Sometimes, hiring can feel a bit like a guessing game. Not only are businesses having to navigate an ever-fluctuating labor market with all its ebbs and flows in hirings and separations, but you also have to navigate the almost endless sea of potential candidates. It can be hard to filter through both qualified and unqualified candidates as you probably have a very large amount of both. At best, this can create delays in the hiring process and make the process take more time than it needs to—at worst, it can lead to the top talent for the position you’re hiring getting lost in the noise of all the other job applicants.
Business owners are all too familiar with this parable. At Payday HCM, we’ve had plenty of current and potential clients ask us for advice surrounding this issue. While it’s great to always have a large amount of interest in a position that you are hiring for, without any sort of way to organize those candidates, the number of candidates can quickly become overwhelming. Luckily, with our years of experience in the human resources industry, we’ve not only seen how some tried, and true methods have stood the test of time but also how technology has managed to innovate the hiring process. This is especially true when it comes to applicant tracking systems.
In this article, we’ll go over the best applicant tracking softwares heading into the year 2025. We’ll go through a set of four categories:
- Best Overall Applicant Tracking System
- Best Budget Applicant Tracking System
- Best Applicant Tracking System for Small Businesses
- Best Applicant Tracking for Enterprise and Large Organizations
We’ll briefly go over some of the features of each of the systems and what to expect from them, and what makes them the pick in each respective category. We’ll also include a runner-up for each category to provide your business with as many options as possible. By the end of this article, you’ll have all the information you need to make the most informed decision for your organization and transform your business’s hiring process.
Best Overall Applicant Tracking System
Firstly, we’ll start by going over the best overall applicant tracking system that combines the best features with great pricing.
Greenhouse
Greenhouse consistently ranks as one of the best ATS platforms due to its robust features, user-friendly interface, and excellent integration capabilities. It offers strong automation for workflow optimization, built-in diversity and inclusion hiring tools, seamless integration with HR and recruiting tools, and advanced reporting and analytics.
Greenhouse is ideal for companies looking for a scalable, feature-rich ATS that enhances both hiring efficiency and candidate experience. It works with businesses of all sizes, ranging from startups all the way to enterprise. Pricing is based on the size of your business—schedule a demo through their website.
Runner-Up: Lever
Lever is another strong contender, offering a combination of ATS and CRM features that enhance collaboration and sourcing efforts. It provides intuitive automation tools—like candidate self-scheduling and automated follow-ups—seamless integration with productivity apps, and a strong focus on nurturing candidate relationships. Lever’s analytics and reporting capabilities help businesses optimize their hiring strategies.
Their pricing model is also built around business size and is broken down into two different tiers: Lever and Lever for Enterprise. Request a demo through their website to acquire more specific pricing information.
Best Budget Applicant Tracking System
For those looking for a robust system that doesn’t break the bank, we’ve got you covered here. These solutions will help you streamline your process while staying within budget.
Manatal
For businesses looking for an affordable yet powerful ATS, Manatal provides an AI-driven solution at a fraction of the cost of many premium systems. Manatal’s features include AI-powered candidate recommendations, social media recruitment tools, and resume parsing with candidate profile enrichment.
Manatal leverages AI to automatically sort through candidates and recommend the best ones, saving you and your business time during the recruiting process. Manatal’s lowest tier plan comes in at $15 per user per month with the option to schedule a free trial. Manatal is great as an entry-level software, with an upgrade to a different system in the future recommended.
Runner-Up: Zoho Recruit
Zoho Recruit provides a solid free plan with scalable paid options, making it a great budget-friendly choice for growing businesses. It features a customizable hiring pipeline, AI-powered candidate matching, and integration with Zoho’s extensive suite of business tools. Small teams can benefit from its affordability, while larger organizations can scale as needed.
Zoho’s free tier allows businesses to have one active job posting at a time, so this tier is best for smaller organizations. The first paid tier is $25 per month per user, with a free trial available. Again, Zoho Recruit is a great entry-level software but likely isn’t a great permanent solution.
Best Applicant Tracking System for Small Businesses
For small businesses, it’s crucial to choose an applicant tracking system that combines functionality with a reasonable price tag—these systems do just that.
Breezy HR
Breezy HR is a great solution for small businesses looking to get the word out on positions that they are hiring for. Their software stands out due to it intuitive drag-and-drop interface, automated candidate messaging and scheduling, affordable pricing for small teams, and built-in video interviewing and background checks.
Breezy HR is an excellent choice for small businesses seeking an easy-to-use, feature-rich ATS without the complexities of enterprise solutions. Like Manatal or Zoho, Breezy also offers a free tier plan that offers posting for one position, with paid plans starting at $157 a month for unlimited users.
Runner-Up: JazzHR
JazzHR is another strong choice, offering customizable workflows and great pricing for small businesses looking to streamline hiring. It provides unlimited job postings, powerful resume parsing, and a collaborative hiring interface that simplifies the recruitment process.
With its robust reporting and compliance features, JazzHR is an excellent choice for small businesses aiming to optimize hiring. JazzHR’s pricing plans operate monthly or annually in three tiers, with the lowest starting at $99 a month which includes three job postings.
Best Applicant Tracking for Enterprise and Large Organizations
Of course, we can’t forget about the big guys. Larger businesses need ATS solutions that can handle large amounts of postings and applicants while streamlining the organization process.
iCIMS
Larger organizations require an ATS that can handle high-volume hiring, complex workflows, and deep integration with other HR systems. iCIMS delivers with an AI-powered talent acquisition suite, advanced reporting and compliance tracking, seamless integration with major HR software like Workday and Oracle, and scalable solutions for global hiring needs.
iCIMS is the go-to solution for enterprises that need a highly configurable ATS with powerful analytics and automation features. iCMIS’s website offers comprehensive insight into how their tool can be used to power hiring for all different types of roles and industries as well as the option to schedule a demo
Runner-Up: Jobvite
Jobvite provides excellent candidate engagement tools and AI-powered automation, making it a great alternative for enterprises looking to improve efficiency. Its end-to-end talent acquisition suite includes advanced recruitment marketing, video screening, and referral automation.
Jobvite is especially useful for companies prioritizing a strong employer brand and a seamless candidate experience. Jobvite has three different tiers for its software structure—you can request a quote to learn more about their specific pricing.
Don’t Lose Track of Applicants: Choose the Right ATS For Your Business
Filling a position can be a stressful and time-consuming process. Not only will you or another member of your team need to spend time filtering through potentially tens of applications, you’ll also need to take the time to perform interviews (possibly multiple rounds), and then go through the hiring and onboarding process. Any added steps will only slow you down and put you at risk of driving away top talent instead of attracting it. With the applicant tracking softwares listed in this article, however, your business will be able to stay on top of everything it needs to when it comes to hiring so you can focus on what’s important: finding the right candidate for the job.
Suffice it to say that we know a thing or two about hiring. As we’ve said before, Hiring doesn’t have to be a difficult process. Learn more about Payday HCM’s comprehensive hiring and onboarding solutions to help streamline your business's hiring process.
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