This guide is for small businesses of about 5 to 50 people where the owner or a manager does the hiring, often with no HR person. You need to get a job ad in front of people, keep the applicants in one place and decide who to interview, without a sales call or a setup project.
Most applicant tracking systems for small business handle the first two jobs well. The third one, reading every application and calling people back, is where an owner loses the most evenings. So we compared eight options on what they cost, how they get your job out, and how much of the screening they do for you.
VeraHire is our product. It comes first where it is strong: a free ATS with no cap on open jobs, prices you can read before signing up, and an AI first round. Where another tool fits better, such as job board posting, scheduling or payroll, we say so.
How we evaluated
We read each vendor’s own pricing and product pages on October 26, 2026. We did not use review sites, affiliate rankings or sales calls, so every price and feature here traces back to a page the vendor publishes. If a page doesn’t say, the table reads “not stated”.
We scored each tool on six things a small business runs into in the first month: whether you can start free, the lowest published paid price, job board posting, screening tools, AI features, and whether it also covers HR, scheduling or payroll.
Small business ATS comparison
| ATS | Free plan | Paid from | Job board posting | Screening | AI features | HR, scheduling, payroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VeraHire | Unlimited jobs and users; first 300 candidates and 30 AI interviews free | $0.25 per candidate, $7 per AI interview; plans from $49/mo billed annually | Not offered; forward resumes to each job's email address, upload them or connect an ATS | Every resume scored against each requirement in the job description | AI resume screening and AI voice interviews | Not offered |
| Homebase | Hiring tools in Manual Mode on every plan | Hiring Assistant $99/mo billed annually | Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Google, Facebook, Craigslist | Screening questions with Hiring Assistant | AI conversational screener with Hiring Assistant | Scheduling, time tracking; payroll add-on |
| Breezy HR | 1 active job; candidates from the last 30 days | $157/mo billed annually, unlimited users | 50+ job boards, free plan included | Questionnaires from Startup | Paid add-on (credits) | Onboarding add-on |
| Zoho Recruit | 1 active job per recruiter license | $25 per recruiter/mo billed annually | Premium job boards from Standard | Assessments from Standard | AI candidate matching on Enterprise | Not in Recruit |
| Manatal | 14-day trial | $15 per user/mo billed annually | Free and premium channels; free posting needs account verification | Screening and knockout questions | AI scoring and recommendations; AI interviewer add-on | Not offered |
| JazzHR | None listed | $1,000/yr billed annually | A dozen+ free boards; premium listings | Knockout questions; assessments on Plus | AI candidate matching on Plus | Offers and eSignatures on Pro |
| Workable | 15-day trial | $299/mo billed annually, 1 to 20 employees | 200+ job boards | Forms, scorecards; assessments and video add-ons | AI agents on credits; 3,000 credits included | HRIS, time off, time tracking, payroll prep |
| BambooHR | None; no trial mentioned | $250/mo flat up to 25 employees | Leading boards and social networks | Not stated | Not stated for hiring | Full HR system; payroll and benefits add-ons |
Yes Partly or paid add-on No or not statedChecked on each vendor’s site, October 26, 2026.
What a small business needs from an ATS
Answer these five questions before you open a pricing page. They rule out most of the list.
Where do your applicants come from?
If you post to Indeed and your own website and that fills the role, you don’t need a tool that pushes to 200 job boards. If you hire hard-to-fill roles, wide distribution matters, and Workable, Breezy HR and Homebase do it best here. VeraHire doesn’t post jobs. You post the ad where you already do and forward resumes to the job’s own email address, upload them, or connect your ATS.
How many roles do you have open at once?
The free plans of Breezy HR and Zoho Recruit hold one active job. A shop hiring a technician, a dispatcher and a front desk person at the same time outgrows that on day one. VeraHire’s free ATS has no cap on open jobs, and Manatal’s entry plan allows 15.
How many applicants does each role get?
Ten applicants for a role takes an evening to read. A hundred and fifty for an hourly opening doesn’t. Once the pile outgrows your evenings, screening matters more than tracking. VeraHire scores every resume against each requirement in your job description and can run a first-round voice interview with the people you pick. Manatal, Workable and Homebase’s Hiring Assistant also screen with AI.
Who else needs access?
Per-seat pricing (Zoho Recruit, Manatal) is cheapest when one person hires. Once a co-owner and two shift managers need to see candidates, pricing with unlimited users (Breezy HR’s flat plans, or VeraHire’s per-candidate pricing) costs less.
Do you need HR, scheduling or payroll too?
