candidate Verification: The use of blockchain technology for verifying candidate credentials and work history is emerging as a novel application, ensuring authenticity and transparency in the recruitment process.

What Is An Applicant Tracking System?

Applicant tracking systems are a type of HR software that helps you organize all aspects of your recruiting process, from sourcing candidates to comparing their skill sets to making them an offer.

The main aim is to help make your hiring process more efficient by reducing manual work and improving your time-to-hire.

Applicant tracking systems can also improve the quality of your hires and support better data-driven decision-making due to their advanced filtering and screening capabilities.

They're designed for both professional recruiters and in-house talent acquisition specialists.

Features of Applicant Tracking Systems

When selecting an applicant tracking system, keep an eye out for the following key features:

  • Job posting management: This lets you create, schedule, and publish job openings across multiple job boards in just a few clicks. It cuts down your manual posting time and helps you reach a wider pool of candidates.
  • Resume parsing: This feature automatically extracts information from resumes and organizes it into standardized profiles. You can quickly scan critical details—like skills, experience, or education—without having to dig through each document by hand.
  • Candidate database: Store all applicant records in one organized, searchable hub. With this, you can easily revisit past candidates, build talent pipelines, and avoid losing track of promising applicants.
  • Communication tools: Send emails, texts, or interview invites directly from the platform. These tools keep all communications streamlined and help you stay in sync with your team and applicants.
  • Interview scheduling: Coordinate and book interviews without endless email chains. Candidates and interviewers can select slots based on real-time calendar availability, saving headaches and double-bookings.
  • Collaboration and feedback: Team members can add notes, share ratings, and comment on candidates in one place. This encourages faster decision-making and helps you avoid miscommunication.
  • Workflow automation: Standardize repetitive steps like sending acknowledgment emails or moving candidates through hiring stages. You get more time for the important stuff—like actually talking to people.
  • Compliance and reporting: Keep your recruitment process above board with tools to ensure you’re meeting legal standards, like EEO tracking, and generate reports to identify possible bottlenecks or bias.

Common Applicant Tracking System AI Features

Beyond the standard applicant tracking system features listed above, many of these solutions are incorporating AI with features like:

  • Automated candidate screening: AI helps narrow your applicant pool by analyzing resumes and ranking candidates based on job requirements, so you spend less time sorting and more time engaging.
  • Intelligent matching: The system uses AI to match applicants with job descriptions by analyzing both skills and culture fit, surfacing candidates you might have missed.
  • Predictive analytics: AI-powered insights forecast which candidates are most likely to succeed or accept an offer, letting you focus your efforts where they’ll have the most impact.
  • Chatbots for candidate engagement: These AI bots answer candidate questions, schedule interviews, and provide status updates, ensuring applicants get quick responses any time of day.
  • Bias reduction tools: AI can help flag biased language in job postings or provide anonymized candidate profiles, promoting a fairer hiring process.

Strong ATS tools should track metrics like offer acceptance rates, scorecard completion rates, and salary averages to provide actionable insights.

Jesse Ajebon

Founder & CEO at People Street

Benefits of Applicant Tracking Systems

"Once hiring gets over a certain threshold, an ATS will help you create a more efficient hiring process and provide a better candidate experience."—Mariya Hristova, People and Operations Lead.

Depending on the size of your hiring volume, you're likely dealing with a handful of positions that you’re scouting for simultaneously, all with distinct candidate skills and requirements.

On top of that, you have candidates submitting their applications around the clock, vying for your attention and time.

Without the right tools, juggling all that information can be overwhelming. Here are the key benefits of using an applicant tracking system:

  • Improved recruitment efficiency: Since an ATS automates many time consuming activities, recruiters can focus more on value add activities like providing interview feedback.
  • Enhanced candidate experience: By streamlining the application process and providing timely communication, an ATS helps create a positive experience for applicants and a favorable brand perception among potential new employees.
  • Increased quality of hires: With advanced filtering and matching algorithms, an ATS can help identify the most suitable candidates based on the job requirements and organizational fit. This leads to a higher quality of hires, directly impacting your company's success.
  • Improved scalability: An ATS allows organizations to easily scale their recruitment efforts up or down based on their current needs without compromising the quality of the hiring process. This adaptability is crucial for businesses experiencing rapid growth or seasonal fluctuations in hiring.
  • Data-driven insights: By offering detailed analytics on various aspects of the recruitment process, an ATS enables organizations to make better data-driven decisions. Insights on performance metrics and hiring trends can help in refining recruitment strategies and improving future outcomes.

In short, by automating routine tasks, enhancing the candidate experience, and providing valuable insights, the best ATS platforms not only save time and resources but also empower more informed hiring decisions.

Costs & Pricing for Applicant Tracking Systems

ATS platforms typically offer a range of plans to suit different organizational sizes and hiring needs, from free versions designed for small businesses or startups to more comprehensive, feature-rich packages for large enterprises.

