What is the best applicant tracking system for a 50-person company?

For a 50-person company, the best overall applicant tracking system is usually **Workable**.

It’s a strong fit because it offers:

- Easy setup and intuitive hiring workflows
- Job posting to multiple job boards
- Collaborative candidate reviews
- Interview scheduling and scorecards
- Good reporting without being overly complex
- Enough scalability for a growing small-to-mid-sized company

Good alternatives:

- **JazzHR** — best if you want a lower-cost, simple ATS
- **Breezy HR** — good for visual pipelines and ease of use
- **Greenhouse** — better if you’re scaling quickly and want more structured recruiting
- **Lever** — strong for relationship-based recruiting and growing teams

My recommendation:
**Choose Workable** if you want the best balance of usability, features, and scalability for a 50-person company. If budget is the top priority, look at **JazzHR** or **Breezy HR**.


Here are some of the best ATS options for small business hiring:

## Best overall: **Breezy HR**
Good for small teams that want an easy-to-use system with job posting, candidate pipelines, interview scheduling, and collaboration tools. It’s simple, affordable, and designed well for SMBs.

## Best free/low-cost option: **Zoho Recruit**
A strong choice if you want an affordable ATS with solid customization, candidate tracking, email templates, and integrations. Especially good if you already use Zoho apps.

## Best for very small teams: **Workable**
Great if you want a polished, easy setup and strong job board distribution. It has good sourcing tools and candidate management, though it can get pricier as you scale.

## Best for companies using Google Workspace: **Recruitee**
Good collaborative hiring features, clean interface, customizable pipelines, and useful automations. Works well for growing small businesses.

## Best for hospitality/retail/hourly hiring: **JazzHR**
A reliable SMB-focused ATS with strong job posting, screening, interview management, and offer tools. Good for businesses hiring regularly across multiple roles.

## Best if you need HR + ATS together: **BambooHR**
Ideal if you want applicant tracking plus employee records, onboarding, PTO, and HR management in one platform.

## Best simple hiring tool: **Freshteam by Freshworks**
Good for startups and small businesses that need basic ATS features, career site pages, interview scheduling, and light HR tools.

### My recommendation
For most small businesses, I’d shortlist:

1. **Breezy HR** – best balance of features, usability, and price
2. **Zoho Recruit** – best budget-friendly choice
3. **BambooHR** – best if you also need HR software
4. **JazzHR** – best for consistent SMB hiring

If you hire only a few roles per year, choose **Zoho Recruit** or **Breezy HR**. If hiring is a regular part of operations, look at **JazzHR**, **Workable**, or **BambooHR**.


We're a 30 person startup and hiring is a mess in spreadsheets. What applicant tracking system should we buy?

Buy **Ashby** if you expect to keep hiring regularly and want something that won’t feel lightweight in 12–18 months.

For a 30-person startup moving out of spreadsheets, my default recommendation would be:

### Best default choice: **Ashby**
Good fit if you want:
- Clean applicant pipelines
- Structured interview plans and scorecards
- Strong scheduling
- Good analytics/reporting
- Candidate CRM/sourcing support
- Startup-friendly UX
- Slack/Google/LinkedIn integrations

It’s especially good if hiring quality and process consistency matter, not just “track resumes.”

### If you want the simplest/cheapest decent option: **Workable**
Pick **Workable** if you want:
- Fast setup
- Easy job posting
- Basic pipeline tracking
- Minimal admin overhead
- Lower complexity than Ashby/Greenhouse/Lever

Good for companies hiring occasionally or without a dedicated recruiter.

### If you’re scaling aggressively: **Greenhouse**
Pick **Greenhouse** if you’re going to be doing lots of hiring, have multiple interview loops, care heavily about structured hiring, and can tolerate more cost/admin.

### My recommendation
For a 30-person startup with spreadsheet chaos:

**Choose Ashby** unless budget is very tight.
If budget is tight or hiring volume is low, choose **Workable**.

Before buying, make sure whichever ATS you choose supports:
- Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 calendar sync
- Slack notifications
- Scorecards/interview kits
- Candidate source tracking
- Referral tracking
- Easy job posting to your careers page
- Basic GDPR/EEOC compliance if relevant
- Simple migration/import from your spreadsheets

I’d avoid over-customizing at the start. Define 4–5 standard stages — Applied, Recruiter Screen, Hiring Manager Screen, Interviews, Offer — and get the team using it consistently.


Recommend an applicant tracking system for a company with under 100 employees.

For a company with under 100 employees, I’d recommend **Breezy HR** as a strong applicant tracking system.

### Best overall choice: **Breezy HR**
**Why it fits small companies:**
- Easy to set up and use
- Good candidate pipeline visualization
- Job posting to multiple job boards
- Interview scheduling and team collaboration
- Affordable for smaller hiring teams
- Scales well as the company grows

### Good alternatives
- **Workable** — Best if you want more advanced sourcing and a polished recruiting workflow.
- **Greenhouse** — Best if you expect rapid growth and want a more structured, scalable hiring process.
- **JazzHR** — Best budget-friendly ATS for small businesses.
- **Lever** — Best if recruiting and candidate relationship management are a priority.

### My recommendation
If you want something practical, affordable, and easy for a small team to adopt, choose **Breezy HR**.
If you expect to scale hiring significantly in the next 1–2 years, consider **Workable** or **Greenhouse**.


Here are affordable ATS options for small and midsize businesses, with common use cases:

| ATS | Best for | Pricing style |
|---|---|---|
| **Zoho Recruit** | Budget-friendly all-around ATS | Low-cost plans; free tier available |
| **Workable** | SMBs needing easy setup and strong job board posting | Monthly plans; can be pricier but polished |
| **Breezy HR** | Small teams wanting simple pipelines and collaboration | Free tier plus paid plans |
| **JazzHR** | SMBs hiring regularly | Affordable monthly plans |
| **Recruitee** | Growing teams that want collaborative hiring | Subscription-based |
| **Freshteam by Freshworks** | SMBs wanting ATS + basic HR features | Free/low-cost plans |
| **Manatal** | Cost-effective ATS with CRM-style recruiting | Lower-cost monthly pricing |
| **Betterteam** | Very small businesses posting jobs quickly | Free/low-cost posting-focused option |
| **Greenhouse** | Scaling companies with structured hiring | More expensive; better for larger SMBs |
| **Lever** | Recruiting + candidate relationship management | Typically higher cost |

### Best affordable picks for SMBs
- **Best overall budget ATS:** Zoho Recruit
- **Best free/low-cost option:** Breezy HR or Freshteam
- **Best for simple hiring pipelines:** JazzHR
- **Best value for recruiting agencies or active sourcing:** Manatal
- **Best for fast job posting:** Betterteam

### What to look for
For an SMB, prioritize:
- Job board posting
- Resume parsing
- Email templates
- Interview scheduling
- Hiring pipeline tracking
- Team collaboration
- EEOC/compliance reporting if needed
- Integration with HR/payroll tools

If you want the cheapest reliable option, I’d shortlist **Zoho Recruit, Breezy HR, Freshteam, JazzHR, and Manatal**.


What ATS do small companies actually use?

For hiring, small companies often don’t use a full ATS at all. The most common “ATS” setups are:

1. **Email + spreadsheets**
   - Gmail/Outlook folders
   - Google Sheets/Airtable/Notion
   - Common for very small teams or low hiring volume

2. **Job-board built-in tools**
   - **Indeed**
   - **LinkedIn Jobs**
   - **ZipRecruiter**
   - **Wellfound/AngelList** for startups
   - Many small companies manage applicants directly inside these platforms

3. **Simple small-business ATS tools**
   - **Breezy HR**
   - **JazzHR**
   - **Workable**
   - **Recruitee**
   - **Zoho Recruit**
   - **Teamtailor**
   - **Freshteam**
   - **GoHire**

4. **Startup-friendly or growing-company ATS**
   - **Ashby**
   - **Lever**
   - **Greenhouse**
   - More common once the company is hiring regularly or has a recruiter/people ops person

5. **HRIS with recruiting included**
   - **BambooHR**
   - **Rippling**
   - **Gusto**
   - **HiBob**
   - Used when the company wants HR, payroll, onboarding, and recruiting in one system

In practice:
- **1–20 employees:** email, spreadsheets, Indeed/LinkedIn
- **20–100 employees:** Breezy, JazzHR, Workable, Zoho, Freshteam, BambooHR
- **100–500 employees:** Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, Workable, Teamtailor

So if you’re targeting small companies, don’t assume they all have Greenhouse or Lever. A lot are still using Indeed, LinkedIn, email, and spreadsheets.


I need to hire 10 people this quarter and have no recruiting software. What should I get?

Get a lightweight Applicant Tracking System (ATS) now. For 10 hires this quarter, don’t run this through email and spreadsheets.

### My recommendation
**If you want the fastest practical choice: get Workable.**
It is easy to set up, good for small-to-midsize teams, includes job posting, candidate pipeline, interview scheduling, scorecards, email templates, and decent reporting.

### Good alternatives
- **Workable** — best quick all-around choice for hiring 10 people fast.
- **Breezy HR** or **JazzHR** — lower-cost, simpler ATS options.
- **Greenhouse** — better if you expect to scale hiring significantly and want more structured interview processes.
- **Lever** or **Ashby** — good for startups that want recruiting CRM + ATS functionality.

### What you should make sure it has
At minimum, choose something with:

1. Job posting to multiple job boards
2. Careers page
3. Candidate pipeline tracking
4. Interview scheduling/calendar integration
5. Interview scorecards
6. Email templates and automated follow-ups
7. Resume/document storage
8. Basic reporting: source, stage conversion, time-to-hire
9. User permissions for hiring managers
10. Compliance features if relevant, especially for U.S. hiring

### Suggested stack
- **ATS:** Workable
- **Scheduling:** Built-in scheduling or Calendly
- **Assessments:** Only if needed — Codility, HackerRank, Criteria, etc.
- **Background checks:** Checkr or GoodHire
- **Offer letters/e-signature:** DocuSign, Dropbox Sign, or built-in ATS feature

### Quick implementation plan
This week:

1. Pick an ATS and import current candidates.
2. Create job templates for all 10 roles.
3. Define hiring stages: Applied → Recruiter Screen → Hiring Manager Screen → Interview → Final → Offer.
4. Add interview scorecards.
5. Set up email templates.
6. Connect calendars.
7. Publish jobs to your careers page and job boards.

If you are hiring 10 people this quarter and need something live fast, I’d choose **Workable** unless you have a strong reason to optimize for cost, in which case look at **Breezy HR** or **JazzHR**.


Cheapest applicant tracking system that isn't terrible

**Best cheap ATS that isn’t terrible: _Zoho Recruit_**

If you want the lowest-cost system that’s still usable, I’d start with:

1. **Zoho Recruit** — best cheap all-rounder
   - Usually around **$25/user/month** on paid plans
   - Good enough for pipelines, email templates, careers page, job board posting, resume parsing
   - Downsides: UI is a bit clunky; not as polished as Greenhouse/Lever

2. **Breezy HR** — best if you only hire occasionally
   - Has a **free plan** for limited use, often one active job
   - Very easy to use, clean interface
   - Downsides: costs rise if you need more openings/features

3. **Manatal** — good low-cost modern option
   - Often around **$15/user/month** starting
   - Nice UI, decent resume parsing, candidate database, LinkedIn-friendly workflow
   - Downsides: less established than bigger ATS tools

4. **JazzHR** — good small-business ATS
   - More expensive than Zoho/Manatal but still SMB-friendly
   - Simple, reliable, decent for teams
   - Downsides: not the absolute cheapest

**My recommendation:**
- If you want **cheapest decent**: **Zoho Recruit**
- If you have **1–2 jobs open at a time**: **Breezy HR free/low-tier**
- If you want **cheap but nicer UI**: **Manatal**

Avoid jumping straight to Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, or Workable unless you have more hiring volume; they’re better but much more expensive.


