Best Applicant Tracking Systems for 2023
We compared the most popular applicant tracking systems to help you find the best software for your business.
Updated on December 28th, 2022
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Updates:
Updated 14th of September 2022
We updated the ranked table and added comparisons to our top software's plans.
An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is a software application that organizes recruitment, chiefly by streamlining the hiring process. Many applicant tracking systems are web-based and feature the ability to communicate with candidates, rate them, schedule interviews, and onboard new hires.
Our Pick
Breezy HR
Start My Free TrialFree "Bootstrap" plan for 1 position
Unlimited users and candidates
Access to 50+ job boards
Why We Chose Breezy HR, Betterteam, and Zoho Recruit:
Our top choice is Breezy HR, a global ATS that optimizes the hiring process with intuitive recruitment solutions, such as job distribution, candidate assessments, team collaboration, background screenings, offer management, and comprehensive compliance.
The platform offers both free and paid packages to suit a range of hiring needs and is a valuable resource for companies of all sizes in search of advanced recruitment and applicant tracking solutions.
Our second pick, Betterteam, is ideal for businesses focused on getting their vacancies in front of as many candidates as possible, posting jobs to over 100 job boards. While the platform may be more affordable than most competitors, it offers basic recruitment tools and lacks several key features, including CRM, interviewing, and onboarding solutions.
In third place is Zoho Recruit, a powerful ATS with plans tailored to staffing agencies, corporate HR teams, and businesses hiring temporary talent. The platform offers a variety of recruitment solutions not offered by its competitors, such as AI-driven candidate matching, video interviewing, candidate portals, and data extraction.
Things to Consider When Evaluating Applicant Tracking Systems:
- Consider the features you need and look for an ATS that suits all your requirements.
- Evaluate the platform's ease of use as well as the search function for accuracy, speed, and logical layout.
- Compare prices with your budget to ensure it's financially viable for you to use a particular ATS.
- Ensure your chosen ATS complies with local laws, including national insurance and pension regulations.
Best Applicant Tracking Systems:
Rank | Name | Offer | Review | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Free and paid options. | An intuitive platform that features both standard and advanced recruitment solutions, including job syndication, team collaboration, multi-language support, offer management, and premium customer support. | ||
2. | From $39.00 /mo. | The software is user-friendly and features robust job syndication tools, but is only suited to small and mid-sized businesses with basic hiring needs. | ||
3. | Free and paid options. | With powerful AI-driven recruitment tools, candidate tracking, multi-language support, video interviewing, and custom workflows on offer, the platform is an attractive choice for large-scale hiring. | ||
4. | Free and paid options. | A cloud-based solution that offers standard and advanced hiring tools, customizable forms, and excellent third-party integrations. | ||
5. | From $129.00 /job /mo. | This platform features powerful candidate sourcing tools, interview self-scheduling, and robust compliance. However, it lacks a free plan and is costly compared to similar software. | ||
6. | Contact for quote. | Along with applicant tracking, the platform offers a wide range of HR management tools, such as payroll, time tracking, and employee data analytics. | ||
7. | Contact for quote. | A user-friendly ATS with interviewing, onboarding, and CRM tools, but lacks a free trial. | ||
8. | Contact for quote. | While the platform has automated workflows, candidate assessments, document management, and various integrations on offer, it does not feature diversity recruitment tools. | ||
9. | Contact for quote. | Offers strong recruitment functions, such as AI-driven communication tools and offer management, but lacks team collaboration and live chat support. | ||
10. | From $109.00 /mo. | A well-priced ATS that features multi-language support, branded career sites, robust integrations, and a mobile app. However, the platform's reporting functionality is limited. | ||
11. | Contact for quote. | The software is easy to use and features comprehensive candidate scoring, bulk emailing, and diversity recruitment tools, but lacks team collaboration and background screening. | ||
12. | From $39.00 /mo. | Ideal for small and mid-sized businesses, the platform offers job distribution, candidate assessments, and onboarding tools. However, users are charged extra for certain core features. | ||
13. | Contact for quote. | With AI-driven candidate matching, team collaboration, and high-volume recruitment tools, the software is well-suited to companies in search of advanced features. | ||
14. | Contact for quote. | The platform features AI-driven resume screening, an interview scheduling tool, and strong customer support, but it lacks a free trial. | ||