If you want one app for hiring and running the team, start with Homebase (hourly shifts and payroll), Workable (HR system plus 200+ job boards) or BambooHR (full HR system). VeraHire covers application to shortlist and stops there: no scheduling, onboarding or payroll.
The best applicant tracking systems for small business
VeraHire: best free ATS for reading fewer resumes
Our pick when applicants pile upVeraHire’s free ATS lets you open as many jobs as you have and add your whole team at no cost. Each job gets its own email address: forward a resume to it and the candidate lands in the pipeline, already scored against each requirement in your job description by AI resume screening. The free trial covers your first 300 candidates and 30 AI interviews: the candidate gets a link by email (or SMS outside the US and China) and talks to the AI interviewer whenever it suits them. You get a ranked shortlist with the evidence behind each score, and you decide who to meet.
- Free plan
- Unlimited jobs and users; first 300 candidates and 30 AI interviews free
- Paid from
- $0.25 per candidate, $7 per AI interview; plans from $49/mo billed annually
- Job board posting
- Not offered; forward resumes to each job's email address, upload them or connect an ATS
- Screening
- Every resume scored against each requirement in the job description
- AI features
- AI resume screening and AI voice interviews
- HR, scheduling, payroll
- Not offered
- No cap on open jobs or team members on the free ATS
- Every applicant scored, with the reason for each call
- Prices on the site; no sales call to start
Free for your first 300 candidates and 30 AI interviews, no credit card, no end date. Then $0.25 per candidate and $7 per AI interview with no monthly fee, or plans from $49 a month billed annually. See pricing.
- No job board posting or careers page
- No interview scheduling, onboarding or payroll
- AI interviews in English only
Homebase: best for hourly teams that also need scheduling and payroll
joinhomebase.com ↗Homebase runs shift scheduling, time tracking and payroll for hourly teams, and its hiring tools sit in the same app. In free Manual Mode you post to Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Google, Facebook and Craigslist in one click, track applicants, and let candidates book their own interview slot. The paid Hiring Assistant adds an AI conversational screener, screening questions and automated scheduling.
- Free plan
- Hiring tools in Manual Mode on every plan
- Paid from
- Hiring Assistant $99/mo billed annually
- Job board posting
- Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Google, Facebook, Craigslist
- Screening
- Screening questions with Hiring Assistant
- AI features
- AI conversational screener with Hiring Assistant
- HR, scheduling, payroll
- Scheduling, time tracking; payroll add-on
- Free job posting and applicant tracking
- Shift scheduling, time clock and payroll in the same app
- Candidates book their own interview time
Hiring tools in Manual Mode cost $0 on every Homebase plan, and the Basic plan is free for one location with up to 10 employees. Hiring Assistant costs $99 a month billed annually, or $199 month to month. Payroll is an add-on.
Restaurants, retail and service businesses hiring hourly staff at one or a few locations.
Breezy HR: best free plan for posting one role
breezy.hr ↗Breezy is a classic ATS. The free Bootstrap plan distributes your job to 50+ job boards and allows unlimited users, but it holds one active position or candidate pool at a time and shows candidates added in the last 30 days. Paid plans add questionnaires, interview self-scheduling and automations at a flat monthly price.
- Free plan
- 1 active job; candidates from the last 30 days
- Paid from
- $157/mo billed annually, unlimited users
- Job board posting
- 50+ job boards, free plan included
- Screening
- Questionnaires from Startup
- AI features
- Paid add-on (credits)
- HR, scheduling, payroll
- Onboarding add-on
- Job board distribution on the free plan
- Unlimited users on every plan
- Flat price, no per-seat math
Free for one active job. Startup costs $157 a month billed annually, or $189 month to month. AI evaluation (Breezy Intelligence) and texting cost extra as add-ons.
A business that hires one role at a time and wants a familiar pipeline.
Zoho Recruit: best for one person hiring on a tight budget
zoho.com ↗Zoho Recruit prices per recruiter license, so a business with one person doing the hiring pays for one seat. The Forever Free edition covers candidate management, email and interview scheduling for one active job. Standard adds premium job boards, a branded careers site, assessments and 10 active jobs per license. AI candidate matching starts on Enterprise.
- Free plan
- 1 active job per recruiter license
- Paid from
- $25 per recruiter/mo billed annually
- Job board posting
- Premium job boards from Standard
- Screening
- Assessments from Standard
- AI features
- AI candidate matching on Enterprise
- HR, scheduling, payroll
- Not in Recruit
- Lowest paid entry price for a single recruiter
- Branded careers site on Standard
- Interview scheduling on the free plan
Free for one active job. Standard costs $25 per recruiter a month billed annually ($30 monthly). Enterprise costs $50 billed annually ($60 monthly).