Best recruiting software for a small HR team of one

For a small HR team of one, the best recruiting software is usually one that is easy to set up, automates job posting and candidate communication, and does not require heavy configuration.

### Best overall: **Workable**
**Best for:** A one-person HR team that wants an easy, professional ATS
**Why it’s good:**
- Simple to use
- Posts jobs to multiple boards
- Good candidate pipeline tracking
- Built-in interview scheduling and email templates
- Strong reporting without too much setup

### Best budget option: **JazzHR**
**Best for:** Small businesses that want a solid ATS at a lower cost
**Why it’s good:**
- Affordable for small teams
- Easy job posting and applicant tracking
- Custom hiring workflows
- Good for companies hiring regularly but not at high volume

### Best simple/free option: **Zoho Recruit**
**Best for:** Very small teams or occasional hiring
**Why it’s good:**
- Lower-cost plans available
- Good applicant tracking basics
- Integrates well if you already use Zoho products

### Best for very easy visual hiring: **Breezy HR**
**Best for:** Solo HR users who like a Kanban-style pipeline
**Why it’s good:**
- Very intuitive candidate pipeline
- Email templates and automation
- Easy team collaboration if managers are involved
- Good for small businesses

### My recommendation
If you are an HR team of one and want the best balance of ease, automation, and professionalism, choose **Workable**.
If budget is the top concern, choose **JazzHR** or **Breezy HR**.
If you only hire occasionally, start with **Zoho Recruit** or a free/light plan before upgrading.


applicant tracking system recommendations for mid-market companies

Here are strong applicant tracking system (ATS) options for mid-market companies, depending on hiring volume, complexity, and growth stage.

## Top ATS Recommendations for Mid-Market Companies

### 1. **Greenhouse**
**Best for:** Structured hiring, interview consistency, reporting
Greenhouse is one of the strongest ATS platforms for mid-market companies that want scalable recruiting processes.

**Pros**
- Excellent structured interviewing tools
- Strong integrations with HRIS, sourcing, assessment, and onboarding tools
- Good reporting and DEI analytics
- Works well for companies scaling quickly

**Consider if:** You want a mature, process-driven ATS with strong recruiter and hiring manager collaboration.

---

### 2. **Lever**
**Best for:** Recruiting teams focused on sourcing and candidate relationship management
Lever combines ATS functionality with CRM capabilities, making it useful for proactive recruiting.

**Pros**
- Strong candidate nurturing and talent pipeline features
- Clean user interface
- Good collaboration tools
- Useful for companies doing a lot of outbound recruiting

**Consider if:** You need both an ATS and recruiting CRM in one platform.

---

### 3. **Ashby**
**Best for:** Data-driven recruiting teams and fast-growing companies
Ashby has gained popularity with mid-market and tech companies because of its analytics and automation.

**Pros**
- Excellent recruiting analytics
- Strong automation and workflows
- Built-in scheduling and sourcing features
- Modern interface

**Consider if:** You want strong reporting, automation, and a more modern ATS experience.

---

### 4. **iCIMS**
**Best for:** Larger mid-market companies with complex hiring needs
iCIMS is a robust talent acquisition suite suited for companies with higher hiring volume or more process complexity.

**Pros**
- Highly configurable
- Good for enterprise-style recruiting workflows
- Strong compliance and integrations
- Scales well across business units and locations

**Consider if:** You need flexibility, compliance, and scalability more than simplicity.

---

### 5. **SmartRecruiters**
**Best for:** Companies needing a full talent acquisition suite
SmartRecruiters is a strong option for organizations that want ATS, CRM, recruitment marketing, and marketplace integrations.

**Pros**
- User-friendly interface
- Good candidate experience
- Strong marketplace of integrations
- Works well for distributed hiring teams

**Consider if:** You want a modern platform with broad talent acquisition capabilities.

---

### 6. **Workable**
**Best for:** Smaller mid-market companies that want quick setup
Workable is easier to implement than some larger ATS platforms and works well for companies with moderate hiring needs.

**Pros**
- Easy to use
- Fast implementation
- Good job posting distribution
- Built-in sourcing tools

**Consider if:** You want a practical ATS without a long implementation process.

---

### 7. **Jobvite**
**Best for:** Companies focused on recruitment marketing and referrals
Jobvite offers ATS, CRM, onboarding, recruitment marketing, and employee referral features.

**Pros**
- Strong recruitment marketing tools
- Good referral functionality
- Suitable for growing hiring teams
- Broad feature set

**Consider if:** Employer branding, campaigns, and referrals are important to your hiring strategy.

---

## Quick Recommendations by Company Need

| Need | Best ATS Options |
|---|---|
| Best overall for structured hiring | **Greenhouse** |
| Best for outbound sourcing/CRM | **Lever** |
| Best analytics and automation | **Ashby** |
| Best for complex mid-market needs | **iCIMS** |
| Best all-in-one TA suite | **SmartRecruiters** |
| Best easy-to-use option | **Workable** |
| Best for recruitment marketing | **Jobvite** |

## My Shortlist for Most Mid-Market Companies

If you are evaluating vendors, I would start with:

1. **Greenhouse** – best all-around ATS for scalable hiring
2. **Ashby** – best modern ATS with analytics and automation
3. **Lever** – best if sourcing and CRM are priorities
4. **SmartRecruiters** – best if you want a broader recruiting suite
5. **iCIMS** – best if your workflows are complex or compliance-heavy

## Key Buying Criteria

When comparing ATS platforms, look at:

- Ease of use for recruiters and hiring managers
- Candidate experience
- Interview scheduling and feedback workflows
- Reporting and funnel analytics
- HRIS/payroll integrations
- DEI and compliance support
- Recruiting CRM capabilities
- Implementation timeline
- Customer support quality
- Pricing model and contract flexibility

For most mid-market companies, **Greenhouse, Ashby, and Lever** are usually the strongest first demos to schedule.


What's a good ATS for a 200 employee company?

For a ~200-employee company, I’d look at mid-market ATS tools that are easy to manage, integrate well, and don’t require a large recruiting ops team.

Good options:

1. **Greenhouse**
   - Best if you want structured hiring, strong interview scorecards, and scalable processes.
   - Great for companies planning to grow significantly.

2. **Lever**
   - Good all-around ATS + CRM.
   - Strong for sourcing, nurture campaigns, and collaborative hiring.

3. **Ashby**
   - Excellent reporting, automation, and modern workflows.
   - Good for data-driven recruiting teams; increasingly popular with tech/startup companies.

4. **JazzHR**
   - More budget-friendly and simpler to implement.
   - Good if hiring volume is moderate and you don’t need advanced analytics.

5. **BambooHR ATS**
   - Good if you already use BambooHR for HRIS.
   - Best for lighter recruiting needs, but less powerful than Greenhouse/Lever/Ashby.

6. **Workable**
   - Easy to use, fast setup, good job board distribution.
   - Solid choice for lean HR teams.

My shortlist for a 200-person company would be:

- **Best overall:** Greenhouse
- **Best modern/data-driven option:** Ashby
- **Best if sourcing is important:** Lever
- **Best budget/simple option:** JazzHR or Workable
- **Best if already on BambooHR:** BambooHR ATS

If you’re hiring more than ~30–50 roles per year or expect fast growth, I’d lean **Greenhouse, Lever, or Ashby**. If hiring is lighter, **Workable or JazzHR** may be enough.


Which applicant tracking systems are easiest to set up for a small business?

For a small business, the easiest applicant tracking systems to set up are typically:

| ATS | Best for | Why it’s easy |
|---|---|---|
| **Breezy HR** | Very small teams | Simple interface, quick job posting, drag-and-drop hiring pipeline |
| **Workable** | Growing small businesses | Fast setup, strong job board posting, good templates and automation |
| **JazzHR** | Budget-conscious small businesses | Affordable, straightforward workflows, easy collaboration |
| **Zoho Recruit** | Businesses already using Zoho | Low cost, customizable, integrates well with Zoho apps |
| **Freshteam** | Small businesses wanting HR + ATS | Easy onboarding, simple recruiting tools, useful free/low-cost tiers |
| **Recruitee** | Collaborative hiring teams | Clean interface, good team feedback tools, easy career site setup |
| **BambooHR ATS** | Companies already using BambooHR | Built into HR software, simple for basic recruiting needs |

**Best overall for easiest setup:** **Breezy HR** or **Workable**
**Best low-cost option:** **JazzHR** or **Zoho Recruit**
**Best if you also need HR tools:** **Freshteam** or **BambooHR**

If you want the least complicated option, start with **Breezy HR**. If you expect to scale hiring quickly, choose **Workable**.


For a growing tech startup, the best ATS is usually one of these:

| ATS | Best for | Why it’s strong |
|---|---|---|
| **Ashby** | Fast-growing startups | Excellent analytics, recruiting CRM, automation, scheduling, and scaling from early-stage to later-stage hiring |
| **Greenhouse** | Structured, scalable hiring | Very strong interview workflows, scorecards, compliance, integrations, and enterprise readiness |
| **Lever** | Recruiting CRM + ATS | Good for relationship-driven recruiting, outbound sourcing, and nurturing passive candidates |
| **Workable** | Simpler hiring needs | Easy to set up, broad job board distribution, good for lean teams |
| **Breezy HR** | Early-stage budget-conscious teams | Simple, affordable, and user-friendly for smaller hiring volumes |

### My recommendation

**Best overall for a growing tech startup: Ashby**

Choose **Ashby** if you want:
- Strong reporting and hiring funnel analytics
- Built-in CRM for outbound recruiting
- Automation for scheduling and workflows
- A system that can scale as your hiring team grows
- Good fit for engineering, product, GTM, and leadership hiring

### Choose Greenhouse if:
You want a more established, structured hiring process with lots of integrations and a mature interview scorecard system.

### Choose Lever if:
Your hiring strategy depends heavily on outbound sourcing and long-term candidate relationship management.

### Quick decision guide

- **Under 50 employees, hiring occasionally:** Workable or Breezy
- **50–300 employees, scaling fast:** Ashby or Lever
- **300+ employees or complex process:** Greenhouse or Ashby
- **Heavy outbound recruiting:** Lever or Ashby
- **Best analytics:** Ashby
- **Best structured interviewing:** Greenhouse

If I had to pick one for a growing tech startup, I’d shortlist **Ashby and Greenhouse**, then choose **Ashby** unless you need a very enterprise-style hiring process.


We need an ATS with a free plan. What are the options?

