Applicant tracking systems (ATS) play a pivotal role in enhancing the efficiency of HR and recruiting teams, facilitating a seamless end-to-end hiring process. This software empowers businesses to automate various recruitment tasks, encompassing job postings, application management, candidate data, and communication with applicants, all within a unified platform.

Our thorough analysis of the leading ATS solutions, considering numerous data factors, has culminated in identifying the best applicant tracking software for 2023.

If you are still unsure as to why you need applicant tracking software for your recruitment business. Read our blog: 15 Benefits of Applicant Tracking System

Best Applicant Tracking Software of 2023

1. RecruiterFlow:

G2 Rating: 4.2/5

Capterra Rating: 4.7/5

Free Trial: Offers a 14-day free trial.

Pricing: Plans start from $99/user/month.

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Suitable for: Small, Mid-size, and large recruitment and staffing agencies

Recruiterflow offers a comprehensive suite of features, automation capabilities, and customization options, making it the best applicant tracking software for recruiting agencies. Recruiterflow empowers recruiters to attract top talent and build successful teams by streamlining the recruitment process and enhancing efficiency.

Why Recruiterflow is the best Applicant Tracking Software for recruiters

Recruiterflow provides a centralized platform to manage various applicant tracking functions. It allows users to design company career pages, post jobs directly on job boards and social media platforms, and source applicants with just one click. This integrated approach saves time and effort by eliminating the need for multiple tools or manual processes.

Automation and efficiency

Recruiterflow automates repetitive recruiter tasks, such as calendar organization and extracting contact information from online candidate profiles. These time-saving features enable recruiters to focus more on strategic activities and enhance overall productivity.

Virtual scorecards and evaluations

The system offers virtual scorecards to track applicant ratings and evaluations. Recruiters and hiring managers can customize interview questions, provide guidance to interviewers, and record ratings and notes based on candidate skills. This feature streamlines the interview process and ensures consistent evaluation criteria.

Sourcing and posting capabilities

Recruiterflow simplifies candidate sourcing by providing one-click access to potential candidates from popular job boards and professional networking platforms like LinkedIn, Github, AngelList, and Xing. Recruiterflow’s Chrome extension allows recruiters to extract email addresses and contact candidates directly. It also provides customizable email templates, allowing recruiters to send personalized messages to candidates with ease.

Hiring pipeline management

Recruiterflow offers recruiters unparalleled visibility into the recruitment process. With a simple drag-and-drop interface, maintaining pipelines becomes easy for teams. Visual representation ensures a clear overview, allowing recruiters to identify bottlenecks and take timely action. With Recruiterflow’s visual hiring pipelines, recruiters gain unmatched visibility and can confidently optimize their recruitment workflow.

Collaborative hiring

Recruiterflow facilitates collaboration among team members during the hiring process. Recruiters can tag colleagues, share candidate information, and communicate within the platform, ensuring smooth and effective collaboration within the recruitment team.

Analytics and reporting

Recruiterflow offers comprehensive analytics and reporting capabilities, providing recruiters with valuable insights into their recruitment efforts. Users can generate reports on key metrics, such as time-to-hire, source of hire, and candidate conversion rates, to make data-driven decisions and optimize their recruitment strategies.

Recruitment CRM

The recruitment CRM feature allows recruiters to maintain a comprehensive database of candidate information. Recruiters can store notes, track interactions, and stay organized with a complete view of candidate history and engagement.

Customizable and flexible pricing

Recruiterflow offers pricing plans tailored to the specific needs of both small and medium-sized agencies and larger enterprises. With options for growth, scale, and enterprise tiers, users can choose the plan that best aligns with their organization’s requirements. Additionally, custom plans are available for those with unique needs.

Also Read: 40+ Questions to ask your ATS vendor

2. Bullhorn ATS

G2 Rating: 4.0/5

Capterra Rating: 4.1/5

Free Trial: Not available.

Pricing: Available upon request.

