Choosing the right recruitment software is more than just tracking applications; it's about creating long-term, efficient, and inclusive hiring pipelines that drive results. SmartRecruiters and Lever are two widely recognized systems that provide comprehensive talent acquisition capabilities, ranging from Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to diversity recruiting and advanced analytics. 

SmartRecruiters is a comprehensive talent acquisition platform that uses AI-driven tools to streamline high-volume and corporate hiring processes. Lever combines ATS and CRM features to help businesses source, nurture, and hire top talent via data-driven recruitment. 

This comparison outlines key features, pricing, and capabilities to help you determine which solution best aligns with your hiring strategy. 

Comparing SmartRecruiters Vs Lever: At A Glance

Features 

SmartRecruiters 

Lever 

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) 

End-to-end visibility, bulk actions, source tracking 

Combined ATS+CRM, dynamic pipelines, workflow automation 

Interview Scheduling And Management 

Calendar syncing, self-scheduling links, basic panel coordination 

Predefined plans, Easy Book links, calendar/video integrations, privacy controls 

Recruitment Analytics 

Built-in real-time dashboards, export/share options, no external tools needed 

Data Warehouse Sync for external BI tools, advanced customization 

Diversity Hiring 

Structured toolkit with 4 maturity levels and success pillars 

DEI dashboards, demographic surveys, bias detection, inclusive tools 

Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) 

SmartCRM for talent pools, compliance, and employer branding 

Integrated CRM with automation, segmentation, and passive talent engagement 

Pricing 

Starting at $14,995 

Custom Pricing 

What Is SmartRecruiters?

SmartRecruiters is a cloud-based talent acquisition platform. It aims to help modern hiring teams source, track, and build relationships with candidates more efficiently. 

The software incorporates applicant tracking (ATS), recruitment marketing, hiring CRM, AI-powered candidate matching, scheduling, onboarding, analytics, and more, into a single platform. 

Unique Features Of SmartRecruiters 

  • AI Talent Matching: Uses AI to rank applicants based on fit, streamlining sourcing, enhancing internal mobility, and promoting diversity by identifying qualified candidates—including those from both traditional and non-traditional backgrounds 
  • Job Ad Distribution: Offers one-click, centralized posting to over 300 job boards, automates ad spend tracking, optimizes budget based on performance, and gives ROI insights through unified dashboards 
  • AI-Powered Winston Intelligence: Leverages AI to assess prospects, automate scheduling, identify hiring bottlenecks, engage candidates conversationally, and adapt the interface dynamically to boost efficiency and improve decision-making 

Pros And Cons 

Pros 

  • Clear candidate pipeline management helps classify candidates by recruiting stage (e.g., lead, interview, hire), allowing for more efficient tracking and progression 
  • Centralized hiring management feature provides better organization and visibility across roles and teams 
  • Integration with DocuSign makes it easy for candidates to sign and finalize offer letters 

Cons 

  • The onboarding process feels limited and could be more comprehensive for both admins and hiring teams 
  • Some users have reported not being notified when applicants respond via email, resulting in missing or delayed conversations 

What Is Lever?

Lever is a cloud-based recruitment platform that combines applicant tracking and CRM into a comprehensive solution. 

Its key features include AI-assisted interview tools, automated scheduling with calendar integration, recruitment marketing, custom workflows, and in-depth analytics for tracking pipeline performance and diversity measures. 

Unique Features Of Lever 

  • AI Interview Companion: Automates interview summaries, guides structured questions, reduces bias, coaches interviewers, records insights, and seamlessly integrates with ATS, video, and calendar tools for consistent, data-driven hiring 
  • Recruitment Communication: Allows recruiters to send and schedule personalized texts/SMS directly within LeverTRM, promoting real-time engagement, nurturing campaigns, and compliance while centrally tracking all messages 
  • Recruitment Marketing: Enables the creation of branded career sites, custom nurturing campaigns, multi-channel interaction (email, SMS), and comprehensive analytics to efficiently attract, engage, and convert top talent 

Pros And Cons 

Pros 

  • Intuitive job posting templates make the creation process easier by allowing users to reuse similar data while only updating role-specific details 
  • Fully customizable scorecards enable hiring managers to tailor evaluation criteria to specific roles or departments 
  • Excellent scheduling tools make it easy to manage availability with several candidates and organize interviews quickly 

Cons 

  • Some users noted that the reporting feature is quite complex, making it hard to quickly generate actionable insights 
  • Lack of option to upload supplementary documents (e.g., health benefits, policy paperwork) restricts flexibility in hiring 

SmartRecruiters Vs Lever: Key Feature Comparison

1. Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

SmartRecruiters offers comprehensive, end-to-end visibility throughout the employment process. Recruiters can monitor applicant progress, identify bottlenecks early on, and manage ad expenses using source performance insights.

The platform features automated status updates, bulk actions for streamlined workflows, and efficient communication options to keep candidates engaged. These capabilities reduce manual effort, enhance decision-making, and provide a more seamless and transparent hiring experience.

Lever's Applicant Tracking System (LeverTRM) combines ATS and CRM functions to provide end-to-end recruitment management, from sourcing and nurturing to structured interviews and hiring. The software offers dynamic pipelines, proactive workflow automation, and powerful analytics to provide real-time performance insights.

Recruiters can streamline operations using bulk actions, resume parsing, and facilitating collaboration via shared applicant profiles. Integrations with calendars, email, Slack, and HR platforms improve productivity and candidate engagement.