Here are solid ATS options that have had **free-forever plans** — not just free trials. You should verify current limits before committing, since vendors change plans often.

| ATS | Free plan highlights | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| **Zoho Recruit** | Free plan for basic recruiting, usually limited to **1 active job** and core candidate tracking | Small teams hiring occasionally |
| **Breezy HR** | “Bootstrap” free plan, typically **1 active position**, candidate pipeline, careers page basics | Startups hiring for one role at a time |
| **Freshteam by Freshworks** | Free tier has included limited job postings and basic applicant tracking | Small companies wanting ATS + light HR features |
| **SmartRecruiters SmartStart** | Free plan for smaller businesses, historically up to **10 active jobs** | Teams needing more active jobs without paying upfront |
| **Recooty** | Free/basic plan with limited active jobs and candidate management | Very small businesses |
| **Jobsoid** | Free plan with limited job postings/users | Small teams needing simple ATS workflows |
| **OpenCATS** | Free, open-source ATS you self-host | Teams with technical resources and no SaaS budget |
| **Indeed Employer Dashboard** | Free job posts and applicant management, but not a full ATS | Companies mainly hiring through Indeed |

My shortlist would be:

1. **SmartRecruiters SmartStart** — best if you need multiple active jobs.
2. **Breezy HR** — best simple free ATS for one open role.
3. **Zoho Recruit** — best if you already use Zoho tools.
4. **Freshteam** — best if you also want lightweight HR features.
5. **OpenCATS** — best if you want fully free and can self-host.

Key things to check before choosing: number of active jobs, number of users, careers page, email templates, interview scheduling, data export, GDPR/EEOC compliance, and whether job board posting is actually free or just the ATS is free.


Here are some of the top applicant tracking systems in 2026, grouped by best fit:

| ATS | Best for | Key strengths |
|---|---|---|
| **Greenhouse** | Mid-market and enterprise hiring teams | Structured hiring, interview scorecards, integrations, analytics |
| **Lever** | Companies focused on recruiting CRM + ATS | Candidate nurturing, pipeline management, collaboration |
| **Workday Recruiting** | Large enterprises already using Workday HCM | Unified HR suite, compliance, internal mobility |
| **iCIMS Talent Cloud** | Enterprise and high-volume hiring | Career sites, recruitment marketing, automation, reporting |
| **SmartRecruiters** | Global companies | Modern interface, marketplace integrations, collaborative hiring |
| **Ashby** | Startups and scaling tech companies | Advanced analytics, sourcing, automation, strong reporting |
| **BambooHR ATS** | Small to midsize businesses | Simple HR + recruiting workflows, ease of use |
| **Jobvite** | Recruitment marketing and talent acquisition teams | Campaigns, referrals, CRM, analytics |
| **JazzHR** | Small businesses | Affordable, easy setup, basic ATS features |
| **ClearCompany** | SMB to mid-market companies | ATS plus onboarding, performance, and HR tools |
| **Oracle Recruiting Cloud** | Large global enterprises | Deep enterprise HR integration and compliance features |
| **SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting** | Global enterprises using SAP | Enterprise-grade workflows, localization, HR suite integration |
| **Rippling Recruiting** | Companies using Rippling HRIS | Seamless HR, payroll, onboarding, device/app provisioning |
| **Bullhorn** | Staffing and recruiting agencies | CRM + ATS for agency workflows, client/candidate management |
| **Manatal** | Small agencies and SMBs | Affordable, AI matching, simple CRM/ATS features |

### Best overall picks by company type

- **Best for startups:** Ashby, Lever, Greenhouse
- **Best for small businesses:** JazzHR, BambooHR, Manatal
- **Best for mid-market companies:** Greenhouse, Lever, SmartRecruiters, ClearCompany
- **Best for enterprises:** Workday Recruiting, iCIMS, Oracle Recruiting Cloud, SAP SuccessFactors
- **Best for staffing agencies:** Bullhorn, Jobvite, Manatal
- **Best for analytics-heavy teams:** Ashby, Greenhouse, iCIMS
- **Best all-in-one HR + ATS:** Workday, BambooHR, Rippling, ClearCompany

If you want the safest shortlist for 2026, I’d compare **Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, SmartRecruiters, Workday, and iCIMS** first.


What ATS integrates well with LinkedIn and Indeed for a small company?

For a small company, the best ATS options that integrate well with LinkedIn and Indeed are:

### Best overall: **Workable**
- Strong integrations with **LinkedIn** and **Indeed**
- Posts jobs to multiple job boards
- Supports candidate sourcing and pipeline management
- Easy to use for small recruiting teams
- Good reporting and collaboration tools

### Best budget-friendly option: **JazzHR**
- Designed for small businesses
- Integrates with **Indeed** and supports LinkedIn job posting workflows
- Simple candidate tracking
- Lower cost than many larger ATS platforms

### Best simple/easy option: **Breezy HR**
- Very user-friendly
- Integrates with Indeed and LinkedIn-related sourcing/posting tools
- Good drag-and-drop pipeline
- Solid for small teams hiring occasionally

### Best if you expect to scale: **Greenhouse**
- Strong LinkedIn and Indeed ecosystem integrations
- More powerful reporting and structured hiring
- Better for growing companies, but more expensive and complex

**My recommendation:**
For most small companies, start with **Workable** if you want the best balance of ease of use, LinkedIn/Indeed integration, and scalability. If budget is the main concern, look at **JazzHR** or **Breezy HR**.


Small business hiring software with a careers page builder

Here are good small-business hiring software options that include a careers page builder:

1. **Workable**
   - Branded careers page
   - Job posting to multiple boards
   - Applicant tracking and interview workflows
   - Good for growing small businesses

2. **Breezy HR**
   - Custom careers site builder
   - Drag-and-drop hiring pipelines
   - Candidate messaging and scheduling
   - Strong value for small teams

3. **JazzHR**
   - Branded careers page
   - Job board syndication
   - Interview guides and offer workflows
   - Popular with SMBs

4. **Recruitee**
   - Customizable careers site
   - Collaborative hiring tools
   - Talent pools and automation
   - Good if you want a polished employer brand page

5. **Zoho Recruit**
   - Careers page integration
   - Applicant tracking
   - Affordable pricing
   - Best if you already use Zoho products

6. **Freshteam by Freshworks**
   - Careers site builder
   - Applicant tracking
   - Employee onboarding tools
   - Good for small businesses that also need basic HR features

**Best overall for small businesses:** Breezy HR or JazzHR
**Best for polished careers pages:** Recruitee
**Best budget-friendly option:** Zoho Recruit
**Best all-in-one ATS:** Workable


Best applicant tracking system for non-technical hiring managers

For **non-technical hiring managers**, the best applicant tracking system is usually one that is simple, visual, and easy to use without lots of setup.

## Best overall: **Workable**
**Best for:** Small to mid-sized companies that want an easy ATS hiring managers can actually use.

**Why it’s good for non-technical users:**
- Clean, intuitive interface
- Easy candidate review and feedback
- Built-in job posting to multiple boards
- Simple interview scheduling
- Good collaboration tools for hiring teams
- Not overly complex compared with enterprise ATS tools

## Other strong options

| ATS | Best for | Why consider it |
|---|---|---|
| **Breezy HR** | Small businesses | Very visual pipeline, drag-and-drop workflow, easy to learn |
| **JazzHR** | Budget-conscious SMBs | Affordable, simple, good core ATS features |
| **Greenhouse** | Larger or process-heavy teams | Excellent structured hiring, but more setup/admin needed |
| **Lever** | Companies focused on candidate relationships | Good CRM-style features, polished interface |
| **Recruitee** | Collaborative hiring teams | User-friendly, good team feedback tools |
| **Ashby** | Fast-growing companies | Powerful reporting and automation, but slightly more advanced |

## My recommendation
If your hiring managers are **non-technical and you want fast adoption**, choose:

1. **Workable** — best balance of ease of use and capability
2. **Breezy HR** — simplest and most visual
3. **JazzHR** — good if cost is a major factor
4. **Greenhouse** — best if you need a more structured enterprise-grade process

For most non-technical hiring teams, I’d start with **Workable** or **Breezy HR**.


What is the best ATS under $200 a month?

For most small businesses, the best ATS under $200/month is **Zoho Recruit**.

It’s a strong pick because it offers:

- Affordable plans well under $200/month
- Job posting and candidate pipeline management
- Resume parsing
- Email templates and automations
- Interview scheduling
- Careers page
- Good customization
- Integrations with Zoho, Google Workspace, Outlook, LinkedIn, etc.

### Best ATS options under $200/month

| ATS | Best for | Approx. pricing |
|---|---|---:|
| **Zoho Recruit** | Best overall budget ATS | ~$25–$75/user/month |
| **JazzHR** | Simple small-business hiring | Starts around ~$75/month |
| **Breezy HR** | Easy visual hiring pipeline | Free plan; paid plans often near/under $200 |
| **Manatal** | Recruiting agencies or sourcing-heavy teams | ~$15–$35/user/month |
| **Freshteam** | Small companies already using Freshworks | Free/low-cost tiers |

### My recommendation

If you want the best balance of features and price: **Zoho Recruit**.
If you want the easiest, cleanest interface: **Breezy HR**.
If you want a simple flat-rate small business tool: **JazzHR**.


Recommend recruiting software for a 75-person manufacturing company.

For a 75-person manufacturing company, I’d prioritize recruiting software that handles hourly hiring well: easy job posting, mobile applications, texting, interview scheduling, offer letters, and onboarding. Here are strong options:

## Best overall recommendation: **Workable**
**Best for:** Small/mid-sized companies that want a polished, easy-to-use ATS.

**Why it fits manufacturing:**
- Posts jobs to multiple boards quickly
- Good candidate tracking and interview workflow
- Mobile-friendly applications
- Built-in texting and scheduling options
- Strong reporting
- Scales well without being overly complex

**Potential downside:** Can be more expensive than simpler small-business tools.

---

## Best for hourly/frontline hiring: **JazzHR**
**Best for:** A 75-person company hiring production, warehouse, maintenance, and supervisor roles.

**Why it fits:**
- Affordable for small businesses
- Simple applicant tracking
- Job board posting
- Collaborative hiring tools
- Custom workflows by job type
- Good fit if HR is lean

**Potential downside:** Less advanced than Workable for automation and reporting.

---

## Best if you want recruiting + onboarding + HR: **BambooHR**
**Best for:** Companies that need both HRIS and hiring in one system.

**Why it fits:**
- Applicant tracking included
- Employee records and onboarding
- Time-off tracking
- Simple HR workflows
- Good for companies without a full HR department

**Potential downside:** ATS is not as robust as dedicated recruiting tools like Workable or JazzHR.

---

## Best if you hire a lot of hourly workers: **UKG Ready**
**Best for:** Manufacturing companies that need recruiting tied to payroll, timekeeping, scheduling, and HR.

**Why it fits:**
- Strong for workforce management
- Recruiting connects with onboarding, payroll, and timekeeping
- Good compliance features
- Built for hourly workforces

**Potential downside:** More complex and likely more expensive than needed if you only need basic recruiting.

---

## Budget-friendly option: **Indeed Hiring Platform / Indeed Employer Tools**
**Best for:** Companies that mostly source applicants from Indeed and want something simple.

**Why it fits:**
- Very strong applicant volume for manufacturing roles
- Sponsored job options
- Easy candidate communication
- Good for high-turnover or hard-to-fill hourly roles

**Potential downside:** Not a full ATS; candidate tracking and workflow tools are more limited.

---

# My recommendation

For a 75-person manufacturing company, I’d shortlist:

1. **JazzHR** — best balance of affordability and functionality
2. **Workable** — best if you want a more polished, scalable ATS
3. **BambooHR** — best if you also need HR/onboarding software
4. **UKG Ready** — best if you need recruiting tied to payroll, scheduling, and timekeeping

If you only need a simple recruiting system, start with **JazzHR**. If you want a more capable system and have regular hiring needs, choose **Workable**.