Understanding these options will help you select a plan that aligns with your recruitment goals, budget, and the scale of your hiring operations.

In general, applicant tracking systems tend to cost between $10 to $100 per user, per month, though some systems do operate on a flat fee model instead. Some systems do include a one-time set-up fee too.

However, most recruiting software providers are happy to offer you a free demo or free trial so you can get a first-hand feel for their ATS system before signing up.

Pricing & Plan Comparison Table for Applicant Tracking Systems

Plan TypeAverage Per User FeeAverage Flat FeeCommon Features
Free$0$0Basic job posting, limited candidate tracking, email notifications, and simple reporting
Basic$10 to $20 per user, per month$50 - $100/monthEnhanced job posting on multiple platforms, resume parsing, basic CRM, email integration, and basic analytics
Professional$50 to $100 per user, per month$200 - $500/monthAdvanced CRM features, bulk email sending, advanced analytics, integration with HR systems, and customizable workflows
EnterpriseCustom PricingCustom PricingFull suite of features including AI-driven analytics, dedicated support, enhanced security, and unlimited job postings
A breakdown of plan types, costs, and features for applicant tracking systems.

Note that the free option typically offers a taste of the system's capabilities, making it ideal for very small businesses or those in the initial stages of scaling their operations.

As I mentioned above, when considering an ATS platform, it's important to assess not just the current size of your recruitment team but also anticipate future growth. This approach ensures that the selected plan not only meets your current needs but is also scalable to adapt to your organization's evolving requirements.

If your organization is larger and more complex, you may also need to write an ATS RFP and other documentation to confirm the features and costs required.

If your hiring needs are minimal, you may be able to start with a free or basic plan initially. However, there are many reasons why you may want to opt for a more advanced plan, including:

  • Increased hiring volume: If your company experiences a surge in job openings, a more advanced plan can help you handle the higher volume of applicants through advanced features like AI resume screening.
  • Advanced analytics: If you need deeper insights into your recruitment metrics, advanced plans provide robust analytics tools to track and optimize your hiring strategies.
  • Employer branding: To help you stand out in a competitive job market, advanced plans often include recruitment marketing features that enhance your company's visibility and attractiveness to top talent.
  • Integration capabilities: Basic plans often lack integration abilities, so you'll need to scale up to unlock this feature. Advanced plans generally offer seamless integration with other HR tools and systems, allowing for a unified workflow.

Ultimately, it's important to secure a plan that offers the features you require to satisfy your current needs and solve your challenges without exceeding your budget.

Frequently Asked Questions About Applicant Tracking Systems

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions you may have about applicant tracking software and how it works:

Can ATS systems help reduce bias in hiring? 

Yes, many ATS solutions offer features to reduce bias, such as anonymized resume screening and standardized interview scorecards. While no system removes bias completely, configuring your ATS thoughtfully and including structured criteria help create a more equitable hiring process.

Are there tricks candidates can use to beat an ATS?

There are some strategies candidates can use to improve their chances of passing an ATS screening, often referred to as “beating the ATS.”

The most effective approach is tailoring their resume to match the job description by incorporating relevant keywords and phrases that reflect the required skills and qualifications.

Using a clean, standard resume format without complex designs, graphics, or columns also helps ensure the ATS can accurately parse the information.

While these tricks can optimize a resume for ATS screening, they work best when paired with genuine qualifications and experience.

Recruiters should be cautious of resumes that appear keyword-stuffed or overly generic, as they might signal candidates focusing more on passing the system than being a good fit for the role. A well-configured ATS can help identify resumes that balance both keyword relevance and substance.

Other Software Reviews

As you can see, there are a lot of options to consider when it comes to the best ATS systems to source candidates for your open positions.

And, the fact that 98.9% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS is also a strong indication of just how important these software systems are.

However, your journey doesn't have to stop here. If you're looking for a different type of application tracking system or specialty recruiting software, please take a look at these other lists too:

Stay in Touch

I hope this article got you one step closer to finding the best application tracking system for your business. Before you go, make sure to subscribe to our People Managing People newsletter too. You'll stay up-to-date on all our latest articles, podcasts, tool recommendations, and best practices related to talent acquisition and management.

Kim Behnke
By Kim Behnke

Kim Behnke is an HR software writer and analyst for People Managing People, drawing on nearly a decade of hands-on experience in human resources. With a background spanning recruitment, onboarding, performance management, training, policy development, and HR analytics, she brings a deep understanding of the challenges HR teams face and how technology can solve them. Kim holds degrees in psychology, writing, and technical communication, and is a Certified Digital HR Specialist through the Academy to Innovate HR. Her work is driven by a passion for streamlining systems and optimizing workflows to help HR teams work smarter.