Winner: Lever ATS wins for its built-in CRM, dynamic pipelines, and better tool integrations. SmartRecruiters lacks CRM integration and depth of collaboration.

2. Interview Scheduling

SmartRecruiters automates coordination by syncing calendars in real-time, allowing for flexible time zone management and reducing no-shows. The software provides self-scheduling links for applicants and facilitates panel interviews by consolidating the availability of multiple interviewers.

This streamlines logistics, improves the applicant experience, and relieves recruiters of manual back-and-forth communication, resulting in faster and more efficient interview management.

Lever's smart scheduler allows recruiters to click 'Schedule' and automatically match interviewer calendars, Google or Office 365, for one-off or panel interviews. Interview plans include predefined interviewer sets, durations, and feedback forms, while 'Easy Book' links allow candidates to self-schedule.

Users can postpone or cancel events on the platform, and privacy settings allow them to hide details of event information. Calendar invites seamlessly incorporate video links and reminders.

Winner: Lever takes the lead with predefined interview plans, self-scheduling links, and privacy controls. SmartRecruiters lack the same depth in customization and feedback integration.

3. Recruitment Analytics

SmartAnalytics by SmartRecruiters delivers real-time recruiting metrics through intuitive, native dashboards built directly into the platform. It offers access to historical data, configurable report-building, and robust visualizations to track key metrics such as time-to-fill, source performance, and candidate drop-off—all within ATS permissions.

With export options and automated sharing, teams can receive timely insights to improve sourcing tactics, identify bottlenecks, and make data-driven hiring decisions.

Lever Recruiting Analytics offers Data Warehouse Sync, which enables users to export all recruiting data into any business intelligence platform. This allows for more detailed custom reporting and analysis than the platform's built-in dashboards.

With Lever, teams can transform Lever's visual insights into customized reports for stakeholders, enabling flexible, data-driven decision-making beyond the platform's core interface.

Winner: SmartRecruiters leads this category with built-in, real-time dashboards and customizable reports available directly on the platform without requiring any extra tools that are lacking in Lever.

4. Diversity Hiring

SmartRecruiters offers a Diversity Hiring Toolkit featuring a four-level maturity model (ranging from 'Aware' to 'Ally') to guide organizations through best practices for brand, sourcing, fair hiring, and internal support.

Each success pillar offers practical guidelines and action plans for evaluating current processes, establishing measurable diversity goals, and implementing inclusive hiring practices. This structured approach enables businesses to develop diverse talent pools, mitigate bias, and achieve sustainable progress.

Lever promotes DEI throughout the recruiting process, using a thorough, data-driven strategy. It offers optional demographic surveys for job applications and sourced candidates, with response-feeding Visual Insights dashboards displaying diversity data across pipelines and hires.

The platform also supports equitable internal mobility monitoring. It integrates with DEI tools for bias detection, inclusive language analysis, and standardized reference checks, enabling scalable and transparent efforts to achieve more diverse recruiting outcomes.

Winner: Lever wins with built-in DEI analytics, bias-mitigation tools, and real-time diversity tracking across all recruitment stages.

5. Candidate Relationship Management (CRM)

SmartRecruiters' built-in CRM enables organizations to proactively build and nurture talent pools ahead of hiring needs. It allows recruiters to categorize prospective candidates based on their talents or recruiting goals and engage them with branded communication to enhance employer branding.

SmartCRM features provide performance tracking and compliance support to ensure a steady, qualified pipeline, minimizing time-to-fill and enhancing retention and engagement rates in future recruitment efforts.

Lever offers a fully integrated candidate CRM that enables proactive sourcing and talent nurturing even outside of the active hiring phases. It allows talent pool segmentation and automated outreach campaigns, maintaining consistent engagement with potential candidates in competitive markets.

The platform streamlines recruiting workflows with a simple, user-friendly design and automation for scheduling and applicant management, helping teams maintain strong relationships with both active and passive talent.

Winner: Tie. Both platforms offer equally strong CRM features, with SmartRecruiters excelling in branding and compliance, and Lever taking the lead in automation and engagement.

SmartRecruiters Vs Lever: Pricing Comparison

SmartRecruiters offers tiered plans that can be scaled to meet varying business needs. The Essential package starts at $14,995 per year and includes core features like ATS, CRM, onboarding, SMS messaging, and job distribution. 

Higher-tier options (Professional, High Volume, and Complete) are custom-priced and provide AI-powered capabilities, sophisticated analytics, and automation tools. 

Lever offers a per-seat-per-month subscription plan with custom pricing, which varies depending on features and organization size. LeverTRM (the ATS+CRM platform) provides native automation, candidate nurturing features, and robust analytics in scalable enterprise packages. 

It's a good option for organizations that prioritize efficient sourcing and relationship management. 

SmartRecruiters Vs Lever: Which Platform Fits Your Hiring Strategy?

Both SmartRecruiters and Lever provide advanced, enterprise-ready recruitment platforms, but their strengths lie in somewhat distinct areas. SmartRecruiters stands out for its built-in analytics, structured diversity toolkit, and brand-focused CRM capabilities, making it an ideal choice for companies that prioritize compliance and candidate experience at scale. 

Lever, on the other hand, excels in automation, integrated ATS and CRM capabilities, and data-driven DEI assistance, making it an excellent option for teams that prioritize efficiency, engagement, and scalability in their hiring processes. 

If you are still not satisfied with the above options, you can explore our resource center to find software solutions that best align with your business needs. The perfect choice is ultimately determined by your organization's hiring strategy, volume, and business objectives.