ATS for a small agency that hires seasonally

For a small agency that hires seasonally, look for an ATS with **month-to-month pricing, easy job posting, candidate texting/emailing, interview scheduling, and a reusable talent pool** so you can quickly rehire past seasonal workers.

### Best ATS options for a small seasonal agency

| ATS | Best for | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| **Breezy HR** | Small teams, simple hiring | Easy to use, good pipeline views, job board posting, affordable plans |
| **JazzHR** | Budget-conscious seasonal hiring | Good core ATS features, simple workflows, scalable plans |
| **Workable** | Higher-volume seasonal hiring | Strong job board distribution, automation, scheduling, candidate database |
| **Zoho Recruit** | Low-cost, customizable ATS | Affordable, good for agencies, integrates with Zoho tools |
| **Manatal** | Recruiting/staffing agencies | Strong candidate CRM, AI matching, agency-friendly features |
| **Recruit CRM** | Staffing/recruitment agencies | ATS + CRM, good for managing clients and candidates |
| **Indeed Hiring Platform** | Quick seasonal hiring | Useful if most applicants come from Indeed; less of a full ATS |

### My recommendation

If you want something **simple and affordable**:
**Breezy HR** or **JazzHR**

If you are a **recruiting/staffing agency managing clients and candidates**:
**Manatal** or **Recruit CRM**

If you hire in **bursts and want strong job board reach**:
**Workable**

### Features to prioritize

- Month-to-month or flexible pricing
- Talent pool / past applicant database
- Bulk email and texting
- Automated screening questions
- Interview scheduling
- Job board posting
- Mobile-friendly applications
- Tags for “seasonal,” “available,” “rehire,” etc.
- Basic reporting: source, time-to-hire, applicant volume

### Practical setup tip

Create pipelines like:

1. Applied
2. Screened
3. Interview
4. Offer
5. Hired
6. Seasonal Pool
7. Rehire Next Season

This makes it easy to quickly contact previous seasonal candidates before posting new jobs.


Which applicant tracking system has the best candidate experience for SMBs?

For most SMBs, **Workable** is one of the best applicant tracking systems for candidate experience.

Why it stands out:

- Simple, mobile-friendly application process
- Branded careers pages
- Easy interview self-scheduling
- Automated candidate communication
- Good balance of usability, features, and price for SMB teams
- Strong hiring-manager collaboration without being overly complex

That said, the “best” choice depends on your priorities:

| ATS | Best for |
|---|---|
| **Workable** | Best overall SMB candidate experience |
| **Breezy HR** | Simple, affordable, easy-to-use recruiting |
| **Lever** | Relationship-driven hiring and talent nurturing |
| **Greenhouse** | More structured hiring and polished candidate workflows |
| **Ashby** | Data-driven teams that want strong automation and reporting |

My practical recommendation:
If you are an SMB and want a strong candidate experience without enterprise-level complexity, start with **Workable**. If budget is the biggest concern, look at **Breezy HR**. If you want a more premium, scalable experience, consider **Greenhouse** or **Lever**.


We're outgrowing our spreadsheet hiring process. What tools should we look at?

You’re likely ready for an **Applicant Tracking System (ATS)**. A few strong options to look at:

### Best ATS options by situation

**For growing startups / SMBs**
- **Greenhouse** – very strong structured hiring, scorecards, interview kits, reporting.
- **Lever** – good ATS + CRM for nurturing candidates, popular with tech companies.
- **Ashby** – modern, strong analytics, good for teams that care about recruiting operations.
- **Workable** – easy to set up, good job posting distribution, solid for lean teams.
- **Breezy HR** – simpler, affordable, good if you want to move off spreadsheets quickly.
- **JazzHR** – budget-friendly ATS for small teams.

**For mid-market companies**
- **SmartRecruiters** – scalable, good candidate experience and integrations.
- **Pinpoint** – strong usability and employer branding.
- **Teamtailor** – good careers site and candidate marketing features.
- **Recruitee** – collaborative hiring, straightforward UX.

**For larger enterprises**
- **iCIMS** – robust and configurable, common in larger orgs.
- **Workday Recruiting** – makes sense if you already use Workday.
- **SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting** – best if you’re already in SAP.
- **Oracle Recruiting Cloud** – enterprise-grade, especially if using Oracle HCM.

### If you want HR + hiring in one place
Look at:
- **BambooHR**
- **Rippling**
- **HiBob**
- **Gusto**
These can work well if your hiring needs are straightforward and you also want onboarding/HRIS features.

### What to prioritize when choosing
Look for:
- Centralized candidate pipeline
- Easy interview scheduling
- Scorecards and structured feedback
- Email templates and automation
- Job board posting
- Careers page
- Reporting on funnel, source, time-to-hire
- DEI/compliance features if relevant
- Integrations with calendar, email, Slack, HRIS, assessments

### My short recommendation
If you’re a growing company and want a serious ATS: **Greenhouse, Lever, or Ashby**.
If you want something faster and simpler: **Workable, Breezy, or JazzHR**.
If you’re already using an HRIS, check whether its recruiting module is “good enough” before buying a standalone ATS.


Best ATS for a company that hires mostly hourly workers

For a company hiring mostly hourly workers, the best ATS is usually one built for **high-volume, mobile-first, text-based recruiting** rather than traditional corporate hiring.

### Best ATS options for hourly hiring

| Best for | ATS | Why it’s good for hourly workers |
|---|---|---|
| **Best overall for hourly hiring** | **Workstream** | Built specifically for hourly roles; strong texting, automation, interview scheduling, onboarding, and job board distribution |
| **Best for high-volume / enterprise hourly hiring** | **Fountain** | Great for fast applicant screening, automated workflows, multiple locations, and large candidate volume |
| **Best for conversational AI + texting** | **Paradox** | Strong chatbot, SMS engagement, automated scheduling, and candidate communication |
| **Best for restaurants, retail, local businesses** | **TalentReef** | Designed for hourly and frontline hiring; good onboarding and compliance features |
| **Best if you already use HR/payroll tools** | **UKG, Paycor, Paylocity, ADP Recruiting** | Convenient if integrated with payroll, scheduling, onboarding, and HRIS |
| **Budget-friendly option** | **Homebase Hiring** | Good for small businesses that also need scheduling and time tracking |

### My recommendation

If you’re a small to mid-sized company hiring hourly workers, start with **Workstream**.
If you’re hiring at very high volume across many locations, look at **Fountain** or **Paradox**.
If you want hiring tightly connected to payroll/HR, consider **Paycor, Paylocity, UKG, or ADP**.

### Key features to prioritize

- SMS/text recruiting
- Mobile-friendly applications
- One-click apply
- Automated screening questions
- Interview self-scheduling
- Job board syndication
- Location-based hiring workflows
- Fast onboarding and e-signature
- Integration with payroll/HRIS

For hourly hiring, speed matters most. The best ATS is the one that helps you contact applicants quickly, schedule interviews automatically, and reduce candidate drop-off.


applicant tracking software for a nonprofit with 40 staff

For a nonprofit with ~40 staff, you’ll likely want an applicant tracking system that’s affordable, easy to use, and doesn’t require a full HR/IT team to manage. Good options include:

| ATS | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Workable** | Easy all-around ATS | User-friendly, strong job posting and candidate tracking; may be pricier but good for growing orgs. |
| **JazzHR** | Small nonprofits on a budget | Affordable, simple workflows, good for organizations hiring regularly but not at high volume. |
| **Breezy HR** | Collaborative hiring | Clean interface, drag-and-drop pipelines, good team feedback tools. |
| **Greenhouse** | More structured hiring | Excellent but often more than a 40-person nonprofit needs unless you hire frequently. |
| **Lever** | Relationship-based recruiting | Strong CRM features, but typically more expensive. |
| **Zoho Recruit** | Low-cost option | Budget-friendly and customizable; interface is less polished. |
| **Recruitee** | Simple team hiring | Good collaboration features and easy setup. |
| **SmartRecruiters** | Scalable hiring | Powerful platform, may be overkill for a small nonprofit. |
| **Pinpoint** | Candidate experience | Good interface and employer branding, pricing may be higher. |

### My top picks for a 40-person nonprofit

1. **JazzHR** – best balance of cost, simplicity, and functionality.
2. **Breezy HR** – great if multiple managers participate in hiring.
3. **Zoho Recruit** – best budget-conscious option.
4. **Workable** – best if you want polished features and post to many job boards.

### Features to prioritize

- Easy job posting to your website and job boards
- Simple candidate pipeline tracking
- Email templates and interview scheduling
- Hiring manager collaboration
- EEO/compliance reporting if needed
- Affordable monthly pricing
- Nonprofit discount availability
- Integration with payroll/HR tools if you use them

### Recommendation

If your nonprofit hires fewer than 10–20 roles per year, start with **JazzHR**, **Breezy HR**, or **Zoho Recruit**. If you hire more frequently or need a more polished experience, consider **Workable**.

Also ask each vendor specifically about **nonprofit discounts**—many will offer reduced pricing even if it’s not advertised.


For most Series A startups, **Ashby** is usually the best ATS choice.

It’s well-suited for companies that are starting to hire more seriously but don’t yet need a huge enterprise system. It has strong recruiting analytics, scheduling, candidate CRM, interview workflows, and integrations without feeling as heavy as older ATS platforms.

Good options by situation:

- **Best overall for Series A:** **Ashby**
- **If you want a more established enterprise-style ATS:** **Greenhouse**
- **If you care a lot about CRM and outbound recruiting:** **Lever**
- **If you need something simpler and cheaper:** **Workable**
- **If hiring volume is low and budget is tight:** **Teamtailor** or **Breezy HR**

My recommendation:
If the company plans to hire aggressively over the next 12–24 months, use **Ashby**. If the recruiting team already has experience with Greenhouse and wants a proven standard, use **Greenhouse**. If you’re hiring only a few roles per quarter, start with **Workable** or **Teamtailor**.


Simple hiring software for a small business owner who does their own recruiting

For a small business owner doing their own recruiting, look for hiring software that is simple, low-cost, and doesn’t require an HR team.

### Best simple hiring software options

**1. Workable**
- Best overall for small businesses
- Easy job posting, applicant tracking, interview scheduling
- Posts to multiple job boards
- Good if you hire a few times per year

**2. Breezy HR**
- Very user-friendly
- Visual hiring pipeline: applied → screened → interviewed → hired
- Good for solo business owners
- Has a free plan for basic needs

**3. JazzHR**
- Good for small businesses with occasional hiring
- Job postings, candidate tracking, email templates
- Simple and affordable compared with enterprise systems

**4. Zoho Recruit**
- Budget-friendly
- Good if you already use Zoho products
- More customizable, but slightly less simple

**5. Homebase**
- Best for restaurants, retail, and hourly workers
- Hiring plus scheduling and time tracking
- Good if you need to hire part-time or shift workers

**6. Indeed**
- Simplest option if you just need applicants fast
- Post jobs, manage candidates, message applicants
- Not a full hiring system, but enough for many small businesses

### My recommendation

If you want the simplest all-around option: **Breezy HR**
If you hire hourly workers: **Homebase**
If you mostly use job boards and want quick applicants: **Indeed**
If you want a more complete recruiting tool: **Workable**

For a small business owner doing recruiting alone, I’d start with **Breezy HR or Homebase** before paying for a more advanced system.