LinkedIn Integration: No

Suitable for: Large Staffing Agencies

Bullhorn ATS is a cloud-based recruiting software that enables staffing agencies to increase sales, streamline operations, and expedite recruitment. Its ATS displays all the necessary information about the candidates in one place, making it easy for you to connect with candidates.

Its advanced analytics features track your recruiting activity and transform it into actionable business insights with configurable reports tailored to your goals and KPIs.

Pros:

• It is easy to input and attach notes to specific files about job orders, candidates, clients, and contacts. 
• It offers useful integration options.
• The platform is entirely customizable.

Cons:

• The UI/UX is not user-friendly.
• The platform lacks automation functionalities.

3. Freshteam by Freshworks – Free ATS Software

G2 Rating: 4.4/5

Capterra Rating: 4.4/5

Free Trial: Available

Pricing: Plans start from $1.20/employee/month

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Suitable for – Small and growing staffing and recruitment agencies

Freshteam stands out as a top-tier solution available in the market, making it an exceptional choice for applicant tracking systems across businesses of various scales. This is especially true for expanding enterprises with dynamic requirements. The platform presents an enduring free plan that accommodates the management of up to 50 employees. It encompasses three job postings, an employee directory, and time-off management functionalities.

Pros:

• It offers 100+ in-built job description templates.
• The software is mobile-friendly.
• It allows integrations with multiple free premium job boards and social media channels.

Cons:

• The application can be slow at times.
• It requires CVs to be uploaded in PDF format only.
• The free version does not come with AI capabilities.
• It is costly for companies looking for just ATS functionalities and not any other HR services

4. Zoho Recruit

G2 Rating: 4.4/5

Capterra Rating: 4.4/5

Free Trial: Available.

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Pricing: Plans start from $30/user/month.

Suitable for:

Zoho Recruit has everything a recruiter would need for a streamlined recruiting process. The platform offers robust ATS and CRM software on one recruitment platform and a wide range of scalability, customization, and remote recruiting tools.

With such versatile tools, you can source, post, and keep track of where your candidates are at every recruitment stage and optimize the process with advanced analytics.

Pros:

• It publishes jobs on over 75 job boards in one click.
• It offers 50+ software integrations.
• The platform is budget-friendly and user-friendly.

Cons:

• Although Zoho offers multiple integrations, users may experience issues when integrating with software outside the Zoho ecosystem.
• The platform is relatively slow to load.
• Mobile App is not powerful

5. Recruitee

G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Capterra Rating: 4.4/5

Free Trial: Available

Pricing: Plans start from €199/month.

Recruitee is a renowned recruitment software that helps recruiters boost sourcing, automate recruiting, and evaluate candidates effectively. The platform’s easy-to-use customization options let you customize your dashboard and reports. It also allows you to curate and send talent assessments to candidates to evaluate their skills.

The software also comes with in-built scheduling features that effortlessly schedule interviews and notify every party involved of the interview durations. 

Pros:

• The software offers more than 120 third-party software integrations.
• It is GDPR compliant.
• It enables transparent job management with a Kanban flow

Cons:

• The mobile version experiences performance issues.
• The customer service is unresponsive.

6. BambooHR

G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Capterra Rating: 4.6/5

Free Trial: Available.

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Pricing: Available upon request.

BambooHR ATS software has solutions to tackle inefficiencies and enable an excellent recruiting experience. The platform lets you automate recurring processes, from job posting to sending emails and many more, and keeps the candidates well informed on the recruiting process.

It also utilizes advanced report and analytics tools to measure time-to-hire, identify bottlenecks, and spot inconsistencies. Doing so ensures that recruiters have a seamless experience and maximize their brand name.

Pros:

• It offers unlimited customization features.
• It has an intuitive and interactive interface.
• It automatically sends notifications.

Cons:

• The platform experiences minor technical and performance glitches.
• The reporting features are not reliable.

7. JazzHR

G2 Rating: 4.4/5

Capterra Rating: 4.3/5

Free Trial: Not available.

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Pricing: Plans start from $49/month.

