Hiring top talent is one of the most critical and challenging tasks for startups. With limited resources, lean teams, and the pressure to scale quickly, early-stage companies often face hurdles such as sourcing qualified candidates, managing high volumes of applications, etc. In a 2023 survey, 57% of recruiters said hiring new employees would be hard over the next year, showing that finding skilled workers was already a big challenge. These challenges can lead to prolonged vacancies, increased hiring costs, and missed opportunities for growth.
An applicant tracking system (ATS) can be a game-changer for many startups navigating these recruitment challenges. They automate job postings, streamline resume screening, and facilitate candidate communication—thereby improving the overall hiring experience for both recruiters and applicants. On top of that, they also enable startups to make informed decisions swiftly with additional features like data analytics.
Hence, having an ATS is crucial to any startup’s survival, including your own. To help you out, we're going through some of the best ATS for startups, helping you identify the right tool to optimize your recruitment process and support your company's growth.
Company | Best for | Main Features | Pricing |
JazzHR | Small/growing businesses | Customizable workflows Automated hiring tasks Integrations with various HR tools | Starts from $99/month |
Teamtailor | Companies that aim for a personalized candidate experience | Branded career pages Candidate-centric hiring ‘Connect’ feature | Starting from $1250/year |
BambooHR | Businesses requiring a flexible ATS solution | Posting on multiple job boards Automated, personalized emails Mobile app facilitates the hiring process | Customized pricing |
Workable | Businesses that are looking for an all-in-one solution | AI-powered candidate sourcing Customizable reports and dashboards An extensive set of evaluation tools | Starting from $169/month |
Zoho Recruit | Companies that want to incorporate AI into their hiring practices | AI-Powered candidate matching Custom automations Personalized portals and licenses | Starts from $0/month |
Greenhouse | Global teams looking for structured hiring | Structured hiring framework Wide range of integrations Customizable dashboards | Customized pricing |
Breezy HR | Companies seeking a visual hiring pipeline | Drag-and-drop pipeline 800 HR and recruiting templates Automated tools and reports that simplify compliance | Starts with a Free plan |
JazzHR is a user-friendly and cost-effective ATS solution designed to simplify the recruitment process for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs). With its intuitive interface, JazzHR enables companies to attract, screen, and hire top talent efficiently, making it an ideal choice for startups and growing organizations.
Standout Features
Pricing
JazzHR offers three main pricing plans:
- Hero: $99/month
- Plus: $325/month
- Pro: $499/month
Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.
Why Choose JazzHR?
JazzHR stands out as an ATS solution that balances functionality with affordability, making it particularly appealing to startups and small businesses. Its user-friendly design ensures quick adoption, while its customizable features accommodate various recruitment strategies. Moreover, it allows users to post on multiple job boards and different social media channels with a single click, making it an excellent choice for businesses seeking a greater talent pool.
Teamtailor is a modern ATS solution designed to enhance employer branding and simplify recruitment processes for SMBs. With a focus on creating engaging career sites and automating hiring workflows, Teamtailor helps companies attract and hire top talent efficiently.
Standout Features
Pricing
Teamtailor offers flexible pricing plans starting from $1250/year that are based on company size and specific needs.
Disclaimer: The pricing has been sourced from third-party websites and is subject to change.
Why Choose Teamtailor?
Teamtailor is ideal for startups and growing businesses seeking to enhance their employer brand and streamline recruitment processes. Its user-friendly interface, automation features, and integration make it a valuable tool for attracting and hiring top talent efficiently. Companies aiming to provide an exceptional candidate experience while optimizing their hiring workflows will find Teamtailor a useful tool.
BambooHR offers an intuitive applicant tracking system tailored for small to medium-sized businesses aiming to enhance their hiring and onboarding processes. With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features, BambooHR simplifies the recruitment journey from job posting to employee onboarding.
Standout Features
Pricing
BambooHR offers three pricing plans at custom pricing that are designed to accommodate businesses of varying sizes. The plans it offers are:
- Core
- Pro
- Elite
Why Choose BambooHR?