Which ATS is best for collaborative hiring with a small team?

For a small team focused on collaborative hiring, **Breezy HR** is often the best fit.

It’s strong for small teams because it offers:

- Shared candidate pipelines
- Team comments and @mentions
- Interview scorecards
- Easy drag-and-drop workflow
- Email and calendar integrations
- Simple setup without heavy admin work
- Affordable plans, including a free tier for basic use

**Best overall for small teams:** **Breezy HR**
**Best if you want more structure and scalability:** **Workable**
**Best for polished candidate experience/employer branding:** **Homerun**
**Best if you expect to scale quickly:** **Lever** or **Greenhouse**

If you’re a small company hiring a few roles at a time, I’d start with **Breezy HR** or **Workable**.


Best applicant tracking system for a restaurant group

For a restaurant group, the “best” ATS usually depends on whether you’re hiring hourly staff at multiple locations, managers, or both. Here are the strongest options:

### Best overall for restaurant groups: **Harri**
Best for multi-location hospitality brands that want hiring, onboarding, scheduling, labor, and employee engagement in one platform.

**Good fit if you need:**
- Restaurant/hospitality-specific workflows
- Multi-unit hiring dashboards
- Manager-level approvals
- Onboarding and compliance
- Integration with broader workforce management tools

### Best for high-volume hourly hiring: **Workstream**
Great for quick-service, fast casual, and restaurant groups hiring cooks, servers, cashiers, hosts, and dishwashers across many locations.

**Strengths:**
- Text-message recruiting
- Automated screening
- Interview scheduling
- Location-based hiring
- Easy for store managers to use

### Best for large enterprise/hourly hiring automation: **Paradox**
Strong if you want conversational AI to handle applications, screening, and scheduling at scale.

**Best for:**
- Large chains
- Very high applicant volume
- AI chatbot-driven recruiting
- Fast interview scheduling

### Best for compliance-heavy hourly hiring: **TalentReef**
Often used by restaurants, franchises, and hourly employers needing structured onboarding and compliance.

**Strengths:**
- Hourly hiring workflows
- I-9/E-Verify support
- Onboarding documents
- Multi-location controls

### Best budget/simple option for smaller groups: **Homebase**
Good if you have a smaller restaurant group and want hiring tied to scheduling and time tracking.

**Best for:**
- Independent restaurants
- Small multi-location groups
- Basic job posting and applicant tracking
- Scheduling/time clock integration

## My recommendation
If you’re a growing restaurant group with multiple locations, start by evaluating:

1. **Workstream** — best for fast, hourly hiring
2. **Harri** — best hospitality-specific platform
3. **TalentReef** — best if compliance and onboarding are priorities

If you have 5–50 locations, I’d likely shortlist **Workstream and Harri** first. If you have 100+ locations or franchise operations, also look at **Paradox** and **TalentReef**.


What recruiting software works well for remote-first small companies?

For remote-first small companies, good recruiting software usually needs: easy async collaboration, scorecards, interview scheduling across time zones, Slack/Google/Microsoft integrations, video interview support, and simple candidate pipelines.

Here are strong options:

| Software | Best for | Why it works well for remote-first small teams |
|---|---|---|
| **Breezy HR** | Small companies wanting an easy ATS | Simple pipelines, scorecards, candidate messaging, video interview integrations, affordable plans |
| **Workable** | Small teams that want lots of job board reach | Strong job posting distribution, interview kits, scheduling, solid automation |
| **Recruitee** | Collaborative hiring | Good team feedback tools, hiring workflows, careers site builder, Slack integrations |
| **JazzHR** | Budget-conscious small businesses | Lower-cost ATS, customizable workflows, offer letters, basic collaboration |
| **Ashby** | Startups that care about analytics | Excellent reporting, structured hiring, sourcing workflows; better if you’re scaling quickly |
| **Lever** | Growing startups with sourcing-heavy hiring | CRM + ATS in one, strong candidate nurturing, good for relationship-based hiring |
| **Greenhouse** | Companies wanting structured hiring | Great scorecards, interview plans, compliance, integrations; often more expensive |
| **Teamtailor** | Employer branding + careers site | Nice candidate experience, strong careers pages, good for distributed teams |
| **Homerun** | Small remote teams that value design and simplicity | Clean UI, nice job pages, collaborative hiring, lightweight ATS |

My short recommendation:

- **Best overall for small remote-first companies:** **Breezy HR** or **Recruitee**
- **Best budget option:** **JazzHR**
- **Best for startup scaling and analytics:** **Ashby**
- **Best if you need structured enterprise-grade hiring:** **Greenhouse**
- **Best for sourcing-heavy teams:** **Lever**

If you’re under ~50 employees and hiring occasionally, I’d start with **Breezy HR**, **Recruitee**, or **JazzHR**. If you’re hiring continuously or scaling fast, look at **Ashby**, **Lever**, or **Greenhouse**.


ATS with good reporting for a small HR department

For a small HR department that needs an ATS with strong reporting, I’d shortlist these:

| ATS | Best for | Reporting strengths |
|---|---|---|
| **Workable** | Best overall for small teams | Strong dashboards, source tracking, pipeline metrics, time-to-hire, candidate activity, custom reports |
| **JazzHR** | Budget-friendly small HR teams | Simple reports on pipeline, jobs, hiring activity, compliance; easy to use |
| **Breezy HR** | Small teams wanting visual workflows | Pipeline reporting, candidate source reporting, team activity, drag-and-drop dashboards |
| **Greenhouse** | Teams that want advanced reporting and structured hiring | Excellent reporting, scorecards, DEI reporting, source quality, hiring process analytics |
| **Lever** | Growing companies focused on recruiting analytics | Good pipeline analytics, conversion rates, source effectiveness, CRM-style reporting |
| **Recruitee** | Collaborative hiring for small/mid-sized teams | Custom dashboards, pipeline metrics, sourcing reports, team productivity |
| **Ashby** | Data-driven teams that want very strong analytics | Excellent reporting, funnel analytics, recruiter productivity, source ROI — more advanced |

My top recommendations:

1. **Workable** — best balance of ease of use, reporting, and small-team friendliness.
2. **JazzHR** — good choice if budget is a major factor.
3. **Greenhouse** — best if you want more robust reporting and can handle a more premium tool.
4. **Ashby** — best if reporting/analytics is the top priority and you expect to grow.

Key reporting features to look for:

- Time-to-fill and time-to-hire
- Candidate source effectiveness
- Funnel conversion rates
- Job-level and department-level dashboards
- Recruiter/hiring manager activity
- DEI/EEO reporting if relevant
- Custom report builder
- Export to Excel/CSV or BI tools
- Compliance reporting

If you’re a small HR department, I’d start demos with **Workable, JazzHR, and Breezy HR**. If reporting is more important than price, add **Greenhouse or Ashby** to the list.


Best applicant tracking system for a healthcare practice with 60 employees

For a **60-employee healthcare practice**, the best applicant tracking system is usually one that is easy to use, affordable, and supports healthcare hiring needs like credential checks, background screenings, offer letters, and compliance documentation.

### Best overall: **JazzHR**
**Why it fits:** Strong for small to midsize healthcare practices, simple to use, reasonably priced, and good for managing multiple roles like nurses, MAs, front desk, billing, and admin staff.

**Good for:**
- Posting jobs to multiple job boards
- Managing candidate pipelines
- Interview scheduling
- Offer letters
- Background check integrations
- Small HR teams

### Best if you want HR + ATS together: **BambooHR**
**Why it fits:** Great if you also want employee records, onboarding, PTO, documents, and HR management in one system.

**Good for:**
- Practices without a full HR department
- Streamlined onboarding
- Employee file management
- Easy manager access

### Best for fast hiring and high applicant volume: **Workable**
**Why it fits:** More robust recruiting tools, strong job board distribution, texting, interview workflows, and candidate communication.

**Good for:**
- Multiple locations
- Frequent hiring
- Hard-to-fill clinical roles
- More advanced recruiting workflows

### Best budget-friendly option: **Breezy HR**
**Why it fits:** Affordable, visual pipeline, easy setup, and good for smaller practices with straightforward hiring needs.

---

## My recommendation
For a healthcare practice with **60 employees**, I’d start with:

1. **JazzHR** — best overall ATS for your size
2. **BambooHR** — best if you also need HR/onboarding tools
3. **Workable** — best if hiring is frequent or competitive

Before choosing, confirm the system supports:
- Background check integrations
- License/certification tracking or document collection
- E-signatures and offer letters
- EEOC reporting
- Role-based access for managers
- Integration with payroll or HR software

If you want the simplest strong choice: **JazzHR**.


What's the easiest applicant tracking system to learn?

The easiest applicant tracking system to learn for most teams is **Workable**.

It has a clean interface, simple job posting tools, drag-and-drop candidate pipelines, built-in templates, and doesn’t require much training to get started.

Other easy options:

- **Breezy HR** — very beginner-friendly, great for small businesses
- **JazzHR** — simple and affordable for small teams
- **Zoho Recruit** — easy if you already use Zoho products
- **Lever** — intuitive, but better for teams with more structured recruiting needs

If you want the fastest learning curve, I’d choose **Breezy HR** for a small business and **Workable** for a growing company.


Recommend an ATS that also does onboarding for a small company.

For a small company, I’d recommend **BambooHR** as the best all-around ATS + onboarding option.

### Best overall: **BambooHR**
Good fit if you want:
- Applicant tracking
- Offer letters and e-signatures
- New-hire onboarding tasks
- Employee records/HRIS
- PTO and basic HR workflows
- Easy setup for a small team

It’s especially strong if you want one system for both hiring and post-hire HR.

### Other good options
**Workable** — Best if recruiting is a bigger focus
- Strong ATS, job posting, candidate pipeline, interview tools
- Also has onboarding features
- Better for companies hiring regularly

**Gusto** — Best if you also need payroll
- Simple hiring and onboarding
- Payroll, benefits, tax forms, offer letters
- ATS features are more basic

**Breezy HR** — Best budget-friendly ATS
- Easy recruiting pipeline
- Good for small teams
- Onboarding is lighter than BambooHR or Gusto

### My recommendation
If you want a simple, small-business-friendly system that handles both **ATS and onboarding**, choose **BambooHR**. If payroll is the bigger need, look at **Gusto**.


Which applicant tracking systems have the best pricing for companies under 100 employees?