JazzHR is a robust and intuitive recruitment platform, offering features that meet the needs of recruiting teams. The platform lets recruiters build their workflows for each job opening, making them feel organized and productive.

Recruiters can create personalized messages and email templates, which will be sent automatically when the candidate reaches a specific phase in the recruitment journey. It also triggers real-time notifications on the latest activities of the candidates.

Pros:

• It offers countless customization options.
• The platform is user-friendly.
• It offers eDocuments and eSignature features.

Cons:

• There is no option to avoid duplicate applicants.
• Although it offers multiple integration options, specific integrations can be challenging to set up.

8. Greenhouse

G2 Rating: 4.4/5

Capterra Rating: 4.5/5

Free Trial: Not available.

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Pricing: Available upon request.

Greenhouse offers comprehensive support to organizations throughout the entirety of their recruitment journey. This encompassing platform simplifies hiring by automating various tasks, diligently recording and monitoring data, and generating insightful reports. Furthermore, it fosters collaborative efforts among team members, employs diverse candidate sourcing avenues, and constructs a candidate experience that cultivates the desire for future applications.
Moreover, Greenhouse assures compliance with GDPR, elevating its security and operational efficiency. The adept integration ecosystem seamlessly facilitates data exchange between Greenhouse and alternative HR systems.

Pros:

• The application offers more than 450 integrations.
• It delivers the overall progress with 40+ essential reports and snapshot dashboards.
• It also tailors organized plans to help recruiters assess the right skills, traits, and qualifications.

Cons:

• The UI/UX is complex.
• It is tough to create custom reports.
• Pricing not transparent

9. Workable

G2 Rating: 4.6/5

Capterra Rating: 4.4/5

Free Trial: Available.

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Pricing: Plans start from $149/month.

Workable is an all-inclusive applicant tracking software that revolutionizes recruitment with advanced AI capabilities. With access to a vast pool of 400 million candidate profiles, Workable employs sophisticated algorithms to identify the most qualified candidates.

Moreover, the platform incorporates anonymized screening features to mitigate unconscious bias and promote fair recruiting decisions. Workable goes beyond traditional applicant tracking software by offering talent assessment tools, including scientifically backed cognitive and personality pre-employment tests, to ensure that candidates possess the necessary skills to excel.

Pros:

• It offers integrations with 70+ third-party tools.
• It provides recruiters with one-way video interviewing functionalities.
• The software is GDPR, CCPA, and EEOC/OFCCP compliant.

Cons:

• It does not use a boolean search to find resumes that align with specific position requirements.
• The platform does not label disqualified candidates.

10. Rippling

G2 Rating: 4.8/5

Capterra Rating: 4.9/5

Free Trial: Available 

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Pricing: Available upon request.

Rippling is a comprehensive platform with tools for candidate searching, recruiting, and onboarding. It offers a simple ATS where recruiters can quickly publish open opportunities to every platform, from Indeed to LinkedIn, to build your candidate pipeline with the best talent.

You can set up custom recruiting workflows and processes and customize interview stages based on position, department, or seniority. You can also integrate Outlook, iCal, Google, and more to view people’s availability and schedule each interview stage quickly.

Pros:

• It has a simple and intuitive interface.
• It offers countless software integrations.
• The platform is easy to navigate.

Cons:

• It supports only one language, English.
• The customer service is unresponsive and poor.

11. BreezyHR – Free ATS Software

G2 Rating: 4.4/5

Capterra Rating: 4.5/5

Free Trial: Available.

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Pricing: Plans start from $157/month.

BreezyHR has emerged as a prominent player among the top applicant tracking systems in the field. Its forever-free plan sets it apart from most of its rivals. This encompasses boundless users and candidates, wide-reaching distribution to more than 50 job boards, and sophisticated résumé parsing capabilities. An upgrade to the Startup plan is required to access further enhancements such as background screening, candidate questionnaires, and adaptable workflows and stages.