An owner or office manager who handles every hire alone.
Manatal: best for AI matching at a per-seat price
manatal.com ↗Manatal lists AI candidate scoring, candidate recommendations from the job description, screening and knockout questions, and resume parsing on every plan, including the cheapest one. It also offers an AI Interviewer add-on for automated video screening in six languages.
- Free plan
- 14-day trial
- Paid from
- $15 per user/mo billed annually
- Job board posting
- Free and premium channels; free posting needs account verification
- Screening
- Screening and knockout questions
- AI features
- AI scoring and recommendations; AI interviewer add-on
- HR, scheduling, payroll
- Not offered
- AI scoring on the entry plan
- Screening and knockout questions included
- Video AI interviewer as an add-on
Professional costs $15 per user a month billed annually ($19 monthly), with up to 15 jobs. 14-day free trial, no card. No free plan.
Small teams with two or three people hiring who want AI ranking without a big monthly bill.
JazzHR: best for a few postings a month at an annual price
jazzhr.com ↗JazzHR's Hero plan covers the applicant tracking basics, job postings starting at three a month, and posting to more than a dozen free job boards. Plus raises the limit to 200 active jobs and adds AI candidate matching, structured interviews and assessments. Its pricing page says standard pricing excludes franchises and multi-location businesses, which matters if you run more than one site.
- Free plan
- None listed
- Paid from
- $1,000/yr billed annually
- Job board posting
- A dozen+ free boards; premium listings
- Screening
- Knockout questions; assessments on Plus
- AI features
- AI candidate matching on Plus
- HR, scheduling, payroll
- Offers and eSignatures on Pro
- Low annual entry price
- Free job board posting
- LinkedIn Recruiter integration
Hero costs $1,000 a year billed annually. Plus costs $3,480 a year. No free plan or trial listed.
A single-location business that posts a handful of roles a month.
Workable: best for the widest job board reach plus HR
workable.com ↗Workable posts to 200+ job boards, sources candidates, and includes an HR system with time off, time tracking and payroll prep on every plan. Its AI agents screen and source candidates on a credit system, and each ATS plan comes with 3,000 AI credits. Assessments and video interviews are add-ons on Standard.
- Free plan
- 15-day trial
- Paid from
- $299/mo billed annually, 1 to 20 employees
- Job board posting
- 200+ job boards
- Screening
- Forms, scorecards; assessments and video add-ons
- AI features
- AI agents on credits; 3,000 credits included
- HR, scheduling, payroll
- HRIS, time off, time tracking, payroll prep
- 200+ job boards
- ATS and HRIS in one
- AI screening and sourcing agents
Standard costs $299 a month billed annually for companies with 1 to 20 employees. 15-day free trial, no card.
A growing business that wants hiring and employee records in one system.
BambooHR: best when you need a full HR system first
bamboohr.com ↗BambooHR is an HR system with an applicant tracking module: job posting to leading boards and social networks, candidate records and offer letter templates. The ATS caps open jobs by plan (5 on Core, 25 on Pro, 50 on Elite). Its pricing page doesn't list screening or AI features for hiring.
- Free plan
- None; no trial mentioned
- Paid from
- $250/mo flat up to 25 employees
- Job board posting
- Leading boards and social networks
- Screening
- Not stated
- AI features
- Not stated for hiring
- HR, scheduling, payroll
- Full HR system; payroll and benefits add-ons
- Employee records, time off and performance
- Payroll and benefits add-ons for US teams
- Flat price up to 25 employees
Flat $250 a month for Core at 25 employees or fewer ($425 Pro, $650 Elite). Quote-based above that. No trial mentioned.
A business replacing spreadsheets for all of HR, with hiring as one part.