For companies under 100 employees, the best-priced applicant tracking systems are usually the ones with low monthly fees, free tiers, or pricing based on recruiters rather than total headcount.

| ATS | Best for | Approx. pricing / value |
|---|---|---|
| **Zoho Recruit** | Best overall low-cost ATS | Free plan available; paid plans often start around **$25–$30/user/month** |
| **Manatal** | Cheapest full-featured ATS | Starts around **$15/user/month** annually; good value for small teams |
| **JazzHR** | Small businesses with steady hiring | Entry plan around **$75/month**; higher plans for more jobs/features |
| **Breezy HR** | Very small teams or light hiring | Free plan for limited hiring; paid plans usually start around **$150+/month** |
| **Freshteam by Freshworks** | Companies under 50–100 employees wanting HR + ATS | Free/low-cost plans; pricing can be attractive if you also need HR features |
| **Recooty** | Simple, budget ATS | Often cheaper than larger ATS platforms; good for basic job posting and pipeline tracking |
| **Workable** | Better features, but higher cost | Good product, but usually pricier than Zoho, Manatal, or JazzHR |
| **VIVAHR** | Small businesses focused on job ads | Competitive small-business pricing, often lower than enterprise ATS tools |

### Best picks by situation

- **Lowest cost:** **Manatal** or **Zoho Recruit**
- **Best free/very light hiring option:** **Breezy HR** or **Freshteam**
- **Best simple small-business ATS:** **JazzHR**
- **Best value if you want HR tools too:** **Freshteam**
- **Best if you hire often and need more automation:** **Workable**, though it may cost more

### My short recommendation

For a company under 100 employees, I’d start by comparing:

1. **Zoho Recruit** — best low-cost all-around option
2. **Manatal** — very inexpensive with solid features
3. **JazzHR** — easy for small businesses
4. **Freshteam** — good if you also want HR software
5. **Breezy HR** — good free/entry-level option

I’d avoid enterprise-focused ATS platforms like **Greenhouse**, **Lever**, or **iCIMS** unless you’re hiring at high volume, because they’re usually much more expensive for a sub-100-person company.


For a small company, the best ATS depends on hiring volume and budget. Top options:

1. **Breezy HR**
   Best overall for small businesses. Easy to use, good job posting, pipeline management, automation, and candidate communication.

2. **Workable**
   Best if you want a polished, scalable ATS with strong sourcing tools and job board integrations.

3. **Greenhouse**
   Best for growing companies that want structured hiring, interview scorecards, and strong reporting. More expensive.

4. **JazzHR**
   Best budget-friendly ATS for small teams. Simple, affordable, and good for basic hiring workflows.

5. **Zoho Recruit**
   Best low-cost option if you already use Zoho products. Good customization for the price.

6. **Lever**
   Best for companies focused on relationship-based recruiting and talent pipelines. Better for scaling teams.

7. **Recruitee**
   Best for collaborative hiring. Clean interface and good for teams involving multiple hiring managers.

**My recommendation:**
- If you want the best balance of price, ease of use, and features: **Breezy HR**
- If you want something simple and affordable: **JazzHR**
- If you expect to scale quickly: **Workable** or **Greenhouse**
- If you use Zoho already: **Zoho Recruit**


What hiring software do 20-person companies use?

20-person companies usually use **lightweight hiring tools**, not enterprise ATS platforms. Many still use a mix of **email, spreadsheets, LinkedIn, and job boards** until hiring becomes frequent.

Common options:

| Need | Software commonly used |
|---|---|
| Basic applicant tracking | **Breezy HR**, **JazzHR**, **Workable**, **Recruitee** |
| Startup-style hiring pipelines | **Lever**, **Greenhouse** — more common if they’re growing fast |
| HR + hiring in one system | **BambooHR**, **Gusto**, **Rippling**, **HiBob** |
| Posting jobs and collecting applicants | **Indeed**, **LinkedIn Jobs**, **ZipRecruiter** |
| Scheduling interviews | **Calendly**, Google Calendar, Outlook |
| Assessments | **TestGorilla**, **HackerRank**, **Codility**, **Criteria** |
| Simple/free setup | Google Sheets, Airtable, Notion, Trello |

For a typical 20-person company, the most common practical setup is:

- **Gusto/Rippling/BambooHR** for HR/payroll
- **Indeed or LinkedIn** for sourcing
- **Breezy HR, JazzHR, or Workable** if they need an ATS
- **Google Sheets/Airtable** if hiring is occasional

If the company hires only a few people per year, a spreadsheet is often enough. If they’re hiring monthly, an ATS like **Breezy HR, Workable, or JazzHR** is usually a better fit.


I run a 120-person construction firm. What applicant tracking system fits us?

For a 120-person construction firm, I’d shortlist **Arcoro**, **Workable**, and **BambooHR ATS** — depending on how specialized your hiring needs are.

### Best fit if you want construction-specific: **Arcoro**
**Why:** Built for construction and skilled trades hiring. Strong for field-worker recruiting, compliance, onboarding, and HR workflows.

Good if you hire:
- Laborers, operators, superintendents, PMs, estimators
- Seasonal or project-based crews
- Candidates who respond better by text/mobile than email

Watchouts:
- May be more HR-suite oriented than you need if you only want a simple ATS
- Pricing can be higher than basic SMB tools

### Best general ATS for your size: **Workable**
**Why:** Easy to use, strong job posting, candidate tracking, interview scheduling, texting, and reporting.

Good if you want:
- A modern, simple recruiting system
- Posting to Indeed/LinkedIn/ZipRecruiter
- Hiring manager collaboration
- A clean process without too much complexity

Watchouts:
- Not construction-specific
- Onboarding/compliance may require add-ons or integrations

### Best if you also need HR software: **BambooHR**
**Why:** Good for a 120-person company if you want HR records, onboarding, PTO, and basic ATS in one system.

Good if:
- You don’t already have a solid HRIS
- You want recruiting to flow into employee records
- Your hiring volume is moderate

Watchouts:
- ATS is not as powerful as Workable
- Less ideal for high-volume trade recruiting

## My recommendation
If you’re mainly hiring field and trade roles, I’d start with **Arcoro**.
If you want the best all-around ATS and don’t need construction-specific features, choose **Workable**.
If you need HR + ATS in one affordable platform, choose **BambooHR**.

Before buying, make sure it supports:
- Mobile-friendly applications
- Text messaging with candidates
- Easy job posting to Indeed and trade job boards
- Offer letters and onboarding documents
- EEO/compliance reporting
- Integration with your payroll system
- Hiring manager access for project leaders/superintendents


Best ATS for high-volume retail hiring at a small chain

For a **small retail chain doing high-volume hourly hiring**, the best ATS is usually:

## Best overall: **Workstream**
**Why:** Built specifically for hourly workers and multi-location businesses. Strong for texting candidates, QR-code applications, automated screening, interview scheduling, and fast hiring workflows.

**Best for:** Retail stores, restaurants, franchises, convenience stores, local chains.

## Best if you need very high-volume automation: **Fountain**
**Why:** Excellent for large applicant pipelines, automated workflows, mobile-first applications, SMS/email automation, and quick candidate movement.

**Best for:** If you’re hiring constantly across many locations and need more automation.

## Best budget-friendly option: **Homebase**
**Why:** Combines hiring with scheduling, time clocks, and team management. Good for small retail businesses that want simple tools in one platform.

**Best for:** Small chains that also need scheduling and hourly workforce management.

## Best general small-business ATS: **JazzHR**
**Why:** Affordable, easy to use, and good job board posting. Less retail-specific than Workstream but solid for structured hiring.

**Best for:** Small teams that want a simple traditional ATS.

### My recommendation
If your priority is **fast retail hiring, texting candidates, and managing applicants by store location**, choose **Workstream**.

If you’re hiring at a very large scale with lots of automation, look at **Fountain**.

If budget and scheduling integration matter most, consider **Homebase**.


What applicant tracking system should I choose if I only hire a few people a year?

If you only hire a few people a year, choose a simple, low-cost ATS—not an enterprise system.

**Best options to consider:**

1. **Breezy HR**
   - Good for small teams
   - Easy pipeline view
   - Free or low-cost plans available
   - Good if you want a real ATS without complexity

2. **Zoho Recruit**
   - Affordable
   - Solid basic applicant tracking
   - Good if you already use Zoho products

3. **Freshteam**
   - Good for small businesses
   - Simple candidate tracking
   - Includes some HR features if you need them

4. **Workable**
   - Very polished and easy to use
   - Better if you care about job board distribution
   - Can be more expensive, so only worth it if hiring is important enough

5. **No ATS — use Google Forms/Sheets**
   - Best if you hire fewer than 3–5 people per year
   - Create a form for applications, track candidates in a spreadsheet
   - Cheapest and often sufficient

**My recommendation:**
If you hire only a few people per year, start with **Breezy HR** or **Zoho Recruit**. If your process is very simple, use **Google Forms + Google Sheets** instead of paying for an ATS.


Modern alternatives to legacy applicant tracking systems for SMBs

Here are modern alternatives to legacy applicant tracking systems for SMBs, grouped by fit:

## Best all-around SMB ATS options

### 1. Workable
Good for SMBs that want a polished, full-featured ATS without enterprise complexity.

**Strengths:**
- Easy job posting to multiple boards
- Candidate sourcing tools
- Interview scheduling
- Hiring team collaboration
- Good reporting

**Best for:** Growing SMBs hiring regularly across multiple roles.

---

### 2. Breezy HR
A user-friendly ATS with strong visual pipelines and automation.

**Strengths:**
- Drag-and-drop hiring pipelines
- Email and scheduling automation
- Candidate scorecards
- Affordable plans
- Good career page builder

**Best for:** Small teams that want simplicity and quick setup.

---

### 3. JazzHR
A popular SMB-focused ATS with flexible workflows and pricing.

**Strengths:**
- Custom hiring workflows
- Job board distribution
- Offer management
- Interview guides
- Good value for smaller companies

**Best for:** SMBs replacing spreadsheets or outdated ATS tools.

---

### 4. Recruitee
A collaborative hiring platform with a modern interface.

**Strengths:**
- Team-based hiring workflows
- Employer branding tools
- Talent pools
- Automation and templates
- Clean UX

**Best for:** SMBs that involve hiring managers heavily in recruiting.

---

### 5. Teamtailor
A modern ATS with strong employer branding and candidate experience.

**Strengths:**
- Beautiful career sites
- Candidate nurture features
- Automation
- Employee referral tools
- Strong candidate-facing experience

**Best for:** SMBs competing for talent and wanting a strong brand presence.

---

## Best for startups and high-growth SMBs

### 6. Ashby
A modern recruiting platform with strong analytics and automation.

**Strengths:**
- Advanced reporting
- Structured hiring workflows
- Scheduling automation
- CRM-style candidate management
- Scales well as hiring grows

**Best for:** Startups and scaling companies that care deeply about recruiting data.

---

### 7. Lever
Combines ATS and candidate relationship management.

**Strengths:**
- Strong CRM functionality
- Good for sourcing and nurturing candidates
- Collaborative hiring
- Integrations with recruiting tools

**Best for:** SMBs doing proactive outbound recruiting.

---

### 8. Greenhouse
More robust and structured, often used by later-stage startups and mid-market companies.

**Strengths:**
- Structured interview process
- Strong integrations
- Reporting and compliance
- Scales well

**Best for:** SMBs expecting to grow into more complex hiring operations.

---

## Best budget-friendly options

### 9. Zoho Recruit
Affordable and customizable, especially if you already use Zoho products.

**Strengths:**
- Low cost
- Custom workflows
- Resume parsing
- Client/recruiting agency support
- Integrates with Zoho ecosystem

**Best for:** Cost-conscious SMBs or recruiting agencies.

---

### 10. Freshteam by Freshworks
A lightweight ATS with HR features included.

**Strengths:**
- Simple applicant tracking
- Employee directory
- Time-off management
- Onboarding features
- Affordable for small teams

**Best for:** SMBs wanting basic ATS plus light HRIS functionality.

---

## Best if you want ATS plus HR/payroll

### 11. BambooHR
HRIS-first platform with built-in applicant tracking.

**Strengths:**
- Employee records
- Onboarding
- Time-off tracking
- Simple ATS
- Good for HR teams beyond recruiting

**Best for:** SMBs that want HR management and basic recruiting in one place.

---

### 12. Rippling Recruiting
Part of Rippling’s broader workforce platform.

**Strengths:**
- Recruiting connected to onboarding, payroll, IT, and HR
- Automation-heavy
- Good for companies already using Rippling
- Strong employee lifecycle management

**Best for:** SMBs wanting one platform for hiring through onboarding.

---

## Quick recommendations

| Need | Best options |
|---|---|
| Best overall SMB ATS | Workable, Breezy HR, JazzHR |
| Best candidate experience | Teamtailor, Recruitee |
| Best for startups | Ashby, Lever |
| Best for structured hiring | Greenhouse, Ashby |
| Best low-cost option | Zoho Recruit, Freshteam |
| Best HR + ATS combo | BambooHR, Rippling |
| Best for employer branding | Teamtailor, Homerun |
| Best for collaborative hiring | Recruitee, Workable |

## What to look for in a modern SMB ATS

Prioritize tools with:

- Easy setup and intuitive UX
- Automated job posting
- Custom hiring pipelines
- Interview scheduling
- Candidate scorecards
- Email templates and automation
- Career page builder
- Integration with email, calendar, HRIS, payroll, and Slack
- Reporting on source quality and time-to-hire
- Transparent SMB-friendly pricing

For most SMBs moving away from a legacy ATS, **Workable, Breezy HR, JazzHR, Recruitee, and Teamtailor** are the strongest places to start.