Pros:

• It has an intuitive and user-friendly interface.
• You can post on more than forty job boards for free.
• It offers a built-in scorecard system.
• Supports over 20 languages

Cons:

• The program does not offer options to view multiple resumes simultaneously.
• The reporting and analytics capabilities are limited.
• Low-cost paid plan not available

12. Ceipal ATS

G2 Rating: 4.6/5

Capterra Rating: 4.6/5

Free Trial: Not available.

LinkedIn Integration: Yes

Pricing: Available upon request.

Ceipal ATS is an AI-powered, end-to-end ATS software that accelerates candidate selection. Once you have updated the expected candidate qualifications, the platform scours every nook and corner of the internet and delivers hundreds of resumes of the relevant candidates.

You can skim through the resumes with the help of AI-powered candidate Analytics features which vividly outline the candidate’s skills, expertise, and personality types. With this information, you can contact the candidate who closely matches your expectations without your emails falling into the spam folders.

Pros:

• It offers AI-powered candidate recommendations for job positions.
• You can send bulk emails with one click.
• It contains all the features available in onboarding software.

Cons:

• The customization features are limited.
• The software can be complex to navigate at first.

13. Recruit CRM

G2 Rating: 4.7/5

Capterra Rating: 4.9/5

Free Trial: Available.

LinkedIn Integration: No

Pricing: Plans start from $85/user/month.

Recruit CRM is an end-to-end ATS software that assists recruiters in managing recruitment, clients, and candidates in a single platform. Its Chrome extension sources candidates directly from job posting platforms, and the parser instantly parses through the influx of resumes and pinpoints candidates with adept talents.

With the gathered information, you can effortlessly organize candidates in a simplified Kanban view. Here, you can schedule interviews, engage with clients, and recruit the perfect candidate.

Pros:

• This ATS benefits you by letting you send bulk emails.
• With the Hotlist feature, you can create lists of candidates for future use. 
• It offers a variety of search functionalities like boolean, radius, and many more.

Cons:

• The platform does not offer Zapier integrations.
• It lacks offer letter management.

14. Jobvite

G2 Rating: 4.0/5

Capterra Rating: 4.1/5

Free Trial: Not available.

Pricing: Available upon request.

Jobvite is an all-in-one solution that offers every tool necessary for talent acquisition. The platform provides flexible customization options for recruiters to configure dashboards and workflows to manage the recruitment life cycle effectively.

The platform also encompasses automation features that expedite recruitment procedures and enhance the chances of identifying ideal candidates.

Pros:

• It offers fundamental time analytics tools.
• It has e-signature features that let you sign, seal, and deliver contracts within the same platform.
• The ATS software also uses bias blocker functionalities for bias-free recruiting decisions.

Cons:

• The platform uses keywords to identify candidates, and sometimes good candidates are missed if they do not use the exact same keywords in the resumes.
• It does not offer MS team integrations for interviews.

15. Pyjama HR

G2 Rating: 4.4/5

Capterra Rating: 4.6/5

Free Trial: Offers free plans.

Pricing: Plans start at $100/month.

Pyjama HR is an AI-based recruitment software that allows recruiters to automate the recruitment process for organizations and recruiters. This free applicant tracking software addresses recruiters’ pain points during the recruiting journey and offers simplified solutions but lacks personalization functionalities and assessment options.

From posting jobs on multiple platforms simultaneously in one click to filtering top candidates effortlessly with intelligent filters, Pyjama HR is the best solution for those involved in mass recruiting projects. 

Pros:

• The software offers multiple third-party software integrations.
• It offers Chrome extensions for candidate import.
• It also provides a 360-degree candidate comparison view.

Cons:

• Customization options are limited.
• The UI experiences occasional glitches.

What are the Common Features of Applicant Tracking Systems?