BambooHR stands out as an extensive yet flexible solution for startups and growing businesses. Its intuitive design, coupled with powerful features like automated communications, mobile accessibility, and analytics, empowers HR teams to attract and retain top talent efficiently. Additionally, its flexible pricing options help startups to scale the software’s features based on their requirements.
Workable ATS is a comprehensive applicant tracking system designed to streamline the hiring process for businesses of all sizes. With its exhaustive list of features and AI-driven tools, Workable simplifies candidate sourcing, evaluation, and onboarding, making it an ideal solution for startups and growing companies.
Standout Features
Pricing
Workable offers a range of pricing plans to accommodate various business needs. The platform also offers a free trial that lasts 15 days. It offers the following pricing plans:
- Starter: $169/month
- Standard: $360/month
- Premier: $599/month (billed annually)
Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.
Why Choose Workable?
Workable stands out for its scalability and extensive feature set, making it suitable for startups and expanding businesses. Its AI-powered sourcing tools and comprehensive job board integrations enhance candidate reach, while automated workflows and customizable career pages improve the overall hiring experience. With flexible pricing plans and a massive list of features, Workable provides an efficient solution for managing recruitment processes effectively.
Zoho Recruit is a cloud-based ATS that simplifies candidate sourcing, evaluation, and onboarding. It does this by combining both its CRM and ATS, allowing companies to effectively manage and automate their talent acquisition pipeline.
Standout Features
Pricing
Zoho Recruit offers several pricing tiers to accommodate various business needs. It also provides a 15-day free trial. For staffing agencies, the pricing tiers are:
- Forever Free: $0/month
- Standard: $30/user/month
- Professional: $60/user/month
- Enterprise: $90/user/month
However, for corporate HRs, the pricing plans are:
- Free - $0/month (Forever Free)
- Standard - $30/recruiter/month
- Enterprise - $60/recruiter/month
Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.
Why Choose Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Recruit stands out for its scalability and AI capabilities, making it suitable for startups and expanding businesses. Its candidate sourcing tools and extensive job board integrations enhance candidate reach, while automated workflows and customizable career pages improve the overall hiring experience. With a free option and a slick user interface, Zoho Recruit provides an efficient solution for many promising but fledgling startups.
Greenhouse software ATS solution caters to all kinds of teams, including global ones. With a focus on structured hiring, Greenhouse provides tools and features that promote consistency, reduce bias, and improve overall recruitment efficiency.
Standout Features
Pricing
Greenhouse offers 3 pricing plans at custom pricing, based on requirements and the size of your organization. These plans are:
- Essential
- Advanced
- Expert
Why Choose Greenhouse?
Greenhouse stands out for its commitment to structured hiring and its ability to scale with growing organizations. Its user-friendly interface, combined with powerful AI tools and extensive integrations, makes it a preferred choice for companies aiming to optimize their recruitment processes.
Breezy HR is an ATS solution that’s designed to streamline the hiring process by eliminating tedious and repetitive tasks. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface and strong collaboration tools, Breezy HR simplifies candidate management and enhances team coordination throughout the recruitment journey.
Standout Features
Pricing
Breezy HR offers 4 pricing plans to accommodate various business needs, such as:
- Bootstrap: Free (Free Forever)
- Startup: $189/month
- Growth: $329/month
- Business: $529/month
Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.
Why Choose Breezy HR?
Breezy HR stands out for its ease of use (cutting down tedium, a large number of templates), making it an ideal choice for teams that want to improve their hiring processes. Its visual pipelines and automation tools help reduce time-to-hire, while integrated communication and reporting functionalities ensure a seamless recruitment experience.
You now have a detailed overview of the best applicant tracking systems for startups, each offering unique strengths to meet your recruitment needs. Finding the right ATS is crucial for building efficient, scalable hiring processes that can keep up with your startup’s pace.
From AI-powered sourcing to collaborative hiring tools and customizable workflows, the platforms listed above are built to solve common startup challenges like limited HR bandwidth, inconsistent communication, and manual recruitment tasks. Whether you're a team of 5 or 50, these solutions can help you attract, evaluate, and hire top talent faster and smarter.
Still unsure which one fits your team best? Explore more of our software guides and comparisons in our resource center.