Best applicant tracking system for a professional services firm under 100 people

For a professional services firm under 100 people, I’d shortlist these ATS options:

## Best overall: **Workable**
**Why:** Strong all-around ATS for small/midsize firms, easy to implement, good job posting distribution, interview scheduling, scorecards, referral tools, and candidate pipeline management.
**Best for:** Firms hiring regularly but not needing a heavy enterprise system.

## Best value: **JazzHR**
**Why:** Affordable, simple, and practical for smaller teams. Good workflows, email templates, approvals, and basic reporting.
**Best for:** Firms hiring a modest number of roles per year and wanting low complexity.

## Best candidate experience: **Pinpoint**
**Why:** Clean interface, strong employer-branding/careers pages, good collaboration tools, and modern workflows.
**Best for:** Professional services firms where candidate experience and brand perception matter.

## Best for growth/scaling: **Greenhouse**
**Why:** Excellent structured hiring, scorecards, reporting, integrations, and hiring process discipline.
**Best for:** Firms planning significant growth or wanting a more rigorous hiring process.
**Downside:** More expensive and potentially more system than a <100-person firm needs.

## Best lightweight option: **Breezy HR**
**Why:** Easy to use, visual pipelines, automation, scheduling, and reasonable pricing.
**Best for:** Small firms wanting a clean, simple ATS without much admin overhead.

### My recommendation
If you want the safest choice: **Workable**.
If budget is the top priority: **JazzHR**.
If you care most about a polished candidate experience: **Pinpoint**.
If you expect to scale hiring significantly: **Greenhouse**.

Before choosing, confirm the ATS supports: interview scorecards, Outlook/Gmail calendar integration, LinkedIn/job board posting, referral tracking, offer approvals, reporting, and easy export of candidate data.


What ATS has the best mobile experience for small business hiring?

For most small businesses, **Workable** has the best overall mobile experience among ATS platforms.

Why it stands out:
- Strong mobile app for hiring managers
- Easy candidate review and feedback on the go
- Mobile-friendly job applications
- Good interview scheduling and team collaboration
- Polished UX compared with many SMB-focused ATS tools

Good alternatives:

1. **Workable** — Best overall mobile experience for small businesses
2. **Breezy HR** — Best if you want a simpler, visual pipeline and easy mobile use
3. **JazzHR** — Good budget-friendly option, though the mobile experience is less polished
4. **Zoho Recruit** — Good if you already use Zoho tools, but setup can feel heavier
5. **Greenhouse** — Excellent product, but usually better for larger or scaling teams than very small businesses

My recommendation:
If mobile usability is your top priority and you’re hiring regularly, choose **Workable**. If you want something simpler and more affordable, look at **Breezy HR**.


Which applicant tracking system is best value for money for a small company?

For most small companies, the **best value-for-money ATS is usually Zoho Recruit** if you want a low-cost, capable system.

### Best overall value: **Zoho Recruit**
**Good for:** Small companies that want affordable applicant tracking without paying enterprise prices.
**Why it’s good value:**
- Low monthly cost compared with many competitors
- Solid candidate tracking, job posting, interview scheduling, email templates
- Integrates well with Zoho apps and common tools
- Scales reasonably as hiring grows

### Best if ease of use matters most: **Breezy HR**
**Good for:** Small teams that want a clean, simple hiring workflow.
**Why choose it:**
- Very user-friendly
- Good candidate pipeline view
- Nice automation features
- Often easier for non-HR managers to use than Zoho

### Best for very small teams on a budget: **JazzHR**
**Good for:** Companies hiring a few roles at a time.
**Why choose it:**
- Affordable plans
- Simple and practical
- Good core ATS features without too much complexity

### Best if you’re growing quickly: **Workable**
**Good for:** Small companies planning to hire regularly.
**Why choose it:**
- Strong job board distribution
- Better recruiting tools and automation
- More polished experience
**Downside:** Usually more expensive than Zoho, Breezy, or JazzHR.

## My recommendation
If you’re a small company hiring occasionally and want the best value: **Zoho Recruit**.
If you want something easier and more modern-looking: **Breezy HR**.
If you expect to scale hiring fast: **Workable**.


What is the best applicant tracking system for a 50-person company?

For a **50-person company**, the best all-around ATS is usually **Freshteam**, **Breezy HR**, or **Workable**, depending on whether you want an all-in-one HR suite, the best free/low-cost option, or the simplest recruiting workflow.[4][11][14]

- **Best overall for a 50-person company:** **Freshteam by Freshworks** because Forbes lists it as “best overall” and notes it is **free for up to 50 employees**, which is a strong fit right at your company size.[4]
- **Best budget-friendly ATS:** **Breezy HR** or **Zoho Recruit** if you want a low-cost or free-tier option.[4][6][11]
- **Best if you want a growing-SMB recruiting tool:** **Workable**, which is repeatedly recommended for growing teams and small businesses.[6][17]

If you want a single recommendation, I’d pick **Freshteam** for a 50-person company because it combines ATS with onboarding and employee management, and its free tier aligns well with your size.[4]

If you want, I can also narrow this down by your priorities:
- **lowest cost**
- **best candidate experience**
- **best for high-volume hiring**
- **best all-in-one HR suite**


For most small businesses, **Breezy HR** is the strongest overall ATS choice because it combines an easy drag-and-drop pipeline, one-click posting to 50+ job boards, built-in video interviewing, and automation without charging per user.[1]

If you want the best option by use case, these are the most commonly recommended picks:

- **Breezy HR** — best overall for small businesses; strong balance of ease of use and hiring features.[1]
- **Dover** — best if you want ATS software plus hands-on recruiting support.[2]
- **Gusto** — best if you want hiring tied closely to onboarding, payroll, and compliance.[5]
- **Manatal** — good for budget-conscious small businesses that want AI features.[10]
- **JuggleHire** — attractive if you want flat pricing and simple setup.[7]

A practical way to choose:
- Pick **Breezy HR** if you want the safest all-around recommendation.[1]
- Pick **Dover** if you need recruiting help, not just software.[2]
- Pick **Gusto** if you already use it for HR/payroll and want an integrated workflow.[5]
- Pick **Manatal** if price and AI-assisted screening matter most.[10]

If you want, I can also give you a **top 3 ATS shortlist by budget, ease of use, and integrations**.


We're a 30 person startup and hiring is a mess in spreadsheets. What applicant tracking system should we buy?

For a **30-person startup**, the safest default buy is **Workable** if you want something easy to implement and broadly capable, or **Breezy HR** if you want the simplest, most budget-friendly startup ATS. Reviews aimed at startups consistently place Workable, Breezy HR, and Ashby among the most relevant options for teams at your size, with Workable highlighted for fast setup and all-around workflow, and Breezy HR for simplicity and value.[3][5]

If you want the shortest answer: **buy Workable unless you already know you need advanced analytics or a more structured hiring process, in which case consider Ashby**.[5][9] Ashby is repeatedly positioned for higher-growth teams that care about reporting and process rigor, while Workable is described as strong for candidate tracking and quick implementation.[3][5][9]

A practical recommendation by use case:

- **Workable** — best general-purpose choice for a 30-person team that needs to get out of spreadsheets fast and start hiring cleanly.[5][9]
- **Breezy HR** — best if you want a simpler, more affordable system and your hiring volume is modest.[3][5]
- **Ashby** — best if you expect to scale hiring quickly and want stronger analytics, structured workflows, and a more “grown-up” recruiting system.[3][5][9]
- **Greenhouse** — best if hiring process consistency and reporting matter more than simplicity, but it is usually more than a small startup needs.[5][6]
- **BambooHR** — best if you want your ATS bundled into a broader HR suite rather than buying recruiting software separately.[3][5]

What matters most for your situation:
- You are already feeling pain from spreadsheets, so prioritize **pipeline visibility, collaboration, interview scheduling, and candidate communication**.[7][9]
- If you do not have a dedicated recruiter, choose the tool with the **fastest setup and least admin overhead**.[1][5]
- If you are hiring a lot this year, pay more attention to **reporting, scorecards, and automation** than to a flashy UI.[3][9][16]

My default pick for a 30-person startup: **Workable**. My budget pick: **Breezy HR**. My scale-up pick: **Ashby**.[3][5][9]

If you want, I can also give you a **3-option shortlist based on your hiring volume, budget, and whether you use an HRIS like Rippling, Gusto, or BambooHR**.


Recommend an applicant tracking system for a company with under 100 employees.

For a company with **under 100 employees**, I’d recommend **JazzHR** as the best overall fit for most small businesses because it is consistently positioned as a strong SMB ATS with a balance of core recruiting features, ease of use, and pricing that is more appropriate for small teams than enterprise-grade tools.[18][2]

If your priority is different, these are the best alternatives:

- **BambooHR** if you want an ATS that sits inside a broader **HR suite** and expect to grow into HR workflows beyond recruiting.[7][10]
- **Breezy HR** if you want a **budget-friendly** option with a free plan and good basic ATS functionality.[12]
- **Zoho Recruit** if you want **low per-user pricing** and don’t mind a more per-seat cost structure as your hiring team grows.[4][13]
- **Greenhouse** if you expect hiring complexity to increase quickly and want a more advanced platform, though it is generally better suited to larger or more process-heavy teams.[3]

A practical rule for a sub-100-person company: choose an ATS that is **easy to implement, has transparent pricing, and won’t become expensive when multiple interviewers need access**.[11][13]

If you want, I can also narrow this down to the **best ATS by budget, industry, or hiring volume**.