1. Automated job posting: ATS allows recruiters to post job descriptions to multiple job boards simultaneously, saving time and effort.
2. Email Automation: Recruiters can send branded emails to potential candidates, prompting them to complete applications or providing updates on their application status.
3. Customized career pages: ATS provides tools to create attractive landing pages that showcase a company’s brand, mission, and culture, making job postings stand out.
4. Custom applications: Companies can create tailored job applications with specific fields, simplifying the process for applicants and ensuring data is formatted correctly.
5. Employee referral tools: ATS facilitates employee referrals by offering portals for employees to recommend candidates and track their progress in the recruitment process.
6. Resume Parsing: ATS automatically analyzes and organizes resumes, extracts relevant data and stores it in a database for easy access and tracking.
7. Applicant tracking: ATS enables recruiters to track candidate applications throughout the recruitment process, with customizable workflows and alerts for stakeholders.
8. Interview scheduling: ATS streamlines the management of interview scheduling by allowing recruiters to designate interview times and send invitations to candidates.
9. Candidate scoring: ATS provides a centralized platform for interviewers to leave notes and scores for candidates, helping to standardize evaluations and reduce bias.
10. Analytics report: ATS generates actionable insights by analyzing data points, such as the effectiveness of job boards and campaigns, time-to-hire metrics, and demographic characteristics of candidate pools.
11. Candidate Relationship Management: ATS offers communication features for recruiters to engage with candidates, ranging from email plugins to fully developed CRM-like functionality with profiles and engagement tracking. Read our blog What is a Recruitment CRM Software to learn everything about Recruiting CRM.

Benefits of using an Applicant Tracking System

Utilizing an applicant tracking system can lead to streamlining recruitment procedures, heightened efficiency, and time savings for businesses. The following are some of the merits associated with ATS implementation:

1. Automation: ATS automates laborious tasks like composing and transmitting emails, interview arrangements, and feedback collection. This translates into saved time and reduced costs by eliminating manual workflows.
2. Pipeline Optimization: Hiring teams can monitor applicants and identify the most suitable candidates. This facilitates swift candidate evaluation and enables well-informed hiring decisions.
3. Categorization: ATS assists in effectively managing extensive applicant pools by categorizing them and tracking their progress throughout the recruitment journey.
4. Personalization: Employers can tailor their ATS to meet specific requirements, accommodating unique organizational needs.
5. Bottleneck Prevention: Real-time analytics offered by ATS aid employers in identifying bottlenecks and refining the recruitment process.
6. Compliance: ATS ensures adherence to legal and industry regulations such as GDPR, promoting a compliant recruitment environment.
7. Holistic Perspective: ATS can provide a comprehensive overview of applicant data, encompassing résumés, test scores, interview insights, and more.
8. Financial Oversight: Employers can monitor their recruitment budget and compare diverse job postings using ATS.
9. Enhanced Applicant Experience: ATS elevates communication between recruiters, hiring managers, and prospective candidates, resulting in a well-organized and seamless recruitment process.
10. Talent Attraction: ATS enhances businesses’ capacity to source and select candidates, thus attracting top-tier talent.
11. Analytics: ATS offers valuable insights into recruitment processes, empowering employers to refine strategies for future hiring endeavors.

Limitations of Applicant Tracking Software: What are the risks of an applicant tracking system?

While the advantages of employing an ATS are evident, certain potential downsides exist to consider. Here are some limitations that warrant attention:

1. Absence of Automated Candidate Matching: Certain ATS cannot automatically match job openings with suitable candidates. Consequently, recruiters must manually assess each application and decide based on their criteria.
2. Cost Implications: Most ATS entails subscription fees, which can financially burden small-scale businesses.
3. Data Inaccuracy: Poorly designed ATS systems can lead to inaccurate applicant data, potentially resulting in the hiring of inappropriate candidates.
4. Security Vulnerability: All software systems carry inherent data breach risks. Companies must invest in secure ATS systems to mitigate these risks.
5. User Experience Challenges: A subpar user experience can lead to frustration and prompt potential candidates to abandon the recruitment process. This is particularly relevant for ATS platforms necessitating unique logins for each applicant.
6. Parsing Issues: Ill-designed applicant tracking systems can struggle with parsing résumés accurately. This necessitates manual review, consuming valuable time and effort.
7. Rejection of Qualified Candidates: ATS systems might inadvertently reject well-qualified candidates if their experience or skill set isn’t understandable to the system due to the absence of specific keywords on their résumé.
8. Compliance Concerns: Ensuring the ATS’s compliance with pertinent legal and industry-specific regulations is paramount.

