You’ll find a melting pot of big ideas and remarkable talent at the heart of ambitious startups and agile businesses. These businesses are filled with people with the skills, ambition, and drive to see their organizations succeed—and who enjoy the thrill of working at their industry’s cutting edge.

Finding, chasing down, and hiring the talent that ambitious startups and agile businesses need is no easy feat in today’s fast-paced job market. Here’s some insight into the different applicant tracking system (ATS) software designed to support startups and agile organizations.

Why is an ATS important for your startup?

An ATS—or applicant tracking system—is software capable of storing and processing vast volumes of data. It can help you streamline every key aspect of your hiring and recruitment process, from scheduling multiple interviews to screening hundreds of potential candidates. Instead of wading through piles of unqualified applications, using an ATS can help you find the right people for the roles you need to fill.

ATS software makes it simple to organize and track your current applicants and prospects. That’s because it can filter the skills and experience of different potential candidates against the skills and expertise you specify in your job postings.

If you need to find someone with proven project planning and strategizing skills to level up your startup with agility, an ATS’s automated intelligence can help you screen for the best, most qualified candidates.

Or, if you need a financial manager with the expertise to keep you on the right side of your investors, an ATS can help identify a shortlist of applicants who fit the bill.

Some open positions can attract hundreds or even thousands of candidates without the right qualifications. Manually sifting through them can be nearly impossible. ATS automation is there to take all that time-consuming admin off your plate, freeing you up to focus on what really matters: hiring better talent faster and improving business growth and development.

Choosing the right ATS for your startup

Every startup has big decisions to make, and they can have a lasting impact on your people and business outcomes. That’s why, when it comes to choosing the best ATS for startups, it’s critical to choose the right one for your current and future business needs.

What are the different types of ATS?

Hiring has evolved. There are many different types of ATS on the market today. Instead of the one-size-fits-all versions of the past, multiple options exist for even the most specific combinations of needs.

The secret to choosing the right ATS for your startup? Identify your business needs first—then choose the solution that fits them the best. This can save you from investing in an ATS that’s either too basic or too complex for your business needs.

Let’s take a look at what’s out there in terms of the best ATS software on the market today.

Top ATS software for startups

Workable - Best ATS for startups

We’ll kick things off with a look at Workable. Based in Boston, Workable’s easy-to-navigate and transparent pricing system offers flexible and up-front options for smaller startups with Paygo and pay-per-job for occasional hiring.

For growing startups, there’s a Standard option that expands into a Premier tier with more comprehensive support for larger businesses. 

Workable’s scalable features and support include automated and AI-powered tools to source and suggest candidates, simplify decision-making, and streamline the hiring process.

JazzHR - Best ATS for startups

Then there’s JazzHR. Located in Pittsburgh, JazzHR’s ATS is purpose-built for SMBs with transparent pricing plans targeted at employers with fewer than 500 people.

The software supports startups recruiting people at a single location.

Jazz HR’s functions include job-specific recruiting teams, custom job workflow stages, LinkedIn recruiter integration, and a workflow helper to streamline every stage of the employee recruitment process.

Stryve - Best ATS for startups

Next, we’ll look at Stryve, a B Corp based in London’s Holborn district that promotes a more human way to hire. Stryve automates actions with one system to manage CVs, candidate profiles, interview notes, financial information, analytics, and reporting.

Ashby - Best ATS for startups

With advanced analytics and automation, Ashby’s ATS combines features for the entire recruiting process, from sourcing to offer. The all-in-one recruiting platform is designed to help high-growth companies hire more efficiently.

Developed at the company’s HQ in San Francisco, Ashby’s scalable support takes high-growth teams from seed to IPO.

Recruitee - Best ATS for startups

Let’s look at Recruitee. Based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Recruitee’s collaborative and AI-powered ATS automates and optimizes the hiring process.

With the option to pay monthly or annually, Recruitee’s Launch package is designed to help you manage your investment in an ATS with the option to move to the Scale and Lead package when you’re ready to grow.

Recruitee streamlines the recruitment process to reduce manual admin with automated actions, templates for recurring pipeline structures, and optional permissions and roles for your team.

Breezy HR - Best ATS for startups

This brings us to Jacksonville, Florida, home to Breezy HR, with paid pricing plans that include unlimited users, candidates, and customer support.

Breezy HR’s annual or monthly pricing plans support fast-growing companies with 10 to 10,000 people. The company also offers a Bootstrap option that’s free forever for startups with one position or pool.

Breezy HR’s ATS features branded career sites, GDPR compliance and automation, multi-language support, and background screening integrations.

Comeet - Best ATS for startups

Finally, let’s look at Comeet. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Comeet’s cloud-based collaborative recruiting platform offers on-demand candidate sourcing and scalable recruiting. Its pricing is customizable, so you only ever pay for the features you need.

Designed to feel like user-friendly consumer software, you can configure Comeet’s flexible platform to meet your startup’s needs.

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maximize your ATS

Freedom to focus on growth and development

ATS automation is a great tool startups can leverage to get ahead. The software removes time-consuming recruitment admin from your schedule, freeing you to focus on business growth and development—and hiring great talent for your team.

Connecting your ATS to Bob’s HRIS for the ultimate HR management experience

No matter which ATS you choose, you’ll be able to get invaluable and actionable insights from the system when you connect it with Bob’s HRIS. The integration will allow you to combine the data sets your ATS and HRIS produce and analyze them—so you can look in depth and with clarity at what’s happening in your business.


Tali Sachs

From Tali Sachs

Tali is the content marketing manager specializing in thought leadership at HiBob. She's been writing stories since before she knew what to do with a pen and paper. When she's not writing, she's reading sci-fi, snuggling with her cats, or singing at an open mic.