15. | From $85.00 /user /mo. | A robust ATS with several powerful hiring solutions, including custom dashboards, multi-currency support, and a dedicated account manager. | ||
16. | From $24.00 /user /mo. | Ideal for users in search of comprehensive recruitment tools, such as AI-driven candidate matching, interviewing, onboarding, and diversity hiring services. | ||
17. | Contact for quote. | Offers great candidate sourcing, in-depth reporting, background checking tools, and additional HR solutions, but lacks a free trial. | ||
18. | Contact for quote. | While the software does not offer a free trial, it features comprehensive resume parsing, marketing campaigns, and onboarding tools. | ||
19. | Contact for quote. | An easy-to-manage platform with robust job distribution, customized career pages, and in-depth reporting tools on offer, but there are limited third-party integrations. | ||
20. | Contact for quote. | Offers a great list of features and a strong customer support team, but lacks candidate screening and background-checking tools. | ||
21. | Contact for quote. | Features an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate but does not feature workflow management or candidate assessments. | ||
22. | From $3.00 /user /mo. | The software offers powerful applicant tracking and talent management solutions but lacks a free trial. | ||
23. | From $85.00 /user /mo. | A feature-rich ATS with candidate messaging tools, filtering capabilities, compliance, and multi-language support on offer. | ||
24. | From $99.00 /mo. | The software features robust applicant tracking, candidate scoring, and compliance tools along with strong technical support. Its free trial allows users to connect with up to 100 candidates. | ||
25. | Contact for quote. | A user-friendly platform that features mobile recruiting capabilities, automated workflows, and multilingual onboarding. However, it does not offer live chat support. | ||
26. | Contact for quote. | The software's standout features include team collaboration, personalized dashboards, and multi-language support, but lacks a mobile app. | ||
27. | Contact for quote. | A global ATS featuring robust job distribution, branded career pages, video interviewing, and employee referral program tools. | ||
28. | Contact for quote. | Performs quick searches and offers custom candidate filtering tools, but lacks certain key hiring tools, such as job distribution. | ||
29. | Free and paid options. | The software creates and distributes vacancies easily, but it does not offer background screening or live chat support. | ||
30. | Contact for quote. | Users need to contact the platform for a custom quote, but it offers good recruitment marketing, employee performance, and data management services. | ||
31. | Contact for quote. | The software is easy to use and offers AI-driven candidate matching, CRM tools, and an onboarding portal. However, there is no free trial available. | ||
32. | Contact for quote. | A mobile-optimized platform that features customizable assessment forms, onboarding solutions, and various third-party integrations. | ||
33. | Contact for quote. | Catering to global businesses of all sizes, the software includes job distribution, interview scheduling, multi-language support, and performance management tools. |
Pros and Cons:
Pros
- Offers unparalleled access to a diverse and highly qualified talent pipeline.
- Eliminates tedious and costly job recruitment methods
- Most platforms integrate with CRM and HR systems for added convenience.
- In most cases, responsive customer support and onboarding tools are available.
Cons
- Core features sometimes cost extra.
- Premium and enterprise plans can become costly.
- AI-powered ATS are prone to skip great applicants if their resumes are missing certain keywords.
Comparisons Between Leading Competitors:
We compared packages offered by Breezy HR, Betterteam, and Zoho Recruit to help you find the perfect fit for your business.
Breezy HR Bootstrap vs. Betterteam Solo:
Breezy HR Bootstrap is the platform's free plan that features a single vacancy and basic hiring tools, including branded career sites, job distribution, and compliance. In comparison, Betterteam's Solo plan is priced at $39.00 for a single job post and has job distribution, resume parsing, and HR templates on offer.
Breezy HR Bootstrap is more feature-rich than Betterteam Solo, offering additional multi-language support and automated workflow tools. However, Betterteam distributes listings to 50 more job boards than Breezy HR Bootstrap, which may be the better choice for users looking to reach a larger variety of talent.
Breezy HR Bootstrap vs. Betterteam Solo Comparison:
Feature | Breezy HR Bootstrap | Betterteam Solo |
|---|---|---|
Price | Free. | $39.00 /mo. |
Job postings | Single vacancy. | Single vacancy. |
Multi-language support | ✓ | x |
Social recruiting | ✓ | ✓ |
HR templates | x | ✓ |
Live chat support | ✓ | ✓ |
Breezy HR Business vs. Zoho Recruit Enterprise:
As the platform's top-tiered package, Breezy HR Business is ideal for users with advanced hiring needs and includes candidate email campaigns, offer management, custom roles and permissions, and priority customer support. The package is priced at $479.00 per month and offers users greater control and flexibility than its other plans.