For an **affordable ATS for SMBs**, the best-value options in the results are **Zoho Recruit**, **Breezy HR**, **JazzHR**, and **Manatal**, depending on whether you want a free tier, low flat pricing, or the cheapest paid plan.[1][3][9][17]

- **Zoho Recruit**: best if you want the **lowest entry cost**; it has a **free plan** and paid plans starting around **$25–$30 per user/month**.[1][4]
- **Breezy HR**: good for SMBs wanting a **free ATS plan** plus budget paid tiers; sources note free options and paid plans starting around **$157–$189/month** depending on plan details.[1][9][20]
- **JazzHR**: a strong **budget-friendly paid ATS**; pricing is reported around **$49–$75/month** for entry plans in some sources, with other roundups calling it the cheapest dedicated paid ATS.[6][8][20]
- **Manatal**: best if you want the **cheapest paid full-featured ATS**; the professional plan is reported at **$15 per user/month**.[3][9][17]
- **BambooHR**: not the cheapest, but a good option if you want an **all-in-one HR suite** with ATS included; pricing starts around **$250/month for 25 or fewer employees**.[1]

If you want the simplest shortlist:
- **Free or near-free**: **Zoho Recruit** or **Breezy HR**.[1][3][9]
- **Lowest paid full ATS**: **Manatal**.[9][17]
- **Best budget all-rounder**: **JazzHR**.[6][8][20]

Pricing varies a lot by user count, open jobs, and add-ons, so the most important decision is whether you want a **free tier**, **flat monthly pricing**, or **per-user pricing**.[3][4][8]


What ATS do small companies actually use?

Small companies most often use **lightweight, cloud-based ATS tools** rather than enterprise systems like Workday or iCIMS. The names that come up most consistently for SMBs are **Breezy HR, JazzHR, Zoho Recruit, BambooHR, Workable, Lever, Recooty, and Manatal**.[4][13][16][17]

What small companies actually pick depends on their setup:

- **Very small teams / startups:** Breezy HR, JazzHR, Recooty, AvaHR, 100Hires, and Zoho Recruit show up repeatedly as affordable, simple options.[1][2][10][13][18]
- **Companies that want ATS + HR in one system:** BambooHR and Rippling are common choices because recruiting is bundled with broader HR features.[2][7][16]
- **Small teams that want stronger recruiting workflows:** Workable, Lever, Recruitee, and Greenhouse are often chosen once hiring becomes more structured.[4][7][8][16]
- **Budget-sensitive teams:** JazzHR, Zoho Recruit, Recooty, and similar low-cost tools are frequently recommended for small businesses.[6][10][18]

If you mean **“what do they actually use in practice?”**, the recurring pattern in the results is:
- **Breezy HR** for simplicity and small-team hiring.[4][10]
- **JazzHR** for straightforward collaborative hiring.[7][8][17]
- **Zoho Recruit** for budget-friendly functionality and integrations.[13][16][17]
- **BambooHR** when HR and recruiting need to live together.[2][7][16]
- **Workable** when a small company wants a more feature-rich ATS without going fully enterprise.[2][4][7]

The main takeaway is that small companies usually do **not** use a single universal ATS; they choose based on whether they need **lowest cost, easiest setup, or an HR suite**.[2][3][16]


I need to hire 10 people this quarter and have no recruiting software. What should I get?

If you need to hire **10 people this quarter** and currently have **no recruiting software**, the best first purchase is a simple **applicant tracking system (ATS)** with job posting, pipeline tracking, interview scheduling, and team collaboration. For small teams, the sources most consistently point to **Breezy HR**, **JazzHR**, **Workable**, and **Zoho Recruit** as the main options, with Breezy HR often recommended for ease and low cost and JazzHR for guided setup and affordability.[2][3][5]

A practical way to choose:

- **Best overall for a small team:** **Breezy HR** — frequently recommended for small businesses because it gives you a visual pipeline, automated workflows, and can be used with a free tier.[2][4][8]
- **Best budget-friendly paid option:** **JazzHR** — recommended for small teams that want a low monthly cost and straightforward setup; one source cites **$75/month** as a starting point.[2]
- **Best if you want a more feature-rich all-in-one platform:** **Workable** — described as strong for SMBs that want ATS plus sourcing, video interviewing, and HR features in one place.[3][5]
- **Best if you need affordability and flexibility:** **Zoho Recruit** — listed as the best for affordability in one small-business roundup.[5]

Given your situation, I would choose this way:

- If you want to get operational fast with minimal setup: **Breezy HR**
- If you want the cheapest reasonable paid tool: **JazzHR**
- If you expect hiring to keep growing beyond this quarter: **Workable**
- If you want to avoid paying much up front: start with **Breezy HR’s free tier** or another free plan while you test your process.[2][3]

What you should **look for** in the software:
- **Job posting** to multiple boards
- **Applicant tracking** so you do not live in spreadsheets
- **Interview scheduling**
- **Candidate communication**
- **Collaborative review** so hiring managers can comment and rate candidates
- **Automation** for reminders and status updates[1][4][15][19]

If you want, I can turn this into a **specific short list with pricing, features, and a recommendation based on your budget**.


Cheapest applicant tracking system that isn't terrible

If you want the **cheapest ATS that still won’t feel awful**, the safest bets are **Zoho Recruit (free/low-cost)**, **Freshteam (free for small teams)**, or **JazzHR/JuggleHire-type flat-price tools** if you need something more usable than a barebones free tier.[4][5][8][17]

A practical ranking by *“cheap but not terrible”* is:

- **Zoho Recruit** — best if you can live with the limits of the free plan; it’s repeatedly cited as a strong free starter option, with paid plans starting around **$25–$30/user/month**.[4][8]
- **Freshteam** — best free option for very small companies; the free plan is limited to companies under **50 employees**.[4]
- **JuggleHire** — one of the cheapest *full-featured* options mentioned, at **$79/month** with flat pricing and no per-user fees.[4]
- **JazzHR** — a more polished low-cost option, starting at **$39/month** according to one 2026 comparison.[17]
- **Breezy HR** — better than many “cheap” ATSs, but not the cheapest; pricing starts around **$157/month** billed annually, with a free Bootstrap plan limited to one active job.[4][8][14]

If you want the shortest answer: **Zoho Recruit** is usually the cheapest decent place to start, and **JuggleHire** looks like the best “still affordable, not annoying” paid option if you need something more serious than a free tier.[4][5]

A quick rule of thumb:

- **Solo recruiter / tiny volume:** Zoho Recruit.[4][8]
- **Very small company under 50 employees:** Freshteam.[4]
- **Small team that hires regularly:** JuggleHire or JazzHR.[4][17]
- **Want the best balance of ease + reputation:** Breezy HR, but it costs more.[4][8][14]

If you want, I can narrow it to **the cheapest ATS for your headcount, number of open roles, and whether you need email sync / scorecards / interview scheduling**.


Best recruiting software for a small HR team of one

For a **small HR team of one**, the best recruiting software is usually the one that is **simple to set up, easy to use, and automates the most manual work** like posting jobs, tracking applicants, and screening resumes.[1][4][6]

The strongest options in the results are:

- **Workable** — often rated as best for **small businesses** and a strong all-around ATS for posting jobs, managing applicants, and simplifying hiring workflows.[12]
- **Breezy HR** — commonly positioned as a good fit for **startups**, which usually overlaps with solo-HR teams that need a lighter, easier system.[12]
- **JazzHR** — described as designed to help small businesses find qualified candidates, track applicants, and automate manual hiring tasks.[15][19]
- **HireDesk** — explicitly highlighted as **best overall for small businesses** and for the **fastest setup, simplest experience**.[4]
- **Homebase Hiring** — a good option if your hiring is tied to hourly or small-business operations, since it focuses on small-business hiring workflows.[6]

If you want the **best single pick for a team of one**, I’d lean toward **HireDesk** for simplicity or **Workable** for the most proven all-around recruiting features, based on how the sources position them.[4][12]

A practical way to choose:
- Choose **HireDesk** if your top priority is **fast setup and minimal complexity**.[4]
- Choose **Workable** if you want a more **full-featured ATS** that can scale as hiring grows.[12]
- Choose **JazzHR** if you want a **small-business-friendly ATS** focused on automating routine hiring work.[15][19]
- Choose **Breezy HR** if you want something that is often recommended for **startups** and lighter hiring teams.[12]

If you want, I can also narrow this down to the **best free/low-cost option**, the **best for one-click job posting**, or the **best for applicant tracking and interview scheduling**.


applicant tracking system recommendations for mid-market companies

For **mid-market companies**, the strongest ATS recommendations across the results are **Greenhouse**, **Workable**, **LeverTRM**, **Ashby**, and **SmartRecruiters**.[2][6][10] If you want the safest default pick for structured, scalable hiring, **Greenhouse** appears most consistently recommended for mid-market and enterprise teams.[2][6][10][19]

A practical shortlist by use case:

- **Greenhouse** — best for **structured hiring**, stronger process control, and companies that expect to scale recruiting rigor across departments.[2][6][10][19]
- **Workable** — best for **speed, simplicity, and easier implementation**, especially for growing mid-market teams.[2][4][6][15]
- **LeverTRM** — good for mid-market teams that want a more relationship-driven recruiting motion and engaging candidate workflows.[6]
- **Ashby** — best when **analytics and reporting** matter heavily.[6][10][18]
- **SmartRecruiters** — a strong option for mid-market teams needing a more robust platform and broader hiring coordination.[3][6]
- **Pinpoint** — worth considering if **candidate experience** is a top priority.[10]
- **Trakstar Hire** — a simpler fit for mid-sized businesses wanting broad functionality in a more straightforward package.[4]

What mid-market buyers usually need most:
- **Structured hiring workflows** and standardized scorecards/interview guides.[7]
- **Workflow customization** for different job families or departments.[7]
- **Collaboration and permissions** for hiring managers and interviewers.[7]
- **Source tracking and analytics** to see which channels produce hires, not just applicants.[7]
- **HRIS/HCM integrations** for a clean handoff after hire.[7]

Pricing in the results suggests mid-market ATS software commonly lands around **$200–$1,000/month** for many platforms, while more premium tools like **Greenhouse, Lever, Pinpoint, and iCIMS** often start around **$500/month and up** or use custom pricing.[2][4] Some mid-market bundles are also described as roughly **$5,000–$30,000/year**, depending on seats, jobs, and integrations.[18]

If you want, I can turn this into a **ranked recommendation table** for your company size, hiring volume, and budget.


What's a good ATS for a 200 employee company?

For a **200-employee company**, the strongest default picks are **Workable**, **Lever**, or **Ashby**; if you want the simplest all-around option, **Workable** is usually the safest choice, while **Lever** and **Ashby** are better if you need more advanced recruiting workflows or analytics.[1][2][4]

- **Workable**: best if you want a balanced ATS with fast setup, solid automation, and good value for a growing team around this size.[1][2][5]
- **Lever**: best if your hiring is relationship-driven and you want an ATS-CRM style approach for nurturing candidates.[1][4][12]
- **Ashby**: best if your team is data-heavy and you care most about reporting and analytics.[1][4][9]
- **Greenhouse**: best if you want the most structured hiring process and expect to scale further, but it is typically positioned as a more enterprise-leaning and higher-cost option.[2][4][8][12]

If you want one recommendation without more context, I’d start with **Workable** for a 200-person company because multiple sources place it in the 50–500 employee range and describe it as easier to adopt and strong for growing teams.[1][2][5][14]

If you want, I can also narrow this down to the best ATS for:
- **budget-conscious teams**
- **high-volume hiring**
- **tech/data-driven recruiting**
- **companies already using BambooHR or another HRIS**