Small business ATS pricing in 2026
All eight publish a starting price. They charge on different things, though, so the cheapest sticker price depends on your team size and hiring volume.
| ATS | Free option | Paid from | Price grows with |
|---|---|---|---|
| VeraHire | Free ATS: unlimited jobs and users, first 300 candidates and 30 AI interviews | $0.25 per candidate and $7 per AI interview, or plans from $49/mo billed annually | Candidates screened and interviews run |
| Homebase | Hiring tools in Manual Mode on every plan | Hiring Assistant $99/mo billed annually ($199 month to month) | Flat add-on; Homebase plans price per location |
| Breezy HR | 1 active job | $157/mo billed annually ($189 monthly) | Plan tier; unlimited users |
| Zoho Recruit | 1 active job per recruiter license | $25 per recruiter/mo billed annually ($30 monthly) | Recruiter licenses |
| Manatal | 14-day trial | $15 per user/mo billed annually ($19 monthly) | Users |
| JazzHR | None listed | $1,000/yr billed annually | Plan tier |
| Workable | 15-day trial | $299/mo billed annually (1 to 20 employees) | Company headcount |
| BambooHR | None listed | $250/mo flat (25 employees or fewer) | Employees above 25 |
From each vendor’s pricing page, October 26, 2026. Monthly prices billed annually unless noted.
A worked example
Say you hire for two roles a month, get 120 applicants and interview your top 10. After your 300 free candidates, VeraHire’s pay as you go costs $30 to screen the 120 and $70 for the 10 interviews, $100 in all. The Starter plan ($49 a month billed annually) includes 100 screens and 10 interviews, so the same month comes to $54 with 20 extra screens at $0.25. For comparison, Breezy HR’s Startup plan costs $157 a month and one Zoho Recruit Standard seat costs $25, and neither price includes AI interviews.
Already have an ATS? Add the first round
You don’t have to choose one tool. You can keep Breezy HR’s free plan or JazzHR for posting and tracking, and add AI screening on top. VeraHire works alongside 50+ ATS and HRIS platforms, including Breezy, JazzHR, Zoho Recruit, Workable, Manatal and BambooHR, and pushes scores, transcripts and reports back into them. If you run home services or a clinic, see how that works for field and home services and clinics.
Joellie AI, an independent auditor, audited VeraHire’s resume screening and interview analysis for bias under the NYC Local Law 144 standard. Read about the bias audit.
Another option worth a look
- Tellent Recruitee: multi-board job posting and a careers site on every plan, with knockout questions and an AI screening assistant from the Advance plan. Its Start plan allows 5 active job posts. Pricing depends on company size and comes through a demo, so we left it out of the tables.
For AI interview platforms built for larger hiring teams, read our guide to the best AI recruiting software.
FAQ
Does a small business need an applicant tracking system?
If you hire more than a couple of people a year, yes. An ATS keeps every applicant for every role in one list, so nobody loses a good candidate in an inbox and anyone on your team can see where each person stands. If you hire once a year and get ten applicants, a shared folder works fine.
Is there a free applicant tracking system for small business?
Several. Breezy HR and Zoho Recruit have free plans limited to one active job. Homebase includes free job posting and applicant tracking on every plan. VeraHire's free ATS has no cap on open jobs or team members and scores your first 300 candidates against the job description; after that, each new candidate costs $0.25 to screen.
How much does an ATS cost for a small business?
Of the eight we compared, paid plans start at $15 per user a month (Manatal, billed annually) and run to $299 a month (Workable, for 1 to 20 employees). Per-seat tools cost less with one person hiring. Flat-price tools cost less once three or more people need access.
What is the difference between an ATS and recruiting software?
An ATS tracks applicants through your hiring steps. Recruiting software is the wider category: job posting, sourcing, screening, interviewing and scheduling tools. Many small-business ATS products now bundle some of each, so compare the specific features you need.
Can I use VeraHire with the ATS I already have?
Yes. VeraHire works alongside 50+ ATS and HRIS platforms, including Breezy, JazzHR, Zoho Recruit, Workable, Manatal and BambooHR. Keep posting and tracking where you are, and use VeraHire to score applicants and run the first-round interview.
Does AI decide who you hire?
Not in VeraHire. It scores each resume and interview against your job's requirements and shows the evidence behind each call. You read the shortlist and decide who to meet and who to hire.
The bottom line
Pick by your bottleneck. If you hire hourly staff at one location and want scheduling and payroll in the same app, start with Homebase. If you post one role at a time and want a free, familiar pipeline, use Breezy HR. If one person does all the hiring, Zoho Recruit or Manatal keeps the bill small. If you want hiring and HR in one system, look at Workable or BambooHR.
If the problem is the pile itself, too many applicants and no time to read them or call them back, try VeraHire on your next open role. Open the job, forward the resumes, and compare the ranked shortlist with the one you would have built by hand.
Free for your first 300 candidates and 30 AI interviews, no credit card. Start a free trial.
Competitor details come from each vendor’s own website, checked October 26, 2026. Plans change; if something here is out of date, tell us at hello@verahire.ai and we will correct it.