How do I choose the best applicant tracking software?

When choosing the most suitable applicant tracking system (ATS) for your business, it’s vital to prioritize the key features that align with your team and organization’s requirements. Different businesses have varying needs; some may seek straightforward tracking capabilities for occasional hires, while others require an ATS to optimize high-volume recruiting efforts. Alongside essential features, companies should consider factors like pricing, scalability as your business grows, integration options, customer feedback, and robust customer support.
Furthermore, your business’s size is pivotal in determining the ideal ATS. Small enterprises might find a basic, readily available system sufficient, whereas larger organizations could necessitate a more advanced ATS to cater to their extensive recruitment demands. Evaluating your existing recruitment process—whether manual or automated—and assessing the ATS’s compatibility with it is equally important.

ATS Pricing and Fees

Applicant tracking systems are available across a spectrum of pricing structures. Some adopt a one-time payment model, while others involve recurring subscription fees. On average, an ATS costs approximately $1,000 annually, though some ATS systems can carry an annual price tag of $10,000 or even higher.
While evaluating costs, it’s crucial to consider the enduring value that an ATS can bring. Many businesses discover that investing in an ATS yields long-term benefits by streamlining recruitment and curbing administrative expenditures. Furthermore, numerous ATS platforms offer integrations with other software, enhancing cost savings and operational efficiency.

In the grand scheme, opting for an ATS that aligns with your business’s needs and budget is optimal for ensuring sustained success. With the right ATS in place, you can realize time and money savings while guaranteeing a compliant and streamlined recruitment process.

FAQs

What is an Applicant Tracking Software? 

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is specialized software that companies and agencies utilize to facilitate the organization and monitoring of job applicants. Typical components of an ATS encompass applicant tracking, résumé parsing, automated correspondence, interview arrangement, candidate collaboration tools, and comprehensive analytics and reporting. An Applicant tracking system’s main objective is to streamline the entire recruitment process, thereby enhancing efficiency for recruiters.

Moreover, ATS aids companies in ensuring the conformity of their recruitment procedures with legal and industry mandates. Through the automation of recruitment processes, businesses can economize time and resources while securing the acquisition of optimal candidates for their workforce.

It provides a range of features and functionalities, including database management, filtering capabilities, and comprehensive tools, enabling businesses of all sizes to efficiently handle candidate tracking, organization, and analysis.

How Does An Applicant Tracking System Work?

The Applicant Tracking System works by collecting and organizing resumes received through various channels, such as job boards or career websites. It parses and extracts relevant information from resumes, such as contact details and work experience, and stores it in a structured database. Recruiters can then search, filter, and sort candidates based on specific criteria, track their progress throughout the recruitment process, schedule interviews, and connect with them.

How does an ATS save money?

ATS saves money by streamlining the recruitment process, reducing manual effort and paperwork, and optimizing recruitment efforts. Thus, saving cost, time, and measures for recruiting firms.

Can an ATS integrate with other recruitment systems?

Yes, ATS platforms offer integration capabilities with other recruitment systems, such as CRM, talent assessment tools, payroll software, background check providers, or video interviewing tools. Recruiterflow has an inbuilt CRM and offers

What is the difference between ATS and a job portal?

While the job portal is a platform where recruiters can post job listings and candidates can search and apply for jobs, ATS is a software system designed to manage the entire recruitment process, from receiving applications to recruiting decisions.

Is there a free applicant tracking system?

Yes, there are free applicant tracking systems accessible, although their features and functionality may be limited. These free ATS options can facilitate basic recruitment and selection processes and are particularly useful for small businesses in their early stages. Nevertheless, as companies grow, they typically transition to paid ATS solutions in order to fully leverage the extensive features and capabilities offered.

Are Applicant Tracking Software Effective?

According to a survey done by Zippia 94% of hiring professionals that use ATS systems report that the software has improved their hiring process.