By contrast, Zoho Recruit Enterprise is designed for users with large-scale hiring needs and its features include territory management, vendor portals, and unlimited tagging. At $75.00 per user per month, it is more affordable than Breezy HR Business and has more valuable tools on offer, such as bulk data migration and advanced integrations.
It is worth noting that users are charged extra for premium support with Zoho Recruit, whereas the Breezy HR Business plan includes priority support.
Breezy HR Business vs. Zoho Recruit Enterprise Comparison:
Feature | Breezy HR Business | Zoho Recruit Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
Price | $479.00 /mo. | $75.00 /user /mo. |
Unlimited job postings | ✓ | x |
Custom roles and permissions | ✓ | ✓ |
Built-in video assessments | ✓ | x |
Advanced automation | x | ✓ |
Data migration | ✓ | ✓ |
Quarterly account manager report | x | ✓ |
How do applicant tracking systems work?
- Applications are received.
- Profiles are created for each applicant with a resume and vital info.
- Users are alerted when new applications come in.
- Users review candidates and take actions, such as declining, emailing, or leaving a note.
- Actions are recorded by the system.
- Users review actions and see where applicants are in the hiring process.
- Applicants are sorted based on actions taken.
Latest Developments in Applicant Tracking Systems:
Applicant tracking system developers are constantly improving their software in this competitive market. Many employers are having difficulty finding candidates or sorting through the vast number of applications they get. New features, such as artificial intelligence and chatbots, aim to solve these problems.
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Artificial intelligence can improve applicant tracking systems by intelligently sorting and scoring resumes, researching candidates, sending follow-up emails, and making them easy to sort depending on the type of candidate being sought.
2. Chatbots.
Chatbots, which often use a form of AI, can be used to answer candidate questions, screen candidates, schedule interviews, and gather additional information about them. They use messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, Skype, email, and SMS.
Free Applicant Tracking Systems
We profiled the best free applicant tracking systems. Includes detailed information, reviews, and answers to FAQs.
Dec 28, 2022
ATS Resume Optimization:
Job seekers are well aware of advancements in recruiting technology and are now formatting their resumes to make sure they are parseable by applicant tracking systems. There are many articles available to job seekers on how to format a resume, and what keywords to use to make it ATS-friendly.
Alternatives to an ATS:
If you're not quite sure if your company needs an ATS yet, or if there's no budget for one, you might consider some of the free options available.
1. Use a free applicant tracking system.
We have a ranked list of the best free applicant tracking systems for your business to choose from.
2. Use an applicant tracking log template.
Also known as a recruitment tracker template or an applicant tracking log, this is the manual version of the ATS.
Applicant Tracking Log Template:
Download this free applicant tracking log template and use it to track your applications for free. Instant download, no email required.
3. Use an applicant tracking spreadsheet.
These go by several names, including recruiting tracking spreadsheet, candidate tracking spreadsheet, or recruitment tracking spreadsheet. They're a bit more sophisticated and useful as an ATS replacement. You can create one in Excel or in Google Sheets so that you can access it online and share it with others.
Applicant Tracking Spreadsheet:
Download this free applicant tracking spreadsheet for use in Excel or Google Sheets. Instant download, no email required.
FAQs:
What are the best applicant tracking systems?
What is an applicant tracking system used for?
Applicant tracking systems manage the hiring process by organizing candidate information and filtering candidates according to criteria, such as skills and experience.
How do I find the best ATS?
We've compiled a list of the best ATS for small and mid-sized businesses.
How do applicant tracking systems work?
Applicant tracking systems work by tracking job applicants as they go through each stage of the hiring process. Many ATS systems offer additional features, such as note-taking, bulk emailing, and job posting.
Who uses applicant tracking systems?
Companies of all sizes use applicant tracking systems in their hiring process. Human Resource (HR) departments use ATSs to manage candidates' information.
Can applicant tracking systems read PDFs?
Yes. PDFs are easily read by applicant tracking software.
What is the difference between an ATS and CRM?
ATSs are designed to filter out unsuitable candidates according to specific skills or traits. CRMs, in comparison, are a database of all passive and active applicants as well as candidates who have previously applied.
How much is an applicant tracking system?
Prices for applicant tracking software vary depending on the software provider. Platforms can charge anything between $39.00 to $479.00 per month, depending on the package. Many also offer free plans suited to startups and micro-businesses.
Is Workday an applicant tracking system?
Yes, Workday Talent Acquisition is an example of an applicant tracking system.
Do applicant tracking systems scan cover letters?
Yes. Software such as Taleo use bots to search through cover letters and scan for keywords.
What percentage of companies use applicant tracking systems?
It is estimated that 75% of companies use applicant tracking systems.
What are the top benefits of applicant tracking systems?
- Organizing information on applicants in one place.
- Preventing great candidates from slipping through the cracks.
- Making it easy to know where candidates are in the hiring process and what to do next.
- Saving time on communication with candidates using bulk messaging.
- Making it easy to access information on the hiring process from anywhere.
What is an ATS?
An ATS is an applicant tracking system or a piece of web-based software used to track job candidates as they move through the hiring process.
What does ATS stand for?
For the purposes of hiring and HR, hiring and recruiting, it stands for applicant tracking system.
When should I start using ATS software?
You'll want to consider an online applicant tracking system when you get to the point where your company is always hiring at least one person, or when people doing the hiring are having trouble keeping track of applicants. If you're unsure, try a free version, or a free alternative to an ATS solution and see if it works for you.
What is the difference between an ATS and a candidate tracker?
An ATS is a web-based application tracking software. A candidate tracker is typically a spreadsheet or a PDF form used to track information about candidates.
What are the top applicant tracking systems for corporate recruiting?
What are the key features an ATS should have?
When compiling your applicant tracking system list of features, you'll want to write down your current pain points with the hiring process. Do you have trouble attracting candidates? Do you need it to be easier for your team to collaborate on hiring? Are you spending too much time on emails?
Knowing what problems you face with hiring will help you figure out what key features your company needs, and do an applicant tracking system comparison that's useful.
What is the typical applicant tracking system pricing?
The typical price for an applicant tracking system ranges from free to $479.00 per month or more for software that's designed for large-scale corporate use.
What ATS open source options are available?
- OpenCATS.
- CandidATS.
- Recruity.
What is the difference between an automated recruiting system and an ATS?
Automated recruiting systems are more focused on the recruiting side of the hiring process, whereas an ATS platform is meant to assist with the entire process, from recruiting to final selection.
Why would you recommend a cloud-based applicant tracking system?
A cloud-based ATS is recommendable because it can be accessed from anywhere you have an internet connection. This can be very convenient for being able to react more quickly to recruiting prospects, sharing information across a team, or working from multiple locations.
What is CV screening software?
Also known as resume screening software or a CV scanner, these allow CVs to be searched and filtered quickly, saving lots of time that would normally be spent manually scanning them to see if applicants are qualified.
When I post jobs online, I get more resumes than I can sort through. Any tips on how to screen resumes from job portals?
This is a perfect time to have resume review software to help you go through all your applications more quickly. You can also try screening by automatically sending out a batch of five questions each candidate must answer about their qualifications and the job. The answers can be used to determine which resumes you should look at.
What is the best way to manage job applications?
Great applicant tracking system software is best, but even a free or a cheap applicant tracking system can help you manage job applications by giving you an easy way to organize who has applied and where they are in the process.
If this isn't an option, you may want to try managing applications with a spreadsheet.
Can an ATS be used as a recruiting CRM?
Yes, many of the top applicant tracking systems have similar features to a CRM, so that you can maintain relationships with your talent pool.
Where can I find an applicant tracking spreadsheet template?
You can access an applicant tracking spreadsheet download free by downloading one of our candidate tracking spreadsheets at the top of the page.
When should I consider implementing web-based applicant tracking software?
It's probably worth it for most businesses to take a free trial of a web ATS and see if it benefits their hiring process. The only time we would warn against going to web-based applicant tracking would be if you need to collect highly sensitive personal data about applicants, and can't afford to use an ATS with a high level of security.
What features do the best applicant tracking systems for small companies offer?
Applicant tracking software for small business offers a lot of features that you might expect for larger companies these days, such as bulk messaging, private notes, multiple users, multiple user permission levels, and recruiting tools such as job posting.
What are the most important applicant tracking system features?
The most important features are the ability to track where applicants are in the hiring process, send bulk messages, keep notes on candidates, and share hiring info with your team.